As we know from census records, William Dickinson (my 4th great-grandfather) was born in Walkley in 1791. Walkley is a suburb of Sheffield, in Yorkshire, England, where the Dickinson family lived and worked in the steel industry for generations.
While searching for information about William Dickinson (II), I came across this record, which I believe was the baptismal record of his father and namesake, William Dickinson (I). The record reads:
Baptisms 1767 December 25 William, son of John Dickinson of Middlewood
Unfortunately there is no indication of John's occupation (Tilter) to convince us this is the right William and upon seeing this record, it was the first time I had heard of Middlewood, but it wasn't the first time I had heard the name "John Dickinson". John was the name of my 3rd great-grandfather, who came to America in 1879 or 1880. If this is the right lineage, John was named after his great-grandfather, or his great-uncle, or his uncle. There was a John in each generation, all presumably named after this John Dickinson.
I wasn't surprised to learn that Middlewood is also a suburb of Sheffield, like all the other places my Dickinson family was found living in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the exception of Kimberworth, where William and Ann (Loy) Dickinson lived in 1841.
Looking at this modern map, we can see that Middlewood is two miles from Walkley:
Middlewood is located in South Yorkshire and falls in the Stannington ward of Sheffield. In this map, the red marker shows the location of Middlewood within the United Kingdom. Zoom in for a better view:
Notes about Middlewood
"Middlewood was formerly an entirely rural location, it has been partly encroached on by the expansion of the city of Sheffield since the 1960s. The exact area of the Middlewood district is not easy to determine, but is popularly thought to extend from the "Middlewood shops" at the top of Leppings Lane northwest for three km along the A6102 past Middlewood Hall to the outskirts of Oughtibridge. Between those two points it includes the land on the south western side of the River Don up to Worrall Road." [Wikipedia]
"Middlewood Hall is set in 54 acres and was constructed in 1810 by Mark Skelton, however a farmhouse is believed to have existed on the site well before that. The Skeltons were a family of steel forgers and merchants who owned forges on the River Don." [Wikipedia]
Other William Dickinsons
There were several other men named William Dickinson, of course, born in and around Sheffield in 1867, but this family was the only one I found in Sheffield. There may be others, but these are the ones I found in Yorkshire, if anyone is interested in researching them further:
William Dickinson, son of John Dickinson, born abt. 1767 baptized July 28, 1767, at Kirk Smeaton, St. Peter, in Yorkshire (West Riding).
William Dickinson, son of John Dickinson, blacksmith of Farnley, baptized Nov. 12, 1767, at All Hallows, Almondbury, Yorkshire (West Riding).
William Dickinson, age 65 yrs, 10 mos, 29 days, born abt. 1767, died Oct. 29, 1832 at Thurlston, and was buried Nov. 1, 1832, at Yorkshire. (Society Of Friends/Quaker Burials).
William Dickinson, born Feb. 5, 1753, at Pontefract, son of Edward and Ann Dickinson. (Society Of Friends/Quaker Births).
William Dickinson, son of Richard Dickinson of Sutton, "Taylor" and Mary his wife, baptized Sept. 23, 1767, died Feb. 21, 1769, at Kildwick, Yorkshire.
William Dickinson, son of Matthew Dickinson of Midgley, baptized May 8, 1768, at Thornhill, St. Michael, Yorkshire.
Next, we'll learn about other children of John Dickinson of Middlewood. Stay tuned!
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