I found my ancestors, confirmed back to John Dixon (? - 1763), the father of William Dixon (1720-1769). They were members of St. Andrews church - Shotley Lower Quarter, a very small church at the southern edge of Northumberland. For William, I found his baptism, marriage and burial there in Shotley. For John Dixon, I found in the Durham archives John Dixon's 1750 will. He was buried in 1763 in Shotley. He gives his estate to his 4 sons, with allowance for his wife. His youngest son is described as Joseph Dixon "of Stanhope" (northern County Durham). There is no record prior of John Dixon, the father, in Shotley, however, the churchbook from Shotley only goes back to 1695, so that is not surprising, since he was probably born before then. There is a 1718 marriage of a John Dixon to Margaret Proud, but in the will John's wife is Isabel. Don't see any death for a Margaret Proud or a Margaret Dixon. The big question is, where was the family before 1700? Were they there in the tiny villages in Shotley parish? Or did they migrate there from somewhere else? I note that there are lots of Dixon's in Stanhope, south of Shotley, and also nearby Wolsingham. Both cities in northern County Durham. With Shotley being so small, I have doubts that they were there for centuries before 1700, and was that church even there? If not, then could there be records in the "parent" church/parish, from which St. Andrews Shotley was formed? Also, I have no info about John Dixon's occupation, other than it saying "yeoman" in his will. Nor do I have anything on the occupation of his son William. However, one child of William, George Dixon (my ancestor), was a banksman at the coal mine on Kiln Pit Hill right next to the church. There were also many stone masons in the family going on down the line after that. Also, George Dixon and his siblings mostly moved to Snows Green, county Durham (parish of Medomsley), next to Shotley Bridge, which is just across the river from St Andrews-Shotley. So the later Dixons were in northern county Durham. I've also heard that the Dixon name ORIGINALLY came from southern Scotland centuries before this, but again, I have no info prior to John Dixon, so I have no idea where they were prior to 1700. Any thoughts?
