This reference to a 1914 partition suit reminds us that newspapers may supplement what is in court records and may be all that exists if records have been misfiled or destroyed.
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| Quincy Daily Journal, 3 June 1914, page 12--digital image on http://www.quincylibrary.org |
Of course, newspapers also get details incorrect. The paper states that "Heipke Dirks, Lena Janssen, and Anna Goldenstein, all of Palmyra, Mo., are children of Bernard Dirks..."
Minor error there--actually two.
- Heipke Dirks was the wife of Bernard Dirks not his child.
- Dirks, Janssen, and Goldenstein did not live in Palmyra, Missouri. All were Adams County, Illinois, residents. Another daughter--unnamed in this newspaper account--lived in Palmyra.
Newspapers don't always get it right. But...if I had not been aware of this court case, the newspaper reference would have been a big help.
