Dicksons of Aberdeen, Scotland

[dicksonhawaii]

I am looking for my ancestors who's last name was Dickson and lived in the Midlothian, Dalkeith or Aberdeen area of Scotland. In particular, I need the father of a John Dickson born in 1814 married to Mary Wyper and or, Mary Ann Forester. Any information would be a big help. -Richard Dickson

[SarahND]

Hello Richard and

Could you tell us how you know the date of birth and the connections to the places you mentioned? Dalkeith is in Midlothian, but Aberdeen is in a different area altogether.

Have you found John and Mary in the censuses? Where were they living and what was John's occupation?

There are quite a few John Dicksons in Scotland, so it would be very helpful for us to know what sources you have already checked.

All the best,
Sarah

[nelmit]

I am looking for my ancestors who's last name was Dickson and lived in the Midlothian, Dalkeith or Aberdeen area of Scotland. In particular, I need the father of a John Dickson born in 1814 married to Mary Wyper and or, Mary Ann Forester. Any information would be a big help. -Richard Dickson

Like Sarah said confirmation of how you arrived at this John Dickson will help.

According to one source the chap who was married to Mary Wyper had parents named John Dickson and Mary Bennett. You can confirm this by viewing his death entry at SP - he died in 1888 at Edinburgh.
Census records show him at Dalkeith, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Name: John Dickson

Christening Place: , DALKEITH, MIDLOTHIAN, SCOTLAND
Birth Date: 28 May 1811
Birthplace: , Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland

Father's Name: John Dickson
Mother's Name: Mary Bennet

Regards,
Annette

[dicksonhawaii]

Hi Sarah, Some of my ancestors did come from Aberdeen, but in the case of John Dickson Born 1814 I found on Ancestry.com that he was born in Dalkeith (or perhaps Dalavich) mid-Lothian in the perish of Glasgow St. Mary. He was a Cork Cutter by trade. In 1851 he lived in Glasgow St Mary, Lanarkshire. According to what I found, he was married to Mary Wyper and, perhaps later, to Mary Ann Forester as some records have it. His Children were Margaret b. 1833, John B. 1846 (from whom I am descendent), Gabella 1848 (some say Isabella), Helen abt. 1850, and David b. 1856.
I have noted both John Dickson and his wife Mary Bennet as possible parents, but he was born in England and, from what I found, lived there for some time. For that reason, I do not think he and Mary Bennet are the parents as all the records I found for the John born in 1814 are at Dalkeith or Dalavich.
Again, any help would sure be appreciated, I'm going round and round with all of this. Thanks! Richard Dickson

[SarahND]

Hello Richard,
As Annette has suggested, his 1888 death certificate should give his parents' names (if the informant knew them). Have you downloaded that from scotlandspeople.gov.uk?

It could also be useful to download David's birth, to see who his mother was. Are you thinking that David was the son of the second wife?

All the best,
Sarah

[Currie]

Possibly the same Cork Cutter but with a daughter Mary.

Aberdeen Weekly Journal, Thursday, July 7, 1892.
MARRIAGES.
At the Northern Friendly Society’s Hall, George Street, Aberdeen, on the 5th inst., [could be 6th] by the Rev. James Goodall, JOHN W. HENDERSON, baker, to MARY JANE, eldest daughter of John Dickson, cork cutter, Aberdeen.

All the best,
Alan

[SarahND]

Hi Alan,
Seems a bit late to be the eldest daughter of John. Maybe it was the eldest daughter of John's son John who was possibly also a cork cutter?

All the best,
Sarah

[nelmit]

Hi Sarah, Some of my ancestors did come from Aberdeen, but in the case of John Dickson Born 1814 I found on Ancestry.com that he was born in Dalkeith (or perhaps Dalavich) mid-Lothian in the perish of Glasgow St. Mary. He was a Cork Cutter by trade. In 1851 he lived in Glasgow St Mary, Lanarkshire. According to what I found, he was married to Mary Wyper and, perhaps later, to Mary Ann Forester as some records have it. His Children were Margaret b. 1833, John B. 1846 (from whom I am descendent), Gabella 1848 (some say Isabella), Helen abt. 1850, and David b. 1856.
I have noted both John Dickson and his wife Mary Bennet as possible parents, but he was born in England and, from what I found, lived there for some time. For that reason, I do not think he and Mary Bennet are the parents as all the records I found for the John born in 1814 are at Dalkeith or Dalavich.
Again, any help would sure be appreciated, I'm going round and round with all of this. Thanks! Richard Dickson

Hello again Richard,

The only way you are going to confirm your ancestors is by looking at the BMDs on www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk - we can only try and point you in the right direction. From what you are saying you have seen a few trees on Ancestry and this is why you are confused because in my opinion one of them is way off the mark.

Let's start at the beginning - how do you know that John Dickson born 1846 to John Dickson and Mary Wyper is your ancestor?

Regards,
Annette

[dicksonhawaii]

Hi Annette, Well, your question about how did I make the case for John born in 1846 is the son of the John born in 1814 got me to taking another look at the records found on Ancestry.com among the various family records listed. A lot of them seem to give the data showing that the son John b. 1814 is indeed the father. BUT, starting with my grandfather born in 1867 through the John born in 1846, they were all from Old Machar, Aberdeenshire. The John born in 1814 is from the Dalkeith, Midlothian area. So I got to looking at some more records and found a Alexander Dickson married to a Jean Dickson both born in 1829 and they are from the Aberdeen area, which would match up with my other John ancestors. I will take another look at all this but, at this point, I am not trusting in a lot of the records put out on the web or in the various family records.
I would like to get on that site listing the birth records, but I'm having problems logging in. I put my User Name in the proper spot, but when it asks for my password, the area is covered up with the HELP & and the FAQ heading. Any other way you can lead me on to that site? Sorry if all this sounds confusing! I plan to take a hard look at this Alexander and Jean Dickson in the Aberdeen area as some of the records on line show a direct connection to my ancestors. Thanks to you, Sarah and the tip from Allen, I sure appreciate all the help. -Richard

[SarahND]

Hello Richard,
I'm not sure what the problem is with the Scotland's People site. What web browser are you using? Have you enlarged the font quite a bit so that the HELP and FAQ links are overlapping the password area? Just trying to think what might be the problem.

Don't discount the John Dickson born in Dalkeith. He is in Aberdeen in 1861, a cork cutter, saying he was born in Dalkeith, yet his son John was born in Aberdeen:

1861
29 Loch St, St Nicholas, Aberdeenshire
John Dickson, 47, Head, born Dalkeith, Cork Cutter
Mary Dickson, 45, Wife, born Edinburgh
John Dickson, 15, Son, born Old Machar, Aberdeen, Cork Cutter
Isabella Dickson, 13, Daughter, born Dalkeith
David Dickson, 5, Son, born Edinburgh

The only sure way to track down the correct family is by going backwards from what you know for certain to be true. I take it that you are quite sure that the John Dickson, cork cutter, born Old Machar about 1846 is yours? If so, his marriage record should tell you his parents' names.

All the best,
Sarah