Wisconsin Historical Collections, Volume XII (1892)

              robert dickson the indian trader by ernest alexander cruikshank.1 shortly after the close of the revolutionary war three brothers dickson emigrated from dumfrieshire scotland to canada one of these william settled as a barrister at niagara then the chief town and centre of trade and for a few years the capital of the recently-constituted province of upper canada and attained considerable local eminence in the practice of his profession thomas the second brother established himself as a merchant and forwarder of goods at queenston seven miles distant at the foot of the portage around the great falls he too prospered and became the proprietor of many acres in the vicinity he was soon ap pointed a magistrate and an officer in the militia and in due time was promoted to be lieutenant-colonel of the second lincoln regiment which he commanded during the whole of the war of 1812-15 he was wounded in the battle of chippawa and was specially mentioned in despatches on this occasion the third and most adventurous of the three robert the subject of this sketch turned his attention to the western far-trade a calling which doubtless promised the richest re wards but was attended with extraordinary risks and hard ships the earliest mention of his name in an official docu ment occurs in a report of lieutenant-governor simcoe to 1 mr cruikshank is a resident of fort erie ont , and author of a his torical and descriptive sketch of the county of wetland ontario the set tlement and early history of the niagara peninsula the battle of lundy's lane 1814 and several other historical monographs the present sketch was written for this volume of wisconsin historical collections at the request of the editor it fitly supplements the " dickson and grignon papers " in vols x and xi and letters by dickson in the present volume ante ed