John Dickinson was the son of William and Ann Dickinson of Kimbersworth. John was born in May of 1830 in Masbrough, Yorkshire, England. (Correction: He was born April 8, 1831. See his baptismal record here).
John married Elizabeth Reynolds on the 10th of February, 1856, at St. Philips in Sheffield. The magnificent structure was built in 1828 and seated 2,000 people. It was demolished around 1951. It was located at the spot marked on this map:
I ordered John and Elizabeth's marriage license application from the G.R.O. in London. It is shown here:
When the U.K. Census was taken in 1861, he was listed as a Forgeman, age 29, in Sheffield, and in 1871 he was a Steel Forgeman, age 39, still in Sheffield in the district of Nether Hallam. There were many small workshops in Sheffield, where steel was cast into cutlery, gaining Sheffield national fame in the cutlery industry. In Hallamshire there was a trade guild of metalworkers of which John was most likely a member.
The story that has been passed down was that John had visions of a good future in the steel industry in Pittsburgh. He went first and after he established himself he sent for his wife and three children. His brother, William Dickinson, reportedly “stayed in England and became wealthy in the investment and banking fields. He married and had a daughter who married Hill, a tobacco dealer, and had Annie Hill, who married William Croft.” Another brother, whose name has been lost, is said to have gone to New Zealand and developed a large cattle empire. He had daughters who visited the Crofts in Dewsbury every year.
[UPDATE: This information (in red) about John's brother, William, is incorrect. While John did have a brother named William, he did not remain in England. It was Elizabeth's brother, William Reynolds, who remained in England and whose daughter, Caroline Reynolds, married George H. Hill, tobacconist. Therefore, the other brother, whose name was lost is likely a Reynolds and not a Dickinson].
In 1880 John’s family was found in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, working as an Ironworker, specifically a hammerman. He was 43.
John and Elizabeth had three known children, although on the 1900 census, Elizabeth reported having four children, one deceased before the census was taken. The three were: Mary Ann Dickinson, who lived from 1857 to 1938 and married Samuel Lewis, William Henry Dickinson, who lived from 1859 to 1932 and married Lucy Ellen, and Harry Dickinson, my mother's great-grandfather.
Both John and his wife were very active in Masonic life. He is said to have become Head Master of the Allegheny County Lodge. John died on the 25th of May, 1889, in Pittsburgh, at the age of 57. He was buried in Section 9, Lot 100 of Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh.
John and Elizabeth Dickinson were my 3rd great-grandparents. See the Dickinson page for more.