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manager of the Southern Illinois Lumber Company, has been identified with the lumber industry in one capacity or another since 1904, and his connection with Wayne City began in 1907, and has continued since then to the present time. In that time he has won to himself a reputation that places him in the foremost ranks of the citizenship of the city and gives him a social and business prestige that is especially valuable.
 
Born on July 24, 1873, Thomas M. Dickey is the son of J. L. and Elizabeth A. (Reed) Dickey, who reside on their farm six miles from Wayne City. The father was born in 1851, in Georgia, and is the son of Thomas W. Dickey, born in 1832, in North Carolina, and who still resides on his farm in Wayne county. He migrated from Georgia to Wayne county, Illinois, in 1863, and served as a scout for the Union army during the war. He took an active part in the battle of Chickamauga, and an interesting fact in connection with that event is that the Dickey farm was a part of the battlefield, and the home of the Dickey family was literally riddled with bullets, being the center of the activities of the day. The mother of Thomas M. Dickey was Elizabeth A. Reed. She was a daughter of John and Rebecca Reed and was born October 12. 1852. The Reed family were among the earliest pioneer settlers of Wayne county and took up government land when they settled there, and where they are still prominent.

J. L. and Elizabeth Dickey were the parents of twelve children, of whom eight are yet living. They are: Rebecca, married to W. T. Bremer, and living in Wabash county; Thomas M., of Wayne City; Fannie, the wife of H. G. Harris, lives near Fairfield; George lives in Wayne City; Nellie M.; Mary, the wife of Ebe Withrow, living near the old homestead; Melissa, still in the family home, and Ralph.

Thomas M. Dickey was educated in the public schools of his community and in Old Hayward College. After his graduation from the latter named institution he taught school for five years, and in 1898 became deputy sheriff of Wayne county, serving until 1900, when he became deputy circuit clerk, which office he filled with a high degree of satisfaction until 1904. He then became employed by the Fairfield Lumber Company and continued in their service until 1906. In January, 1907, he came to Wayne city and operated the DeWitt & Dickey Lumber Company, this concern being merged into the Southern Illinois Lumber Company on January 1, 1909. Since that time Mr. Dickey has been manager of the company in Wayne City and the firm is making rapid progress under his able management. In addition to his lumber interests, Mr. Dickey has been more or less concerned in the breeding of live stock, specializing in the standard breeds, and he owned a farm of eighty acres, which he sold in 1911. He is a member of the Southern Illinois Lumbermen’s Association, and in a fraternal way is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Modern Woodmen of America. His political affiliation is with the Republican party, and he has always taken a live interest in the political matters of his city and county, and has been active in the interests of the party to which he gives allegiance. He is a member of the Christian church.

In 1899 Mr. Dickey was united in marriage with Miss Emma F. Fuhrer, of Wayne county, a daughter of Frederick and Eliza Fuhrer. Two children have been born of their union: Daisy M., now eleven years of age, and Fuhrer Dickey, eight years old.