DICKEY FAMILIES of HOUSTON COUNTY, TX

Karen McCann Hett is sharing her research on her Dickey line as well as another that is/was in Houston County.

These are her communications with me explaining her work and line. BNB

[BACK]

 

My great-great-grandfather Dickey was James G. Dickey, born 1808 in Warren Co., Ky., raised in Beans Creek Community, Franklin County, Tenn; died 1885 Leon Co., TX. He was married to Sarah Virginia Reeves, probably the daughter of Avery Reeves of Franklin Co., TN; her sister Nancy married a Handley.  He came to Houston County with his eight oldest children in early 1854, and the youngest son was born in Texas in September of that year. 

 

BNB note: He was the son of Mathew Dickey b. 1776 York Co., SC died 1810 Franklin Co., TN and Rebecca Handley 1779-1852 according to Ancestry.com postings.  He was the son of Mathew Dickey and wife Rebecca but there is no documentation proving Rebecca was a Handley.  It is proven that her daughter married a Handley.  Caution is advised in taking these listings as fact until it can be documented.

 

The second son was my great-grandfather, Matthew H. Dickey. He was already married and had a baby daughter when they arrived in Texas.

As I understand it, after a few months in Houston County, James made arrangements to buy land in the southeastern section of Leon County, west of the Trinity River near Caney Creek. The area was known as Leona Village at the time, but later became known as "Dickey."  My grandfather McCan was postmaster of Dickey, Texas, in the early 1900s.

The oldest son, Minor W. Dickey, stayed behind in Houston County where he was married to Amanda Allbright, as her second husband. They had three children, James Avery, Robert Claiborne, and Sally J. Dickey, all of whom lived most of their lives in Houston County. Minor died in 1867, and Amanda married twice more before her death in 1875.

 

I also need to mention that my g-g-g-grandfather David Barrett and wife (g-g-g-grandmother Elizabeth Whitten) and g-g-g-grandfather Iredell Reding and wife (second wife) moved to Houston County in the 1830s and settled at Mustang Prairie. They all came from Fayette County, Tennessee. G-g-g-gf Reding was the first signer on the petition to create Houston County from Nacogdoches. David and Elizabeth Barrett died in Houston Co. TX, but the Redings moved on to Montgomery County, TX and lived near Lindley's Prairie, which became the village of Danville.

I had a wonderful mentor/coach back in the 60s and 70s, and she led me through reading the Houston County tax lists in lieu of court records. Through those records, I was able to prove that Elizabeth Whitten Barrett married as her second husband a neighbor, Barton Clark. She died before he did, her death date being in the family Bible of John Whitten Barrett, my g-g-gf.

 

BNB Notes: Source: Ancestry.com.

Children of James G. Dickey were:

1. Minor W. Dickey; 1830-1866

2. Matthew Henderson Dickey; 1832-1916

3. Jonathan Reeves Dickey; 1834-1900

4. William A. Dickey; 1837-1900

5. Rebecca Dickey; 1839-

6. Nancy Jane Dickey; 1841-1893

7. Sarah Virginia Dickey; 1846-1918

8. James Edmond Dickey; 1849-1917

9. Claiborne "Clabe" Hanley Dickey; 1855-1921

 

Military Records:  Source: TXGenWeb Leon Co., TX

 

Matthew Henderson Dickey
B: 11 Mar 1832, Franklin Co., TN
D: 28 Dec 1916, Oakwood, Leon Co., TX
Buried: Oakwood Cemetery, Oakwood, Leon Co., TX
Enlisted: 08 Jan 1863 in Crockett, Houston Co., TX., Timmon's Regt. Co. C, Texas Infantry

Johnathon Reeves Dickey
B: 19 Aug 1834, Franklin Co., TN
D: 09 Oct 1900, Leon Co., TX
Buried: Pleasant Grove, Leon Co., TX
Enlisted: 22 Feb 1862, Centerville, Leon Co., TX, J. N. Black's Co A, 13th Regt, Texas Cavalry

William A. Dickey
B: Nov 1836, Franklin Co., TN
D: Aft 1900
Burial site unknown
Enlisted: 20 Oct 1862 in Crockett, Houston Co., TX, in 7th Texas Cavalry, Mounted Volunteers

 

 



The "other" Dickeys were James Madison Dickey and his eight (I think) children.

They came to Houston County in time for James to qualify for a third class headright grant. They settled in Grapeland, where all of his children married and lived for a good part of their lives.

Ancestry trees say that he was born in Iredell County, N. C. in 1795, married in Knox County, Tn., served in War of 1812 from Knox, moved to Walker Co., Ga. by 1850. He arrived in Texas in the 1850's, to qualify for the headright grant but was  in Walker Co., GA for the 1850 census. 

Back in the "olden days," I spent years corresponding with Billy W. Dickey, a descendant of the "other" Dickey family, who helped greatly to get the descendants of the two Dickey families sorted out. I ordered all the Civil War records for both Dickey families (now all are available on Fold3), and I read the tax lists on microfilm in lieu of courthouse records for Houston County. And of course, the census.

I visited with Mr. J. Milton Dickey in Grand Prairie (not my Dickey line, we were living in Euless at the time), but I did it to help pay back the assistance I had gotten from Billy and from his cousin Lewis Dickey.

So that's the story about the two Dickey families.

INTERVIEW WITH J. MILTON DICKEY by Karen Hett

 

James Madison Dickey's Headright Certificate - page 1

(The Dickey grant was under the act to authorize the location and settlement of the Mississippi and Pacific Rail Road passed August 26, 1856 and he continued to live on it until he filed in February, 1857. There were lots of kinds of grants given and this was one to establish the railroad... some were to build shipping docks, roads through wilderness, etc. Different grants had different provisions and apparently this one didn't require a person to be in Texas any specific amount of time, just finish the railroad work to qualify for the land.

 

James Madison Dickey's Headright Certificate - page 2

 

1. William Houston Dickey born April 1823 in S. Carolina and died Feb 22, 1910 and buried in Evergreen cemetery in Percilla, Houston Co. Tx.

Co ''B'' 1st Regt. Texas State Cav. Troops

 

2. Jonathan D. Dickey born Apr 29, 1835 in Tennessee and died Oct 14, 1908 and buried in Mulligan cemetery in Latexo, Houston Co. Tx.

Wounded in thigh during the War. He served in Co. ''C'' 6th Battalion Texas Cav. Gould's.  Tx. Pension # 07123 (missing) from Anderson Co.

 

Martha A. Dickey received Pension #14294 out of Houston Co. widow of Jonathan D. Dickey

 

3. J. P. T. Dickey -  John P. T. Dickey was born in Georgia in 1838.  He served as a private in Co. ''H'' 7th Tx. Cav.

 

3. M. A. Dickey - Matthew A. Dickey was born in Georgia in 1841. He served as a private in Co ''H'' 7th Tx. Cav.

 

5. David H. Dickey, born 1842 in Tennessee, died 1928, buried Southland Cemetery, Grand Prairie, Dallas County, Texas, Pvt. Co. H. 7th Regiment, Texas Cavalry, Texas pension # 18435 from Tom Green Co. Tx.  

 

 

[BACK]