William Dickey (sometimes spelled Dickie or Dicky) was born in South Carolina but at an early age came to Georgia where he experimented with various crops, including sugar cane. It is not surprising that he joined the Patrons of Husbandry, founded in 1867 to enable farmers to learn new farming methods and fight monopolistic practices, since by the 1870s nearly every state had branches, or Granges, and national membership rose rapidly. The popularity of the group fell in the 1880s, which may be why these records end in 1881.