US Congressman, Entrepreneur. He was a United States Representative from Wyoming Territory. He was born one of ten children as Stephen Friel Nuckolls to Ezra Nuckolls (1798-1857), and his wife Lucinda Hale Nuckolls (1807-1857), in Grayson County, Virginia, on August 16, 1825. He was educated locally and completed preparatory studies before moving to Linden, Missouri, in 1846. He then engaged in mercantile pursuits from 1847 to 1853, and then moved and settled in the Territory of Nebraska in 1854, and co-founded the city of Nebraska City, Nebraska, shortly thereafter. He then settled in Nebraska City, Nebraska, where he took an interest in politics. He then held several local political offices in Nebraska City, Nebraska. He also pursued business pursuits and established the Platte Valley Bank, built the first red brick house at Fifth and Main Streets, and established a sawmill in the area of Nebraska City, Nebraska, during which time he continued with his political aspirations. He served as a Member of the Nebraska Territorial Legislation in 1859. He then moved to the Territory of Colorado and engaged in banking and mining pursuits in 1860, and also lived in New York City, New York, for a time in 1864. He then settled in the Territory of Dakota in Cheyenne (later Cheyenne, Wyoming, when Wyoming became a state in 1890), where he pursued mercantile pursuits. He then decided to run for a seat in the United States Congress upon the organization of the Territory of Wyoming and was elected to represent the Forty-First Congress in 1869. A Member of the Democratic Party, he then served as an At-Large Delegate to the United States Congress representing the Forty-First Congress from Wyoming Territory in the United States House of Representatives from December 6, 1869 to March 3, 1871. He was an unsuccessful Candidate for reelection to represent the Forty-Second Congress in 1870. Following his term in the United States Congress, he was succeeded in office by the incoming United States Representative William Theophilus Jones (1842-1882), on March 4, 1871. After leaving the United States Congress, he retired from the United States House of Representatives, but he continued with his other political endeavors. He also served as a Member and Presiding Officer of the Wyoming Territorial Council in 1871, and as a Delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1872 and 1876. During this time he moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and engaged in mining pursuits in 1872. He continued with his political pursuits and business pursuits until his unexpected death on February 14, 1879, at the age of 53. He passed away following a long illness of three weeks at the family residence in Salt Lake City, Utah, on February 14, 1879, at the age of 53. Following his death, his funeral services were held at the family residence in Salt Lake City, Utah, and by the Utah Commandery N. 1. K.T., with the usual honors, and he was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was married to Lucinda Bourne "Lucy" Nuckolls (1827-1877), in Grayson, Virginia, on October 7, 1847, and the couple would have seven children together including, William Bourne "Bruce" Nuckolls (1848-1912), Virginia Ann Nuckolls (1850-1852), Alice Nuckolls (1852-1854), Paul Nuckolls (1853-1895), Richmond Nuckolls (1855-1857), Peter Nuckolls (1863-1895), and Rupert Boyd Nuckolls (1865-1947). His wife Lucinda predeceased him passing away at the family residence from general debility in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 17, 1877, at the age of 50, and she is also buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Salt Lake City, Utah. During his lifetime, he was also a member of several prominent organizations and clubs including the Masons, the Mount Olivet Commandery, and the Nebraska City, Nebraska, Knights Templar. The area of Nuckolls County, Nebraska, was also named in his honor. On an interesting note, he was known for bringing the first four slaves into the State of Nebraska, two of whom escaped in 1858. He offered a $200 reward for the return of the two women, who were known as Eliza Grayson and "Celia," 14, and organized a posse that pursued the two all the way to Chicago, Illinois. The slave known as Eliza Grayson was initially reported to be 16, but records show she was actually 20. United States Congressman Nuckolls and a professional kidnapper found Eliza Grayson in Chicago, Illinois, two years after her escape. However, United States Congressman Nuckolls and Eliza Grayson were arrested by Chicago, Illinois, law enforcement and put into a local jail. There, an abolitionist mob broke Eliza Grayson from the jail and secured her safe travel to Canada, where she disappeared. United States Congressman Nuckolls also escaped, only to be hunted down by a mob of abolitionists. The Chicago City Councilman Hiram Joy gave him a disguise and helped him leave the city when he went back to the State of Nebraska. The 500-mile journey of the two young women from Nebraska City, Nebraska, to Chicago, Illinois, was recreated by a group of high school students in 2016.