Frederick Lewis Dibblee (senior)

Frederick Lewis Dibblee was born in New Brunswick. He trained as a railway engineer, and after doing some work in Canada, Brazil and Germany, he took up a railway engineering post in India where he worked for the rest of his life. His wife, Emily Binney, was also born in New Brunswick. She married him in England, and they went out to India together, where their children were born. Three of the children died in India when young, so they decided that Emily and the children should settle in England. Frederick died in India.

The signature of Frederick Lewis Dibblee, senior, on a passport to Europe.

Please note that the links in the timeline below go to my website of Frederick Lewis Dibblee.

Wife Frederick Dibblee's wife was Emily Binney. Her family seemed to think that Frederick was not good enough for her, so their wedding was postponed until Frederick got a good enough job. This happened in 1864, when he got his first job in India. Emily joined him in England, they married there, and then went out to India together. They had eight children in all, but three died in India. This led to Emily deciding to keep all her children in England, partly to educate them, and partly for health reasons. She seems to have split her time between her children in England and her husband in India. She was in England when Frederick Dibblee died. Click here for more on Emily Dibblee, including photographs and letters, and click here for more on the Binney family. Children Frederick and Emily Dibblee had eight children. Three of them, a son and two daughters, died while young, in India. The surviving five children were three sons (George Binney Dibblee, Frederick Lewis Dibblee junior and Tom Arnold Dibblee) and two daughters (Jane Emily Dibblee and Bessie Maud Dibblee). See my website on Frederick Lewis Dibblee for details, including photographs, of the children of Frederick and Emily Dibblee.

Career

Frederick Lewis Dibblee senior was born and educated in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. In 1854, he attended some engineering lectures in King's College, Fredericton, which seems to have decided him an a career as a railway enginner. He started as an apprentice working on the development of early Canadian railways, then followed his boss, James Brunlees, to Brazil, to do some work there. Then he had another short-term job in Prussia, working under George Bruce. Finally, in 1864, George Bruce got him a job on the Indian railways, starting at Madras (now called Chennai). This was a more serious job, and enabled him to get married (see above). Later, in 1874, he got a government job in India, working on railways in what is now Pakistan. He subsequently worked on different railways throughout India, including a lot of railway surveys. His final railway job was in Burma, in 1886. He died of a fever in Calcutta in 1888.

See my website on Frederick Lewis Dibblee for more details of his career.

© Jo Edkins 2012 - Return to Early Dibblee History index