Zeno Hadley Dixon was born in Alamance County, North Carolina, on February 29, 1864. Dixon was a lifelong educator who served schools in Yadkinville, Elkin, Jonesville, Siler City, and Greensboro. In the aftermath of a devastating July 1916 flood, he served as the head of a relief committee in Elkin. He died in Elkin (Surry County) on November 4, 1951.