When Rev James Wesley Dickey was born on 24 March 1829, in McMinn, Tennessee, United States, his father, David Houston Dickey, was 30 and his mother, Letitia Witten, was 26. He married Mary Shannon in 1846, in McMinn, Tennessee, United States. He lived in Smyth, Virginia, United States in 1860 and Virginia, United States in 1870. He died on 26 March 1876, in Abingdon, Washington, Virginia, United States, at the age of 47, and was buried in Washington, Virginia, United States.