William T. Dixon (September 8, 1833 – June 3, 1909) was an educator and Baptist minister in Brooklyn, New York. He was a founder of the New England Baptist Association. Dixon was a member of Brooklyn's

black elite The Black elite is any elite, either political or economic in nature, that is made up of people who identify as of Black African descent. In the Western World, it is typically distinct from other national elites, such as the United Kingdom's arist ...

and was listed by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle as a member of Brooklyn's "Colored 400" in 1892.

Early life

William Thomas Dixon was born in New York City on September 8, 1833 to George H. and Frances R. Dixon, both natives of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Dixon attended what was later known as Colored Grammar school No. 1 taught by John Peterson from 7 to 15 years of age. He remained at the school after that working as an assistant. In 1851 he was baptized at the Abyssinian Baptist Church of New York by Rev. J. T. Raymond. In the late 1850s he married Matilda A. Wilson. The couple had five children, and Matilda died after nine years of marriage. He then married Angeline C. Branham of Arlington, Virginia.Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company (1887), pp. 713-718. Dixon was survived by two children from his marriage with Angeline and two from his prior marriage.

Career

In 1854 he was appointed to teach in

Stonington, Connecticut The town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington (borough), Connecticut, Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Pawcatuck, Lords Point, and W ...

where he taught for two years. He then moved to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

to work in the high school founded by Rev. Chauncey Leonard. He later established a school in Baltimore, and remained at that school for two years. From 1860 to 1863, Dixon was the principal of a public school in

Flushing, Long Island Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...

. Around this time he received a license to preach by Rev. William Spellman and in the fall of 1863 he took charge of the Concord Church of Christ at Brooklyn, New York, and was ordained December 17, 1863. He continued to be involved in education, and in 1883, when the Brooklyn Public Schools Board of Education contemplated closing the schools for African American children, Dixon, Charles A. Dorsey, and Rev.

Rufus L. Perry Rufus L. Perry (March 11, 1834 - June 18, 1895) was an educator, journalist, and Baptist minister from Brooklyn, New York. He was a prominent member of the African Civilization Society and was a co-founder of the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum, whi ...

led the fight to keep the schools open. With Perry, Dixon was editor in the Printing Department of the Consolidated American Baptist Missionary Convention involved in the printing of numerous newspapers and journals, including ''

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'', ''

The People's Journal ''The People's Journal'', first published in 1858, was a Dundee-based Scottish periodical, originally produced by John Leng & Co., a local publishing company that for a time enjoyed the Scottish artist, political cartoonist, postcard illustrat ...

'', and '' The National Monitor''. The Late William T

Dixon became a leader in the Baptist church. He gave the introductory sermon at an annual meeting of the Long Island Baptist Association. He held offices of president and of corresponding secretary of the Northeast Baptist Missionary Convention. Dixon was one of the original trustees of the Citizen's Union Cemetery Association until 1854, which was then reorganized into the Mount Pleasant Cemetery Association, where he served as secretary. He was a founder of the New England Baptist Association and was elected its president in 1900. He was a member of the American Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. He founded the first black post of the

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

, a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

veterans organization, in about 1879, and was made an honorary member in August 1907. He was a trustee and vice president of the

Howard Colored Orphan Asylum The Howard Colored Orphan Asylum was one of the few orphanages to be led by and for African Americans. It was located on Troy Avenue and Dean Street in Weeksville, a historically black settlement in what is now Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York ...

. In 1902 he was granted a Doctor of Divinity by State Baptist College in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

Death

He died in Brooklyn on June 3, 1909. His funeral was at Concord Baptist Church and was reportedly attended by 6,000 people. He was buried at

Cypress Hills Cemetery Cypress Hills Cemetery is non-sectarian/non-denominational cemetery corporation organized in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, the first of its type in the city. The cemetery is run as a non-profit organization and is loca ...

References

Sources

* Taylor, Clarence. ''The Black Churches of Brooklyn''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, William T. 1833 births 1909 deaths People from Brooklyn African-American educators African-American Baptist ministers Activists for African-American civil rights Activists from New York (state) Baptists from New York (state) Educators from New York City Arkansas Baptist College alumni 19th-century American educators African-American activists 19th-century Baptist ministers from the United States 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States 20th-century African-American people