Edward Dix of Watertown

Summary

Edward Dix of Watertown (died 1660) was not a known child of Thomas Dykes & Mary Grey Dikes. He was not the same person as unknown Dix, and he was not the husband or father of Deborah Barnes. Nor was he a known relative of Margaret Traine.

His first wife was Jane Dix (parents unknown). Their 4 children were Abigail Park, Mary Rice, John Dix of Watertown and Rebecca Flagg. His widow was Susanna Dix (parents unknown).

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dix-19

An early immigrant, by 1630 to Watertown, nothing is known of the origins of this Edward Dix.

Birth & Baptism

The origin of this Edward Dix is unknown; his birth year is estimated based on when he joined the church in Boston (assuming he was likely 25 or older by 1630) and becoming freeman in 1635 but very possibly he was born earlier.

Emigration

Before 4 Mar 1634/35 when he was made a freeman May 4 1634 at Watertown, MA.[3] He was admitted to Boston church as member #49 as Edward "Deekes" and was a Selectman of Watertown on 10 Dec 1649.[3]

Marriage & Children

Savage believes he married Jane shortly after coming to New England.[3] Her surname is not proved (and not likely to be Wilkinson, see "Disputed Origins" section above). Torrey in "New England Marriages to 1700" lists her name as Wilkinson with a question mark and says only that they were married by 1637 in Watertown.[4] with this text:

DIX, Edward (-1660) & 1/wf Jane [?WILKINSON]; by 1637; Watertown {Pope's Pioneers 140; Ackley-Bosworth 269; Watertown 195, 753; Avery Pedigree 94, 117; Harris (,12) 7; Newton (,4) 62; NYGBR 51:88 has Sarah; Snow-Estes 2:237; Warner-Harrington 175, 485, 543}

Jane apparently died after the birth of daughter Rebecca although no vital records are yet found for her death.

Children with wife Jane Unknown:[5]

1. Abigail, b. 2 May 1637. Married at Cambridge, 1 Dec 1653, Thomas Parks.
2. Mary, b. 2 May 1639. Married at Watertown, 5 Feb 1662/3 Abraham Brown. Married (2) Samuel Rice
3. John, b. 4 Sep 1640. Married at Watertown, 7 Jan 1670/1 Elizabeth Barnard
4. Rebecca, b. 18 Feb 1641/2. Married at Watertown, 18 Feb 1667/8 Thomas Flagg

His second wife was Susanna (named in his will) but her surname is unknown as is her marriage date to Edward Dix. Of this second marriage Torrey says even less, only that she died after 1661 as noted below.[4] They are not known to have any children.

Death & Estate

He died in Watertown 9 Jul 1660.[6] HIs will, dated 25 Jun 1660, was proved 2 Oct 1660.[7] and was signed as Edward "Dikes".

His will showed that he owned a variety of property including acreage in the "Great Dividend", "Beaverbrook Plowlands" and "Remote Meadows". Edward's son John "Diks" to be sole executor but was not of age and on 2 Oct 1660 [the day the will was proved], he selected Sgt. John Wincoll as his guardian. The will listed wife Susanna and three daughters, helping to prove that the Deborah Unknown Dix who moved to Connecticut with her young children and married Robert Barnes there was not a daughter of this Edward Dix, let alone his wife.

In April 1661 widow Susanna Dix brought suit against John Wincol and John Dix , executors of her deceased husband's estate for her marriage dowry, she won the suit and received one-third rents and costs, 13 Pounds.

Notes

DIX, Edward, Charlestown, memb. chh. 1630; rem. to Watertown; frm. March 4, 1634-5. Town officer. Wife Jane; ch. Abigail b. 2 (3) 1637, Mary b. 2 (3) 1639, John b. 4 (7) 1640, Rebecca b. 18 (12) 1641. He d. July 9, 1660. Will mention, s wife, and a bond given her for certain estate of hers; son John; dau. Abigail, wife to Thomas Parks; alludes to two other daus. The widow Susanna brought suit for dowry against Sergt. John Wincoll and John Dis April 2, 1661. She petitioned 18 (10) 1660, ae. between 60 and 70 years; youngest child about 16 years old. [Mdx. Files.] [from "The Pioneers of Massachusetts", by Charles Henry Pope, Boston, 1900 - pg. 85-86 Archive.Org

http://www.schenectadyhistory.org/families/hmgfm/dix.html

”Four distinct branches of the Dix family were started in America in early times. These were the lines instituted by Leonard Dix, of Wethersfield, Connecticut; Anthony Dix, of Plymouth, Massachusetts; Edward Dix, of Watertown, Massachusetts, and the Dix family of Accomac county in Virginia. It is not known that anybody has been able to demonstrate the relationship reliably. Undoubtedly they were connected by the generation just previous to any one of them coming to America. ...”

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Disputed Origin/Relationships

In reference to Edward Dix of Watertown, many sources cite that an Edward Dix embarked at Gravesend, England on the "Thomas & John" Jun 16 1635 age 19, and on the same ship was Jane Wilkinson age 20. The belief that these two Edward Dix's are the same person may have originated with Bond,[1] although by the time of the publication of the second edition of his work, Bond had called that belief into question.[2] Anderson argues effectively against the idea,[3] noting that:

The "Thomas & John" 6 Jun 1635 passengers were bound for Virginia, not New England and there are only one or two documented instances of Virginia passengers later appearing in New England
Edward Dix of Boston & Watertown was admitted freeman on 4 Mar 1634/35, therefore was already in New England at the time the passenger list was made The "Thomas & John" passenger Edward Dix was too young to have been made a freeman in Massachusetts in 1635 as he was only 19 (let alone not being in New England yet). Since this is also the only known source for the surname of Edward's wife Jane, it must be concluded that Jane's surname is unknown.

Bond may also be responsible for the idea that Edward Dix had a fifth child named Deborah,[1] although he corrected himself in the second edition.[2] As Anderson points out, [3]the will of Edward Dix states that he had three daughters, and we have birth and marriage records for all three without taking Deborah into account.

References

• The Ancestry of Hattie E. J. Bruce - the Dix Family” link
• "The Pioneers of Massachusetts", by Charles Henry Pope, Boston, 1900 - pg. 85-86 Archive.Org
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dix-19 cites

1. Bond, Henry, and Jones, Horatio Gates Genealogies of the families and descendants of the early settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, including Waltham and Weston : to which is appended the early history of the town., Boston : N.E. Historic-genealogical Society, 1860, p. 198 (https://archive.org/details/genealogiesoffam00bond/page/198/mode/1up accessed 12 Apr 2021
2. Bond, Henry, and Jones, Horatio Gates Genealogies of the families and descendants of the early settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, including Waltham and Weston : to which is appended the early history of the town., Boston : N.E. Historic-genealogical Society, 1860, p. 753 (https://archive.org/details/genealogiesoffam00bond/page/753/mode/1up accessed 12 Apr 2021)
3. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995, p. 552) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB393/i/12107/552/0 accessed 12 Apr 2021.
4. New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. Vol. 1 pg. 457 $subscription
5. Watertown, Massachusetts Vital Records: Births for "Dix" https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Middlesex/Watertown/aBirthsD.shtml
6. Historical Society of Watertown (Mass.), Watertown Records, Watertown (Mass.): Press of Fred G Barker, 1894, "Births, Marriages and Deaths, First Book," p. 23 (https://archive.org/details/watertownrecords01wate/page/23/mode/1up accessed 12 Apr 2021).
7. Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871, Online database, AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014; from records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives, digitized images provided by FamilySearch.org. (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB536/i/14471/6296-co6/38228624 accessed 12 Apr 2021)
8. Foreman-Farman-Forman genealogy; descendants of William Foreman, who came from London, England, in 1675, and settled near Annapolis, Maryland, supplemented by single lines of the families of the ancestors of the writer's paternal great-grandmother, his own mother and the descendants of Edward Frisbie, an original settler of Branford, Conn. by Farman, Elbert E. (Elbert Eli), 1831-1911 Publication date 1911 pg. 154}}

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35831108/edward-dix cites “Anderson's Winthrop Fleet.“