John Q. Dickinson Papers

John Quincy Dickinson was born to Isaac and Cornelia (Coleman) Dickinson in Benson, Vermont on November 19, 1837. Dickinson graduated from Middlebury College in 1860 and then served as a reporter and correspondent for the Rutland Herald. On November 12, 1861, Dickinson enlisted, and on February 12, 1862 was appointed 2nd Lieutenant of Company C of the 7th Regiment of Vermont Volunteers. His regiment was sent to Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama. During his military service, Dickinson was promoted to 1st Lieutenant of his company (October 9, 1862), Quartermaster of the regiment (September 13, 1864), and Captain of Company F, still with the 7th Regiment (August 22, 1865). He resigned from the last two positions in 1865 due to illness. After leaving the army, Dickinson established a saw mill in Florida with a few partners, including a colonel from his regiment, but the business ultimately failed.

Dickinson then turned to politics as part of Florida’s Republican Party, aiding in Florida’s Reconstruction. In 1868, he became the County Clerk of the village of Marianna, in Jackson County. In 1869, as the Republican Party made efforts to register and transport black voters, the Ku Klux Klan began a series of attacks across Jackson County, including attacks on two other government officials, one of whom, Dr. John L. Finlayson, was killed. This began what would be known as the Jackson County War, in which 150-200 people would be murdered by the Klan and its allies in a struggle over Reconstruction politics. Following Finlayson’s death, Dickinson took on the newly vacant role of court clerk, and became the head of the Republican Party in Jackson County. On April 3, 1871, after months of violence and intimidation by the Klan, John Quincy Dickinson was shot by a group of men hiding outside his home. He was buried in Benson, Vermont.