Elisha Dixon

As printed in 1874

Elisha Dixon was born June 14, 1809, near Romney, Hampshire County, Virginia, not far from the battle-ground of Winchester, where General Shields whipped Stonewall Jackson. There are in that country many stone fences, and it was behind one of these that Jackson's army took refuge after its unsuccessful attack on that of Shields; but the army of Shields followed up its advantage, and the troops of Jackson were flanked and driven from behind the stone wall and completely routed. Elisha Dixon's father was John Dixon, and his mother's maiden name was Drusilla Harvey. His father was of English, Irish and Scotch stock, and his mother was of German descent. He was a relative of Jeremiah Dixon, who with Mason made the survey known as Mason and Dixon's line. John Dixon was a farmer and stock-raiser, was very honest and much respected. In 1815 the Dixon family came to Ohio, and settled on the Stillwater River in Harrison County, near the town of Freeport. Here they saw many of the privations of frontier life. They were obliged to go fifty miles distant to buy frost-bitten corn, for which they had the privilege of paying seventy-five cents per bushel. About one-fourth of all the corn raised in that section of country was eaten up by squirrels. The instruction given in the schools was little enough, and only extended to reading and writing. In 1828, Elisha Dixon came to Dry Grove, in that part of Tazewell County, Illinois, which now forms the county of McLean. Here he lived two years, with only one room to his little cabin. He visited Peoria, when it had only four houses. It had a store kept by a man named Bogardus, and very little else was to be seen. A part of the pickets were still standing around Fort Clark. Mackinawtown was simply brush and woods; it had the name of a town, but the town was not there.

During the fall before the deep snow, Mr. Dixon's stacks were burned to the ground, and he was obliged to winter his stock on bran and boiled turnips. One of his pigs was caught under a drift of snow and lived six weeks without anything to eat. Mrs. Dixon also tells of a turkey that was under the snow during this winter and survived.

During the Black Hawk war, Mr. Dixon enlisted in Captain McClure's company, and was mustered into service at Pekin, in Tazewell County. They went on to Dixon's Ferry, and after the fight of Stillman's Run went upon the ground and buried the dead. On their return to Dixon's Ferry four companies under Colonel Johnson were sent to Ottawa for the defence of that place. Captain McClure's company was then sent up to Indian Creek to bury the three families that had been murdered by the Indians there. After the burial of the bodies, they-ent back to Ottawa, and shortly afterwards were honorably discharged and returned home.

After Mr. Dixon's return he went to farming on the place now owned by Charles Johnson, at White Oak Grove. He worked hard and succeeded in keeping the fire out of the grove, and now a fine growth of timber has come up, equal perhaps to any in McLean County.

Mr. Dixon has taken great interest in schools, has done everything to help them along. In 1845 he was elected school treasurer, and kept the office fourteen years. He used to draw money from John Price, who was school commissioner for the whole county. Mr. Dixon took the best of care of the school money, but it sometimes made him feel very uneasy, as two attempt were made to rob him. The care and anxiety after a while seemed to him greater than the honor, and he refused to hold the office longer.

In June, 1872, Mr. Dixon was summoned on the grand jury of the United States District Court at Springfield. There he had a varied experience. He came across men who could talk. He first came in contact with a spiritualist, who was quite handy with his tongue. Mr. Dixon does not usually allow any one to get the start of him in talk, and when the spiritualist claimed to have seen signs and wonders, and to have looked on the face of the Almighty, Mr. Dixon called the gentleman's attention to the fact, that when Moses went up the mountain and looked on the face of the Almighty, and returned to the children of Israel, his brother Aaron could not look on his face on account of its brightness; but the most careful scrutiny would fail to discover any such brilliancy on the face of the spiritualist, (except that peculiar brightness which comes from spirits of the " other kind.")

m'lean county. 837

While the grand jurymen were at Springfield, they had only seven cases before them; but Mr. Dixon says they were receiving three dollars per day, and wished to prolong their sitting by continually adjourning, in order to continue drawing pay. Mr, Dixon was excused at his own request and came home.

Mr. Dixon married in December, 1828, Mary Brown, of Dry Grove, who came from Overton County, Tennessee. He raised a family of five children, but only two of these are living. They are:

William Dixon, who lives at Minier, in Tazewell County.

John F. Dixon teaches school in the neighborhood of Pontiac.

Elisha Dixon is six feet and two inches in height, is heavily built, has a large and well-shaped head, covered with hair thick and white, has a pleasant smile, is kind to every one, and takes pleasure in talking to whoever calls on him. He has done fairly in life, and is disposed to be generous. Mr. Dixon can talk when he gets himself started. He can embellish matters and make them shine by the power of his imagination. WTien people talk to him, he can see the sharp corners and the inconsistencies of their conversation, and woe to the incautious man who makes wild statements in his presence. He takes a great interest in the events of other days and the doings of the early settlers. In religion he wishes it clearly understood that he is a degree man, and that he thinks the planetary world is a type of the spiritual world. He thinks that men will be different in intellect in the world to come, and that no one will be kept back in order that another may catch up with him in intellectual or moral development.

Smith Denman.

As printed in The good old times in McLean County, Illinois / containing two hundred and sixty-one sketches of old settlers, a complete historical sketch of the Black Hawk War and ... all matters of interest relate (1874). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.