was born to Henry and Sarah Nicholson March 7, 1718. He died 12 days later on March 19, 1718, according to published information of the inscription on his stone. That is all we have left, as his stone is no longer in the Point of Graves.
The New Hampshire Genealogical Record
WILLIAM SON TO
HENRY & SARAH
NICHOLSON AGED 12
DAY 8 DEC d MARCH
Y e 19 th 1718
Henry Nicholson was born in 1683 in Williamsburg, Virginia. He married Sarah Cotton in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on December 13, 1716. Unfortunately, there were three Sarah Cottons in the area at the time and records do not show which Sarah Cotton this to be. I find it difficult to accept that Henry’s wife was Sarah, the widow of John Cotton, who after giving birth to 12 children already, would have given birth to number 13 (William) at age 64 years. Not impossible, but improbable. We cannot determine at this time if Sarah was the daughter of John Cotton or the daughter of his brother William.
Henry died November 1721 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is possible that he left behind a pregnant wife and a yet to be born daughter, Sarah. A Sarah Nicholson was christened September 23, 1722, but no parents’ names were given in this reference.
The New Hampshire Genealogical Record