William Dickey was born on October 18, 1823. He was the son of Col. James Dickey and his first wife, Elizabeth Bourne Dickey. In the late 1840s, he married Martha Hale, with whom he had at least two daughters and one son. Dickey owned nearly 300 acres of land near the courthouse in Independence and was recognized as a farmer both before and after the Civil War. In 1851, he also worked as the clerk of court at the Grayson county courthouse. It is believed that he stayed at home to manage his farm during the Civil War. In July 1866, Dickey petitioned the governor to commute the death sentence of an African American to life imprisonment, arguing that the trial was unfair due to the prejudices of some civil officers in the county court.
On October 22, 1867, Dickey was elected, along with one other individual, to represent Carroll, Floyd, and Grayson counties at the state constitutional convention held from December 3, 1867, to April 17, 1868. Preliminary election returns suggest he garnered significant support from African American voters, who were casting ballots for the first time. Dickey served as the ranking member of the Committee on Taxation and Finance, but there are no recorded debates that feature his speeches. Although he was sympathetic to the new Republican Party, he often aligned with Conservative positions during roll-call votes. In 1868, Dickey sold land to establish an African American school in Independence and received $30 for repairs in the following year. He also served on the county board of education during the early years of the school system.
Dickey was an active member of the Grayson County Republican Party during the 1870s and 1880s. He helped establish the Grayson Journal, a Republican newspaper in Independence, and, with several partners, acquired and transformed the Grayson Clipper into another Republican Party publication. He served as deputy collector of internal revenue under President Ulysses S. Grant and as postmaster of Independence from July 1889 to April 1893, during President Benjamin Harrison’s administration. During the 1880s, In early 1876, he formed a partnership to open a mine in the county, but his business and financial records, as well as his personal history, remain inadequately documented.
William Dickey owned massive amounts of land and this extended into Smyth County where Dickey’s Knob is named after him. Dickey’s Knob holds some of our community history as well and has been the home to a Fire Tower in the 1930s and presently provides a recreational hiking trail that rises to 2750-3650 feet where you can overlook Sugar Grove and enjoy the views.
By the end of the century, Dickey and his wife had moved into the home of one of their married daughters in Independence. Dickey passed away on January 28, 1903, and was buried in the Independence town cemetery.
*Note: We currently do not have a photo of William Dickey–if you have one, we would love to include it with this article.
