Did I find out too late?

So Francis E Dickins died last year...There was a notice on the internet from the bankers handling his estate; a call for debts to be paid. I missed him! So now I've written a letter to the bank requesting it to be forwarded to Mr. Dickins' next of kin. It's taken me some time to actually write the letter and print it out but sometimes you know the next thing you have to do and no matter what you search for otherwise doesn't really get you anywhere.

Now I'm waiting...

Edward Allen Dickins returned to England

Another researcher who I've been in contact with regarding Anne Clarke Morgan's family sent me some information yesterday.

Basically, Anne Clarke Morgan's sister, Gwen married Richard Humphreys Richards. She had twins, then another daughter and died (1837) less than five years after her marriage. Richard H Richards died in 1841, the twins survived childhood, never married and died spinsters leaving their home estate Llanfair Isaf (located in Llanfair-juxta-Harlech, 20 miles north of Llangelynnin along the Welsh coast) to none other than their cousin, Edward Allen Dickins. The last of the two died in 1918. In January 1919, Edward Allen returns from Canada on the same ship as Sydney Howard Dickins. His final address is "Llanfairisaf, North Wales"

(If you have folks coming into or through the United Kingdom you really have to explore Ancestry.com's UK Incoming passenger Lists, 1878-1960. My friend even found Polish relatives who had gone to the United States, but returned to Poland in 1920. Their ship stopped in Liverpool on its way to Hamburg and all the passengers were listed.)

But there is more: Edward married a Mabel Brakell and had a son and daughter. The son, Francis E Dickins was still alive in 2007...now if I could only find his address!

Sydney Howard Dickins & his father Edward Francis Dickins

Kind Canadian researchers helped me locate Edward Allen & Sydney Howard Dickins in Lethbridge, Canada in both the 1911 & 1916 censuses. And another surprise! Sydney returned to England in 1919. But to Petersfield, Hampshire! Why?

Running down some other searches turned up the fact that Edward Francis Dickins, their father died in Petersfield, Hampshire in 1923. He must have moved there sometime after 1908 when the marriage contract was updated in Liverpool. No record of Edward returning.

On January 20, 1919, Sydney H. Dickins arrived in Liverpool from St. John's New Brunswick, Canada aboard the Tunisian. He is age 32, a farmer, last country of residence was Canada. Intended county of future permanent residence is England. His destination is Clare Cron, High St. Petersfield, Hants.

There are two High street references, but none for Clare Cron. However, there is one Clare Cross on High Street...maybe that's the place?

Joseph Watson of Ireland, Nebraska, & Liverpool

So I received an email today from a relative of one Joseph Watson, born in Ireland in 1850 who went to Lincoln, Nebraska as an importer of horses. He traveled back and forth across the ocean and eventually died 1912 in Liverpool on a purchasing trip. Sounds as if he's a good match for the J Watson that Edward Allen Dickins was going to meet in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1904. Now if we can only figure out how or why.

A few interesting tidbits on Joseph Watson:

A case brought up in the Nebraska Supreme Court:



His company maintained several horses for breeding purposes. Here are a few listed in the American Shire Horse stud Book. Here the company is listed in Beatrice, Nebraska.

Climbing Down the Family Tree

According to the marriage contract, Edward Allen Dickins & Sydney Howard Dickins were both in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada in 1908, when it was written. On an hunch I searched the FamilySearch Pilot site for Sydney Howard Dickins and Edward Allen Dickins...and found that Edward had come in through Ellis Island in 1904! He was 20 years and 4 months, single, a farmer, from "B'head" [Birkenhead] and going to Lincoln City, Nebraska to meet a friend, J. Watson.

So I started searching for more information on Edward and Sydney. I found that the Canadian censues are nearly all available online through their archive. I couldn't find either of them on the 1906 census or the 1911 census and found that they don't have the 1916 census posted. But Ancestry.com had it indexed and I found both of them in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Now I have to go to the library to get the actual image of the census!

I also have to find out more about this J. Watson character! Nothing so far in immigration on him. In the process, though, I found that FindMyPast.com has indexed out-going ships passenger lists for England, although I didn't find anything that matched the record from Ellis Island. Why? I couldn't find anything on Sydney in those records either. I wonder if they are not yet fully indexed?

Now it is back to the 1901 census and J. Watson. Cheers!

Why do we have a picture of Mary Collis Taylor Dickins?

When do you think this picture was taken of Mary Collis? My first guess was that it was taken when Mary Ann Moore [Marian DeBarcy] married Charles, Sr. That must have been around 1859. (William was born in 1860.) Mary would have been 13. Did girls put their hair up that early? I wish I could see her pendant better. It looks totally flat. I wonder if it got turned around and what we are looking at is the back of the pendant?

Why would Mary Ann keep this picture of Mary Collis even after she split up with Charles Sr.? The fact that she kept it must mean that it was hers to begin with, which is one reason why I think she commissioned the sitting. Was her early picture (see sidebar) taken at the same time? A girl's day out? Trying to make friends with a [future?] step-child?

Mary Collis Taylor bounced around living with different uncles at different times. In 1851, she lived with her father, Charles & mother, Ann Clarke in Tranmere, Cheshire. In 1861, she lived with Uncle Samuel Taylor at 162 Olive Park in Wavertree. In 1871 she lived with Uncle John Taylor at 51 Hope Street in Everton. In 1881, she was married to Edward Francis Dickins. They are together in 1891 & 1901. Of course we have to take this with a little salt, since the censuses are only a single day's snapsnot in a 10-year period. But, Charles Jr.'s notes say that she lived with Uncle Samuel, so that sounds as if she never did live regularly with Mary Ann & Charles Sr. I wonder why, especially if Mary Ann tried to make friends with Mary Collis as this picture might suggest.

Who has the original photograph? This copy was given me by my cousin. It doesn't have the photographer's stamp on it, so I have no idea whether it was taken in Liverpool, or on a trip they all might have taken together. I might even be able to date it somewhat by the photographer's listing in the directories. If only we knew.

Mary's middle name came from her grandmother, Sophia Collis, who married John Taylor, Esq. A cousin contacted us who had a old transcription of an even older family bible record. His record corroborated what we had researched through wills and censuses and gave us a few more details.

But we still can't locate a marriage record for Charles Taylor and Ann Clarke.

What is it with middle names in this family? In Mary Collis's christening record her mother's name of Anne Clarke appears. In the 1851 census, she has the name Annie Clerk Taylor. In both of these Mary has the middle name"Collis." Why is this so important? In every record we have found Mary shows up as "Mary C." or "Mary Collis" and yet Charles Jr. did not record her middle initial in the family story he provided us.

So it all comes back to the same question; Why do we have a picture of Mary Collis Taylor?