Hi Deb,
It looks as if Nicholas was a bit of a character. Not only has he moved his family 500 odd miles from cornwall to Midlothian, but, according to the 1881 Census, his wife Ann states that he is in America.
I know he is in Scotland in 1901 from the census return and his subsequent demise in 1913 so how would I find out if he actually went to America (there are two possibilities on "Familysearch" of English miners) He had a child in Scotland in 1873 so I presume he would have sailed from a Scottish port sometime between 1873 & 1880.
Any advice?
Bry