WIGHTMAN ORIGINS
CHARLES DIXON
CHARLES B. WIGHTMAN
JOSEPH WIGHTMAN
DESCENDANCY
HISTORY OF CHARLES DIXON
One of the Early English Settlers of Sackville, N.B.
Compiled by James D. Dixon -- A Grandson
1891
CHARLES DIXON came from Yorkshire, England, to
Nova Scotia in the year 1772,
and settled at Sackville, New Brunswick. A paper written by himself, and dated
Sept. 21, 1773, giving some particulars of his life and history previous to
that date, is herein transcribed, as follows:
The following is also transcribed from a record made by the same person in
his own hand-writing upon the flyleaf of his family bible:
The foregoing paper and records contain all that Mr. Dixon wrote respecting
his own, or his family history. While the writer deems himself fortunate in
the possession of these papers, he deeply regrets that Mr. Dixon did not leave
on record some further information respecting his parents, his brothers and
sisters, and their families. He had a brother Edward, with whom he kept up
a correspondence after coming to America, who also had a family. He for some
time previous to his decease, was so afflicted with blindness, that he was
obliged to employ some one to write his letters to his brother in America.
There was also a sister, who was married to a Mr. Scotson, one of whose
daughters married Abraham Bass, who was a tailor and draper of London, and
who at Mr. Dixon's suggestion came to Sackville about the year 1814, and built
a brick house on the site now occupied by the Chignecto Hall, where he kept a
public house or hotel until his death. There was also John Dixon, an excise
officer at Hutton Rudby, with whom Charles had business relations, while he
was engaged in the manufacture of paper, who was probably a relative. There
was also a Dixon family near the same locality, who at a later period gave to
the Methodist church a distinguished minister, in the person of the Reverand
James Dixon, D.D., who it is well known, in advanced age becaue totally blind.
This latter circumstance, coupled with the fact that a similar affliction
existed in the case of Edward Dixon, before mentioned, and also with the fact
that two of Charles Dixon's sons were in advanced age similarly afflicted, as
will hereafter appear, tends to give color to the probability that the families
had been nearly related in the not very remote past.
Charles Dixon very soon became an active and prominent citizen of the
community in which he had fixed his new home. He doubtless possessed some
traits of character to be esteemed and admired. He was prompt in decision,
firm of purpose, industrious, intelligent and conscientious in the discharge of
his duties, and what his had found to do, he did with his might. He possessed
an education quite in advance of many of his associates and neighbors, and his
twelve years' training in conducting the business of the paper mill had given
him an aptitude for business, which would materially aid in qualifying him for
efficiently discharging the duties of the positions he was so soon called upon
to fill. He was called upon almost immediately to act as administrator of
several Estates, among which was that of George Dobson, of Point De Bute, and
one of Thomas Copple, of Petticodiac. He was also appointed a Justice of the
peace in 1775, and Judge of the common pleas in 1778. As a Justice of the peace
he had a large portion of the business of the Parish to perform for a lengthy
period. He was also authorized to solemnize matrimony, and performed that duty
for many of the early inhabitants.
Mr. Dixon was among the first of the English immigrants to what was then
called Cumberland, Nova Scotia (which included not only the present County of
Cumberland, but also a large portion of the Province of New Brunswick --
notably the counties of Westmoreland and Albert), who settled at Sackville,
and believing that he had done wisely himself, he encouraged others of his
Yorkshire acquaintance to follow his example; and when they arrived, aided them
by his counsel, and in some instances with pecuniary assistance to enable them
to make a start. What amount of funds Mr. Dixon brought from England is
unknown, but beside the amount he paid for his land, he expended nearly as much
in the purchase of stock of various kinds. He bought of Daniel Hawkins all his
stock, consisting of horses, oxen, cows, young cattle and sheep. Of the latter
he had more than a sufficiency, for he began immediately to lend them to his
newly arrived acquaintances, to be returned, with their double in three years.
As he still had funds to lend to his fellow immigrants, it is probable he was
possessed of about a thousand pounds when he left England.
It would be interesting to know the names of the passengers with Charles
Dixon and his family, in the ship Duke of York. We are informed there were
seventeen families, only one of which, so far as known, settled in Sackville
beside Mr. Dixon. Thomas Anderson, with his wife Mary, who were married just
previous to their departure from England, and who, after living for a year or
so with Mr. Dixon, bought a property on Coles' Island, of a Mr. Alyason, where
they settled and became the founders of the extensive and respectable family
of that name, many of whom are still residents of Sackville. William Freeze
and wife, and his wife's brother George Bulmer (who was a lad of twelve years),
were also of the number of the same ship's company. Mr. Freeze first located
at or near Amhurst, N.S., but finally settled at Sussex, Kings County, N.B.,
and became the founder of a numerous respected and influential family. George
Bulmer, after completing his term of service with his brother-in-law Freeze,
came to Sackville, purchased a property adjoining Mr. Dixon, and married into
his family, as will hereafter be seen.
For some years after Mr. Dixon came to Sackville he was engaged in a small
way in merchandise, purchasing his goods and supplies, and marketing the surplus
products of his farm at Halifax. This caused him to make occasional journeys
to that city, going frequently by the way of Parrsboro and Windsor. One one
occasion he met some old acquaintances in the persons of William and Jane
Humphrey (maiden name Flintoff), who were then settled at Falmouth, N.S. Many
years subsequently, after the death of Mr. Humphrey in 1795, Mr. Dixon advised
Mrs. Humphrey to remove with her family of three sons and two daughters to
Sackville, offering her a lot of his land situated on the main road through
the village. Mrs. Humphrey accepted the offer promptly. A house was erected
upon the lot, and in due time was occupied by herself and family. She was
evidently a capable woman. She commenced very soon to keep a public house, so
called, and her house was for many years a kind of headquarters where much of
the semi-public or parish business was transacted. Mr. Dixon continued to hold
his Justices courts there until within a brief period of his death. The place
is now known as the farm of the late Christopher Humphrey.
Long previous to the removal of Mrs. Humphrey to Sackville, Mr. Dixon had
encouraged John Richardson and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Flintoff,
and who was a sister of Mrs. Humphrey, to come to America, and who came out in
the year 1774, and were then comfortablde settled beside Mr. Dixon. One of
Mr. Richardson's family was born on the ocean voyage, and was named Joseph
Providence -- the first name for the captain of the ship, and the second for
the ship. John and Mary Richardson, above named, are the founders of the
various families of that name in and around Sackville.
Very soon after the arrival of Mr. Dixon and the other English families who
preceded or immediately followed him, the Revolutionary War broke out. As a
large proportion of the inhabitants of Sackville, at that period, were natives
of Massachusetts and the adjoining Colonies, and had only been absent from
their native country a few years, it is not surprising that some of them should
be inclined to sympathise with the Revolutionists, and actively espouse their
cause; and aided and encouraged by a force from Calais they for a time beseiged
Fort Cumberland. That enterprise however was soon abandoned, and they found
more congenial employment in raiding the homes of the loyal and peaceable
inhabitants, plundering them of such articles as they were in need of, and
destroying or carrying away any guns or ammunition they might find. Mr. Dixon's
home did not escape their unwelcome notice. His house was robbed of many
valuable articles, some of which he kept for sale. For a considerable period
the loyal inhabitants, notable the English settlers, were subjected to a state
of anxiety, and lived in dread of a repetition of such unwelcome visits. On
one occasion when some of these people were approaching the house, Mrs. Dixon
hastily gathered up her silverware and other valuables and deposited them in a
barrel of pig feed, where they quite escaped the notice of the visitors. On a
later occasion, when somewhat similar troublous times existed, Mr. Dixon, with
the aid of his negro servant Cleaveland, hid his money and other valuables in
the earth; binding his servant by a solemn oath never to divulge to any one
the place of concealment. These incidents may serve to remind us of some of
the perils and difficulties our ancestors were compelled to encounter very soon
after their arrival in the country.
At the close of the Revolutionary War, the population of Nova Scotia was
largely increased by the arrival of the Loyalists, many of whom settled at
St. John and in that vicinity. Also some came to Sackville, and others to
Amherst and the adjacent localities. There was another class of persons who
preceded the Loyalists, who came from the New England states, and some of whom
settled at Sackville, who were termed refugees. These, it is understood, were
obliged to leave their native land because of their loyalty to the Crown and
government of England. It can be truly said, however, that the descendants of
some of this class are now to be found among the most industrious and prosperous
of our citizens.
Very soon after the close of the war, the Province of Nova Scotia was
divided, and what is now known as the Province of New Brunswick was given a
separate government. An extract from the journals of the first session of the
Legislature held at Parr Town (now St. John), in January 1876, is here inserted
and is as follows:
Amos Botsford was the only other representative for the County until 1793,
when four members were allowed to Westmoreland, and Amos Botsford, Thomas
Chandler, William Black and Thomas Dickson were elected. Whether Mr. Dixon
was a candidate for re-election in 1793 or otherwise, the writer is not
informed, nor does he know who beside Mr. Botsford and Mr. Dixon were the
candidates at the first election. It is probable some other candidate had
received more votes than he, including French, which when found to be illegal
were stricken off, and Mr. Dixon became entitled to the seat. The revenue
of the Province the first year was about œ2500, out of which a grant was made
to open a road to Westmoreland. The necessity for such grant was doubtless
apparent by the fact that it required two weeks to inform Mr. Dixon of his
right to the seat, and to enable him to appear at Parr Town.
Shortly after Mr. Dixon ceased to be a member of the Legislature, he was
appointed Collector of Customs, and acted in that capacity some years. In the
year 1788, he built a brick house, all the lumber for the floors and finishing
of which was brought by water conveyance from the state of Maine. There was
abundance of timber near at hand certainly, but the absence of mills for its
manufacture no doubt necessitated that course. There is a building still
standing, owned by Mr. John E. Bowser, the boards of a portion of which also
came from Maine at about the same time.
A few lines of explanation in reference to the discontent which Mr. Dixon
speaks of as being universal, may here be in order. After the expulsion of the
French from Nova Scotia in 1755, efforts were made by the English authorities
to induce persons living in the New England Colonies to come and occupy these
vacant lands, and in 1758 and subsequently, Governor Lawrence held out strong
inducements which were to a certain extent successful. A Baptist church came
en masse in the year 1763 and located at Sackville. Other persons followed,
and in the year 1765 the first grant of lands in Sackville was issued by the
government of Nova Scotia to these people, some of whom had served in the war
against the French, and were thus in part remunerated for such service. The
whole parish of Sackville was thus granted, and the holders of the said lands
were the people to whom Mr. Dixon refers as being anxious to sell their lands
and leave the country. The advent of the English immigrants who responded to
Governor Franklin's proposals, and settled at Sackville, gave some of these
people an opportunity to sell out and leave. At a later period when the
Loyalists came, others of them found opportunity to sell out to them. Others
returned to their native country leaving their lands unsold.
Of the long list of persons whose names were contained in the original
grants of Sackville, those who remained permanently are represented by the
names of Ayr, Cole, Estabrooke, Kilham, Read, Tingley, Smith, Seaman and Ward.
The names of the English immigrants who settled at Sackville are Anderson,
Atkinson, Bowser, Bulmer, Cornforth, Dixon, Fawcett, Harper, Patterson,
Richardson and Wry. Most of these were Methodists in their religious views.
Those who settled at Point De Bute bore the names of Dobson, Chapman, Carter,
Lowerison, Siddall, Trueman, Oulton, Trenholm, and others, many of whom were
also Methodists, and others strongly attached to the Church of England.
Reference to Mr. Dixon's ledger supplies us with facts which, though in
harmony with the wants of society at that age, would be sadly at variance with
present conditions. One or two of these may not be uninteresting. One entry
shows that he hired a servant girl for the sum of nine pounds a year, and
that one of the articles she required in payment for her services was a gallon
of rum. Another shows that he purchased several negro slaves at Halifax, one
of whom he sold to his friend, the Honorable Amos Botsford, at the same price
he paid; another to his friend, Major Wilson, on similar terms, and one named
Cleveland he retained for himself, for whom he paid the sum to sixty pounds,
and to whom he subsequently gave his liberty, and thenceforth paid regular
wages. (This faithful old servant the writer can well recollect.) He lived
with Charles Dixon Junior, after the death of his old master. When dying, he
said he wished to be buried somewhere near his old master.
Mr. Dixon's house was a home for the early Methodist preachers, to whom he
always gave a warm and hearty welcome. He was also one of the active members
who erected the first Methodist church in Sackville, within whose walls he
continued to worship until the infirmities of old age compelled his absence.
He and his neighbor, William Cornforth, whose land adjoined, jointly set apart
about four acres of land for a Methodist parsonage, a circumstance which had
its influence in making Sackville the head of a circuit at that time. Previous
to his death, a brick house was erected on the lot so set apart, in the erection
of which he also took a lively interest, and one of the latest of his efforts
at writing contained instructions to his executors to well certain articles of
his personal property and apply the proceeds to assist in furnishing the
parsonage.
It is proper that a few lines should be given to a notice of Mrs. Dixon,
whose maiden name was Susanna Coates. But little is known with reference to
her family. She was, however, a connection of an eminent thread manufacturing
firm of that name in Manchester. One of her younger sisters, named Isabella,
came to Nova Scotia about the same time she did, as the wife of John Trenholm.
They settled at Point De Bute, and lived to advanced age, and were the
progenitors of the numerous families of that name now living in Westmoreland
and Cumberland and adjacent counties. The writer is of the opinion that the
Coates family or families who came to Nova Scotia at about the same time Mr.
Dixon came, and settled at Amherst and in King's county, were also relatives
of Susanna and Isabel Coates. Mr. Dixon had quite extensive business relations
with a William Coates for a number of years after he came to Sackville, and
for whom he probably named his youngest son. Mrs. Dixon was blessed with a
strong and vigorous constitution, and also in a marked degree possessed the
ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. She cheerfully and patiently endured
the discomforts and privations incident to pioneer life, while diligently
discharging her duties as wife and mother. She was somewhat low in stature,
though capable of an unusual amount of physical endurance. She was some nine
years younger than her husband, but survived him as many years.
Mr. Dixon was a man of medium height, strongly built and well proportioned,
possessing an excellent constitution, capable of great physical exertion, and
lived to ripe age. His death occurred August 21st, 1817. Mrs. Dixon died
June 13th, 1826 -- each of them in the 88th year of their age. Near the site
of the unpretentious church building which they and their co-laborers erected,
and within whose walls they worshipped, their bodies lie buried; as do also
many of the English immigrants before named, who were actively instrumental in
founding Methodism in Sackville. As in life they lived and labored to promote
a common object, in death they are not divided.
The family record of Charles Dixon as kept by himself, here follows:
Charles Dixon and Susannah Coates were married June 24th, 1763
Mary Dixon ------------ born Friday, July 5, 1764
Charles Dixon --------- born Friday, January 10, 1766
Susannah Dixon -------- born Friday, July 24, 1767
Elizabeth Dixon ------- born Sunday, August 25, 1770
Ruth Dixon ------------ born Wednesday, September 16, 1772
Martha Dixon ---------- born Thursday, June 3, 1774
Edward Dixon ---------- born Friday, September 20, 1776
William Coates Dixon -- born Tuesday, February 23, 1779
DESCENDANCY OF MARY DIXON
AND HER HUSBAND WILLIAM CHAPMAN
MARY DIXON, the eldest daughter of Charles and
Susanna Dixon, married William Chapman II,
eldest son of William Chapman I, who came to Nova Scotia
in 1775 and settled at Point de Bute. His descendants are probably more
numerous than any of the English immigrants of that period, and are scattered
far and wide, although a host of the name still remains in the counties of
Cumberland and Westmoreland.
William Chapman, who married Mary Dixon in the year 1780, was a mechanic
who worked at the carpenter trade during the largest portion of his life. He
did the joiner work of the brick house built by his father-in-law, Mr. Dixon.
He settled at Fort Lawrence, where he had a valuable farm. The children of
William Chapman and his wife Mary Dixon were:
William --------- born June 13, 1782 Susanna --------- born March 19, 1784 Elizabeth ------- born February 9, 1786 Jane ------------ born December 3, 1787 Charles --------- born September 28, 1789 Henry ----------- born September 2, 1791 John ------------ born September 8, 1793 Richard --------- born September 8, 1795 Jennie ---------- born April 8, 1799 Sidney Smith ---- born August 13, 1801 Mary ------------ born June 26, 1804 Horatio Nelson -- born 1807
DESCENDANCY OF CHARLES DIXON, SECOND
CHARLES DIXON, eldest son of Charles and
Susanna Coates Dixon, was six years
old when he left England and came with his parents to Nova Scotia. He was a
healthy, vigorous youth, capable of any amount of physical endurance. At the
age of sixteen, during the closing years of the Revolutionary War, he and other
youths of Sackville and vicinity were taken to Fort Cumberland to perform
garrison duty, and acquitted themselves creditably.
In the year 1788 he married Miss Rhoda Emmerson, a daughter of one of the
original grantees of Sackville. At the same hour of the same day, and in the
same house, Miss Martha Grace was married to Ebenezer Cole. In their family
were included the late Michael Grace Cole, Rufus Cole, Esq., and Capt. Martin
Cole, all of whom were well known residents of Sackville.
Mr. Dixon settled on a portion of the land purchased by his father from
Danial Hawkins, and rapidly redeemed the same from the wilderness and turned it
into fruitful fields. The children of Charles and Rhoda Emmerson Dixon were:
William --- born August 7, 1789 died in 1830
married Elizabeth Weldon, daughter of Andrew Weldon, Esq.
settled at Memramcook; he followed farming and milling
children: Andrew
Charles
Rhoda
John Weldon
William
Edward
Amasa
Elizabeth Ann
Charles --- born March 22, 1791 (died in infancy)
Charles --- born June 8, 1793
Hannah ---- born September 6, 1795 --->
(Her daughter, Rhoda Barnes, married Cyrus Snell.
They joined the LDS Church and settled in Spanish Fork.
Their granddaughter, Emily Rebecca Snell,
married James Miller Jr.)
Benjamin -- born December 18, 1797
Mrs. Rhoda Emmerson Dixon died July 17, 1799, in the thirtieth year of her
age. Mr. Dixon soon after married Miss Elizabeth Humphrey, eldest daughter of
Mrs. William Humphrey, of whom mention has been previously made. This marriage,
occurring so soon after the death of his first wife, so shocked the sense of
propriety of Mr. Dixon's Methodist associates (for he was a member of the
Methodist Society) as to cause for a time some estrangement. His parents,
however, were the more inclined to overlook the offence, inasmuch as the bride
being a Yorkshire Lass, the alliance was regarded by them with more favor than
the former one. Doubtless they believed (as most Yorkshire people do to the
present day) that there is no one quite the equal of a good Yorkshireman.
Charles Dixon and Elizabeth Humphrey were married October 13, 1799.
Their children are:
John ------------------ born August 9, 1800
Elizabeth ------------- born January 1, 1803
Sidney ---------------- born August 9, 1805
Leonard --------------- born July 12, 1808
Jane ------------------ born October 13, 1810
Ruth ------------------ born August 4, 1813
(her daughter, Mary Elizabeth O'Hara,
married Henry Fairbanks)
Christopher Flintoff -- born May 6, 1816
(his daughter, Mary Ann, married Ammon Nebeker)
Edward ---------------- born August 17, 1818
Alfred ---------------- born January 31, 1821
Mary Ann -------------- born July 13, 1823
(married Charles Billings Wightman)
Martha ---------------- born June 27, 1825
(married Orrawell Simons)
Mr. Dixon turned his attention occasionally to various enterprises quite
outside of his farming operations. He also had a strong desire to see some
other portions of America. About the year 1803, he and a young neighbor named
Timothy Richardson visited the United States, through which they journeyed,
much of the time on foot, until they reached Ohio. At or near the place now
called Cincinnati, they had a boat constructed in which they pursued their
journey to New Orleans. From thence they took passage by sea to New York,
where in due time they arrived. Mr Dixon, however, fell ill with fever and
ague which occasioned increased expenses and delay. Fortunately his brother
in law, George Bulmer, was in the city, and finding them out, rendered them
such pecuniary aid as they required to enable them to pursue their journey
homeward. They then took passage for home with one Capt. Burnham. At Mount
Desert they were detained by the severity of the weather for a considerable
time, but at length reached home in safety. Whether Mr. Dixon or his companion
then had thoughts of finding a home in the United States, is not known. Soon
after his return home he made preparations for brewing ale, and erected one or
two stone buildings for that purpose, near where the residence of J. R. Rainie
now stands. This enterprise not proving a success, he next turned his attention
to the erection of a windmill near the same spot. This also proved unsuccessful,
and he subsequently made extensive preparations, and built another mill on a
much more expensive scale which stood near his own residence. This one
promised to give good satisfaction, but was unfortunately destroyed by fire,
and proved a serious pecuniary loss. In 1825 he and his son-in-law
Mr. McKinlay, entered into an arrangement to build a ship, upon which in the
early part of 1826 they had made considerable progress, when news came from
England of a serious decline in the price of ships. They then ceased work,
and about two years subsequently sold out to other parties who completed the
vessel. After this unprofitable speculation, Mr. Dixon confined his attention
quite successfully to his farm until he sold out, and removed with his wife
and seven youngest children to Ohio in the year 1837. Mr. Dixon's removal to
Ohio was due to the fact that several of his family had recently embraced the
views of the people called Mormons, or Latter Day Saints, and he felt it to be
the only safe and proper course for him to pursue. The writer has a vivid
recollection of an interview that took place between Mr. Dixon and his brother
Edward, at which he earnestly pressed upon his brother's consideration, his
recently embraced views, and faithfully exhorted him to follow his example, and
warning him of the folly and danger of remaining in a country so soon to be
destroyed, as he believed.
Mr. Dixon and family left Sackville on the first day of September, 1837, and
travelled in a number of covered wagons, arriving at Kirtland, Ohio, the place
of their destination, on the 14th of October, where he purchased a property
and settled his family. The year following in the autumn, he, with his
daughter Jane and youngest son, started for Missouri. Soon after they had
crossed the Missouri River, they met large numbers of the Mormon people, who
were being driven out of that state by force, most of whom were in a most
destitute condition. They returned with these people to Quincy, Illinois,
where Mr. Dixon hired a house and remained for the winter, and liberally used
his means in entertaining and relieving the necessities of these poor suffering
destitute brethren. The following spring he returned to Ohio, where he pursued
with his usual diligence and industry his occupation of farming until the spring
of 1854. When he had entered upon his 89th year, and had become nearly blind,
he and his wife, with some of the family, left Ohio for Salt Lake City. They
arrived at Rock Island and halted for a few days, while their party were
fitting up and getting their teams ready for the journey across the plains.
Here Mr. Dixon, on account of his blindness, fell from the steps of a hotel
and sustained injuries which proved fatal, and his death occurred on the
22nd day of May. He was buried at Davenport, Iowa. The family pursued their
journey, arriving safely at their destination. Mrs. Dixon survived her husband
some eleven years, and died at about the same age.
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