Posts in January 3, 2023

Reading the entire newspaper article in which your relative’s name appears should be done because at the very least it provides context. Sometimes it provides much more. Sophia Dirks was easy to find in this March 1896 entry in the Camp Point [Illinois] Journal because her name was spelled correctly and the legible print made it easy to read. The article documented her employment at the Adams County Poor Farm as a “matron assistant.” There was another name in the article as well: John Diesback. In April of 1896, Sophia Dirks and John Diesbach–actually John Driesbach–were married in Coatsburg, Adams, Illinois, where Sophia was from. I had wondered how Sophia and John met. This newspaper article referencing their employment at the local poor farm explained how they met. […]