Background
Her mother, Magdalena Augusta Schmid Diebitsch, was from Saxony and her father Herman Henry Diebitsch, was Prussian and was a Smithsonian Institution clerk.
Her mother, Magdalena Augusta Schmid Diebitsch, was from Saxony and her father Herman Henry Diebitsch, was Prussian and was a Smithsonian Institution clerk.
Born Josephine Cecilia Diebitsch in Washington, District of Columbia, on May 22, 1863. She had a brother, Emil Diebitsch, who later became the mayor of Nutley, New Jersey.