Harry Dixon

The missing children of William A. and Mary E. (Klein) Dixon

From the 1909 Birth Certificate of Hazel Dixon

According to the 1900 United States Census (1)  my great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth (Klein) Dixon had given birth to seven children, with five surviving. By 1909, when her last child, Hazel, was born the birth certificate (2) indicates that she had given birth to ten children, with seven surviving.

This leaves three children unaccounted for.

A recent visit to the FamilySearch web site brought up a birth record for Harry Dixon, born 29 December 1887 in Union County, New Jersey. His parents are listed as "Wm. Dixon" and "Eliz. Kline." (3)

Harry Dixon is not a name that I have come across before.

The 1890 U.S. Census, which was destroyed, would have been the next likely place to find him. He is absent from the 1895 New Jersey State Census. That census lists Minnie, William C., Clara Viola, and John Frank as the children in the family.

So Harry Dixon died sometime between his birth on 29 December 1887 and the date the 1895 NJ State Census was taken.

He is not listed in a search of NJ death records through the New Jersey State Archives web search. (But I do come up with a Walter Dixon, who died on 11 September 1891 at just 7 hours old. He might belong to another Dixon family. A subject of another search.)

 It's probable that Harry is one of the two Dixon children who died prior to 1900.

At some point between 1900 and 1909 another child was born and died, if the information on Hazel Dixon's birth certificate is correct.


To-Do List

• Find death record for Harry Dixon
• Order death record for Walter Dixon to see if he is from this family
• Keep looking for the other missing 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 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.

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

3. "New Jersey Births and Christenings, 1660-1980," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZCZ-MJD : accessed 14 February 2016), Harry Dixon, 29 Dec 1887; citing Union County, New Jersey, reference ; FHL microfilm 494,209.

Other People's Ancestors : Two Kids and a Dog

This one was in my big box of family photos. They are most likely friends of the family rather than relatives.

Two adorable kids and their awesome dog.
I like the looks of all three of them. Sure wish I knew who they were.

Written in ink on the back of the photo.

And that's all I know. Anyone recognize them?

The Mystery of the Baby in the Buggy

Unidentified baby, in  a buggy.
Presence of rubber baby buggy bumpers unclear.

Welcome to another episode of Mystery Photo Monday.
I have absolutely no idea who the mystery baby is.
Do you?

Sophie (Karvoius) Dixon & Her Children in 1928

The good thing about scanning photos is that each image gets your undivided attention for at least a little while. Instead of being just a pile of pictures, each picture becomes a piece of a puzzle. Looking closely at each image and logging a description in my photo log can give me missing insights and connections in the larger family story.

My big discovery this week was a set of photos taken on the same day, and labeled with the year. They feature my great-grandmother, grandmother, her sister, and some friends. Better still, my Mom and her brother are there too. These may be the youngest I've ever seen them! This set of photos, with dates on them, help me connect the dots to other images that I have.

The first photo is of my great-grandmother,
Alice Karvoius. She was 45 years old in 1928.

Alice (Rimkus) Karvoius, Sophie (Karvoius) Dixon,
an unidentified friend, and Sophie's sister,
Estelle Karvoius, holding a baby.
In 1928, Sophie was 22 and Estelle was 19 years old.

 

Unidentified friend, left,
Sophie Dixon, on the right,
holding Mary Elizabeth Dixon,
Wallace A. Dixon in front.

This third photo is the one that gives me another clue to help me identify the people in other photos.

That's my grandmother standing on the right. The photo is dated 1928. My uncle, Wallace A. Dixon was born in July of 1926, and my mother was born in October of 1927. I believe that the child my grandmother is holding is my Mom, Mary Elizabeth Dixon, and the toddler standing in front of her is my Uncle Wally. Here are some close-ups from the photo.

Mary Elizabeth Dixon, born 1927,
with her mother, Sophie (Karvoius) Dixon

Wallace Andrew Dixon, born 1926.
Son of Wallace B. and Sophie Dixon.

You've seen my Uncle Wally in a previous post, The Mystery of the Boy With the Boutonierre. He's the toddler standing in front of the group.

Little Wally Dixon,
as seen here.

I was only guessing that it was him, based on family resemblance. But this photo gives me more evidence that it is him. It also helps with an estimated date for that photo.
 
There are only a few mysteries related to these photos. Who are the unidentified women, and where in Elizabeth Port was the picture taken? If you have any clues for me, please get in touch!

The Mystery of the the Boy with the Boutonierre

Mystery Photo Monday : More kids, and familiar faces.

The Boy with the Boutonierre.
Does anyone recognize this boy?

More children this week! Does anyone recognize this boy? It looks like he just made his First Holy Communion. Here's another photo from the party, with more mystery kids.

More Mystery Ancestors.
Doesn't that toddler look like Wallace A. Dixon?

There's the Boy with the Boutonierre, in the back. That toddler in the front sure looks like my grandfather, Wallace B. Dixon. But given that this photo looks more like a scene from the 1920's, it could be his son, Wallace Andrew Dixon. That is an extremely wild guess. If any of my cousins would like to weigh in here I'd appreciate it!

And more girls! But wait! That girl in the back there. She looks familiar. I think we saw her sitting on a stoop with some kids back in another Mystery Photo Monday post. Same girl, just a little older in this week's installment? What do you think?

Mystery girl from this post.

Mystery girl from previous post.

The Mystery of the Girls on the Stoop

Mystery Photo Monday - Who are all those girls?

I've got two photos for you today. They are related. I'm going to take a wild guess here and say these kids are connected with the Karvoius side of the family. Family, friends, neighbors? Your guess is as good as mine.

Seven girls, sitting on the stoop. It looks like it's laundry day down the Port!

Here's a close-up:

Girls, girls, girls!

Note that the girl on the far left is wearing the same dress as the girl who is second from the right. Social faux pas, or sisters? I'm going to go with sisters. 

Two girls from the first photo,
bravely standing on the trap door to the Cafe basement.

So, does anyone recognize these girls? If you do, I'd love to hear about it.

(In urban architecture, a stoop is a small staircase ending in a platform and leading to the entrance of an apartment building or other building. Wikipedia)