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.

Minnie Dixon and Milton Moore : Marriage Certificate

On Sunday, 30 September 1905, Minnie Elizabeth Dixon married Milton George Moore. (1)

Milton was 22 years old, and a resident of West New Brighton, Staten Island, New York. His parents were Sarah (Fullegar) and William Moore. (1) Milton was the oldest of four children. His siblings were Edith (b abt 1887), Charles (b abt 1893), and Percival "Percy" (b abt 1894). (2) At the time of his marriage to Minnie he indicated that his occupation was "chauffer." (1)

Minnie, also 22 years old, had been born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey. (1, 3) She was the oldest  child of Mary E. (Klein) and William A. Dixon. At the time of the wedding Minnie had six living siblings (two others had died as children), and in four more years her youngest sister, Hazel, would be born. (4) Minnie was living at 54 Marshall Street, Elizabeth, NJ at the time of her marriage. I assume this was the family home. (1)

The wedding ceremony was performed by the Rev. Henry Hale Sleeper, the Pastor of Grace Episcopal Church in Elizabeth. (1, 5) The witnesses were Anna Sleeper, the Reverend's wife, and  Frank Carberry, who's connection is unknown at this time. (1)

Certificate and Transcription

Marriage Certificate for Minnie Dixon and Milton Moore, 30 September 1905. (1)
New Jersey State Archives, NJ Vital Records.

State of New Jersey. Bureau of Vital Statistics. 399
Certificate and Record of Marriage.

Full Name of Husband: Milton George Moore
Maiden Name of Wife: Minnie Elizabeth Dixon
Place of Marriage: Elizabeth
Date of Marriage: September 30 1905
Groom's:
Residence: 137 Richmond Terrace. West New Brighton, Staten Island
Age: 22. Number of Marriage: One
Color: White
Occupation: Chauffeur
Birthplace: U.S.
Father's Name: William [R? or A?] Moore
Mother's Maiden Name: Sarah Fullegar

Bride's:
Residence: 54 Marshall St. Elizabeth, NJ
Age; 22. Number of Marriage: One
Color: white
Name, if a Widow: ---
Birthplace: U.S.
Father's Name: William A. Dixon
Mother's Maiden Name: Mary Elizabeth Klein

Witnesses: Frank H. Carberry, Anna E. Sleeper
Signature of person officiating and P.O. address: Henry Hale Sleeper, Elizabeth


Sources

(1) Milton George Moore and Minnie Elizabeth Dixon marriage certificate, (30 September 1905), New Jersey Vital Records, May 1, 1848 to December 31, 1915: microfilm roll 201 (Marriage Certificates 1905: Matt - Mule), organized alphabetically by surname of groom; New Jersey State Archive, Trenton, New Jersey.

(2) 1910 Federal, Richmond Borough, New York, pop. sch.; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed ); NARA microfilm publication T624_1072; Page: 10A.

(3) Unnamed [Blank] Dixon, birth certificate D40 (5 April 1884), New Jersey New Jersey State Archives, Trenton. Believed to be Minnie, as the date agrees with other documents.

(4) Compilation of information from a variety of sources too numerous to list here. Please see the page on this blog "Dixon Family Tree" for a list of names of the children. 

(5) Elizabeth Directory 1905 (Newark, New Jersey: The Price & Lee Company, 1905), page 463, Sleeper, Henry Hale, Rev.; digital image, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 20 November 2016), image 232 of 334. "Sleeper, Henry Hale Rev., pastor Grace Episcopal Church, h 225 E Jersey."

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.

Looking for the Payne Family

Thomas Payne.
Second husband of Mary E. (Klein)(Dixon)
Cropped from original photo.
Privately held by E. Ackermann, 2016.

Ah, Thomas Payne. My step-great-grandfather is present in so much of my research, and yet he and his family remain strangely elusive. I've been spending some time focusing on the Payne family in the hopes of tracking down some descendants since I think I might have some photos that could be of the Payne clan.

If you happen to be a descendant or relative of Thomas Payne, please, please, please, get in touch!

Boarder, Husband, Step-Father

I can recall my grandfather, Wallace B. Dixon, talking about his step-brothers, though I don't recall that he ever mentioned them by name. Some of his stories involved the making of "bathtub gin," but I'm a little fuzzy on those details. And I remember my mother telling me about the house her grandmother [Mary Elizabeth (Klein) (Dixon) Payne] and Mr. Payne lived in, and how grand a place it was. Other than that, my personal knowledge is scanty.

At least I know what Thomas Payne looked like. How lucky I am to have a great portrait of he and my great-grandmother. The photo above is cropped from that image.

The story of Thomas Payne and the Dixon family is, at least partially, told through U.S. Census records.

1900 (1) - Thomas Payne, single, age 25 [b. March 1875 in this record] is living with the family of William A. and Mary E. (Klein) Dixon and their five children at 10 Fifth Street, Elizabeth, NJ. Thomas is working as an oyster dredger. At this time William A. Dixon has given up oystering as a profession and is working in a carpenter shop. However, his fifteen-year-old son, Willie, is working as an oyster culler. I can't be positive, but it seems likely that it was oysters that brought the Dixons and Thomas Payne together.

1910 - The Dixon family is missing from the U.S. Census for Elizabeth, NJ. At least I haven't been able to locate them!

1920 (2) - Thomas Payne is once again a boarder, this time in a household headed by Mary E. "Dickson" [Dixon] at 159 West Grand Street, Elizabeth. Mary lists herself as a boarding mistress working at home and on her own account. She is also listed as a widow. William A. Dixon is not in the household. [He doesn't die until 1927!] Thomas's age is listed as 39, which would be impossible if he was 25 in the 1900 census. The census taker records him as married, working as a dock builder for a contracting business. Also boarding in the household is Thomas Payne, age 9. I presume this is "our" Thomas Payne's son. Also living in the household are Mary's children, Thomas, Wallace [my grandfather], and Hazel, as well as two male and one female boarders. It must have been a big house!

1930 (3) - Thomas Payne is now head of the household at 125 West Grand Street. Mary E. is his wife. His age is given as 59, which makes him 20 years older than he was in 1920.  Mary's age is 62. I won't get into her numerous age issues here. Living in the household is Mary's youngest daughter, Hazel, who is listed with the surname Payne. Thomas's brother, John, is also there, as well as Mary's 93 year old father, John Klein. A very multi-generational household!

My great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth (Klein) (Dixon) Payne dies on 3 October 1938 (4), and I loose track of Thomas after that. He's not in the 1940 U.S. Census for Elizabeth, NJ, so I assume he either died or moved elsewhere.

Questions, questions, and more questions!

• When did Thomas go off and get married the first time? Who was his wife, and did they have any other children? My grandfather spoke of stepbrothers, plural, so Thomas must have had more than one son.
• When did William A. Dixon leave the picture and why?
• Where did Thomas Payne go after my grandmother died?
• What became of Thomas Payne's 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 image, downloaded 5 march 2015, 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) "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.  

(3) "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. 

(4) 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.

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.

Clara Viola Dixon : Birth Registration

The Midwife Strikes Again!

We've seen the creative writing style of Therese M. Leyerer before. She is the midwife who writes with an Austrian accent, and who declared that my great-grandfather was a fish killer: a "Carp Ender." She appeared in that post on the birth registration for Hazel Dixon, the youngest child of William A. and Mary E. (Klein) Dixon. In this entry we see her delivering what she claims to be the couple's fifth child. *

Birth register entry for Clara Viola "Toots" Dixon, 1 November 1892. New Jersey State Archives: Trenton, N.J.

The Birth Record (1)

1 Full Name of Child (if any): [blank].  Color: [blank]
2. Date of Birth: November 1 1892.  Sex: Girl
3. Place of Birth: No. 63 Little Schmid Street
4. Name of Father: Willie Dixon
5. Maiden Name of Mother: Luisa Dixon
6. Country of Father's Birth: Elisabethport.   Age: 30.  Occupation: Oystermann
7. Country of Mother's Birth: Oho [Ohio].  Age: 26
8. Number of Children in all by this Marriage: 5.  How many living: 4
9. Name and P.O. address of Medical Attendant, in own handwriting, with date:
      T M Leyerer Midwife [no address or date given]

Comments

I am reasonably sure that this is the birth register entry for Clara Viola Dixon.

I have two other sources that support at least the month and year of birth. The 1900 U.S. Census records Viola Dixon's birth as November 1892. (2) In addition her marriage record from 1912 gives her age as 20 years, which infers a birth year of 1892.

Midwife Leyerer claims in this birth register that the unnamed child's parents were Willie Dixon and Luisa Dixon. I believe she was in error. As the registration forms were generally not filled out at the time of the birth errors are possible. We have seen this on other documents authored by this midwife. It is possible that she kept sketchy records and relied on memory to fill out the rest. She may have delivered so many babies that it was easy to loose track.

The 1900 census and her marriage record also list Clara Viola's parents as William A. and Mary E. Dixon, or William Dixon and Mary Kline [Klein]. Viola Dixon appears on the 1895 (4) and 1905 (5) NJ State Census with this couple as her parents. The parent's birthplace, age, and occupation also agree or come very close to the same items appearing in other sources related to William and Mary E. (Klein) Dixon as individuals and as a married couple.

As to "Little Schmid" Street, I have found William Dixon, laborer, at 63 Little Smith Street in the Elizabeth City Directory for 1895-96. (6) While the occupation doesn't match the birth record, it is possible that William had quit oystering for other work.



Notes:
* At the time of Clara Viola's birth, my records indicate that William and Mary had four children: Minerva "Minnie" b. 1884; William b. 1885; Harry, b. 1887; followed by Clara Viola in 1892. Given the five year gap between Harry and Clara Viola, it is possible that another child was born and died young. Indeed, Harry would die in 1894 at the age of six. I only found him by chance in a birth index.


Sources

(1) [Clara Viola Dixon], birth certificate D13 (1 November 1892), Elizabeth New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

(2) 1900 Federal Census, Union County, New Jersey, population schedule, Elizabeth Ward 5, Union, New Jersey; Roll: 996; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 0102; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 5 March 2015 ); FHL microfilm: 1240996.

(3) New Jersey, Certificate and Record of Marriage, 478, O'Hare and Dixon, 21 November 1912; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

(4) Ancestry.com. New Jersey, State Census, 1895 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Family number 220, page 38, line 11. Original data: New Jersey Department of State. 1895 State Census of New Jersey. Trenton, NJ, USA: New Jersey State Archives. 54 reels. Roll V227_105.

(5) "New Jersey State Census, 1905," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMHK-VXD : accessed 15 February 2016), William A Dixon, , Union, New Jersey, United States; citing p. 6, line 44, Department of State, Trenton; FHL microfilm 1,688,625.

(6) Cook & Hall's Elizabeth City Directory for 1895-96 (Elizabeth, N. J.: Cook & Halln.d.), 127, Dixon William, laborer, h 63 Little Smith; digital image, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 3 July 2016).

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.

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.

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.

William A. Dixon : From Oysterman to Carpenter

A Change of Careers 

Way back at the beginning of this blog I wrote about a birth certificate that I had for my grandfather, Wallace B. Dixon. In that post, after recording the facts on the document, I was left with two questions.

One was about the family story that claimed that my grandfather changed his name. Sending off to the NJ State Archives for his original birth record answered that question, and I wrote all about it in the post "Wallace B. Dixon : Name Changer."

The second question centered around his father's occupation as listed on the birth document. I knew from previous research that many of the Dixon men worked as oystermen. The birth document gave William A. Dixon's occupation as "carpenter." I wondered if he had ever worked as an oysterman, and if so, when he made a change of careers.

Comparing the documents that I have found for William A. Dixon thus far showed that he did work as an oysterman. The earliest record is the 1880 United States Census, which shows that William, aged 17, worked at "oystering." (1)

1880 US Census entry for William A. Dixon. Ancestry.com. Family History Film 1254800.

Both his marriage record (2) and an entry in the Elizabeth City Directory for 1883 (3) also give his occupation as "Oysterman." So do the birth records for his son William J. Dixon (1885) and an unnamed son, probably George Thomas Dixon (1897).(4, 5)

His switch of careers to "Carpenter" first appears in the 1900 U.S. Census.(6)

This is interesting, because by 1900 the oyster industry in the waters surrounding New Jersey and New York had begun a serious decline due to over-harvesting of the oysters and increase in pollutants and sewage dumped into the coastal waters. Increasing concerns about food quality and sanitation also played a part in the decline of the oyster as a major food product of the area, and in the country at large. (7)

It is possible that William foresaw the decline of the oyster industry. It is also possible that with the responsibility to provide for a growing family (five children were in the household by 1900) he realized that more stable year-round employment was needed. Oyster harvesting was, by law, limited to certain months of the year. William's Uncle, Asa Dixon, had been shot and killed in 1866 while poaching oysters out of season.

So, at some time between 1897 and 1900 William gave up harvesting oysters and took up carpentry. We also see the same occupation on the birth records for his two youngest children, Wallace Bernard Dixon, b. 1905 (8) and Hazel Dorothy Dixon, b. 1909.(9) [On the latter he is a Carp Ender. You can read more about that here.]

William Dixon, death certificate No. 611 (23 May 1927), Elizabeth, NJ.
NJ State Archives.

William continues working as a carpenter until the time of his death in 1927. (10)






Sources

[1] 1880 U.S. Census, Union County,New Jersey, population schedule, Elizabeth, enumeration district (ED) 164, 23-24, dwelling 184; family 226, William Dixon; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 31 July 2015); Roll 800; Family History Film: 1254800; Page 40D; Enumberation District: 164; Image: 0084.

[2] State of New Jersey Marriage Return, Marriage Return, William A. Dixon Mary Elizabeth Clyne, 22 August 1883; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

[3] "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995", database, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 April 2016), page 87, William A. Dixon; citing "Cook & Hall's Elizabeth City Directory for 1883-84 (Elizabeth, N.J.: Elizabeth Herald Steam Printing House, 1883)," oysterman; boards at 107 Elizabeth Ave.

[4] William J. Dixon, birth certificate (12 November 1884), New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersey.

[5]  [Unnamed Male Child] entry, Elizabeth, New Jersey Births: D40, New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersey.

[6] 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.

[7] For information on the history of the oyster industry in and around New York City and New Jersey see the following web sites: 

• New York / New Jersey Baykeeper : About the Oyster
• Feeding New York : A Historical Geography of Food in New York City. Chapter 9: Feeding a Growing City: Changes in New York food production and consumption, 1860 to 1940. By Ann Paul, Daniel Salgado, Michael Sanduski, Krishan Sharma, Joe Tesoro, Sean Winker. 
• History on the Half Shell: The Story of New York City and Its Oysters. Carmen Nigro, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, New York Public Library. 2 June 2011.
• "The Oyster Farmer." edibleJersey: Celebrating Local Foods of the Garden State, Season by Season. Diana Cercone. High Summer 2014.
• Clyde L. MacKenzie, Jr. History of Oystering in theUnited States and Canada, Featuringthe Eight Greatest Oyster Estuaries. PDF Document. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

[8]  Theodore Wallace Dixon, birth certificate 235 (2 March 1905), Elizabeth, Union County New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersey.

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

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

Clara Viola Dixon Marries John J. O'Hare

Wedding Bells : November 21, 1912

St. Patrick Catholic Church, Elizabeth, NJ
Collection of E. Ackermann, Karvoius Family Photos

One of the documents that I received recently from the New Jersey State Archives was a "Certificate and Record of Marriage" for John J. O'Hare and my great-aunt, Clara Viola Dixon. Just to put her in context on the family tree, she is the daughter of William A. Dixon and Mary Elizabeth Klein, and the sister of Wallace B. Dixon, my grandfather.

This document confirms that Clara V. was the daughter of William Dixon and Mary Klein. The 1900 US Census gives November of 1892 as Clara's birth date, and this marriage record aligns with that information.

Although the document that I received does not indicate specifically where they were married, an index record on FamilySearch.org gives St. Patrick Catholic Church as the "Event Place." 

Here's the transcription:

State of New Jersey. Bureau of Vital Statistics.
Certificate and Record of Marriage. No. 478

Full name of husband : John J. O'Hare
Maiden name of wife: Clara V. Dixon
Place of Marriage: Elizabeth, Union Co., N.J.
Date of marriage: November 21st 1912

Groom's
Residence: 312 Livingston St. Elizabeth, N.J.
Age: 24 yrs
Color: White
Single
Number of marriage: 1
Occupation: Driver
Birthplace: Elizabeth, N.J.
Father's name: John
Mother's maiden name: Julia Fitzgerald

Bride's
Residence: 82 Second St. Elizabeth, N.J.
 Age: 20 yrs
Color: White
Single
Number of Marriage: 1
Birthplace: Elizabeth, N.J.
Father's name: William
Mother's maiden name: Mary Kline

Witnesses: Joseph Donovan, Grace Andrews
Signature of person or officer of society officiating and P.O. address: J. P. O'Malley, 211 C[????] St.

Sources

New Jersey, Certificate and Record of Marriage, 478, John J. O'Hare and Clara V. Dixon, 21 November 1912; New Jersey State Archives, Trenton. 

"New Jersey Marriages, 1678-1985," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZ5C-5D4 : accessed 16 April 2016), John J. O'Hare and Clara V. Dixon, 21 Nov 1912; citing 1,398,789

1900 Federal Census, Union County, New Jersey, population schedule; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : downloaded 5 March 2015 ); record for Viola Dixon; FHL microfilm: 1240996.

Gettin' Hitched : William A. Dixon and Mary Elizabeth Klein

It's always a happy day when I get an envelope from the New Jersey State Archives in the mail. This week brought me a flurry of papers, but today I want to focus on just one.

From NJ State Archives, Trenton.
Marriage Return for Dixon & Clyne.

This is a Marriage Return for my great-grandparents, William A. Dixon and Mary Elizabeth Klein. At first glance there aren't any real surprises. William's name, his parents' names and places of birth, and his occupation all fit right in with what information I have about him so far.

Aside from the misspelling of Mary Elizabeth's surname, Clyne rather than Klein, and her mother's name, Halley instead of Hawley her information rings true as well.

Most of the significant data is right in line with what I have seen in other documents. I have every confidence that these are my great-grandparents, documented for the first time as a family. [I'm working on a proof argument right now, and will post as soon as I can make it comprehensible.]

The Transcription

[I have not used all caps for those bits of text that appear in the original in that way. I find I find all caps "shouty" and difficult to read.]

State of New Jersey
Marriage Return
See Penalty for Non-Report.

1. Full Name of Husband ... William A. Dixon     (if Col. so state.) [blank]
Place of Residence... 107 Elizabeth Ave  Elizabeth N.J.
2. Age, nearest birthday... 22     Number of his Marriage...First
3. Occupation...Oysterman     Country of Birth...America
4. Name of Father...John Dixon     Country of Birth...[ditto]
5. Maiden name of Mother...Isabella Porter     Country of Birth... Ireland

1. Full Maiden Name of Wife...Mary Elizabeth Clyne    Country of Birth...America
 (if Col. so state.) [blank]
2. Place of Residence... 47 Third Ave Elizabeth N.J.
3. Age, nearest birthday...17  {If in any trade or business, so state.} [blank, space crossed through]
4. Last name, if a Widow... [blank, space crossed through]   Number of Bride's Marriage...First
5. Name of Father... John George Clyne     Country of Birth... Germany
6. Maiden name of Mother... Rachel Halley     Country of Birth... America

1. Date (in full)... August 22nd 1883     Place... 29 Third Street...Elizabeth N.J.
2 In presence of (Add P.O. Address) { Mrs. Heywood, 29 Third Street...Elizabeth N.J.
                                                            { Miss Odner 302 W 32nd Street...New York
3. Signature of Minister, (what Church Pasor of) or person officiating, }
                                              Thos Heywood...Pastor...1st Congl. Church
                                               Elizabeth N.J.

Some Questions

1. 1st Congregational Church? Huh? Were either of them members?
2. Who is Miss Odner? I would have expected some of the couple's siblings to appear as witnesses.
3. Since the place of the marriage was the same address as Mrs. Heywood's P.O. address, did they get married in the Pastor's house rather than the church?
4. William's address matches up with what I found in the 1883 City Directory. Mary E.'s address makes no sense. Looking at contemporary maps, she would have been living very near the ropeworks and the river. There don't appear to be any residences there. In fact, Third Avenue doesn't appear in any of the City Directory street guides for any of the years around 1883. Now Third STREET, on the other hand, puts her on the same street as the Congregational Church, which makes slightly more sense. This requires some investigation.

The Hawley Connection

Recently I shared the results of my Ancestry.com DNA test. It has been very interesting to look at the family trees and the lists of surnames that my cousins have researched. Honestly, I'm not seeing a lot of familiar surnames. This is, I'm sure, because I have only just scratched the genealogical surface of my own family tree. Hopefully, as I collect more evidence and push back to older generations some of the connections will start to make more sense.

One family line that seems both prolific and more inclined to participate in DNA testing and tracking down family connections is the Hawley family. Any time I have a surname in common with one of the people on my match list it's almost sure to be through the Hawley line connecting with my 2x-great-grandmother, Rachel Hawley.

Rachel Hawley m. John George Klein (my great-great-grandparents)

Mary Elizabeth Klein m. William A. Dixon (my great-grandparents)

Wallace B. Dixon m. Sophie Karvoius (my grandparents)

While I'm still focusing my research efforts on my grandfather's generation, I do have some information about Rachel and John Klein to share. Since I have yet to acquire birth records for John and Rachel, I offer the following regarding their birth information:

John George Klein
b. 1834; Wustenberg, Germany (1870 census)
b. 1838; Prussia (1880 census)
b. July 1837; Germany (1900 census)
b. 1838; Germany (1910 census)
b. 1837; Germany (Wustenberg)  (1920 census)
b. 1837; Germany (1930 census)

Rachel Hawley
b. 1845; Ohio (1870 census)
b. 1844; Ohio (1880 census)
b. Sep 1841; Ohio (1900 census)
b. 1841; Ohio (1910 census)
b. 1839; Ohio (1920 census)

It seems likely that John George Klein was born in Wustenberg, Germany in July of 1937, and Rachel Klein was born in September of 1841 in Ohio. The ages in the census seem to hover around those dates, though the gap in their ages certainly decreases [according to census records] as they get older]. The 1870 census is certainly the least consistent date.

 

1865 - Ohio

John G. Klein and Rachel Holley [Hawley] were married on 30 November, 1865 in Butler County, Ohio. (1)

30 November 1865. John George Klein married Rachel Hawley in Butler County, Ohio.

1870 - Indiana

Probable birth record for Mary Elizabeth Klein, 3 November 1867, Ohio.

In the 1870 Federal Census (2) they were living in Union Township, Union County, Indiana (Post Office: College Corner, Butler Co., Ohio). John, listed as 36 years old was working as a farm laborer. The census indicates that he was a citizen of the United States. Rachel, age 25, was keeping house and raising their children. Five years after their marriage they had three daughters: Mary E. (3), 4 years old; Katy, 3 years old; and Anna [possibly Ida], 1 year old. All of the children were born in Ohio.

Two other children, that I know of, were born between the 1870 and 1880 censuses; Christina, was born on 9 July 1876 (4), and Clara Nancy B. was born on 9 October 1877 (5). Both girls were born in Milford Township, Butler County, Ohio. It is also possible that another daughter, Gertrude, was born in 1878. I have seen her recorded on a family group sheet that was done by a relative in the 1980's, but no sources were cited, so I have no actual proof of this. She would have been two years old in 1880, but does not appear in the household enumeration for that census.

 

1880 - New Jersey

In 1880 the Klein family was living in Elizabeth, Union County, New Jersey. (6) Their residence was at 62 Elizabeth Avenue. John's age is now listed as 42, and Rachel's age is given as 36. John is still listed as a laborer, but he had been unemployed for four months in the census year. The date of the census is 1 June 1880. The children in the household were Mary E., 13; Charlotte [possibly the Katy of the previous census?], 12; Rose [possibly the "Anna" from 1870 census?], 11; William, 9; Clara, 3; and Julia, 1. Christina, born in 1876, does not appear on this census.

I believe that Julia is actually Effa Julietta, born 30 March 1879 in Milford, Butler County, Ohio. (7) This means that the family moved from Ohio to New Jersey some time between the end of March 1879 and 1 June 1880, the date the census taker recorded their household information.

Here is a remarkable thing. Rachel had Malaria when this census was taken. She also had six children in the house ranging in age from 13 to 1 year old. I cannot imagine how she coped. At that time the cause of Malaria was unknown, and there was no real cure.

The same family group sheet that lists Gertrude (b. 1878) as one of the children also lists a son, Franke, born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on 25 Jun 1884. I'm still searching for him as well.

1900 - New Jersey, with grandchildren

The next Federal Census that the family appears in is the 1900 Census. (8) They are living at 132 Livingston Street, Elizabeth, NJ.  John is still the head of the household, his age listed as 62, born in July 1837. He is employed as a laborer at "Singers" - the Singer Manufacturing Company. Rachel's age is 58. Her birth month and year are September 1841. She is getting closer in age to John! In 1870 there was a 9 year age difference, in 1880 it was 6 years, and in 1900 we're down to 4 years difference. Confusing? You bet! The record also indicates that she is the mother of 13 children, 7 who are living at the time.

Rounding out the household in 1900 we find their son, William J., age 27, born in November of 1872. He had been married for 10 years, but his wife is not included in the household. It seems likely that she passed away, but more research is needed there. William is working as an oysterman, which is a traditional occupation for the men in the Dixon family. His oldest sister, Mary Elizabeth, had married into the Dixon family by this time and her husband was employed as an oysterman.

The children in the household in 1900 are John and Rachel's grandchildren, William's offspring. They are William J., Jr., age 7, born August 1892; Catherine, age 4, born June 1895; and Sarah, age 3, born in April 1897. All of the children were born in New Jersey.

1910 -  New Jersey, with granddaughter

In 1910 the family is living at 21 Butler St., Elizabeth, NJ.  John, age 72, is working as a janitor in an office. This census shows that he came to the United States from Germany in 1856, and that he is not a veteran of the Civil War. Rachel, now 69 years old [maintaining the four year age gap] claims that she is the mother of eight children, five of whom are living. This conflicts with the 13 children/7 living that was indicated in the previous census. The only other person in the household is a granddaughter, "Mamie," age 13. Mamie is attending school. (9)

1920 - New Jersey, living with their son

In 1920 John & Rachel Klein are living in the household of their widowed son, William, at 118 Franklin Street, Elizabeth, NJ. Also in the household is William's son, Fred, age 12. William is working as a dock builder. (10) [Side note: Mary E. Klein Dixon's second husband, Thomas Payne, was also a dock builder.]

At this time John Klein, age 83, is no longer working. Rachel is really catching up in age now. Just a two year gap as she lists her age as 81. Interestingly, the record indicates that John came to the United States in 1860, but he was naturalized in 1808. Time travel. That explains it!

1930 - New Jersey, John widowed, living with his oldest daughter

Mary Elizabeth (Klein Dixon) Payne,
daughter of John G. and Rachel (Hawley) Klein.
Taken after her 1927 marriage to Thomas Payne.

The last census that includes information on my 2x great-grandparents is 1930. (11) Rachel (Hawley) Klein has passed away. I haven't yet discovered her date of death. John George Klein, age 93, is living with my great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth (Klein Dixon) Payne, and her second husband, Thomas Payne, in their home at 125 West Grand Street, Elizabeth, NJ

Also in the household is Hazel Dixon, daughter of Mary E. Klein and William A. Dixon, and John Payne, Thomas Payne's brother.

John Klein's year of immigration is again given as 1860.

Burial Information 

John and Rachel (Hawley) Klein are buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Hillside, New Jersey. (12)

Further research:

• Immigration and naturalization documents for John George Klein.
• Birth records for Rachel Hawley and John George Klein.
• Birth records for Katy [or Charlotte], Anna,  Rose, William, Julia
• Death record for Christina, b. 1876, d. between 1876 - 1900
• Identify other children who died before 1900.
• Death records for Rachel Hawley and John George Klein.

Sources

(1) John G. Klein and Rachel Holley, marriage, (30 November 1865), Record of Marriages, Vol. 4: 77 [No. 961]; Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, Hamilton, Ohio.

(2) Ancestry.com, 1870 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009), Ancestry.com, Year: 1870; Census Place: Union, Union, Indiana; Roll: M593_363; Page: 74B; Image: 458; Family History Library Film: 545862. Record for John G Kline.

(3) "Unknown"entry, Butler County Record of Births, Vol. 1: page 18, number 391, Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, Hamilton, Ohio.  

(4) Christina Klein entry, Butler County Record of Births, Vol. 1: page 376, number 10,226, Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, Hamilton, Ohio.

(5) Clara Nancy B. entry, Butler County Record of Births, Vo. 1: Page 402, Number 10,779, Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, Hamilton, Ohio. 

(6) Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1880 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010), Ancestry.com, Year: 1880; Census Place: Elizabeth, Union, New Jersey; Roll: 800; Family History Film: 1254800; Page: 2C; Enumeration District: 163; Image: 0007. 

(7) Effa Julietta Klein entry, Butler County Record of Births, Vol.1: Page 432, Number 12330, Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division, Hamilton, Ohio.

 (8) Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004), Ancestry.com, Year: 1900; Census Place: Elizabeth Ward 2, Union, New Jersey; Roll: 995; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0096; FHL microfilm: 1240995. Record for John Klein.

(9) Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006), Ancestry.com, Year: 1910; Census Place: Elizabeth Ward 4, Union, New Jersey; Roll: T624_909; Page: 18B; Enumeration District: 0062; FHL microfilm: 1374922. Record for Rachael Klein.

(10) Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010), Ancestry.com, Year: 1920; Census Place: Elizabeth City Ward 4, Union, New Jersey; Roll: T625_1069; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 72; Image: 782. Record for John G Klein.

(11) Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002), Ancestry.com, Year: 1930; Census Place: Elizabeth, Union, New Jersey; Roll: 1386; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0061; Image: 850.0; FHL microfilm: 2341121. Record for John Klein.

(12) The Evergreen Cemetery (Hillside, New Jersey), map of cemetery, 22 July 1975, burial location for John George and Rachel Klein.