William Dickinson I

1745 - 1806


Biography

Slave-owner in Jamaica, MP for Great Marlow (1768-1774), Rye (1777-1790) and Somerset (1796-1806), husband of Philippa Fuller, son-in-law of Stephen Fuller (q.v.) and father of William Dickinson II (q.v.).

  1. Will of William Dickinson of Kingweston Somerset proved 16/06/1806. In the will he recited his marriage settlement with Philippa Fuller under which he had pledged to place £11,000 in trust for her [in the event never paid], left her a annuity of £1470 p.a., left his daughter Frances Dickinson £5000 and left the residue including unspecified property in Jamaica to his son William Dickinson II, 'recommending him howsoever not to sell my moiety of the Flat Holmes Island Light house in the Bristol Channel.

  2. Captain Francis Dickinson (1632-1704) was granted 6000 acres in Jamaica by Charles II as a reward for his actions of 1655 when Jamaica was taken from the Spaniards. His estates were inherited by his son Caleb (1670-1728) who married Sarah Vickris of Chew Magna; the couple had three sons, Ezekiel (1711-1788, grandfather of Jeremiah and Ezekiel Harman), Caleb (1716-1783, father of William Dickinson I and grandfather of William Dickinson II) and Vickris (1718-1797, grandfather of Frances Dickinson q.v.). The Dickinson family papers are kept at the Somerset Record Office and include records of the management of the family's Jamaican estates. .


Sources

http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/dickinson-william-i-1745-1806 [accessed 29/12/2015].

  1. PROB 11/1444/174.

  2. Walter Minchinton, Jamaica Plantation Records from the Dickinson Papers 1675-1849 in Somerset Record Office and Wiltshire & Swindon Record Office: Introduction to the microfilm collection (East Ardsley, Wakefield, Microform Academic Publishers Limited, 1978), available at http://www.microform.co.uk/guides/R96977.pdf [accessed 11/03/2013]. Somerset Record Office, DD/DN.

We are grateful to Ruth Hecht for her assistance with compiling this entry.


Further Information

Absentee?
British/Irish
Spouse
Philippa Fuller
Children
William Dickinson II; Frances

Associated Estates (5)

The dates listed below have different categories as denoted by the letters in the brackets following each date. Here is a key to explain those letter codes:

  • SD - Association Start Date
  • SY - Association Start Year
  • EA - Earliest Known Association
  • ED - Association End Date
  • EY - Association End Year
  • LA - Latest Known Association
1783 [EA] - 1806 [LA] → Joint owner
1806 [EA] - 1806 [LA] → Joint owner

Possibly refers to William Dickinson II: his father William Dickinson I died in 1806.

1804 [EA] - 1804 [LA] → Joint owner
1783 [EA] - 1806 [LA] → Joint owner
1783 [EA] - 1801 [LA] → Joint owner

Legacies Summary

Commercial (1)

Member of London Committee
 
notes →
It is not clear how significant was the Dickinson family involvement in the share capital between 1747 and 1787, or whether the family subscribed new capital or bought existing shares. Caleb...

Physical (1)

Country house
Kingweston House [Built] 
description →
Late 18thC country house designed by Henry Holland the younger 1783 and built 1785-1788 for William Dickinson I , modified c. 1824 for William Dickinson II, and now part of Millfield...

Political (1)

MP
 
election →
Great Marlow Buckinghamshire
1768 - 1774
election →
Rye Sussex
1777 - 1790
election →
Somerset Somerset
1796 - 1806

Relationships (7)

Father → Son
Son → Father
First Cousins
First Cousins
Grandson → Grandfather
Nephew → Uncle
Son-in-law → Father-in-law

Addresses (1)

Kingweston House, Kingweston, Somerset, South-west England, England