Margin Notes: The Curious Case of Eddie Krajic, Alexander Webster & Judge Adolph Sabath

An inside look at my approach and processes, and some of the challenges faced

Release date: June 5, 2025

Hi, and welcome to the Margin Notes on The Curious Case of Eddie Krajic, Alexander Webster & Judge Adolph Sabath.

The Curious Case of Eddie Krajic, Alexander Watson & Judge Adolph Sabath

Today, I’ll be sharing a little about where I found this lost & found story, my over all approach to the story, some of the challenges I faced in piecing it together, and a bit of historical context that didn’t make it into the finished story.

So let’s, see what we find!

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Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, Jan 18, 1898 ·Page 8

An underdog story with potential

I came across the article that became this story on page 2 of the Feb 3, 1898 edition of the Clay Center, KS Times while researching a different project over at Newspapers.com, and was drawn in by the headline.

Boy Proves a Good Lawyer: Eddie Krajic, 11 Years Old, Surprises Justice Sabath by His Legal Knowledge.

Who doesn’t love a scrappy kid who stands up for himself, right?

In a quick read, I noticed a few things right off the bat:

• The premise seemed possible. Children, especially immigrant children in big cities, often started working as young as six or seven. I could believe a smart, ambitious kid might find a job as an office boy at a law firm, and then be taken advantage of.

• The newspaper article offered a fairly complete story, and there likely wasn’t a whole lot I’d be able to add to it unless there were court records, which I doubted.

• The article didn’t reference where the story took place. The only clue was the location of the attorney’s office at 190 West Madison street — no city listed.

• The boy’s surname was unique and I had an age range, so I could probably locate and verify his location and identity through other records

• Although no first name was given for the judge, either, as a public servant with an uncommon surname it probably wouldn’t be too hard to verify his location and identity either, even without an age range.

• The attorney would probably be harder to find and verify given that he had a common surname and only initials were provided, and again, no location or age range.

• The “next friend” J. K. Tenant, would be a tough nut to crack, but his identity wasn’t critical to the story.

• The article included quotes from both Eddie and the judge, and, although they were likely fabricated by the reporter, they did add some color and sass to the story.

I was curious and willing to see what I could find.

Let the research begin

Since I was already at Newspapers.com, I typed “Eddie Krajic” and “1898” into the respective fields and hit Search. Eighteen thumbnails of the exact same headline and story popped up from nine midwestern states.

There were no datelines, but it was pretty clear Eddie’s story was part of a syndicated package that also included a second story about a “bright-eyed and cheerful little voyager” named Victor McKenzie who’d somehow crossed the Atlantic on his own at just 16-months of age. (A story for another time, perhaps? I added it to my teaser file.)