by She was born Gertrude Harriet Wigley. She was married three times, first to William Dobbs (18 Jan 1910), then John Weastell (before 1914) and lastly Charles Dix (before 1930). Through newspaper articles, censuses and vital records I have been able to track her through her life. I was 19-years-old when she died and remember her well. Yet, my Great Grandmother Gertrude Dix remains elusive. Despite all I know about Gertrude many of her vital records have yet to be found. In fact I can’t even tell you, without a doubt, when she was born.
I will definitely be writing more about Gertrude Dix. She led an interesting life which is well documented. But today’s writing was sparked by a recent trip to Trenton city hall. I hoped to locate Gertrude’s marriage certificates and with them hopefully learn her birthday. After all, with three marriages while living in Trenton some record would have to exist. Three quick strikes and I was out of city hall empty handed. No records to be found.
Having struck out, it was time to look at what I did know. I decided to go through all the documents and articles I have for Gertrude and happened upon this article:
Gertrude’s father was Robert Wigley (1863-1932) and I know from census records this daughter could only be Gertrude. I also knew that the family lived on Kent Street for a period. But none of the birth dates I have for Gertrude would have made her 5-years-old on this date. So this article added to the mystery.
Not only am I a genealogy geek, but I am also a history geek. For the past 13 years I have been the Historian for the Trenton Police Department. Several “blotter books” have survived from the 1800s and one happens to be from the Second Precinct (where Kent St. was located) for the years 1894-1896. For some reason, I never checked the blotter book until today. Here is the “police report” in the blotter book that corresponds with the newspaper article:
“July 18th. Lost Child. 9:25 PM. Robert Wigley of No. 123 Kent St. reports his little girl about five years old missing from home since 7:00 PM Sergt. Hiner.”
I can’t believe that I missed finding something as cool as this entry! Notice the entry describes her as “about fives years old”. This puts Gertrude’s birthday more in line with what I already think. I believe she was born in 1892, despite all the entries that say 1894. Her death certificate says 1894 but death certificates are notorious for containing incorrect information about parents and birth dates.
In the end, I am glad I didn’t find Gertrude’s marriage records at city hall. If I had then I wouldn’t have gone through the files again or looked in the blotter book. I think I will have to go through everybody’s files to look for loose-ends.
