John J. Dickerson; Winn Archives; 28th LA Conf. Infantry Greggory E. Davies 120 Ted Price Lane Winnfield, LA 71483 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Passing In Review This Week We Have John J. Dickerson by R. W. Oglesby When I first came to Winnfield I observed a very patriarchal looking old gentleman who I was told was John J. Dickerson. he and his good old wife had already retired from life's struggle and were passing peacefully their last days with their son, Bill, who lived and still lives in the same house on Maple Street. Uncle Johnnie as he was called, proved a very companionable neighbor. He was rich in historical data of the early settlement of Winn Parish. He and his brother, Bill, while young men, drifted in here from Texas, married sisters, and reared large families. They settled west of Winnfield where they farmed and ran a saw mill, I suppose the first saw mill that was ever in Winn Parish. (Probably the first saw mill was established at the Salt Works prior to the Civil War, according to other historical accounts.) In addition they had a grist mill in connection with their other operations and on Saturdays it was the mecca for all inhabitants for miles around to get meal for the next week. I am told that their homes were gathering places for the young people on Sundays where they received lavish entertainment. From what I hear these two brothers were inseparable companions, either in business or pleasure. Wherever you saw one of them the other was nearby. Bill passed away before I came to Winnfield, and I never knew him, but I have heard a great deal about him. It is said that when visitors went to his home, no matter whether in large or small numbers, neither man nor beast went away hungry, he saw to it that the horses were put away and fed and were not permitted to stand hitched while the owners partook of the bountiful hospitality. Mr. Dickerson and his wife were charter members of the Winnfield Methodist Church. About the year 1870, Daniel Kelly, an attorney of Winnfield, donated the block where the church now stands and Mr. Dickerson cut and hauled the lumber and I am not so certain that he and his brother did not build the same which stood there and was used as a church and a school house until about 1900 when it was torn away and the lumber used in a new one. He was naturally of a very religious mind and had long prior to the building of the church at Winnfield, constructed one near his home which was also used as a school house. He was, there fore, a pioneer both in church and school in Winn Parish. During his last days the infirmities of age and the distance he lived from the church kept him form being a regular attendant, but when he did go he was an attentive listener and a devout communicant, often bubbling over with religious enthusiasm. The prayers he made were fervent and produced an effect upon the congregation never to be forgotten. With his long white beard he looked, I imagine, as Moses on Mt. Sinai and, like Moses, seemed to talk face to fact with the Almighty. His children honored and revered him and his good old wife who walked by his side for more than fifty years and lived to be more than ninety years after he passed on. Out of respect to their memory, their daughter, Mrs. B. W. Bailey, donated to the church a very fine pulpit set which was with appropriate ceremonies dedicated to their memories a short time ago. At the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted in the Confederate Army as a member of Company K, 28th Louisiana Infantry, Pool's Regiment and was paroled at Natchitoches, Louisiana, June 10, 1865. I can think of no one person who contributed more to the upbuilding of Winn Parish than did Mr. Dickerson whose good deeds follow him in the lives of his descendants, many of whom still live in and around Winnfield. Having set a good example before them in a long righteous life, it would be contrary to human nature and the teachings of Holy Writ, if they did not produce works meet for repentance. (The above article appeared in one of the Winnfield newspapers. A copy of this article was found in possessions of my late grandmother, Nena Plunkett Davies, but the name of the publication and date were not attached. Submitted by Greggory Ellis Davies, Winnfield, Winn Parish, LA.)