Lester Dixon
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Lester Dixon

Lester C. Dixon
Born 1890s.
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Died 1970s.
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Biography

John and Sarah Dixon’s son Lester Clinton Dixon was born July 31, 1892 in Schuyler County Missouri. He received his early education at the Liberty school house in Schuyler County and at the Evans school house after his parents moved to Fabius Township in Davis County when he was around ten years old. As a youth, he and his brothers would travel west to work during the harvest season in the wheat fields of South Dakota. He likewise learned to shear sheep, which continued to do for years. Both before and after the war, he would travel with his uncles to South Dakota to shear sheep. There, owners would bring their sheep to a central location where they would set up to shear sheet for twenty cents a head. Other times they would travel to Kentucky to shear sheep. There they would earn forty-five cents a head, but would have to travel farm to farm to shear the sheep. This was generally in December or early January before the sheep would start to shed. On May 24, 1918 Lester entered the army as the United States was becoming involved in the First World War, and served in France in the 88th Division. During his time in the service he kept a small journal, which records briefly his service experience as follows: L.C. Dixon Lancaster Mo. Left Camp Dodge August 6th Went through Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Ind., Penn, New Jersey and New York. Arrived at New Jersey Aug 9th. Went by boat to N. York, passed under old Brooklyn and two other bridges. Landed at Camp Mills the same day. Went to Conyisland Rockaway beach. Left new York Aug 15th on Good ship Saxon. Layed in Harbor till evening of 16th then left for sunny France at 3:00 o’clock. Sea was smooth but awful cool. Went well to north. Slept on deck part of time. Poor grub. Saw one sub. One long trip. Sighting land on morning of 25th. Passed around Ireland down by the “isle of man” and in the harbor of Liverpool on the night of the 28th at 1:00 o’clock. Went ashore the next morn the 28th. Streets lined with people. Left Liverpool by train 8:00 o’clock traveled till 5:00 to Brockwood. Went to camp stony castle by foot English rest camp “somewhere” England a very pretty country. Plenty of beer here, lived in tents. Went to London Aug 30th arrived at 3:00 o’clock a.m. and left at 1800 next night. A very historic place. Saw Royal Palace Westminster abby, London tower and noted museum. Stayed in union Jack for 4 cts shillings. Left Stony Castle Sept’ 3rd went south to Hampton. One good place stayed one night. Left Sept 4th for France crossed English Channel at night in fast boat. Awful crowded. Landed at Shurborg Sept 5th Stayed in rest camp for 2 days Left there Sept 7th traveled 3 days & 2 nights on box cars arrived at Flavigny sept 9 (very old place). Left sept 16th arrived at Herricourt same night at 2 a.m. Marched to crois evaux 7 kilos Left for Vianed 20th All snipers together here. Left there the 27th arrived at Badrecourt the 28th two kilos from front. Shelled us same night. Went to front sept 30th. Went over night of Oct 3rd. Left front for officers training school at 15th arrived at school Oct 17th. Was there 3 months visited “Lyon” aix-les-Bain, Swiss Bord. Left there Jan 20th for Menton, went through Marsailles, Neice, Cainnes, Monto Carlo and Menton. Was in Italy. Left there the 28th arrived in (Agony) Stagangin the 2nd of Feb. Left the 6th arrived in S.O.S. or Rochefort the 9th La Rochella La Pollice Noirt Grey Left Rochefort March 10th arrived at St. Nazaire March 11. Same S--- Left camp 4-7-10 19 arrived at camp 7 same day. Left St. Nazaire Mon 14-1919-7 on SS Pastores Arrived in N.Y. 23 9 a.m. Went to camp Merritt. Left camp Merritt 7-28-19 by Erie RR. Left N.Y. 2 p.m. 28th arrived in Buffalo 1 a.m. Passed through Toledo Ohio at 8 am 29-19 Mansfield Ohio 11:30 Dayton Cincinatti 3:00 Lowieville Ky 9:00

Years later, Lester recited to the author various stories about his service in France during World War I. One of these related to his unit somehow coming into possession of a railroad car of kegs of beer. Another recounting being at the front line and going out on a patrol at night with a number of solders into “no-mans land” between the lines of the respective armies. This particular patrol was a reconnaissance patrol, and the soldiers were all under orders not to fire unless fired upon. While heading single file down a dark lane towards the German lines, they suddenly met a German reconnaissance patrol coming towards them on the opposite side of the lane. The German patrol apparently had the same orders to not fire unless fired upon however, and the two patrols simply passed each other heading the opposite direction, while eyeing each other nervously. Upon Lester’s discharge from the service and arrival home the Bloomfield Democrat noted:

Mark, August 5, 1919. Lester Dixon arrived home after a year’s service in France. He was detached from his Division, the 88th on special duty, completing the same last month. He was in the service 14 months.

On returning to Davis County, Lester began working for the county. On February 10, 1923 he was married to Ruby Nona Rees in Ottumwa Iowa. She was a daughter of Joseph M. and Lorannah Morris Rees, and was born August 19, 1902 in Davis County. The Davis County Republican for Tuesday February 12, 1923 noted their marriage with the following item:

Bloomfield Coupe Married in Ottumwa Saturday

Miss Ruby Rees, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Rees, and Mr. Lester Dixon, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Dixon, of this city, were married in Ottumwa, Saturday afternoon at the M.E. parsonage by Rev. Swisher. They were accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. E.E. Morgan of Bloomfield. The bride was an efficient employee of the A.B. Welch Drug store two or three years. The groom is an industrious young man and holds a position with the Davis County road improvement force. The newly weds will make their home with Mr. Dixon’s parents for the present. A six o’clock dinner was served at the Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Rees home to the bridal pair and Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morgan on their arrival home from Ottumwa. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan will entertain the following at a 8:30 dinner Tuesday in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Dixon: Mr. and Mr. Harry Hansel and Mr. and Mrs. Bert Smothers.

After their marriage they moved in with Ruby’s sister Dova and her husband on Arkansas Avenue in Bloomfield, and by the time their first son Dean was born in 1924, Lester and Ruby were building a new home on the south side of town. John and Sarah Dixon owned an acreage on West Grant Street, where they lived in a two story frame home. They owned the pasture behind them to the next hilltop, and the land running east to the Savannah road. They sold the west half to their son Lester, and he tore down a small house on the land and built a new home, where he and Ruby began raising their growing family. The home had a large pasture behind it, with an old orchard. The orchard contained an apple tree that John’s father William had grafted different sprouts onto, and the apple tree would yield four or five different types of apples. In a large cotton-wood tree still standing in the back pasture, the boys built a tree house. The home was a small two bedroom structure, and the six children who were to come shared a bedroom, sleeping three to a bed. Lester worked as a trucker, hauling things with his 1928 Chevrolet truck, but the family also would raise some calves on the pasture in back. Each spring they would buy a feeder pig and the feed it until the weather turned cold in the fall. They would then butcher it, and keep the meat in the children’s bedroom that was kept unheated. Bob Lobbins would butcher the pig for them, and keep the head for his services. They would also buy a hundred lambs each fall, and raise feeder lambs. A milk cow was another steady resident, and one time they bought two ponies, that the boys rode. Lester and his nephew Lowell Dixon would buy a field of clover and would load it sell it to packing houses in Des Moines. Around 1934 Lester and Dean delivered a load to Des Moines on one occasion, leaving at mid-night, and arriving in Des Moines around six in the morning. On their entire trip, they encountered only one other vehicle on the road, when they reached Prairie City. Another time Lester bought a slag pile from a mine east of Savannah Iowa for $75.00. He then loaded the shale and hauled in to Bloomfield where it was applied to gravel the roads. In warm weather Lester would remove the doors from the truck, and drive it without them for better ventilation. The truck of course had no seat belts in those early days, and passengers had to hold on to not fall out. Ruby and Lester were still living on the south end of town when John and Sarah died. Dean recalls that after John’s death, the boys would have to go over to their grandmother’s at night to look under the bed upstairs, to make sure no one was there before Sarah would retire. With the advent of the great depression, times became harder for the family. By 1936 Ruby and Lester still owed about $1,250.00 on their mortgage, but Lester felt the property would never be worth that much. They stopped making payments on the mortgage, and lost the property. Dean recalls as a youth the Sheriff coming to the door and reading the notice to the family. Lester had at the time been hauling things for Ed Games, who managed properties for the insurance companies that were foreclosing on many properties, and Games leased to the family a 300 acre farm a few miles southwest of Mark Iowa for $300.00 for a year. With that, they moved to the country, and settled into a small four-room house. The house had no indoor plumbing, and was heated with a wood stove in one room. The rooms were all connected, and one could make a circuit in the home. The house was ill-fitting enough that on cold winter mornings after an evening of blowing snow, the boys would find a light dusting of snow on their bed covers. While living there, Dean and Gene would walk to Monterey to buy gas for the cook stove. The children went to school at the Franklin school house. Lester continued trucking, but the family with the boy’s help also undertook to farm the property. Lester bought an old four cylinder Dodge car, and had his brother in law Charlie Squires cut the back half off. He welded a Ford model A rear end into it, and they turned it into a tractor for the farm. They acquired an old two-bottom horse drawn plow, and converted it to pull behind the tractor, which Dean and Gene would do. Gene would drive the tractor, while Dean would raise and lower the plow. They once had a mishap when they determined the process was too slow, and that they could speed it up if they would first get the tractor running fast, and then suddenly dropped the plow shears into the ground. The result instead was to bury the plow and come to an abrupt halt, with Dean flying off the grounded plow, and getting a nasty cut to his leg in the process. The family raised corn, and also kept three or four cows. Also, they would raise soup beans, which they ate frequently, and pickles, which they would sell to a pickle plant in Missouri. Lester kept one truck and would use it to haul for insurance companies. Tenants often paid their rent in timothy seed and hedge posts, and Lester would haul these to Udel to load on the Wabash train. They cut down a bee tree for the honey, and one time dug out a den of civet cats, and sold the pelts to Goode’s Produce, in Bloomfield. Another time they found an abandoned still near the school, and sold the copper tubing in Bloomfield. Life on the farm was hard though, and Dean recalls they “liked to starve to death” there. Having had enough of the rural life, they moved back to Bloomfield around 1937. The government had built a new Post Office, and Lester had landed a job as custodian there. Later, he also became custodian for the city Library, and the Methodist Church. On Sunday mornings, Lester would take Dean and Gene with him to the church around 3:30 a.m., and they would all shovel coal to fire the two boilers to heat the church for Sunday services. Their sojourn in the country at an end, they lived for a time at the corner of Pine and Goode Streets on the northwest edge of Bloomfield, and then at the intersection of East Street and Arkansas Avenue. In the late 1930s, Ruby and Lester bought a big two-story frame home at 702 West Poplar. At the time there was a barn to the north of them, and the only other house on the block was the one just west behind them. The home again had no indoor plumbing. Lester still kept a truck and would do some hauling for people. One time in depression days while Lake Wapello was being built, Ruby and Lester’s card club decided to go the new site for a picnic outing. Lester took the rock box off the truck, and put a flat bed on. They then borrowed folding chairs from Wagler funeral home, and the card club rode from Bloomfield to Lake Wapello on folding chairs on the back of the flat bed truck for the outing. By the year 1944 Lester and Ruby had six children, with the youngest being eleven years old, when Ruby became pregnant again at the age of forty-two. Their fifteen-year old daughter Virginia was upset that her mother was pregnant at that age, but then tragedy intervened. In an automobile accident on October 22nd a short distance from the family home, Virginia was killed. Forty years later when Ruby died, she still had Virginia’s dresser, with her clothes neatly folded inside, and the pocketbook Virginia had carried with her the night of her death. When Ruby and Lester’s final child was born the following May, it was a daughter, they named Karen. Virginia’s obituary appeared in the Bloomfield Democrat for Thursday October 26, 1944 as follows:

Virginia Lea Dixon Virginia Lea, daughter of Lester C. and Ruby Rees Dixon, was born in Bloomfield December 1, 1928 and after a brief stay of only 15 years, 10 months and 21 days, her young life was transferred to the radiance and glory of that which is immortal. Virginia has spent all her life in this community and was a sophomore at the local high school. She had been in the orchestra for more than five years, being one of the longest in service in that organization. She was also a member of the girls’ glee club. She was faithful and dependable in every responsibility. On January 23, 1943 she was initiated into the Order of the Rainbow for girls assembly no. 32 and has been active in that order, acting as pro tem in the representation of the sacred teaching of immortality, no one realizing as she took part so perfectly that so soon she would not be representing that part among the Rainbow Girls, but enter into the experience of immortality where we “see not through the glass darkly, but face to face.” She enjoyed her Sunday school class and stood among those who knew the greatest number of Biblical incidents and quotations. She had received the sacrament of Baptism and had expressed her desire to unite with the church. The tragedy which has come cast a pall of sadness over the community and especially among the young people of the High School who feel deeply the loss of a companion and one who was always ready to do her par. In the home and in all her associations, she was happy, congenial, and a lovable disposition. She will be greatly missed. The transfer of this useful life leaves in sorrow the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Dixon, five brothers, Dean LaVerne in the submarine branch of the U.S. Navy in Australia, Gene Arthur in the U.S. Navy at Fort Pierce Florida, William Joseph, Jack Clinton, and Larry Franklin at home, one grandmother, Mrs. Lorannah Rees of Bloomfield, and several aunts and uncles and other relatives and friends. The funeral was held at the Bloomfield Methodist Church Wednesday afternoon, October 25, 1944 at 2 o’clock conducted by Rev. Arthur M. Eastman assisted by Rev. Lloyd Tennant. The body was laid to rest in the Bloomfield I.O.O.F. cemetery.

After the oldest boys Dean and Gene had left home, Lester and Ruby had made an apartment out of the second floor of their home, and for a time after Dean’s marriage in 1946, he and Dororthy lived upstairs. In the late 1940s Lester determined to tear down the old house though, and build a new home. Initially he tore off the north side of the home, and then built a new garage and breezeway to the north. The family then lived in the garage and breezeway while they tore down the rest of the old place. The old home was an old structure built with full sized two by four studs that ran the full length of twenty four feet from the ground to the top of the second floor. The lumber was reused in building the new home on the lot. At one stage in the construction, Ruby was in the hospital, and Lester and the boys working on the project at home. Lester decided that they had kept a number of old antique and family items too long, and cut a hole in the floor of the old home, and dumped the items in an old cistern underneath the old home. Ruby was not at all happy with the action when she got home, but by then the deed was done. Accordingly, a number of old family antiques and items still lie buried in the old cistern which sits under the carport outside the breezeway on the new home now standing there. Ruby and Lester spent the balance of their lives living there, and Lester died in Bloomfield on March 25, 1973 and was buried in the I.O.O.F. cemetery beside his daughter Virginia. His obituary appeared in the local paper as follows:

Lester Clinton Dixon The funeral for Lester Clinton Dixon, 80 who died Sunday, will be Wednesday 2 p.m. at Wagler Funeral Home, conducted by Rev. Galen Peckham. Burial with military rights will be in the I.O.O.F. cemetery. The casket will be closed at the beginning of the service. The family will be at the funeral home tonight from 7:30 to 8:30. He was born in Schuyler County Missouri, July 31, 1892 to John Wesley and Sarah Vanlandingham Dixon. A resident of Bloomfield for more than 70 years, he was employed for 23 years as custodian of the Bloomfield Post Office, retiring in 1960. He was a World War I veteran and a member of Bloomfield barracks 2500 and a 54 year member of Reed-Whistler American legion post. He was affiliated with the Bloomfield United Methodist Church. His marriage to Ruby Rees took place February 10, 1923 in Ottumwa. Surviving are his widow; five sons, Dean, Jack and Bill of Bloomfield, Gene of Moulton and Larry of Grinnell; one daughter Karen of Minneapolis Minn,; 13 grandchildren, one great granddaughter; two sisters, Mrs. Marie Drake and his twin, Mrs. Odessa Hughes, both of Moulton, and one brother, Wesley of Bloomfield. One daughter, two brothers and three sisters preceded him in death.

Lester’s wife Ruby survived him until June 20, 1984, when she died in automobile accident south of Milton Iowa. Her obituary appeared in the Davis County Republican for June 26th, as follows:

Ruby Dixon Ruby N. Dixon, 81, of Bloomfield, died June 20th from injuries suffered in an auto-truck accident near Milton. She was born Aug. 19, 1902 in Davis County to Joseph and Lorannah Morris Rees. She was a member of the United Methodist Church, the American Legion Red-Whistler Post 78 Auxiliary, Bloomfield Barrarcks 2500 Auxilliary and the Order of Eastern Star in Bloomfield. She married Lester C. Dixon on February 10, 1923 in Ottumwa. He died March 25, 1973. She is survived by five sons, Gene of Centerville, Dean, Bill and Jack of Bloomfield and Larry of Grinnell; a daughter Karen Rosengren of Minnetonka, Minn.; two sisters, Dova Sutton of Bloomfield and Lora Goodlander of Washington; 14 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Bloomfield United Methodist Church with the Rev. Ellis Andrews conducting. Burial was in the I.O.O.F. cemetery in Bloomfield. Memorials can be made to her church or the Senior Citizens Center in Bloomfield.

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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Lester by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
  • Glenn Dixon Find Relationship : Y-Chromosome Test 67 markers, haplogroup R1b1a2, MitoYDNA ID T12136 [compare]
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Lester:

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