Like his older brother Raymond, Henry “Harry” Nias was an Englishman
(actually he was born in Wales circa 1834) who would have no recollection of
England or his father. Though he came to
America as a toddler in 1836, he considered himself an Englishman. Harry
Nias was well-educated at his mother’s school in Providence, Rhode Island but
lost interest at an early age, instead drawn to the sea. One must wonder if the stories (which were
untrue) his mother Georgiana told others about her separated husband’s naval
career were also told to Raymond and Harry.
Boston and Providence Railroad Freight Depot
By 1850, Harry Nias was a “mariner” and was probably working on ships
as a cabin boy. On 22 May 1852, “Henry
Nias” received a Seaman’s Protection Certificate at New York City (have not
seen the full record). This certificate
served as a form of identification for sailors.
Nias reported that he was 18 years old and born in Providence, Rhode
Island (not Wales as he would not have qualified for this US certificate if
foreign born). In 1854 and 1855, Harry
was working as a laborer at the Boston and Providence Railroad Freight Depot on
Canal Street in Providence, Rhode Island (Providence Rhode Island 1854-5
Directory, page 22). Though his work
history and whereabouts were unknown between 1855 and 1861, he left Providence
as some point and landed in Texas by 1861.
“Henry Nias” enlisted in 1861 as a private in Company A of the Texas
5th Cavalry Regiment of the Confederate States of America. This regiment was also known as the 5th Texas
Mounted Rifles or the 5th Mounted Volunteers (Index to Compiled Confederate
Military records & US Civil War Soldiers 1861-1865 Film M227 roll 27). In the same year on 23 December 1861, Harry
Nias received $75 compensation for one mule from Major J. F. Minter,
quartermaster for the CSA for conscription of one mule in San Antonio, Texas
(CSA Record of conscription 1861 in San Antonio, TX, footnote.com). Later, “Harry Nias” was found on “A list of
persons exempted from conscription by claiming to be aliens in Harris County,
up to August 31st 1863” (from The Tri-Weekly Telegraph in Houston TX,
volume 29, Number 76, Edition 1 Monday Sept 14 1863). Harry Nias appears to have volunteered in
1861 and by 1863, he had seen enough and was uninterested in being conscripted
back into the army.
General Henry Sibley (top) and the 1861-1862 New Mexico Campaign
(bottom)
The history of the 5th Texas Mounted Volunteer Regiment may explain his
connection to Louisiana and his future wife, Louisa Jones. The regiment was recruited between August and
October 1861 and departed for the west that October under the direction of
General Henry Sibley. Since Harry Nias contributed a mule to the Confederate
cause in December 1861, it was possible that he was not involved in the
campaign (known as the New Mexico Campaign) in which nearly half of the 835-troop
regiment were wounded, killed, sick, or taken prisoner during marching and
battles losses. However, Confederate
records report his enlistment year as 1861 for Company A and the regiment was
recruited only in 1861 prior to the New Mexico Campaign (they left in 1861 and
returned 1862). It is possible that the
mule was conscripted from someone in the name of Harry Nias. By late spring 1862 the 5th Texas Mounted
Volunteers had limped home to their headquarters in San Antonio. The regiment rested and re-equipped
themselves for a future campaign. It was
most possible that Harry Nias remained in or joined the regiment during the
summer or fall of 1862 (he was in San Antonio in December 1861). According to his enlistment record, he joined
in 1861 at the age of 26, which extrapolates to a birth date between 1834 and
1835. His enlistment also was with
General Sibley, whose tenure as commander of the 5th Texas ended after the 1861
campaign in the west.
In December 1862, the 5th Texas left San Antonio for the Texas Gulf
Coast. The Confederate army in Houston,
Texas refitted two steamboats into gunboats, lined for protection by cotton
bales. On 1 January 1863, the 5th Texas regiment
was involved in the Battle of Galveston, led by Confederate General John B.
Magruder. A number of the 5th Texas
soldiers were on the steamboats, nicknamed “cottonclads,” that steamed
downriver as a part of the surprise attack on the Union stronghold. The battle was a success and the Union army
was forced to retreat. Shortly after, the
5th Texas was transferred to the Bayou Teche area in southern Louisiana to
block a Union army (led by General Nathaniel P. Banks) marching west to retake
Galveston.
The 5th Texas fought bravely and successfully in south Louisiana battles
at Fort Brisland (April 12-13), Brashear City (June 23), Donaldsonville (June
28), and Fordoche (September 29). They returned
to Texas by early 1864, regrouped, and marched back to Louisiana as
reinforcements for the Confederate Army led by General Richard Taylor. They were heavily engaged in all battles
during this campaign, especially those at Mansfield (April 8), and Pleasant
Hill (April 9). A third campaign to New
Orleans occurred in 1865 where they marched up the Mississippi River to
Arkansas before being spontaneously disbanded following the full surrender of
the Confederate Army in June 1865.
Henry “Harry” Nias appeared in records of several locations
It seems very likely that Harry Nias came into contact with Louisa
Jones in Cameron Parish, Louisiana during one of these campaigns. The Confederate army would have passed
through the Cameron Parish area heading east and west along the Louisiana
coast. Of course this is just a guess as
it is possible that he visited the area after the war, came into contact with
Cameron Parish while employed as a sailor, or connected with Louisa Jones in
Galveston (which is in close proximity to Cameron, Parish, Louisiana). In one way or another, Harry Nias met and
then married Louisa Jones between 1864 and 1865 (they had a child on 19 January
1866) at Galveston, Texas (Louisa Rogers Application for Widow’s Pension 1897).
On 19 January 1866 in Cameron Parish Louisiana (from assorted records),
Louisa Jones Nias gave birth to a daughter who would be named Georgiana. There is no birth certificate nor is there
any direct proof that she was the daughter of Harry Nias. However, there is quite a bit if substantial
evidence that points to Henry “Harry” Nias as the father. First, Louisa Jones stated that she and Harry
Nias were married prior to 1867 (Louisa Rogers Application for Widow’s Pension
1897). Second, Louisa’s daughter was
later called Georgiana Rogers though it was known that she was not born a
Rogers. Third, Henry’s brother Raymond
Nias named his first daughter Georgiana Nias after his mother. Fourth, Louisa Jones Nias named her daughter
Georgiana, the exact name of Henry Nias’s mother, Georgiana Nias. For me, this constitutes irrefutable
evidence. Georgiana Rogers’ birth name
was Georgiana Nias and she was the daughter of Henry “Harry” Nias and Louisa
Jones.
Harry Nias was working as a sailor in the Gulf of Mexico, probably
based out of Cameron, Louisiana, a port at the mouth of the Calcasieu
River. Louisa reports that she and her
husband lived happily together (Louisa Rogers Application for Widow’s Pension
1897). In April 1867, Harry Nias left
Cameron on a sailing trip and in June, he was at port in Corpus Christi, Nueces
County, Texas. After leaving port there
in June, his boat reportedly capsized and Harry Nias was said to have drowned
along with one or two other sailors on the boat. Also, it was reported that all hands were
lost in the accident (probably a small sailing boat). This information was transmitted to Louisa
Jones Nias by another sailor named John Holmes.
Harry Nias’ body was never found. According to the dates, Nias died when his
daughter Georgiana was not yet one year old.
Louisa Jones Nias later married Milford Rogers on 1870 in Galveston,
Texas and became Louisa Rogers. Her
daughter Georgiana Nias adopted the name of Rogers (unknown if there was an
official adoption) and so became Georgiana Rogers.
Georgiana Nias Rogers Kelley tombstone in Cameron Parish, Louisiana
The story of Henry “Harry” Nias would seem to end but actually, it does
not. In 1872, a baby girl was born
somewhere near or on the coast of Texas.
Her name was…Georgia Nias. Georgia’s
mother was Paralee Lela Coin (married name Paralee “Lelia” Nias), and her
father was Harry Nias. The Coin family
claim Nias and Lee were married about 1870 in Texas. Lelia Coin was born 11 August 1849 in
Missouri. She had several older brothers
and sisters who migrated to Texas, though her parents remained in
Missouri. In 1873, relatives of this
family claim Harry Nias was dead. There
is no information and no source, the family simply state in records that he
died in 1873. Georgia Nias’ mother Lelia
Coin Nias remarried in 1876 to John B. Dunn at Corpus Christi, Texas. They maintained a home there for several
decades. Georgia Nias (often known as
Georgia Nias Dunn) died single on 10 November 1899 in Corpus Christi, Texas and
was buried in that place at the Holy Cross Cemetery.
Georgiana “Georgia” Nias tombstone in Nueces County, Texas
Let’s review…the following
represents what we know about Henry Nias in the southwest:
23 Dec 1861 – At San Antonio, Texas
31 Aug 1863 – At San Antonio, Texas
Circa 1865 – Married Louisa Jones in
Galveston, Texas
19 Jan 1866 – Birth of Georgiana Nias in
Cameron Parish, Louisiana
June 1867 – Faked death in Corpus Christi,
Texas
Circa 1870 – Married Paralee Coin in Texas
Circa 1872 – Birth Georgia (Georgiana) Nias
in Texas
Circa 1873 – Reportedly dead in Texas
So, Henry Nias faked his death in
1867 and set up shop on the coast of Texas.
The evidence chiefly revolves around the name Georgiana. Raymond Nias named his first daughter after
his mother Georgiana. Then Henry Nias
named his first daughter after his mother Georgiana. And astoundingly, he named his second
daughter Georgiana as well (certainly Georgiana was shortened to Georgia in
this case).
We can only wonder whether Henry
“Harry” Nias faked his death once again in 1873 and moved on, as seemed to be
his norm. Potential related records for
Henry or Harry Nias have not been located after 1873. If he did fake his death, then he learned
from past attempts. Could he have gone
to Mexico or another country? Did he
return to England to his mother? Maybe
he chose to change his name for the next round?
His occupation as a sailor made it easy to disappear. Access to a boat in the sea put any
destination within his wheelhouse. We
may not ever know what happened to Henry Nias but if history was any
indication, there is no telling what adventures befell him. He was only 38 in 1873 so he had the
potential for many more exploits.
A Henry Nias died January 1896 in
Middlesex, England (he was born circa 1835)...maybe he decided to return to England to escape his ghosts?
