Contents [hide]

Dickenson History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Dickenson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England
Ireland

The earliest origins of the name Dickenson date back to the time of the Anglo-Saxons. The name is derived from the personal name Richard. Dicca (in the modern form, Dick) is a diminutive of the name Richard. When the son suffix is added to the root, the name literally means son of Richard. 1 "Richard was commonly called Dick, and his sons, were styled 'Dickson' and 'Dickieson.' " 2

Early Origins of the Dickenson family

The surname Dickenson was first found in Lancashire at Wrightington, a township, in the parish of Eccleston, union of Wigan, hundred of Leyland. "Robert Dicconson, of Eccleston, married Anne, daughter of John Wrightington, and was grandfather of William, who was convicted of high treason in the reign of William III. The Dicconsons held the property until 1812, when Capt. Edward Dicconson died without issue, and was succeeded by a nephew, Thomas Eccleston, of Eccleston and Scarisbrick. His son Charles, on succeeding to this estate, assumed the name of Dicconson." 3

Welsh Whitte, again in Lancashire was another estate of the same family. It was originally known as Walsewythull and Walshwittell. "In 1707 it was forfeited by the treason of William Dickenson, then owner, but, owing to legal technicality, the manor was not seized by the crown; and the Dicconsons, his descendants, have since been the principal proprietors." 3

Early History of the Dickenson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dickenson research. Another 181 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1366, 1388, 1594, 1624, 1659, 1663, 1670, 1696, 1700, 1707, 1712, 1713, 1717, 1719, 1722, 1741, 1752 and 1869 are included under the topic Early Dickenson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dickenson Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Dickenson include Dickieson, Dickinson, Dickeson, Dickenson and others.

Early Notables of the Dickenson family

Notables of the family at this time include

John Dickenson (fl. 1594), English romance-writer of unknown origin. 4
Edmund Dickinson or Dickenson (1624-1707), was an English physician and alchemist, son of the Rev. William Dickinson, rector of Appleton in Berkshire. 4

Dickenson Ranking

In the United States, the name Dickenson is the 5,828^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Dickenson family to Ireland

Some of the Dickenson family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dickenson migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Dickenson or a variant listed above:

Dickenson Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jeremy Dickenson, who landed in Virginia in 1623 6
Jane Dickenson, who arrived in Jamestown, Va in 1624 6
Jo Dickenson, aged 22, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Thomas & John" 6
Florence Dickenson, aged 19, who arrived in Isla de Providencia in 1635 aboard the ship "Expectation" 6
Geo Dickenson, aged 19, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Thomas & John" 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dickenson Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Dickenson, who landed in Virginia in 1714 6
John Dickenson, who landed in Virginia in 1714 6
Richard Dickenson, who landed in Virginia in 1715 6
Susanna Dickenson, who arrived in Virginia in 1719 6

Dickenson Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Dickenson, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 6
J B Dickenson, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 6
Edward Dickenson had moved toSan Francisco, California in 1852
William Dickenson, aged 22, who arrived in New York in 1854 6
Mr. Dickenson, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1860 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dickenson migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dickenson Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Hannah Dickenson U.E. who settled in St. Andrews, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 7
Lt. Nathaniel Dickenson U.E., "Dickinson" (b. 1734) born in Massachusetts, USA from Deerfield, Massachusetts, USA who settled in St. Andrews, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 he enlisted in 1774 he fought at Bunker Hill, served as a Conductor of Artillery and assisted the Commissary, married to Hannah Cock having 1 child, he moved to Westfield, Kings County, New Brunswick where he died in 1788 7

Dickenson Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

George Dickenson, who landed in Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1862

Dickenson migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Dickenson Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Dickenson, (Hall), British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl Cornwallis" in August 1800, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. Thomas Dickenson, English convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Aurora" on 3rd November 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. Charles Dickenson, English convict who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 20th January 1836, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
George Dickenson, English convict from York, who was transported aboard the "Anson" on September 23, 1843, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 11
Miss Ann Dickenson who was convicted in London, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Cadet" on 10th November 1848, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dickenson migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Dickenson Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Robert Dickenson, British settler travelling from Liverpool aboard the ship 'Mermaid' arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 19th October 1859 13
James Dickenson, aged 22, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Arethusa" in 1879

Dickenson migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 14

Dickenson Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. John Dickenson, (b. 1611), aged 24, British settler travelling aboard the ship "Expedition" arriving in Barbados in 1636 15

Contemporary Notables of the name Dickenson (post 1700) +

Vic Dickenson (1906-1984), American jazz trombonist
Vanessa Dickenson, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Wyoming, 1980 16
Sarah Christy Dickenson, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from New Jersey, 1936 16
R. Walter Dickenson, American Republican politician, Member of Virginia State Senate 3rd District, 1906-07; Candidate for Presidential Elector for Virginia, 1924 16
Nehemiah Dickenson, American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Haddam, 1834-35, 1838 16
Leonard M. Dickenson, American Republican politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Hartland; Elected 1916 16
E. J. Dickenson, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 1928 16
D. D. Dickenson, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Indiana, 1868 16
Andrew I. Dickenson, American politician, Member of Illinois State House of Representatives, 1843-45 16
Dave Dickenson (b. 1973), American former CFL football player and current coach of the Calgary Stampeders
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Dickenson family +

Hillcrest Coal Mine

Mr. Matthew Dickenson (1889-1914), English Miner from Haltwhistle, Northumberland, England, United Kingdom who worked in the Hillcrest Coal Mine, Alberta, Canada and died in the mine collapse 17

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-cornwallis
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Anson voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1843 with 499 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/anson/1843
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cadet/
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
List Of Miners - Hillcrest Mine Disaster Data. (Retrieved 2014, June 24) . Retrieved from http://www.hillcrestminedisaster.com/data/index.php?title=List_Of_Miners