Pioneers of Ellis County Nicholas P. Sims   [Ellis County Mirror, May 29, 1902] In the death of N. P. Sims, known to everyone as "Uncle Nich," the most remarkable man in Ellis County  has been lost.  Born in 1806 in Middle Tennessee, he was a young man when LaFayette, touring America after the Revolution, visited Nashville. Sims was a member of the military company which participated in the ceremony at the General's reception.  He voted in the second election which made General Jackson President, and was thirty years old when Texas became a Republic.  He was "middle-aged" when he came to Ellis County the year of its organization. Mr. Sims  had lived for the past several years with O. E. and S. M Dunlap, whose mother was his second wife, and he died at the home of the former last Saturday afternoon after a few days' illness.   Services were held at the house on Sunday afternoon, conducted by Pastor Wright and "Uncle Andrew" Davis who had known Mr. Sims for a lifetime, with burial was at Bethel Cemetery. According to the terms of Sims' will......"I am without descendants and have passed the best years of my life in Ellis County, Texas, where I have accumulated the bulk of my furtune and am desirous of promoting the mental, moral and physical advancement of said county and the city of Waxahachie, its county seat....and think this can be best done by the disposition of the residue of my estate....[after payment of debts] I bequeath the residue of my estate to Geo. H. Cunningham, P. E. Dunlap and S. M. Dunlap, the survivors or survivor of them and their substitutes to be chosen as hereinafter directed, in trust for the establishment and maintenance of a public library and lyceum in the city of Waxahachie, and in the said Ellis county, and particularly to the use of youth of said city and county."  Executors were step-son, O. E. Dunlap and friend, George H. Cunningham. Witnessed Sept. 1, 1896 by G. C. Groce and J. N. Langsford.   Copyright © 2004-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:30:11 MDT