Nathan F. Dixon II

Nathan Fellows Dixon (May 1, 1812 – April 11, 1881) was an attorney and bank president from Westerly, Rhode Island. The son of Nathan F. Dixon and father of Nathan F. Dixon III, he was best known for his service as a United States representative from Rhode Island from 1849 to 1851, and again from 1863 to 1871.

Biography He was born in Westerly, Rhode Island on May 1, 1812, the son of Nathan F. Dixon and Elizabeth (Palmer) Dixon). He attended Plainfield Academy in Plainfield, Connecticut, and graduated from Brown University in 1833. He later pursued the study of law at Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. In 1844, Dixon was a presidential elector from Rhode Island; the Whigs lost the national election but carried the state, and he cast his ballot for the Whig ticket of Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuysen. He was again elected to the Rhode Island House, as a Republican, in 1858, and served until 1862. Dixon was elected as a Republican to the 38th Congress. He was reelected three times, and served from March 4, 1863 to March 3, 1871.

He served in the Rhode Island House again from 1871 to 1877. In March, he was a contender for the Republican nomination for governor, but withdrew in favor of Henry Lippitt. When none of the candidates received a majority in the general election, as required by the state constitution, Lippitt was elected governor by a vote of the state legislature.

Death and burial Dixon died in Westerly on April 11, 1881.

Family In 1843, Dixon married Harriet Palmer Swan (1816–1896) of Stonington, Connecticut. They were the parents of six children: Nathan (b. 1845, died young); Nathan Fellows (1847–1897); Edward Hazard (1849–1891); Phebe Ann (1852–1941), the wife of James Gore King McClure; Walter P. (1855–1913); and Harriet Swan (1859–1899).