Dixon family papers and photographs, 1856-1880s

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Summary

Creator:
Dixon (Family : Cleveland County, N.C.) and Dixon, Columbus H., 1836-1864 October 14
Abstract:
Collection contains two personal letters (1863, 1864) written by Civil War Confederate captain Columbus H. Dixon to his wife, discussing troop activities and smallpox in his company. Accompanying the letters are a pocket bible owned by Dixon; two calling cards; a small photograph album, possibly a "friendship" album, containing three albumen cartes-de-visite and five tintypes; and twenty-three loose cartes-de-visite, cased ambrotypes, and tintype portraits of members of the Dixon, Jackson, and Allison families of North Carolina. Among the portraits are Columbus H. Dixon as a young man; his wife Love Ann Dixon; their daughter Sarah and her husband, Andrew Campbell Jackson; their son John Kelly Dixon; John Dixon's wife, Hester, and their sons, Kay Dixon and Arthur Mills Dixon. Also included is Hugh J. Allison, originally from South Carolina, second husband of Love Ann Dixon. There are quite a few unidentified individuals. Photographers' imprints often appear on a number of the cartes-de-visite portraits.
Extent:
0.2 Linear Feet (1 box and 1 folder; 29 items)
Physical description:
29 items
Language:
Materials are in English.
Collection ID:
RL.11209

Background

Scope and content:

The earliest item in the collection is an 1856 pocket bible owned by Civil War Confederate soldier Columbus H. Dixon. There are also two letters (1863, 1864) to his wife, Love Ann Dixon, discussing troop activities and smallpox in his company. The remaining items are two cased ambrotypes; two calling cards; a small 19th-century photograph album, possibly a "friendship" album, containing three cartes-de-visite (card-mounted albumen prints) and five tintypes; and 23 cartes-de-visite and tintype portraits of members of the Dixon, Falls, Jackson, Campbell, and Allison families of North Carolina.

The portrait sitters include women, children, and men, chiefly residing in King's Mountain and Gastonia, N.C. Among the portraits are Columbus H. Dixon as a young man; his wife Love Ann Dixon (1832-1909); his daughter Sarah; his son John Kelly Dixon (1857-1931), textile mill owner; John Dixon's wife, Hester Wilson Dixon. The latest dated photographs are of John K. Dixon's small sons, Kay Dixon (1884-1957), and Arthur Mills Dixon (1882-1956), who also served as mayor of Gastonia, N.C. and state senator. There are also portraits of members of the Allison and Jackson families, related by marriage to the Dixons. There are some unidentified portraits, chiefly among the tintypes.

Many of the albumen photographs bear the name of one of the first commercial traveling photographers in the United States, John R. Schorb (1818-1908) of Yorkville, South Carolina; others were taken in the studios of J.H. Van Ness of Charlotte, North Carolina and W.E. McArthur of Shelby, North Carolina.

Biographical / historical:

The Dixon family and related members resided in the western Piedmont of North Carolina, in Cleveland and Gaston counties, adjacent to the South Carolina border. Columbus H. Dixon was captain of the 49th North Carolina Regiment, Company G, "The King's Mountain Tigers." He died in 1864 near Petersburg, Virginia. In 1868, Columbus Dixon's widow, Love Ann Dixon (1832-1909), married Hugh Allison (1836-1913), who served in the 5th Regiment, South Carolina Infantry; Allison moved to Cleveland County, N.C., where he resided until his death. Columbus Dixon's son, John Kelly Dixon (1857-1931) became a Gastonia, N.C. textile mill operator and owner, and had two sons, Arthur Mills Dixon (1882-1956), and Kay Dixon (1884-1957). Arthur Mills Dixon became mayor of Gastonia and N.C. state senator.

Acquisition information:
The later accession of the Dixon family papers and photographs was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 2013.
Processing information:

Processed by Paula Jeannet, May 2016. Accession(s) represented in this collection guide: 2013-0068.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Dixon family papers and photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.