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Below is a family biography included in The History of Cole County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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Judge John H. Diercks, probate judge of Cole County, and one of the representative citizens of the county, was born at Wedel, near Pinneburg, Schlesweig-Holstein, Germany, July 2, 1831, and is the son of John Detlef and Elsabe (Von Helms) Diercks. The father was a farmer by occupation, and belonged to a sturdy race of people noted for their great longevity. Judge John H. Diercks, in his early life, became an apprentice clerk in the grocery trade. In 1851 he came to America, spent two years at Mineral Point, in Wisconsin, and then went to St. Louis, where he completed his schooling in a business college at that place. He taught one term of school, and later went to Osage County, Mo., where he was engaged for thirty years in various employments, viz.: merchandising, farming and milling being the principal ones. While a resident there he was judge of the county court three years, and represented Osage County in the Thirtieth General Assembly. He was postmaster at Castle Rock for about twenty years, and all this time was closely identified with the Democratic party. He was married in Osage County to Miss Sarah Ellen Thornton, a native of Ohio, and the daughter of Samuel Y. Thornton, who was born in Maryland. This happy union was terminated by the death of Mrs. Diercks in 1868. She left three daughters and one son: Samuel, who died shortly after his mother’s death; Katie, deceased wife of E. W. Wood, of O’Fallon, Mo., and who left one son and two daughters; Fannie Louisa, wife of Thomas M. Lockette, of Texas, and Laura, wife of James Wells, of Cole County. Mr. Diercks took for his second wife Adelia Thornton, sister of his first wife, and they became the parents of five children, two of whom are now living, Jessie and Florence. Judge Diercks moved to Jefferson City in 1885, and is the owner of considerable city property. He is a stockholder in the Merchants’ Bank, is one of its original subscribers, and is one of the Jefferson City Brick Company’s stockholders. He started life in America with but three cents in his pocket, and is a fair example of what can be accomplished by integrity and upright dealing. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge, and he and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. In 1887 Judge Diercks was appointed by Gov. Marmaduke probate judge, and in 1888 he was elected to the office.

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This family biography is one of 127 biographies included in The History of Cole County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Cole County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Cole County, Missouri family biographies here: Cole County, Missouri Biographies

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