Ethel Colvin Nichols was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, in 1913, and was the first person in her family to graduate from high school. She received her A.B. in Biology from Pembroke College in 1934, returning to earn an A.M. in English and Education in 1938. Nichold also received a Ph.D. from Rutgers University in English Education, Counseling, and Guidance. She held several teaching positions throughout her career, including a position at the American College for Girls at Istanbul in Turkey from 1940-45. Nichols was Dean of Freshmen and Director of Admissions at Middlebury College and taught at Roberts College, where she had returned to work at the archives at the time of the interview. She had one son with her husband Thomas.