Volume XIV No. 2

Volume XIV No. 1

REUNION 2017
June 23-24
Litchfield, CT and Goshen, CT

Hello Cousins,

The DFA board had our fall 2016 meeting at the Publick House in Sturbridge, MA and our January 2017 meeting at J Anthony’s in Oxford, MA.  We discussed reunion plans, publications, board member vacancies, genealogy software options, as well as other topics.  It has been confirmed that our 148^th Reunion will be held in the following two towns:  Litchfield, CT on Friday, June 23^rd and Goshen, CT on Saturday, June 24^th.

“Reunion Preview”

Several of our ancestors were early settlers of Litchfield and its surrounding towns.  The 2017 reunion will focus on the development of the Milton Village section of Litchfield and will highlight the experience of a few illustrative individuals and their families, such as Anson Dickinson, one of the country’s most celebrated miniaturist painters of the 19^th century.

We will also explore various ancestors who achieved notable success outside of Connecticut:  Andrew Dickinson, who was a writer and merchant in NYC; Daniel Dickinson, who was a miniaturist painter in Philadelphia (Anson’s brother) and several others; i.e.  Atty. Daniel S. Dickinson of Goshen, CT, who was a US Senator for several terms,  NY State Attorney General, and a political leader during the Civil War Era.

Friday, June 23^rd Activities: 

From 11am – 5pm, the Litchfield Historical Society Museum, located on Capt. John Marsh’s III / Col. Ebenezer Marsh homestead lot, adjacent to Litchfield’s Green @ 7 South Street, will offer a display table of Anson Dickinson’s miniature painting collection, as well as displays of various items from their permanent collection and archives which relate to the Dickinson Family.  The display will include photos, letters, newspaper articles, account books, and a portion of an original window from the Milton Trinity Church.  The church, whose construction is attributed to Master Builder, Oliver Dickinson, Jr. (1802) and the adjacent Milton Hall (1900) whose construction was partially financed by Edwin and Ithamar Dickinson will be open for viewing.   The Milton Village Historical District, located towards the Town Line of Goshen and Cornwall (Litchfield’s northwest quadrant), is a unique rural area where several Dickinson families resided for over two centuries, and several of their 18^th and 19^th century homes are well restored.  A free guided walking tour of Milton Village will be tentatively held on Friday at 1pm, beginning at the Milton Trinity Church, located at 536 Milton Rd.  The Litchfield Historical Society also offers tours on Friday afternoon at a small fee of $7.00 per person.  Tour Option #1:  Litchfield’s Green (Revolutionary War Period importance) and Tour Option #2:  Litchfield Law School, where Atty. Daniel S. Dickinson attended in 1827.  Tour Option #3:  A bus tour may also be an option.  Descriptions of these tours can also be found online at:
http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org/tours/adults.php.  Friday evening’s dinner / informal meeting will most likely be held at the Litchfield Inn (Tavern Off the Green Restaurant) @ 432 Bantam Road (Route 202) starting at approx. 5:30 pm.

Saturday, June 24^th Activities: 

From 8:30 am – 3 pm, will be located at St. Thomas of Villanova Church, located at 71 North Street, Goshen, CT. This air-conditioned, modern, ADA accessible facility is found less than a half mile north of Route 4 (main route leading from I-84 Exit 39 in Farmington westerly through Torrington into Goshen).  Goshen, CT is also home to several wineries, a chocolate factory, Action Wildlife Foundation, and Mohawk State Forest.  Our current main speaker topic: “Anson Dickinson-Renown Miniaturist Painter” will be provided by, Alexander Dubois, LHS’s Curator of Collections. 

In addition, it is intended that a group of related family members will provide a presentation on other Dickinsons who resided in Litchfield and its surrounding towns.

We look forward to your attendance.

Ken Dickinson,  Vice President

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

The DFA needs a few more of our members to help out on the board.  We have two impending vacancies among elected board positions, namely treasurer and scholarship chair.  Virginia Allis has done a superb job as treasurer for over 15 years and wishes to retire.  Jean Whitten has served as scholarship chair for several years and also wants to step down. Also the position of Publication Treasurer may be available.

We would also welcome some new committee members on scholarship and finance.   Committee members are not required to attend board meetings, so they could reside anywhere.   Elected board members are expected to attend meetings when possible (we have 3 per year), so it is helpful if they live in the general southern New England area.

Please give this some serious consideration and let us know on the enclosed form about any areas in which you can help.  If you have any questions, contact nominations chair Dale Williams daw451@verizon.net ,  vice president Ken Dickinson kend@ssgpools.com , or past president Alan Dickinson anbdickinson@charter.net.

Finally, our invitation to attend a board meeting still stands.  If you would like to be notified of the time and place of the upcoming board meeting, indicate that on the survey card.  We’d love to have you come and see what we do!

2017 SCHOLARSHIP FORMS AVAILABLE

     Application forms are now available for the 2017 DFA scholarship.  Applicants must be descendants of Nathaniel Dickinson and must be accepted to a four-year college or university.  The deadline for submission is April 30, 2017.  Full information on requirements and an application form may be found on our website.  For additional information you may contact our scholarship chair, Jean Whitten, 9 Shepherd Road, Manchester, NH 03104, jwhitten128@gmail.com. If you don’t have access to the internet, contact Jean and she will send you the form.      As always, we rely on contributions from DFA members to sustain and increase the scholarship fund.  If you are able, we would appreciate your help.  Indicate “scholarship fund” on the January Survey form if you wish to make a donation.

JANUARY SURVEY CARD

The card enclosed with this mailing serves several purposes.  Primarily it is to give us a rough idea of how many to expect at the reunion in June.  We know that plans may change between January and June, but if you are hoping at this point to attend, please send the card back to let us know.

The survey also gives you a chance to volunteer to help the DFA in a meaningful way.  For those of you who live within a reasonable distance of the area where we usually meet, we would like to invite you to come to a board meeting.  We usually meet in October, January and April, starting with lunch and in January and April concluding with the assembly of a mailing.  If you come, you can get a “behind-the-scenes” look at how the DFA operates, have an opportunity to participate in our discussions, and maybe even find a niche for yourself on the board.  Please consider that possibility, and let us know if you’re interested.

Whether or not you can volunteer to work on the DFA board, all can help financially.  As you know, we do not have dues, but we depend on members who are able, to make a contribution for operating expenses and/or for the scholarship fund.  Any amount you can contribute is gratefully welcomed and will help the association.

ADDRESSES – POSTAL & E-MAIL

     We know e-mail addresses change frequently and it is easy to forget to update them.  So if your e-mail address and/or your postal address changes we would greatly appreciate your sending the new one to our membership clerk,  Beth Landolina, at bethL0719@sbcglobal.net

REUNION 2017
June 23-24
Litchfield, CT and Goshen, CT

Several of our ancestors were early settlers of Litchfield and its surrounding towns.  The 2017 reunion will focus on the development of the Milton Village section of Litchfield and will highlight the experience of a few illustrative individuals and their families, such as Anson Dickinson, one of the country’s most celebrated miniaturist painters of the 19^th century.  We will also explore various ancestors who achieved notable success outside of Connecticut:

Andrew Dickinson, who was a writer and merchant in NYC; Daniel Dickinson, who was a miniaturist painter inPhiladelphia (Anson’s brother) and several others; i.e.  Atty. Daniel S. Dickinson of Goshen, CT, who was a US Senator for several terms, NY State Attorney General, and a political leader during the Civil War Era.

The current plans on Friday, June 23^rd, are to offer tours of Litchfield’s Green (Revolutionary War Period importance) and the Litchfield Law School, where Atty. Daniel S. Dickinson attended in 1827.  The Litchfield Historical Society Museum, located on Capt. John Marsh’s III / Col. Ebenezer Marsh homestead lot adjacent Litchfield’s Green, will offer a display table of several dozen Anson Dickinson paintings, family photos, buildings, and artifacts.   Milton Village’s Trinity Church (1802) designed by Master Builder, Oliver Dickinson, will also be open for tours.  There are developing plans on Friday afternoon to hold a limited walking tour of Milton Village, where several Dickinson families resided for over two centuries, and several of their 18^th and 19^th century homes are well restored.  Friday’s dinner will be held at a restaurant in Litchfield, potentially at Litchfield Inn’s “Tavern Off the Green”. 

The exact location and details of Saturday’s event are being developed.  Our guest speaker will be Alexander Dubois, LHS’s Curator of Collections, who will discuss Anson Dickinson’s miniature paintings, followed by a Dickinson descendant(s).  Tentative reservations have been made on Saturday, June 24^th at St. Thomas of  Villanova Church in Goshen, CT which is a modern, ADA accessible building with Air Conditioning.  Further details for our 2017 reunion will be provided in our Winter Newsletter.

Ken Dickinson,

Vice President

                     A MESSAGE FROM OUR GENEALOGIST

Rebecca Passa, our Dickinson Genealogist, requests your inputs on Nathaniel Dickinson’s descendants.  You may send your births, marriages and death announcements to Becky at rlpassa99@gmail.com .

VOLUME XIII, NUMBER 3

Annual reunion, 2016

Wapping Community Church

South Windsor, CT

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2016

            5 PM               Open Board Meeting, The Adams Mill Restaurant, Manchester, CT

            6 PM               Social Hour, Adams Mill

            7 PM               Dinner, Adams Mill

SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 2016

            9:30 – 11:00    Gathering of the Cousins

            11:00 AM        Welcome

Presentation by Jennifer Bussa, “Libby’s Diaries; A Snapshot of

     Adna Elizabeth Dickinson Dutton”

Counting of the Cousins

            12 Noon          Group Photo/Lunch

            1:15 PM          Annual Meeting

            2:00 PM          Main Speaker, Jason Newton, “The Old Connecticut Path”

If you haven’t yet replied to our April mailing or should you need one, a duplicate response form is provided below for your convenience.

Hello Cousins,

Plans for the 2016 reunion have been progressing well.  The Friday evening events will take place at Adams Mill Restaurant in Manchester, CT.  Entre choices are: Prime Rib of Beef with garlic mashed potatoes, Fresh Salmon Filet with rice pilaf, Pork Normandy, with apple cider cream sauce and garlic mashed potatoes, and Pasta Primavera. Salad, seasonal vegetables, rolls, coffee or tea and dessert are included.

The Saturday events will be at the Wapping Community Church in South Windsor, CT.  We are excited to welcome our speaker, Jason Newton, who will tell us about the journey of Samuel Hooker from Boston to Connecticut which followed the  “Old Connecticut Path”.  Hooker was a founder of the first three permanent settlements in Connecticut, Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor.

The schedule for the reunion events appears below (Saturday details are subject to change).  Enclosed with this newsletter is a reservation card and return envelope.  Please observe the deadline of June 7 for returning this card.  Directions for getting to the venues will appear in the June newsletter as will the final schedule.  We invite anyone who has something to add to our exhibit table to bring it on Saturday at 9:30am.  

We’re happy to report that the January newsletter has elicited interest from some possible new board members.  We continue to invite any interested DFA members to contact one of the current board members and come join us at a board meeting.  The next one will be on Friday, June 17 at the Adams Mill Restaurant at 5pm, before our annual dinner.  That board meeting is a less formal one, and is always open to any DFA member who wishes to attend.

147^th ANNUAL REUNION SCHEDULE

Friday, June 17

5pm     Open Informal Board Meeting

6pm     Social Hour

7pm     Annual Reunion Dinner

Saturday, June 18

9:30am       Gathering of cousins: registration, exhibits, sales & refreshments

11:00am     Possible pre-lunch feature

12:00pm     Lunch

1:00pm       Counting of the cousins, prizes, group photo

                                           Annual meeting

                                           Main Speaker, Jason Newton

Alan Dickinson
for the DFA Board

A message from the DFA Board

Hello Cousins,

The DFA board had their fall meeting at the Publick House in Sturbridge, MA. This has become a fall tradition with us, usually very enjoyable. It was a bit more challenging this year due to the traffic and crowds from the fair going on across the street, but our lunch was delicious and the meeting went well.

We welcomed two new members to the board and both assumed positions. Meg Kribble has become our acting secretary and Ken Dickinson is acting vice president. Ken joins Dale Williams and Alan Dickinson as a “transition team” to guide the DFA through the current year leading up to the 2016 reunion. Dale was also appointed as acting publications treasurer.

We discussed possible venues for the next reunion. Our speaker, Jason Newton, will be telling us about the “Old Connecticut Path” from Boston to Hartford, which the earliest settlers followed. We thought it would be appropriate to have the reunion somewhere in Connecticut, possibly close to part of that path.

Alan agreed to follow up on suggestions made. There was also a discussion of some ideas for future reunions, and some possible new initiatives.

The board has been grappling with the question of how to proceed with the publication of our genealogy. The last remaining copies of the 3rd edition sold out at the recent reunion, so it was necessary to halt book sales. It was decided to order a reprint of 50 copies of the 3rd edition. However that will likely be the last print edition, with future publications appearing in some kind of digital format.

Alan Dickinson,

for the DFA Board

RECENT UPDATES

In November the order form for publications once again appeared on our website, but only for publications other than the 3rd edition. Once we receive more copies of the 3rd edition that will be added to the online order form.

The venues for the next reunion have been set. The Saturday activities will be on June 18th 2016 at the Wapping Community Church in South Windsor, CT. Friday’s dinner will be at The Adams Mill restaurant in Manchester. These are both close to I-84 east of Hartford, CT, and close to the path followed by Thomas Hooker.

2016 SCHOLARSHIP FORMS AVAILABLE

Application forms are now available for the 2016 DFA scholarship. Applicants must be descendants of Nathaniel Dickinson and must be accepted to a four-year college or university. The deadline for submission is April 30, 2016. Full information on requirements and an application form may be found on our website. For additional information you may contact our scholarship chair, Jean Whitten, 9 Shepherd Road, Manchester, NH 03104, jeanmblackmer@gmail.com. If you don’t have access to the internet, contact Jean and she will send you the form.

As always, we rely on contributions from DFA members to sustain and increase the scholarship fund. If you are able, we would appreciate your help. Indicate “scholarship fund” on the January Survey form if you wish to make a donation.

JANUARY SURVEY CARD

The card enclosed with this mailing serves several purposes. Primarily it is to give us a rough idea of how many to expect at the reunion in June. We know that plans may change between January and June, but if you are hoping at this point to attend, please send the card back to let us know.

The survey also gives you a chance to volunteer to help the DFA in a meaningful way. For those of you who live within a reasonable distance of the area where we usually meet, we would like to invite you to come to a board meeting. We usually meet in October, January and April, starting with lunch and in January and April concluding with the assembly of a mailing. If you come, you can get a “behind-the-scenes” look at how the DFA operates, have an opportunity to participate in our discussions, and maybe even find a niche for yourself on the board. Please consider that possibility, and let us know if you’re interested.

Whether or not you can volunteer to work on the DFA board, all can help financially. As you know, we do not have dues, but we depend on members who are able, to make a contribution for operating expenses and/or for the scholarship fund. Any amount you can contribute is gratefully welcomed and will help the association.

VOLUME XII, NUMBER 4

A Message from the DFA Board

Greetings to all members of the Dickinson Family Association.   We hope that your summer has been enjoyable.   This fall newsletter gives us the opportunity to review some of the recent activities of the association and report some upcoming ones.

The 2015 reunion, held in Amherst Massachusetts on June19 & 20 went very well and was attended by 85 DFA members.  The Friday evening dinner at the Lord Jeffery Inn was a great time for about 30 of us to see old friends, meet new ones and spend some enjoyable time in conversation.  It was more time than anticipated, due to the slow service that evening, but only a few of the officers seemed overly concerned.

On Saturday, the Emily Dickinson Museum provided several opportunities for our members to view the two houses, both inside and out.  The current major project, restoration of Emily Dickinson’s bedroom, was nearing completion and it was fascinating to see that.  The major thing missing was the wallpaper which arrived and was installed in August, and in September the project was complete and has been delighting recent visitors.

Our own activities included a power point presentation by cousin Patricia Vitale from Maryland, a delicious buffet lunch catered by Amherst College, and our main speaker, Eric Johnson, representing the group of archaeologists who had recently completed a “field school” at the museum.  It was fascinating to hear what they had done, how they operated, and the information one can derive about the lives of the Dickinson family in the days when Emily lived.   Among other results, their work will help make possible one of the next major projects the museum will undertake, that of rebuilding the conservatory once attached to the south side of the east wing, in the front of the homestead.

The business meeting was conducted by president Andrew Dickinson and included the usual “counting of the cousins” and prizes to three attendees: the oldest, the youngest and the farthest travelled.  Our scholarship recipient was present and took a few minutes to tell us a little about herself and her college plans.  When it came time for election of officers however this year we were confronted with several vacancies due to the very recent resignations of our president, publications treasurer and secretary.   The remaining officers were elected and the board began plans for an October meeting and work on filling the vacancies.  It is anticipated that at that meeting there will be some “acting” officers appointed as well as a “transition team” to lead the association through the coming year.

During the past summer, plans for next year’s reunion have started to be formed.  You can read about them elsewhere in this newsletter.  On our website you can read more details on the 2015 reunion and a listing of the current executive board.   Sales of our publications have been temporarily suspended, but when a new or acting publications treasurer is in place they will resume, hopefully soon.

Thank you all for your patience and have a wonderful autumn!

Alan Dickinson,

for the DFA Board

                      A MESSAGE FROM OUR GENEALOGIST

Many, many thanks go out to our retiring Dickinson Genealogist Adrienne Weible for a good job, well done!    Please welcome Rebecca Passa as our new Dickinson Genealogist.  You may send your births, marriages and death announcements to Becky at rlpassa99@gmail.com

VOLUME XII, NUMBER 3

Annual Reunion, 2015
Emily Dickinson Museum
Amherst, MA

FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015

            5 PM               Open Board Meeting, Lord Jeffery Inn, Amherst MA

            6 PM               Social Hour, Lord Jeffery Inn

            7 PM               Dinner, Lord Jeffery Inn

SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 2015

            9:00, 9:15, 10:00, 10:15 AM   Museum Tours (requires pre-registration)

            9:30 – 11:00    Gathering of the Cousins

            11:00 AM        Welcome; Patricia Vitale’s presentation; Counting of the Cousins

            12 Noon          Group Photo/Lunch

            1:15 PM          Annual Meeting/Reports of Board Members

            2:00 PM          Presentation by staff of UMass Archeological Field School

If you haven’t yet replied to our April mailing or should you need one,

a duplicate response form is provided below for your convenience.

Refer questions to Alan Dickinson, (413)596-9648,  anbdickinson@charter.net

______________________________________________________________________

LOCATIONS AND DIRECTIONS

TO THE LORD JEFFREY INN, AMHERST CENTER    FROM SOUTH: Take I-91 to exit 19 in Northampton. At the end of the ramp turn right onto Rte. 9.  Follow this (east)  6 mi. to the green in Amherst Center.    FROM WEST:  Take MassPike (I-90) to exit 4 and get on I-91 north.  Follow directions from the south above.  FROM NORTH:  Take I-91 to exit 20 in Northampton and follow signs to Rte. 9.  Take Rte. 9 east 6 mi to the green in Amherst Center.  FROM EAST:  Take MassPike (I-90) to exit 8.  Turn left after toll booth onto Rte. 32  At a fork, take a slight left onto High St. which eventually becomes Main St. in Three Rivers.  At the Sykes St intersection (traffic light) turn right and you will be on Rte. 181.  Follow that to Belchertown center where you pick up US 202 north.  At the junction with Rte. 9 (traffic light) turn left and follow Rte. 9 about 9 mi. to Amherst.  The Lord Jeff  is on the east side of the Amherst green at 30 Boltwood Ave.

TO THE EMILY DICKINSON MUSEUM (280 Main St.)

Main Street is the north boundary of the town green.  Proceed east on Main St., past the Congregational Church, and the Museum is ahead on the left side of the street.

PARKING FOR THE MUSEUM

Metered parking is on the west-bound side of Main St., but side streets with blue reserved parking signs are available for (free) public parking in the summer.   The two marked handicapped parking spaces at the museum may NOT be used by DFA members as they must remain available for the public tours which will be in progress throughout the day.  Handicapped-authorized cars may drive up the driveway for a drop-off. 

General parking is available in the Alumni lot.  The lot is on Seelye Street, which is one block east of the town green and runs between College Street (Rte. 9) and Main St.  Walk up Seelye St. to Main St., turn right and the Homestead is ahead on your left. 

VOLUME XII, NUMBER 2

                               Tours Available on Reunion Day

The Emily Dickinson Museum staff will be providing three different tours on the morning of June 20^th.

1.         A 90-minute tour, “Emily Dickinson’s World” which includes both the Homestead and Emily’s

brother Austin’s house, the Evergreens.  Tour starts at 9am, is limited to 10 visitors and is $11/person.

2.         A 45-minute exterior “Architecture Tour” on the museum grounds, also including both houses. 

            This tour has no limit and the fee is $9/person.

3.         A 15-minute guided  “Bedroom Visit” of the newly restored Emily Dickinson bedroom.  This is given

            twice: 9:15am and 10:15 am with a limit of 15 visitors for each.  The fee is $9/person.

If you are interested, indicate the number of people for each tour on the registration form and include

payment with your check for the reunion.  More information on the tours may be found on our website.

VOLUME XII, NUMBER 1

A message from the President

Hello Cousins,

Hoping you had a wonderful holiday season with your family.  Your Dickinson Family Association is meeting in January to work on details of the June Reunion.

As mentioned in our recent e-newsletter our Reunion for 2015 will be at the Emily Dickinson Museum on June 20 with Cindy Dickinson, curator and historian, as our speaker. Our Association Dinner will be held the night before at the Lord Jeffrey Inn. One of our cherished traditions at our reunions is the “counting of the cousins” to see how many attendees are related to which son or daughter of Nathaniel. I was so pleased that a single intrepid descendant of Thomas attended last year. However, many years go by without a member of Hannah’s line visiting. Recently, persons of Hannah’s line have been in contact with our Cousin and Historian Alan Dickinson. I encourage you all to read Alan’s account of this activity in this newsletter.

Andrew Dickinson, President

                                                 ADDRESSES – POSTAL & E-MAIL

We know e-mail addresses change frequently and it is easy to forget to update them.  So if your e-mail address and/or your postal address changes we would greatly appreciate your sending the new one to our membership clerk, Beth Landolina, at bethL0719@sbcglobal.net