The Mystery of the Bathing Beauties

Welcome to Summer and another Mystery Photo Monday!

Ah, Memorial Day. The day that marks the unofficial start of the summer season. Let's head to the beach!

Who are these bathing beauties? I have no clue. A bottle of sunscreen, your choice, to the person who can confirm a name of even just one of these fun-loving beach bums. I will give you one clue. The very lovely woman in the dark bathing suit, far left, appears in some of my photos connected with the Traina family. 

Unidentified bathing beauties, probably at the Jersey Shore. Sometime in the 1950's?
The woman kneeling, far left, appears in other photos associated with the Traina family.

54 Marshall Street : A Room With A View?

Today the neighborhood around 54 Marshall Street, home of William A. Dixon and his family around 1909-1911, includes a large public school, a waterfront park and the Elizabeth Marina. There is also a mixture of homes, businesses, and industry.

 In the years that my great-grandparents lived there, you would certainly find the mix of residence and business, but this waterfront area was also heavily industrial. I can imagine that the neighborhood was never quiet.

A water view...almost.

If you stand with your back to the Staten Island Sound, at the foot of Marshall Street where it begins at Front Street, the Dixon home was in the third building from the corner on the left-hand side of the street. The building was comprised of three flats, or apartments, one family per floor.

The front windows of each flat looked out on an industrial site: The Bethlehem Shipyard. The site housed a machine shop and a foundry, as well as offices and storage buildings. It took up the whole block on the opposite side of Marshall Street. Across Front Street, on the waterfront, were additional metal and carpentry shops and the shipways. Rail lines on Front Street brought in supplies. All of these industrial buildings stood between the Dixons and a view of the water. Perhaps they could catch a glimpse of it from time to time.

Here are two clips from the Sanborn Maps from 1903 and 1918 showing the neighborhood. I've added the red arrows to indicate the Dixon home at 54 Marshall Street. If you follow the link in the caption, you'll see a list of all of the Sanborn Maps for Elizabeth that are available through the Princeton University Library website.

You will notice some changes in the neighborhood. The portion of Franklin Street between First and Front Streets is gone by 1918. The Bethlehem Ship Building Company took over those two full blocks for their operations. Despite that industrial growth, the residences on Marshall, and in the block behind on Elizabeth Avenue are still there.

1903 Sanborn Map. The red arrow indicates 54 Marshall St.
Insurance Maps of Elizabeth, New Jersey. New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1903. Sheet 75.
Princeton University Library: Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Elizabeth.

1918 Sanborn Map. The red arrow indicates 54 Marshall St.
Insurance Maps of Elizabeth, New Jersey. New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1918. Sheet 75.
Princeton University Library: Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Elizabeth.

The neighborhood today

Here's a Live Street View of 54 Marshall Street today, courtesy of Google Maps. The three story house with the brick first floor is where the Dixon family lived. It appears that the three structures shown here, numbers 50, 52, and 54 are the same buildings that were there in 1910. They all appear in the both the 1903 and 1918 Sanborn Maps.

Take a virtual drive around and check it out. It looks pretty nice with the school and waterfront park, there are some new homes mixed in among the older buildings, along with neighborhood stores and restaurants. And, finally, it looks like the current residents of number 54 got that water view.




This is the link to the image on Google Maps.

Sources

Insurance Maps of Elizabeth, New Jersey. New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1903. Sheet 75.
Princeton University Library: Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Elizabeth.

Insurance Maps of Elizabeth, New Jersey. New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1918. Sheet 75.
Princeton University Library: Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Elizabeth.

Google Maps. Showing 54 Marshall Street, Elizabeth, New Jersey.

The Mystery of the Backyard Ball Game, Part 3

Final Inning.

Here's the last installment in the Ball Game series. There's no ball playing here, but I'm including it because you'll see two familiar faces if you've been following along.

The boy on the right is our friend the batter/catcher from Parts 1 and 2. And oh goody! Two more people who's names I don't know!

The batter (right) and his buddies. Do you know these guys?

In the next photo, I'm sure you will recognize the prim little miss from the photo in Part 1. Same dress, same demure pose. I think the older girl in this photo is another unknown person. At first I thought it was Sophie Karvoius, but if you compare the hair from the previous photos, you'll see that this young woman has her hair parted on the side and is wearing what looks like a barrette or hair clip. In the other photos, the girl I believe to be Sophie has a center part and bangs.

I don't know who these girls are, but I wish I did.
The younger girl appears in another photo in this series.

I haven't bothered to enlarge the faces in these photos. They are pretty blurry, and it doesn't add any detail to see them larger.

If you've been keeping up with the play-by-play here you'll realize that I don't know who the heck most of these people are. If you'd like to weigh in with some expert commentary, please do!

54 Marshall Street

A Missing Census Record and Fun With Maps

The 1910 U.S. Census is problematic. My great-grandfather's family is missing from the population schedule. Yes, missing. Poof! No William A. Dixon and Mary E. (Klein) Dixon, no offspring. They are simply not among the listed residents of Elizabeth, New Jersey. [See update, below.]

I've checked the 1910 Census index on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, and have looked at every Dixon listed in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Yes, every single one. Some day I'm going to write a paper about the Dixons of Elizabeth. All of them. Just so I can sort them all out and figure out who's who. But I digress.

After banging my head against the brick wall of the census for a while I thought of my old pal, the City Directory. William Dixon, carpenter,  appears in both the 1909 and 1911 Elizabeth City Directory at 54 Marshall Street.(1, 2)

Back to the census to see who lived at 54 Marshall Street. 

I will not  lie, this was a laborious process. But by narrowing down my search criteria to the 4th Ward and Marshall Street, I found...

The Marchesi family. Adolph, his wife, Rose, and children Harry, Albert, Anita, Ellen, and Alice. The parents and two older children were born in Italy, the younger ones were born in New Jersey. Adolph worked at the sewing machine factory, Singer. (3)

The Marchesi clan was the only household listed at 54 Marshall. So, what gives?

On a completely different page, sandwiched in, out of order, I found a William Dixon who lived at 50 Marshall Street. (4) He was an oysterman, a widow, and appeared to be a boarder in a house full of other men. He was born in 1864, and his father was from Ireland and his mother was from England. Pretty sure this was not my William Dixon, as by this time he was working as a carpenter and his father was born in New Jersey and his mother in Ireland.

Of course, my great-grandmother might have kicked him out of the house and the person who answered the census questions was making things up. But then, where was the rest of the family? The city directories clearly show him at 54 Marshall in the years bookending the census.

[Update 3 February 2017. It looks like the Dixon family did live on Marshall Street, probably at some point in 1910. 

The 1924 divorce records for William A. and Mary E. Dixon include an affidavit by Mary [the petitioner for the divorce] that states that in the two years before his desertion of the family in 1912 the family lived "on Livingston Street, between First and Second Street; Second Street, between Jersey Street and Fulton Street, from there to Marshall Street, between Second and Third Streets, and then to South Second Street, and from there to Elizabeth Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Streets." (8)

No wonder they are so hard to track down. That's five addresses in two years! But it does confirm that they did live on Marshall Street, at least briefly.]

Maps, Maps, Maps

When you're lost, look at a map. This is good advice for many situations. The insurance maps created by the Sanborn Company are my go-to for seeing what used to be in a neighborhood. Princeton University Library has a lovely collection of Sanborn Maps of Elizabeth digitized and available online.

I consulted the 1903 and 1918 maps that show Marshall Street. (5,6)

1903 Sanborn map showing 54 Marshall Street. (5)
Princeton University

1918 Sanborn map showing 45 Marshall Street. (6)

A little explanation is in order. The structure at 54 Marshall is a three story dwelling designated as "Flats." This means that a single family occupied each floor. The first floor is brick. Sometime between 1903 and 1918 it looks like the single story at the back was converted to three stories, possibly an open frame porch.(7)

Given the information in the City Directories, and the fact that the building was set up to hold three families, I'm willing to accept that the Dixon family lived there, but the census enumerator missed them completely. Scenarios abound as to why that might have happened.

That being said, if you happen to run across the family of William A. Dixon in the 1910 US Census, please let me know!

Stay tuned!

I'm going to tell you a little bit more about the neighborhood, and show you what 54 Marshall Street looks like today.


Sources

(1) Elizabeth Directory 1909, Volume III. Newark, New Jersey: Price and Lee Company,  p. 193.  Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line: accessed 14 May 2016]. Image 101 of 417. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Entry for William A. Dixon.

(2) Elizabeth Directory 1911, Volume IV. Newark, New Jersey: Price and Lee Company,  p. 201. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line: accessed 14 May 2016]. Image 102 of 418. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Entry for William A. Dixon.

(3) Adolph Marchesi. 1910 US Census; Census Place: Elizabeth Ward 4, Union, New Jersey; Roll: T624_909; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 0062; FHL microfilm: 1374922. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line: accessed 14 May 2016]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). 

(4) William Dixon. 1910 US Census; Census Place: Elizabeth Ward 4, Union, New Jersey; Roll: T624_909; Page: 21A; Enumeration District: 0062; FHL microfilm: 1374922. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line: accessed 14 May 2016]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.  Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls).

(5) Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey (Sheet 75). Sanborn Map Company. New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1903. Princeton University website: http://map.princeton.edu/mapviewer/#/w6634592x . Accessed 14 May 2016.

(6) Elizabeth, N.J. (Sheet 75). Sanborn Map Company. New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1918. Princeton University website http://map.princeton.edu/mapviewer/#/ng451k80x . Accessed 14 May 2016.

(7) Description and Utilization of the Sanborn Map 1942. Sanborn Map Company, New York, New York. p.12. http://www.dahp.wa.gov/sites/default/files/SanbornMapGuide_1942.pdf. Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, www.dahp.wa.gov; accessed 14 May 2016. 

(8) Dixon, Mary E. vs. Dixon, William A., 25 July 1923, Chancery Court Records; Superior Court Records Management Center, Trenton, New Jersey; NJSA microfilm 2-23, file number C64-517, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersey. Page 30, deposition of Mary Elizabeth Dixon.

The Mystery of the Backyard Ball Game, Part 2

Batter Up!

As we continue with our backyard baseball extravaganza, we see the same boy with a bat.
 

Taking his turn at bat.

He's a cute kid. Sure wish I knew his name!

Sophie's at bat! At least I'm almost certain that's Sophie Karvoius.

Cropped closeup of the original photo. They look like they're having fun.

I'm striking out on identifying the boy. Throw me a fast ball with his name written on it if you know who he is.

Hazel Dixon, Where Did You Go?

My grandfather's sister, Hazel, remains elusive. It seems to run in the family.

I thought I was doing really well when I got her birth record in the mail. I wrote about that back in February. Other details about her life remain unknown. Marriage, children, death record? Simply not found. Yet.

To recap, here's what I know.

• 1909: Hazel Dorothy L. Dixon was born on 16 January in Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey. Her parents are William A. Dixon and Mary E. Klein.
• 1910: The entire family is so far undiscovered in the Federal census for this year.
• 1915: Hazel appears in her parents household in Elizabeth in the New Jersey State Census.
• 1920: Hazel appears in her mother's household [Mary E. is listed as head of household, William is not listed there.] in Elizabeth in the Federal Census. Also living in the house as a boarder is Thomas Payne, Hazel's future step-father.
• 1930: Hazel appears in the Federal Census living in the household of Thomas Payne and his wife, Hazel's mother, Mary Elizabeth (Klein Dixon) Payne in Elizabeth, NJ. Hazel is 21 years old, single, and working as a clerk in an insurance business.
• 1936: Hazel poses for this photograph, identified as "Hazel @ 120" with writing on back. I don't know where "120" is. At first I thought it said "130" but then I found other photos with similar inscriptions and confirmed that it is "120."

Hazel Dixon in April of 1936 on the porch of "120."

Inscription on the back of the photo.

Inscription from the back of a photo
of Buddy, the dog.

A review of city directories for the years around 1936 don't show the Dixon or the Payne family at a "120" address. The timeline of what I know about Hazel ends right there. If she married it would have been after 1930.

A few leads

I have two possible leads on more information. Both are from Family Group Sheets that were created by a cousin of Wallace Dixon, my grandfather. The first sheet is not dated, it simply gives Hazel's birth year and month, and for the name of spouse it says "Wimmer." A second form adds the name "Louis" to "Wimmer." A third family group sheet, dated 21 Oct 1996,  has a little more information written in for some of the children in the family. For Hazel it again just lists her birth month and year. But for spouse it records "James Sullivan" and it gives a death date for Hazel: 21 May 1957. There are no sources cited for any of this information.

Database searches for Hazel with either of these possible spouses has turned up nothing. I have sent to the NJ Department of Health Vital Statistics and Registry in the hopes that I can get a death certificate for her and that it will shed some more light on Hazel's life after 1930.

So now we wait.

Sources

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

"New Jersey State Census, 1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9W-WW8H : accessed 15 February 2016), William Dixon, 1915.  

"United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org). Mary E Dickson, Elizabeth City Ward 10, Union, New Jersey, United States; citing sheet 10A, NARA microfilm publication T625.  

 "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org : accessed 15 February 2016), Thomas Payne, ED 61, sheet 7B; household 166. Citing The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. GS Film Number 2341121, digital folder 004951973, image number 00896.

Hazel Dixon , Photograph, Hazel Dixon sitting on porch railing of house. Inherited from Wallace B. Dixon, brother of Hazel Dixon. Privately held 2016 by Elizabeth Ackermann.

[author's name withheld] Family Group Sheets for family of William A. Dixon. Privately held 2016 by Elizabeth Ackermann.

The Mystery of the Backyard Ball Game, Part 1

Play Ball!

Another Monday, another mystery. For the next three weeks I'll be bringing you a series of photos from the Karvoius branch of the family. I believe were all taken at the same place and on the same day. Here's why I think that:

• The clothing doesn't change
• The location doesn't change
• A few of the children appear in more than one photo

We'll kick things off here with my favorite picture of the lot.

Taking a break from swinging the bat. The older girl is, I believe, Sophie Karvoius.

 I believe the oldest girl is my grandmother, Sophie Karvoius. I don't know who the other children are. Here's a closer look:

Snacking, posing, playing baseball. Sophie Karvoius is the third from the left. The other children are unidentified.

That sure does look like Sophie.  I'm intrigued by the very composed little lady sitting next to her, with her legs crossed and her hands on her knees.  Also, I'm interested in the appearance of the African American boy on the right. I have never seen him in any other pictures. Perhaps he's a pal of the boy with the bat?

In the 1924 Elizabeth City Directory, they Karvoius family lived at 109 Inslee Place. In the 1925 Elizabeth City Directory, the Karvoius family lived at 247 Clark Place. Was this photo taken at either of these addresses. Was Sophie visiting other family or friends? Your guess is as good as mine.

If you've got a guess about who the people in this photo are, pitch it to me! Stay tuned for the second installment, coming one week from today!

Happy Mother's Day

My beautiful and awesome Mom.

Mary E. (Dixon) Traina, with her daughter, Liz.
Some time in the mid-1960's.

Happy Mother's Day.

The Mystery of a Girl and Her Dog

Mystery Photo Monday. Again.

Here's what I've got. A slightly blurry photo of a pleasant looking young woman being jumped upon by a large black dog.

Here's what I know. Pretty much nothing.

The photo border is found in photos that I've identified from both the Dixon and Karvoius sides of the family. The reverse is stamped with the number "3061" which, according to my handy photo log, does not appear on any photos that I have scanned thus far.

The landscape doesn't appear to be particularly familiar. It looks like there are some large buildings in the background. Apartments or factory? I can't really see the dog, so I can't match him up with other dogs in the collection.

As always, if you recognize anything or anyone in this picture feel free to chime in.

May Day Memories

May Day festivities in 1907 - well before my time!
By Leet Brothers (Washington, D.C.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

 With the start of gardening season I seem to be falling behind on the blog. I thought I'd just post a quick memory of May Day from my childhood. [The photo above is not from my childhood. I'm not that old! I just thought it was a charming picture.]

As I recall, each year around the first of May, the students at Bender Academy in Elizabeth were encouraged to bring in flowers to put around the statue of the Virgin Mary. There is an interesting article on Wikipedia about May Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I don't recall any special songs or prayers, like those mentioned in the article, but it was a long time ago...

Either way, with the onset of spring blooms I was sent off to school with a bouquet of spring flowers and pussy willows from my Grandpa Dixon's garden. My memory is that it offered a rare occasion to enter the Nun's area of the school, where children were not regularly allowed. There was a small chapel there, and we flower-bearers trooped in to place our flowers around the statue of Mary.

It was very quiet in that part of the building. And I remember, vaguely, that it smelled like church. If you're Catholic, you probably know just what I mean.

That's it for May Day this year! I hope it's very Spring-y wherever you are, dear reader.