On April 21, 1791 a Henry Dickens married Lydia Hews in Caswell Co., NC, and William Darnell was the bondsman.

• In the 1784-1787 North Carolina State Census, Henry Dickens is enumerated in the Warren County portion of the census dated March 1786 as having 4 males (under 21 or over 60); and 5 females in his household. Three of these males are known to be: William, John, and Jeremiah. The fourth was either an Unidentified son/male under 21, or an Unidentified male over 60 - perhaps Henry's widowed father if so? Henry Dickens Sr.'s sons Jesse and Joseph were not born until about 1790 and 1801 respectively.

• In 1790, Henry Dickens - now living in Caswell is assessed 2 white polls. Considering the census data mentioned above, if in 1786 all 4 of the males and 4 of the females were Henry's children, and if born every other year - then, in 1786 Henry's oldest child would have been born around 16 to 17 years earlier (between 1769 - 1770). Thus, if the first born child was a male, then in 1790 that male would be old enough to be required to pay a poll tax. (See my Notes #2 and #3 at the bottom of the page for Henry Dickens Sr.'s Will of 1828)

• One year later, in 1791, a Henry Dickens marries a Lydia Hews.

• Nine years later, in the 1800 Caswell Co., NC Census - we find Henry Dickens Sr. with a young son in his household known to be "Jesse", and Henry Sr.'s sons: William and John are living next door (thus 2 of the 4 males from 1786 are accounted for in 1800). Jeremiah and the 4th male are missing.  In the case of Jeremiah, we know for a fact that he was in Tennessee at this time... so where is the 4th male? Did he die before 1800? Or was he perhaps in Tennessee as well?

• In 1808, a Henry Dickens buys land on the Caney Fork in Smith Co., TN from Henry Maggart of Sullivan Co., TN. While I believe this Henry is very likely to have been Henry Sr., I also believe it is possible the land was purchased by a Henry Dickens Jr. - if he existed (no absolute proof).

• By 1810, there are no longer any Dickens in Caswell Co., NC - and by all indications it appears that Henry Dickens Sr. and his entire family are all now living in middle Tennessee, primarily in the Jackson and Smith County area, except his daughter Martha Whittamore is living in Rutherford.

• In the 1820 Census - it is apparent to me that there are children living in Jesse Dickens and Henry Dickens Sr.'s households that are unaccounted for, and they cannot be attributed as being sons or daughters of either. Thus, I believe they were probably Dickens orphans... but orphans of who? [This theory is also partially supported by what we know regarding John Dickens and his son: Edward Glover Dickens... see HDD's website at:  imhdd.ms11.net].

• By 1830, other Dickens now enumerated in the Jackson and Smith County Tennessee census further promulgates this orphan/widow/widower theory with the presence of William (see Unsolved #6) and Charlotte (see Unsolved #1).

• All of the above [including other information I have yet to discuss within this website] leads me to strongly believe there was either a Henry Dickens Jr., or there was another son of Henry Dickens Sr. whose name is not yet known. Thus, I call this Henry Jr./son: Unidentified. This Unidentified son was at least 21 in 1790 and he must have died prior to 1820 (most likely in Smith or Jackson Co., TN). So - was there a Henry Jr.? Could Charlotte have been a second wife of this Henry Jr.?

• Another very remote possibility could be as follows:  Relative to Lydia Hews... regardless if she was married to Henry Sr. or Henry Jr., it is possible that Lydia Hews was a widow - and if so, she may have had a daughter prior to her marriage to Henry Sr./Jr. Per this marriage to Henry Sr./Jr., her theoretical daughter - as was common practice at that time, might have adopted the surname Dickens. Thus, it could be that the Rebeccah Dickens who married Jeremiah Dickens was actually a Hews - she was not related in any way, and simply took on the "Dickens" name based on her mother "Lydia's" marriage to whichever Henry Dickens it really was.