Jonathan Dickinson was born in 1663 in Jamaica . His father Francis had raised a troop of horse for Oliver Cromwell 's Western Design expedition to capture Spanish possessions in the Caribbean , and had taken part in the English seizure of Jamaica in 1655 , for which he had been rewarded with two plantations . Jonathan 's brother Caleb stayed on the plantations while Jonathan became a merchant in the then chief port city of Jamaica , Port Royal . The earthquake of 1692 , which nearly destroyed Port Royal , caused the Dickinson family great financial losses
earthquake of 1692
1692 Jamaica earthquake
Jonathan Dickinson