Mug Book Monday: Ezra DICKINSON (1798 - 1886)

"Mug books" are collections of biographical sketches usually found within county histories of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries, particularly in the United States. Each Monday, I'm highlighting ancestors or relatives who were featured in these mug books.

Ezra Dickenson [sic], a retired farmer of Auburn, was born in Sharon, Litchfield Co., Conn., Aug. 26, 1798. He was reared a farmer, living with his parents till his majority. In 1819 he went to Ohio and located in Johnson Township, Trumbull County, where he bought a tract of wild land which he cleared and cultivated, residing there until 1836, when he came to Indiana and entered 120 acres of Government land in Concord Township, De Kalb County. In 1842, having three children who were [deaf] mutes, he sold his farm in Concord Township and bought one near Hicksville, Ohio, that his children might have the advantage of the deaf and dumb asylum. In 1852 he sold his farm, and returned to De Kalb County and bought a farm in Wilmington Township where he lived till 1880, when, feeling the infirmities of old age creeping on, he sold his farm and bought a residence in Auburn that he might spend the rest of his life in a more quiet manner. When he came to Indiana, De Kalb County was a dense wilderness. Indians were plenty, but white people scarce. There were no roads, and oxen were the only teams used. He was one of the first Petit Jurymen of the first Circuit Court of De Kalb County. The first court was held in a log house on the site of the present court-house in Auburn. The jail was a loft over the court-room, which was entered through a hole in the floor, and the ladder taken away to prevent the escape of prisoners. The nearest markets were Fort Wayne and Hicksville. While living in Wilmington Township, Mr. Dickenson served four years as Justice of the Peace. In 1861 when, in his sixty-third year, he enlisted in Company F, Forty-fourth Indiana Infantry, barely passing the examination of the mustering officer, who took him to be about forty-five. April 3, 1862, he was discharged for disability. He is living with his fifth wife who was Mrs. Rebecca (Waldron) Sibert, to whom he was married April 22, 1882. He is the father of twelve children, eight of whom are living. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his wife of the Lutheran church. He is a member of DeLong Post, No. 67, G. A. R. He has affiliated with the Republican party since its organization.

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Ezra was my fourth-great-grandfather. His first wife, Cynthia PHILLIPS, was my ancestor, as was their daughter, Lucy May (DICKINSON) KIMBALL, who is one of the four children deceased by the time this sketch was published. Several years ago, I highlighted Ezra's Civil War service here.

This biographical sketch was taken from History of De Kalb County, Indiana, together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, published in Chicago by Inter-State Publishing Co., 1885. Ezra's sketch was found on page 864. This county history, along with many others, can be found at the Internet Archive.