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.

Wallace B. Dixon : Patent Holder

Cover page of Letters Patent granted to
Wallace B. Dixon in 1963.
Collection of E. Ackermann, 2017

In 1963 my grandfather, Wallace B. Dixon, was awarded a patent for a toy camera(1). He was quite proud of this achievement.

A search on Google recreates the text and images presented here. It also lists later patents that referenced my grandfather's, including two from Fisher Price Toys, and one from Mattel, Inc.(2)

The attorney who helped my Grandpa with his patent filing was Richard L. Cannaday. They became lifelong friends. I remember going to visit Mr. Cannaday in his office, and seeing him at my grandparents' home. He was a very nice man. I think he was responsible for Gramps getting an annual holiday delivery of giant Hersey chocolate bars, and other treats.

My grandfather did some work for Mr. Cannaday, restoring and repairing antique firearms. It gave him an excuse to buy a lathe for his basement workshop.  Mr. Cannaday also had Gramps help out with other patent work. He built a model of an apparatus for "rocking a human being," a patent later granted to Mary V. Neal. (3) [My baby doll stood in for the person in the scale model.]

The camera patent was never sold, and the toy was never produced. But I think my grandfather was satisfied with his achievment.

The Letters Patent

You can click on any image here, as well as the one above, to enlarge it.

Sources

(1) Letters Patent No. 3,090,158 for Toy Camera, United States Patent Office; Dixon Family Collection; privately held by Elizabeth Ackermann, [address for private use], 2017. Original certificate and documentation, with drawings, for U.S. Patent granted 21 May 1963.

(2) Google Patents (https://www.google.com/patents/US3090158 : accessed 10 January 2016), transcription of patent by W.B. Dixon, with images.

(3) Richard Cannaday to Wallace B. Dixon, 5 March 1966, Letter File Box, 2 page letter; reference firearm repair, Mary Neal [inventor], privately held by Elizabeth Ackermann, [address for private use], 2017.

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.

Update : Dixon Family Tree

I've updated the Dixon family tree page to reflect what I currently know.

You'll find the tab to take you there at the top of the page, just under the blog title.

Cheers!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2017!

I'm starting this year off with the obligatory New Year's baby photo, a picture of Someone Else's Ancestor. If you are kin to Raymond E. Lockwood [b. abt June 1888], please get in touch. It would make my year to return this photo to his family!

Raymond E. Lockwood, photographed by McKean & Ort, Santa Cruz, California.
Photo found in an antique store in Virginia. E. Ackermann collection, 2017.

"Raymond E. Lockwood. 1 yr. June '89." Reverse of photo above.

 Here we go again!

1 January 2017 marks the One Year Anniversary of this blog. 2016 was a great year for family history. New discoveries were made, "new" cousins were found, I learned some new skills. All good stuff.

As we get a fresh start this year here are a few of my genealogy resolutions:

• continue with my grandfather's generation, and start pushing back to his parents' families and siblings [and their families]
• put in more social history research time
• scan and post more of my photo collections
• start writing my personal history
• continue adding to my genealogy skill set
• create at least one printed photo book to preserve the pictures that I've scanned so far
• print a copy of last year's blog posts

How about you? What are your plans for researching, preserving, and/or sharing your family history?

Andrew Patrick Payne : Birth Record

A breakthrough in the Payne family tree

I've been trying to track down my grandfather's step-brothers and their descendants. It would be nice to know more about them. (If you're a member of the Payne family please get in touch. I have some photos that might be of your ancestors and I'd love for you to have them!)

Briefly, Thomas Payne, longtime boarder with the family of William and Mary (Klein) Dixon, was married and had at least two sons before he married my great-grandmother, Mary (Klein) Dixon. My grandfather told me some stories about his step-brothers, at least one of whom lived in the house with the Dixons. The stories may have involved the making of bathtub gin. Just saying.

You can read previous posts about Thomas Payne here:

• Thomas Payne : A Timeline
• Looking for the Payne Family
• Who are the Children of Thomas Payne

Birth Certificate for Andrew Patrick Payne, 1 March 1905
New Jersey State Archives, Trenton.

Andrew Patrick Payne

Thanks to my NJ reasearcher, Debbie Hadley, I now have a copy of Andrew's birth certificate, AND I now know the name of his mother, Thomas Payne's first wife. As I said, a breakthrough!

It looks like Thomas married Mary Margaret McCudden when she was quite young. As she was 17 when their first son was born, it looks like she may have been 16 or 17 when they married. This helps me narrow down the marriage date to some time in 1904.

This document also confirms Thomas Payne's birth place as Dover, NJ. That is the location that he gives on his marriage certificate to Mary E. (Klein) Dixon. So two bits of agreement on that fact. His age here is listed as 28. His birth date is all over the place on the variety of documents that I have. His WWI draft registration gives 22 March 1876 as his birth date, so this information adds a little weight to that source.

Now there are a few more clues to follow. Hopefully I'll be able to find those Paynes! Stay tuned...

An Odd Coincidence

So, here's a bit of a thing. My grandfather, Wallace B. Dixon, was born one day after his future step-brother Andrew Payne, on 2 March 1905. They were practically twins!

Transcript

State of New Jersey. Bureau of Vital Statistics.
Certificate and Record of Birth [stamped 939]
Name of Child: Andrew Patrick Payne
Sex: Male. Color: White. Date of Birth: March 1 4:33 PM, 1905
Place of Birth: 67 E. Jersey St., Elizabeth, N.J.
Name of Father: Thomas Payne. Father's Birthplace: Dover, N.J.
Maiden Name of Mother: Mary Margaret McCudden. Mother's Birthpalce: Albany, N.Y.
Age of Father: 28 yrs. Occupation of Father: Ship builder.
Age of Mother: 17 yrs. Occupation of Mother: Housewife.
Number of Children in all by this marriage: 1. Number of Children now living: 1.
Name and P.O. Address of Professional Attendant in own handwriting:
Dr. John Keough
Date of Report: March 12, 121 Livingston St. Elizabeth, N.J.

Sources

New Jersey Vital Records, May 1, 1848 to December 31, 1915. NJSA microfilm roll 265 (Birth Certificates 1905: Nist, E. - Pisa), organized alphabetically by surname. New Jersey State Archives, Trenton. Andrew Patrick Payne, b. 1 March 1905. Certificate 939.

"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.  

Marriage record for Thomas Payne and Mary Eliz. Klein. No. 11913, 20 April 1927. New York City Department of Records and Information Services, Municipal Archives, 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007.