Jonathan Dickinson facts for kids

Jonathan Dickinson (1663–1722) was a merchant from Port Royal, Jamaica. In 1696, he and his family were shipwrecked on the southeast coast of Florida. They were traveling with other passengers and crew members.

After the shipwreck, they faced many challenges from some Native American groups. They then had to travel about 230 miles up the coast to Saint Augustine by small boat and on foot. Sadly, five people from the group died during this difficult journey.

The Spanish leaders in Saint Augustine helped the survivors. They sent them by canoe to Charles Town (now Charleston, South Carolina). From there, they found a way to reach their first goal, Philadelphia. Jonathan Dickinson became very successful in Philadelphia. He even served as Mayor of Philadelphia twice, from 1712–1713 and 1717–1719.

Jonathan Dickinson's Amazing Journal

Dickinson wrote a detailed journal about his incredible journey. It was published in 1699 by the Society of Friends. The original title was very long:

God's Protecting Providence Man's Surest Help and Defence in the times of the greatest difficulty and most Imminent danger Evidenced in the Remarkable Deliverance of divers Persons, from the devouring Waves of the Sea, amongst which they Suffered Shipwrack. And also from the more cruelly devouring jawes of the inhumane Canibals of Florida. Faithfully related by one of the persons concerned therein, Jonathan Dickenson (sic).

This book was very popular! It was printed 16 times in English and three times each in Dutch and German between 1700 and 1869. Today, it's usually called Jonathan Dickinson's Journal. Experts have called it one of the best "captivity tracts" (stories of being held captive) ever written.

Jonathan Dickinson's Early Life

Jonathan Dickinson was born in 1663 in Jamaica. His father, Francis, had helped Oliver Cromwell's forces take over Spanish lands in the Caribbean. He was part of the English capture of Jamaica in 1655. For this, he received two large farms.

Jonathan's brother, Caleb, stayed on the farms. But Jonathan became a merchant in Port Royal, which was Jamaica's main port city back then. In 1692, a huge earthquake almost destroyed Port Royal. This caused the Dickinson family to lose a lot of money.

The Voyage and Shipwreck

In 1696, Jonathan Dickinson decided to move his family from Jamaica to Philadelphia. He, his wife Mary, their six-month-old son Jonathan, and his ten slaves boarded a ship called the Reformation.

Dickinson's journal starts with a list of everyone on the ship. It included the ship's Master (captain), the Mate, five sailors, a boy, a "Negro" (slave) of the Master, the Dickinson family and their slaves, a Quaker preacher named Robert Barrow, a relative of Dickinson named Benjamin Allen, and an "Indian Girl" named Venus.

The Storm and Landing

The Reformation left Port Royal on August 23, 1696. It was part of a group of ships protected by a Royal Navy warship, HMS Hampshire. The Reformation got separated from the other ships in calm weather.

On September 18, a sudden wind broke the Master's leg. On the same day, Venus, the Indian girl, died after being sick. By September 20, the ship was still near Cuba and Florida, trying to avoid French ships. On September 24, a big storm, possibly a hurricane, pushed the ship onto a reef. It then landed on shore near Jupiter Island, Florida, close to what is now Hobe Sound.

First Encounters with the Jobe People

Everyone on the ship survived the wreck! They quickly started taking supplies from the ship. Some people were sick, including the Dickinson baby, Robert Barrow, Benjamin Allen, and the Master, Joseph Kirle.

Within a few hours, they were found by the local Jobe (Dickinson spelled it "Hoe-Bay") Indians. The Jobes took almost everything the shipwrecked group had. They didn't seem interested in alcohol or sugar. The Jobes made threatening gestures and called the castaways "Nickaleer," meaning "English."

Dickinson and Robert Barrow, who were Quakers, told everyone not to fight. They believed God would protect them. One crewman, Solomon Cresson, spoke Spanish well. So, they decided to say they were Spanish. The Jobes didn't seem to believe them, but they might have been afraid to treat Spanish people badly by mistake. The castaways wanted to go to Saint Augustine, but the Jobe leader (called a Cacique, which Dickinson spelled "Caseekey") wanted them to go to Havana, Cuba.

Life with the Jobe People

The Jobes took the castaways to their town at Jupiter Inlet. The Jobes continued to treat them roughly, taking most of their clothes. However, a woman Dickinson thought was the leader's wife nursed the Dickinson baby. When the Jobes offered food, the castaways were hesitant to eat it.

The Jobes burned the wrecked Reformation but brought the ship's boat to their town. On September 28, the group was allowed to leave the Jobe village and head north to Saint Augustine. They took some supplies the Jobes didn't want, like wine, butter, sugar, and chocolate, plus a quadrant (a navigation tool). One of Dickinson's slaves had kept a tinderbox and flint, and they had two knives. To Dickinson's sadness, the Jobe leader insisted on keeping one of Dickinson's slaves, a boy named Caesar.

The Difficult Journey North

The trip up the coast was very hard. The sick and weak people rode in the ship's boat, while others walked along the shore. Drinking water was scarce. They passed villages where the people walking were bothered, but those in the boat refused to land, fearing what would happen. They wanted to reach the town of Santa Lucea, hoping to find Spanish authority there, even though other Indians warned them they would be killed.

Challenges at Santa Lucea

On September 30, the group met Ais Indians from Santa Lucea. They also called the travelers "Nickaleer," even though Solomon Cresson spoke Spanish. The Indians forcefully took all their remaining clothes, even from the Dickinson baby. One Indian later gave Dickinson's wife a pair of pants.

The Indians tore pages from a Bible the group carried and gave them to the travelers to cover themselves, but other Indians snatched the pages away. The Indians also threatened them with arrows and knives. The group was taken to the town and eventually given local clothes: deer skins for the women and a type of apron for the men. Finally, the Indians fed them. Mary Dickinson's milk was low, so several women in the village nursed the Dickinson baby.

Hopes and Fears

The Santa Lucea Indians eventually believed that some of the travelers were Spanish. However, they didn't think the light-haired travelers were Spanish. They told the group they would be sent to the next town. They also said that some "English from Bristol"—six men and a woman—were being held there and would be killed before the Reformation group arrived.

In the middle of the night, the travelers were suddenly forced to leave the town. A crowd threw rocks at them as they were escorted four miles up the beach. At this point, they realized Solomon Cresson, Joseph Kirle's cabin boy John Hilliard, and his slave Ben were missing. The three remaining escorts kept them moving, repeatedly asking if they were "Nickaleer." When the travelers said no, the escorts hit them. On October 2, the travelers passed the shipwreck they had heard about.

Arrival at Jece

At Jece (the main town of the Ais people), near today's Sebastian, they were welcomed and given some clothes. They met the survivors of the shipwreck they had passed. This was the Nantwitch, another ship from the convoy that had been wrecked by the same storm as the Reformation. Later that evening, the missing people caught up with the main group. Solomon Cresson said he had been held back at Santa Lucea, while John Hilliard and Ben had been asleep in another house when the group was forced out of town.

The Cacique's Return

When the leader of Jece (who seemed to be the main chief of the Ais) heard what the Jobe leader had taken, he decided to go to Jobe to claim some of the stolen goods. While he was gone, a severe storm, probably a hurricane, hit the town. It flooded the town and almost drowned the group. The leader returned on October 11, bringing some of the goods from the shipwreck and the boy Caesar, who had been kept by the Jobe leader. The leader recognized that the goods from the Reformation were English, and he now strongly doubted that the travelers were Spanish.

The leader said he planned to travel to Saint Augustine and would take one of the shipwrecked group with him. They decided to send Solomon Cresson. They feared that Indians closer to Saint Augustine would know enough Spanish to realize the others were not Spanish. The leader left for Saint Augustine on October 18, taking Solomon Cresson and much of the money the Jobes had taken. The leader told them it would be about a month before he returned.

Hard Times at Jece

The stranded group suffered while the leader was gone. The Indians in this part of Florida did not grow crops. They lived on fish, shellfish, and berries like palmetto, cocoplum, and seagrape when they were in season. The berries were gone by this time, and the Jeces rarely gave the stranded group fish. They were so hungry they ate the gills and guts of fish from a "dung-hill," as Dickinson described it. The Reformation group kept worrying about what would happen to them. The Jece Indians would sometimes threaten the group and then tell them how they planned to kill the Nantwitch survivors.

Mary Dickinson's milk was failing. Some women in the town would sometimes nurse the Dickinson baby, but there were other mothers in town with not enough milk, so there was little to spare for him. When a woman who had just given birth but had no milk gave her child to Mary Dickinson to nurse, Mary did so, even though she had little milk herself. This helped her, as the Indians started giving her fish to eat so she could produce enough milk for the Indian newborn, as well as her own child.

Spanish Soldiers Arrive

On November 2, a group of Spanish soldiers from Saint Augustine arrived in the town. They had brought the leader back with them, but Solomon Cresson had been sent on to Saint Augustine. The Spanish soldiers treated the English castaways kindly but were harsh to the Indians. The next day, they sent some of the English survivors from both ships north towards Saint Augustine on a catamaran (a boat made from two canoes). The Spanish also sent for the Reformation's boat that had been left in Santa Lucea. On November 5, the rest of the English survivors left for Saint Augustine in the boats from the two wrecked ships. This group quickly caught up with the first group.

The Final Stretch to Saint Augustine

The combined group continued their journey with the Spanish escort. Food was still scarce for the English group. The Spanish soldiers shared very little from their own supplies. On one occasion, the castaways only had boiled pumpkin leaves for their meal. On November 9, the Spanish soldiers turned back south towards the two wrecked ships, leaving only one of them to guide the group to Saint Augustine. On November 10, the group stayed in two nearby towns of the Timucua people.

On November 13, the group had to leave their boats and walk along the shore. In their hurry to reach a nearby Spanish guard house, the stronger members of the group went ahead, leaving the weaker ones behind. It was cold, and the travelers, having little clothing, suffered greatly. Five members of the group died from the cold that day: Dickinson's relative, Benjamin Allen, and four of his slaves: Jack, Caesar, Quenza, and a child named Cajoe.

From Saint Augustine to Charles Town

The Spanish soldiers at the guard house had limited food. They urged the reluctant castaways to move on to the next guard house. There were three guard houses south of Saint Augustine that the travelers passed. Dickinson reached Saint Augustine on November 15. He found that all the English people there were being treated well by the Spanish. Dickinson, his wife and child, and Joseph Kirle and John Smith (the Master of the Nantwitch) stayed in the governor's house.

The group of survivors left Saint Augustine in canoes on November 29. The governor had given them what supplies could be found in Saint Augustine. An escort of Spanish soldiers went with them. They stopped at Spanish outposts and Indian villages at night when they could, or camped on islands along the coast. On December 21, they reached the southernmost of the South Carolina farms. They arrived in Charles Town on December 26.

Life in Philadelphia

On March 18, 1696 (Old Style, meaning the year number didn't change until March 25), Jonathan Dickinson and his family, along with Robert Barrow, sailed from Charles Town. They reached Philadelphia fourteen days later. On April 4, 1697, just three days after arriving in Philadelphia, Robert Barrow died.

Jonathan Dickinson became very successful in Philadelphia. He and his wife Mary had four children. He served as Mayor of Philadelphia twice, from 1712–1713 and 1717–1719. Jonathan Dickinson passed away in 1722.