Robert W. Tickner, 83, project engineer
Robert W. Tickner, 83, a retired project engineer and a genealogist who traced his family's arrival in America back to 1638, died Monday, Oct. 5, of multiple myeloma at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Robert W. Tickner, 83, a retired project engineer and a genealogist who traced his family's arrival in America back to 1638, died Monday, Oct. 5, of multiple myeloma at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Born in Susquehanna, Pa., to Robert N. Tickner and Marian Benson, Mr. Tickner served in the Navy during the Korean War. Afterward, he earned a bachelor of science and a master's degree, both in engineering, at Pennsylvania State University.
He worked as an engineer at Sealtest, the ice cream maker, before joining Campbell Soup Co. in Camden as a project engineer in 1965. He retired in 1994.
Mr. Tickner's engineering background informed his avocations. He taught his children the mechanics of numerous trades. He loved tackling projects with a historic bent, such as refurbishing grandfather clocks and antique cash registers.
Mr. Tickner's love of history, country and family led him to delve into genealogy. He traced his family to John and Mary Benson, who sailed to America in 1638 from England, aboard the Confidence.
Those early settlers landed 18 years after the Mayflower, according to a July 8, 2013, article in Main Line Suburban Life. They raised five children in Hingham, in the Massachusetts Bay colony, and in 1657 became the first inhabitants of Hull, Mass.
Mr. Tickner uncovered a treasure trove of old letters in a box left to him by his mother in the 1950s.
"Nobody had sorted or read them," he told Suburban Life. His ancestors were soldiers writing from Civil War battlefields to let their families know they were still alive.
"Today I will write a few lines and let you know that my name is once more set down with the living," Manzer L. Benson, a Union soldier, wrote to his mother on July 5, 1863. "We have had a little brush here in Pennsylvania. We gave them perfect thunder."
Although young Benson survived the carnage at Gettysburg, he was wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864 and died in a Confederate prison.
Mr. Tickner's research also identified the grave of another ancestor, Union Pvt. George W. Tickner, who died in battle July 1, 1863, and is buried at Gettysburg.
Mr. Tickner told Suburban Life that the Main Line Genealogy Club, which meets at the Easttown Library, helped him pursue his research.
"The interesting part of genealogy is to trace not just the male, but the women," he said. "I found a lot of interesting things. Our great-great-great-grandmother was killed by the Indians, along with two of her children. In our direct line . . . they were pioneers and farmers in the frontier period."
Mr. Tickner's findings formed the centerpiece of many family reunions. The most notable reunion occurred in 2013, the 375th anniversary of his ancestors' arrival in America.
He is survived by his wife, Helen Haynes Tickner; sons Robert H., William H., and Thomas J.; eight grandchildren; a sister; and nieces and nephews.
A visitation is to be from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at Wayne United Methodist Church, 210 S. Wayne Ave. Services and burial are private.
Donations in his name may be made to the Abramson Cancer Center for multiple myeloma research. Checks should be payable to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, 3535 Market St., Suite 750, Philadelphia 19104, or via www.penncancer.org.
610-313-8102