Thomas Dickerman

Citations

1. [S1449] Dickerman Ancestry, Additum for Thomas (___-1657) Part One: Here is some excellent research on the Dickerman family produced by David Allen Lower of Baldwinsville, NY. The following is copyrighted in his name and appears here by permission of the author. Part Two appears tomorrow.
   Abstract
   The "Dickerman Ancestry", published in 1897, is an excellent genealogical work chronicling many of the descendents of Thomas Dickerman (___-1657), immigrant to Dorchester, Massachusetts from England about 1635. Recently uncovered English archives add substantially to the birth, marriage and family record of Thomas.
   This additum to the Dickerman Ancestry indicates two wives taken by Thomas in England prior to his known wife and immigrant companion Elenor or Ellen (Whittington). We find his first child, a daughter Hannah not previously connected with Thomas, born of his first wife Elizabeth Sims. We confirm his first son, Thomas (Jr.), was born of his second wife, Marie Eustaire. The last three sons, Abraham, Isaac and John, are then confirmed to be born of Elenor. Hannah, not mentioned in the Dickerman Ancestry, is first found at New Haven, CT, married 1st to William Ives and 2nd .to Dr. William Bassett. These revelations begin to untangle a multitude of improper notations in the greater genealogical database with respect to Thomas Dickerman and his immediate family.
   Further evidence is put forth that while Thomas Dickerman was "of St. Georges Parish, Southwark, Surrey" (as stated by Banks), he was married (1st ) at St. Georges, married (2nd ) and son Thomas christened at Saint Clements Danes, London (across London Bridge from St. Georges), and married (3rd ) at Little Missendon, Buckinghamshire. He may have been the son of George Dickerman "of Marston Morteyne, Bedfordshire", and may have had a younger brother Abraham living in St. Georges, Southwark about 1620. He also may have been christened at the Mears Shelby School, Norwich, Norfolkshire, in 1605.
   Accepted Genealogical Information
   The Dickerman Ancestry of 1897 is the earliest and best-known assemblage of genealogical information on Thomas Dickerman (___-1657). The authors, E. D. and G. S. Dickerman, neither knew nor speculated on Thomas's birth or early life, and stated they had "……diligently searched, both in this country and in England, but without success." They did opine on the origin of the sirname Dickerman, suggesting it to be "German" , but offered no proof.
   The earliest fact found and recorded by E. D. and G. S. Dickerman was dated January 1637, wherein Thomas is shown to be at Dorchester, one of one hundred and four names listed for apportioned lands. On the "Seaventh day of the Twelfth monthe in the yeare 1641" Thomas Dickerman's signature was entered among seventy-one signers conveying land to the town of Dorchester. It is interesting to note the replicated signature and the author's remark on its clarity and large size; this signature will later prove nearly the same as those which were found in signed documents with earlier dates.
   At the time of the Dickerman Ancestry publication, 1897/Supl.1922, hard genealogical data for Thomas was slim . The time and place of Thomas's marriage was unknown, as was his parentage and that of his (as it turns out - 3rd) wife. No prior wives were known. No daughter (first child) was known. For his early named children, their birth, marriage and spousal information was lacking.
   E. D. and G. S. Dickerman struggled most with Thomas (Jr.) son of Thomas Dickerman. They could find no direct link to Thomas and noted that Thomas (Jr.) was consistently identified with Malden, Massachusetts in the materials available to them. They do note, however, that the name of Dickerman is "too unusual, not only in the colonies, but in England, to think of……different families." They did find one deposition of 1658 which lists Thomas (Jr.) as "aged about 35" . This would suggest Thomas (Jr.) was born about 1623. As we will see below, this corresponds well with a record of Thomas (Jr.)'s christening on 27 Apr 1623 at St. Clement Danes, Westminster with Thomas recorded as his father.
   Research by Col. Charles Edward Banks in the 1930's is of interest; Thomas Dickerman is cited in his table of 2885 emigrants along with some limited information. The listing contains only the name, Thomas Dickerman, the parish from which he emigrated - St. Georges, Southwark, the year in which he emigrated - 1620, and his destination - New York. The year and destination is of great interest to me in that Thomas could have first taken a voyage in 1620 as reported by Banks, and could have previewed New York for the later voyage that year of the Pilgrims, subsequently blown off course while set for New York and landing in Massachusetts.
   This set of entries prompted my search in and around London for Thomas Dickerman, leading to the revelations detailed below. Sources for Bank's entries are not disclosed and I have yet to review directly his manuscripts and notes , which may yield other original documents.
   Topographical Dictionary of 2885 English Emigrants, Banks, Charles Edward, reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1957; the complete entry is-
   From: SURREY
   Passenger Name: Thomas DICKERMAN
   Ships Name: none
   English Parish Name: Southwark (S.George)
   New England Town: Dorchester
   Various Ref: Charles E. Banks Mss. in Library of Congress
   [Note: this no longer refers to New York as destination, or the year 1620.]
   Notes
   (1) Dickerman, Edward Dwight and Dickerman, George Sherwood, FAMILIES OF DICKERMAN ANCESTRY Descendants of THOMAS DICKERMAN an early settler of Dorchester, Massachusetts, Hardcover, 650 pages, published New Haven, The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Press, 1897
   And (2) Supplement of same author and title, Papercover, 47 pages + charts, published New Haven, The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Press, 1922.
   2 Ibid Dickerman, page 4.
   3 Ibid Dickerman, page 4, para 2.
   4 Ibid Dickerman, page 5, para 4.
   5 All dates are presented as recorded in the original, referenced document. No correction is made even when apparent.
   6 Ibid Dickerman, page 6, para 6.
   7 Ibid Dickerman, page 17, para 1.
   8 Ibid Dickerman, page 13, para 2.
   9 Ibid Dickerman, page 13, para 3. - transcribed by [Ives Family History Blog by Bill Ives] David Allen Lower - http://billives.typepad.com/ives_family_history_blog/2007/…
2. [S1450] Dickerman Ancestry, Additum for Thomas (___-1657) Part Two: Thomas Dickerman - Marriages and Children
   While Thomas is a reasonably common name in England in the 16th and 17th Centuries, the surname Dickerman is exceptional by its absence from almost every record now in existence. Four marriage and christening entries for Thomas Dickerman are found in various repositories, two in London and one in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. In chronological order:
   Marriage to Elizabeth Simms :
   Thomas Dickerman m. Elizabeth Simms
   Parrish: St. George the Martyr, Southwark, Surrey
   Date: 14 Jun 1613
   No further entries.
   [Note: Searched St. George the Martyr records from 1602 (earliest known to exist) thru 1635 Marriages, Christenings and Burials finding only one entry for a DICKERMAN: the marriage of Thomas to Elizabeth Sims 14 Jun 1613. Also found no Hannah XXX christened 1620 - 1623 having an identified father; however, there were Hannahs without family name entry.]
   
   Marriage to Marie Eustaire or Eustice :
   Thomas Dickerman m. Marie Eustaire or Eustace
   Parish: Saint Clement Danes, London, ENGLAND
   Date: 3 Nov 1622
   [note: • Spelling of the last name in the marriage record is difficult to discern even though the recording is in good condition and written in a large hand.]
   Marriage to Elenor Whittington :
   “marriage - Anno 1631 The 20th of October wed Thomas DICKERMAN & Elenor WHITTINGTON”
   Parish: Little Missenden, Buckinghamshire, ENGLAND
   Date: 20 Oct 1631
   [note: Little Missendon, Buckinghamshire [was shown original ink on velum] Parish Record entry viewed at County Hall, Walton Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP20 1UA, England by DAL [15 Nov 1996] found:
   • Curiously another marriage the same day (there were only about 3 marriages that year at Little Missendon) showing Nathaniel Dell and Jane Britnel.
   • The original record is in poor condition and bound such that the right ends of the entries are difficult to read. A photostat of the microfilm copy is in DAL library.
   Thomas Dickerman - Early Life
   I have not yet verified by direct access the original documents for the following two leads:
   A. web source: < http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mbfriedlander/…>
   THOMAS1 DICKERMAN was christened at Mears Shelby School, Norwich, Norfolkshire, England, 11 March 1605, and died in Dorchester, Massachusetts 3 February 1658. ………”
   And B.
   A lead to George Dickerman, the probable father of Thomas Dickerman, and an (adopted?) brother, Abraham, is found in the work of Paul W, Prindle: Ancestry of Elizabeth Barrett Gillespie [hereinafter Gillespie]. The following is a reproduction of part of [Gillespie], page 108:
   “DICKERMAN
   1. GEORGE DICKERMAN of Marston Morteyne, Bedfordshire, England, died about 1615, leaving a widow named Alice [possibly SAUNDERS] George Dickerman was called “deceased, cook” in a 1619 pleading by his widow and Thomas Dickerman, their “natural son”. At that time the term “natural son” was used in the sense of “by nature or blood” as opposed to “adopted son” (Public Records Office, Court of Requests, James I, XXXII, Part 2). George and Alice Dickerman had two known children:
   i. Thomas Dickerman, eldest son. ii. Abraham Dickerman. In 1620 he was living in a section known as “Streetside west from the Axe Gate” in the parish of St. eorge, Southwark, Surrey (Public Records Office, Lay Subsidy, 186/407). Southwark is across the River Thames from London.
   2. THOMAS DICKERMAN, son of George (1) Dickerman and his wife, Alice, was apprenticed to a London tailor. On 20 October 1631 Thomas Dickerman and Elinor Whittington were married, the ceremony being recorded in the parish register at Little Missendon, Buckinghamshire, the county west of and contiguous with Bedfordshire.
   
   Two of America's most eminent genealogists, Donald Lines Jacobus and Col. Charles E. Banks, had no doubt that the Thomas Dickerman of this 1631 marriage was the one of that name who later settled at Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony; and Col. Banks considered Elinor to have probably been the daughter of John Whittington and Margaret Hill, who were married 12 October 1601 at Amersham, only a few miles from Little Missendon (The American Genealogist, 26:165-7). ………”
   
   Notes
   
   10 Banks, Charles Edward, TOPOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY of 2885 ENGLISH EMIGRANTS, Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Co., 1957, pg. 168; original publication much earlier
   11 notes and manuscripts are held by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA
   12 Saint George the Martyr, Southwark, Surrey, ENGLAND, Parish Records on microfilm at London Metropolitan Archives (formerly Greater London Record Office), 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB, viewed by DAL 20-11-1996
   13 Saint Clement Danes, Westminster, London, ENGLAND; Parish Records microfilm reviewed by DAL at Westminster Archives, Address: City of Westminster Archives Centre, 10 St Ann's Street, London SW1P 2DE (11-11-1996) found:
   1) marriage to Marie EUSTAIRE [spelling uncertain] on 3 November 1622, and
   2) christening 27 Apr 1623 of Thomas DICKERMAN son of Tho and Marie [original corrected by early hand from Susan before microfilming] his wife.
   14 Little Missendon, Buckinghamshire [was shown original ink on velum] Parish Record entry viewed at County Hall, Walton Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP20 1UA, England by DAL [15 Nov 1996]
   15 Paul W. Prindle, Ancestry of Elizabeth Barrett Gillespie, New York, New York Public Library, 1976 (copy at Onondaga County Public Library, Syracuse, NY - photocopy in DAL files) - transcribed by [Ives Family History Blog by Bill Ives] David Allen Lower - http://billives.typepad.com/ives_family_history_blog/2007/…
3. [S1450] Dickerman Ancestry, Additum for Thomas (___-1657) Part Two: Marriage to Elizabeth Simms :
   Thomas Dickerman m. Elizabeth Simms
   Parrish: St. George the Martyr, Southwark, Surrey
   Date: 14 Jun 1613 - transcribed by [Ives Family History Blog by Bill Ives] David Allen Lower - http://billives.typepad.com/ives_family_history_blog/2007/…
4. [S1448] Donald Lines Jacobus, Dickerman Origin in England, page 166. - http://www.americanancestors.org/PageDetail.aspx
5. [S1451] Charles Henry Pope, The Pioneers of Massachusetts, page 137 - Thomas, tailor, Dorchester, frm. March
   14, 1638-9. Wife Ellen; ch. Abraham, Isaac
   b. (9) 1637, John bapt. 29 (7) 1644, Sarah b.
   at Malden, Oct. 1653, Thomas b. do. Aug.
   1655. [Note - It is questionalbe whether John and Sarah are children of this Thomas and Ellen - it is likely they were children of Thomas Jr. who lived at this location. - KLM]
6. [S1451] Charles Henry Pope, The Pioneers of Massachusetts, page 137 - He d. 3 (11) 1657. Inv. of his est, filed and
   admin, gr. to the widow 25 (11) 1657. Prop-
   erty at Dorch. aud Boston. His widow m.
   John Bullard of Medfield before 1663.