Michael John Neill's Genealogy Website
The discussion of John S. Driesbach and Sophia (Dirks) Driesbach continues. In February of 1914, Sophia (Dirks) Driesbach died in Coatsburg, Illinois. She was survived by her husband John S. It’s not entirely clear if he was living in Coatsburg when she died. His residence is not mentioned in her obituary and the reference to […]
Ancestry.com recently announced that “Missouri, Western District Naturalization Index, 1848-1990” is new or has been updated. I wish they’d tweak the title as well for one reason: it’s not accurate Looking at the title may cause one to think that this database only includes Missouri. That’s incorrect. While there are records from as early as […]
The newspaper account of Joseph Neill’s death continues: Passing over his body at a point just below the breast the body was cut in twain, the lower half passing under the train and the upper half being tossed to one side of the track. Many See Accident The accident was witnessed by a large number […]
There’s a single tombtsone for Joseph Neill in the West Point, Illinois, cemetery. It stands beside the larger stone for his parents, Samuel and Annie Neill. Like most stones it tells little about John’s life and nothing about the tragic nature of his death. The story of Joseph’s death is chronicled in the Monmouth, Illinois, Republican-Atlas […]
Sometimes it can be tedious going through all the newspaper references for a relative. There are times when it can be worth the effort. I don’t really know too much about Sophia (Dirks) Driesbach, my great-grandmother’s aunt. Sophia and her husband had no children and she died in her mid-forties in Coatsburg, Adams County, Illinois, […]
While AncestryDNA is running their $59 DNA testing kit sale (through “Cyber Monday” 27 November), I decided to purchase one more test for a relative by marriage whose family has not been tested before. I’m hoping it will help me on one great-great-grandfather whose paternal grandparents are reasonably known–it’s just which son is the direct line that’s the […]
I maintain the following genealogy blogs: Rootdig.com—Michael’s thoughts, research problems, suggestions, and whatever else crosses his desk Genealogy Tip of the Day—one genealogy research tip every day–short and to the point Genealogy Search Tip—websites I’ve discovered and the occasional online research tip–short and to the point? Subscription/Unsubscription links are on the top of each page. […]
DNA will not solve all your genealogical research problems and your DNA test results will not spit out every precise relationship you have with other testers. It can confirm close relationships relatively easily–parent/child or sibling, etc. Certain types of DNA testing can confirm more distant connections along certain biological lines (mitochondrial for direct maternal and […]
Sophia Dreisbach died in Coatsburg, Adams County, Illinois, on 2 February 1914. In her early forties, Sophia died in the town where she had been born in 1868 and where she had spent much of her life. She was laid to rest in the Dirks family plot in Coatsburg’s Gray Cemetery. Sophia’s estate in Adams […]
This is my last purchase on Ebay for a while–the 1862 Assessor’s List for Saint Mary’s Township in Hancock County, Illinois. It’s too far east in the county for me to have any family there, but I went ahead and purchased it anyway. We’ll take some images from it and post them after it arrives as they’ll make […]
