William M. Dickson

William Martin Dickson, also known as William M. Dickson (1827–1889), was a lawyer, prosecuting attorney, and judge from Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. He was one of the founders of the Republican Party and assisted in the framing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Alphonso Taft, the father of President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft, and Thomas Marshall Key were his law partners.

He formed and led the Black Brigade of Cincinnati that built a blockade to prevent Confederate troops from attacking Cincinnati. A semi-invalid after the war, he wrote about political and social reform for the last 23 years of his life.

A relative by marriage, Dickson was a presidential elector supporting Lincoln during the 1860 election. His wife, Annie Maria Palmer, was the first cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln.

Early life and education Dickson was born on September 19, 1827, in Lexington, Scott County, Indiana, to Richard L. Dickson and Rachel Lowry (1801–1860), In 1860, he was an Ohio presidential elector. and he fought for desegregation of the city's street cars. As the brigade's leader, Dickson had ensured that the men under his command received the same treatment as white soldiers. In December 1862, Dickson met or communicated with Edwin Stanton, Salmon P. Chase and Abraham Lincoln to discuss his ideas for the Emancipation Proclamation, He traveled for entertainment and trying to improve his health, he sought out physicians in the United States and Europe. In 1891, the family traveled to Derry, Ireland to see the old Lowry house and also to Scotland, near Dumfries, to see Rev. Jacob Dickson's manse and church at Mouswald. during that trial he stayed with Dickson and his wife. Edwin Stanton, who was on the legal team, decided to not have Lincoln speak at the trial, he considered Lincoln a "gangly country lawyer". Since he did not need to be at the trial, Dickson showed him the sites of the city. His wife, Annie Maria Parker Dickson died March 6, 1885.

Judge Dickson was learned, fearless and impartial, as a citizen he was public spirited and generous, and in private life he was exemplary to the highest degree. — Charles Greve, Centennial History of Cincinnati and Representative Citizens