William Dixon Manuscript - The Man

The Man

The only direct evidence for the author's identity comes from the manuscript itself, giving his name and two others, Parcival and John, who may have been his sons. It also gives dates from 1733 to 1738. Many of the tunes in the manuscript were, and some remain, current in Northumberland, or are named after places in the region. Baptismal records for that county show that a William Dixson was christened in Stamfordham, Northumberland, in 1678, and that Parsivall and John, sons of William Dixson, were baptised nearby at Fenwick, near Morpeth, in 1708 and 1710. Julia Say has found that these belonged to a branch of the Dixon family living at Ingoe South Hall, near Fenwick, where some of the family lived until recently. Many of these were buried in Stamfordham church. If this William Dixon was indeed the author of the manuscript, he would have been 55 when he started compiling it, and 60 when he ceased. One son of John Dixon, another William, founded an important coal and iron business in central Scotland later in the century, which was further developed by his son; Julia Say has conjectured that this is how the manuscript reached Scotland.