Isaac Dixon 1865-1913
Isaac was the son of Alfred John Dixon (AJ) of Harrow on the Hill, cowkeeper and dairyman and his second wife, Hannah.
Hannah's maiden name was Kitson and she came from Huntingdonshire, where her father was a lay preacher for a nonconformist church. She married Marsham Withers Barnes born in 1824 in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. He was a master cabinet maker, just like his father William. He and Hannah lived in Great White, Ramsey in Huntingdonshire in 1851. They had a daughter Mary Edith Barnes.
Sometime after 1851 and 1858, the entire clan moved down to London, where the Portman Estate was being developed. There was an enormous amount of work, with wages significantly higher in the country, So Marsham, his bother Robert and his father William moved down to Islington.
Disaster struck when Marsham died. At the time they lived in Mintern Street, near the New North Road. . He was buried in Victoria Park cemetery in Bethnal Green 21 Nov 1858 (ref 34/3). Hannah didn't have money to put up a memorial to Marsham.
Victoria Park Cemetery was a private enterprise started by a limited company in 1845 to take advantage of the market for burials created by the inability of church graveyards to accept any more dead. It was open for non0conformists. The cemetery was never consecrated. The cemetery was never consecrated.However, the cemetery went bankrupt in 1853, unable to attract wealthy customers. The business was bought out by one of the directors and continued. The cemetery was not consecrated and closed in 1876. In 1885 it was turned into a recreation ground. (LMA). Bripumyarrimin, known as King Cole, a member of the historic Australian Aboriginal XI died on tour and was buried in this cemetery, now known as Meath Gardens. Little remains of this cemetery apart from a few gravestones and the entrance arch.
So Hannah, now aged 34 was widowed and with an 8 year old child. But family would have come in ti hemp. Marshams father ad brother weer living close by and she moved in with them.
Meanwhile, over in Harrow-on-the Hill, in 1861, Alfred John Dixon lost his wife Elizabeth in 1861. AJ was left with seven young children and he really needed help. His eldest daughter, Matilda did what she could, but she was only 16 years old. How AJ and Hannah met is a mystery, but perhaps AJ advertised for a housekeeper and Hannah accepted the position. Whatever the circumstance, they married in 1865 in Harrow.
Their first child was Isaac and is named for his grandfather - Old Isaac. So people called him Young Isaac. He was born 6 Dec 1865 at the family home (the Victoria Dairy off West Street in Harrow-on-the Hill, Middlesex, England). He followed in his father's footsteps and took over the role of cowkeeper and dairyman. He married Mary Ann Pendry on May 29 1888 at Denham in Buckinghamshire. Mary was the daughter of Edwin and Eliza Pendry. Edwin was a gamekeeper at Rush Green, in Denham. The M40 has concreted over the land that he would have looked after! By 1891 Isaac and Mary had taken over the Victoria Dairy in Victoria Terrace and were running the business. Their first child was born there in 1890.
Isaac was asthmatic and on the advice of a Dr Williams, decided to move to New Zealand. His doctor, Dr Williams,arranged a job, with a cousin, Rev Samuel Williams at Te Aut, near Napier North Island of New Zealand. I'm hoping that my NZ cousins can fill in the details. In 1907 he was a stockman in Pukehow.
Young Isaac on a pony at Herne Bay, Kent
Donated by Grant & Cathy Dixon
Isaac as a young man
Donated by Grant & Cathy Dixon
Mary Ann
Donated by Grant & Cathy Dixon
Beautiful family shot
L to R: Isaac Dixon, Sidney Isaac Dixon. Doris Dixon, Alfred Roy Dixon, Arthur Walter Dixon, Mary Dixon (Pendry) and Ethel Dixon. 1912, New Zealand. Donated by Grant & Cathy Dixon
Isaac and Mary had the following children:
Sydney Arthur Dixon born 5 Aug 1899 at the Victoria Dairy in Harrow. married Margery Hindmarsh. I'm hoping that my NZ cousins can fill in the details of his life.
Alfred Roy Dixon b 16 May 1896 Hastings, Hawkes Bay, NZ.
Arthur Walter Dixon b 8 May 1898 Hastings, Hawkes Bay, NZ; moved to NSW and worked for the railways. He enlisted into the Australian Army at Paddington for World War Two and his service number was NX78345. Reference no B883: Army, 2nd Al F. After the war he lived in Victoria Street and continued his career in NSW railways. He married Dorothy Mary Adelaide Rice b Marrickvale, NSW 1900. She died 23 Sep 1939 aged just 39 years. He died 29 May 1956 in Burwood and buried Rookwood cemetery. Their gravestone is at zone C Anglican Section 12 Grave 4339. They had a son
Robert Dixon.
Ethel Emily Dixon born 31 Aug 1908 Pukehou, Cetral Hawke's Bay. She lived in St Andrews Road Havelock. She never married and died 18 Jul 1969 and is buried in the Te Aute Church Cemetery (the same grave as her father Isaac Dixon).
Doris Mary Dixon born 9 Sep 1904 Central Hawke's Bay. She returned to England because she married Frank A Rolfe in Berkshire in Oct 1927. Frank was born 15 Mar 1902. He was a school teacher. Doris, with some friends ran a bed and breakfast establishment called Apsley House in Bath. Frank and Doris were in England in 1939 living at 43 Gratwicke Road, Reading. At some stage she returned to NZ and died in 1987.
First house?
Donated by Grant & Cathy Dixon
Need description
Donated by Grant and Cathy Dixon
Isaac and Mary and their growing family lived in this cottage at Te Aute Station. The picture was painted by a family member and described in this letter written by Isaac which is reproduced below.
"One of Vaughan's cottages where we stayed in NZ after leaving Storm Terrace Road. It was between Hastings and SL Hotel. The house has 5 rooms and stands in a 1/4 acre - it has a verandah both back and front, when this was taken I was at work and Pollie was lost but out of signt. I think you can see her peeping out the window. Sidney looks like a BOSS of the show and he is so. Bless him. Isaac."
Need description
Donated by Grant and Cathy Dixon
The work gang Te Aute Station. Isaac Dixon pictured top right hand corner. He was a stud stock man. Founder Rev Samuel Williams, front row second from right
Donated by Grant & Cathy Dixon
Isaac Dixon (blue dot)1910 Auckland Show Judges Committee
Donated by Grant & Cathy Dixon
Isaac was a keen member of the Oddfellows
Donated by Grant & Cathy Dixon
Isaac helped establish the tiny church at Te Aute and it is here that he is buried 9 Oct 1913. The church was built from the packing cases that brought their belongings from England and Isaac's name is painted on the wood.
Gravestone at Te Aute urapa
Isaac died in his '40s after being kicked in the stomach by a horse. His wife, daughters Ethel and Doris returned to the U.K, leaving the 3 boys in the care of the Williams family, although Doris did return to NZ later in her life and died in 1987.
Mary died in Sep 1943 in Reading
Alfred Roy Dixon 1896 - 1963
b 16 May 1896 Hastings, Hawkes Bay, NZ. I don't know much about Alfred, but am hoping my NZ cousins will be able to add more to his story.
He followed in his father’s footsteps and was a stock hand when WW1 broke out. He joined the New Zealand army in 1916. Regimental number 17/425. He was a member of the NZ Veterinary Corps. He spent time in the trenches but without an Army record, I'm not sure where. He was in the 1st Battalion of the Otago Infantry Regiment, that was formed from March to December 2016. He left NZ 1 Apr 1916 and so he missed Gallipoli. But his regiment was in the thick of the fighting. The NZ History site tells us the battalion saw service at the Western Front including the Somme 1916, Messines 1917, Passchendaele 1917 and the Spring Offensive and Advance to Victory 1918.
Top Left: Probably just joined up and no stripes; Bottom left - made corporal;
Above 1 Arthur's platoon, 1st Otago Battalion (NZ) Mulheim, Bologna Christmas 1918
Arthur is in the back row, second from right. Donated by Grant and Cathy Dixon
NZ War photo series H-461 Alfred Roy 31 March 1918 Mailly-Maillet, France. Arthur is on the left, seated, facing the camera smiling
Donated by Grant and Cathy Dixon
Wikipedia tells us that the 1st Battalion, Otago Infantry Regiment was a key First World War military unit of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF), formed in March 1916 when the original Otago Battalion split for service on the Western Front.
There is a brief description of the Otago Brigade on the NZ History website. The New Zealand Veterinary Corps (NZVC) operated regional sections during World War I, including an Otago section that served with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). These units cared for thousands of horses, mules, and donkeys used for transport and mounted troops in Egypt, the Middle East, and the Western Front. Otago Contingent: Troops and regional sections from Otago—such as the local detachments of the Blue Cross Ambulance and mobile veterinary units—worked in tandem with regional infantry and mounted rifles
The NZ Cenotaph records " Private Alfred Roy Dixon, Service No. 17/425 (WWI). World War I, 1914-1918. Embarkation date: 01 Apr 1916.Vessel: Tahiti or Maunganui. Transport: HMNZT 49 | HMNZT 50. Embarkation Unit: 11th Reinforcements, New Zealand Veterinary Corps."
Arthur returned to New Zealand after the war and married Christina Campbell. She was born 1899 in Petty, Inverness (daughter of Donald Campbell and Isabella Mackintosh.
Arthur and Christina had three children:
Arthur's last occupation is listed as a labourer. He died 10 Jun 1963 and was buried 11 Jun 1963 (Internment number 509759. Christina died 22 Feb 1994 aged 95 years. She was buried with Arthur 24 Feb 1994
Their children:
Alfred Isaac Dixon 1927 - 2011
Donald Campbell Dixon 1927 - 1983
Gwen Dixon 1928 - 2011
The twins Donald Campbell and Alfred Isaac Dixon 1927
Donated by NZ Dixons
Don, Elsa and Mary Dixon
Donated by NZ Dixons
Christina's 80th Birthday with Don (left) and Gwen and Alfred Isaac Dixon
Donated by NZ Dixons
Grant Campbell Dixon b 19 Sep 1959. Grant was born Wairoa, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, and together with his sister, Cathy, have kept the research into the Dixon genealogy going. Grant married Deborah McCormack b 1959. They have three children:
James Campbell Isaac Dixon b 1986
Ingrid Margaret Dixon b 1989
Tiffany Kate Eileen Dixon b 1994
Cathryn Dixon b 29 Nov 1966, Napier, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. Cathy was the catalyst that allowed our two Dixon families to reunite, 100 years since they had been one. Cathy was adopted. Cathy married Robert Patrick Gunn b 1968 (divorced) and has three children:
Maya Annabelle Gunn b 2003
Guy Robert Isaac Gunn b 2004
Tess India Gunn b 2006
Alfred Isaac Dixon 14 May 1927 - d 17 Aug 2011 Havelock North. Married Marlene Ethel Black b 1934 d 6 Mat 2026. I was so grateful to be able to meet my NZ Dixon relatives. Alfred and Marlene had three children:
Grant and Isaac Dixon. Donated by Gant Dixon
Grant and Deborah wedding
Donald Campbell Dixon b 15 May 1927 Hastings, Hawkes Bay d 29 July 1983 b Pukehou, Central Hawke's Bay. Donald married Eliza Dorothy Cody b 15 May 1926 d 29 Jun 2015 bd Central Hawke's Bay. Children:
Mary Dixon b 1955. Mary attended Pousada school and then Frimley School, Heretaunga Intermediate Hastings girls High School Then she started work making curtains but broke her elbow picking apples at Uncle Alfreds orchard. She then worked at C B Soft furnishing's followed by a stint vat Weather Master. With the skills she had learned she joined a sewing factor. Wantng a job with more diversity, she sold fabric in a dressmakers shop Then onto Levene's which changed it's name to Freedom then onto Panache for about 3 years. Mary retired at the end of 2025 and in her retirement enjoys .... to be conned.
Richard Dixon b 1957
Rachel Dixon b 1957