Dickens
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Dickens Surname Genealogy
Dick is an abbreviation of Richard (it is said that some of the native English could not get their mouth around the Norman "R" and "R" became "D" or "H" instead); and Dickens is a pet form of Dick, the -"kens" suffix denoting "the little one." Alternative spellings have been Dickin and Dicken.
No one quite knows how the expression "what the dickens," a mild expletive (dickens instead of devil), emerged. It seems to have been around since the 1600's.
England. Dickens seems to have been originally a term and a name localized to the west Midlands of England. Exactly where is impossible to say, possibly Staffordshire, Shropshire or Derbyshire based on early sightings.
Dyckins in Staffordshire date from the 1400’s. This family held the manor of Preen from 1560 to 1749 when John Dickins, imprisoned for debt, could not pay the mortgage. Later Dickins in Staffordshire were to be found at Woodford Grange.
The Dickin name was to be found in the village of Wem in north Shropshire in the 17th century and perhaps earlier. Thomas Dickin was a master at Wem school who met an unhappy end.
Dickin did become local gentry in Wem. The village has in fact a pub called The Dickin Arms, whose building dates back to 1665 (making it one of the oldest pubs in the country). And many Dickins were also to be found in the nearby village of Prees.
Meanwhile there was a Thomas Dickin in the 1670’s who involved himself with his cousin William Cotton in an early iron forge and furnace venture in south Yorkshire.
Charles Dickens' line seems to have started out in Hazelwood in Derbyshire in the 16th century. They were later in London and Charles's grandfather William was born there in 1716. He had been a steward to Lord Crewe at his country seat in Cheshire where he had met Elizabeth, his second wife, who was a housemaid there. William had two sons by Elizabeth, William and John (Charles's father). It was Elizabeth's legacy after her death in 1824 that released John from the debtors' prison and Charles from the blacking factory.
Charles Dickens and his wife had ten children and they were to have many descendants, some achieving success in their own right.
Dickens lines elsewhere have been:
From the Hazelwood, Derbyshire line in England came two brothers, Joseph and William Dickens (sometime called Dicken in America), who set out for Halifax county, North Carolina in the 1750's. The Rev. John Dickens was also to be found in Halifax county by 1780. Meanwhile Thomas Dickens of Northampton county, North Carolina was the forebear of the Dickens who migrated to Arkansas. Another Dickens family from North Carolina moved to the Hurricane Creek area of Tennessee in the early 1800's.
One later Dickens line in North Carolina stemmed in the 1860's from the union of the white Kelly Dickens, a doctor, and the black Milly, his housekeeper. Kelly and Milly would not have been allowed to marry in the antebellum North Carolina.
Today the Dickens popiulation in America is very much to be found still in North Carolina and Tennessee. Best known Dickens today are Little Jimmy Dickens, the country singer, and Hazel Dickens, who sings bluegrass. Both were born in West Virginia.
Select Dickens Miscellany
Select Dickens Names
Charles Dickens was the very popular and prolific Victorian novelist whose works have endured.
Monica Dickens, a granddaughter of Charles Dickens, was a 20th century English writer.
Little Jimmy Dickens is an American country singer from West Virginia.
Select Dickens Today
Dick is an abbreviation of Richard (it is said that some of the native English could not get their mouth around the Norman "R" and "R" became "D" or "H" instead); and Dickens is a pet form of Dick, the -"kens" suffix denoting "the little one." Alternative spellings have been Dickin and Dicken.
No one quite knows how the expression "what the dickens," a mild expletive (dickens instead of devil), emerged. It seems to have been around since the 1600's.
Select
Dickens Resources on
The
Internet
- The Dickens Family. Descendants of Charles Dickens.
- Family Tree Stuff. A Dickens army family.
- Dickens Genealogy Page. Dickens from West Virginia.
England. Dickens seems to have been originally a term and a name localized to the west Midlands of England. Exactly where is impossible to say, possibly Staffordshire, Shropshire or Derbyshire based on early sightings.
Dyckins in Staffordshire date from the 1400’s. This family held the manor of Preen from 1560 to 1749 when John Dickins, imprisoned for debt, could not pay the mortgage. Later Dickins in Staffordshire were to be found at Woodford Grange.
The Dickin name was to be found in the village of Wem in north Shropshire in the 17th century and perhaps earlier. Thomas Dickin was a master at Wem school who met an unhappy end.
"Thomas Dickin was elected in 1650 and
taught until the great fire and sometime after. But then
abandoning himself to drunkenness he was dismissed from the school and
died very poor in 1687."
Dickin did become local gentry in Wem. The village has in fact a pub called The Dickin Arms, whose building dates back to 1665 (making it one of the oldest pubs in the country). And many Dickins were also to be found in the nearby village of Prees.
Meanwhile there was a Thomas Dickin in the 1670’s who involved himself with his cousin William Cotton in an early iron forge and furnace venture in south Yorkshire.
Charles Dickens' line seems to have started out in Hazelwood in Derbyshire in the 16th century. They were later in London and Charles's grandfather William was born there in 1716. He had been a steward to Lord Crewe at his country seat in Cheshire where he had met Elizabeth, his second wife, who was a housemaid there. William had two sons by Elizabeth, William and John (Charles's father). It was Elizabeth's legacy after her death in 1824 that released John from the debtors' prison and Charles from the blacking factory.
"Having left school at the age of
fifteen, Charles Dickens began his career by working in a solicitor's
office and then became a political reporter. This period was of
the greatest importance to Dickens's development as an author.
His interests widened, he mastered the art of rapid, fluent, popular
writing, and he acquired a stock of experience that was to give his
novels their tremendous immediacy and impact."
Charles Dickens and his wife had ten children and they were to have many descendants, some achieving success in their own right.
Dickens lines elsewhere have been:
- a Dicken family (sometimes spelt Dickin) has been traced to the south Derbyshire village of Newton Solney. Five Dickins were recorded in 1662 Hearth Tax assessments and the Dicken name was still very visible there in the 19th century.
- Samuel Dickens was the vicar of St. Margaret's in Hemingford Abbotts in Huntingdonshire in the early 1700's. The church has stained glass insets with armorial bearings to the Dickens family. His descendants were later to be found in East Dereham, Norfolk.
- one Dickens family account began with the birth of James Deacins in Cranleigh, Surrey in 1753 to parents described as "travellers." These Dickens subsequently had army and navy careers.
- and Dickens from Stewkley in Buckinghamshire, from Riseley in Bedfordshire, and from Brixworth in Northamptonshire date back to about 1800.
From the Hazelwood, Derbyshire line in England came two brothers, Joseph and William Dickens (sometime called Dicken in America), who set out for Halifax county, North Carolina in the 1750's. The Rev. John Dickens was also to be found in Halifax county by 1780. Meanwhile Thomas Dickens of Northampton county, North Carolina was the forebear of the Dickens who migrated to Arkansas. Another Dickens family from North Carolina moved to the Hurricane Creek area of Tennessee in the early 1800's.
One later Dickens line in North Carolina stemmed in the 1860's from the union of the white Kelly Dickens, a doctor, and the black Milly, his housekeeper. Kelly and Milly would not have been allowed to marry in the antebellum North Carolina.
Today the Dickens popiulation in America is very much to be found still in North Carolina and Tennessee. Best known Dickens today are Little Jimmy Dickens, the country singer, and Hazel Dickens, who sings bluegrass. Both were born in West Virginia.
Select Dickens Miscellany
If you would like to read more, click on the miscellany page for
further stories and accounts:
Select Dickens Names
Charles Dickens was the very popular and prolific Victorian novelist whose works have endured.
Monica Dickens, a granddaughter of Charles Dickens, was a 20th century English writer.
Little Jimmy Dickens is an American country singer from West Virginia.
Select Dickens Today
Select Surname List
For other surnames check the select surname page where there are to be found the history and genealogy of more than 500 common and notable surnames in the English-speaking world.