John Dikeman

John Dikeman (March 31, 1795 – August 23, 1879) was an American lawyer, judge, and politician from New York.

Life Dikeman was born on March 31, 1795, in Hempstead, New York, the son of a small farmer. When he was around 15 or 16, he moved to Brooklyn, then a small village, and worked as a clerk for a store on Fulton Street. He lived in Philadelphia for some time and engaged in business there, although he soon returned to Brooklyn.

In 1821, Dikeman was elected village clerk. In 1830, he was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Kings County. He was initially an active Jacksonian Democrat and played a prominent part in the party in Kings County. but he lost to Abraham Vanderveer.

In 1839, when the New York and Brooklyn Ferry Company was organized, Dikeman was one of the new company's original lessees and directors. When the Union Ferry Company was organized in 1844, he was on the board of managers. He left the company after it raised the ferry fee to 2 cents, a measure he opposed. In 1863, he was elected County Judge for Kings County. He lost the re-election in 1867. When the Kings County Inebriates' Home was established that year, he became first vice president of the board of managers.