I was recently in Acacia Park Cemetery in Norridge, Illinois (suburban Chicago) filling Find a Grave photo requests. While I was doing this, I happened upon this tombstone:
It marked the grave of a man named George J. Dietrich with the epitaph "After Life's Fitful Fever He Sleeps Well." The quote is from Shakespeare's Macbeth:
I decided to see what I could "dig up" about George Dietrich to see why he was given the interesting epitaph.
Surprisingly there was not a lot of information out there about "Dutch" - such as where he got the nickname Dutch. He was born January 23, 1888 in Sioux City, Iowa to Joseph Dietrich (1845-????) and Veronica Messinger (1846-1928). Both Joseph and Veronica were born in Austria. I was unable to find marriage information for them; however since all their children were born in Iowa, it is likely that they met and married after they came to the US. Joseph and Veronica were blessed with three children: Charles Andrew Dietrich (1885-1942), George Joseph Dietrich (1888-1926) and Fannie Dietrich (1890-1897). Joseph Dietrich worked for a company that imported and exported furs and animal pelts.
Other than his birth record, the first mention we find about George is in connection with the death of his sister Fannie on March 15, 1897:
Fannie was only seven years old when she was killed. She was buried in St. Boniface Cemetery in Chicago on March 18, 1897 under the name of Francisca J. Dietrich. According to the Sexton of St. Boniface Cemetery, Fannie is in a Term Grave. Term Graves used to be available to people who could not afford the cost of a regular grave. Term Graves have been in use in Europe for hundreds of years but were not popular in the US because there is no shortage of land here for cemeteries. Term Graves were typically for a term of twenty years then had to be renewed by the family if they wished. Fannie's grave was not renewed and it is not even possible to figure out where it was. The Catholic Cemetery Database says her grave is in Section B, Row 34, Grave 94 but the Sexton said that any section that contained Term Graves was replatted after they became available as permanent graves and the previous location has no connection to any current section. He also said that if her grave had been marked the marker was long gone.
According to the article, the Dietrich family lived at 274 Randolph (now 945 West Randolph) Street in Chicago. A commercial building occupies that site today.
I was unable to find the Dietrich Family in the 1900 US Census. I found the entry for 274 Randolph but the Dietrichs no longer lived there. Perhaps the memories of their daughter Fannie made it too difficult for them to continue to live there.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, there is not a lot of information out there about George. Not only had the Dietrich family disappeared from the 1900 US Census, I was unable to find George in either the 1910 or 1920 US Census.
Starting January 17, 1920 the era known as "Prohibition" started in the United States. It was based on the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution which prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages.
Sometime in the early 1920s George Dietrich bought a 1/2 interest in a saloon at 1657 West Lake Street in Chicago. Townhomes occupy that spot today in the shadow of the Lake Street Elevated tracks. This was during Prohibition - probably not the best time to buy a saloon. He bought the saloon with his friend William Sweeney. Even if they tried to run their saloon legally all the distributors they had to deal with were lawbreakers. The Chicago Tribune described George Dietrich as a known pickpocket and holdup man, but I could not find any evidence of his previous record (if any) with the Chicago police.
On May 31, 1922 George Dietrich married Catherine Tuck (1898-1992) in Chicago. The groom was thirty-four years old; the bride was twenty-three.
Catherine Elizabeth Tuck was born July 14, 1898 in Plymouth, Illinois to Benjamin Franklin Tuck (1868-1937) and Adelaide Ream Dewitt (1865-1901). Benjamin and Adelaide Tuck were blessed with two daughters: Catherine Elizabeth/Mrs. George Dietrich (1898-1992) and Marjorie Ellen/Mrs. George W. Renz (1899-1982). Benjamin Tuck was a rancher and sheep herder in Montana.
This is from the Macomb (IL) Daily Bystander from June 10, 1922:
"The groom is not known in Plymouth."
George and Katherine were blessed with a daughter, Helen Mary Dietrich (1923-1996), born June 18, 1923 in Oak Park, Illinois.
On the evening of Monday, March 22, 1926 George Dietrich was standing behind the bar of his saloon, some sources say drinking a beer. In a sequence of events that happened so quickly they could hardly be described, someone walked in, drew a gun and shot Dietrich in the abdomen at point blank range. Sweeney quickly and loudly ordered everyone out of the bar, locked the doors and drove his partner to the Midwest Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Here is his Death Certificate:
Charles also stepped in to make the funeral arrangements. He contracted with James O'Keefe of the O'Keefe Funeral Home, 4245 West Madison Street, Chicago and bought four graves in the Maple Section of Acacia Park Cemetery on Irving Park Road in Chicago. George and Charles had to have been Masons. In 1926 one had to be a Mason to be buried at Acacia Park. George was buried Friday March 26, 1926.
Why was Dutch Dietrich gunned down in his saloon in 1926? The Chicago Tribune suggested it may turn into "the start of a new beer or booze war." They also reported that Dietrich was "killed in his own shop, supposedly by beer wholesalers." In a later article they said Dietrich was "slain by beer peddlers." First, George's partner in the saloon William Sweeney was suspected of being involved in the murder. Other sources said gangster, Joe Saltis, was the prime suspect. Officially, the case of the murder of George Dietrich was never solved.
THE REST OF THE STORY
William Sweeney (1881-1927), Dietrich's partner in the saloon, was originally the primary suspect in Dietrich's murder. He was subsequently released by the Chicago Police Department due to lack of evidence. However, Sweeney did not fare much better as was reported by the Chicago Tribune on January 9, 1927, not even a year after Dietrich was killed:
Sweeney is buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois, Section O, Block 31, Lot 59. Unfortunately his grave is not marked:
Veronica Messinger Dietrich (1846-1928), George's mother, never remarried after the death of her husband Joseph. She died April 16, 1928 in Chicago. She was eighty-two years old. She is buried in Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery in Chicago, Section 30 - Lot 26, Grave N Line 1-8 HD. Unfortunately, her grave is not marked:
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| Family Monument has no names or dates on it. |
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| Photo courtesy of Find a Grave Volunteer Wanda |
Charles Andrew Dietrich (1885-1942), George's older brother. For most of his career, he worked as a caterer for the Union League Club of Chicago. He married Louise C. Reinke (1890-1980) in 1912 but they subsequently divorced. He died May 2, 1942 in Chicago and is buried in Acacia Park Cemetery next to his brother George in the Maple Section - Block 1, S 1/2 Lot 8, Grave 3. Unfortunately, his grave is not marked. When George died, Charles bought four graves at Acacia Park; to date only two have been used.
Note: Any photos not labelled otherwise are from the author's collection.
