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Esther (Harding) Dickinson married Consider (1761-1855) in 1840 and, when he died in 1855, she inherited a large estate, which she prudently increased. She and Consider had no children. In her 1861 will, Mrs. Dickinson remembered each of her nieces and nephews and specified that a "high school, library, and reading room shall be located on my homelot on the Deerfield street." This bequest was in accordance with her husband's wishes. The Dickinson homelot became the home of Deerfield Academy by 1880.