Nicholas, who probably went by “Nick,” was an Ohioan born in 1862. By 1881, Nick had established himself as a shoemaker in Denver, and it was on June 20, 1888, in Denver that he married Canadian native Mary Ellen “Nellie” McCabe. The following year they had a son, Walter, and in 1890 a daughter, Gertrude. From approximately 1900 to 1907 Nick may have tried his hand in the restaurant business before returning to shoemaking.
“B.,” the writer of this postcard postmarked May 20, 1914, quotes “Nick” as saying, “This is the greatest shoe shop in the world.” “B.” goes on to say “this is a much nicer store than across the street.” Today, if you looked across the street from where Nick’s business stood, you would see the Embassy Suites Hotel, which sits directly across 14th Street from the Denver Convention Center. And in the spot where Nick had his shop, you would see a parking lot.
It would be interesting to know which, if any, of the three gentlemen in the picture is Nick. At the time the picture was taken he would have been about 52.
Nellie died in 1910, but Nick continued with his shoemaking business in Denver. It appears that in 1913 he moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to do shoemaking, but was back in business in Denver in 1914. By 1920 Nicholas had moved to Los Angeles, where he continued to ply his trade.
Nick died in Los Angeles in August of 1924. He and Nellie are both buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Wheatridge, CO.
REFERENCES:
- California Death Index, 1905-1939 (www.ancestry.com)
- California Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 (www.ancestry.com)
- Cheyenne City Directory, 1913 (www.ancestry.com)
- Colorado County Marriage Records and State Index, 1862-2006 (www.ancestry.com)
- Denver Business Directory, 1914 (www.ancestry.com) https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2469&h=1138257458&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=dpJi819&_phstart=successSource
- Denver City Directory, 1881 (www.ancestry.com)
- Lindland Family Tree (www.ancestry.com)
- 1900 Census (www.ancestry.com)
