Re: Dickson surname/Mississippi
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In reply to:
Re: Dickson surname/Mississippi
Mary Dickson 12/14/02
Mary, I'm not sure what it is you're looking for. I assume you want to go back further on your line. If you haven't already done so, start with the 1920 census (not every library has the 1930 census yet) for where your people were then and continue back in the censuses as far as you can (remember the 1890 original census returns burned except for very limited places) then get birth, marriage and death certificates for as many of your people as you can. These (census and civil certificates) should help you find siblings which can lead you to parents. Church records can also be helpful but you need to know the church and the place as well as the date (or an approximation).
My husband's ancestor Joel Dickson was born in VA and had two brothers: John and Thomas. They also had a sister Polly who married in 1799 in Halifax Co, VA to Jacob Abbott so I'd look in Halifax County records. Since brothers sometimes named their children after siblings, your ancestors may descend from one of these brothers -- or maybe not! But be sure this is your family before spinning your wheels looking there.
My husband's Joel Dickson and his wife had their children in AL (perhaps Blount County), so you might look there for your people. There's a multi-volume work (over 100 volumes) of abstracts of all types of Alabama sources (from marriages to newspaper articles to court records). Each volume is for a different county and there are several volumes per county. You'd have to go to a large library to find these and probably somewhere in Alabama although I found them in Madison, WI!
The big thing is to always work back from the known to the unknown, collecting as much primary documentation along the way as possible.
You mentioned Nesbit, MS. I have a software program which includes all known place names (not just post offices) including mountains, streams, etc., but Nesbit does not show up in the index for MS. Do you know what county it was supposed to be in? If so, you should look for records in that county.
This is about all I can offer you not knowing exactly what it is you're trying to find but good luck as you hunt. It can be exasperating but a real high when you make a connection.
Winifred