It really is an adventure... and many of those old registers were written in Middle English script - which requires one to retrain how to read; IIRC, the letter 'c' looked like our 'r', just as an example. I won't even mention the Latin in the Court records of Canterbury, pre-16th century!
***Don’t seem to find any Dickinsons in my direct tree***
My research led up to Samuel Dickinson, a signer of the Constitution... I disproved his published genealogy {about 1900} and I am probably persona non grata in the state of Delaware! 😧 However, it led to a Dickinson family line that settled in western Virginia that were active in the American Revolution... earliest source I could find: St. Martin Orgar's Parish (on the Thames) London, 1645... unsung heroes.
>>My research led up to Samuel Dickinson, a signer of the Constitution.
Absolutely know that name. What a wonderful topic of research, and you must have been thrilled when you made the correction. Have you gone back into the research since the DNA tests for family surnames have been prevalent in family societies?
>>many of those old registers were written in Middle English script - which requires one to retrain how to read
I run into that a lot with the 18th century poetry. The handwriting was a real learning experience. I’ve been trying to hire a deep toned male actor for audio recordings and trying to figure out how to prepare the text for him so that he’ll pronounce the words correctly. Saved by the frustration that he never calls back when he promises and I fear I’m going to have to start a real search for a narrator.