There are some free sources out there go to www.rootsweb.com and do a search with the information you have and see if you can find a match. If you have any information on your grandfather's sisters and brothers try a search for their names. There are also some surname message boards at rootsweb, take a look at their boards for the Dickson name.

Go to www.electricscotland.com and look up the Clan Keith and Clan Chattan websites, there are some of the clan societies who have quite a few genealogical records, some have clan genealogists who can help you.

The important thing is to try and trace your family back to Scotland and the areas around the clan lands. On the Electric Scotland website you will find Clan and family histories, these histories will give you an idea of the geographic locations of the family and clan lands.

Also do a google search and see if the Dickson's have a family association, these associations can be a tremendous help, many have transcriptions of old deeds and wills, I have found much information on some of my ancestors from a family association. If you know what county and state your Grandfather resided in try to find a historical association for that county, many have good records. Another direct approach that sometimes works is to do a google search for your ancestor, this sometimes works quite well and can provide links to other websites that have family information.

Beware genalogy is very addictive ! Good Hunting !