Charles Bertram “Bert” Nichols was born 1884 in Raceville, NY to Oscar and Mary Ann Nichols.
At age 17 in 1901, he was an usher at the Pember Opera House. In 1905 at the age of 21, Bert placed an advertisement in The Oologist looking to sell his entire collection of eggs, some 300 species. (See ad) Two months later, he writes a correspondence to the Oologist stating that his collection was completely sold.
However, in 1909 he places an ad with the same publication looking for a second-hand egg cabinet. Why? Was he looking for Mr. Pember? Our records have about 73 sets of eggs that were in his collection. Were these eggs what he didn’t sell and then donated to the museum and when was that? Handwritten notes from a later director state that a “tall, multi-drawer, 2-door wood cabinet was used to store eggs in the Nichols attic.” Could this cabinet be the same one located in the museum’s attic today?
The Federal Censuses show us that Bert was a coal dealer in 1910, auto repair in 1915, mechanic in 1920, radio engineer in 1925 and electrician in 1930. At this time, he was curator for the Pember Museum and it’s his inventory which is our earliest one. From 1948-1957 he was the superintendent for the Pember.
Bert died in 1963 in Granville, NY.
