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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Northumberland => Topic started by: ScottDixon22 on Monday 16 July 18 03:13 BST (UK)
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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?
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Just looked at what info is on Genuki with regards to PRs and where they are http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/NBL/Shotley/ChurchRecords
You can also look on there for Stanhope/Wolsingham
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I’m assuming John Dixon’s will was written in 1750 and not proved until 1763?
Are you sure it’s the right John Dixon? Dixon is a very common name in the North East!
Waters can get a little muddy when you get that far back and it’s easy to pick up on the wrong man just because he has the right name in the right timeframe... after all you don’t have a definitive age at death and there is some questions over his wife/wives names.
Don’t discount name variations, Dickson, Dickinson, Etc., A couple of other NE migration routes is from Ireland and and Cumberland.
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Excellent thoughts from both of you. The Shotley records are visible online, and I have looked at every page from the first pages through the 1850's. I put every Dixon baptism/marriage/burial record on a spreadsheet so I could cross reference the people and put together the families.
Shotley was a VERY SMALL parish and there were only a handful of Dixon's there. Yes, the will was written in 1750 and proven in 1762. The will says he is from Shotley (the only John Dixon living in that parish at the time) and the children named match up with the names of the children baptized in Shotley and described as "son of John Dixon," so I am very confident that this is the correct John Dixon. There is a bit of confusion about the name of the wife, as there is no marriage record for a John Dixon to Isabel, however, the time of the marriage would likely have been around 1710-1715, and the records that far back seem to be incomplete. There is also a possibility that Isabel was a later marriage, and perhaps she was a member of another parish, and they may have gotten married in that other parish. Thanks again for the thoughts!
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I have just checked www.freereg.org.uk, put in John Dixon, all records, 1650-1750 and Northumberland/Co Durham and there are 120 results, one or more of which may be yours or could help you exclude ones that are not
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There is a marriage of a John Dixon to an Isabel Philipson 8th May 1705 at Bywell - about 6 miles away from Shotley I believe. No places of residence given on the transcription - it would pay you to view the entry in the register, although freereg usually transcribe these if they're given in the register.
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Just to add, the transcriptions of the Shotley registers on freereg are given as only starting at 1767 - seems they haven't done the earlier ones yet.
In case anybody else is looking..
Scott: Have you checked to see if there are any Memorial Inscriptions at Shotley church?
That may give you the age of John Dixon.
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Dear goldie61, thanks for the info! Actually, I was looking at the very same marriage of John Dixon to Isabel Philipson, and wondered if this was the same John Dixon as my ancestor. I also note that Shotley parish/chapel was formed from St. Andrews Bywell, according to the Church of England, who I wrote to a few days ago. So this leads further credence to the possibility that this was the John Dixon I'm looking for, there in the Bywell registers.
Regarding the church registers, they are available back to the late 1600's online via familysearch.org. There is a post in 1660 and 1662 in the parish documentation that the church has where they mention that the church is in need of repairs and lacking both scripture books and a register book, so this pretty much explains why the registers only go back to the late 1600's.
I went to Salt Lake City and searched the tombstone inscriptions for Shotley, which were recorded around the year 1900, and no John Dixon is listed with a tombstone, although his burial in 1763 is recorded in the Shotley registers. His son William Dixon (my 5th great grandfather) has a tombstone up against the church just to the left of the front door, so that was a huge find! Tombstone says he died in 1769 at age 49, and indeed in the registers there is William Dixon baptized in 1720, and buried in 1769, with the baptism of their children recorded in those registers.
I actually visited the church back in November 2017, and saw the tombstone, and looked around the cemetery for other Dixon tombstones, but found none besides the Wm. Dixon tombstone. I would have thought that if there were any other Dixon tombstones, they would have turned up in the tombstone inscription document mentioned above, but I wanted to look around, anyway, as it it an interesting little place and part of our family's history. The key document linking us to that church (beyond mentions in our old family bibles) is the birth of Joshua Dixon in 1804 there in Shotley. It says "8th son of George Dixon, banksman of Grey Mare Pit, son of Wm Dixon, native of Shotleyfield in this parish, by his wife Ann Westgarth, daughter of Wm Westgarth, native of Birkenside in this parish." George Dixon's baptism in 1858 Shotley register shows him as "son of William Dixon of Shotleyfield." So this is confirmed very well. William Dixon's baptism in 1720 Shotley Register says "son of Jno. Dixon." But, again, this is where I hit the brick wall, with John Dixon.
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There's a will of a John Dixon of Bywell 1684
http://familyrecords.dur.ac.uk/nei/data/neisearch.php
Probably worth a look even though it may be a bit early - but you should cover all bases.
I've been surprised at the some of ages men got married at that time - not always at or around 21 at all.
It says he's a 'tailor', but maybe some of his sons/grandsons didn't want to do that? - I think you said your ancestor was a 'yeoman'? That's a class above just 'farmer', but below 'gentleman'.
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Ok. Had a quick look at this - a bit of a red herring.
Hel eaves all his things to his neices, cousins etc. Doesn't seem to have any children.
Also on there is the will of a John Dixon of Shotley. It says 1764, but if you check out all the pages, it seems to be re-written in 1769. Is this the same family?
There's also an adminstration bond for your William 1769. Not looked at that. You might have already seen that.
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I saw the will of John Dixon of Shotley. Thanks for pointing it out and also taking the time to search around on my behalf! That 1750 will for John Dixon names his wife Isabel and sons George, Edward, Joseph "of Stanhope," and William. The sons of John Dixon that are listed as baptisms in the church register from Shotley are Joseph (1715), and William (1720). Then in 1726 there is a death of John Dixon son of John, which would explain why there is not a son John Dixon in that 1750 will. William is my 5th great grandfather ("son of Jno. (John) Dixon" in his baptism record in 1720). Edward Dixon is not in the baptism records, nor is George, however, in 1740 begin a series of baptisms of John, George and Joseph, sons of Edward Dixon. I assume that the will names the sons in order of age. This would mean that the older 2 sons were probably baptized elsewhere, and they moved to Shotleyfield around 1715 or before, or the earlier baptisms were simply not recorded (the register for earlier years seems to be incomplete, as it contains far fewer records than in later years). Then, there are baptisms for children of an Edward Dixon starting in 1740. That timing seems to jive with him being an older son, as that is only 20 years after the birth of William...I assume that Edward was older than 20 when married, which as you mention seems to be the custom at that time, probably to help the parents raise the younger children and help the older parents with farm work, etc. Also, the children of William Dixon include Isabel, John, Joseph and George, all names repeated in John's 1750 will. As we know, they often named their children after parents, then uncles of the children (siblings of the parents). There is a death of Isabel "wife of John Dixon of Shotleyfield" in 1751, which is after John's 1750 will was made, but there is no record of an update to that will after her death, although it really would not be necessary as the will simply calls for a regular stipend to be paid to Isabel until her death. Also, John's marriage to Isabel is not in the Shotley registers, I believe we discussed this already, as you noticed a marriage of a John Dixon to Isabel in the register of St. Andrews Bywell. This also jives with no baptism either in Shotley records for the oldest sons Edward and George. I need to search for a baptism of a George and Edward Dixon shortly after the marriage of John and Isabel there in Bywell.
John Dixon's will you mention was written in 1750 and probate in 1764, I believe. The burial of "John Dixon of Shotleyfield" was in 1763, as recorded in the Shotley register. Probate in 1764 would be reasonable.
The admin bond you see for William Dixon of Shotley in 1769 is indeed for my ancestor, who died in 1769. He died without a will, and the record you cite mentions that his widow Elizabeth must submit an inventory of the assets of the late William Dixon within 6 months. Indeed, there is a much earlier marriage of William Dixon to Elizabeth in the Shotley register, so this all jives.
Bottom line, I have a pretty good degree of confidence that the 1750 will is that of John Dixon, my ancestor, especially since his son William is also of Shotleyfield, which is a small hamlet about a half mile south of the St. Andrews Shotley chapel on Kiln Pit Hill. I feel that the marriage of John to Isabel Dixon and the baptisms of older brothers George and Edward Dixon either occurred elsewhere (perhaps Bywell), or were simply not recorded in the Shotley register since I noticed that the records in the Shotley register were rather sparse in the years prior to 1715 or so (perhaps they were not good about recording everything at that early date), and there is nothing in the register before the late 1600's. Any further thoughts would be welcome, and thanks again!
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JACKPOT!!!! Goldie61, I have to thank you! So the marriage we discussed already for John Dixon to Isabel was at Bywell St Peter in 1705. After that, in 1706 there is a baptism of John Dixon (he died in 1726 as a young boy as I mentioned in prior post), then in 1708 for George Dixon, son of John and Isabel, then in 1711 for Edward Dixon, son of john and Isabel. This all jives perfectly with the fact that there is no marriage in the Shotley register for John Dixon of Shotley and his wife Isabel, nor a baptism for the older sons John, George and Edward in the shotley register. The baptisms of living children George, then Edward in Bywell, then Joseph and William in Shotley, coincides perfectly with the order of the children in the 1750 will of John Dixon of Shotleyfield, which names his wife Isabel, followed by George, Edward, Joseph, then William. The dates for marriage, births and deaths all seem in order. I feel pretty confident that this is the John Dixon who is my ancestor! What are your thoughts?
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It does sound as if the 'jigsaw' all fits together nicely Scott.
The family moving from Bywell to Shotley around 1715, perhaps to a larger farm as the family grew.
I'd agree that named children in a will are invariably written from the eldest to the youngest.
Do you know who the local land owner was around there? The farms would no doubt have been leased, and you may be able to find records of these if you're interested.
My family farmed at Macclesfield Forest in Cheshire (then a hunting forest), on land owned by the Earls of Stanley. I managed to track down 'rent rolls' and 'surveys' from the 1600s and 1700s, to find my family named in them, the places where they farmed named, and how much they paid. It was a fairly complicated exercise, but well worth it in the end.
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found a nice little map here which shows both Bywell and Shotley Bridge.
http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/9673
Not very far away at all!
Your family may have been at any of these little places at some time.
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Thank you for your very thorough reply! I am VERY INTERESTED in how one might get a hold of the "rent rolls" and "surveys" you mention in your reply. I am pretty sure that quite a few of my earliest ancestors rented farms.
I have an update: I went to the Family History center near me so I could see the online Bishop's Transcripts for St. Peter's Bywell, to look at the records mentioned in the index. All the records from Bywell (for the marriage, and all the baptisms), describe John Dixon as being "of Newlands." That hamlet is NOT in the parish of Bywell. Rather, it is in Shotley parish, and is. 4 miles east of Shotleyfield, which is where John's son William (my 5th great grandfather) lived most of his life. Interestingly, Newlands is also immediately north of Panshields Farm, which is mentioned in several of the earliest records for other Dixon's in the Shotley church registers, which date back to the just before 1700. It appears that my earliest-known Dixon ancestors mostly lived in this Newlands/Panshields/Shotleyfield locale. This also makes a little more sense of the fact that the later records (1829 and later) of the descendants of John Dixon and his son William all of a sudden show up living in the locale "Snows Green" for most of the records at that time. Just south of Panshields farm is a very old bridge that takes one across the River Dewent into County Durham, and Snow's green is not far down the road. I hadn't noticed the road and bridge before, and assumed that all travelers had to travel SW from there to cross the river at the city of Shotley Bridge. Instead, they could quickly get from the Panshields area to Snows Green, which is of the parish Medomsley. I have read more than once that back then people got around more than we often assume they did. Still, it certainly would be more likely that a good many of them rarely ventured too far from home. The map you shared is nice. I've seen other maps showing Panshields Farm (which still exists) as well as Newlands, etc. Also, the current Google maps shows them, and Panshields Farm is marked.
Given that Shotley chapel is so small (and also fell into ruin in the mid 1700's due to mine subsidence and had to be rebuilt), I can imagine why especially marriages might take place in the much larger and nicer Bywell church, and also, Shotley parish was formed out of Bywell. I might find some additional, later records out of Medomsley church. and perhaps even out of Wittonstall, which is a chapel that was built later on but is immediately north of Newlands. Untill I discovered the Newlands records yesterday, I wasn't sure if those were siblings of my direct ancestors living there in Panshields, but now I am somewhat confident they were uncles, siblings, close cousins living there just down the road. For example, there is a William Dixon "of Panshields" who was married at Shotley chapel in 1705, the same year that my ancestor John Dixon "of Newlands" married Isabel Philipson at Bywell. William and John were probably brothers. Before this new "of Newlands" mention, I wasn't sure if this William Dixon was a close relative or not.
Thanks again!
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My first stop would be the Manorial Documents register on The NAtional Archives website
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/finding-records-in-discovery-and-other-databases/manorial-documents-register/
Unfortunately, it looks as though Durham is not yet digitised, and only viewable at TNA in person.
Perhaps Durham Record Office would be able to help.
I've always found Record Offices very helpful - either by ringing them up, or sending an email with a query.
http://www.durhamrecordoffice.org.uk/
It never hurts to ask!
You need to know who the landowners were in the 1600s and 1700s for the areas you're interested in.
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Thanks for the info! My ancestors primarily are from Northumberland, which I see is in process with the digitization for that county, but not yet finished and not available online.
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There is a marriage of a John Dixon to an Isabel Philipson 8th May 1705 at Bywell - about 6 miles away from Shotley I believe. No places of residence given on the transcription - it would pay you to view the entry in the register, although freereg usually transcribe these if they're given in the register.
YES, this is my ancestor, as the names of their children match up in the Shotley records. The image of the original marriage record from 1705 describes John Dixon "OF NEWLANDS," which was in Bywell parish even though it is VERY close to Shotleyfield. Interestingly, the owner of Newlands farm was James Radcliffe, the Earl of Derwentwater who was beheaded in early 1716 for treason by supporting the Jacobite uprising of 1715. John Dixon moved from Newlands to nearby Shotleyfield in 1715. Perhaps he wanted to avoid problems by moving out of Newlands! I can't read much of the will you mention from an earlier John Dixon of Ryding, Bywell, year 1684. I'm pretty decent at reading ancient cursive, but whoever wrote it had almost unreadable handwriting! I see he gave money to a long list of people, but I don't see any Dixons receiving part of his estate. Mostly to Margaret Taylor and family? Very confused! I have also since learned that the descendants of the very early Dickson clan of Antons Hill and Belchester in Scotland just north of the border married into the Sir Martin Hunter family of Medomsley in the late 1700's. Medomsley is very close to Shotley. Maybe the Dickson/Dixon clan descendants had a connection that brought them from Scotland to the Shotley/Bywell/Newlands/Medomsley area!
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I see you have taken up the trail again Scott after a few years.
If you post parts of the will from 1648 that you can't read, there will probably be somebody who can help you.
Post them on this board
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/handwriting-deciphering-recognition/
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I see you have taken up the trail again Scott after a few years.
If you post parts of the will from 1648 that you can't read, there will probably be somebody who can help you.
Post them on this board
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/handwriting-deciphering-recognition/
Thank you for everything! I apologize for not reading carefully your earlier posts: I agree that the 1648 will is a "red herring" in that there apparently aren't any Dixon children named, therefor unlikely this is my direct John Dixon ancestor. To summarize and adding some info for anyone reading this: My ancestors 100% verified back to William Dixon of Shotleyfield (1720-1769) "son of Jno. Dixon," per document naming ancestors, from Shotley. John Dixon will 1750 in Durham archives names wife Isabel son William my ancestor and other 3 sons including Joseph "of Stanhope," their baptisms all confirmed in Bywell and Shotley registers, in the years following 1705 marriage of John Dixon "of Newlands" to Isabel Philipson 1705 at Bywell St. Peter, the EARLIEST written record I have for Dixon family. There are several Philipsons in Whittonstall chapel registers, btw. Also there are lots of Dixons in Stanhope, but maybe the brother Joseph Dixon just moved there randomly? Newlands farm is very close to Shotleyfield, and was on the very edge of Bywell parish at the time. Newlands was owned by James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, a major actor in the Jacobean uprising. He was beheaded on 24 Feb 1716 on Tower Hill in London. Interestingly, John Dixon "of Newlands" moved from Newlands to Shotleyfield around 1715. Perhaps things were getting a little too dangerous to stay at Newlands! I don't have any other clues to get back earlier than this. Search of Manoral documents for Newlands doesn't yield any records other than back in the 1500's, probably too early to include any of my Dixon ancestors.
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Did you have any family from Dipton which is a village only 4 or 5 miles away but across the border into County Durham?
There was a prosperous innkeeper in Dipton named John Dixon. I don't have his date of birth but he married in 1766 and continued living in the village for many years. Because he was living in County Durham, he was married and all 6 of his children were baptised at All Saints parish church at Lanchester.
John married Margaret Wheatley on 29th December 1766 and they had six children, including another John born in 1774.
This may be totally unconnected but it is worth checking out.
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I haven't run across any Dixon ancestors from Dipton, but will keep my eyes open for it. We have a few in Snows Green, Medomsley, Ebchester, all just really close to Shotley. Thank you!
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And all of those places are within about 5 miles from Dipton!