Gazlay Family History
 

Family HistoryFamily History - Hope Dare (born Rosie Luetzsinger)


Key:1.“+” before a child’s name indicates the child has their own entry in the next generation.
 2.“born xxxx” indicates the child is under 18 years of age so the birth date is not shown.
This family history features Hope Dare (born Rosie Luetzsinger) and two of her descendants down to the second generation.


First Generation
1. Hope Dare (born Rosie Luetzsinger),1 born 9 October 1908 in Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa, the daughter of William A. ‘Ignas’ Luetzsinger and Sarah ‘Dollie’ McCarty;1, 2, 3, 4 died 31 March 1999 in Henderson, Clark County, Nevada.1, 5 Hope married, first, ca. 1925, David Swing Ricker16 (born 29 April 1878 in Oxford, Butler County, Ohio, the son of Jewett E. Ricker and Mary Ann Swing;6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 David died 2 June 1929 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California7, 8, 15). Hope married, second, 6 August 1939 in Nyack, Rockland County, New York, Julius Richard ‘Dixie’ Davis1, 18 (born 29 November 1904 in New York, New York, parents not determined;17 Dixie died 30 December 1969 in Los Angeles, California17). David is buried in Elmhurst Cemetery, Joliet, Will County, Illinois.7 Dixie is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), Glendale, Los Angeles County, California.17

Rosie listed 9 October 1908, and Ottumwa, Iowa, as her birth date and place in her social security application, the date agreeing with her age (1 year 7 months) as shown in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, where she is found living in Iowa with her maternal grandparents. She was known as Rosie McCarty, her mother’s maiden surname, in her school years. After her mother remarried to Gerald Buxton, Rosie was returned to her mother’s household. Rosie was sometimes known as Rosie Buxton, using her step-fathervs surname.19

At age 17, Rosie married David Swing Ricker, promotion manager of a Los Angeles newspaper. With his aid, Rosie sought to get into the movies by way of beauty pageants. She won and was named the prettiest red-head in a Long Beach, California, bathing beauty contest. In 1926 she was chosen “Miss Southern California” and won as “Miss Ocean Park” in a separate California beauty contest. She changed her stage name first to Rose Dare, and later to Hope Dare. Following her husband David’s death in 1929, she headed for New York, working in a road company of “The Barker.” Her Broadway career credits include “Melody” (1933); “Ziegfeld Follies of 1934” (1934); and “Life Begins at 8:40” (1934-35).19, 20

Her beauty and growing fame attracted the attention of J. Richard “Dixie” Davis, a New York lawyer and racketeer who was the number two man to Dutch Schultz. Hope and Dixie soon became an item, although Dixie was still married at the time. When Dixie was apprehended on racketeering charges, Hope convinced Dixie to turn state’s evidence against other mob members, and after he served a one-year sentence, he and Hope married and moved west, living in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and later Los Angeles, where they raised two children.19

David was a newspaper journalist in Chicago, Los Angeles, the Northwest, and Canada. Born in Oxford, Ohio, he was educated in the Chicago public schools. He graduated from Harvard University in 1902, and spent two years in sociological studies in New York. David joined the staff of the Chicago Evening Post around 1902, and he was the educational editor of the Chicago Tribune 1904-7. He was a frequent contributor to economic and educational reviews and articles. In 1905 he wrote “Unionizing the Schoolteachers,” describing the movement by Margaret Haley to create a national federation of teachers, a union of working women. David “cast his imagination 66 years into the future and saw a Chicago of 10 million souls.” His article included a map showing how the metropolis would expand, and his discussion touched on the future of transportation, communications, environment, education, and public services. His essay “The Making of Millionaires” was used in a 1909 Business Administration textbook. David lived and worked in British Columbia, Canada, for several years starting in 1910, and was the editor there of a weekly news magazine, Public Opinion. An article in 1912 announcing the publication called him “one of the best known newspapermen in America,” and mentions that he was the former editor of the Chicago Daily Tribune, and founder of The Red Book, The Blue Book, Opportunity Magazine of Chicago, and the Chicago Saturday Times. He was editor of Man-to-Man Magazine (later called British Columbia Magazine). Other ventures included promotion manager for Hearst newspapers on the Pacific Coast for eight years; director of advertising and circulation for The Picture Press (1920); and western exploitation manager of the Select Pictures Corporation, distributors of Selznick Pictures.15, 21, 22

David was married at least four times. His first marriage, to Elizabeth Shay, produced his only known child and ended in divorce in mid-1909. His wife initiated the divorce, having discovered his affair with Margaret Voe (purportedly born Marion Vantine, and also called Madge Voe), a vaudeville and stage actress. The marriage in Seattle between D. Ricker and Madge Seaman in November, 1909, is believed to be David and Madge Voe, although her use of the surname Seaman has not been explained. The 1910 U.S. Federal Census shows David and “Madge S. Ricker” living together in Seattle. The middle initial “S” may imply that her middle name or surname was Seaman, either by birth or previous marriage. On 17 September 1910, David Swing Ricker (“of Vancouver publisher”) and Madge Voe Ricker (“of Vancouver, married woman”) applied for permission to purchase 640 acres of land in the Cariboo Land District, British Columbia, Canada. Although no record has been found, he must have divorced Madge in 1912-13, and married Layne Virginia Donaldson in late 1913 in Oregon. A series of newspaper articles in 1914 trace their travels by foot from Vancouver, British Columbia, to San Diego, California, associated with David’s work “for the purpose of gathering data on the preparedness of the Pacific Coast for the growth of business and population expected to follow the opening of the Panama Canal.” His reporting is generally favorable to the conditions and towns along their route, although other reporters were critical of his accounts. David and Layne lived in Los Angeles in 1920, according to the U.S. Federal Census. David’s fourth marriage, to Rosie Luetzsinger (aka Hope Dare, actress) around 1925, is alluded to in newspaper articles about her subsequent marriage in 1939 to Julius Richard “Dixie” Davis, notorious racketeer associated with Dutch Shultz, New York City mobster, and their gang.11, 16, 23, 24, 25

David died on 2 June 1929 in Santa Monica, California, after an operation for appendicitis.15

A brief biography of Dixie Davis (born Julius Richard Davis) appears in WikiPedia.org (with corrections and additions as noted):26

Davis was born in New York City in 1905 [sic, actually 1904] and grew up in Tannersville, New York after his father, a tailor named Davidowitz, relocated the family to the Catskills. Davis attended Syracuse University Law School and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1927. He served a clerkship, and then started his own firm in New York City specializing in defending mobsters.

Many of Davis’ clients were African-Americans involved in the numbers game in Harlem. In 1932 he decided that he could take control and brought in Dutch Schultz [born Arthur Simon Flegenheimer] as enforcer only to lose control to Schultz.

With the murder of Schultz in 1935, Davis took over his numbers racket. On July 14, 1937 a grand jury indicted Davis for racketeering. In exchange for his cooperation, Davis was sentenced to one year in prison and was disbarred.

On December 31, 1969, Dixie Davis died of a heart attack in his home in Bel-Air, California during a break-in. Two masked gunmen had bound his wife [Hope Dare, born Rosie Luetzsinger] and grandson and had stolen jewels, furs and cash.

Davis was married twice. His first wife was Martha Delaney. While Davis was incarcerated for racketeering, he was permitted several times to leave prison and visit Hope Dare, whom he had met several years before, and lived with at least as early as 1935. Hope was the catalyst for persuading Dixie to turn states evidence on his mob associates. Davis’ wife Martha knew of his infidelity, and divorced him in 1938. Once out of prison, Davis married Hope and together they moved west, living in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and later Los Angeles, having two children together.27


Children of Hope Dare (born Rosie Luetzsinger) and Julius Richard ‘Dixie’ Davis:

 2i. Michael Davis.
+3ii. Barclay Davis, Married Loretta _____.

  1. Find a Grave (website). Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), Glendale, Los Angeles County, California, Hope Dare Davis, born: 9 October 1909 [sic, her entry in the 1910 census shows her age 1 year 7 months, indicating she was born in 1908, believed to be the correct birth year] in Fairfield, Jefferson County, Iowa; died: 31 March 1999 in Henderson, Clark County, Nevada (from record, which includes two newspaper clippings of with her husband J. Richard Davis; and provides a brief synopsis of her life, indicating her birth name, naming her parents, supposed marriage to a man named Reichert [actually, Ricker], her name change to Hope Dare in 1930, work as a showgirl in Zeigfield Follies, marriage to J. Richard “Dixie” Davis, and several places where she lived; and the names and links for her mother and one spouse).
  2. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), Social Security Applications, Rose Luetzsinger Davis, born: 9 October 1908 in Ottumwa, Iowa; father: William J. Luetzsinger; mother: Sarah H. McCarty. Since this application was most likely completed by Rose (aka Hope Dare Davis), it is considered the most reliable record of her birth date, birthplace, and parent’s names.
  3. U.S. Federal Census, 1910, Iowa, Jefferson County, Round Prairie Township, E.D. 55, Sheet No. 7B, Ross O. McCarty, 55, Kentucky, farmer, general farm; wife of 27 years Rosa McCarty, 45, Pennsylvania, 5 children, 3 living; daughter Sarah Luetzinger [the last name is written over the line intended to continue the McCarty name down to other family members], 21, Iowa, married 3 years; son Anthony McCarty, 14, Iowa; son Ross McCarty, 9, Iowa; granddaughter Rosa Lietzinger, 1 7/12, Iowa.
  4. U.S. Federal Census, 1920, New Mexico, San Miguel County, Las Vegas City, E.D. 176, Sheet No. 2B, Gerald Buxton, 45, Michigan, fireman, round house; wife Dollie Buxton, 31, Iowa; son Gerald Buxton, Jr., 7, New Mexico; step-daughter Rose Luetzsinger, 11, Iowa.
  5. Obituary, Los Angeles Times, California, 2 May 1999, Hope Dare Davis, died 31 March 1999, predeceased by husband Richard Dixie Davis. The article provides brief biographical details and the names of her children, grandchild, and great grandchildren, and place of funeral.
  6. Draft Registration Card, World War I, David Swing Ricker, Serial Number 7262, Order Number 5182, age 38; born: 29 April 1880; occupation: newspaper, Republican Paper, Fresno, California; nearest relative: wife, Mrs. L. D. Ricker. Both the 1880 and 1900 U.S. Federal Census records indicate he was born in 1878, not 1880.
  7. Find a Grave (website). Elmhurst Cemetery, Joliet, Will County, Illinois, David Swing Ricker, born: 1878; died: 1929 (from record).
  8. California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994, Los Angeles County, Standard Certificate of Death, David Swing Ricker, died: 2 June 1929 in Santa Monica; born: 29 April 1880 in Oxford, Ohio; age: 49 years 1 month 3 days; married; wife: Rose Ricker; occupation: publisher, Los Angeles Examiner; father: Jewett E. Ricker, born in Ohio; mother: Mary Swing, born in Oxford, Ohio; place of burial: Joliet, Illinois.
  9. U.S. Federal Census, 1880, Ohio, Butler County, Oxford Village, E.D. 27, Page No. 33, Jewett E. Ricker, 31, Ohio, bank clerk; wife Mary A. Ricker, 24, Ohio; son D. Swing [sic, erroneously indexed as Sonny] Ricker, 2, Ohio.
  10. U.S. Federal Census, 1900, Illinois, Cook County, Chicago, E.D. 721, Sheet No. 7A, Jewett E. Ricker, 50, Ohio, November 1849; wife of 25 years Mary Ricker, 44, Ohio, March 1856, 2 children, 2 living; son David S. Ricker, 22, Ohio, April 1878 reporter; son Jewett E. Ricker, Jr., 14, Illinois, March 1886, at school; servant Anna Pearson, 23, Sweden, May 1877, servant; servant Delia Monahan, 28, Ireland, April 1872, servant.
  11. U.S. Federal Census, 1910, Washington, King County, Seattle City, E.D. 95, Sheet No. 9A, border David S. Ricker, 28, Ohio, editor, magazine; border [wife of 1 year] Madge S. Ricker, 26, Illinois, no children. David’s age here is low by several years.
  12. Canada Census, 1911, British Columbia, Vancouver City, District No. 12, Enumeration District No. 7, Page 21, border David S. Ricker, 31, U. States, April 1880, adver agent; wife Madge Voe Ricker, 24, U. States, Dec. 1886.
  13. U.S. Federal Census, 1920, California, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles City, E.D. 476, Sheet No. 1A, Layne D. Ricker, F, 36, Tennessee; David S. Ricker, 40, Ohio, director of publicity, motion pict. stud.
  14. The First Five Generations of the Swing Family in America, compiled by Albert H. Swing and Harry P. Swing, April 1961. Available at Heritage Quest Online. This document provides numerous biographical and vital details, but there are few references cited for any of the information.
  15. Obituary, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois. 4 June 1929, David Swing Ricker, died 2 June 1929 in Santa Monica. Article cites a 2 June 1929 article from Los Angeles, California, which provides biographical details and the names of some of his survivors.
  16. Marriage Intentions, Daily News, New York, New York, 5 March 1939, Hope Dare, Dixie Davis Will Wed, Then Separate, It Seems. The article provides details on the intention for the two to wed, prior to the sentencing of Dixie Davis after pleading guilty to conspiracy to contrive and operate a racket, and his testimony against James J. (Jimmy) Hines for racketeering. The article also provides biographical details about Hope Dare, her family background, marriage to David Swing Ricker at age 17, winning beauty contests, her work in the Follies, and meeting Dixie Davis and exposure to the world of gangsters.
  17. Find a Grave (website). Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), Glendale, Los Angeles County, California, Julius Richard “Dixie” Davis, born: 29 November 1904 in New York; died: 30 December 1969 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California (from record, which includes newspaper clippings announcing his marriage to Hope Dare; making his home in New Mexico; and his brief death notice).
  18. Marriage Announcement, The New London Evening Day, New London, Connecticut, 7 August 1939, ‘Dixie’ Davis and Hope Dare on Honeymoon. The article indicates they married the previous day in Nyack [New York] after serving a prison sentence, and provides biographical information regarding his association with the Dutch Shultz mob as their attorney, and his testimony leading to the conviction of ex-Tammany district leader James J. Hines.
  19. Daily News, New York, New York, 5 March 1939, Hope Dare, Dixie Davis Will Wed, Then Separate, It Seems. The article provides detailed biographical information for both Hope and Dixie, and mentions some of Dixie’s mob associates and his first wife, and Hope’s parents and first husband.
  20. Travalance (website: travsd.wordpress.com), Hope Dare Davis: Follies Girl and Gun Moll. Biographical details of Hope Dare, her theatrical career, and her relationship and marriage to J. Richard “Dixie” Davis.
  21. Business Administration, Text Prepared by 400 of the Foremost Educators, Business and Professional Men in America. Chicago, DeBower Chapline Company, Publishers of University Textbooks, 1909. Page 299, The Making of Millionaires, by David Swing Ricker. The article leads with a summary of his education and business accomplishments.
  22. The Daily News, New Westminster, British Columbia, 14 February 1912, Page Five, New Weekly Magazine. Article about the new magazine, Public Opinion, edited by David Swing Ricker. The article indicates he arrived in B.C. two years previous, and provides information about several of his business ventures.
  23. Divorce Filing, The Chicago Daily Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, 5 June 1909, Husband’s Misconduct Told By Mrs. David Swing Ricker. The article discusses Mrs. Elizabeth Shay Ricker’s testimony in the trial of her divorce suit against her husband, David Swing Ricker, that they were married on 27 January 1904 and separated in April 1908. They have one daughter, Elizabeth Ann Ricker, age 2 years. Mrs. Ricker said she found her husband living with another woman, Margaret Voe.
  24. The British Columbia Gazette, Volume L, No. 48, Victoria, 1 December, 1910, Land Notices, pages 13706 and 13752, David Swing Ricker and Madge Voe Ricker. Available at Internet Archive (website: archive.org).
  25. The Coos Bay Times, Marshfield, Oregon, 24 January 1914, Noted Writer Reaches City. David Swing and Wife Tramping Coast, Pleased With Marshfield.
  26. wikipedia.org, Wikipedia contributors. “Dixie Davis.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 22 Oct. 2019. Web. 15 Oct. 2020.
  27. wikipedia.org, Wikipedia contributors. “Dixie Davis.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 22 Oct. 2019. Web. 15 Oct. 2020. Life Magazine (available at books.google.com), 15 August 1939, page 42, The Strange Case of Hope Dare.
Second Generation
3. Barclay Davis2 (Hope1). Barclay married Loretta _____ (born ____, parents not determined).