Private Gerald Dixon was one of the 41 soldiers sentenced to life in prison with hard labor at Leavenworth Penitentiary in Kansas. His sentence was later reduced to 20 years. He always claimed his innocence and after serving 7 years, he was released on parole. He moved to Jackson County, Missouri where he married his first wife, Lydia in 1928 and worked as a porter for a grocery store. By 1940, he had moved to Marion, Indiana where he lived a brief time with his mother and stepfather and worked as a butler in a private home. In 1947, he married his second wife, Francis Jones. He worked for the cleaners, Brown-Trueblood Inc. and Marshall’s Recreation Parlor for many years as Alonzo Marshall’s right- hand man. He passed away in 1967 at age 71. His wife Francis lived another 35 years and passed away in 2002. The couple had no children and were buried in the Estates of Serenity cemetery (formerly known as I.O.O.F Cemetery) in Marion, Indiana.
On November 13, 2023, the US Army made the decision to reverse the convictions of the 110 soldiers after admitting that the soldiers were wrongly treated because of their race and not given fair trials. After 106 years, these brave men who served our country and endured more than we can imagine, were given honorable discharges. What an amazing thing!
Fast forward to 2024, when Mallorie made the sad discovery that both Gerald and his wife Francis were buried without headstones and not even buried beside each other. The project of her grandfather’s historical marker was placed temporarily on the back burner, and she channeled all her effort on sharing Gerald’s incredible story and planning an event that would make right this wrong. And with the help of her brother Eric and the Marion community, DID THEY EVER!
Even though Gerald was my 3rd cousin 4x removed (sharing a 6th great-grandfather), she invited me, my mom and my great-aunt Sherla who flew in from the east coast to attend what would be the most incredible and impactful weekend of my life. I had connected with a couple other Dixon cousins through Ancestry.com and this was the perfect opportunity for us all to meet for the first time. Cousin Anne is a descendant of both our Dixon and Goins lines and lives in Indianapolis. Cousin Travis Dixon came from Texas and stayed with us in an Airbnb in town. He too had been researching his mysterious Dixon ancestry and like ours, his Dixon line began passing for white a few generations before he was born so he too had been disconnected from the Dixons of Indiana.
Over the weekend of October 26th, 2024, Mallorie had several events planned to honor Gerald. On Saturday, October 26th, there was a formal program at the Walton Performing Arts Center in Marion entitled “Buffalo Soldiers of the 24th: Camp Logan Riots and Marion’s Own Gerald Dixon”. There was a documentary screening, several amazing guest speakers and discussion on the history of the Buffalo Soldiers and the 1917 riot. That evening, we were honored to be invited to a reception entitled “Honoring Legacy Celebrating Unity” at the Kennedy Art Center. We had the opportunity to meet community members, dignitaries, Buffalo Soldiers and more of our extended family. The following morning, we attended a special church service at Bethel A.M.E. Church and then gathered with family for lunch. Cousin Anne and her husband joined, and we had a wonderful time of conversation and discussion of our genealogy research. I had brought my Dixon genealogy binder with a color coded descendancy chart I created to show how we were all related and descendants of Alexander Dixon who was born into slavery in 1786. By the mid 1830’s, he and his partner Margaret and their three mulatto children, Samuel, Nancy and Minerva Dixon ended up in Seymour, Indiana. {Descendancy chart included below}
After lunch, we decided to head over to the Estates of Serenity cemetery to see the gravesite of Gerald and Francis. We also walked around to several other graves of family members ranging from recent relations back to distant aunts, uncles and cousins buried there long ago. We weren’t done spending time together, so we invited everyone back to our Airbnb to sit around the living room and share stories.
On Monday morning, with the permission of the cemetery, Travis and I went to watch as they disinterred Gerald and Francis. Both coffins were encased in concrete vaults, and we watched as they were carefully lifted and placed onto the truck to be transported to their final resting place. An American Flag was draped over Gerald’s vault which invoked an overwhelming amount of emotion for all of us, especially Mallorie.
That afternoon, the festivities began with a vibrant motorcade led by a firetruck and police escort, followed by the Buffalo Soldiers on their motorcycles—riders who had traveled from across the country—and a long line of vehicles filled with family and friends. As we made our way through town, we passed Gerald’s house on Nebraska Street, where Mallorie had placed a sign in the yard featuring his photo, surrounded by red, white, and blue decorations—a heartfelt tribute that brought his presence into the moment.
We arrived at our final destination—Marion National Cemetery—where Gerald would finally receive the proper graveside service he so deserved, complete with full military honors. As we approached, we were overwhelmed by the sight before us: a firetruck stood proudly with a giant garrison flag billowing in the wind, and crowds of community members and students surrounded the shelter in support.
We had the honor of sitting alongside other members of the Dixon family, including his great-niece, our dear cousin Glennis, who—as Gerald’s closest living relative—received his ceremonial folded flag. The service was beautiful, dignified, and everything Gerald had earned through his life and service. We remained at the cemetery until both Gerald and Francis were laid to rest—together again at last.
While it’s been 7 months since I was a part of this incredible event, the memories and feelings of family, inclusion and connection are still with me daily. From the moment we arrived in Marion, we were welcomed with open arms. It didn’t matter that we were all distant cousins. It didn’t matter that we were white. What mattered was that we were family. There was a desire to learn from each other and connect with one another and all I can say is that it was magic. None of this would have been possible without the vision, persistence, and heart of Mallorie. She made this once-in-a-lifetime experience a reality, and we are forever grateful for the gift she gave Gerald and us all.
