Shelter Island authors bring the Nicolls to life

If there’s a single name known for digging into Shelter Island’s names, it’s Shillingburg.

Since arriving here in 1999, Patricia and Edward have written 10 books and published numerous historical stories in the Reporter. Their latest book, “The Nicolls of Sachem’s Neck,” will be published November 2 and a publication party will be held the same day at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, a site chosen for its role in the Nicoll family saga.

The history has already received some pre-publication raves. Supervisor Jim Dougherty calls the book “a must” for those interested in Shelter Island history. Southold Town Historian Antonia Booth credits the Shillingburgs with bringing the Nicoll family “back to life” so they can live on “as a permanent part of Shelter Island’s heritage.” And Shelter Island Historical Society Executive Director Nanette Lawrenson credits the “intrepid and talented research, scholarship and writing” of the Shillingburgs in creating “a rich and entertaining tale.”

The Nicolls are still here in many Island places, if you know where to look. One example: If you’ve ever sat in St. Mary’s admiring the  beautiful stained glass windows, you’re appreciating the refinement, industry and ambition of  various Nicoll family members. It was Samuel Benjamin Nicoll with his brother Matthias who initiated plans to have the lovely church built — and then rebuilt when the first church was lost to fire in 1892. Named for Matthias Nicoll’s wife Mary who had died during the initial construction, the light-enhancing windows are dedicated to Nicoll women.

The handsomely produced book, with many crisply reproduced photographs and historical documents, has a personal link for the Shillingburgs. When they first moved to New York from Washington, D.C., it was a Nicoll family member and her husband — Alma Nicoll Baker and R. Palmer Baker Jr. —  who took the writers under their wings. Mr. Baker was then a partner at New York City’s Lord Day & Lord, one of the original “white shoe” law firms. When Ms. Shillingburg learned that Alma Baker was a Nicoll descendant it created “an intimate relationship with the Nicolls,” Ms. Shillingburg said.

Still, piecing together the family story was no easy task. “It’s absolutely detective work,” Ms. Shillingburg said. And even with extensive research, it wasn’t easy to create a narrative.

The couple had to unravel the story that gave itself up through piles of letters — many undated. Their work was made more difficult since many generations of the family chose to use the same first names. There are, for example, three people named Gloriana Margaretta Nicoll in the book; two named Anne Willets Nicoll; and two named Samuel Benjamin Nicoll.

Add to that the loss of all but a few family records spanning 250 years that “two aging maiden sisters” fed into a “raging fire” at the family estate prior to it being purchased by land speculator Otto Kahn. What remained was a handful of papers from the 1820s to the 1830s, Ms. Shillingburg said. Other letters were found in collections held at various times by the New York Historical Society, the Queens Public Library and, eventually, the Shelter Island Historical Society.

“It was all one big puzzle,” Ms. Shillingburg said. In the forward the authors write: “When we first encountered the collections, there was no rhyme or reason to them. No order. It was just a messy pile …”

But that’s where the collaborative talents of the two Shillingburgs came into play.

“Our children think we have an odd collaboration,” Mr. Shillingburg said. A lawyer by trade, he described his role as the digger who had the patience to plod through old records to try to trace the family through the generations.

“I like to dig and Patricia wants to write,” he said.

“He’s the one who finds the little gems.” Ms. Shillingburg put in.

“It seems like a partnership that really works,” she added. Their children weren’t so sure, when the couple first moved to Shelter Island ,that their relationship could endure a quiet, small town. They envisioned battles royal between the two parents whom they knew had very different personalities.

Through the years, Mr. Shillingburg was often tied up with work and had little interaction with his children, except to be the kind man who bought them ice cream and had fun with them on weekends. They viewed their mother as the stern disciplinarian, Mr. Shillingburg said. Imagining this stern lady and this kindly gentleman getting along with his less pressured work life in the legal field and no children growing up in the house, they couldn’t envision a good ending, he said.

In a sense, their collaboration on histories became like new children to nurture. Peace reigns today in the Shillingburg household on West Neck Road.

Working on “The Nicolls of Sachem’s Neck,” it wasn’t unusual that just when they thought they had the right chronology, they would uncover new information that would turn earlier conclusions upside down. Ultimately, the couple has drawn a vivid picture not only of a ”really, really nice family,” according to Ms. Shillingburg, but also a rich addition to Shelter Island’s history. It includes information on how each of the Nicoll men served as town supervisors, and the ways other family members contributed to the fabric of the Island’s past.

The book will be available November 2 through Cedar Grove Press. For more information, email [email protected].