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James Dixon |
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Terry Magyar - Apr 07,2014
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From ''History of Wheeling City and Ohio County, West Virginia and
Representative Citizens,'' by Hon. Gibson Lamb Cranmer, 1902.
pp. 544-546
JAMES DIXON, a farmer and stock breeder of Ohio county, West Virginia, whose reputation extends throughout the state, was born in 1835 on the farm settled by his grandfather, John Dixon, at the head of Dixon's Run, in Ohio county. He is a son of James Dixon, Sr., and grandson of John Dixon.
John Dixon, who it is thought was of noble birth, for he always wore a wig and knockerbockers, immigrated to this country about the year 1770 from Ireland. He was a well educated man and possessed of considerable wealth for that period. He located 400 acres of land in Ohio county on the run which has since borne his name. He was a strict John Knox Presbyterian. It is claimed that he served in the Revolutionary War.
James Dixon, Sr., father of our subject, was born on the farm in Ohio county in 1794, and died in 1849. He came into possession of the farm, and in addition to farming he engaged in stock buying with Richard Hardesty, who was owner at that time of what is known as the McColloch Ridge. The stock bought in the Ohio Valley they would drive across the Allegheny Mountains, to the only market there was at that time; as he continued in the stock business all his life he drove many thousand cattle over the mountains to the Eastern market. As a judge of the weight of stock, he was unexcelled.
In 1811 he assisted in building the road from Vincennes, Indiana, up the Wabash River, when General William Henry Harrison went up the river and whipped Tecumsah's brother, the Prophet, at the memorable field of Tippecanoe. After this, Mr. Dixon was drafted into the army, and served in the War of 1812. He married Sarah Shaw, who lived to reach the ripe old age of ninety-two years. They had five sons: James, the subject of this sketch; John and William who died on the Illinois River; Wyley, who died in Ohio county, when in young manhood; and Jackson, who fought in the Civil War, becoming a member of the 47th Regiment, Ill. Inf., under Colonel Bryant, and serving until he became disabled by exposure and wound, when he returned to his home, and died near the Illinois River. He was considered one of the strongest men in the regiment.
James Dixon, our subject, passed his early life on the farm, and received a fair education in the public schools. When a boy, he went west, where he remained eight years; for one year of this period, he was engaged on what was known as the ''Underground Railroad,'' over which fleeing slaves from the South were shipped to safety in Canada. He visited all the states in the West, and went to Kansas Territory, when Kansas City was a village. When the slavery question brought the Northern and Southern sympathizers into conflict, the Yankee jayhawkers and the border ruffians made things very interesting for him, boy as he was. When a supposed thief or murderer was caught, he was hung with little ceremony to the limb of the first tree at hand, for they had no jails or other places of confinement for criminals. Many an interesting reminiscence of this stirring period does he tell, to the delight of his friends.
Returning to Ohio county, Mr. Dixon settled among the hills on the farm, owned by William Cochran in the early days, who was killed by the Indians, and was buried just across the north line of the farm on the farm that is now owned by S. S. Jacob, Esq.
In 1862, Mr. Dixon married Florence E. Martin, daughter of Richard Martin, whose father came to this country from Ireland. The following children were born to them: Lawrence R., a graduate of the West Liberty State Normal School in 1884, who taught school for a time, and now owns and operates a fruit farm; R. L., a farmer and stock raiser, who owns a farm near West Liberty; James who graduated from the West Liberty State Normal School in 1893, then attended the Eclectic Medical College, of Cincinnati, Ohio, after which he attended a veterinary college in Toronto, Canada, from which he graduated with high honors - he is now practicing at Greeley, Iowa; and William W., who is at home with his parents, and shows a decided genius for mechanical work.
Mr. Dixon is independent in politics. For a number of years he was a commissioned officer in the Virginia militia, under Col. T. Y. Hervey. He takes a great interest in county and state fairs, farmers' institutes, and is a member of the Panhandle Farmers' Insurance Company, which has proved a great success. He is a lover of good stock, particularly horses, ans tries to raise the best he can, with the means at his command.
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