Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whanau a Sherwood Dixon i Dixon, Lee County, Illinois, te tama a Henry S. me Margaret Casey Dixon. Ko ia te mokopuna o te kaiwhakarewa o Dixon, "Tama" John Dixon. I puta a Dixon i te Whare Waananga o Notre Dame i te tau 1920, he hoia o te Pakanga Tuatahi o te Ao, he rangatira rangatira i roto i te Illinois National Guard. He mema a Dixon o te Komiti Matua o te Kawanatanga o Illinois Democratic (1938), he karere ki te 1952 Democratic National Convention me te karere whakakapi ki te 1940 me te
Ko ngā hui ā-motu o te Manapori i te tau 1956.