Birth and Parentage. 



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The immediate cause of the elder Mr. 

 Peter Dixon's transference from Whitehaven 

 to Carlisle was the death of some members 

 ol his wife's family, who were engaged in 

 carrying on a cotton manufacturing busi- 

 ness at Langthwaite Mills, Warwick Bridge, 

 near Carlisle, subsequently known as the 

 Warwick Works. The deaths of Richard 

 and John Ferguson, brothers of Mrs. Peter 

 Dixon, left the Langthwaite Mills without 

 any one to conduct them, and in addition Mr. 

 John Ferguson left a large family slenderly 

 provided for, w T hich made it desirable that 

 some one with brains and capital should suc- 

 ceed to the business. Mr. Peter Dixon the 

 elder determined therefore to take to the 

 cotton factory, which had been left like a 

 derelict by his two brothers-in-law ; and, 

 assisted by his sons, John, Peter and George 

 (the second of whom was "The Druid's" 

 father), he soon created the new firm of 

 Peter Dixon & Sons, with which the commer- 

 cial history of Carlisle was for so many years 

 connected. 



Of the three above-named sons, Peter was 

 decidedly the ablest and most energetic. At 



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