If I Were a Rich Man

The August 9, 1984 issue lists the richest folks in Edwards County again. I searched and searched and could not find the Dixon name in Dixon Precinct. Maybe this was because Joseph Dixon (Sr.) moved to Jacksonville, Illinois. Maybe Joe (Jr.) took his young family too? We know that Joseph (Sr.) had just visited “his old home”, leading me to believe that the house and farm were still there and most likely occupied by Joe Dixon (Jr.) and family. But the criterion for making the list is down to $275 and no Dixon’s are listed.

Then I found a Dixon in the area of West Salem, a town north of Albion. This matches the person who is very possibly John Dixon (Jr.), the brother of Joseph Dixon (Sr.). There is a saddle and harness shop in the area run by a J. Dixon. John Dixon (Jr.) was originally a millwright.  Who knows?

And sure enough the name just below J. Dixon is none other than J. R. Fisher... my grandmother Della’s dad! The Fisher’s outpace the Dixon’s by a whole $2!

If you have reviewed the census reports and a couple of other lists of “Most Wealthy Taxpayers” in this blog, you would see what appears to be a drastic reduction in wealth within the Dixon family from 1860 to the early 1890’s. Whether this was true cannot really be known with the limited information we have. Land holdings do not seem to change. We don’t really know who in the family may live in areas outside Edwards County. I do know the names of sons-in-laws who join the family and they almost always come from prominent (at least in terms of land holdings) families. We do know that Joe Dixon (Sr.), and later Joe Dixon (Jr.), both had large families.