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BIOGRAPHIES OF TIPTON COUNTY, TN "D"
James F. Dickson, one of the substantial citizens of Covington, is a son of Michael M. and Mary (Fentress) Dickson, and was born in Tipton County, in 1841, and is one of eight children, two sons and three daughters living. The father was of Irish ancestry, born in Dickson County, Tenn., in 1811. The grandfather, Molten Dickson, was a native of Scotland, and located in Montgomery County, Tenn., where he raised a family, and spent the rest of his life. Michael Dickson received a good English and business education, and was a book-keeper for some time. He married in Dickson County, in 1835, and soon after moved to Tipton County, and engaged in farming, also in a saw-mill, and in merchandising. He was a man of fine business capacity, and had considerable means. For a number of years he was trustee of Tipton County, and held other official positions; he died in 1855. The mother was born in Montgomery County, in 1816, and died in 1878. They were members of the Old School Presbyterian Church. All the Dicksons of West Tennessee are supposed to be descended from Christopher Strong, who was the grandfather of Michael M., on the mother's side, one of the pioneers of Dickson County, and one of the extensive land owners in the West. Our subject was chiefly educated at Portersville, one of the best schools in the county, and when eighteen, enlisted in the Confederate Army, in Company G, Fifty-first Tennessee Infantry, and was first orderly sergeant, then lieutenant, and was in the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, around Atlanta, and Jonesboro, N. C., and at Franklin, where he was captured and soon after taken to Fort Delaware, and held as a prisoner until July, 1865, when he returned home after an absence of four years' honorable service, and resumed farming, which has always been his occupation -- except three years at Dickson's Landing, when he was merchandising. November 23, 1865, he married Rachel J., daughter of Bunyan and Nancy M. (Wright) Payne, and of eight children born to them, only three are living: Vernon B., Pentress and Minneola. Mr. Dickson spent the first year of his married life with his mother, then moved to the Miss. River, and remained until 1876, when he moved to his father-in-law's farm and took charge of his extensive business, and 1881 moved to Covington, where he is pleasantly located. Mr. Dickson is one of the enterprising farmers and important business men of Tipton County. He owns 1,600 acres of good land. In 1870 he was elected magistrate and held the office six years. He is a Democrat and a Mason, and with his wife belongs to the Old School Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Dickson was born in Tipton County, in 1844. Her father was a native of South Carolina and came to Tipton County in 1832, and became one of the wealthiest and most influential citizens of the county; he died in 1878.
Goodspeed's History of Tennessee (1887)
Robert A. Drewry, a substantial merchant of Mason, Tipton County, carrying a general stock of goods, was born in Carroll County, Tenn., March 29, 1854, and is the son of Thomas J. and Nancy (Gibson) Drewry, natives of Virginia. Our subject was raised on the farm and received his education in McKenzie, Tenn. In 1870 he abandoned farming, and has since been engaged in the mercantile business. In 1879 he moved to Mason, Tenn., and engaged in his present business, meeting with the most encouraging success. Mr. Drewry started in life without any capital beyond a fair business education, and is now one of the solid business men of Tipton County. February 10, 1870, he was married to Sarah P. Ragsdale, a daughter of Edward and Eliza Ragsdale, of Fayette County. Mr. Drewry is a Democrat and a member of the K. of H. He stands well in his community as a gentleman and a valuable citizen, taking an active interest in all that has a tendency to advance the interests of his town.
Goodspeed's History of Tennessee (1887) |
