For nearly the entire nineteenth century Rhode Island was represented in either state or federal legislature by a Nathan Fellows Dixon. The first Nathan Dixon (1774-1842) was born to William and Priscilla (Denison) Dixon in Plainfield, Connecticut, on the eve of the American Revolution. He graduated in 1799 from Brown University (then called Rhode Island College), was admitted to the Rhode Island state bar in 1801, and from 1813 until 1842 (with an eight-year hiatus) held elected office, serving for a time as president of a U.S. Senate that included fellow Whigs Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. He also served as president of the Washington Bank in Westerly, Rhode Island, from 1829 until his death in 1842 and was instrumental in the creation of the New York, Providence & Boston Railroad in the early 1830’s.
He married Elizabeth Palmer in 1804 and had eight children, among them his second-eldest son and namesake Nathan (1812-1881). Like his father, Nathan graduated from Brown University in 1833 and after studying law was admitted to the state bar in 1837. From 1841 until 1877 he served alternate terms as a state representative or a U.S. representative, running first as a Whig and then a Republican. At the outset of the Dorr War in 1842, he was named by the Rhode Island General Assembly to the Governor’s Council, an advisory body of prominent legislators. Nathan married Harriet Swan in 1843, and they raised their five surviving children at the Dixon Homestead in Westerly, Rhode Island.
The eldest of their children, Nathan Fellows Dixon (1847-1897)—also a graduate of Brown University and a lawyer—was appointed U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island in 1877 and held the position until 1885. He was elected in 1885 to serve the remainder of Jonathan Chace’s U.S. Congressional term after Chace was elected to the Senate, a period of only about 3 weeks. Upon completion of the term he was elected to the Rhode Island Senate; in 1889 he was again elected to serve the remainder of Jonathan Chace’s term, this time in the United States Senate, a position he held until 1895, two years before his death.
Nathan Fellows Dixon (1847-1897) and his younger sister Phebe "Annie" Dixon married a sister and brother, Grace and James McClure of Albany, New York. Annie and James McClure’s daughter, Harriet McClure Stuart, preserved the Nathan Fellows Dixon Family Papers and passed them on to her daughter, Margaret Hart, of Lake Forest, Illinois.
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested.
Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Nathan Fellows Dixon Family papers, Ms. 2006.04, Brown University Library.
The Nathan Fellows Dixon Family Papers document the personal and political history of a prominent 19th-century Rhode Island family. The collection includes nearly 3000 letters, photographs, legal documents, genealogies, books and personal mementos dating from 1721 to 1938. The bulk pertains to Nathan F. Dixon, Sr. (1774-1842), his son (1812-1881) and grandson (1847-1897)—also named Nathan F. Dixon—all of whom attended Brown University before practicing law and holding state and national office.
The Dixon Family Papers are organized primarily by form into eight series. The first of these is Correspondence, and of particular interest are letters that Phebe "Annie" (Dixon) McClure (daughter of N. F. Dixon (1812-1881)) received during the 1880's and 1890's from her mother Harriet (Swan) Dixon and her sister Harriet Dixon. Altogether these letters trace the private, domestic world of the upper-class Victorian woman and present a moving counterpoint to the very public world of the Dixon men.
The second series, Writings, also features the voice of Harriet (Swan) Dixon in the form of a two-volume travel diary she kept during her 1839-40 visit to the British Isles before her marriage. Travel abroad was then considered a means of personal refinement, and the young Harriet Swan's journal observations suggest the genteel sensibility to which she-and others of her class--aspired. Her diary is significant to the study of nineteenth-century women's travel narratives.
The third series, Personal Memorabilia, includes Dixon diplomas, Bibles, various invitations and calling cards, and family-related newspaper clippings. There are three large scrapbooks, each devoted to a Nathan Fellows Dixon, which contain personal and political mementoes, newspaper clippings, letters and miscellaneous documents. The scrapbooks were compiled by Grace (McClure) Dixon, wife of the youngest Nathan F. Dixon (1847-1897).
Most of the fourth series--Political Memorabilia--consist of mementos from the youngest N.F. Dixon's career and include invitations and passes to the 1885 Washington Monument Dedication and the 1893 Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
The Legal/Military documents are divided into two subseries. The Dixon Family documents include court dockets, commissions and numerous land deeds dating back to 1788. The second subseries contains various writs, warrants, deeds and claims that were presumably heard, witnessed or undertaken by the Dixons on behalf of their clients. Most notably, this subseries also includes a collection of affidavits sworn by Revolutionary War veterans (or their surviving spouses) attesting to their service in order to qualify for federal pensions; the first Nathan Dixon served as chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Revolutionary Claims which considered these petitions.
Series six, Genealogical material, and Series seven, Rhode Island and local history, reflect the commitment of Grace (McClure) Dixon and her sister-in-law Phebe "Annie" (Dixon) McClure to researching their family and geographical histories. Much of the material is in the form of loose notes, but there are several comprehensive genealogies and family histories in the collection, as well as in the separately cataloged material. These describe branches such as the Palmer, Noyes and Scott Family on the Dixon side, and the Rice Family on the McClure side. A collection of newspaper clippings about the Westerly, Rhode Island, and Stonington, Connecticut, areas reveal the close relationship of this large family to the social and commercial development of the region. The Dixons played a prominent role in the establishment of the New York, Providence & Boston Railroad in the 1830's, as many of the documents in this series attest.
An extensive collection of framed and unframed photographs, daguerreotypes and cabinet cards comprises the last series. Most of these are portraits, but also included are several interior and exterior views of the Dixon Homestead and Brown University buildings from the mid- to late-nineteenth century.
Altogether, the papers offer a picture of 19th-century family life across several generations as New England moved from an agrarian to a predominantly industrial culture. The correspondence, personal memorabilia and photographs document the private lives of the Dixon, Palmer, Swan and related families; the political memorabilia and newspaper clippings place these lives within their changing political and social contexts.
The collection is organized into the following series:
Donated by Margaret Hart in 2006.
The title page image of the Dixon Homestead is from Series 8. Photographs (Box 6, folder 10).
No additions are anticipated.
Resources at Brown University:
Resources at Other Institutions:
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress Entries:
Scrapbook enclosures have been removed, cross-referenced and foldered separately. Enclosures 1-12 belong to the Nathan F. Dixon I scrapbook; enclosures 13-22 to the Nathan F. Dixon II scrapbook.
Enclosures 1-12
Enclosures 13-22
Scrapbook enclosures have been removed, cross-referenced and foldered separately. Enclosures 23-26 belong to the Nathan F. Dixon III scrapbook
Primarily newspapers, clippings and pamphlets relating to local topics.
Photocopies; originals stored in the University Archives.