Senator Nathan Fellows Dixon

Nathan Fellows Dixon I was born on December 13, 1774, in Plainfield, Connecticut, and became a prominent lawyer, businessman, and statesman in early nineteenth-century Rhode Island. He was the son of a New England family of modest means and moved in his youth to Westerly, Rhode Island, where he would establish his lifelong home and professional base. Little is recorded about his early childhood, but his later prominence in law and politics suggests a solid grounding in classical education and the legal tradition of New England in the post-Revolutionary period.

Dixon pursued legal studies in Rhode Island, reading law in the customary manner of the era rather than attending a formal law school, and was admitted to the bar in the late eighteenth century. He commenced practice in Westerly, where he quickly built a reputation as a capable attorney and civic leader. In addition to his legal work, he engaged in mercantile and business activities that tied him closely to the commercial life of southern Rhode Island. His growing stature in the community led naturally to involvement in local affairs and laid the foundation for his subsequent political career.

By the early decades of the nineteenth century, Dixon had become an influential figure in Rhode Island politics. Initially aligned with the Federalist Party, he reflected the views of many New England professionals of his generation, favoring a strong national government and commercial development. As party alignments shifted in the years following the War of 1812, he remained active in public life and legal practice, and his experience and reputation positioned him as a logical choice for higher office. His prominence in Westerly and Washington County made him a leading advocate for his region’s interests at the state and national levels.

Nathan F. Dixon I was elected as a United States senator from Rhode Island and served in the Senate during the formative years of the young republic. In the Senate, he participated in debates over national finance, commerce, and the evolving balance between federal and state authority, issues of central importance in the early nineteenth century. Although the detailed record of his committee assignments and floor speeches is limited, his service as a United States senator underscored his status as one of Rhode Island’s principal political figures of his generation and contributed to the emergence of a family tradition of national legislative service.

Dixon’s influence extended beyond his own tenure in office, as he became the patriarch of a political family that would play a significant role in Rhode Island’s representation in Congress. His son, Nathan F. Dixon II (1812–1881), went on to serve as a United States representative, continuing the family’s involvement in national affairs. A later descendant, Nathan F. Dixon III (1847–1897), also served in Congress as a U.S. representative and senator, further entrenching the Dixon name in the political history of the state. This multigenerational record of service made the Dixon family one of Rhode Island’s notable political dynasties of the nineteenth century.

Nathan Fellows Dixon I continued to reside in Westerly, Rhode Island, maintaining his law practice and business interests alongside his public duties. He remained an active and respected figure in his community until his death. He died on January 29, 1842, in Westerly. His career as a United States senator, combined with his role as the progenitor of a line of congressional officeholders, secured his place in the political and civic history of Rhode Island and the early United States.