|
Janet ___? ___?-___? |
= |
John PURVIANCE ___?-___? |
___? ___? ___?-___? |
= |
___? DICKEY or DICKINSON ___?-___? |
|
Nancy PURVIANCE ___?-___? |
= |
John DICKEY (___?-1779) |
|
Rebecca DICKEY 1774-1849 |
In the article Ebenezer Pettigrew Verner, by John W. Shelor (see references below). A quotation from that article states as follows:
"Rebecca Dickey came from Philadelphia to Salisbury, NC, thence to the Waxhaws in SC, thence to Abbeville. She was a great and good woman, and a thorough Presbyterian. She never weighed more than 95 pounds, but was active and healthy all her life. Her husband's children by the former marriage and her own received equal training, and with the assistance of a patient, wise and loving husband, this large family was trained to lead useful lives in every community where they settled".
Rebecca Dickey's* father was John Dickey*; d.1779 in Salisbury, Rowan County, NC. John was a silversmith who moved from Philadelphia PA to Salisbury NC, who may have originally immigrated from Ireland, Germany, or England. He may have descended from a family surnamed Dickinson. John married Nancy Purviance* in Lancaster County PA, and Rebecca was born in Phildelphia PA
The author of these web pages believes that John Dickey* (d. 1779) was an ancestor or close relative of the Presbyterian Minister, Rev. John Miller Dickey, married to Sarah Emlen Cresson (a Quaker), the founders of the Ashmun Institute, now known as Lincoln University in Philadelphia. See the Wikipedia History of Lincoln University, the nation's first College for the education of African-Americans. Although the relationship is not proven, if true, it could explain Rebecca's interest in teaching the children of slaves as well as her own. She was a lifelong abolitionist, and freed a number of the Verner family slaves, providing them with safe passage to Pennsylvania through her Quaker connections.
Nancy Purviance* probably died shortly after Rebecca was born, and John Dickey* remarried to a Jane ___?, his 2nd wife who became his widow after his death in Salisbury in 1779. Jane placed a bond of 6,000 pounds sterling in the Rowan Co., NC, Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions on Feb 12, 1780, to become administratrix of her husband's estate, with Michael Troy, Esq. In about 3 months, on May 4, 1780, this same Michael Troy was appointed guardian of the minor child (Rebecca's sister) Sarah Dickey. Rebecca, however was placed under the guardianship of James Purviance, who was probably Rebecca's uncle, who subsequently moved his family to the Waxhaws and then to Abbeville SC.
Rebecca's siblings were Moses Dickey, Ebeneezer Dickey, and Sarah Dickey, who married James Scott and had 4 children
Nancy Purviance's* parents were John Purviance* and his second wife, Janet ___?*. John Purviance was born in County Donegal, Ireland and emmigrated to Lancaster County PA. The earlier generations of the Purviance family had been French Huguenots who emigrated from France to Ireland.