Armistead S. Nickens (ca. 1836-1906)

Armistead Nickens was born into a long-standing family of free people of color that included at least 12 veterans of the Revolutionary War. In 1867 the local agent of the Freedmen’s Bureau identified him as a strong potential candidate for public office. After attending Virginia’s Republican State Convention in Sept. 1871, Nickens won election to the House of Delegates that year and served two terms, becoming Lancaster County’s first Black elected official. He is credited with establishing one of the first schools for African Americans in the county and with helping to build Calvary Baptist Church in Kilmarnock, where he was a deacon. Nickens owned more than 150 acres of land by 1906.