John P Dawson was born in 1850 in Grant County, Indiana. He was the son of Elizabeth (Prickett) and Thomas Simpson Dawson.
He married Margaret H Newell on March 8, 1873 at Chariton, Iowa.
They had nine children, including my grandmother, Mary Emma.
John was a farmer and cemetery sexton and he was a member of the Chariton Volunteer Fire Department.
He served in the civil war along with his father, Thomas, and brother, Zadock.