Charles Dickson (bef. 1719 - abt. 1784)

Born before 1719 in Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Miriam (Ingersoll) Starr — married 29 Apr 1747 in Westfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died about 1784 after about age 65 in Horton Township, Kings, Nova Scotia Colony

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Biography

Charles Dickson is Notable.

Charles Dickson was a New England soldier from Connecticut Colony; among the first of the English-speaking immigrants to Nova Scotia known as New England Planters; and a major landowner and politician in Nova Scotia Colony in the last half of the 1700's.

Charles was born before 1719. ^[1] He was the son of William Dixson and Unknown Unknown. His father had roots in the north of Ireland. ^[2]

The wife of his first marriage is unknown; he married his second wife in 1747. ^[2] Charles Dixson (sic) of Colchester (Connecticut) married Miriam Ingersole (sic) of Hightown? in Westfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony on 29 April 1747. ^[3]

Dickson led a New England military company against the French during the Siege of Beauséjour in 1755. ^[2]

In 1761, Dickson emigrated from Connecticut and was among the first of the New England Planters to resettle Horton Township, Nova Scotia, ^[2] after the brutal ethnic cleansing and deportation by the British of some 4,000 Acadians from Horton Landing in Grand Pré during Le Grand Dérangement (Great Upheaval) in 1755.

Dickson was elected to represent Horton in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia in a 1767 by-election held after William Welch's seat was declared vacant, taking the seat on 18 June 1768. ^[2]

In 1770, Charles Dickson lived in Horton Township, Kings County, Nova Scotia, in a family consisting of 4 men (including himself, 1 boy (Charles Jr.?), 4 women (including his wife Miriam, and older daughter Lavinia) and 1 girl. They were all Protestants, and all from America.^[4]

He served in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia for about eight years, resigning his seat in 1776 due to illness. ^[2] His half-brother Thomas also served in the Nova Scotia Assembly.^[5]

Charles Dickson died in Horton Township in about 1784. ^[2]

Research Notes

There were two different men named Charles Dickson in Nova Scotia at the same time who were descended from different families, ^[2] which has created confusion among researchers. Fortunately, they both served in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia as documented below.

The one in this profile is Charles Dickson Sr. (abt.1719-abt.1784): "DICKSON, CHARLES, soldier, landowner; s. of William Dickson (Dixon); half brother of THOMAS DICKSON; of Northern Irish descent, emigrated from Connecticut; m. (2) 29 April 1747, Miriam, dau. of Thomas and Sarah (Dewey) Ingersoll, of Westfield, Mass.; led a company at Siege of Beausejour in 1755; one of the original grantees of Horton in 1761; el. Member for Horton Township in by-el., 1767, taking seat, 18 June 1768-1776; d. ca. 1784, at Horton." ^[2]

The other one is Charles Dickson (1746-1796): "DICKSON, CHARLES [2l merchant, farmer, shipbuilder; s. of Robert and Abigail (Harris) Dixon, of Middletown, Conn.; m. 1772, Amelia, dau. of John and Mary Bishop, of Connecticut and Horton, at Horton, N.S.; moved to Onslow ca. 1771; el. Member for Onslow Township in by-el., 6 August 1776; s.d.v., 4 July 1782 for non-attendance; took seat 27 October 1783-death; registrar of deeds, 1777-death; justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for Cumberland Co., 22 September 1778; J.P. for Colchester and Pictou, 16 September 1780; visited West Indies in 1796, dying of yellow fever at Halifax on his return, 3 September 1796; buried in St. Paul's Cemetery." ^[2]

The two have often been confused by genealogists, including Wikitree profilers, and historians. For example, Esther Clark Wright appears to have mixed up the two in her otherwise excellent compendium of "Planters and Pioneers," which lists more than 4,000 patriarchs who re-settled Nova Scotia between 1749 and 1775. Clark says:

"DICKSON, CHARLES, ESQ ... HORTON, ONSLOW, 1771

d. 3 Sept 1796, m 29 April 1741, Conn., Miriam, dau of Thomas and Sarah Dewey :Ingersoll, b. 4 Nov, 1723. Ch: Charles Jr., Eunice, Robert?, Daniel?" ^[6]

That Charles Dickson was the second one (listed above) from Onslow, yet Clark assigns him a wife of the first Charles Dickson from Horton listed above. That assumes that the provincial legislative history is the more complete and accurate source when compared to Wright, who relied on many primary and secondary sources but did not cite the specific sources that support each named entry.

Sources

1. ↑ Based on the assumption that he is older than his sister Isabel.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9} "The Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758-1983 : a biographical directory,"(Halifax, N.S.: Province of Nova Scotia, 1984) 56; Updated and rev. version of the Elliot, Shirley B., Directory of the members of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758-1958 / prepared by the Public Archives of Nova Scotia; Accessed from Internet Archive : 20 March 2024.
3. ↑ Marriages 1695-1901" database FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCDF-YBS : 4 December 2014) Charles Dixon and Miriam Ingersole 29 Apr 1747 citing: reference; FHL microfilm 185,474
4. ↑ Nova Scotia Archives. 1770 census, Horton Township, Kings Co., Nova Scotia
5. ↑ Wikipedia contributors. Charles Dickson. Accessed 20 March 2024
6. ↑ Esther Clark Wright. Planters and Pioneers: Nova Scotia, 1749 to 1775. 1982 Revised Edition. (Beaver Bank, Nova Scotia: Justin Wentzell, 2007). 88.

See Also

• Emily Mckay Dewey, DICKSON: SCOTCH-IRISH: CONNECTICUT 1719, NOVA SCOTIA 1761, CALIFORNIA 1865: Descendants of Charles and Amelia Bishop Dickson of Onslow, Nova Scotia (Boston: Spaulding-Moss Company,1953), 4; image reprint, uploaded to SCRIBD by haloninenine, https://www.scribd.com/document/527487194/Dickson-Decendants-of-Charles-and-Amelia-Bishop-Dickson-of-Onslow-Nova-Scotia : accessed 23 March 2024.