Gladys Pearce, the daughter of Charles and Winnieford Nicholls Pearce, was born in Bismarck, Dakota Territory, on April 2, 1873. She graduated from Bismarck
High School and attended Valley City State College. She was employed by the
State Health Department in the Bureau of Vital Statistics. She died June 12, 1966 in Bismarck and was buried, at Fairview Cemetary. She had been a member of the First Presbyterian Church and the Bismarck Art Association.

The manuscript, Claimed by the Prairies, by Miss Pearce, is a history of the life of her grandmother, Winnieford Winston Nicholls, a Bismarck Pioneer. Winnieford
Winston was born March 7, 1830, in Merthyl, Tudfil, Wales, England to Sam and
Jennie Winston. In 1834 they immigrated to America settling in Courtland, New
York. In 1846, Winnie graduated from Courtland College and soon thereafter,
the family moved to Rocine, Wisconsin. There in 1850 Winnie married John Nicholls.  They had six children, Sam, John (Pet), Janet, Mary, Winnie, and Nellie.

In 1856 the Nicholls moved to Cherry Grove, Minnesota, where they ran a prosperous farm till the 1867 drought. John and his friend Nels left to work on building the Union Pacific Railroad and were gone three years. When he returned, he had decided on a move west. In 1873 the family left by covered wagon arriving August 3, 1873 in Bismarck, then Edwinton. They had a successful dairy business with the adventurous John frequently absent. Later they established a homestead in Hay Creek Township. In November 1895 John Nicholls died and was buried in Bismarck.  On July 13, 1914, at age 84, the long eventful life of Winnie Nicholls ended and she was buried beside her husband.
 

Gladys Pearce Papers  |  Frontier and Pioneer Life  Women