William Dixon of St. John, Kan., a prominent member of the Stafford county bar and the oldest practicing attorney in that county, in point of service, came to Stafford county in 1878 and is therefore numbered among its pioneers. He is a native of West Virginia, born at the city of Wheeling, Feb. 4, 1853. His father, William Dixon, was a native of England and died in 1861. He was a railroad office man. His wife, who was a Miss Rebecca Davis prior to her marriage, was born in Ohio and passed away in 1909. William and Rebecca (Davis) Dixon had two sons and one daughter: William is the eldest son; John M., born May 15, 1855, is located in Bellingham, Wash.; and Mary O., born July 24, 1857, is the wife of Charles H. Wilbur, a lawyer at Seattle, Wash.

William Dixon received his education in the public schools of Wheeling. Until twenty-one years of age he was employed in the iron mills at that place. The West, which offered greater opportunities than the crowded East to the young man just beginning a career, appealed to Mr. Dixon and, in June, 1878, he came to Kansas. He located on government land in Stafford county. That was prior to the organization of Stafford county, which took place in July, 1879. He was elected clerk of the district court of Stafford county, in 1879, and held that office four terms. In the meantime he took up the study of law and, in 1883, was admitted to the bar. His abilities and determined pursuit of success soon gave him a leading position in Stafford county. Success has rewarded his efforts, both in his professional work and in a business way, for besides a lucrative practice he has an interest in the St. John National Bank, of which he is a director and for which he is attorney. He is a Republican in his political adherency. He has been city attorney of St. John twelve years, has been a member of the city council at different times, and in various ways has made himself worthy to be numbered among the representative and most respected citizens of St. John. Fraternally he is a Mason.

On June 22, 1876, at Wheeling, W. Va., Mr. Dixon married Miss Josephine, daughter of John and Charlotte Driller, both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Dixon have a son and a daughter: William J., born Feb. 14, 1878, graduated in the St. John High School and is an office clerk at Kansas City, Mo., for the Fred Harvey Eating House system of the Santa Fe railroad; and Blanche, born March 20, 1883, also is a graduate of the St. John High School and is the wife of S. M. Haught, a dentist at St. John, Kan. Mr. and Mrs. Haught have a child, Walter Dixon, born July 11, 1908.