Guide to the Papers of the Dickson Family, 1836-1925
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Guide to the Papers of the Dickson Family
- Creator
- Dickson Family
- Collection Number
- MFF#126
- Extent
- .10 cubic feet (1 folder)
- Date
- 1836-1925
- Abstract
- The Dickson Family was an early Pittsburgh family who traced their roots to County Tyrone, Ireland. These papers include a tax book for the city of Pittsburgh, c1836-1837, kept by Thomas Dickson.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
- 1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
Biographical Sketch of the Dickson Family
The Dickson Family was an early Pittsburgh family who traced their roots to County Tyrone, Ireland. Complicating matters is that two of the donor's great-grandparents are named Thomas Dickson. The first Thomas Dickson (1790-1870) was born in County Tyrone, Ireland and served as a collector of taxes for the City of Pittsburgh for the years 1836 and 1837. After his service as tax collector, Thomas Dickson opened a wholesale and retail grocery store on Liberty Avenue. A Presbyterian, Dickson served as an elder in the First United Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh from 1838 until his death in 1870. His son was Thomas Bruce Dickson (1823-1876), an early employee of the Mechanics and Manufacturers National Bank (Pittsburgh) before entering the oil business. Thomas married Mary McCory and had two children, Charles E. Dickson and Mary Bruce Dickson. Charles E. Dickson was a prominent Pittsburgh businessman who worked at Union Switch and Signal Company in Swissvale (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania, before making a name for himself in the oil industry. Mary Bruce Dickson married William B. Dickson, an executive with the Carnegie, United States and Midvale Steel Companies.
The other Thomas Dickson (1789-1865) was the grandfather of William B. Dickson and was born in County Tyrone, Ireland in 1789. This Thomas Dickson first came to Pittsburgh in 1830 and, feeling it was a city of great promise, went back to Ireland for the rest of his family. Thomas Dickson was an early leader in the region's coal business and owned coalmines along Turtle Creek in Eastern Allegheny County. He lived in Pittsburgh at 629 Liberty and died in a fire in 1865. Thomas Dickson's son, John Dickson, was born on March 21, 1811 in Ireland. Like his father, John also worked in the coal business. An ardent abolitionist, John Dickson served as a conductor in the Underground Railroad. In 1853, he married Mary Ann McConnell Hopkins, a widow with two children, and had eleven more children. Among their children were Robert E. Dickson and William B. Dickson, the husband of Mary Bruce Dickson. William B. Dickson was one of Andrew Carnegie's "Boys" and gained a foothold in industry through his work for Mr. Carnegie. Robert E. Dickson was the postmaster of the Swissvale (Allegheny County), Pennsylvania, Post Office. The Dickson Family remained in Swissvale and in 1925, donated land to the Swissvale School Board.
Scope and Content Notes
These papers include a tax book for the city of Pittsburgh, c1836-1837, kept by Thomas Dickson. This tax book contains city and poor taxes paid by city residents in the first four wards of Pittsburgh. Information for each taxpayer includes name, occupation, amount of city tax and poor tax owed, and is arranged in loose alphabetical order by the ward. In subsequent years, the tax book was used as a scrapbook by Thomas Dickson's granddaughter, Mary Bruce Dickson. Mary pasted into the book numerous items including stories, poetry, and illustrations that provide some indication of her interests as a young girl in Pittsburgh. Among these illustrations are newspaper prints of the Allegheny River, the Allegheny Arsenal (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), and Cincinnati, among others. All newspaper clippings were pasted in the beginning of the tax book, essentially eliminating retrievable information for the First Ward. However, information from wards two through four appear to be intact.
Arrangement
The Dickson Family Papers are housed in one archival folder.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials came in one accession in 1977.
Acc# 1977.11 Gift of Mrs. Howard B. Ware in memory of her parents, William Brown Dickson and Mary Bruce Dickson, (Papers).
Preferred Citation
Papers of the Dickson Family, 1836-1925, MFF# 126, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Historical Society Staff in c1977. Papers rearranged and inventory rewritten by Corey Seeman on May 14, 1994.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on May 15, 2001.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
Subjects
- Dickson, Thomas (1790-1870)
- Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Genealogy
- Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Taxes
- Swissvale (Pa.) -- Social Life and Customs
- Schenley Park (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Buildings -- Pennsylvania -- Allegheny County
- Children -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Genealogy -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Historic Buildings -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Holidays -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Parks -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Postal Service--Pennsylvania--Swissvale
- Taxation -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Allegheny Arsenal (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
- Block House (Pittsburgh, Pa.)