Nicholas Mills Sr. was a prominent businessman in Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

. He built a 13 mile tramway known as the Chesterfield Railroad Company

Chesterfield Railroad

The Chesterfield Railroad was located in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was a 13-mile long mule-and-gravity powered line that connected the Midlothian coal mines with wharves that were located at the head of navigation on the James River just below the fall line at Manchester...

 to connect the coal pits of Chesterfield County

Chesterfield County, Virginia

Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 316,236. Chesterfield County is now the fourth-largest municipality in Virginia . Its county seat is Chesterfield...

 to the James River

James River (Virginia)

The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...

. He was at one time the owner of the Chesterfield Coal Pits and president of the Tredegar Iron Works

Tredegar Iron Works

The Tredegar Iron Works was a historic iron foundry in Richmond, Virginia, United States of America, opened in 1837. During the American Civil War, the works served as the primary iron and artillery production facility of the Confederate States of America...

. When he died in 1862 he is reported to have had $800,000 in gold.

He was married to Sarah Payne Ronald (1788–1857) for 51 years. She was the daughter of attorney Andrew Ronald and first cousin of Dolley Madison

Dolley Madison

Dolley Payne Todd Madison was the spouse of the fourth President of the United States, James Madison, and was First Lady of the United States from 1809 to 1817...

.

A staunch Unionist

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

, over his house flew the last Union flag

Flag of the United States

The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...

in Richmond, April 1861.

His gravestone in Shockoe Hill Cemetery in Richmond reads thus "Paterfamilias - Nicholas Mills - Born in Hanover County Nov. 23rd 1781 - Died in the City of Richmond Sept. 13th 1862. Surrounded by a large family of children, grandchildren and faithful servants who would say much and yet lack words to express their irreplaceable loss. A sincere friend and neighbor and most useful citizen. The righteous man is taken from before the face of evil. God's will be done."