What's In Your Wallet?

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks : Week 7 - Unusual Source

This year, 2021, I'm participating in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks genealogy challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. This week's entry was tough. For the most part I use the "usual' sources - census; birth, marriage and death records; newspaper articles - that sort of stuff. But then I thought about the more personal sources that shed light on a person's life, or help along the research in other ways.

As far as unusual sources go, I've already created a whole series of posts about Wallace B. Dixon and his cars using the complete collection of driver's licenses and registrations that he saved in a scrapbook.  I haven't added the two final vehicles, a Rambler and a Chevy Nova which would take us from his first car in 1924, up to 1979 when he voluntarily surrendered his license. 

But that got me to thinking about the other things people keep in their wallets, and what we can learn from them. Certainly those licenses and registrations provided a good bit of information: address, age, personal appearance, type and age of vehicle. They were useful in creating a timeline of addresses, and helped with dating of some photos that pictured those cars.

Another type of item from my grandfather's wallet are ID cards. 

This card, issued by the US Coast Guard at the Port of New York tells me that in 1942, just a few months after the United States formally entered World War II, my grandfather was working for Standard Oil as a Shift Breaker. I've written about that previously, here. It also gives his place and date of birth and a physical description. It's wonderful to find a photograph on the card as well, as Wally was more often behind the camera than in front of it.

US Coast Guard ID issued to Wallace B. Dixon, April 28, 1942

Coast Guard ID with photo and thumbprint.

Eighteen years later, he was carrying this card in his wallet.

ESSO Bayway Refinery ID Card,
showing that Wallace B. Dixon had logged
28 years of service to the company.

But 1960 minus 1942 only accounts for 18 of the 28 years years of service mentioned on the retiree's ID card. According to a more "usual" source, census records, he was working for an unspecified refinery as early as 1930. Of course, that would make 30 years between 1930 and 1960, but it is entirely possible that the two earliest years were with a different company. According to the 1930 Elizabeth Directory, there were a number of oil producers and refineries in the area.

Oil Producers and Refineries in
 the 1930 Elizabeth Directory, Price & Lee, Co., Publishers.

So, two unusual sources - the ID cards- and two very usual sources - census records and a city directory - help to fill out the story a bit. I'm glad that my grandfather kept all the bits and bobs from his wallet. It's added information and insight to our family history.

Because You Make Great Stew

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks : Week 6 - Valentine

This year, 2021, I'm participating in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks genealogy challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. 

This poem was written by my grandfather, Wallace B. Dixon. the image below is in his handwriting.

 

A love poem by Wallace B. Dixon.

Your nose is so red

Your eyes match it too

You're shaped like E.T.

But I still love you

Not because your hair is curly

Not because your eyes are blue

I love you more than anyone

In the wide wide world

Because you make great stew

Mary Jane Dixon and Frederick Hammond

What I Know So Far...

As I've been moving files and adding data into my new genealogy software, it seemed like a good idea to take time to summarize some of the research I have to date on various individuals and families. This will hopefully clarify those branches that require more research, and those that I can set aside, as least for now. If I come across more information, or decide to do further research, I'll update this page.

{Update: 14 Sep 2021. I have recieved a copy of Mary Jane (Dixon) Hammond's death certificate. I have updated this post to reflect the information in that document. This will be reflected in the footnotes; see source number 16.}

 In this post I focus on Mary Jane Dixon and her husband, Frederick Chittinden Hammond. Sources are noted in parentheses, with the citations at the end of the page. I have created tables for those facts with conflicting data to, hopefully, make sense of things.

If you have any information about this family that you would like to share, please let me know. Of course, photographs are always welcome!

Mary Jane Dixon was the daughter of John Dixon and Isabella Porter.(1,2,10, 16) Her death record states that she was born on May 24, 1872 in Elizabeth, New Jersey.(16) Other sources differ as shown below.

Birth Date	Date of Source	Stated or Implied	Source	Source #
1872	1880	Implied	1880 US Census	1
1872	1890	Implied	Marriage Certificate	10
May 1871	1905	Stated	1905 NJ Census	3
1873	1910	Implied	1910 US Census	4
May 1873	1915	Stated	1915 NJ Census	5
May 1873	1918	Stated	Find A Grave [database]	7

Frederick Chittinden Hammond was the son of Thomas Blake Hammond and Olive Luttle Rigby. (10) He was born in New Jersey in the month August of between 1870 and 1873.

Birth Date	Date of Source	Stated or Implied	Source	Source #
Aug 1871	1890	Implied	Marriage Certificate	10
Aug 1870	1905	Stated	1905 NJ Census	3
1873	1910	Implied	1910 US Census	4
Aug 1871	1915	Stated	1915 US Census	5
1872	1920	Implied	1920 US Census	6

Marriage

Frederick and Mary Jane married on 24 September 1890. They ceremony took place at 107 Elizabeth Ave., Elizabeth, NJ at the home of the bride’s parents.(15) H.H. Oberly, Rector of Christ Church, Elizabeth, performed the ceremony. Witnesses were Joseph Bird March and Charlotte Thompson. [The relation of the witnesses to the bride and groom has not been researched.] (10)

Family Narrative

At the time of their wedding, Frederick was 19 years, 1 month old, and he was working as a ticket collector for the Erie Railroad. He was living at 388 Ave. D., Bayonne, New Jersey. This was his first marriage.(10)

Mary Jane was living in her parent’s house at 107 Elizabeth Ave., Elizabeth, and was 18 years old. It was also her first marriage.(10)

The couple’s first child, a son, Frank Hammond, was born eight months after their marriage, on 24 May 1891. He was born at 603 Grove St., Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey.(12) Sadly, Frank died when he was 14 months old, on 15 July 1892.(11)

It would be another 8 years before the couple had their second child. Earl Chittinden Hammond was born on 6 May 1900.(13,14)

By the time Earl was 5 years old, the family was living at 305 1/2 Elizabeth Street, Jersey City, New Jersey. The family owned their home, with a mortgage. Frederick was working as a bookkeeper. The family also had a boarder, Robert Sutherland, a recent immigrant from Scotland, who also was a bookkeeper.(3)

By 1910, the Hammonds were living at 217 Pavonia Avenue, and it appears that they were renting the house. Frederick was still a bookkeeper, and Earl, age 9, was attending school. They family again had two boarders, Maude Doremest and Mary Tenney, both women in their 50’s.(4)

The family is at the same address in 1915, but now it looks like they have purchased the house with a mortgage. Frederick is still working as a bookkeeper, Mary Jane, or “Mamie,” was keeping house. Earle, now age 14, was attending Public School No. 4. The family had no boarders at this time. (5)

Some time after his 18th birthday, in 1918, Earl registered for the World War I draft. He is living at the Pavonia Avenue address, and is an Industrial Student at Dickinson High School. He is also working for a Dr. Hopkins Prine at Palisade & Newark Avenues, Jersey City. He is described by the registrar as being tall, of medium build, with grey eyes and fair hair. (14)

Sadly, Mary Jane died on 12 June 1918, in Christ Hospital, Jersey City. She was 46 years old. The death certificate is a little hard to read, but as best I can tell the cause of death was "Gastric Carcinoma."(16) Her burial, and presumably her furneral, took place on June 15. She is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Hillside, Union County, New Jersey (7, 16) as are many members of the Dixon family.

The 1920 US Census records that Frederick, a widower, now owns the house at 217 Pavonia Avenue outright. He is employed as a bookkeeper by Horrie & Co. Earl is also living at home, and was still in school. Also living in the house was a 49 year old woman with the last name Mahoney. She was a “servant” for a private family; presumably keeping house for the widow and his son, as she was not listed as a boarder.(6)

I don’t have a date of death for Frederick, but his son, Earl, died in February 1973, with his last residence being Secuacus, Hudson County, New Jersey.(13)

[As of this writing [September 2021] I have no plans to do any further research into the Hammond family, as my primary focus is the Dixons. However, if you are related to the Hammonds, I would be happy to learn more about them, and share any information I might have with you. Please do get in touch!]

Sources

1. 1880 U.S. census, population schedule, New Jersey, Elizabeth, 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Page: 40C; Enumeration District: 164. Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Page No. 23, Lines 49-50, John and Isibela Dixon; Page No. 24, Lines 1-8, children: William, Ida, Laura, John, Mary, Lillia, Maybell, and Maud..; NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 800; digital image, Ancestry.com (http:// www.ancestry.com). 

   
   
2. 1885 State Census of New Jersey, New Jersey State Archive; Trenton, New Jersey, United States; State census of New Jersey, 1885; Film Number: 42. Union County, First Ward, Elizabeth, page 52. John, Isabella, Ida, Laura, Jakob, Mary, Lillie, Mabel, Maud, Alfred Dixon; digital image, Ancestry.com 

   
   
3. 1905 State Census of New Jersey, New Jersey State Archive; Trenton, New Jersey, United States; State census of New Jersey, 1905; [images on-line] (Lehi, Utah, Ancestry.com, 2017). Hudson County, Jersey City, 9th District, Ward 3; Sheet 17B. Frederick C, Mary J., and Earl C. Hammond.
   
   
4. 1910 U.S. census, population schedule, New Jersey, Hudson, Jersey City, Ward 2; page 2A; FHL microfilm: 1374902.; NARA microfilm publication , roll T624; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com).

   
   
5. 1915 State Census of New Jersey, Population schedule, Elizabeth, Union, New Jersey, Jersey City, Hudson County; Second Ward; Sheet A2. Hammond - Frederick, Mamie, Earle.; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com).
1920 U.S. Census, New Jersey, Union, Population Schedule; NARA Microfilm Publication T625 

   
   
6. 1920 U.S. census, population schedule, New Jersey, Union, Jersey City Ward 2, Hudson, New Jersey; Page 1A; ED 118. Frederick Hammond, Earl Hammond.; NARA microfilm publication T625, roll T625_1069; digital image, Ancestry.com (http:// www.ancestry.com). 

   
   
7. Find a Grave, database and images, Find a Grave, digital images (https:// www.findagrave.com), (accessed 03 January 2021), memorial page for Mary J Dixon Hammond (May 1873 - 12 Jun 1918), Find a Grave Memorial no. 198800968, citing Evergreen Cemetery, Hillside, Union County, New Jersey, USA ; Maintained by Robert (contributor 46512307). 

   
   
8. New Jersey, U.S. Deaths and Burials Index, 1798-1972 [database on-line]. 
FamilySearch, New Jersey, U.S. Deaths and Burials Index, 1798-1972 [database on- line] (Provo, Utah, Ancestry.com, 2011), Ancestry.com, Lehi, Utah, Frank Hammond; FHL number: 589793. B. abt. 1891; d. 15 Jul 1892.

   
   
9. New Jersey State Archives, Birth Records, H248; Frank Hammond; 24 May 1891.; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersey.
Hammond, Frank Birth: 24 May 1890 in Jersey City, Hudson, New Jersey, USA 

   
   
10. New Jersey State Archives, Marriage Records; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersey. NJSA microfilm roll 79 (Marriage Certificates #404-82-K30 to #406-96-Z72), certificate #405-91-H7. Frederick Chittinden Hammond and Mary Jane Dixon, September 24, 1890.

    
    
11. New Jersey, U.S. Deaths and Burials Index, 1798-1972 [database on-line] (Provo, Utah, ancestry.com, 2011) Frank Hammond; Death: 15 Jul 1892 in Jersey City, Hudson, New Jersey, USA; 1 year.

    
    
12. New Jersey, U.S., Births and Christening Index, 1660-1931 [database on-line], database, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com), Frank Hammond; FHL Number 494217. Frank Hammond, b. 24 May 1890, Jersey City, NJ; parents Fred C. Hammond, Mary J. Dixon.
    
    
13. Social Security Death Index, Social Security Administration, database, Ancestry.com,(http://www.ancestry.com), Earl Hammond, b. 6 May 1900, d. Feb 1973.
Hammond, Earl Chittenden ; Birth: 06 May 1900 ; Death: Feb 1973; Res: 1973 in Secaucus, Hudson, New Jersey, USA; 07094
    
    
14. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, digital image, The National Archives
    (http://www.ancestry.com), Ancestry.com [database on-line]. Earl Chittenden Hammond, b. 6 May 1900; Relative: Earl Chittenden Hammond.

    
    
15. Cook & Hall's Elizabeth City Directory for 1890-91, Cook & Hall (1890), Pages 113-114. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com). 

16. New Jersey Bureau of Vital Statistics, death certificate (1918), Mary J. Hammond; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

     
    

 

Helping Grandma in the Kitchen

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks : Week 5 - In The Kitchen

This year, 2021, I'm participating in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks genealogy challenge from Amy Johnson Crow. 

This week's theme takes me back to my grandparent's kitchen in Roselle, NJ. From Monday through Friday, and sometimes on the weekends, my mother and I had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Dixon's house. My mother worked, so Gramps took care of me after school. Grandma worked as well, at Singer's in Elizabeth, but her shift ended mid-afternoon, so she made dinner for all of us.

 When people today say they must have huge islands and miles of countertop in their kitchen, I laugh. What you see in these photos is the sum total of ALL the countertop in the Dixon kitchen. To make more room, dishes and the drain board were always dried and put away after every meal. That gave her an extra foot, more or less, of work space while she was cooking.

 And yet, every single day, my grandmother turned out a full evening meal. Meat, starch, veg, sometimes a salad. How did she manage with such a small work space? It was an eat-in kitchen, and she did most of her prep work sitting at the kitchen table. Often while enjoying her pre-dinner cocktail - a shot and a beer. To be clear, one shot of Segrams 7, and one can of beer is the most I ever saw her consume at one time. I never saw her tipsy, but I think after a long shift in a factory, she felt she deserved a treat!

In these photos, I'm around six years old. My "jobs" in the kitchen were setting the table, helping to clear the table after we ate, and drying the dishes. 

There are a few things from this kitchen that I still have and use every day. The stainless steel mixing bowls hanging below the upper cabinets are still going strong. On the counter below them are the aluminum cannisters for flour, sugar, coffee, and tea. Those are in my kitchen as well. It's a bit hard to see in the photos, but there is a glass tumbler that has a very simple and pretty leaf design cut into it that I also still enjoy using. This was Grandma's beer glass. I have her favorite shot glass too, though that gets much less use at our house.

Me and my Gram, Sophie (Karvoius) Dixon, in her kitchen. 1966.

A typical after-dinner scene in my grandparents' home in Roselle.

The lower cabinet next to the fridge had some dry goods. Most of the food storage was in the basement, where my grandfather had built a little pantry under the basement stairs. I was often sent down to get a box of this or a jar of that. The upper cabinets held dishes and serving things. 

I'm standing on a step-stool in front of a cabinet with four drawers. The top drawer was a "junk" drawer, that had a number of useful items, including the only cookbook my grandmother owned. "Meals Tested, Tasted and Approved," from the Good Housekeeping Institute. (Yes, I have that too.) If you want to host a formal breakfast or afternoon tea (Gram did neither) this is the book for you! Interestingly, I don't actually recognize any of the recipes printed in the book as things my grandmother made. She seemed to have used it as a filing cabinet for recipes she clipped from magazines and newspapers. I don't recognize most of those either. She knew how to cook food, and she just did it.

The one item tucked in the book that I do recognize is her recipe for pineapple upside-down cake, which seems to be printed on a calendar page. Here's the recipe:

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (1 lb.) can sliced pineapple, drained
• Maraschino cherries
• Pecan halves
• 1/4 cups sifted flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup soft shortening
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg

Melt margarine in 9-inch square pan. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted margarine. Arrange pineapple, cherries and pecan halves over brown sugar mixture. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl. Mix in shortening. Add milk, egg and vanilla extract and blend well. Spoon batter over pineapple. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes or until cake is golden brown and springs back when touched lightly in center. Turn upside-down onto a serving plate, leaving pan on for a few minutes before removing. Serve with whipped cream.

Today we would shun the margarine, and the soft shortening (which was probably Crisco). Also, the Maraschino cherries (red dye!). If she did serve it with whipped cream, it was probably Miracle Whip, or something that squireted out of a can. But those were different times, and working women embraced convenience foods. All I know is that her Pineapple Upside-Down Cake was a family favorite!

Another recipe tucked into the book is from my Grandma Traina, written in her handwriting. It is "A Cake for Abe's Birthday. Pound Cake." Grandma Traina's pound cake was the pound cake by which all other pound cakes were judged. It was really good. I think it's interesting that my Grandma Dixon has this recipe. I don't recall her making this cake. Also, I have no idea who Abe is! So many mysteries!

My Grandma Dixon was a good cook. [So was Grandma Traina!] We never had gourmet meals, but everything was always tasty. Just good food, simply prepared. She made great chicken pot pie, and potato pancakes served with applesauce and sour cream were a special treat. She also, according to the rest of the family, made excellent Clams Casino. I never warmed up to clams, but she always made a few shells for me with just the "Casino" part and I loved that.

My Grandfather also knew a bit about working in the kitchen. When crabs were fresh at the market he would do the cooking. He also made clam chowder. And I suppose when we had a cook out, he manned the grill. He also taught me to make "egg nog," which I've written about previously.