| James Dixon |
James Dixon was born on 22 Mar 1828 in Ireland. It has been said that he left Ireland on his 21st birthday,
which would have been 1849.
He married Sarah Cochran in New York on 25 Dec 1854. They settled in Wright County, MN.
They had 7 children:
Mary Louisa, b. Feb 1856
John, b. Apr 1858
Thomas, b. 14 Mar 1860
Elizabeth, b. 20 Sep 1862
William James, b. May 1868
Robert, b. 12 Oct 1869
Andrew, b. 7 Nov 1874
He died on 31 Jan 1910 in Wright County, MN.
(the following is an excerpt from The History of Wright County)
James Dixon, of honored memory, was one of the real pioneers of the county. He and his good wife moved
into the county in the days of the savages and the wolves. They experienced hardship, privation and
exposure, but with undaunted courage they persevered and became leading people in the community. They
founded a large family and their descendants will ever hold dear their memory and honor their name. Mr.
Dixon has gone to his rest, but his wife is still living, hale and hearty and in the full possession of her
faculties. Her early experiences would make an interesting volume in themselves. James Dixon was born in
Ireland, a son of Andrew Dixon. At the age of fourteen he started out by himself and went to England. From
there he went to Scotland. When he was 20 he returned to Ireland. His 21st birthday saw him enroute for
America. After landing he went to Westchester County, New York. For some three months he was sick there,
after which he remained there and worked some five years, his employers being Jonathan Hatfield and
Joseph Stevens. He was married on Christmas Day, 1854, to Sarah Cochran, who was born in Armagh County,
Ireland, October 5, 1833, coming to the United States with her parents, Mary and Thomas Cochran, when she
was thirteen or fourteen years old. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Dixon lived awhile in New York state.
On April 8, 1855, they landed in St. Paul, having gone from New York overland to Galena, and thence upon the
Mississippi River. When they reached St. Paul, Mr. Dixon had $1.00 and Mrs. Dixon had $5.00. For a time Mr.
Dixon worked in that city. Then leaving his wife there he came to Frankfort Township and took a claim in
section 32. He built a crude cabin with no floor but the trampled earth, and in the fall of 1856 his wife joined
him. Thus they started life in the wilderness. Their claim of 160 acres lay midway between Lake Charlotte and
Lake Martha, as wild a tract as could be imagined. The timbers were full of wolves and other wild animals, and
often when her husband was away, Mrs. Dixon heard them howling near the cabin. She still remembers the
nights when she lay in her cabin, looking up at the stars which shone through the holes in the roof while the
wild sounds of the forest came to her ears. It was four years before they succeeded in getting a cow. At one
time Mrs. Dixon was so anxious to get some buttermilk that she knit a pair of stockings for Thomas Steele in
return for a pail of buttermilk. The Dixons were friendly to the Indians, and the Indians treated them with
respect. Often the wandering braves stopped at the cabin for food, and in appreciation thereof they
sometimes left there a side of wild meat or a valuable fur skin. White travelers also received there a warm
welcome, and the place became noted for its hospitality. In after years, following the customs they
established in early times, the Dixons entertained many summer guests, and their place finally developed into
something of a summer resort. During the days of the ginseng diggers, Mrs. Dixon earned money digging the
valuable roots. Often, with the roots selling at 5 cents a pound, Mrs. Dixon earned 20 shillings a day. But the
years passed swiftly, the country was settled up, the land was prepared for crops, and the family prospered.
Instead of planting corn and potatoes in the virgin sod with a "grub" hoe, they had modern implements and
machinery. A comfortable house and sightly barns took the place of the original log cabin, and their holdings
were increased to 360 acres. It is interesting to note that Mr. Dixon was the youngest of seven sons. He had
but one sister. He was born March 22, 1830 and died January 31, 1910. He and his good wife had 11 children:
John, Thomas, William, Andrew, Elizabeth, Robert and Mary Louisa. Four children died in infancy.
***Notes from FTM, WORLD FAMILY TREE, Vol 38, Tree 682, Kristin Heins:
James Dixon herded sheep for Abram M. Fridley, the man whom the City of Fridley Minnesota was named after.
Born in Ireland in 1828, James Dixon emigrated to America in 1848, and homesteaded on Charlotte Lake,
Frankfort, Wright County, Minnesota in 1854. In February, 1910, in order to save a delivery charge of $.25, he
carried a breaking plow on his back from Minneapolis to Charlotte Lake. This action ultimately caused his
death.
which would have been 1849.
He married Sarah Cochran in New York on 25 Dec 1854. They settled in Wright County, MN.
They had 7 children:
Mary Louisa, b. Feb 1856
John, b. Apr 1858
Thomas, b. 14 Mar 1860
Elizabeth, b. 20 Sep 1862
William James, b. May 1868
Robert, b. 12 Oct 1869
Andrew, b. 7 Nov 1874
He died on 31 Jan 1910 in Wright County, MN.
(the following is an excerpt from The History of Wright County)
James Dixon, of honored memory, was one of the real pioneers of the county. He and his good wife moved
into the county in the days of the savages and the wolves. They experienced hardship, privation and
exposure, but with undaunted courage they persevered and became leading people in the community. They
founded a large family and their descendants will ever hold dear their memory and honor their name. Mr.
Dixon has gone to his rest, but his wife is still living, hale and hearty and in the full possession of her
faculties. Her early experiences would make an interesting volume in themselves. James Dixon was born in
Ireland, a son of Andrew Dixon. At the age of fourteen he started out by himself and went to England. From
there he went to Scotland. When he was 20 he returned to Ireland. His 21st birthday saw him enroute for
America. After landing he went to Westchester County, New York. For some three months he was sick there,
after which he remained there and worked some five years, his employers being Jonathan Hatfield and
Joseph Stevens. He was married on Christmas Day, 1854, to Sarah Cochran, who was born in Armagh County,
Ireland, October 5, 1833, coming to the United States with her parents, Mary and Thomas Cochran, when she
was thirteen or fourteen years old. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Dixon lived awhile in New York state.
On April 8, 1855, they landed in St. Paul, having gone from New York overland to Galena, and thence upon the
Mississippi River. When they reached St. Paul, Mr. Dixon had $1.00 and Mrs. Dixon had $5.00. For a time Mr.
Dixon worked in that city. Then leaving his wife there he came to Frankfort Township and took a claim in
section 32. He built a crude cabin with no floor but the trampled earth, and in the fall of 1856 his wife joined
him. Thus they started life in the wilderness. Their claim of 160 acres lay midway between Lake Charlotte and
Lake Martha, as wild a tract as could be imagined. The timbers were full of wolves and other wild animals, and
often when her husband was away, Mrs. Dixon heard them howling near the cabin. She still remembers the
nights when she lay in her cabin, looking up at the stars which shone through the holes in the roof while the
wild sounds of the forest came to her ears. It was four years before they succeeded in getting a cow. At one
time Mrs. Dixon was so anxious to get some buttermilk that she knit a pair of stockings for Thomas Steele in
return for a pail of buttermilk. The Dixons were friendly to the Indians, and the Indians treated them with
respect. Often the wandering braves stopped at the cabin for food, and in appreciation thereof they
sometimes left there a side of wild meat or a valuable fur skin. White travelers also received there a warm
welcome, and the place became noted for its hospitality. In after years, following the customs they
established in early times, the Dixons entertained many summer guests, and their place finally developed into
something of a summer resort. During the days of the ginseng diggers, Mrs. Dixon earned money digging the
valuable roots. Often, with the roots selling at 5 cents a pound, Mrs. Dixon earned 20 shillings a day. But the
years passed swiftly, the country was settled up, the land was prepared for crops, and the family prospered.
Instead of planting corn and potatoes in the virgin sod with a "grub" hoe, they had modern implements and
machinery. A comfortable house and sightly barns took the place of the original log cabin, and their holdings
were increased to 360 acres. It is interesting to note that Mr. Dixon was the youngest of seven sons. He had
but one sister. He was born March 22, 1830 and died January 31, 1910. He and his good wife had 11 children:
John, Thomas, William, Andrew, Elizabeth, Robert and Mary Louisa. Four children died in infancy.
***Notes from FTM, WORLD FAMILY TREE, Vol 38, Tree 682, Kristin Heins:
James Dixon herded sheep for Abram M. Fridley, the man whom the City of Fridley Minnesota was named after.
Born in Ireland in 1828, James Dixon emigrated to America in 1848, and homesteaded on Charlotte Lake,
Frankfort, Wright County, Minnesota in 1854. In February, 1910, in order to save a delivery charge of $.25, he
carried a breaking plow on his back from Minneapolis to Charlotte Lake. This action ultimately caused his
death.
