DENEWCAS-L Archives

From: Debbie <>
Subject: [NewCastle] "The Place at Christeen"
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003 21:08:57 -0400

You may not be interested in all the details, but the *first* instance
of each name is in caps in case you want to scan for an ancestor.

Archaeology - "The Place at Christeen"

http://www.deldot.net/static/projects/archaeology/christeen/dickson_history.
html

WILLIAM DICKSON SITE (7NC-E-82) INVESTIGATIONS SITE HISTORY

Of all three sites investigated in the Patterson Lane Site Complex, the
DICKSON Site is the most difficult to trace historically. The site's
history is easily followed backwards in time until 1844, then the trail
of deed transactions and property transfers becomes murky and
fragmentary. Table 8 presents a summary of the deed transactions for the
Dickson Site.

The property, which is presently owned by William T. NEAL, Jr., was
acquired by William T. Neal, Sr., in 1919 from George W. BUTLER of
Christiana village (New Castle County Deeds N-28-260). Butler had bought
the land, which consisted of 5.7 acres, from the heirs of Daniel HEISLER
EGBERT in 1912 for $1000. There was a building present on the land at
that time (NCCD B-24-184). Egbert's heirs had been willed the land in
1878, and Egbert himself, a merchant in Christiana Bridge, had purchased
a 2 acre portion of the parcel in 1845 from a local farmer and large
landholder, Thomas B. ARMSTRONG (NCCD X-5-27). D. H. Egbert is shown as
the owner on the 1860 LAKE and BEERS' map of Christiana (Figure 12).
Armstrong in turn had bought the land in October 1844, about four months
prior to the sale to Egbert. He paid $80 for the lot at a sheriff's
sale, and sold it for $25. At the time of the sale, the lot was
described as "...situated near the village of Christiana Bridge, bounded
by the Road leading from the Christiana and Wilmington Turnpike to
William EGBERT HEISLERr's farm, formerly known by the name 'READ and
PATTERSONs Road', by lands of Daniel Heisler Egbert, formerly of Daniel
Heisler, and lands of William Egbert Heisler, formerly of Read's, and
now known generally by the name of GEORGE OGLE's Lot" (NCCD X-5-27).

.At this point; the property transactions become obscure. It seems,
however, that just as is the case with the Heisler Site, which is
described below, this lot was part of Rees JONES' 'Eagle's Point'
property and was embroiled in the lengthy and confusing Orphan's Court
divisions of that approximately 74-acre tract among nine separate
landholders. It appears that this particular two acre lot was part of
the land awarded to THOMAS OGLE by the Court, and was part of the land
that he bequeathed to his son George Ogle in 1768 (New Castle County
Wills, Misc. 1- 384; hereafter NCCW). At this time, according to the
will there apparently was a wharf and storehouse on the property. This
son George, however, died intestate and the property re-evolved to the
father's estate. Thomas Ogle's estate then sold the lot to another son,
JOSEPH OGLE, in 1781 (NCCD F-2-125). Joseph Ogle, of White Clay Creek
Hundred, died intestate in April of 1798, and was survived by his wife,
Priscilla, and five children: Samuel, George, Elizabeth, Anna, and Mary.
The Orphan's Court of New Castle County valued Joseph's real estate as
consisting of four lots, as follows:

1.The Mansion Plantation
2.A lot in Mill Creek Hundred
3.A wharf and two old storehouses at Christiana Bridge, which
storehouses have not been under rent, nor are they at present, of course
no profits but rather an expense, as Taxes are to be paid.
4.A small lot of ground adjoining lands late of William PATTERSON,
Esq., dec'd --in bad repair, worth 20 shillings. (New Castle County
Orphans Court 1-1-451).

Evidently, the Orphans Court settled the matter between the heirs of
Joseph Ogle, for in September of 1818, Thomas Ogle sold his brother
George Ogle a part of his father's estate, but not the portion
containing the Dickson Site (NCCD Z-3-74). Within a year, however,
George's sister, Mary (OGLE) CRABB brought suit against her brother for
a debt of over $970 in the Delaware Superior Court. Litigation dragged
on over the case until December of 1843, when it was decided in favor of
Dr. Francis Crabb and his wife, Mary (Ogle). George Ogle's lot was
ordered by the Court to be sold at public sale, and it was at this sale
that Thomas B. Armstrong purchased the lot (NCCD W-5-220).

William Dickson's presence on the site was never found in the
documentary records. On the contrary, it was the archaeological research
which discovered his name in connection with the site. A small ceramic
letter-seal stamp, engraved with "W. Dickson" on the round side and a
cartouche of the initials "W. D." on the reverse, flat side, was found
during the course of excavation (Figure 31). This artifact thus supplied
a name to the site, and a potential site occupant.

Further historic research into the name revealed that there had been a
William Dickson in Christiana in the late eighteenth century. Dickson
was a merchant who arrived in the village about 1783 when he purchased a
15 acre parcel of land located on the west side of town in June from
James DUNN (NCCD X-3-294). By 1787, he was a partner in the retail firm
of HANNAH and DICKSON (HOLLINGSWORTH, MAXWELL, and ADAMS 1789-1798).
Like other local merchants (see Regional History and Patterson Lane Site
History), Hannah and Dickson shipped country produce, and received
manufactured and imported goods from Philadelphia and Wilmington. For
Hannah and Dickson, though, country produce was almost exclusively
flaxseed and flour.

Dickson's position within the community, both economically as a
merchant, socially as a member of the upper class can be seen in the
historic record. By Main's definition of a merchant (1973:86), Dickson
already was a man of some means, and his social station in Christiana
Bridge was assured, for William Dickson married Deborah Patterson, the
daughter of William Patterson, and had three sons. Though Dickson had
purchased at least two lots of land on the west side of town, he never
erected any dwellings on them. Instead, he and his family resided in a
house, belonging to Robert MONTGOMERY, near Christiana Bridge, which was
rented for 24 pounds per year. In 1795, this advertisement was
published, suggesting the type of home that Dickson had,

"For Sale, a lot in Christiana Bridge, on which are a good Brick house
and Kitchen, with a PIazza between them, a frame stable, stores shed and
a garden, now occupied by William Dickson, merchant."
(Delaware Gazette, May 30, 1795)

This ad was also ominously suggestive of Dickson's future; he was dead
seven days later, on June 6, 1795, at the age of 42 years. Though only
in the area for a short time, Dickson was evidently a well-respected and
prominent citizen of Christiana. 'The Delaware and Eastern Shore
Advertiser' printed this tribute and eulogy to Dickson on June 17:

"Died on Saturday the 6th instant, at Christiana Bridge, WILLIAM
DICKSON, merchant; and on Sunday following was interred in the family
burying ground with all the solemn and melancholy grandeur of Masonry,
of which he stood conspicuously on upright column.

His remains were attended by a large and respectable number of citizens.
A pathetic discourse, well adapted to the occassion, was delivered by
the Rev. Samuel BARR.

He left among the numbers to hael his loss, an amiable widow, and two
small children. While here his works were square, and his actions plumb,
the grand Architect of the Universe thought more to call him from this
transitory life to the sublime Lodge above, and as brethren we resign
him to the will of emaculate and thrice puissant."

Within the obituary, obvious references and allusions to Dickson's
membership in the Freemasons were underlined. Most of these refer to his
upstanding role in the community, and his moral and ethical virtues. The
family burying ground doubtless was the one belonging to the Patterson
family, at the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH in Christiana Bridge. The eulogy was
incorrect in the number of children that Dickson had; there were three
sons, not two, William P., John H., and Joseph S. Dickson. His "amiable
widow", 27 years old at the time of William's death, shortly remarried a
local merchant, Thomas BELCHER.. Deborah (Dickson) Belcher died in 1816
and is also buried in the family plot at the Presbyterian Church.
Presently, William and Deborah Dickson's graves have been incorporated
into the back wall of the church (Plate 10).

To payoff his debts, Dickson's estate was sold at public sale on the
14th of July, and consisted of "All the Shop Goods of the Dec'd., in
parcels, or the whole together". The house, shop and granaries were also
offered for rent, and a "Horse and chair, a Horse Cart and Gears, a
Milch cow, hay etc.", part of Dickson's personal estate, were also up
for sale (Delaware ~Eastern Shore Advertiser, July 4, 1795).

An inventory of Dickson's estate was prepared by the end of June, 1795
(Appendix VII). It is a significant and useful document because both
Dickson's personal estate as well as his store goods, were included in
the inventory. Thus a list of the contents of the storehouse along the
Christina exists for the period of greatest commercial activity in
Christiana Bridge.

By far the largest item accounted for in the inventory is textiles,
including various types of cloth, ribbon and tapes, like Fustian,
velveret, velvet, calimanco, calico, shalloon, russian sheeting,
nankeen, sasinet, "cassimer", flannel, serge, linen, swan down, and
muslin, silt ferreting, holland tape, coloured thread, sewing silk, and
"facing and trimming for a Regimental Coat". Also part of this category
were ready-made clothes, like bandanna, chequered, and cotton
handkerchiefs, silk scarves, shawls, aprons, neck cloths, men's and
women's mittens and gloves, clothing patterns, like jean, velveret, and
"cassimer" waist Coat patterns, and men's, women's, and children's shoes
in small quantities. Dickson had about 68% of his total store inventory
invested in textiles. There were full ranges of a variety of textiles,
based on grade and price. There were nine different grades of calico,
four of Irish Linen, five of Fustian, and four of shalloon, in addition
to a bewildering variety of types, such as "Jaconet muslin", "book
muslin", crossed barred muslin, 'Iroyal ribbed nankeen", "striped
nankeen", "moreen", buckram, " striped holland", and "mulberrry wild
bore".

In descending order, the next items of importance in Dickson's store
inventory were alcohol (7.5%), carpentry supplies and tools (6.0%),
agricultural produce (5.2%), ceramics and wares (3.1%), and food stuffs
(3.0%). Alcohol consisted of 16 gallons of apple brandy, 93 gallons of
rum, some teneriff wine, and part of a case of gin; most of these were
not locally produced. Carpentry supplies were made up mostly of 211 lbs.
of nails, several lots of window glass, and 149 lbs. of steel. Dickson
also had "a lot of files, hinges, and plane irons". Agricultural produce
was made up of non-edible, unprocessed goods, such as cotton and wool.
Ceramics and wares consisted of "lots" of cedarware, earthenware, china,
glass and queensware. Foodstuffs were those goods that could not be
obtained locally, such as raisins, coffee, tea, sugar, and pepper. All
totalled, Dickson had an inventory valued at over 541 pounds, comprising
about 58% of his entire personal estate, valued at 935 pounds.
Considering that Dickson was a tenant and owned only 20 acres of
unimproved land, he was quite well-off financially, ranking in the upper
43 percent of North American merchants of the period (Main 1973:113).

In addition to his personal estate included in the inventory, Dickson
was owed over 1700 pounds by his debtors, including many from the
surrounding community, like Levi ADAMS,, James BLACK, Robert
MONTGOMERY,, Thomas MC INTIRE, James OGLE, Benjamin PATTERSON (his
wife's brother), John STANTON, Joseph ROTHERAM, and Sylvester WELCH.
This interdependent debt structure has been described as one of the
major factors in rural community cohesiveness, and merchants filled an
important role in this structure, lending cash, bartering and trading
for goods, and allowing purchases on extended terms of credit (Martin
1939; Carson 1954; Fanelli 1981). Also on his list of debts were
interests and bonds worth over 142 pounds in merchant vessels, like the
two voyages of the ship Wilmington, the ship Swanwyck, the schooner
Neptune, and the sloop Marie. Vessels of these types were not mere
coastal trade ships, but were involved in overseas trading ventures.
These debts demonstrate clearly that Dickson was a merchant in the true
definition of the word (Main 1973:86-88). Dickson's administrations and
accounts were not settled until 1797.

For comparative purposes, four additional storekeeper inventories were
compiled from New Castle probate records, for the period 1791 to 1801
(Appendix VIII). Two of these, John LINN and Benjamin MENDENHALL, were
Wilmington merchants, and represent urban shopkeepers, and the other
two, RICHARDSON ARMSTRONG and John TAYLOR, were rural merchants from
Appoquinimink Hundred, in southern New Castle County. Finally, the
inventory of storekeeper William POLK of the town of St. Georges, though
of a later period, was included in the survey, since it was compiled
from the account books of Polk for the years 1810-1811 (Fanelli 1981).

A tabulation of the comparison of these inventories and Polk's
reconstructed inventory is shown in Table 9 (a & b). Categories compared
included those used for the examination of Dickson's inventory. In all
of the urban or hinterland town cases, textiles comprised the largest
single category, ranging from 68% to 82% of the total inventory. The
rural inventories of Taylor and Armstrong showed comparatively less
investment in textiles, suggesting perhaps that textiles were expensive
for merchants to purchase, and smaller storekeepers could not afford to
invest as much capital in these items. The remainder of the categories
exhibited a wide range in percentages of investment, indicating "' that
factors of location, clientele, season the inventory was compiled, and
demand for the product were important to the merchants. On the whole it
can be seen that the urban merchants, Mendenhall and Linn, seemed to
specialize in certain items of their inventories to a greater extent
than the more rural stores of Armstrong and Taylor. Dickson and Polk,
located in hinterland town shops, had the greatest variety of goods on
hand, in particular carrying tack, hunting supplies, carpentry supplies
and tools, that the rural shops and urban markets did not.

This comparative analysis suggests that shops and storehouses such as
Dickson's, located in prominent transshipment centers like Christiana
Bridge, provided a major source of imported goods for the hinterland.
They were strategically located to carry on trade with the larger urban
centers and areas of production, and were placed for easy access from
the backcountry.

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