The Mystery of Two Girls and a Garage

Another charming photo of two young ladies. It must be summertime. They are wearing white or pale dresses with short sleeves. The bob haircuts suit them, I think. I'd love to know about that very grand house in the background. I wonder if it's still standing after all these years.

There are a few more clues below the photo. As always, give me a shout if you know who these people are.

Two girls, a garage, and a very big house. Do you recognize them?

The photo was peeled off of the page of a photo album. The paper residue is black. There is no writing on the back [naturally!] but the photo is stamped "Printed By Elizabeth Novelty Co." A partial stamped number is visible "79[obscured by paper residue]."

Advertisement from the 1917 Elizabeth City Directory. (1)
This is the first year they that
advertise photo developing and printing.

The Elizabeth Novelty Co., located at 215-217 Broad Street, first advertises developing and printing services in the 1917 edition of the Elizabeth Directory. In 1915 they are selling photographic supplies. So at some point between 1915 and 1917 they began offering printing services. That makes it likely that this photo was printed no earlier than 1915.

I have a few other photos with the same straight line border. You've seen two of them here. Those images bear the stamp of "Elizabeth Photo Service." They are all connected to Wallace B. Dixon.

 

 

 

 

For Further Research

• Did Elizabeth Novelty Co. buy out Elizabeth Photo Service, or vice versa? Or was this just a common border at the time?
• Although all the other photos that I've scanned so far, that have this border, are associated with W.B. Dixon, it can't be assumed that this is one of his photos as well. I'll have to be on the lookout for others. Pinpointing who owned the photo might help me figure out who these girls are.

Sources
(1) Elizabeth Directory 1917. Vol. VII. Price & Lee Company, Newark, New Jersey. 1917 Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Film image 37.

The Mystery of Postcard Boy

It's a postcard. You couldn't write a few lines?

 

Today's Mystery Photo Monday photo is, I believe, what the folks "in the trade" call a "Real Photo Postcard." Sadly, no one thought to jot a few lines to let us know who this handsome lad is.

As always, chime in if you have a clue!

Unidentified boy, all dressed up and on a postcard.

The post card part of the photograph.

Connected : My DNA

Rooted in Elizabeth I may be, but those roots spread across the globe to places I never even considered. I recently got the results of my Ancestry.com DNA test. In one brief moment I suddenly felt much more connected to people and places I had never considered as part of my heritage.

I share little snippets of common genetic ancestry with people from Ireland to Afghanistan and from Lithuania to North Africa.

This is amazing.

My ethnicity estimates map. From Ancestry DNA.
The areas that are circled but not colored in are the "trace" areas.

The Mixology of Me

Here are my ethnicity estimates:

• Europe East 34%
• Italy/Greece 26%
• Caucasus 10%
• Great Britain 9%
• Iberian Peninsula 6%
• Europe West 5%
• Middle East 6%
• North Africa 2%
• Ireland 2%
• Scandinavia <1%

That all adds up to 100% me! These are my people.

Of course I realize that we inherit half of our DNA from each parent, but we get that in a random distribution. That's why siblings don't look exactly alike. I got half from each of my parents, who got half from each of their parents, and so on back through the mists of time. And then there's migration patterns and the whole span of history to consider as well.

It's only natural to want to try to sort out which of these little "snippets" come from where. I'm no DNA expert, and at this point my family tree looks a little more like a shrub since I haven't been at it for very long. But I have a very good imagination, so please indulge my meanderings. After all, this post is pretty much all about me :-)

It seems quite possible that the 34% from Eastern Europe would link me back to the Karvoius family and their roots in Lithuania. It could also include the Klein branch, which would also figure prominently in the Europe West category as well.

I'm guessing my Dixon line is that 9% British, and on back to Isabelle Porter, my great-great grandmother who, scanty records claim, came from Ireland. Hello 2% Irish!

The high percentage for Italy/Greece is certainly a link to my paternal line, the Traina and Maita families, who came from Italy. It is possible that the little bits from the Iberian Peninsula, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus might figure in that mix as well. You know how those ancient Greeks and Romans got around!

Those "trace regions" of 2% or less could be a fluke, and appear by chance rather than being an actual part of my genetic makeup. Still, it's pretty interesting to see them pop up there.

Making Connections

My DNA testing was mostly done on a whim and a sale. Ancestry was offering a pretty good discount on DNA tests back before Christmas. I also had a vague hope that I'd connect with some cousins. And that those cousins might help with the pile of unidentified photos that I've got. I'm a dead end, genealogically speaking, so it would give me great pleasure to share those photos with someone who might actually give a darn about them. We might also scale some of those brick walls together. You never know.

I find that I share DNA with someone who is likely to be a second cousin. Three people fall in the third cousin range. Two of them have no trees published so I have no idea what the link might be, and one of them shows a probable connection through my Ohio kin. And then there are the 21 folks in the 4th to 6th cousin range. Followed by 37 more pages (yes, pages) of possible 5th to 8th cousins.

I've started sending notes to the nearer matches. So far I've heard back from one very nice gentleman who connects with me through our mutual Hawley line. My great-great grandmother, Rachel Hawley, was probably the sister of his great-grandmother Harriet Hawley.  My cousin believes that their parents were Noble Hawley and his wife, Elizabeth. I'm looking forward to moving my research back a few generations and learning more about those folks.

What Next

• I continue to research my own genealogy, looking for cousins the old fashioned way. Why just today I found some firsts once-removed, children of my grandfather's brother John Frank Dixon.
  
• Also, I've been spending a good bit of time on Ancestry's YouTube Channel watching videos about DNA testing and what to do with the results. They have been interesting and helpful as I explore this new avenue to my discovering my ancestors.
  
• A very dear friend, a total genealogy wizard, has recommended that I upload my data to something called Family Tree DNA . So I have downloaded my file from Ancestry.com and uploaded to FamilyTreeDNA.com. I'm waiting to see if there are any matches over there.

Have you though about DNA testing as an aid to your genealogy research? Have you tested already? I'd love to hear about your experiences with the scientific side of family history research.

Harry Dixon

The missing children of William A. and Mary E. (Klein) Dixon

From the 1909 Birth Certificate of Hazel Dixon

According to the 1900 United States Census (1)  my great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth (Klein) Dixon had given birth to seven children, with five surviving. By 1909, when her last child, Hazel, was born the birth certificate (2) indicates that she had given birth to ten children, with seven surviving.

This leaves three children unaccounted for.

A recent visit to the FamilySearch web site brought up a birth record for Harry Dixon, born 29 December 1887 in Union County, New Jersey. His parents are listed as "Wm. Dixon" and "Eliz. Kline." (3)

Harry Dixon is not a name that I have come across before.

The 1890 U.S. Census, which was destroyed, would have been the next likely place to find him. He is absent from the 1895 New Jersey State Census. That census lists Minnie, William C., Clara Viola, and John Frank as the children in the family.

So Harry Dixon died sometime between his birth on 29 December 1887 and the date the 1895 NJ State Census was taken.

He is not listed in a search of NJ death records through the New Jersey State Archives web search. (But I do come up with a Walter Dixon, who died on 11 September 1891 at just 7 hours old. He might belong to another Dixon family. A subject of another search.)

 It's probable that Harry is one of the two Dixon children who died prior to 1900.

At some point between 1900 and 1909 another child was born and died, if the information on Hazel Dixon's birth certificate is correct.


To-Do List

• Find death record for Harry Dixon
• Order death record for Walter Dixon to see if he is from this family
• Keep looking for the other missing children

Citations

1. 1900 U.S. Census, Union County, New Jersey, population schedule, 5th Ward, enumeration district (ED) 102, Sheet Number 7, dwelling 83, family 180, William A. Dixon; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 5 March 2015); United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.

2. Hazel Dorothy L. Dixon, birth certificate 79 (16 January 1909), Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersey.

3. "New Jersey Births and Christenings, 1660-1980," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZCZ-MJD : accessed 14 February 2016), Harry Dixon, 29 Dec 1887; citing Union County, New Jersey, reference ; FHL microfilm 494,209.

Other People's Ancestors : Two Kids and a Dog

This one was in my big box of family photos. They are most likely friends of the family rather than relatives.

Two adorable kids and their awesome dog.
I like the looks of all three of them. Sure wish I knew who they were.

Written in ink on the back of the photo.

And that's all I know. Anyone recognize them?

Happy Birthday John Frank Dixon

Today is the 121st anniversary of John F. Dixon's birth.

I don't know much about John at this point. Here's what I've learned so far:

• John was born on 18 Feb 1895 in Elizabeth, NJ (1, 2)
• His parents were William A. and Mary E. (Klein) Dixon (2)
• In 1917 he worked as a tool setter for W.A. Clark, Elizabeth, NJ (1)
• In 1917 he lived at 38 Spencer Street, Elizabeth, NJ (1)
• He registered for the WWI draft 5 June 1917, when he was 22 years old (1)
• He was married, although I don't know his wife's name(1)
• He was tall, of medium build, with grey eyes and light hair. (1)
• In 1942 he filled out an affidavit to correct his brother's [Wallace B. Dixon] birth certificate (3)
• In 1942 he lived at 926 1/2 East Jersey Street, Elizabeth, NJ (3)

That's not a lot to know about a person, but it's a start. Hopefully, by John's next birthday I'll know a lot more about him. Even better, I might have identified him in a photograph.

If you're descended from John Frank Dixon please leave a comment or get in touch!



Citations

1. U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]," digital image, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2005, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com ; downloaded 15 Aug 2015), Card for John F. Dixon, No. 131, Elizabeth, NJ; citing, National Archives film M1509.

2. 1900 Federal Census, Union County, New Jersey, population schedule, Ward 7, Elizabeth, enumeration district 107,  page 7, dwelling 83, family 180, John F. Dixon; digital image, Ancestry.com (downloaded 5 March 2015); FHL microfilm: 1240996.

3. New Jersey, Bureau of Vital Statistics, State Department of Health, Birth Certificate 235 (2 March 1905), Theodore Wallace Dixon; attached form "For Correcting or Amending a Certificate of Birth, Marriage or Death"; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

Hazel Dorothy L. Dixon : Birth Certificate

The Midwife Wrote With an Austrian Accent

Please enjoy this quirky document that records the birth of the youngest child of William A. Dixon and Mary Elizabeth (Klein) Dixon. Hazel was born four years after my grandfather, her brother, Wallace B. Dixon.

The midwife, Therese M. Layerer, was born in Austria according to census records. She had lovely penmanship and wrote with an accent. Take a look at the document and see if you can tell what I mean.

Birth Certificate for Hazel Dorothy L. Dixon, b. 16 Jan 1927

Here's my transcription of the document, with comments [in brackets].

DIXON [written across the top]
State of New Jersey. Bureau of Vital Statistics.
Certificate and Record of Birth. #79
Name of Child: Hazel Dorothy L. Dixon [note the odd shape of the "x."]
Sex: Girl. Color: White. Date of Birth: 16 January 1909
Place of Birth: No. [or "At?"] 65 Marchal St. [possibly Marshall St.]
Name of Father: William Dixon [that funny "x" again]. Father's Birthplace: Elizabeth.
Maiden Name of Mother: Lissie Kleine [They may have called her Lizzie.] Mother's Birthplace: Oho [Ohio]
Age of Father: 46. Occupation of Father: Carp Ender [He killed fish for a living. Or he was a Carpenter.]
Age of Mother: 42. Occupation of Mother: ----
Number of Children in all by this marriage: 10. Number of Children now living: 7.
Name and P.O. Address of Professional Attendant in own handwriting:
Therese M. Leyerer, Midwife
73 E. Jersey St. Eliz NJ.
Date of this Report: [none given]

Many thanks to the good folks at the NJ State Archives for digging this up for me.

Citation
Hazel Dorothy L. Dixon, birth certificate 79 (16 January 1909), Elizabeth, Union county, New Jersey. New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersey.

The Mystery of the Lady at the Curb

Here we are again. Another Mystery Photo Monday. In this week's installment we find a nicely dressed young woman standing at the curb in front of a house. I'm thinking of starting a visual database of house parts to see if it helps me connect the dots. Has anyone out there tried that?

In any case, I'm thinking this lady is from the Dixon side of the family and dating the photo between 1920-1941. For the reasoning behind the dates, see below the photo.

Mystery woman at the curb. Probably a Dixon relative, sometime between 1920-1940.

The reverse of the photo is stamped "Graham & McCloskey Co., Inc. 57 Broad St., Elizabeth, N. J." and stamped over that "1 407." By keeping track of the reverse markings on the photos in a photo log I'm hoping to be able to group photos to help with identification.

Graham & McCloskey were druggists who, it appears, offered photo printing services. They were at the 57 Broad Street address between 1920-21 and 1940-41 according to the Elizabeth, NJ City Directories that are available on Ancestry.com. And yes, I checked every available directory between 1917 and and 1941.

The druggists were located at 103 Broad St. in 1905. By 1907 they were at 101 Broad, where they stayed until 1920-21. By 1941 they had moved again, to 1147 East Jersey Street. I haven't tracked them before 1905 or after 1941 yet.

As always, if you have any clue who the person in the photo is, leave a comment or drop me a note!

Vintage Valentine

Valentine Greetings from "Albert" Douricha

I don't know who this cutie-pie is, but he would make a great stand-in if Cupid ever needed a day off!

If you know of Albert Douricha please let me know! I'd love to return this photo to his family and find out how they might be connected to my family.

Wallace B. Dixon : Name Changer, Part 2

Where Did "Theodore" Come From?

You may (or may not) recall that last month I was puzzling over the family story of my Grandfather's name change. Family legend says that he was given the name Bernard Wallace when he was born, but later "legally changed it" to Wallace Bernard.

Wishing to settle the matter once and for all, I sent away to the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton for a copy of Wallace Bernard Dixon's birth certificate. (You can order these things on line now, which is the height of convenience when you live a full day's drive from the Archives.)

A few short weeks later, I received not only the original birth certificate, but a copy of a form "For Correcting or Amending a Certificate of Birth, Marriage, or Death." Two for the price of one!

Here, then, is my grandfather's original birth certificate.

Birth certificate for Theodore Wallace [a.k.a. Wallace Bernard] Dixon

 So, where the heck did the name Theodore come from? It is amusing to imagine that it went something like this:

The Naming : A play in one very short act.

Midwife: Congratulations on your new son, Mr. Dixon. What are you going to name him?
Mr. Dixon: Why, I believe we'll name him Theodore, after our president, and give him the middle name of Wallace.
Midwife: Theodore Wallace it is!
Some time later...
Mr. Dixon to Mrs. Dixon: Isn't our little boy Theodore Wallace just grand?
Mrs. Dixon: Theodore? Like heck we're calling the boy Theodore! His name is Bernard. Bernard Wallace! And that's final!

And then they forget to let the know about the name change, or just don't even give it a thought.

In the 1905 and 1915 NJ State Census, my grandfather is listed as Bernard. By the time 1920 rolls around, the Federal Census has him going by Wallace.

Another possible theory is that by the time the midwife got around to filing out the certificate, eight days after the fact, she got a little confused about the name.  We'll probably never know.

The Official Name Change

On 30 March 1942, Wally's brother, John Dixon, filled out the form changing my grandfather's name, officially, from Theodore Wallace to Wallace Bernard.

Correcting the Name on a Birth Certificate. One short form, signed by Grandpa's brother, John.

Affidavit signed by brother, John Dixon, on 30 March 1942.

The change form was filled out on 30 March 1942. The following day, this transcribed Birth Record was issued. And just like that, my grandfather was officially Wallace Bernard Dixon!

Delayed Birth Record for Wallace Bernard Dixon
issued the day after the name "correction" paperwork was signed.

I'm guessing that this flurry of paperwork was instigated by the Draft for World War II. The only draft registration records that are currently available are from the Fourth Registration, conducted on 27 April 1942, and including only those men between 45 and 65 years old. My grandfather would have been 37 at the time, so he is not included in that record set. He may well be one of the 10 million men who registered between 1941 and 1946. As far as I know, he never served in the military. When those other records become available I'll be looking for him!

Dixon Families in Elizabeth NJ in 1895

Ancestry.com has available on-line indexed images of the 1895 New Jersey State Census. According to Ancestry, "State censuses were taken in New Jersey every ten years from 1855-1915. This database contains information from the 1895 New Jersey State Census for over 1.5 million people. It covers all New Jersey counties."

I used the Ancestry Card Catalog to get directly to this database. I then performed a search using only the criteria of Last Name : Dixon. After perusing the many hits that were returned I compiled the following table. These are only Dixon residents that were classified as "White" and that lived in the city of Elizabeth. My direct ancestors are highlighted in yellow. This is my grandfather's family [Wallace B. Dixon] 10 years before he was born.

Please note: These entries were compiled only using the INDEX records. I have not yet taken the time to examine the images of each of these families on the census documents. I have a long-term project of sorting out all of these families. I suspect that some of them are my ancestors, directly or indirectly.

You'll find more resources and links after the table.

Family Number	Name	Gender	Locality	Page	Line
391	Charles Dixon	M	Ward 2	66	21
391	Kate Dixon	F	Ward 2	66	23
391	Wilfred Dixon	M	Ward 2	66	24
177	Walter Dixon	M	Ward 4	30	23
177	Mary Dixon	F	Ward 4	30	24
177	Adamar Dixon	M	Ward 4	30	25
177	Robert Dixon	M	Ward 4	30	26
177	Arthur Dixon	M	Ward 4	30	27
177	Scholetta Dixon	F	Ward 4	30	28
181	Alexander Dixon	M	Ward 4	31	17
181	Sarah Dixon	F	Ward 4	31	18
181	Frank Dixon	M	Ward 4	31	19
181	Alexander Dixon	M	Ward 4	31	20
181	Susie Dixon	F	Ward 4	31	21
181	Lizzie Dixon	F	Ward 4	31	22
181	Alfred Dixon	M	Ward 4	31	23
181	William Dixon	M	Ward 4	31	24
181	Tillie Dixon	F	Ward 4	31	25
206	John Dixon	M	Ward 4	36	6
206	Nellia Dixon	F	Ward 4	36	7
206	Anne Dixon	F	Ward 4	36	8
206	Edward Dixon	M	Ward 4	36	9
220	William Dixon	M	Ward 4	38	11
220	Lezzie Dixon	F	Ward 4	38	12
220	Minnie Dixon	F	Ward 4	38	13
220	William Dixon	M	Ward 4	38	14
220	Viola Dixon	F	Ward 4	38	15
220	John Dixon	M	Ward 4	38	16
245	George Dixon	M	Ward 4	42	15
245	Augusta Dixon	F	Ward 4	42	16
278	Waud Dixon	F	Ward 4	48	1
279	Alfred Dixon	M	Ward 4	48	2
378	Isabella Dixon	F	Ward 4	47	30
387	John Dixon	M	Ward 4	47	29
410	Walter Dixon	M	Ward 4	68	24
410	Annie Dixon	F	Ward 4	68	25
410	Stella Dixon	F	Ward 4	68	26
410	Samuel Dixon	M	Ward 4	68	27
455	William Dixon	M	Ward 4	76	25
455	Emma Dixon	F	Ward 4	76	26
455	Joseph Dixon	M	Ward 4	76	27
455	Herbert Dixon	M	Ward 4	76	28
455	Ralph Dixon	M	Ward 4	76	29
455	Blanch Dixon	F	Ward 4	76	30
627	William Dixon	M	Ward 4	102	4
627	Lulee Dixon	F	Ward 4	102	5
389	Alfred Dixon	M	Ward 5	62	22
389	Sophia Dixon	F	Ward 5	62	23
389	Sarah Dixon	F	Ward 5	62	24
482	Mary E Dixon	F	Ward 6	77	17
482	Elizabeth E Dixon	f	Ward 6	77	18
482	Wilfred Dixon	F	Ward 6	77	19
1010	Frances Dixon	F	Ward 8	159	23
423	Hattie Dixon	F	Ward 11	75	9

Links and such

• Ancestry.com : Card Catalog : NJ State Census, 1895
• FamilySearch.org : New Jersey Census information

Source
Ancestry.com. New Jersey, State Census, 1895 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: New Jersey Department of State. 1895 State Census of New Jersey. Trenton, NJ, USA: New Jersey State Archives. 54 reels.