Thomas Dickinson (abt. 1615 - bef. 1662)

Born about 1615 in England [uncertain]

Husband of Jennet (Unknown) Whipple — married before 1640 in Rowley, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died before 29 Mar 1662 before about age 47 in Rowley, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Thomas Dickinson migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 94) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Birth

The specific origin of Thomas Dickinson is not known although it was almost certainly in or near England. Birth year is estimated as about 1615 based on first known marriage of 1640 assuming he was abotu 25 at marriage.

Immigration

Per Anderson's "The Great Migration Directory", he is listed as having arrived by 1639 to Lynn and Rowley citing MBCR 1:284, 300 and "Early Settlers of Rowley" by Blodgette among a few other sources.^[1] The proof of his presence is unfortunately a court appearance on 3 Dec 1639 when he was sentenced to be severely whipped and condemned to slavery (the charge was not specified).^[2] On 1 Sep 1640 he was discharged from his sentence of slavery and was consigned to Ensign Richard Walker. At sentencing he was listed as Thomas "Dickerson" and at release as Thomas "Dickinson" (Anderson gives Dickerson an alternate name to "Dickinson" presumably for this reason). Note that he was NOT the Thomas Dickerman made freeman on 14 Mar 1638/39.

Marriage & Children

Thomas' will of 8 Mar 1661/62 listed wife Jennet, son James and listed four daughters but only named one, Sarah (Early Settlers of Rowley citing Essex County, Mass probate records)^[3] When and where he married Jenett is not yet determined. Her original surname is not known as of yet, no primary source for "Brooks" although some researchers point out a 15 Apr 1640 marriage of a couple of this name at West Riding, Yorkshire.^[4] Unfortunately as discussed above, Thomas Dickinson was already in Rowley, Massachusetts appearing in court by 3 Dec 1639 being sentenced to slavery until 1 Sep 1640 so it is doubtful that he was given permission to sail back to England to be married.

Torrey in "New England Marriages to 1700", spelling his name as "Dicanson" (matching the apparent spelling of the birth of his eldest child James) says this:

DICANSON, Thomas (-1662) & Janet/Jennet/Jeanette ____ (-1686), m/2 John WHIPPLE; in Eng, by 1640; Rowley^[5]

These children and their birthdates are listed in "Early Settlers of Rowley"^[3] and also appear in Rowley Vital Records with all but James listing both Thomas and Jenet as parents:^[6]

1. James, born September 6, 1640; died June 26, 1698; married Rebecca ___.
2. Mary ,born September 27, 1642; married December 21, 1666 Abel Langley.
3. Sarah, born October 18, 1644; married May 1, 1661, Jeremiah Jewett.
4. Mercy, born October __ 1646; married in Ipswich June 30, 1668, Nathaniel Adams of Ipswich.
5. Martha, born February 9, 1648; married December 9; 1669, Wry Quarles of Ipswich.
6. Thomas, born October 26, 1655; buried March 30, 1659^[7]

More information on his children appears in Cutter's "Genealogical and Personal Memoirs..."^[8]

Colonial Life

By 1643 1643 Thomas had a house and lot on Bradford Street in Rowley.^[3]

Offices held at Rowley (information comes from "The Early Records" of Rowley by Blodgette on a variety of pages)^[9]

• 1648: 11: 20 Thomas Dickenson, chosen Constable. (p. 51)
• 1649: Thomas Dickenson chosen Constable (p. 56)
• 1652: 3: 8 Thomas Dickenson chosen to lay out highways
• 1653: Thomas Dickenson, among others, chosen to order the affairs of the town for the year ensuing Dec. 16, 1653. (p. 85)
• 1653: 11: 2 Thomas Dickenson, among others to view and proportion all lands within the village. (p. 86)
• 1654: Thomas Dickenson, among others, chosen to order the affairs of the town for the year ensuing Dec. 12, 1654. (p. 90)
• 1656: Nov. Thomas Dickenson chosen for Town Office (p. 95)

Land holdings in Rowley:^[9]

• Survey in 1643 of the several lots of the inhabitants: Bradford Streete : Thomas Dickinson one Lott containing an acre and a half. (p. 2)
• Register of Division of Plantings: Bradford streete field: Thomas Dickinson four and a half acres of upland (p. 7)
• Batchelours Meadow: Thomas Dickenson half an acre. (p. 11)
• Division of the Salt Marsh: Thomas Dickenson one acre of salt marsh. (p. 16)
• 2nd Division of the Salt Marsh: Thomas Dickenson, one acre. (p. 19)
• Rough Meadows: Thomas Dickenson, one acre. (p. 25)
• Division called Marsh Field: Thomas Dickenson, one acre. (p. 28)
• 3rd Division of the Salt Marsh: Thomas Dickenson, one acre. (p. 31) Two acres. (p. 33)
• Uplands of Batcheours Plaine: Thomas Dickenson, six acres. (p. 41)
• Meadows of the Fresh Marsh: Thomas Dickenson, one and half acres. (p. 43) Two and three quarter acres. (p. 45)
• Bradford Streete Plaine: Thomas Dickenson, six acres. (p. 49) One additional acre. (p. 50)
• Thomas Dickenson four acres more or less of Prospect Hill. (p. 98)
• Thomas Dickenson, one acre rough marsh. (p. 107)
• Thomas Dickenson, Parcel of upland that he bought of Thomas Nelson (p. 114)

The information below comes from Essex County Quarterly Court records.^[10] According unto a grant of the Towne for the deviding of a Certaine Tract of Land Intended for a village, and to be proportioned according unto purchase by such men as the Towne chose for that end of the major part of them, and is now commonly called Rowley village land, After the grant and before the devission, several selling there Rights therin, it was laid out unto the purchasers and therfor now entered in there Names as it was given in by the survivers of those that were appointed to devide (viz) John Pickard, Ezekiell Northend. Copy made by Samuell Brocklebanke, recorder. At a town meeting held 11:11: 1653, Joseph Jewett, Thomas Mighill, Mathew Boys, Thomas Dickinson and John Pickard were appointed to proportion the Rowley village lands to the inhabitants of Rowley according to purchase, and the selectmen were ordered to bound the said Village, and report to the town Copy made by Samuell Brocklebanke. (p. 17)

Deed dated Feb 13, 1661, given by Jeremiah Jewett of Ipswich, to Thomas Dickinson of Rowley, for 500li, his whole farm in Ipswich containing about 100 acres with the house, barn, stables, outhouses, fences, wood, swamp waters and commons, bounded on the northeasterly by land sometimes in the possession of Thomas Hamand of Watertowne, and by land of Twiford West, on the southwest by the highway between Ipswich and Rowley, on the northwest by land of John Pickard of Rowley, on the east by the fence of Ipswich common field, and on the southeast by land now in possession of Maxemilion Jewett. (p. 392)

Jeremiah Jewett of Ipswich, on May 5, 1674, certified that whereas he made a sale of land to his father in law Thomas Dickenson of Rowley, deceased, by deed dated Feb. 13, 1661, and not receiving much in his life time, but since being forced by necessity for the discharge of his father's debts and children's portions of Capt. Bozoone Alli, to whom he was engaged as executor, as they came to be due, he had received of his mother-in-law Mrs. Gennett Whipple, relict of the said Dickenson, and his executrix, considerable sums of current pay. This satisfied him for the land except 50li for which he now received a bond. (p. 392)

Death & Estate

Thomas' will was dated 8 Mar 1661/62, proved 17 Apr 1662 and comes from Essex Probate Docket# 7678.^[11][3] He was buried at Rowley 29 March 1662^[7][3] married in England, Jennet ___, who married second John Whipple of Ipswich. She was buried in Rowley February 1, 1686.^[3]

Will of Thomas Dickinson of Rowley

Note that this will is freely available in full at Essex Probate Records.^[11]

I, Thomas Dickinson of The Towne of Rowley, in The County of esex, being weake of Body, but of perfect under standing And memmory doe make And ordnine This my last will and Testament In primis my will is That my welbe loued wife Jennett Dickinson shalbe my Solle excequtrise for To pay all my debts and to pay my childeren Those portions That I by will doe Give unto Them; And also To demand and Recover all debts that are or may be due unto me by bills bonds or otherwise and To doe any Thinge belonging To such an excequtorise; Item I will and Give unto This my welbeloved wife halfe of my Dwelling house, halfe of my barne, halfe of my orchard, and halfe of my swampe below my orchard and all my land above The barne about Twellve Acres be it more or lese, And Three Acres of meadow, one acre of it in batchelor meadow and Two Acres in the northeast feild, as also one acre more of salt marsh in the marsh feild bounded by deacon Jewets marsh on the west and by marsh of John pickards on the north, and also i doe Give unto hir Two Gates on the Towne common al this I doe Give hir dureing hir naturall life. Item I will And Give unto my son James dickinson The other halfe of my house ing barne orchard and swampe below the orchard and all all other my lands meadowes and Commons that belonge unto me with The Towne of Rowley, excepting my village land and Two Acres of meadow in The great meadow be it more or less.

Item I doe Give unto my son James dickinson foure score Acres of land more or less being my devission of land, in that land Commonly called merrimack land buting against merrimacke River, with the priveledges belonging unto the said fourscore acres of land and likewise I doe Give unto my son James my houseing, barne, orchard, and swamps, and lands above the barne and meadow and commons That I have given unto my welbeloved wife for her naturall life to be his unto his proper use and behoufe after his mothers decease. Item I doe further Give unto my son James my cart and plough and furneture belonging There To; also I give unto him my loumes and furneture belonging There To.

Item: out of The Rest of my estate That is in my village land and Two Acres of meadow in the Great meadow that was before excepted, and in my stocke, moveables, bills, bonds, or any other estate that is or may be due unto me out of This Remaneing part of my estate I will and Give unto my foure daughters each of Them one hundred pounds and my will is that that fifty pounds That I have given vnto my daughter Sarah alredy shalbe acounted as part of that which I doe now give. And if any of my children die before they at taine to the age of Twenty one yeares or day of marriage, Then There portions to be devided equally among the rest, and if my Son James depart This life haveing noe child, Then the one halfe of those lands I give him to Returne to be equally devided among The Rest of my daughters or Theire heires. The other halfe I give unto his wife if then liveing to be for hir use dureing hir nattural life and then to resume after hir decease to be equally devided among my other daughters or there childeren if ther be any then liveing.

Item; I will and Give (the Three hundered and fifty pounds being paid out of this estate that I here apoint for the payment of my daughters portions) all the Remaineing part of that estat unto my welbeloved wife To be unto hir owne proper use and To dispose of as she shall Thinke meete; And my will is that my wife shall have hir liberty to chuse which halfe of my dwelling house she will for to live in dureing hir life; And I appoint John pickard and Samuell Brocklebanke To be oversseers of This my last will and Testament which I Confirme with my owne hand this eighth of march one Thoussand Six hundred and sixty one or sixty two.

Thomas Dickanson Witness: Samuell Brocklebanke, John trumble.

Sources

1. ↑ The Great Migration Directory by Robert Charles Anderson entry for Thomas Dickinson of Lynn, Rowley
2. ↑ Records of the governor and company of the Massachusetts bay in New England. Printed by order of the legislature by Massachusetts (Colony); Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet, 1810-1874. ed; Massachusetts. General Court Publication date 1853 Vol 1. p. 284
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Early settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts : a genealogical record of the families who settled in Rowley before 1700, with several generations of their descendants by Blodgette, George B. (George Brainard), 1845-1918 Publication date 1933 p. 94
4. ↑ Yorkshire, West Riding : Leeds : St Peter : : "Parish Register" database, FreeREG marriage Tho. Dickinson to Jennit Brooke 15 Apr 1640
5. ↑ New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. Vol 1. p. 454 $subscription
6. ↑ Rowley, Massachusetts Vital Records for Dickinson Births
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Vital Records of Rowley, Massachusetts 1662 death of Thomas Dickinson
8. ↑ Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 1 By William Richard Cutter Lewis historical Publishing Company, 1908 p. 321
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} The early records of the town of Rowley, Massachusetts, 1639-1672 : being volume 1 of the printed records of the town by Rowley (Mass.); Mighill, Benjamin P; Blodgette, George B. (George Brainard), 1845-1918 Publication date 1894 p. 51
10. ↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts: 1672-1674 Massachusetts. County Court :Essex County) Publ. by The Essex Institute, Salem, 1916 p. 17
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} The Probate records of Essex County, Massachusetts by Dow, George Francis, 1868-1936; Massachusetts. Probate Court (Essex County) Publication date 1916 p. 372