By Staff
Dixon family settlers of Escambia County
By LYDIA GRIMES
For the next couple of weeks I am going to go into the John Dixon (or Dickson) family who came to Escambia County from Hancock County, Ga. It hasn't been too many weeks since I covered another Dixon family, that of Jeremiah Dixon. So far as I can tell there is not relationship between the two familes, but you never know.
The first known Dixon of this particular family came to this area from Hancock County, Ga. John Dixon (1789-1856) is thought to have been the son of Thomas Green Dickson (1722-bef. 1827) and his wife Pricilla. The reason for believing this to be so because Thomas Green Dickson left a will in Hancock County, naming his children and one of those children was a son named John. Also the fact that the same John Dixon who came to Escambia County came here from Hancock County would seem to verify this belief. It is always possible that he was not the son of Thomas Green Dickson and caution should be taken in stating so.
We are on safe ground with John Dixon who married Martha Peevy (1784-1876). They lived for some time in Hancock County, Ga. before moving to Alabama about 1828. Their first few children were born there. John and Martha Dixon were in Alabama by 1820 and were listed on the Alabama census for that year. They bought land in several places and settled on a parcel in Section 35, Township 1 North, Range 10 East and built a home where he lived the rest of his life. This was located in the general area of where Dixonville is now located.
John and Martha had at least 14 children born to them. They were: Claiborne H. Dixon Sr. (1810-1886) who married first Rebecca Taylor and second Rebecca Townsend, Abraham Dixon, Caroline Dixon (1812-1880) who married Joseph Jefferson Jernigan, Chappel Francis Dixon (1813), Lavinia Dixon (abt. 1816-bef.1860) who married David Smith, Francis Dixon, Green Dixon, Jincy (Virginia) Dixon who married a Mayo, Susan Dixon, William Dixon, Berryman Dixon (1823-1898) who married Nancy May, John Dixon II (1828-1892) who married Mary Ann Travis, Wade Hampton Dixon (abt. 1831) who married first Marthenia Mayo, second Mahulda Mayo and third, Marie Kenny and Eli Augustus Dixon (1831-1912) who married Mary Ann Lucretia Pringle.
As time passed the Dickson family changed the spelling of their name to Dixon almost without exception.
Claiborne H. Dixon Sr. is said to have had 24 children with his two wives. It has been told that he was an excellent marksman, who had an old-time flint and steel rifle, long barrel that never failed to bring down a deer. On one occasion when he was hunting, he saw a deer's head above a fallen tree top, shot it, but after the smoke cleared away it was still there. He reloaded the gun, took another shot at it, but it was still there. He then loaded his gun again and shot once more. This time the deer did not reappear. When Claiborne went to find the deer and see why he had missed twice, he found that he had three dead deer. Now that story seems a bit far fetched to me, but I guess it could be true. He and Rebecca Taylor (1802) were the parents of 11 children; Milliann Dixon (1828-1897) who married Pleasant Rufus Thompson, Martha Ann Dixon (1830) who married William Hill, Mary Augusta Dixon (1832), Lucinda Jane Dixon (1833), Melissa E. Dixon (1837) who married Francis M. Cobb, Cornelius H. Dixon (1838) who married Laura ???, Abram Dixon (1840), Robert Dixon (1841), Claiborne Dixon Jr. (1843), Washington Dixon (1845), and Hugh Dixon (1846) who married Susan B. Dakins.
Claiborne Dixon and Rebecca Townsend (1830-1916) were the parents of 13 children. They were James Dixon (1851) who married Susan Sheffield, William Alexander Dixon (1855-1903) who married Laura Louise Mayo, Mary Jane Dixon (1856-1930) who married John Pinckney Calhoun, Richard Wilson Dixon (1860), Alabama Dixon (1861) who married an Adkisson, Ann Rebecca Dixon (1862) who married a Hern, Sarah Dixon (1864), Patsy Dixon (1865-1946) who married Sylvester Peavy, Nettie Dixon (1867-1920) who married T.J. Barnes, Willoughby Dixon (1868-1933) who married Athenius Bowers, Claiborne Dixon Jr. (1870-1924) who married Martha Scott and Laura Dixon (1871) who married John Fuqua.
I will continue with this family next week.
Happy hunting!