Thomas Dickinson (abt. 1708 - abt. 1747)

Born about 4 Apr 1708 in Hartford, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Ann (Turner) Dickinson — married 3 Mar 1736 in Hartford, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died about 1747 at about age 38 in Hartford, Connecticut Colony

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Biography

Thomas Dickinson was born 4 April 1708 in Hartford, Connecticut, son of Thomas Dickinson (1671–1723) and Mehetabell Meakins (about 1675–about 1735).^[1]

Thomas married Anna Turner 3 March 1735/36. Anna was born 15 May, 1715 and died Nov. 29, 1796, Goshen, Connecticut. Their children were:^[1]

• Thomas Dickinson (1737–1811)
• Daniel Thomas Dickinson (1739–1812)
• Samuel Dickinson (about 1740– )
• Sarah Dickinson (1745– )

Thomas died in 1747 in Hartford, aged about 39.^[2]

Research Notes

Profiles both here and on FamilySearch have confused and conflated the various Thomas Dickinsons living in the Hartford area around the same time. It seems that Thomas Dickinson (1708–1747) and Thomas Dickinson (1707–1782) were cousins—the sons of brothers Thomas (1672–1723/4) and Ebenezer (1680–1752). Both of the 1707/8 Thomas had sons named Thomas as well.

The 1707/8 Thomases married women with similar names—Ann or Anna and Hannah—that were commonly seen as variant spellings of the same name in records of the time.

One of these two youngest cousins was born in 1736 or 1737 and the other in 1744. These two have been confused and attributed to both lines, as well.

With such similar names, birthdates, wives and children, it is far too easy to mistribute records or children or to conflate the two. However, the records make it clear that there are two distinct men.

In 1747, administration in the estate of Thomas (1708–1747) was granted to his widow Ann Dickinson and to Caleb Turner. Later in 1751, Thomas Dickinson, "a minor about 15 years of age" (i.e. born about 1736), chose his mother as guardian.^[2]

The baptism in January 1707/8 and death in May 1782 of the other Thomas are recorded in the church records of Wethersfield,^[3] and his birth in December 1707 to Ebenezer and Susannah (Waddams) Dickson is recorded in the Wethersfield Vital Records.^[4] In addition, the birth of his son Thomas was recorded in Wethersfield in 1744.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Dickinson, Addie M., Descendents [sic] of Nathaniel Dickinson, privately printed 1955,  p. 127–128, Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center, https://archive.org/details/descendantsofnat00dick/page/n5/mode/2up
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Manwaring, Charles William, A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records, Vol. 3, p. 541, Hartford, Conn., R. S. Peck & Co., 1904, Harold B. Lee Library BYU, https://archive.org/details/digestofearlycon03manw/page/540/mode/2up.
3. ↑ Baptism of Thomas Dickinson, son of Ebenezer, 29 Dec 1707, and death of Thomas Dickinson 30 May 1782, age 75, Index, Wethersfield First Congregational Church, 1694–1835, compiled by Connecticut State Library, 1962, p. 90, image 93 of 283, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/47176:3032
4. ↑ Thomas Dickinson, b. 29 Dec 1707, son of Ebenezer and Susanna, index, Wethersfield Vital Records, Vol. 1, p. 42, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKJ-7QS1-3
5. ↑ Thomas Dickinson, b. 20 August 1744, son of Thomas and Hannah, index, Wethersfield Vital Records, Vol. 2, p. 28a & 68a, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSKJ-W3K7