Alice QUIN
Born probably
in Co. Limerick, Ireland ..... (or possibly) Lisbon, Portugal, of Irish parents.
In general, Catholics spell the name with two "n"s while Protestants spell it
with one.
Died (there
is a date 1761 - but records show this could also be a completely different
Alice Quin, aged 4yrs, not related.)
Married John Dickinson (1723 - 1781) R.N.
Alice was John's first wife.
John and Alice had four children -
John DICKINSON 1746 -? Killed by a fall from the masthead
Maria DICKINSON d. in infancy 1748
William DICKINSON 1751 - 1828 Died (reputedly) at Newnham, Gloucestershire, (but Maynard Colchester Wemyss, writing 5 Oct 1893, from Westbury Court, Newnham, says "I have had the register in the Parish Church at Newnham carefully searched, but no entry can be found of the burial of William Dickinson.")
Capt. Thomas DICKINSON R.N. 21 Oct. 1756 - 24
May 1828;
m. 30 June 1781
Frances de BRISSAC
(at Spitalfields Church) daughter
of Peter Abraham de BRISSAC
Family tree - showing forebears
Harriet Ann Dickinson writes =
It
is said that our great-grandfather, Captain John Dickinson [1723-1781], ran away
from a school in Northumberland to go to sea, having been left to the care of
some relations who neglected him; that he thereby lost a large property from the
difficulty of proving his identity, and that he took no measures to establish
his rights until after his marriage, when his wife persuaded him to look into
the matter. He had collected some papers and documents for this purpose when
they were all lost in the Great
Lisbon Earthquake [1755]. So
ended the family prospects of wealth and greatness.
Captain Dickinson, as he was called, was a man of
great energy. He was an Elder Brother of the Trinity House, and was certainly an
officer in the Navy. But we do not know whether he attained the rank of Captain.
He was in an engagement as one of the officers of a
ship named the Brunswick, which conquered "the enemy" under disadvantages.
John Dickinson was Commander of the Lisbon Packet in
1752. He married an Irish lady, Alice Quin, who was a woman of energy and
talent. She exerted herself, whilst residing at Lisbon, with
the Portuguese Government to obtain redress of the grievance of a British
subject.
She escaped on board her husband’s packet, then at Lisbon, at the time of the
great Earthquake. [1755]
Their house, and most of their property in that city, was destroyed. A broken
silver spoon picked out of the ruins is still possessed by the family; and a
pair of well shaped silver candlesticks, which were fortunately in the ship, are
still [1840's] in use at Abbots
Hill.
A miniature portrait of this Captain Dickinson is also in my mother’s
possession, set as a brooch.
One anecdote bordering of the supernatural still survived respecting John
Dickinson and his wife. Captain Dickinson is said to have started on his voyage
to Lisbon on one occasion leaving his wife very ill. On the return voyage he
dreamt one night that he saw her on her deathbed, and that she expired. Awaking
in great agitation, he made a note of the circumstance, and hastening home as
soon as he landed found that she had died the very night that he had witnessed
her death in his dream.
John Dickinson died in 1781. His son Thomas, our grandfather, left his
ship at Portsmouth to attend his father in his last moments. He was under the
care of a Dr. Dominicetti, then in high repute.
He left two sons, William, who died without children at Newnham in
Gloucestershire in 1828 “(no entry of this can be found in the Register at
Newnham, says Maynard Colchester-Wemyss)” and Thomas, who was born in 1754, and
who married, 1781, Frances de Brissac, and died, May 26th 1828.
[These notes of Harriet Ann Dickinson date from the 1840's.]
See also 'Lines on Mr. Hodgson Written on Board the Lisbon Packet'
It seems Lisbon was also a major (the first) port of call for the British on their way to India and other parts of the Empire. This make sense considering its geography.
A James Quin was baptised in 1800 at Lisbon (Anglican chaplaincy) but I don't know if this was a relative.