Nearly eleven centuries ago, there appeared at the court of Halfdan Huilbein, King of Norway, a soldier of fortune named Ivar. He was said to have been originally a shepherd. One day he was captured by a roving band of Northmen and carried off. After a series of adventures he made his appearance at the Norse King's Court about 700. Being of handsome presence he became a favorite of the King, who made him a general of his army, Prince of the Uplands, and in 725 bestowed upon him in marriage his daughter Eurittea, the heiress of the realm. King Halfdan died in 725, leaving his crown to his grandson Eystein, son of Ivar, who served as Regent during the King's minority. King Eystein reigned until 755 and left Harold Harfgar, successor, and another son Rogenwald who left a son Rolf or Rollo, the most adventurous prince of his day, who overran Normandy in 910. His sixth and youngest son, Walter, received the town and castle of Caen as his inheritance. His great-grandson, Walter de Caen, accompanied William the Conqueror to England. To this nobleman the line of Dickinson descended from the emigrant ancestor, Nathaniel, may be traced. The family name is found spelled with varying time, location, and circumstance in many ways de Kengon, Dykenson, Dykonson, Diconson, Dickoson, Dickion, Dickason, Dickeison, Dickingson, and Dickinson. From Walter de Caen, later Walter de Kengon (taking the name of his manor in Yorkshire, England) comes:
(II) Johnne Dykonson, freeholder, Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, married, 1260, Margaret Lambert, and died 1316.
(III) William Dykenson, freeholder, Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, died 1330-31.
(IV) Hugh Dykensonne, freeholder, Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, died 1376.
(V) Anthoyne Dickensonne, freeholder, Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, married, 1376 Catheryne De La Pole, and died 1396.
(VI) Richard Dickinson, freeholder, Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, married, 1399, Margaret Cooper, died 1441.
(VII) Thomas Dickinson, freeholder, Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire, married, 1430, Margaret Lambert, a Kingston woman. He was alderman of Hull, England, from 1443 to 1444, and mayor from 1444 to 14——, and died 1475.
(VIII) Hugh Dickinson, freeholder, removed to Kenson Manor, Yorkshire, married, 1451, Agnes Swillington, died 1509.
(IX) William Dickinson, freeholder, of Kenson Manor, Yorkshire, married, 1475, Isabel Langton, and died 1546.
(X) John Dickinson settled in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. He married, 1499, Elizabeth Danby, was alderman 1525 to 1554, and died in 1554.
(XI) William Dickinson settled at Bradley Hall, Staffordshire; married, in 1520, Rachel Kinge; died in 1590.
(XII) Richard Dickinson, of Bradley Hall, Staffordshire, married, in 1540, Eliza Bagnail, and died in 1605.
(XIII) Thomas Dickinson, clerk of Portsmouth navy yard, England, from 1567 to 1587; removed to Cambridge in 1587; married, 1567, Judith Carey, died 1590.
(XIV) William Dickinson settled at Ely, Cambridge, and married, 1594, Sarah Stacey, of Ely, died 1628.
(XV) Nathaniel Dickinson, the American ancestor, was born in Ely, Cambridge, England, in 1600. He married (first) in January 1630, at East Bergolat, Suffolk, England, Anna, widow of William Gull. They came to Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1636-37, where Nathaniel became one of the leaders of the colony. He was town clerk in 1645, deputy to the general court in 1646-47. In 1649 he removed to Hadley, Massachusetts, where he was admitted a freeman in 1661. He was the first recorder of the town, selectman, assessor, town magistrate, deacon of the church, member of the Hampshire troop, and on the first board of trustees of Hopkins Academy. He resided also for a few years at Hatfield. He died at Hadley, June 16, 1676. He married (second) Anne ————. Children, all by first wife:
- John, born in 1630, killed in King Philip's war.
- Joseph, born in 1632; was slain in King Philip's war with Captain Beers; married, September 4, 1675, Phebe Bracy.
- Thomas, born 1634, married Hannah Crow.
- Anna, married (first) John Clarey; (second) Enos Kingsley.
- Samuel, born July, 1638, married Martha Bridgeman.
- Obadiah, born April 15, 1641.
- Nathaniel, born August, 1643, married (first) Hannah ————, (second) Mrs. Elizabeth Gillette.
- Nehemiah, born 1644, married Sarah Cowles.
- Hezekiah, born February, 1646, married Abigail Blakeman.
- Azariah, born October 4, 1648, killed in the swamp fight, August 25, 1675; married Dorcas ————.
(XVI) Obadiah, son of Nathaniel "the Emigrant" and Anna (Gull) Dickinson, was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, April 15, 1641. He removed to Massachusetts with his parents and to Hatfield in 1659. His house was burned by the Indians in 1677, and he and his child carried to Canada. He returned the next year and settled in Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he died June 10, 1698. He held the military rank of sergeant. He married (first) in 1668, Sarah Beardsley; (second) in 1692, Mehitable Hinsdale. Children by first wife:
- Sarah, born 1670;
- Obadiah (2), 1672;
- Daniel, 1674;
- Eliphalet, of further mention.
Children by second marriage:
- Noadiah, 1694;
- Mehitable, 1696.
(XVII) Eliphalet, son of Obadiah and Sarah (Beardsley) Dickinson, was born in Hatfield, Massachusetts, in 1676. He returned, probably with his father, to Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he married November 24, 1697, Rebecca, daughter of Jacob Brunson, who died May 2, 1755, aged seventy-six years. Children:
- Sarah, born November 8, 1698;
- Obadiah, of further mention;
- Eliphalet (2), August 1, 1703;
- Rebecca, December 28, 1705;
- Eunice, July 22, 1708;
- Lois, August 18, 1710, died November 8, 1712;
- Eleazer, August 23, 1712, married, April 20, 1737, Jemima Nott.
(XVIII) Obadiah (2), son of Eliphalet and Rebecca (Brunson) Dickinson, was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, August, 1702. He married, November 22, 1733, Hannah, born June 20, 1708, daughter of Joseph and Mary Rockwell, of Norwalk, Connecticut. Joseph was the son of John (2) Rockwell, of Stamford, Connecticut, son of John (1) and Elizabeth (Weed) Rockwell, the founders of this branch of the Rockwell family in America. John (1) Rockwell was one of the first settlers of Stamford, Connecticut, where his name appears December 7, 1641, when he received his home lot and two acres of ground. Obadiah and Hannah resided in Middletown, Connecticut, until the birth of their fourth child, then removed to the town of Wethersfield, where they lived and died in Stepney Parish, Rocky Hill. He died April 23, 1782, and she May 23, 1781. Children:
- Lois, born October 28, 1734, married and died before her parents;
- Elias, of further mention;
- Elizabeth, November 19, 1736, married ————
- Galpin;
- Obadiah, May 2, 1739, married Elizabeth Smith;
- Hannah, February 24, 1745, died unmarried September 26, 1810.
(XIX) Elias, son of Obadiah (2) and Hannah (Rockwell) Dickinson, was born about 1735. He married Ruth Savage, of Wethersfield, December 25, 1766, and resided at Rocky Hill. Children:
- Lois, born August 2, 1768;
- Harvey, of further mention;
- Rockwell, November 18, 1771;
- Seth, June 8, 1774;
- Sally, September 19, 1776;
- Burrage, July 4, 1779;
- Elias (2), July 18, 1782.
While the Connecticut revolutionary rolls do not contain the military service of Elias Dickinson, they do of Elias Dicky. In the sixth census, taken in 1840, the name of Mary Dickinson, aged eighty-eight years, is returned from the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut, as a revolutionary pensioner. There is a strong probability that she is Mary (Savage) Dickinson and was in receipt of her pension on account of the military service of her husband, Elias Dickinson.
(XX) Harvey, son of Elias and Mary (Savage) Dickinson, was born at Rocky Hill, Connecticut, March 29, 1770, died in Raleigh, South Carolina, 1822. He married, October 7, 1792, Hannah Grimes, died at Rocky Hill, September 1, 1831, daughter of Alexander, son of Hezekiah, son of Joseph, son of Henry Grimes. Joseph and Ruth (Stebbins) Grimes are the progenitors of the Rocky Hill family. He was a wealthy farmer, his estate inventorying about one thousand pounds, which he devised to all of his seven living children. Children of Harvey and Hannah Dickinson:
- Rockwell, died at sea, September, 1824, aged twenty-two years;
- William, lost at sea, September, 1823, aged nineteen years;
- Elias, died in Mississippi, 1837, aged thirty years;
- Mary, died May 24, 1830, aged twenty-two years;
- Susan, died October 8, 1826, aged twelve years;
- Harvey (2).
(XXI) Harvey (2), son of Harvey (1) and Hannah (Grimes) Dickinson, was born in Rocky Hill, Stepney Parish, town of Wethersfield, Connecticut, died at Hartford, Connecticut, October 28, 1865. He married (first) October 1, 1824, Rachel, born November 18, 1806, died August 19, 1845, daughter of Jesse and Rachel (Studley) Stoddard, of Wethersfield and Great Barrington, Massachusetts; married (second) September 22, 1847, Jane A. Allison, who died June, 1882. Children of first marriage:
- William, deceased.
- Sarah, born January 10, 1827; married January 24, 1853, Lazarus Barrell.
- Henry, deceased.
- Frances, deceased.
- William, born October 6, 1833, died October 15, 1870.
- Caroline, deceased.
- Frank, born August 2, 1836; married (first) September 6, 1865, Laura M. Beaumont; married (second) February 20, 1883, Malinda Tenney.
- Robert, deceased.
- Ellen Stoddard, born September 22, 1843.
- Infant, deceased.
Children by second marriage:
- Alida, born September 6, 1848; married, February 7, 1887, William H. Roberts.
- Susan, born February 9, 1851, died July 17, 1889.
- Harry, born October 24, 1852.
- Frederick, born October 24, 1855.
(XXII) Ellen Stoddard, daughter of Harvey (2) and Rachel (Stoddard) Dickinson, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, September 22, 1843. She married (first) June 20, 1866, Robert Henry White, born March 3, 1834, died in Hudson, New York, April 5, 1896, son of Joseph and Bathsheba (Hammond) White. Robert H. White was a hardware merchant of Hudson, a member of the Universalist church, and a Democrat. Children:
- Cora D., married, November 30, 1887, James Lawther, born September 3, 1868, died March 30, 1888; no issue.
- Arthur H., born January 2, 1872, at Hudson, New York, died in California, February 21, 1905; he was connected with United States embassy to China as deputy consul at Shanghai.
- Bertha M., born in Hudson.
Robert H. White was survived by his widow who married (second) Cornelius Henry Evans, who died March 5, 1902.
(The Stoddard Line)
[William] Arthur's "Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian names" says, concerning the origin of this name that there is a tradition that the first of the family came to England with William the Conqueror, as standard bearers to Viscomte De Pulesdon, a noble Norman, and that the name is derived from the office of a standard bearer and was anciently written De Le Standard, corrupted to Stodard or Stodart. In Wethersfield, Connecticut, records, the name frequently appears as Stodder, Stoder, Stodker, Studder and Stoddard.
(I) John Stoddard, born about 1620 in England, was an early settler in Wethersfield, and was a juror, March 2, 1643. In 1639 he was called "Sergeant." He figures in the court records both as plaintiff and defendant. He married, 1642, Mary, daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Deming) Foote, and died at Wethersfield, December, 1664. He was a well-to-do farmer and left an estate of four hundred pounds. He had seven children of whom John (2) was the oldest son and second child.
(II) John (2), son of John (1) and Elizabeth (Foote) Stoddard, was born April 12, 1646, will dated November 30, 1703, inventory dated January 10, 1704, amounted to seven hundred and twenty-five pounds. He married, May 26, 1674, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Curtis. They had nine children of whom Jonathan was the seventh.
(III) Jonathan, son of John (2) and Elizabeth (Curtis) Stoddard, was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, died August 31, 1757. He is named in his father's will (1703) as a minor. He married (first) in 1717, Abigail, daughter of Colonel Meph and Sarah (Satterlee) Wickham, married (second) Esther ————, a widow. He had six children of whom Zebulon was the eldest.
(IV) Zebulon, son of Jonathan and Abigail (Wickham) Stoddard, was baptized in 1717. He removed to Litchfield, Connecticut, where his children were born. He married, March 21, 1745, Abigail Hun. He died February 19, 1761, and she married (second) Hezekiah Atwood. He had seven children of whom Joseph was the second and eldest son.
(V) Joseph, son of Zebulon and Abigail (Hun) Stoddard, was born August 21, 1747, died 1792. He lived at Wethersfield where his children were born. He married, June 23, 1768, Mary Fuller, who was baptized and joined the church, June 26, 1774, six years after her marriage. They had eleven children of whom Jesse was the tenth.
(VI) Jesse, son of Joseph and Mary (Fuller) Stoddard, was born April 14, 1789. He married (second) Rachel Studley.
(VII) Rachel, daughter of Jesse and Rachel (Studley) Stoddard, married Harvey (2) Dickinson, (see Dickinson XXI).