James Edward Dickey (1864 – 1928) was an American

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

, elected in 1922.

Birth and family

James was born 11 May 1864 in

Jeffersonville, Georgia The city of Jeffersonville is the largest city and county seat of Twiggs County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,035 at the 2010 census, down from 1,209 in 2000. Jeffersonville is part of the Macon Metropolitan Statistical Area. H ...

, the son of the Rev. James Madison and Ann Elizabeth (Thomas) Dickey. He was a descendant of John Dickey, who

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

from

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Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1753. Another

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

was an English settler in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Both James' parents were of

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

stock. James married Jessie Munroe 9 September 1891. They had children Julia, Annie, Jessie, Claire, Edna, and James Edward, Jr.

Education

James was educated in the Atlanta, Gainesville and Elbertson schools. He earned an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from Emory College in

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Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, class of 1891. He was a member of the

Chi Phi Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternities and sororities, fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest o ...

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

Ordained and academic ministry

James joined the Itinerant Ministry of the

North Georgia North Georgia is the northern hilly/mountainous region in the U.S. state of Georgia. At the time of the arrival of settlers from Europe, it was inhabited largely by the Cherokee. The counties of north Georgia were often scenes of important eve ...

Annual Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main pu ...

of the M.E. Church, South in 1891. He was an Adjunct Professor of Mental and Moral Science at Emory College, beginning in 1891. Then, he was appointed the Alumni Professor of Historical and Political Economics in 1896. He then spent time in the pastorate, appointed to Grace M.E., South Church in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in 1899. The Rev. Dr. Dickey then had the honor as the last

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of Emory College, and the first President of

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

. His term as President was 1902 to 1915. He then served again as a Pastor, this time of First Methodist at 42 E. Third St., Atlanta. Rev. Dickey also was a member of the

Ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

Conference at

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in 1911. He was also elected the General Secretary of Education for his denomination in 1910, bet resigned to remain at Emory. He was elected a delegate to the 1910 General Conference of the M.E. Church, South. He also served as the Chairman of the Board of Missions of his Annual Conference.

Episcopal ministry

The Rev. Dr. James Edward Dickey was elected to the Episcopacy of the M.E. Church, South at the 1922 General Conference. As Bishop, he served as a Trustee of Emory and of Wesleyan Female College. Bishop Dickey died 17 April after an

appendectomy An appendectomy, also termed appendicectomy, is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedure to treat complicated acu ...

operation in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. He was buried in

Westview Cemetery Westview Cemetery, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is the largest civilian cemetery in the Southeastern United States, comprising more than , 50 percent of which is undeveloped. ( Georgia National Cemetery, for military veterans and their families, ...

Biography

* Dempsey, E.F., Life of Bishop Dickey, 1937.

References

* * Leete, Frederick DeLand, Methodist Bishops. Nashville, The Methodist Publishing House, 1948.

External links

An Emory History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickey, James Edward 1864 births 1928 deaths People from Jeffersonville, Georgia American Methodist bishops American people of British descent Emory University alumni Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South Presidents of Emory University Burials in Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century Methodist bishops