DIXON, Nathan Fellows, Congress, RI (1812-1881)

DIXON, Nathan Fellows, (son of Nathan Fellows Dixon [1774-1842], and father of Nathan Fellows Dixon [1847-1897]), a Representative from Rhode Island; born in Westerly, R.I., May 1, 1812; attended Plainfield (Conn.) Academy, and was graduated from Brown University, Providence, R.I., in 1833; later pursued the study of law at the Cambridge (Mass.) and New Haven (Conn.) Law Schools; was admitted to the bar in 1837 and commenced practice in Westerly, R.I.; also engaged in banking; member of the State house of representatives 1841-1849, 1851-1854, 1858-1862, and 1871-1877; appointed a member of the Governor’s council in 1842; elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first Congress (March 4, 1849-March 3, 1851); was not a candidate for renomination in 1850; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1871); chairman, Committee on Commerce (Forty-first Congress); declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1870; delegate to the Union National Convention at Philadelphia in 1866; resumed the practice of law and banking; died in Westerly, Washington County, R.I., April 11, 1881; interment in River Bend Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present