James Franklin Dixon is the second oldest of John Dixon Sr and Anne Dixon’s children. He was born near Leeds in July of 1823 and baptized at St. Peter’s parish church on 15 September 1823. He also presumably immigrated to America with his parents and older sister Hannah around 1840 when he was about 17 years old. His younger brothers came later in the company of an older cousin.
His history is a little sketchy, but much is known. He appears to live in Vigo County, Indiana in 1850 with another family, perhaps the family of his boss, and has a wife and son. His occupation is listed as “finisher”. The wife is listed as “Anna M” and the son is listed as “Charles H”. Nothing is known about them beyond this census data.
He marries Mary Ann Conour (1822-1915) on June 7, 1855 in Richland County, Illinois.
He lives in Edwards County at the 1860 census and dies around August 1867, just after the birth of his youngest child. His probate records are at the Gallatin County, Illinois courthouse according to Ancestry.
James Franklin Dixon and Mary Ann Conour Dixon have 5 children: John Alfred Dixon (1856-1941), Elizabeth J. Dixon (1858-1883), Hettie M. Dixon (1861-1936), Mary Adeline Dixon (1861-1943) and Ella Nora Dixon (1867-1920). All but Elizabeth live long lives, marry and have children of their own. See Ancestry for details.
Mary Ann Conour remarries fairly quickly, having many young children. She eventually follows one of her children to California.
I suspected for many months that James had died in a civil war battle near Atlanta in the Union army, but his probate and date of death indicate otherwise. It is possible that he was a coal miner, as southern Illinois, like southern Indiana, had some coal mining areas.
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