Julian Place

A place and a moment in time.

My great-grandparents and their children moved frequently, though mostly within the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey. When I find them in a city directory I can guess that they had moved on from the listed address by the time the book was printed and distributed. That leaves me always one step behind as I try to piece together their lives.

I do know that on 9 April 1924, Mary Elizabeth (Klein) Dixon and her three youngest children lived at 2 Julian Place. (1) George Thomas was 26 and my grandfather, Wally, was 19. I'm sure they were both working and helping to contribute to the household. Hazel, the youngest, was 15 and was likely going to school.

The first mention that I found of my grandfather
living at 2 Julian Place.

Mary Elizabeth had filed for a divorce from her husband, William A. Dixon, the previous year and this address is mentioned in a deposition given on the 9th of April. The same address is also given on my grandfather's motor vehicle registration for that year.(2)

Prior to 1911, when the postcard below was mailed, we get a glimpse of the place they called home in 1924. Fast forward thirteen years and replace some of those carriages with automobiles and you can imagine what their street might have looked like.

The corner of Julian Place (on left) and Morris Ave. (on right), Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Postcard in collection of E. Ackermann, 2017.

In a snippet from the 1922 Sanborn Map (3), the size and shape of the building at the intersection of Julian Place and Morris Avenue are a match. The only real puzzle is that the map only shows addresses starting with number four, and it appears that the very corner space has an address on Morris Avenue. This leads me to believe that perhaps the residences on the upper floors were given the number 2, while the street level businesses started at 4. The map shows a staircase leading to the upper floors to the right of the office at number 4. In the postcard you can see the entry next to the leftmost striped awning on the first floor.

1922 Sanborn Insurance Map. (3)
Elizabeth, N.J. (Vol. 1, Sheet 3). Princeton University website.

Meet the neighbors 

Residents of Julian Place.
1924 Elizabeth (NJ) City Directory
* denotes person has telephone (4)

 Here are the folks that lived and worked on Julian Place. This is the whole street – it was only one block long. Notice that the Dixon family isn't listed here. They don't appear at all in the 1923 or 1925 directories either. Perhaps they choose not to be in the listing, or maybe they were boarding with one of the other residents. We'll probably never know.

If you notice, the left side of the street is occupied by the Central Rail Road of New Jersey passenger station. So not only can you imagine the sights and sounds of an urban neighborhood, but you can add to that frequent passing trains, and all those folks getting on and off the trains. What a busy place!

The neighborhood was also full of businesses – real estate brokers, express agents, plumbers, painters, auto and bicycle repair, restaurants. The business at number 8, A.B. Swick,  probably explains the rather extravagant awnings on the corner building. 

Julian Place today

A look at the same block today shows some changes. The buiding that my Great-grandmother and her children lived in is no longer standing. The lot is now occupied by a restaurant with outdoor seating on the corner. The old train station still stands across the street, although it looks like it now houses a restaurant. Train passengers board from the elevated platform on the bridge that crosses North Broad Street. A number of the older buildings on the block on Morris Avenue are still there, giving a bit of a feel of the old neighborhood.

Corner of Julian Place and Morris Avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey.
The buiding on the corner, where my Great-grandmother and her children lived is no longer standing.
Today that space is occupied by a restaurant with outdoor seating. There's still a nice view of the old train station.
Image : Google Earth.

Buidings on Morris Avenue, heading away from Julian Place. Elizabeth, New Jersey.
It looks like a lot of the old buildings still stand.
Image: Google Earth

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)  Passenger Vehicle Registration, NJ Dept. of Motor Vehicles; Wallace B. Dixon Collection; privately held by Elizabeth Ackermann, [address for private use], 2016. 

(3) Elizabeth, N.J. (Vol. 1, Sheet 3). Sanborn Map Company. New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1922. Princeton University website http://map.princeton.edu/mapviewer/#/xs55mf363 . Accessed 12 March 2017. 

(4) Elizabeth City Directory 1924. Newark, New Jersey: Price & Lee Co., 1924. Page 574. Digital images. Ancestry.com. Ancestry.com. http://www.ancestry.com : [Accesed 12 March 2017].

Hazel Dixon : Comptometer Operator

Working Woman

Hazel Dixon was, around the time of her first marriage to Harry Wimmer, employed as a clerk in an insurance offfice. (1) Whether she kept that job after their marriage in 1931 is unknown. It seems likely that after their divorce [date currently unknown] she went back to work, and was likely employed at the time of her second marriage, in 1946, to James Sullivan.

Turns out a Comptometer
is an adding machine.
By Ezrdr (Own work)
[Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

Hazel's obituary says this: "Prior to 1950, she was employed as a comptometer operator by Diehl Manufacturing Co., Finderne." (2) They made fans, among other things, and were the electronics division of Singer. [A very brief summary, and a nifty worker badge from the 1940's here.]

Was this her "wartime job" during World War II? Did she leave that work after marrying James? Every little bit of information leads to more questions!

International Sewing Machine Collectors International has a great article about Philip Diehl, founder of the company Hazel worked for. The guy was a genius. Seriously. A Great Diehl of Invention. [a bit random and off topic, I know, but really pretty interesting]


Sources

(1) "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.

(2) Hazel Dixon Sullivan obituary, Elizabeth Daily Journal, Elizabeth, New Jersey, 21 May 1957, laminated clippings. Obituary and funeral arrangements.

Hazel (Dixon) (Wimmer) Sullivan : Obituary

There are times when one is grateful that the family kept "things." I found this laminated obituary for Hazel tucked into my Grandma's bible, along with about a bazillion funeral cards.

Death notice and obituary for
Hazel (Dixon) Sullivan, 21 May 1957
Elizabeth Daily Journal, Elizabeth, N.J.
Laminated card, private collection,
E. Ackermann, 2017.

Elizabeth Daily Journal
N.J.
May 21 1957
scrapbooks Inc. so. plainfield, n.j.
In Memoriam

SULLIVAN-Hazel, of 32E Pioneer Homes, Elizabeth, widow of James Sullivan and daughter of the late William and Mary Dixon.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend the funeral from the James J. Higgins & Son Mortuary, 414 Westminster Ave., Elizabeth, on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. High Mass of Requiem, St. Patrick's Church at 9 a.m.
Interment, Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

Mrs. Hazel Sullivan

Mrs. Hazel Sullivan, 47, of 32E Pioneer Homes died today at St. Elizabeth Hospital after an illness of several months. She was the widow of James Sullivan.

A native of Elizabeth, Mrs. Sullivan was a daughter of the late William and Mary Dixon. Prior to 1950, she was employed as a comptometer operator by Diehl Manufacturing Co., Finderne.

Surviving are a sister, Mrs. Claire Greaves, with whom she made her home, and two brothers, Wallace Dixon of Roselle and John Dixon of Elizabeth.

The funeral will be conducted from the James J. Higgins & Son Mortuary, 414 Westminster Ave.

A few notes

According to this obit, Hazel was living with her sister Clara Viola (Dixon) (O'Hare) Greaves when she died. Clara was 17 years older than Hazel. It must have been very difficult for her to see her youngest sister pass away.

We see also that Hazel had two other surviving siblings when she died - my grandfather, Wallace B. Dixon, and their older brother, John Dixon. John was 15 years older than Hazel, but she and my grandfather were just four years apart. There was a gap of 8 years between Wally and the next oldest, George. Hazel and Wally would have been the only children in the house by the time they were in school.

Citation

Hazel Dixon Sullivan obituary, Elizabeth Daily Journal, Elizabeth, New Jersey, 21 May 1957, laminated clippings. Collection of E. Ackermann, 2017. Obituary and funeral arrangements.

Hazel (Dixon) (Wimmer) Sullivan

The new year has already brought me a bounty of records. I'm still processing them, but spent some time today working with my great-aunt, Hazel Dixon, and thought I'd write up the new information that I've gained thanks to her two marriage records. The information I had so far indicated that her surname at the time of her death was Sullivan, but I also had an old family group sheet done by a cousin that said she'd married someone named Wimmer. Turns out they are both correct. Hazel Dixon married Harry Wimmer, divorced, and later married James Sullivan.

Hazel L. Dixon and Harry K. Wimmer

Hazel married Harry Wimmer on 16 November 1931. She was 22 years old, still living with her mother [Mary E. (Klein) Dixon] and her soon-to-be step-father, Thomas Payne at 125 West Grand Street, Elizabeth.(1) According to the 1930 U.S. Census, Hazel was working as an insurance clerk, she may have still been in that job at the time she married.(2)

Harry Wimmer was born in Elizabeth, NJ, as was Hazel. His parents were Otto Wimmer and Eva Ball. He was employed as a bank clerk, possibly at Harmonia Mutual Savings Fund (3- see note), and was living at 130 Reid St., Elizabeth. His widowed mother and four other people with the same surname [siblings?] were also living at that address. (3)

Click to enlarge.
Marriage Certificate of Hazel Dixon
and Harry Wimmer, 1931. (1)

The wedding was conducted by the Reverend Wilhelm G. Felmeth, pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church. (4) The marriage certificate indicates that the wedding was performed in Elizabeth, but there is no indication of an exact location.(1)

The witnesses at the ceremony were family members.  Theo Wimmer, living at the same address as the groom, presumably his brother, and Marie O'Hare, Hazel's niece. Marie was the daughter of Clara Viola (Dixon) and John J. O'Hare. Marie was, as far as I now know, born in 1913. (5) Hazel was born in 1909. (6) They were more like cousins than aunt and niece.

At some time, I suppose, things went wrong for Hazel and Harry. There was a divorce. I'm hoping to find some more information about that in the near future.

Hazel and James Sullivan

Click to enlarge.
Marriage Certificate for Hazel Dixon
and James Sullivan, 1946. (7)

On 23 March 1946 Hazel married again. Her groom was James Sullivan, son of James and Margaret (McCarthy) Sullivan. He was born on 1 Nov 1909,  making him eleven months younger than Hazel. This was James's first marriage. He was employed as a clerk. (7)

I don't know where the couple settled after their marriage. They don't appear in the 1947 Elizabeth Directory. In 1949 they are listed at the home address of James's widowed mother, Margaret, at 444 Spring Street, Elizabeth. This is the same address that James gives on the marriage certificate, so it's possible that they moved in with his mother right after they married.

Hazel died in 1957, just ten years after she married James Sullivan. Her obituary in the Elizabeth Daily Journal on 21 May of that year says she is the "widow of James Sullivan." So somewhere in that ten years James died. I have not yet found his death date.

You can read previous posts about Hazel:

• Hazel Dorothy L. Dixon : Birth Certificate
• Hazel Dixon, where did you go? 
• Hazel (Dixon) Sullivan : Death Certificate

Links
The New Jersey Churchscape : You can read a general history of the Third Presbyterian Church, as well as the First and Second, here.

Sources
(1)  New Jersey Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Records, Trenton. NJSA microfilm roll 525 (Marriage Certificates 1931: Wat - Z), organized alphabetically by groom's surname. New Jersey State Archives, Trenton. [Hazel's address on the marriage return matches that of the 1930 census.]

(2) "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.

(3)Elizabeth Directory 1931 (Newark, New Jersey: The Price & Lee Co., 1931), p. 771, Wimmer, Harry and Wimmer, Eva; digital image, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 5 January 2017). Harry Wimmer is living at 130 Reid St. with his widowed mother, Eva, and Martha E., Rudolph A., Theodore O., and Waleska L. - all with the surname "Wimmer".  In searching the same city directory, I find no listing for Harmonia Mutual Savings Fund. There is a Germania Mutual Savings Fund, and a Harmonia Building and Loan Association, so I list his employer with that qualification - it may be incorrect in the directory.

(4) Elizabeth Directory 1931 (Newark, New Jersey: The Price & Lee Co., 1931), p. 278, Felmeth, Wilhelm G Rev pastor Third Presbyterian Church; digital image, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 January 2017).

(5)  "New Jersey State Census, 1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV9W-W6G6 : accessed 21 February 2016), John J O Hare, 1915. Not the most conclusive evidence for the birth date, but all I have at the moment.

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

(7)  New Jersey Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Records, Trenton. NJSA microfilm roll 802 (Marriage Certificates 1946: Spittler - Tango, John), organized alphabetically by groom's surname. New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

(8)  Elizabeth Directory 1949 (Newark, New Jersey: The Price & Lee Co., 1931), p. 1018, Sullivan, James M (Hazel) r 444 Spring; digital image, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 5 January 2017). Margaret F Sullivan, widow of James J is listed at the same address.

(9) Hazel Dixon Sullivan obituary, Elizabeth Daily Journal, Elizabeth, New Jersey, 21 May 1957, laminated clippings. Obituary and funeral arrangements.

Hazel (Dixon) Sullivan : Death Certificate

One of my ongoing mysteries has involved my Grandfather's youngest sibling, Hazel. In the post "Hazel Dixon, Where Did You Go?" I summarized what I knew about Hazel and what clues I had to follow. Two months and a little luck has made a world of difference.

I recently received a copy of Hazel's death certificate, Number 27268, from the New Jersey Department of Health.(1) This is the bounty of information I gleaned from that document:

• Hazel died on 21 May 1957 at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
• At the time of her death she lived at 534 South Broad Street, Elizabeth.
• Her married name was Sullivan. [This has been confirmed by my Moore cousins]
• Her parents were William Dixon and Mary Klein.
• She was widowed at the time of her death.
• She was unemployed at the time of her death.
• She never served in the armed forces.
• Hazel was buried on 23 May 1957 at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Newark, New Jersey.
• On the document I received, the cause of death was redacted as per N.J.A.C. 8:2A-2.1. There was no autopsy.

Conflicting information

There is some information on the document that disagrees with other documents that I have. Hazel's birth certificate records 16 January 1909 as her birth date, making her 48 when she died. The death certificate claims that she was born on 19 February 1910.

The birth record was certainly made closer to the time of Hazel's birth, so one would expect it to have more accuracy. However, it was filled out by Therese M. Leyerer, Midwife. As we've seen in other birth documents, she wasn't always entirely accurate.

The informant on the death certificate was Mrs. Clara Greaves, who was in fact Clara Viola (Dixon O'Hare) Greaves, Hazel's older sister.(2) Clara was seventeen years older than her sister. It's possible that her memory was faulty, or that she was distraught at her younger sister's death.

I'm not going to worry too much about the conflicting birth dates right now. I will review the census documents to see if there's is any data there that leans one way or the other. Hopefully I will find a marriage record for Clara that will clear things up a bit.

Information still needed

• Marriage record
• Date of her husband's death
• City directory data 
• Marriage record for Clara (Dixon) O'Hare to Mr. Greaves

Citations

(1) Hazel Sullivan, death certificate 27268 (21 May 1957), State Department of Health of New Jersey, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, Trenton, New Jersey.

(2) Facebook correspondence with cousins who descend from another Dixon sibling confirm that Clara "Toots" Dixon did marry twice. Once to Jack O'Hare, and then to a man with the surname Greaves.

Update : Minnie, Clara, and Hazel Dixon

Through the magic of the Internet I've been contacted by some cousins I've never met, and they have begun knocking down some brick walls. Thank you to my Moore cousins!

Minerva "Minnie" (Dixon) Moore

These cousins, grandchildren of my grandfathers eldest sister, Minnie, have helped fill in a lot of blanks. I now know that Minnie's name really was Minerva. She married William Moore and they had two sons, Ralph "Bucky" Moore and Milton "Derby" Moore. And here they are:

Ralph "Bucky" Moore

Milton "Derby" Moore

This solves a photo mystery for me. The photo of Derby had a caption written on the back by my grandfather so I knew his name. But I did not know the connection to my grandfather. Now I know that they were first cousins.

The second mystery is found in a photo that I will feature in an upcoming post. The photo featured two couples, both unidentified. But thanks to two sets of new-found cousins I have now identified both couples and know their connection to the family.

 

Clara Viola "Toots" (Dixon) O'Hare Greaves 

Clara Viola was called "Toots" and she once had a thrift shop in Elizabeth. My cousins also confirmed something that I had suspected - Clara had been married twice. I've written before about her marriage to John O'Hare. Her second husband had the surname Greaves. More clues to research!

Hazel Dorothy (Dixon) Sullivan

My cousins tell me that Hazel, the youngest of the siblings, was married to a man with the surname of Sullivan. As far as anyone can remember, she had no children.

Hooray for Cousins!

All of this information should help my research quite a bit. I'm hoping that my cousins will have some memories of my grandfather's siblings, and of growing up in Elizabeth. I'd really like to know more!

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.

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.