Charles Dixon (March 8, 1730 or 1731 – August 21, 1817) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born farmer, merchant, judge and political figure in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. He represented Westmorland in the

1st New Brunswick Legislative Assembly The 1st New Brunswick Legislative Assembly represented New Brunswick between January 3, 1786, and 1792. The lower house was the Legislative Assembly and the upper house was named the Legislative Council. The assembly sat at the pleasure of the Gov ...

. He was born in

Kirklevington Kirklevington (also known as Kirk Leavington) is a village in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. At the 2011 census, the village had a population of 809. The civil parish had a population of 1,361. The village shares it ...

, the son of Charles Dixon and Mary Corps, and apprenticed with his father as a bricklayer. He pursued this trade at

Yarm Yarm, also referred to as Yarm-on-Tees, is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. It was previously a port town before the industry moved down the River Tees to more accessible settlements ne ...

and then bought a paper factory at

Hutton Rudby Hutton Rudby is a village and civil parish situated west of the market town of Stokesley in the Hambleton District, North Yorkshire, England. At the 2011 census, village's parish and built-up area subdivision had population of 1,572 while its ...

which he operated until 1771. Dixon married Susanna Coates in 1763. Originally a member of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, he converted to

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

in 1765. In 1772, he emigrated with his family to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, arriving at Halifax and then moving to

Fort Cumberland A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

soon afterwards. Dixon purchased a farm at Sackville, also operating a small retail business. In 1776, he was named a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and a judge in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas. Dixon became a customs collector at Sackville in 1784. He also served as highway commissioner, highway surveyor, assessor and overseer of the poor for Westmorland County. He died at his home in Sackville.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Charles Year of birth uncertain 1817 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Canadian Baptists British bricklayers Colony of New Brunswick judges English emigrants to pre-Confederation New Brunswick