Alexander Dawson
Although a resident of this county but a short time. Alexander Dawson has been here long enough to let his neighbors judge of his character and worth as a citizen. Born and reared in Ross county, this state, in 1888, he came to this county and in 1913 moved to his present place in Marion township, on a farm of fifty acres on the Circleville pike eight miles from Washington C. H. He comes from an old and highly esteemed pioneer family and has inherited those excellent qualities which made his forefathers prominent citizens of the various communities in which they resided. He is a man of clean and wholesome life and interested in everything which pertains to the general welfare of his locality, thereby well meriting the high esteem in which he is held.
Alexander Dawson, the son of Dillie and Rebecca (Baughman) Dawson, was born November 17, 1849, in Ross county, Ohio, near Clarksburg. Dillie Dawson was the son of John and Catherine Dawson, natives of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and early settlers in Ross county, Ohio. Dillie Dawson was bound out when a small boy, owing to the death of his father, and was essentially a self-made man in every particular. He grew to manhood in Ross county, married and reared a family of seven children, Marion, Sarah Jane, Alexander, Dillie, Owen, Jasper and one who died in infancy. Of these children, Alexander, Owen and Jasper are still living.
Alexander Dawson was educated in the schools of Clarksburg, Ohio, and early in life went to work on the farm. He lived in Ross county until 1888, when he came to Fayette county, where he is now living. He is a selfmade man, having started in life with nothing and has attained his present standing solely through his own unaided efforts.
Mr. Dawson was married on November 21, 1872, to Emma Shockley, the daughter of William and Martha (Dennis) Shockley, and to this union eight children have been born, Clarke, Harry, Owen, William, Mary, Lillie, Clara and Nettie. Clarke married Edna Hoskins, and has two children, Opal and Forrest; Harry is deceased; William married Ida Mattson and has two children, Virgil and Mabel; Mary became the wife of G. W. Rogers; Lillie is the wife of Guy Brown and has two children, Frank and Paul, deceased; Clara is the wife of James Hunter, and has four children, Vera, Robert, Ruth and Ethel V.; Nettie married Lawrence Losey and has two children, Dorothy and Paul.
Politically, Mr. Dawson has been a life-long Democrat and has always taken a deep interest in local political matters. After coming to Fayette county, he served as township trustee and was road supervisor while living in Pickaway county, filling the latter position for twelve years. Mr. Dawson is a man of pleasing personality, and has won many friends since becoming a resident of this township and county.
From History of Fayette County Ohio - Her People, Industries and Institutions by Frank M. Allen (1914, R. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.)