Dickson family, Newery, County Down

The name Dickson/Dixon is very common in Co. Down. In the 1901 census of the county there were 776 of them. Nearly all were Presbyterian or Church of Ireland, so that and the geographic location of where they lived points to them being of Plantation settler origins. Most probably came to live in Co. Down from Scotland in the 1600s.

You say that your ancestor came from Newry, and was born in 1731. Unfortunately none of the churches in Newry has any records for that period. The oldest records are for the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian church but they don’t start till 1779.  It’s pretty well impossible to research someone born in the 1730s in Ireland due to the lack of records.

You think that your ancestor went to South Carolina. Many people did emigrate from Co Down to the Carolinas in the 1700s. The vast majority were Presbyterian or other protestant denominations. (Roman Catholics did not start migrating from Ireland in big numbers till the 1800s). So the timing of his departure also points to his family origins, probably in Scotland. Half the population of Co. Down has the same origins.

There’s some Dicksons from Co Down, including the Newry area, in this site but I can’t see any direct link to your Michael.

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~rosdavies/genealogy/SURNAMES/D/Dickson.h…

Thank you so much Elwyn.  Your information  reinforces our very limited  information regarding Michael Dixon.  Additionally  your  info  gives us some insight as to who he was.  Sorry for my incorrect spelling of Newry!

Lyn