Dixon was born in
Hemlock Lake, New York, in 1856, to Irish immigrants Adam Dixon (later a captain for the Union army and ultimately a brigadier general), and Ann Lightfoot Dixon. He attended the
Leavenworth Normal School in Kansas and graduated from
Rochester Theological Seminary in 1883 with a
Bachelor of Divinity. From 1883 to 1889 he was pastor of the First Baptist church in
Auburn, New York. He moved to Epiphany Baptist Church in Philadelphia, leaving that post in 1895. That year Dixon was an interim pastor of
Sioux Falls, South Dakota's First Baptist church. He ceased ministry later that year and worked for some religious publications before finding work giving lectures for
Eastman Kodak from 1904 to 1906. Dixon received a degree from
William Jewell College in 1897, and honorary
Doctor of Divinity and
Doctor of Law degrees from
Bucknell University and
Temple University, respectively. After 1906 he was employed by
Wanamaker's, giving educational lectures. Dixon fashioned himself as an expert on Native Americans, and convinced
Rodman Wanamaker to fund the
Wanamaker expeditions, three trips from 1908 to 1913 that visited Native American tribes, including a 1913 "Expedition of Citizenship". In 1909 Dixon attended a dinner where he talked to prominent Americans such as
Buffalo Bill,
Nelson A. Miles, and
Leonard Wood and they discussed constructing a
National American Indian Memorial. Dixon worked to create such a monument. In 1915 Dixon exhibited his photographs from the expeditions at the
Panama–Pacific International Exposition, where he won a gold medal. He spent months lecturing to a total of around a million people. With the
American entry into World War I he advocated for Native Americans to enlist and after it ended in 1918 fought for Native veterans to become citizens. == Personal life ==