Born in Fremont, Ohio, the son of Rodolphus Dickinson and Marguerite Beaugrand Dickinson, Dickinson attended the public schools. He graduated from St. Xavier College, Cincinnati, Ohio, where he had studied law.
Dickinson was born in Fremont, Ohio, to Rodolphus Dickinson and Marguerite Beaugrand Dickinson. He went on to attend the local public schools before graduating from St. Xavier College in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he pursued a degree in law.