Many public libraries have developed outstanding digital archives in recent years.

My paternal grandmother grew up in Cherokee, Iowa. A decade ago when I started researching my family history, I requested documents from Cherokee through the mail and even made trips there to look for records. On one of those visits I recall feeling cross-eyed after looking at newspapers on microfilm, but I did find the July 1891 obituary of my great-grandfather, John Stahl.

Today I circled back online and found great progress. The Cherokee Public Library has a wonderful “community history archive,” a digital collection of thousands of pages from the six newspapers published in the area between 1870 and 1989. One can search for people, places or events. I found John Stahl’s obituary in just seconds!

On the same page of the Cherokee Times, I was drawn to another news headline, “Deepest Depravity.” A man had been arrested for “debauching” a six-year-old.The article went on to report the accused – a man named Anderson – had a brother “formerly of this place, and of unsavory reputation.” The 1891 journalist concluded “if Anderson is guilty of the offenses charged, it will be confirmation of the heredity of criminal propensities.”

While I wondered what strand of DNA carries this biological information, I wasted a little more time searching for how the story ended. Weeks later, a few lines in The Weekly Cherokean Democrat announced Anderson had been released from jail on a writ of habeas corpus. “It was found the papers were not properly made out and the argument of the case postponed.”

I found no more mention of the Anderson brothers and conclude they both may have moved on from the Cherokee community.

The moral of the story, or at least the moral of this posting: check back for digital enhancements to websites/sources you’ve visited in the past.