Letter from Richard Dillard Dixon to his father, written December 26th, 1917.
December 26–1917–
My dear Papa1-
I appreciate very much the letter you wrote me for I realize how much of an effort it is for you to write. And I also want to thank you for the Christmas remembrance in the shape of the check. Mary Beverly2 sent me some candy, Minton3 some cigarettes and Bessie4 a cake and it was indeed very helpful to me to know that though I was unable to be with you at Christmas still that you all were thinking of me.
We had quite a quiet Christmas here. A good many of the officers went away and those who remained took dinner with the men. The government issues turkey and other good things at Thanksgiving and Christmas and we had a fairly good dinner. Of course we had holiday yesterday but the balance of the week will be taken up with the regular schedule with the exception that we will not have the officers schools and no examination on Friday.
Mary2 wrote me that Minton has managed to pay both the E. City and Plymouth banks.5 I am pleasantly surprised at this and hope he will be able to close out without making any great sacrifices. Brownie6 doesn’t know whether he has been favorably received or not but from talking to him I am of the opinion that he will get his commission. They are very slow in coming as they have to pass thru the department at Washington.7 I thought of you all a lot on Christmas and missed more than I can tell you not being there with you. Please make mac write to me for you as I want to hear from as often as possible.
Affec. Richard
Papa1
Minton Hughes Dixon, Sr., “Papa” or “Judge” (1849-1923)
Father of Richard Dillard, George Brownrigg, MacDonald, Mary Elizabeth, and Elizabeth MacDonald Dixon. Prominent merchant in Edenton, North Carolina. Served as a Justice of the Peace, Recorder’s Court Judge, and city councilman. Married Sallie Dillard (1860-1910) in 1886.
Mary Beverly2
Mary Beverly Dixon, “Mary Beverly” or “Mary B.” or “Mary” (1886-1959)
Elder sister of Richard Dillard Dixon. Never married, and lived her entire life in Edenton, North Carolina.
Minton3
Minton Hughes Dixon, Jr., “Minton” (1893-1960)
Younger brother of Richard Dillard Dixon. Attended UNC-Chapel Hill from 1910 to 1911. Worked as a salesman for his father from 1911 to 1916. Moved to Plymouth, North Carolina in 1916 and opened a wholesale grocer with his younger brother, George Brownrigg Dixon. Called up by the draft, Dixon enlisted in the US Navy in Norfolk, Virginia on December 13, 1917. He became the Chief Storekeeper at the Naval Ammunition Depot, Mine Plant Barracks, Portsmouth, Virginia. He continued in this role after a transfer to the Naval Training Camp in Pelham Bay Park, New York. Never left the United States during his military service. After his discharge on January 5, 1919, Dixon returned to Edenton, where he worked as an office manager for a cotton and peanut commodities broker. Upon his father’s death in 1923, Dixon assumed control of the family mercantile business.
Bessie4
Elizabeth MacDonald Dixon Vann, “Bessie” (1891-1975)
Younger sister of Richard Dillard Dixon. She attended college for two years before marrying Aldridge Henley Vann in 1912. Vann’s father, Samuel C. Vann, founded the Sterling Cotton Mill in Franklinton, North Carolina in 1895. After his father’s death, Aldridge Henley Vann managed the firm until its bankruptcy in 1932 during the Great Depression.
E. City and Plymouth banks5
Banks in Elizabeth City, North Carolina and Plymouth, North Carolina in 1917.
Elizabeth City: Citizens, First National, Mercantile, and Savings & Trust Company.
Plymouth: Washington County Bank and Bank of Plymouth.
Brownie6
George Brownrigg Dixon, “Brownie” (1896-1953)
Younger brother of Richard Dillard Dixon. Attended UNC-Chapel Hill from 1914 to 1916, where he belonged to the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Went into the wholesale grocery business with his older brother, Minton Hughes Jr., in Plymouth, North Carolina from 1916 to 1917. Enlisted in the North Carolina National Guard on May 25, 1917. Due to his college experience, selected for officer’s training on December 27, 1917. Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 119th Infantry, Dixon resigned for mysterious reasons on March 27, 1918. About two months later, he reenlisted, this time in the Marine Corps. After completing basic training at Parris Island, served at the New York Marine Corps Barracks in New York City. Reached the rank of corporal. Never left the United States during his military service. After his discharge from the Marines in February 1919, moved to Suffolk, Virginia to work as a manager for Winborne & Company, a wholesale grocer. Later became a salesman for the local peanut growers association in Norfolk, Virginia. Ultimately returned to Suffolk, where he worked as the Secretary -Treasurer of the Benthall Machine Company, a firm that manufactured peanut pickers, until his death.
the department at Washington7
The Department of War in Washington, DC, predecessor to the Department of Defense.
