Dickson's from Limerick

Last updated 22 February 1999Welcome to the "den" ... this site is now linked to a NEW domain http://www.the-dicksons.org which has a wealth of information relating to the descendents of William Dickson & Jane Hill. It also contains rich information about a Cheshire (England UK) Township of Kelsall in the 19th century. The domain can be viewed NOW !What is the new domain be about?, well here is a very brief taster.The domain follows the line of William DICKSON (born abt 1818) and Jane HILL (born abt 1820), who married in St Munchin's Anglican Church, LIMERICK, Ireland on 7 September 1840.It is also used as a link to the unique family name of HASPEY together with the spelling variations of HASPY and HASBY.It is believed that William and Jane may not have originated in Limerick, and their parents may have moved to Limerick, (that being the centre at that time for the protestant faith in Southern Ireland and a major garrison town for the British army). From the union of Willam and Jane, their descendents established new families in England, Scotland and the USA ... you can discover all the family connections made so far by visiting http://www.the-dicksons.orgYou can see how these events impacted the family.Between 1800 and 1821 the population in Ireland increased from 5 million to 6.5 million, (an increase of 30% in a country that was predominantly agricultural), with insufficient land resource to support the populace.By 1815, unemployment was on a gigantic scale, and many families emigrated to Northern America and Great Britain. Limerick was at that time a major starting off point, aboard magnificent looking sailing ships, for such sea journeys .In 1816 the potatoe crop failed, followed by a typhus epidemic between August to October. Disaster again struck the following year (1817) when the potatoe crop failed again; typhus set in again, this time lasting up until December 1819, and accounting for some 50,000 deaths.In 1821, the potatoe crop failed yet again and famine became widespread between September and November, and which continued in the west of Ireland until December 1822It is surmised that around this time, both William and Jane entered the world within their respective families.Growing up in some of the most turbulent times of Irish history, that saw further fever and cholera epidemics, tithe (land) wars, the collapse of the Irish textile industry, the rise of catholic emancipation, the first Irish Members of Parliament (MP's), the deaths of Kings George IV and William IV and the start of the Victorian era with the acension of Queen Victoria to the British throne, William DICKSON and Jane HILL joined their two families on the 7 September 1840, in St Munchin's Anglican Church, close to the mighty King John's castle, and overlooking the fast waters of the River Shannon.So from whence did the families of William & Jane originate? Certainly I have been unable to determine this. A visit to St Munchins Church (no longer in service as a place of worship) revealed a cemetery dedicated to many people having originated in Scotland. Where the families of William and Jane originally Scots? Where they children of soldiers serving in the local garrison? Perhaps the answers to these and many other questions will be revealed (hopefully) as fellow genealogists visit this site, and in the fullness of time, discover they too have a link with the ancestors of William and Jane Dickson or their descendent families, all 94 of us! If you are on the same track as me, then leave me a message on e-mail.Family lines being persued are:Dickson, origins in Limerick, Ireland and Glasgow, Scotland.For this I have information back to 1820 in Limerick. After that the trail peters out.Key family names for males are:John, William, George, Patrick, Edmond.Key family names for females are;Florence, Catherine, Kathleen, Matilda, Elizabeth, Isabella, Mary.Known emigrations to USAOther family names are;Hill (Ir

Related Links

• Click Here to visit the Dickson History Web Site