Ernest Dine
Item
Title
Ernest Dine
Date
ca. September 1868 to January 11, 1927
Description
Cabinetmaker Ernest Dine is documented working for Stickley from 1899 through at least 1904, and possibly even after that. Born in Germany in September 1868, Dine immigrated to the United States in 1889. He married Theresa Zeller, who emigrated from Germany in 1890 with her father, in 1892. Both Ernest and his father-in-law were naturalized in August 1904.
By 1905, although the couple had six children, signs of strife within the marriage were becoming well known to the public. On August 14, 1905, The Syracuse Journal reported the first of what was to become many examples of the police stepping in to ensure that Dine returned to his home and supported his wife. Although payroll records for the period have not survived, the paper reported that Dine made $25 per week, suggesting that (if true) he was one of the highest paid cabinetmakers in the shop. The detail was worth reporting, according to the paper, because he “prefers to spend his money meeting the desires of another woman.” In April of 1906, Dine was again arrested for non-support and ordered either to pay $500 to his family, or face time in the penitentiary. The following month, Dine was given a warning, ordered to pay 90% of his wages to support his family, and “to keep away from the woman with whom he lived in a shanty on Onondaga Lake.” As late as 1911, he was still in trouble with the police, and was brought back from Rochester, New York to answer charges of continued non-support.
Dine’s last known employment was for the Newark Planing Mill Company, in Newark New Jersey, where he began working in mid 1926. According to his obituary, he “died suddenly” and it was believed that heart trouble may have been the cause.
By 1905, although the couple had six children, signs of strife within the marriage were becoming well known to the public. On August 14, 1905, The Syracuse Journal reported the first of what was to become many examples of the police stepping in to ensure that Dine returned to his home and supported his wife. Although payroll records for the period have not survived, the paper reported that Dine made $25 per week, suggesting that (if true) he was one of the highest paid cabinetmakers in the shop. The detail was worth reporting, according to the paper, because he “prefers to spend his money meeting the desires of another woman.” In April of 1906, Dine was again arrested for non-support and ordered either to pay $500 to his family, or face time in the penitentiary. The following month, Dine was given a warning, ordered to pay 90% of his wages to support his family, and “to keep away from the woman with whom he lived in a shanty on Onondaga Lake.” As late as 1911, he was still in trouble with the police, and was brought back from Rochester, New York to answer charges of continued non-support.
Dine’s last known employment was for the Newark Planing Mill Company, in Newark New Jersey, where he began working in mid 1926. According to his obituary, he “died suddenly” and it was believed that heart trouble may have been the cause.