In 1830, Dickson's family moved to Georgetown, Copiah County, Mississippi, where he married Sophronia L. Magee. Dickson attended medical school in Lexington, Kentucky, and after graduating in 1841, moved, as part of a large group, to the Montgomery County, Texas, community of Anderson (present-day Grimes County).
Dickson's family resided in Georgetown, Copiah County, Mississippi, in 1830. He married Sophronia L. Magee and went on to study medicine in Lexington, Kentucky, graduating in 1841. As part of a larger group migration, he established himself in the Anderson community (now Grimes County), Montgomery County, Texas.