Thomas Dickson
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Thomas Dickson (1858 - 1914)

Thomas Dickson
Born in Williamstown, Victoria, Australiamap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
Brother of [half], [half], [half], [half], [half], , , , , , , and
Husband of — married 20 Mar 1882 in Williamstown, Victoria, Australiamap
Descendants descendants
Father of , , , , , , , and
Died at age 56 in Wanganui, Wellington, New Zealandmap
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Profile last modified | Created 30 Aug 2019
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Biography

Thomas Dickson was born in the Colony of Victoria (1851-1900)

Thomas was born on Saturday 13 February 1858 at Hanmer Street, Williamstown, Colony of Victoria at 8 o'clock in the morning [1] and his birth was registered in Victoria[2]. Thomas was the son of Peter Dickson and Hannah Lockhart.

He became a tailor, serving his apprenticeship with Bernard King, one of the leading tailors of Collins Street, Melbourne[3]. On completing his training, he worked at Rockhampton, Queensland for eighteen months. He then returned to Melbourne to work for Robertson and Moffatt, where he stayed for a year and a half.

He married Margaret McLean on 20 March 1882[4] in The Manse, Williamstown[5].

Flag of Colony of Victoria
Thomas Dickson migrated from Colony of Victoria to New Zealand.
Flag of New Zealand

They left from Melbourne on their wedding day on the Rotomahana[6] to emigrate to New Zealand, His wife noted:

"Before our wedding, we had to pack all our trunks & bags ready to leave on the Rotomahana. After the service we were able to say Goodbye to all our relations, quite a lot came with us to the wharf and waved to us as the ship left."

They travelled via Bluff, Port Chalmers and Lyttleton, arriving at Wellington on 1 April 1882[7]. After a few days in Wellington they went on a small coastal ship Stormbird which was sailing up the West Coast for Wanganui. They stayed in a boarding house for a few days before they found a house on Guyton Street to rent.

They had nine children, their first born being twins who died within a few weeks.

  1. Thomas Turriff (1882[8] - 1883[9])
  2. Walter Lockhart (1882[10] - 1883[11])
  3. Lilian May (1883[12] - 1964[13])
  4. Ada Maud (1885[14] 1978[15])
  5. Ethel Margaret (1888[16] - 1951[17])
  6. Florence (1890[18] - 1890[19])
  7. Grace Mary (1895[20] - 1896[21])
  8. Peter Lockhart (1899[22] - 1975[23])
  9. Thomas McLean (1903[24] - 1903[25])

Only four of the children survived to adulthood.

Thomas at first worked as a cutter for Joseph Paul[3], a tailoring business in Wanganui[26]. He headed the tailoring department. In 1885 he was a tailor's cutter living at St Hill Street, Wanganui, being listed on the Wanganui Electoral Roll[27]. His brother Peter was on the same roll as a draper living at Bell Street.

Thomas set up his own business as a "Tailor, Mercer, and General Outfitter" on Victoria Avenue in 1890 with "two hands"[3]. He ran many advertisements in the local newspapers. The business was very successful. At that stage he was listed as a tailor living at Wilson Street on the Wanganui Electoral Roll[28]. They were still there in 1893 as that is where his wife Margaret signed the Women's Suffrage Petition. They also lived on Bookies' Hill overlooking the Racecourse, also known as Town Belt[29], being there in 1899.

Outside of work, Thomas was one of the first directors of the Economic Building Society[3]. He was a member of the freemasons, being a Past Master of the St. Andrew Kilwinning Lodge, N.Z.C., and a Past Arch-Druid of the Bishop Lodge. He was also a member of the Wanganui Chamber of Commerce, of the Bowling Club, and of the Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club.

In 1901 the family moved from Wanganui to New Plymouth, but his business did not prosper. In 1905 they came back to Wanganui as Thomas was suffering from Bright's disease. He couldn't establish a business again. They lived at 70 Wickstead Street[30] where Thomas, Margaret and daughter Lilian were all listed on the April 1908 Wanganui Electoral Roll. They moved that year to 19 Wilson Street as daughter Ada was listed on the November Wanganui Supplementary Electoral Roll at that address[31]. There his wife ran a boarding house and the three daughters worked.

In 1910 they bought a house named Awatea, 24 Riverbank (later Somme Parade). This house still exists as the Tamara Riverside Lodge[32]). Thomas was listed on the 1911 Electoral Roll as a draper[33]; daughter Ethel was now on the roll. Here a family portrait was taken in 1913.

Thomas died on 19 August 1914 [34][35]. He was buried in the old Heads Road Cemetery, Wanganui[36]. His headstone reads[37]:

In Loving Memory of Thomas Dickson Died at Wanganui 19th August 1914 Aged 56 years

His death was mentioned in The New Zealand Craftsman when he died[38]. His will left everything to his wife Margaret[39].

Sources

  1. ↑ Family New Testament dated 1805, held by family of Margaret Allison
  2. ↑ Ancestry.com. Australia, Birth Index, 1788-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Compiled from publicly available sources. Pioneer Index, Victoria 1836-1888; Registration Number: 1693. Accessed 3 Jun 2023
    Ancestry Record 1778 #195356
    Thomas Dickson born in about 1858, child of Peter Dickson & Hannah Lockhart, in Williamstown, Victoria.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Cyclopedia Company Limited. The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District] Professional, Commercial And Industrial. Available on New Zealand Electronic Text Collection - Te Pūhikotuhi o Aotearoa, part of Victoria University of Wellington Library ] Wellington: The Cyclopedia Company, Limited, 1897. page 1422. Accessed 3 Jun 2023
  4. ↑ Ancestry.com. Victoria, Australia, Marriage Index, 1837-1950 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018. Original data: Victoria, Australia, Marriage Index, 1837-1950. The Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Accessed 3 Jun 2023 Ancestry Record 61649 #1092649
    Thomas Dickson marriage to Margaret McLean in 1882 in Victoria, Australia.
  5. ↑ Marriage certificate held by Margaret Bailey Allison
  6. ↑ Rootsweb: Rotomahana Accessed 3 Oct 2019
  7. ↑ Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa Accessed 3 Oct 2019
    SHIPPING. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 6540, 3 April 1882]
  8. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Birth Registration. Accessed 7 Jul 2020
    1882/14577 Dickson, Thomas Turriff Mother=Margaret Father=Thomas DOD=13/12/1882
  9. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Death Registration. Accessed 7 Jul 2020
    1883/1417 Dickson, Thomas Turriff Age=20D DOD=02/01/1883
  10. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Birth Registration. Accessed 7 Jul 2020
    1882/14578 Dickson, Walter Lockhart Mother=Margaret Father=Thomas DOB=13/12/1882
  11. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Death Registration. Accessed 7 Jul 2020
    1882 1883/1420 Dickson, Walter Lockhart Age=4W DOD=12/01/1883
  12. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Birth Registration. Accessed 17 Oct 2019
    1884/1600 Dickson, Lilian May Mother=Margaret Father=Thomas DOB=22/12/1883
  13. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Death Registration. Accessed 17 Oct 2019
    1964/42763 Hayton, Lilian May Age=80Y DOD=28/11/1964
  14. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Birth Registration. Accessed 10 Jan 2020
    1885/17988 Dickson, Ada Maud Mother=Margaret Father=Thomas DOB=29/08/1885
  15. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Death Registration. Accessed 10 Jan 2020
    1979/30552 Cade, Ada Maud DOB=29 August 1885 DOD=26/12/1978
  16. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Birth Registration. Accessed 7 Jul 2020
    1888/17385 Dickson, Ethel Margaret Mother=Margaret Father=Thomas DOB=18/08/1888
  17. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Death Registration. Accessed 7 Jul 2020
    1951/31198 Evans, Ethel Margaret Age=63Y DOD=12/12/1951
  18. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Birth Registration. Accessed 7 Jul 2020
    1890/6075 Dickson, Florence Mother=Margaret Father=Thomas DOB=27/04/1890
  19. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Death Registration. Accessed 7 Jul 2020
    1890/2454 Dickson, Florence Age=5H DOD=27/04/1890
  20. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Birth Registration. Accessed 7 Jul 2020
    1895/11538 Dickson, Grace Mary Mother=Margaret Father=Thomas DOB=02/09/1895
  21. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Death Registration. Accessed 7 Jul 2020
    1896/1841 Dickson, Grace Mary Age=14M DOD=05/11/1896
  22. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Birth Registration. Accessed 1 Sep 2019
    1900/3115 Dickson, Peter Lockhart Mother=Margaret Father=Thomas DOB=17/12/1899
  23. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Death Registration. Accessed 1 Sep 2019
    1975/36485 Dickson, Peter Lockhart DOB=17 December 1899 DOD=25/06/1975
  24. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Birth Registration. Accessed 7 Jul 2020
    1903/2913 Dickson, Thomas McLean Mother=Margaret Father=Thomas DOB=28/06/1903
  25. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Death Registration. Accessed 7 Jul 2020
    1903/7082 Dickson, Thomas McLean Age=4M DOD=15/11/1903
  26. ↑ Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa Accessed 3 Jun 2023
    Page 4 Advertisements Column 6. Wanganui Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 5061,14 May 1883, Page 4
  27. ↑ Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: New Zealand Electoral Rolls, 1853–1981. Auckland, New Zealand: BAB microfilming. Microfiche publication, 4032 fiche. Accessed 3 Jun 2023
    Ancestry Sharing Link
    Name: Thomas Dickson; Gender: Male; Electoral Year: 1885-1886; Residence Place: New Zealand; District: Wanganui; Region or Province: Manawatu-Wanganui.
  28. ↑ Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: New Zealand Electoral Rolls, 1853–1981. Auckland, New Zealand: BAB microfilming. Microfiche publication, 4032 fiche. Accessed 14 Jun 2023
    Ancestry Sharing Link
    Name: Thomas Dickson; Gender: Male; Electoral Year: 1890; Residence Place: New Zealand; District: Wanganui; Region or Province: Manawatu-Wanganui.
  29. ↑ Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: New Zealand Electoral Rolls, 1853–1981. Auckland, New Zealand: BAB microfilming. Microfiche publication, 4032 fiche. Accessed 14 Jun 2023
    Ancestry Sharing Link
    Name: Thomas Dickson; Electoral Year: 1899; Residence Place: Town Belt, New Zealand; District: Wanganui; Region or Province: Manawatu-Wanganui.
  30. ↑ Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: New Zealand Electoral Rolls, 1853–1981. Auckland, New Zealand: BAB microfilming. Microfiche publication, 4032 fiche. Accessed 14 Jun 2023
    Ancestry Sharing Link
    Name: Thomas Dickson; Electoral Year: 1908; Residence Street Address: 70 Wicksteed Street; Residence Place: New Zealand; District: Wanganui; Region or Province: Manawatu-Wanganui.
  31. ↑ Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: New Zealand Electoral Rolls, 1853–1981. Auckland, New Zealand: BAB microfilming. Microfiche publication, 4032 fiche. District: Wanganui. Year: 1908. Accessed 14 Jun 2023
    Ancestry Sharing Link
    Ada Maud Dickson; Electoral Year: 1908; Residence Street Address: 19 Wilson Street; Residence Place: New Zealand; District: Wanganui; Region or Province: Manawatu-Wanganui.
  32. ↑ Tamara Riverside Lodge Whanganui Accessed 3 Jun 2023
  33. ↑ Ancestry.com. New Zealand, Electoral Rolls, 1853-1981 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: New Zealand Electoral Rolls, 1853–1981. Auckland, New Zealand: BAB microfilming. Microfiche publication, 4032 fiche. District: Wanganui. Year: 1911. Accessed 14 Jun 2023
    Ancestry Sharing Link
    Name: Thomas Dickson; Electoral Year: 1911; Residence Place: New Zealand; District: Wanganui; Region or Province: Manawatu-Wanganui.
  34. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths & Marriages Online (Digital Database), Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Death Registration. Accessed 19 Aug 2021
    1914/5248 Dickson, Thomas Age=56Y DOD=19/8/1914
  35. ↑ "New Zealand, Civil Records Indexes, 1800-1966," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG6K-T54K : 4 January 2018), Thomas Dickson, 1914; citing Death, New Zealand, registration number 1914/5248, Archives of New Zealand, Wellington.
  36. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images. Accessed 19 September 2021, memorial page for Thomas Dickson (1858–19 Aug 1914), Find A Grave: Memorial #206598554, citing Heads Road Old Public Cemetery, Whanganui, Whanganui District, Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand ; Maintained by Baby Stegosaurus (contributor 49885654).
  37. ↑ "New Zealand, Cemetery Transcriptions, 1840-1981," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGR2-FL2Y : 8 September 2019), Thomas Dickson, 19 Aug 1914; citing Death, New Zealand, New Zealand Society of Genealogists, Auckland.
  38. ↑ Copy of the article in The New Zealand Craftsman, Nov 2, 1914, page 127, held by Margaret Bailey Allison
  39. ↑ "New Zealand, Archives New Zealand, Probate Records, 1843-1998," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXZH-FKF : 28 May 2019), Thomas Dickson, 1914; citing , Wanganui probates [third sequence], 1893-1979, record number 1914/59, Archives New Zealand, Auckland Regional Office; FamilySearch digital folder 005664066.

Acknowledgements

  • Biography written by his grand-daughter, Margaret Bailey Allison, using information from papers held by her family




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Images: 7
Thomas Dickson
Thomas Dickson
Awatea, the Dickson family home, now the Tamara Backpackers Lodge, previously Cairnbrae Maternity Home where Annesley and Margaret were born
Awatea, the Dickson family home, now the Tamara Backpackers Lodge, previously Cairnbrae Maternity Home where Annesley and Margaret were born
Thomas and Margaret Dickson at their home
Thomas and Margaret Dickson at their home
The Dickson home, 56 Hanmer Street, Williamstown
The Dickson home, 56 Hanmer Street, Williamstown
Old Manse where Thomas Dickson and Margaret McLean were married
Old Manse where Thomas Dickson and Margaret McLean were married
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Categories: Williamstown, Victoria | Rotomahana, sailed Mar 1882 | Tailors | St Andrew Kilwinning Lodge No.79 | Heads Road Old Cemetery, Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui