More Leeds History

Some of this information isn't new, but is presented in a nice format.

First, the Leeds city website has some interesting history of the period from 1790 to 1840. Remember that John Dixon was born at the turn of the century and that Joseph Dixon, Sr. was born in Leeds before they came to America. During the surge of the population, I'm not sure whether life got better for most residents of Leeds or not.

John Dixon, being a "cloth dresser" was one of the craftsmen/cloth workers who made up the middle class which emerged at this time. Not the upper middle class that was more exclusive.

The second find was mention of a book by a painter named George Walker. He published a book of paintings he did called Costume of Yorkshire, which included pictures of various tradesmen of the time. I am now on the search for a copy of this book. Here's a link to a poster for sale on the web.

The third item is a short historical article about Leeds on an educational site in the U.K. It centers on the growth of two industries... the wool industry and the railroads.

When John Dixon and family got to Albion, railroads were on the ascendancy there also. One of the major players there was the lawyer for one of the largest railroads in Illinois and the midwest... Abraham Lincoln.