 | "Adventures of an Old Texas Ranger" Author: James Wilson Nichols Information from the original Journal Pages are now in Public Domain - source: DRT Library This Journal was published by the University of Texas Press - book which is not in the Public Domain - published as: NOW YOU HEAR MY HORN - Journal of James Wilson Nichols |
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James Wilson Nichols wrote a journal about the events of his life, and in his later years he took that journal and wrote a book that he titled "Adventures of an Old Texas Ranger". The first two chapters were printed in a early publication before his death in 1891. At his death, no Will was left by Jim Nichols. No family member was designated as having copyright through inheritance, leaving James Wilson Nichols as the holder of the copyright on his original manuscript. After the deaths of Jim and Mary Ann Nichols, his book was in the possession of their grandson, Hugh Allen Nichols and wife, Flora Chamberlain. Unfortunately it was loaned out to others resulting in portions of the book never being returned. In later years Flora Nichols allowed her grandchildren to read the remaining pages of the book. It was their curiosity and interest in the book that resulted in Sylvia Peters taking the journal pages to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library in the belief that James Wilson Nichols was a defender of the Alamo. His writings prove that he was not in Texas until December 16, 1836 ... after the fall of the Alamo. Sylvia Peters sold the handwritten manuscript of his book and the buyer donated it to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library. Ultimately the pages were edited by Catherine McDowell and published by the University of Texas Press as "Now You Hear My Horn - Journal of James Wilson Nichols". I have reviewed the original pages and the editing of the McDowell work, finding some minor word phrasing not as written by James Nichols, but this is probably due to the difficulty in reading such an old manuscript in poor condition. Some of Jim Nichols's original book was not published due to Ms. McDowell's opinion the material would be controversial. Some of the chapters not published were short biographies of early Texas men of that era with whom Jim Nichols was personally acquainted. It is unfortunate that some of his accounts of some of these men were not included as it presents a first hand account of such historical events. Later I will include some of the stories he wrote concerning his life in Arkansas and his years involved in the making of Texas history from 1836 until his death in 1891. TEXAS MONTHLY-1891 (cont. - TEXAS MONTHLY story) Wounding of MILFORD DAY James Milford Day was a brother-in-law to Jim Nichols. He married Martha Hannah Nichols, May 2, 1838 in Gonzales Co., Texas Capt. James H. Callahan Written by James Wilson Nichols, it contains a short biography of Capt. James Callahan's move to Texas in 1836, his last service in the Texas Rangers as well as the incident that resulted in his death. | 
