Schomburg Center honors history of FDNY's first black firefighter

SPECIAL TO: NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Saturday, September 26, 2015, 11:01 PM

The Ledger for Brooklyn Engine #6 Company features information about William H. Nicholson, the first black firefighter hired by the FDNY

For most of my life, I knew nothing about my father's side of the family beyond my last name — until 2006, when a doctor urged me to research my medical history.

My father and my grandfather were easily found in the 1900 census, having lived in Brooklyn. But it was the information about my great-grandfather that most caught my eye.

"William H. Nicholson," the report read. And under profession, it read, "Fireman."

"A black fireman in 1900 in New York City?" I thought. That couldn't be right.

But a few years later, my brother found an article about some black firefighters, the Vulcans, filing a discrimination lawsuit against the FDNY.

The Ledger for the Brooklyn Engine #6 Company features information about William H. Nicholson at the Schomburg Center in Harlem.

Vivian Nicholson-Mueller, is the great-granddaughter of William H. Nicholson, the first black firefighter hired by the FDNY.

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It mentioned the FDNY's first black firefighter, William Nicholson. "Could we be related to him?" my brother asked. "I think he was our great-grandfather," I whooped.

Soon I found myself at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, where I was told there were some artifacts from the city's first black firefighters.

I found a firehouse daily log from Engine 6 in Brooklyn. It was dated 1898. My great-grandfather's name appeared often. Every day, he showed up at the firehouse in uniform - and the officer on duty sent him to the veterinary unit to tend to horses.

"He was ignored in life and would have been forgotten in death - if not for the Schomburg Center, which preserved this information for me to celebrate decades later," said Nicholson-Mueller

The officers decided that since he had a "natural ability" with horses, he was better off there - anything to keep him from working with them in the firehouse.

He died in January 1912, at age 42, due to heart problems. There is no mention of him in the 1912 FDNY memorial brochure.

He was ignored in life and would have been forgotten in death - if not for the Schomburg Center, which preserved this information for me to celebrate decades later.

It gives my family great happiness to know that because a record of his professional life and his brave struggle exists in the Schomburg Center, he is forgotten no more.

Vivian Nicholson-Mueller is the great-granddaughter of William H. Nicholson. She lives in Harlem.