Isle of Wight-Southampton-Nansemond County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Dickerson, James D., 1948 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ Suffolk Man's Father, 103, Dies James D. Dickerson, 103, died yesterday in Williamsburg after a long illness. He was a native of Scotland but had lived in the United States since he was a chid. His survivors include Richard Harvey Dickerson, of Suffolk. He lived in Richmond first, then moved to Southampton County where he became a farmer and married Miss Mary Bulls. He was a Confederate veteran, having served in the army during the whole Civil War. Mr. Dickerson was a member of the Ivor Baptist Church. He is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Lee Bowden of near King's Fork; one son, Richard Dickerson of Suffolk; 15 grandchildren and several great grandchildren. The body was taken to the Hill Funeral Home where funeral services will be conducted Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock by the J. Lester Lane and the Rev. R.E. Brittle. Burial will take place in the Mills Swamp Cemetery in Isle of Wight County. ****************************************************************************** Rites Saturday For Veteran of Civil War Funeral services for James D. Dickerson, 103, who died Wednesday in Williamsburg after a long illness, will be conducted tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Hill Funeral Home. The Rev. R.E. Brittle, pastor of the Bethlehem Christian Church will officiate. Mr. Dickerson suffered severe burns of the right leg about three years ago when he fell against a stove. Up to that time he was most active but after his accident he was hospitalized in Williamsburg and grew steadily worse. He was the last surviving Confederate veteran in Nansemond County. He fought through the entire Civil War with the Confederates and participated in the battle of Gettysburg, Seven Pines and the Crater. He was with Lee when the surrender took place in Appomattox. Mr. Dickerson frequently expressed the wish to live until his birthday this Christmas, but his injuries prevented fulfillment of this desire. He often came to Suffolk by bus from his daughter's home in the county and reviewed the events of the Civil War with his friends here. He attended many Confederate reunions during his later life and was present at the 75th anniversary celebration on the Gettysburg battlefield. His interment will take place in the Mill Swamp Cemetery, Isle of Wight County. ****************************************************************************** Nansemond County's Last Civil War Vet is Buried Funeral services for James D. Dickerson, 103, who died Wednesday in Williamsburg after a long illness, were conducted Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock at the Hill Funeral Home. The Rev. J. Lester Lane and the Rev. R.E. Brittle officiated. Thomas W. Ward, accompanied by Mrs. Julian Goodwin, sang "Sunrise" and "Abide With Me." The pall was of white gladioli, yellow chrysanthemums and red roses. Pallbearers were J.R. Johnson, J.E. Gardner, F.L. Fowler, A.C. Bradshaw, N.T. Gardner, J.L. Williams, R.H. Joyner and W.L. Vick. Burial took place in the Mill Swamp Cemetery, Isle of Wight County. Mr. Dickerson was the last surviving Confederate veteran in Nansemond County. He fought through the entire Civil War with the Confederates and participated in the battle of Gettysburg, Seven Pines and the Crater. He was with Lee when the surrender took place in Appomattox. ****************************************************************************** J.D. Dickerson, 103, Dies; Veteran Of the Civil War James D. Dickerson, 103, last surviving Confederate veteran in Nansemond County, died at Williamsburg October 6th after a long illness. Mr. Dickerson suffered serious burns of the right leg about 3 years ago when he fell against a stove. Up to that time he was unusually active. A year later he was hospitalized in Williamsburg and grew steadily worse. Born December 26, 1844, in Scotland [sic*] he came to the United States with his parents at the age of 6 months. After living for some time in Richmond, he moved to Southampton County and settled there as a farmer. He fought through the entire Civil War in the Confederate Army, participating in the battles of Gettysburg, Seven Pines and the Crater. He was with Lee's Army at Appomattox when the surrender took place and suffered a leg wound at Seven Pines. Mr. Dickerson expressed the hope recently that he would see his 104th birthday next Christmas but his burns and complications prevented fulfillment of this desire. Prior to his injury he was able to go and come as he pleased. He frequently visited Suffolk and Smithfield by bus from his daughter's home in the county and talked over the events of the Civil War with friends. His mind was clear and bright until shortly before the end came. He loved to describe the battles in which he engaged and would discuss them unhesitatingly with any one who expressed interest. During his later years he attended several Confederate reunions. He also was present at the 75th anniversary celebration on the Gettysburg battlefield. Dickerson spent most of his life in Southampton County, but he lived for some years before his death with his daughter, Mrs. Lee Bowden, near King's Fork, Nansemond County, who survives. He also resided several years in Isle of Wight County. Others surviving are a son, Richard Harvey Dickerson, of Suffolk; 15 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. Funeral services were conducted Saturday at 2 P.M. at the Hill Funeral Home in Suffolk by the Rev. J. Lester Lane, pastor of the First Baptist Church, and the Rev. R.E. Brittle, pastor of Bethlehem Christian Church. Burial was in Mill Swamp Cemetery, Isle of Wight County. James D. DICKERSON, retired farmer, last surviving Confederate veteran in Nansemond Co., b. 26 Dec 1844, Scotland*, d. 6 Oct 1948, Williamsburg, interred in Mill Swamp Baptist Church Cemetery**, 9 Oct 1948, "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 25, No. 157, Thurs., Oct. 7, 1948, p. 1; "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 25, No. 158, Fri., Oct. 8, 1948, p. 1; "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 25, No. 160, Mon., Oct. 11, 1948, p. 1; "The Smithfield (VA) Times," Vol. 31, No. 20, Wed., Oct. 13, 1948, p. 1 **Isle of Wight County Historical Society {IWCHS} Grave Site Survey Task Force {GSSTF} #55: http://www.iwchs.com/Cemetery-Reports.html Find a Grave Mem. #104623580 *Additional information: Birthdate &c. from D.Cert. 23109 (Williamsburg #165), which also gives b. Scotland; inmate of Eastern State Hospital since 10 Jun 1945. He served in Co. H, 18th VA Infantry. There was another James D. DICKERSON, from Appomattox Co., in Co. K. His m.rec.: James Dickinson, 31, b. Richmond, res. Southampton Co., parents unknown, Laborer Mary A. Bulls, 33, b. & res. Southampton Co., parents unknown, m. 13 Jul 1886, at residence of Mary A. Bulls, by M.B. Barrett (Southampton Co. MB6:46) They appear in the 1900 Census - Berin & Ivor Dist., Southampton Co. - on Owned Farm #214. It gives b. Dec 1849, VA; parents b. VA. Mary Agnes, daughter of Madison & Fannie BULLS, was b. 16 Dec 1847 and d. 22 Sep 1929 in Ivor. (D.Cert. 23321 {B&I #33}). Totally disabled by old age, he applied for a pension 22 Sep 1930; b. Richmond, res. of Southampton Co. 52 yrs. (Act of 1926) ****************************************************************************** "Suffolk News-Herald," Vol. 20, No. 61, Mon., June 1, 1942, pp. 1 & 8 Veteran of Lost Cause Memorial Visitor Here James D. Dickerson, of Isle of Wight, Saw Lee Surrender; He's Active at 97 BY LYMAN G. BARRETT News-Herald Staff Feature Writer If I should live to be The last leaf upon the tree In the Spring, Let them smile as I do now At the old forsaken bough Where I cling. - O. W. Holmes. Suffolk had a distinguished guest here for the Memorial exercises Saturday who went unnoticed by perhaps two-thirds of the immense throng gathered to do honor to the soldier dead. James D. Dickerson, of near Windsor, is distinguished in many ways. He is the only surviving Confederate veteran in this general section; he still bears the wounds of battle; he has lived to the honorable old age of 97 years; and he has made a record for attendance at the Virginia and national conventions of the United Confederate Veterans. He has missed only one of the state meetings of the association since it was formed, and would have gone then but was confined to his home with la grippe. And in all of his long lifetime he has never been seriously ill a day except with that disease so akin to our modern influenza. Arriving here Saturday afternoon by bus he hired a taxi and rushed to the cemetery to find the exercises already underway, but according to his words, "I enjoyed what I heard of it, and the many flowers and flags I love so well were beautiful." I first saw him as he stood for a considerable period awaiting his return bus, and was impressed with his stamina as he stood erect and talked of the days of 1861 to 65 as many members of the younger generation, and that includes all of us, stopped to admire his numerous badges. Last year, he said, he reached here earlier and was seated on the grandstand as a representative of the War Between the States. Sunday afternoon I spent an hour or so with him in the yard of his boarding place. When Mr. Dickerson was only six months old, his parents came to America from Scotland, he being carried on a pillow. Settling at Richmond in this state his father continued to follow his trade learned in the old Country, that of baking. After the son had obtained a common school education at the old Lancaster School at the foot of what is now known as Jefferson Davis Hill, he was taught to be a baker. But the war came on and with his brothers he enlisted in the Southern Army early in the conflict. Serving in an infantry regiment he went through the four years as a private soldier. He says he distinctly remembers witnessing the unfortunate shooting of his commander, General Stonewall Jackson, by his own men through error, at Chancellorsville. He was in many campaigns and battles but the most furious hand-to-hand fighting was at the battle of Seven Pines in which his twin brothers were killed and where he was wounded on the left thigh by a large piece of shell. Surgeons were preparing to remove his leg when he sent for an uncle, who persuaded the army medical officers to let him take his nephew home. He recovered and rejoined his company but in his words, "I wahnt much good after that." He was present at Appomattox when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant. He was at the convention in Atlanta last October and has been to many others outside his own state, but his most enjoyable one was that at the seventy- fifth anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg in 1938, when the U.S. Government paid the expenses of all Union and Confederate veterans who cared to attend, and provided each with an attendant. He has two pictures showing him fraternizing with the "Yankees." He has many more convention pictures and one of his proudest possessions is a huge framed painting of General Lee, to which is pasted two small likenesses of General Jackson. He has at least one hundred medals of various kinds. A grandson still has the musket he carried through the war. A son, R.H. Dickerson, of Windsor, and a daughter, Mrs. Pearl Bowden, lives near Suffolk, as do several grandchildren. One grandson is with the U.S. armed forces overseas at the present time. The veteran spends some time with his descendants but for many years the commonwealth of Virginia has given him a monthly pension and at present he is boarding in an Isle of Wight farm home. He says he can't see to read much but can usually distinguish anyone he has known. A walk of half a mile is about all he can stand without resting. He tried to enlist in the first World War but the recruiting officers would not accept him. He has not repeated the attempt since this one started. Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by File Manager Matt Harris (zoobug64@aol.com). file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/isleofwight/obits/d262j1ob.txt