09 December 2008

Adams County, Illinois, Court Records Can't be Found


I was hoping to find details of this case in the Adams County, Illinois, court records. It was not to be. Volke Sartorius sued her father's estate in 1892 for money her former beau gave to her father, Ulfert Behrens, to pay for the care of Ulfert's granddaughter, who was the daughter of the beau as well.


The newspaper account of the case goes on, at great length, making the entire situation very much like a soap opera. It goes so far as to name the father of Volke's baby, Harm Habbus. So far, my initial searches for Harm have not located him.

I hired a researcher in Quincy, Illinois, the Adams County seat to research this court case. She has done work for me in the past. This time no record could be located. She provided me a list of records she had used, what she searched for and what was not found. She was frustated as well. I am just fortunate that the newspaper account provides as much information as it does.

Next on my list are to try and access the records of the church where the family attended. They probably had Fredericka baptized and I am curious what name is listed for the father. The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has the county's marriage records. I will wait until my trip to Salt Lake to locate the marriage record for Fredericka Behrens. According to the newspaper account she was raised by her grandparents, Ulfert and Fredericka Behrens. We will post more details as they are located.