DICKINSON, Preston (1807-1868) and Celesta B. (1806-1869)

Born in Massachusetts and Connecticut respectively, Preston and Celesta Dickinson appear to have moved to Michigan in the 1830s. According to the 1850 census Preston was a mason by trade. Both Preston and Celesta were drawn to Millerite Adventism in the 1840s. They later became Sabbathkeepers after Joseph Bates visited Jackson, Michigan, in July 1849. On August 4 the Dickinsons, along with 15 others, became the first Adventists to celebrate the Sabbath in Michigan. The Dickinsons received only passing mention in the writings of Ellen White. The single substantial comment was the reproof found in Lt 6, 1856 (c. 1856), related to their dealings with future son-in-law Smith Moses Kellogg and his parents.1EGWLM 821.6

See: Obituary: “Preston Dickinson,” Review, May 12, 1868, p. 350; obituary: “Celesta B. Dickinson,” Review, July 20, 1869, p. 31; Timothy Hopkins, The Kelloggs in the Old World and the New, vol. 2, p. 1315; 1850 U.S. Federal Census, “Preston Dickinson,” Michigan, Jackson County, Jackson, p. 328; G. W. Amadon, “Interesting Item of History: When and How the Sabbath Truth Was First Introduced Into the State of Michigan,” Review, Nov. 11, 1890, p. 695.1EGWLM 822.1