Jonathan Dickinson & Mary Bilsbury

Jonathan DICKINSON was born abt 1838 in Winsford Over Cheshire
which is about 30 miles from Atherton Lancashire.
He was the son of George DICKINSON & Martha OAKES
who had married Mar 26 1829 at St Chad Over Cheshire.

 Mary BILSBURY was chr Mar 30 1842 in St Mary's Leigh Lancashire,
the daughter of Robert BILSBURY & Lydia HAMPSON
who had married Sep 8 1839 at St Mary's Leigh.


Jonathan and Mary were married
Apr 5 1858
at Manchester Cathedral.

The witnesses were:
Thomas BEBBINGTON
& Sarah BEBBINGTON.

At the time of the wedding,
both Jonathan and Mary were listed on their marriage certificate
as residing at 4 Robert Street Manchester Lancashire.

I have heard it was very common for Cheshire residents
to be married at Manchester Cathedral
because they asked NO QUESTIONS !!

At the time of their daughter Martha's birth in 1862,
Jonathan was a boatman.


The children of 'boatmen' could have been born
ANYWHERE along the canals,
as the family travelled with the boat.

The children would run ahead and set the locks
for when the boat,
pulled at first by horses, later with engines,
arrived at the locks.

The Weaver Navigation Canal
runs through Winsford to Runcorn.
It also connects to the Trent & Mersey Canal
at Northwich by the Anderton Boat Lift,
which was a lift (elevator)
which took the boats up and down about 70 feet
between the two canals.

The canal boats on which the families lived
were about 70 foot long but only 6'6" wide
(so called narrow boats)
with a small cabin at the rear
in which the family lived.
Usually they towed a second boat behind,
and this would be controlled by one of the sons.


Sometime between 1862 and 1865,
Jonathan and Mary along with little George and Martha,
moved to Mary's birthplace area of Pennington / Astley in Leigh.


1871 CENSUS / 1 Lower Green, Astley, Leigh

Jonathan Dickinson [head] Boatman, born Winsford, Cheshire,Age 36
Mary Dickinson, wife, born Pennington, Lancashire, Age 32
Elizabeth Dickinson, dau, born Pennington, Age 11
*Martha Dickinson, dau, born Pennington, Age 9
Lydia Dickinson, dau, born Pennington, Age 4
Ann Dickinson, dau, born Bedford, Lancs, Age 2
James Dickinson, son, born Bedford, Lancs, Age 1

*Martha's place of birth is written incorrectly as Pennington
when in fact it was Runcorn Cheshire :-(

Son George age abt 11 years of age,
is obviously somewhere else during Census taking
because he is with his sister Martha, as a widower,
on the 1901 Census in Astley.

There is also the possibility that
another son Samuel age abt 5 years,
is with his brother, perhaps with relatives in Cheshire.


Sadly for the little family,
Jonathan died the following year at the young age of 34 yrs
and he was buried Jul 10 1872 in Leigh Cemetary Astley.


1881 CENSUS ~ Astley Green, Astley

Mary Dickenson, head, Widow, 40, b Leigh
George, son, coal miner, 20, b Winsford Cheshire
*Martha, dau, trottle piecer, 18, b Runcorn Chesh
Lydia, dau, trottle piecer, 16, b Pennington, Lancs
Ann, dau, scholar, 12, b Leigh
James, son, scholar, 11, b Leigh
Levi Collier, boarder, coal miner, Unm 24 b Astley
**Thomas Collier, boarder, brick maker Unm 19 b Astley

Jonathan & Mary's youngest child James died Jul 7 1886 at age 16.
He had been working as a drawer in a coal mine,
James was buried in his father's grave
along with a couple of children of his sister Lydia Dickinson COLLIER.

Mary BILSBURY was living with her daughter Lydia in 1901 -


1901 CENSUS ~ 26 Lower Green Lane, Astley

Levi Collier Head Married age 43 Coal hewer born Astley
Lydia Collier Wife Married age 36 born Lancs. Holland
Maud Collier Daur age 4 born Leigh
*Mary Dickenson M-in-Law Widow age 60 born Leigh

Mary BILSBURY died Jul 2 1926 in Astley and was buried on Jul 6th,
alongside her husband in Leigh Cemetary in Astley Lancashire.

Photo of Mary Haddock THOMASON & little ol' me ~ circa 1958

Return to THOMASON Direct Ancestor Line
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