Dirks Family

Antje Jannsen Dirks came to America in 1883 with her four daughters, Antje, Altje, Metje and Jurina. Her daughter Altje married Sander Assing that same year. She made her home with Altje and Sander. John Ulfert came to America in the late 1880's. They all came from Ostgrossefehn (Ostfrl) Germany. Antje Jannsen Dirks died November 25, 1917 and is buried next to her daughter Metje in the Union Cemetary, Pomeroy, Iowa. The plot is in the southeast corner and is a short distance north of the Dick Dirks family plot.

Antje Dirks married John Heide a widower with six children John, Peter, Otto, William, Anna and Louise. They lived on a farm west of Pomeroy. They had a very nice home and were blessed with four more children, Amelia (Mattie), Lena, Antje Louise (Lizzie), and Fritz. John Heide came from Schewig, Holstein.

Altje Dirks married Sander Assing. They lived on a farm northeast of Pomeroy. They all had pretty hard sliding. They were a long ways from Fort Dodge, no cars, no trains, just dirt roads. They either had to go by foot, horseback, or team of oxen on the lumber wagon. They had a large family, Dick, Antje, Gertie, Ella, Anna, John, Sander, Bill, Lizzie.

Metje Dirks married a cousin, John Dirks. They lived on a farm northeast of Pomeroy and raised a family of six, Anna, Hannah, Hilda, Irene, Jurgen, and Alfred. Her husband John was killed by a bull. She got hurt trying to help him, but was lucky to get through the fence and up to the house.

Jurena Dirks married Wenzel Zeman and made their home near Palmer. They also had a large family. Mary, John, Willie, Albert, Anna, Alvina, Magie and twin girls Lenie and Minnie. She died at the age of 80. They were the only couple to celebrate their Golden Wedding anniversary, that was in 1938.

John Ulfert Dirks was a skipper. He married Johanna Jannsen Schoon and lived in Germany. They had two daughters Antje and Tena. Johanna got sick and died and left him with two little girls about 3 and 4 years old. His sister, Mrs Assing got him to come to America in the late 80's. He stayed with his sister a while, then he had his sweetheart, Peterje Schoon come over to America. They got married July 30,1890. He worked for a farmer for a while and then he got a job at the Blanden farm where all the newcomers got work. also girls got work there. They had about 20 hired men and 3 or 4 hired girls. The men slept in the out buildings and some times the bedbugs got so thick they about carried them away. They had to smoke them out now and then. One day they were hauling coal and it was icy. He fell and broke his hip, so he was laid up for a while. It didn't heal right and his one leg was shorter than the other, so he walked with a cane. In his family there were thirteen children, Sena, Dick, Lena, Stella, Ella, Hannah, Rena, Otto, Mattie, Minnie, Mary and the two girls from his first wife Antje and Tena. The girls all got married quite young. After old man Blanden died they moved on his sister's farm as she had an empty house that nobody lived in, it was northeast of Pomeroy. Next one of his sons got married so they had to move on. They rented a house north of Pomeroy, close to the Swede church. He had a team of horses so he took care of the cemetery to make a few dollars, it all helped. Then one of his daughters got them to move on their farm and they built them a two room house, a kitchen and a bedroom. There they lived until he died in May 1938.