Samuel Jones Nicholls was a United States Representative from South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. He was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina

Spartanburg, South Carolina

thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...

. He attended Bingham Military Institute in Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...

; Wofford College

Wofford College

Established in 1854 and related to the United Methodist Church, Wofford College is an independent, Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts college of 1,525 students located in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. The historic campus is recognized as a national arboretum and features “The...

, in Spartanburg, South Carolina; Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, Virginia

Blacksburg, Virginia

Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 42,620 at the 2010 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which...

; and the law department of the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1906 and commenced practice in Spartanburg.

Nicholls was the city attorney of Spartanburg and prosecuting attorney of Spartanburg County, South Carolina. He was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives

South Carolina House of Representatives

The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the upper house being the South Carolina Senate. It consists of 124 Representatives elected to two year terms at the same time as US Congressional elections...

 1907-1908. He served by special appointment as circuit judge and as associate justice of the Supreme Court of South Carolina. He also organized and was captain for three years of Company I, First Regiment, South Carolina National Guard Infantry.

Nicholls was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-fourth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Joseph T. Johnson

Joseph T. Johnson

Joseph Travis Johnson was a United States Representative and federal judge from South Carolina. He was born in Brewerton, South Carolina. He attended the common schools and was graduated from Erskine College, Due West, South Carolina in 1879. He received an LL.B. from Vanderbilt University in...

. He was reelected to the Sixty-fifth and Sixty-sixth Congresses and served from September 14, 1915 to March 3, 1921 and declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1920. He resumed the practice of law in Spartanburg, South Carolina until his death there on November 23, 1937. He is buried in West Oakwood Cemetery.