Dix, John Adams

Dix, John Adams,

1798–1879, American statesman, b. Boscawen, N.H. He served in the War of 1812, was later admitted to the bar, and practiced law in Cooperstown, N.Y. He held high state offices and served (1845–49) as Democratic U.S. senator from New York. In 1848 he ran for governor of New York on the Free-Soil ticket. President Buchanan appointed him secretary of the treasury in 1861, and in his two-month tenure of office, despite secession, he was able to secure loans. He was a major general in the Civil War and later (1866–69) minister to France. Dix was prominent in railroad affairs and became (1863) president of the Union Pacific, with T. C. DurantDurant, Thomas Clark,
1820–85, American railroad builder, chief figure in the construction of the Union Pacific RR, b. Lee, Mass. He was successful in building railroads in the Midwest, and, after the Union Pacific was organized (1862) by an act of Congress, John A.
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 as vice president, and he was the long-time president of the Erie RR. Dix served as Republican governor of New York in 1873–74.