Mon, Dec 01 2008
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Published August 19, 2008 02:17 pm - ‘Grande dame’ of town caught the attention of many By Liz McMahan Times Editor Editor’s note: This is one in a series of columns about Fort Gibson through the years. If you have photos or stories you would like to share, send them to lmcmahan@muskogeephoenix.com or call 684-2926. Here’s something for Fort Gibson to add to its list of “firsts:” The first businesswoman in Oklahoma and the first U.S. government appointee was Sarah Perkins Nicks, widow of Gen. John Nicks. Sarah Nicks was appointed the fort’s sutler after the death of her husband on Dec. 31, 1831. Described in accounts about Sam Houston’s arrival at Fort Gibson as “plump and pleasing,” Sarah Nicks was a popular young widow, especially since she had inherited an estate of $20,000 from her husband. Washington Irving wrote in his notes during an 1832 visit to the post that several of the post’s officers courted her, especially a quartermaster who serenaded her so much and so loudly that he disturbed sleeping soldiers. He also wrote that Gen. William Clark and Col. Matthew Arbuckle were both “fascinated” by Sarah, as was a civilian named Lewis. While she was “pleasing,” Sarah also knew when to stand her ground, according to an article in a 1930 issue of the “Chronicles of Oklahoma” by Carolyn Thomas Foreman. Boredom ran high in the prairie-town fort, and poker parties were frequently held to break up that boredom, Foreman wrote. Nicks had been out on one of those parties for two or three nights and was attempting to crawl through a window into his bedroom when he was faced by Sarah, sitting up in bed with a gun leveled at him. “She demanded that he explain his conduct in sneaking into her room like a thief,” Foreman wrote. Sarah Nicks was a distinguished writer and traveler, according to Foreman. While Sarah Nicks became sutler, Col. Robert Stuart Gibson took over John Nicks’ duties as Fort Gibson’s postmaster. He also became her second husband. They were married Dec. 8, 1835, and had three children. The Nickses had two children. 
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