Edmund Dickinson was a cabinetmaker in Williamsburg, Virginia. He was born in Norfolk, and although it is unclear when he moved to Williamsburg, he was listed as an employee of Anthony Hay in 1764. Hay operated a shop on Nicholson Street that passed into the hands of Dickinson in 1771. Dickinson made furniture for prominent Virginians such as Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. He was elected captain of recruits from the District of York on Feb. 4, 1776. He served in the 1st Va. Regt., achieving the rank of major in Oct., 1777. He camped with the army at Valley Forge and died at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. In a letter to Governor Patrick Henry on July 4, 1778, General Washington stated that the loss of Major Dickinson "ought much to be regretted by his friends and Countrymen as he possessed every qualification to render him eminent in the Military line." Dickinson, a bachelor, was survived by his five sisters: Agnes Dickinson, Lucy Dickinson, Judith Farrer, Elizabeth Warren and Mary. Lucy married Robert Gibbons after her brother died. Louisa Gibbons, the daughter of Lucy and Robert, married William Smart. William Robert Smart (b. 1827) was their son. Lucy and Robert likely initiated the claim to Dickinson's military pension and land grants. In 1798, Senator Tazewell informed the Gibbons family that only the direct descendants of soldiers were entitled to military benefits. William Smart continued to press the claim in 1832. The governor of Virginia eventually awarded Dickinson's heirs land in addition to the land bounty that had been granted in the 1780s.
From the description of Family papers, 1778-1845. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation). WorldCat record id: 48205640
