Everything was not just as it should be

When my grandfather, Wallace B. Dixon, was nineteen years old his mother filed for divorce from his father. The year was 1923, and, according to the divorce documents, William A. Dixon had deserted the family in September 1912. (1)

The divorce documents are decidedly one-sided, as William chose not to respond to the suit in any official manner. We only get his wife's side, but affidavits given by Mary Elizabeth (Klein) Dixon and others tell a story of an abusive husband who drank away the rent money, forcing the family to move frequently — often several times in a year. Mary Elizabeth says "My husband made so much disturbance and did not give me money to pay the rent, so I had to move."

Mary Elizabeth testifies "For two years before the desertion, I lived on Livingston Street, between First and Second Streets; 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."

In May of 1912 William deserted the family for the first time, out of fear that Mary Elizabeth would have him arrested again for abusing her. He was gone for three months. Returning to the family, he "promised faithful to do what was right."

At the end of September 1912 William was drinking again. The family had been living on Elizabeth Avenue for a little over a month when a visit from the landlady prompted Mary Elizabeth to ask her husband for the rent money. According to her, William became abusive and told her to get the money herself, he did not care how she did it. Fearing further abuse, Mary Elizabeth went to her daughter Clara Viola (Dixon) O'Hare's house on Marshall Street and stayed the night. At that time she would have had three children aged eighteen and under – George Thomas, eighteen; Wallace, seven; and Hazel, three years old. Presumably she took them with her. My grandfather states in his testimony that he went to his sister Viola's house with his mother.

Q. Why did you go to your sister's.
A. I don't recollect now. Everything was not just as it should be.
Q. There was some trouble between your father and mother?
A. That had happened quite a few times.

Mary Elizabeth and her children stayed away from home until the following afternoon. "I then went back home and everything was gone, it was an empty house. The people downstairs said that he had sold some, and took some with him." Wallace adds "...there was a few odd pieces of furniture left; the house had practically been stripped."

According to Wallace, they went back to his sister's house for a few days, then moved to West Orange for a while before returning to Elizabeth. Mary Elizabeth petitioned the Overseer of the Poor, Mr. Sattler, to help her find her husband. The authorities did find him. They "ordered him to pay" and when he did not he was arrested and sent to jail for six months for failing to support his family. When he got out of jail he made a few meager payments to his wife, and then quit. Eventually the family learned that William had moved to Staten Island. Mary Elizabeth had to support herself and her children, going out to work and taking in boarders. Her son George Thomas was probably working by that time, and likely contributed to the family's support, as did my grandfather when he became old enough to work.

William A. Dixon with his two youngest children,
Wallace Bernard and Hazel Dorothy.
I believe this was taken around 1920.
Held by E. Ackemann, 2017.

At the time of the divorce William was living at 124 Grand View Avenue in Staten Island. He was employed as a carpenter at the Brewer Ship Yard, also in Staten Island. My grandfather testifies that he and his sister, Hazel, had made several visits to their father at his home there. So, presumably they maintained some sort of relationship with him.

On 29 May 1924 Mary Elizabeth was granted a divorce from her husband. She was given custody of Wallace and Hazel, and was granted permission to resume her maiden name.

On 20 April 1927 she married Thomas Payne(2), a long-time acquaintance and boarder with the Dixon family. Thomas had been a boarder with the family in 1900, prior to his first marriage.(3) By 1918 he was again living at the same address as Mary Elizabeth, 159 West Grand Street (4), and he and his youngest son were listed among several boarders in her household at that same address on the 1920 U.S. Census.(5) After their marriage the couple moved into a house that they owned, 125 West Grand Street, and for the first time in her life Mary Elizabeth had a home that she could truly call her own.(6) I would like to believe that they lived together happily until her death on 3 October 1938.(7)

William A. Dixon was living back in Elizabeth and was employed as a carpenter when he died on 23 May 1927, at the age of 64. I don't know who the informant was for his death certificate. That document records that at the time of death he was married to "Mary Kline".(8)

Sources

(1) 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.

(2) Marriage record for Thomas Payne and Mary Eliz. Klein. No. 11913, 20 April 1927. The second marriage for both bride and groom, took place at the Municipal Building in Manhattan. New York City Department of Records and Information Services, Municipal Archives, 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007. Certified copy held by Elizabeth Ackermann, 2016.

(3) 1900 Federal Census, Union County, New Jersey, population schedule, , ; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed ); FHL microfilm: 1240996.

(4)"United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZJ6-D9V : 12 December 2014), Thomas Payne, 1917-1918; citing Elizabeth City no 3, New Jersey, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,712,099.  

(5)"United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4YG-CQK : accessed 15 February 2016), Mary E Dickson, Elizabeth City Ward 10, Union, New Jersey, United States; citing sheet 10A, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,821,070. 

(6)"United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4F1-D1T : accessed 15 February 2016), Thomas Payne, 1930. 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.

(7) Mary E. Payne, death certificate. New Jersey Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Records, Trenton. NJSA microfilm roll 827 (Death Certificates 1938: Nason – Poz), organized alphabetically by surname. New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

(8) William Dixon, death certificate No. 611 (23 May 1927), New Jersey Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Trenton, New Jersey. 

Marshall Street Mystery : Conflicting Evidence

Sometimes you just wish your ancestors would give you a straight story, or that the documents you find might be deemed reliable.

I don't know that it's crucial, or even vaguely important, that I determine exactly where on Marshall Street my great-grandparents lived with their family. It is vexing that I can't find them in the 1910 U.S. Census, and I keep hoping that getting an address for them might lead me to a census record.

In two posts I wrote in May of 2016, I started to explore this problem. You can read them here:

54 Marshall Street
54 Marshall Street : A Room With a View?

Since then, I've found more information about the Dixon family during that time period. They moved quite often, and I'll write more about that in another blog post. Suffice it to say that William wasn't an ideal husband, and the family was often forced to move due to lack of rent money. (1)

Today I'm going to summarize the three pieces of conflicting information that I have regarding the family's address on Marshall Street in Elizabeth between the years 1909 and 1911.

City Directories

Both the 1909 and 1911 Elizabeth city directories list William A. Dixon, carp[enter] at 54 Marshall Street. (2,3)

There are actually two William A. Dixons listed in the directory, the other boards at 57 Butler. At that same address we find "boarding" Frank and Alexander Dixon, Jr. Also listed is Alexander Dixon, presumably the senior. Both Alexanders are oystermen, Frank and William are leatherworkers. This is clearly a different Dixon family.

Since my great-grandfather is known to have worked as a carpenter from around 1900, I believe that the Marshall Street William is mine. Additionally, there is another William Dixon, William H., boarding at 54 Marshall. My grandparents had a son named William, born in 1885. His middle initial was J according to his birth record, but I've also seen it recorded as C.

In the 1911 directory it appears that Alexander senior has died. His widow, Mary, is boarding at 161 Elizabeth Avenue. William the leatherworker and the junior Alexander are also now at this address.
Frank Dixon is not among the Dixon listings for this year.

Carpenter William A. and laborer William H. Dixon continue to be listed at 54 Marshall in 1911. And so I conclude that this is "my" William A. Dixon. One might also infer from this that they lived at 54 Marshall Street between at least the years 1909 and 1911.

Hazel Dixon's Birth Record

William & Mary (Klein) Dixon's youngest daughter, Hazel, was born 16 January 1909. You can read about her birth record in detail in an earlier post from February 2016. In that document the midwife, Therese M. Leyerer, records the place of birth as 65 "Marchal" Street. (4)

Neither the 1909 or 1911 directories have any listings in the street directory for a "Marchal" Street, leading me to conclude that she was spelling "Marshall" the way she pronounced it. Remember, this is the same document where William's occupation is "Carp Endor," actually "carpenter."

Additionally, the 1903 Sanborn Map for Marshall Street (5) shows that number 65 would have been located in the Pattern Storage building of the ship building company that occupied most of that side of the street. The ship building facility only increased in size over the years, by 1918 (6) it occupied nearly the entire block, so it seems unlikely that some time between 1903 and 1909 that a residence would have been located on that spot. Only those lots with even-numbered addresses on that block were residential. The same is true today. A comparison of the Sanborn maps and Google Maps for that street show that the numbering hasn't changed. 

Given the whimsical nature of the information in this document, or at least Mrs. Leyerer's interpretation of the information, I take the address with a grain of salt. Hazel may have been born on Marshall Street, but it seems unlikely that the address was number 65.

The Divorce Deposition

So, here we arrive at the heart of the matter. In 1924 Mary Elizabeth (Klein) Dixon petitioned for a divorce from her husband, William A. Dixon on the grounds of desertion. She claims that he left the family in September of 1912 and for the next twelve years provided no support for her or her children.

In Mary's deposition, she states:

For two years before the desertion [in September 1912], I lived on Livingston Street, between First and Second Streets; 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.

Please take a moment to process this. The family lived in at least five different locations in the two years between 1910 and 1912. Additionally, if they were living on the block between Second and Third Streets, the house numbers ran from 200 to 255 on the 1903 Sanborn Map.(7)  This is neither the 54 from the city directories or the 65 from the birth record.

So it seems that, at some point roughly between 1910 and 1912, the family did live on Marshall Street. Had they lived on Marshall Street more than once?

Conclusion...Confusion

I'm willing to accept as true that the family of William A. and Mary E. (Klein) Dixon did, at some point, live on Marshall Street in Elizabeth, New Jersey. I have three separate and unrelated documents that support that.

It is possible that they occupied a residence with the address of 54 Marshall Street, given the fact that it appears in both the 1909 and 1911 city directories. Supporting this is the listing in two city directories, and the fact that it was a residential address as indicated on both the 1903 and 1918 Sanborn insurance maps. However, they do not appear at that address in the 1910 U.S. Census, and given William's reported inability to come up with regular rent payments it seems a little bit unlikely that they lived at the same address for three consecutive years.

It is highly improbable that they resided at 65 Marshall Street, given the industrial nature of that side of the street. I don't consider Mrs. Leyerer to be a highly reliable source for any information other than the actual birth of the child. However, number 65 would have been in the same block as number 54. So there's that.

It is possible, given the nature of the testimony of Mary E. (Klein) Dixon under oath that the family did live in the 200 block of Marshall Street sometime around 1911-1912. One does have to keep in mind that the testimony was given about twelve years after the fact, and it is possible that with all of the moving the family apparently did Mary may have confused the exact location.

My conclusion is that the family did probably, at some point, live on Marshall Street. It is possible that they lived on Marshall Street two different times, once at number 54, and once in the 200 block. Is it vitally important that I know exactly when and where? At this point, I think not. It seems more important to acknowledge this as an exercise in examining conflicting evidence, and as a reminder that you can't always believe what you read.


Sources

(1) 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.

(2) 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.

(3) 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. 

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

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

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


(7) Insurance Maps of Elizabeth, New Jersey. New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1903. Sheet 73.
Princeton University Library: Sanborn Maps of New Jersey: Elizabeth.

I can beat that

Afternoon, Winter, Grandma and Grandpa's House

Me, early 1960's,
cooking up something good at Grandma & Grandpa's house.

Oh, that eggbeater. Did there ever exist a more fun kitchen utensil for a child? Some of you may be too young to remember eggbeaters, with their turning gears and whirling beater parts, and the cool sound they made.

Here is my Grandpa Dixon's recipe for "Egg Nog," which is probably what I'm in the process of making here.

• 1 egg - raw
• milk - enough to fill the glass
• vanilla - a teaspoon
• sugar - as much as it takes

Beat until frothy or until you get tired. Drink happily.

Yes, we ate raw eggs back then. I don't know anyone who ever got sick from it. And, I might add, it was pretty darned yummy.

This photo was taken in the early 1960's in my Dixon grandparents' kitchen. I loved that wallpaper! Still do. I know this was taken in the afternoon because the sun is shining in the front window, which faced pretty much due west, if I recall correctly.