Reaching Back Further in Posen (2016) Friday, June 3, 2016

I was thinking about how I could use the Posen/Poznan database further for researching the Kluge and Nowald names ...

Since I have a potential data point:

Father of Christoph Kluge (b. 1819) = Georg Kluge ... let me look for Georg Kluge (b. circa 1780s-1790s) in this database.

I came up with 9 matches. Of those, only 3 have marriage dates occurring before the birth of Christoph (1819).

Protestant community Zdunyentry 16 / 1800

• Johann Georg Kluge (26 years old)  100%
• Dorothea Elisabeth Hoffman (21 years old) 
  father: Christian Gottfried Hoffman +

+ Add comment
Original record

Protestant community Zdunyentry 13 / 1800

• Georg Kluge (24 years old)  100%
• Anna Marie Elisabeth Grätze (23 years old) 
  father: Georg Grätze +

+ Add comment
Original record

Protestant community Sieraków [Zirke]entry 18 / 1817

• Georg Kluge (21 years old)  100% 
  father: Christoph Kluge
• Louise Schaerfchen alias Schulz (33 years old, widow) 
  Additional information: Wittwe George Schaerschen

This last record looks the most promising.

So now we have:

Georg Kluge (b. 1796) (father Christoph Kluge b. circa 1770s)

+ Louise Schulz (m. 1817)

Children

i. Christoph Kluge b. 1819

Now, look up marriage of Louise Schulz to George Schaerschen to find any further info on her (like father). Nothing came up in the search. Note, this database only goes to 1800. They could have been married before 1800 altho then she'd be 15 years old or less.

Now, looking up marriage of any other "Christoph Kluge", around 1790s? (If so, then not in the database).

What about Wilhelmine Norwald's parents?

Wilhelmine was born circa 1825 - parents' marriage could be around that time.

Now, looking up "Nowald" male spouse last name.

Catholic parish Rokitno [Rokitten]entry 2 / 1802

• Bernardus Nowald (28 years old)  100%
• Marianna Elisabeth Obertinn (38 years old, widow) 

+ Add comment
Original record

Catholic parish Rokitno [Rokitten]entry 1 / 1807

• Bernardus Nowald (widower)  100%
• Anna Marianna Karginn 

+ Add comment
Original record

Protestant community Wronki [Wronke]entry 4 / 1824

• Johann Gottlieb Nowald (25 years old)  100%
• Anna Rosina Schmidt (26 years old) 

The first two entries seem too early.

So then the Johann Gottlieb Nowald m. Anna Rosina Schmidt might be a good guess.

There's also this entry in the same town as the marriage of Christoph and Wilhelmine.

Protestant community Szamotuły [Samter]entry 4 / 1804

• Matthias Nowak (30 years old)  77%
• Caroline Griebsch (19 years old) 
  father: Andreas Griebsch

Get the scoop - read on!

Next Steps Last Day of Trip (2016) Sunday, May 22, 2016

For 5/23/2016, Focus on the following:
1. Anna Maria (Rosina?) Kohler (look again at W Emigration Index, vol 5).
Possibly from Liebesdorf / Michelbach an der Heide parish 1528592 Items 8-11
and family reg in 1528593

Update: looked at these during 2017 trip. See other post for details.

2. Look at W Emigration Index for Heinrich Friedrick Ludwig Goetz (in US by 1861; 16 Sep 1858? possibly from Baden-Baden)
Le Harve ship record says Baden
In looking in Baden emigration records on ancestry, 
a Gotz person from Balzhofen, Buehl, Baden

Update: looked at Detroit Trinity Church record again. Goetz from Sachen-Gotha area. 

3. Look at Freedom Moravian Church records for Kluge marriage 28 Sep 1873 1392658 Items 1 - 4
What town is Christof Kluge from?

Updated: Found marriage record for Christoph in Samter, Posnan.

4. Goetsch: Kurow tape 1496969 Items 3-5; or look up obits for Goetsch?

Wilhelm R Goetsch 1 Sep 1868 to America (look on ancestry at US Natl recs?)
Michigan death cert says: Berbero, Germany (16 Mar 1922)

Get the scoop - read on!

Ziegler/Koehler Leads - the Search Continued (2016) Friday, May 20, 2016

Before I left for Salt Lake, I reviewed the info I had on my second great-grandfather, Christian Fred Ziegler, and second great-grandmother, Anna Maria Kohler.

Pre-visit Info
Names, birth dates, parents names, sibling and origin info

Christian Fredrich Ziegler, (goes by Fred)
b. 29 Dec 1831,
Georg Ziegler (mayor) and Rosa Steckmeyer,
1 older brother and 1 older sister,
Stuttgart area, something that sounded like "Gerbum" village
Note: before I left, I also determined that "Steckmeyer" might really be written "Stegmaier"
Anna Maria Kohler,
b. 14 May 1829,
Otto and Lena Kohler,
2 older sisters,
"nearby" Hall area

Date of emigration/ship crossing
Sep/Oct 1857, arriving in New York

Thursday Search Steps
I went directly to the first basement, B1, the International floor and got to work.

Wurttemberg Emigration Index (WEI): I had previously looked in the Index, both in Ancestry and in the hard copy books. I knew there were several Fred and Christian Ziegler entries listed without birth dates. So the challenge was to figure out which of those entries was our ancestor (or maybe none of them).

A volunteer at the Family History Library (FHL) reminded me that I needed to look in all 8 volumes of the index since I wasn't sure from which area within Wurttemberg he came.  I identified the following 2 entries in volume 5 as possibilities due to the names, and dates and thought Gerabronn could sound like Gerbum.

- Friedrich Ziegler from Ruppertshofen (Gerabronn), application date Sep 1857 #FHL intl film 573632
- Rosina Koehler from Liesbesdorf (Gerabronn), app date May 1857 #FHL intl film 573623

Map Guide to German Parish Registers, Kingdom of Wurttemberg (MGW):
The FHL volunteer then suggested I look in the Wurttemberg Gazetteer. One volume contained the master town index. I looked up Ruppertshofen and Liesbesdorf in the index and traced them to the MGW for Jagstkreis (vol 1). Both villages are in the oberamt (town) of Gerabronn (as indicated in the WEI). Ruppertshofen is in its own parish of Ruppertshofen and Liebesdorf is in the parish of Michelbach an der Heide parish.

Friday Search Steps
Wurttemberg Emigration Applications:
I  looked up the actual emigration application FHL intl film numbers for both entries I had "guessed" on Thursday since they didn't seem to be obvious answers. I picked out the first intl film (#572632) from the vault. It was very difficult to read the handwriting. I wasn't sure how the film was organized, so I just started scanning through the applications as fast as I could apply some reasonable pattern matching for "Christian" or "Friedrich" or "Ziegler".

With some luck, I managed to find an application that was from Ruppertshofen and had "Ziegler" on it. I brought it to the volunteer and together we determined it was a list of conditions to be met before emigration. Other than the name "Andreas Ziegler" (I was guessing a brother or other close relative) there wasn't really any other usable information.

Since the application was so hard to read and didn't provide any new info for determining the village, I decided not to look for Rosina Kohler's application at that time and instead move onto the church records for Ruppertshofen.

Ruppertshofen, Gerabronn Lutheran Church Records:
There are two film reels ranging from 1555 (!) to 1986 (!) with the typical baptism, marriage and death entries. Then there are two film reels with family registers from 1555-1986. I figured if I could find the family register with Christian Fred, bro, sis and parents I'd be in good shape. So I loaded onto the film reader intl film # 1528605 which had some of the family registers at the end - and tried to go to those pages. (These films are the reel to reel tapes that you have to hand crank -- so it takes time to navigate the various sections of the film, esp. when German isn't your first language). I couldn't see any relevant family register with Christian Fred Ziegler or family members listed. (BUMMER!)

Note: when I first looked up the Ruppertshofen film in the FHL catalog, Ruppertshofen came up in 2 different parishes (Gaildorf and Gerabronn). I had to go back and check my work to determine that I should go with the Ruppertshofen/Gerabronn (matching the listing in WEI).

I was about to give up and started to slowly rewind the film, just stopping at various pages to see if I could identify anything. I happened to stop in the confirmation section (on a record that was more easily readable) -- year 1845 and saw the record had "Christian Friedrich Ziegler, b. 29 Jan 1831; father Johann Georg Ziegler, Carolina Barabara geb. Stegmeier" ... and thought "OMG, that might be our ancestor."

After lunch, I decided to look at one of the intl films #1528604 with baptisms in the range 1831. I carefully scanned through all of 1831, 1830 and 1829 and didn't see any Ziegler entry. Then I started scanning earlier since we know Christian Fred had an older brother and sister. I was able to locate the record for a Maria Barbara Ziegler b. 14 Nov 1825.  I noticed in the margin the family number "236" so I started looking for other entries with this number. That's how I was able to find the brother Johann Andreas  b. 6 Dec 1822 and finally Christian Friedrich b. 29 Jan 1831. Woo hoo!! I had to find and check the family register to make sure 236 was the correct Ziegler family since there were many Zieglers on these films.

I finally found a family register index on one of the film reels with relevant entries for
- Stegmayer families #173 (Christian's mother's father/mother),
- Ziegler families (# many) #236 (Christian's father/mother),
- Ziegler family #244 (Andreas Z married).

Saturday Steps
I went back over the film reels on Saturday to make sure I was interpreting everything correctly and tried to take a few photos of the different relevant pages for reference.

What was surprising or different from the info we had at the outset?
1. Excellent to pretty definitively know that this family is from Ruppertshofen, Gerabronn area.
2. Christian Fred's mother's name appears to be Carolina Barbara (not Rosina); she has a sister named Rosina.
3. This seems to be an error in the confirmation - as C Fred's birthday in the family register is 29 Dec 1831. (Christian Fred's birth date appears to be 29 Jan (not Dec) 1831.)
4. Good to learn the sister's and brother's info
5. Good to validate that C Fred's father's name is Georg, his mother's surname is Stegmaier and learn their birth, marriage and death dates.
6. In the family register, it indicates the marriage dates (both 1850) and surnames of the spouses for C Fred's brother Johann Andreas (Mach) and sister Maria Barbara (xx) but there's no such indication for C Fred (meaning he didn't get married in Germany?)
7. There's a notation next to C Fred's name in the family register indicating he went to North America in 1857.
8. Learned C Fred's Stegmaier grandparents' names (Johann Georg Stegmaier and Anna Catharina).
9. In the confirmation record, I believe it says C Fred's father was an administrator (pointing to the info we have about being a mayor later in life?)
10. Did a quick search in familysearch.org on "Ziegler in Ruppertshofen" and many Zieglers showed up in Gerabronn - so there's a bunch of families to pick thru there at a later time.

Records of which I have a copy now:
- Christian Fred Ziegler emigration application FHL intl film #573632, 2 pages
From Ruppertshofen Gerabronn FHL intl films #1528604, #1528605, #1528606
- Christian Fred, Maria Barbara, Johann Andreas Ziegler baptismal records
- Christian Fred Ziegler confirmation
- Johann Georg Ziegler (Christian Fred's father) family register (family 236)
- Johann Andreas Ziegler  (Christian Fred's brother) family register (family 244)
- Johann Stegmaier (Christian F's mother, Carolina Barabara)  family register (family 174) (fuzzy photo-need to retake)
- Need Rosina Mach (wife of Andreas Ziegler) family 111

--- References ---
1. Kirchenbuch, 1555-1986 , Evangelische Kirche Ruppertshofen (OA. Gerabronn) FHL intl film #1528605 Heiraten (u. Orte) 1842-1953 Tote 1795-1957 Konfirmation 1842-1986 Familienregister u. Index (u. Orte)
2. Kirchenbuch, 1555-1986 , Evangelische Kirche Ruppertshofen (OA. Gerabronn) FHL intl film #1528604
3. Kirchenbuch, 1555-1986 , Evangelische Kirche Ruppertshofen (OA. Gerabronn) FHL intl film #1528606.
4. Map guide to German parish registers vol 1 (Jagstkreis), and master index volume (books)
5. Wuerttemberg emigration index volumes 1-8 (books)
6. Auswanderungsakten Gerabronn (Württemberg). Oberamt, 1818-1870 (Wuerttemberg emigration applications) intl film #573632


----Notes from research days----
Update 5/22:
Generally from the town of Gerabronn (Wiki link) (DE link - nice paintings from late 1800s)
Update 5/21: Looked up the tapes for Ruppertshofen -
1528605 has some of the family registers at the end - tried to go there.
Didn't see Christine Fred listed.
Was about to give up, but stopped in the confirmation section -- year 1831 and saw a record that has "Christian Friedrich Ziegler, b. 29 Jan 1831; father Johann Georg Ziegler, mother geb. Stegmeier" ... so might be him.
Getting a different tape after lunch (1528604 has baptisms from 1831).
Looked up Ruppertshofen (town) to see its part of Gerabronn.
Looked up the actual application for Friedrich Ziegler in Ruppertshofen. No additional info (very hard to read).
Update 5/20 - In looking at the Wuerttemberg Emigration Index, there are entries for
- Friedrich Ziegler from Ruppertshofen (Gerabronn), app date Sep 1857 #573632
- Rosina Koehler from Liesbesdorf (Gerabronn), app date May 1857 #573623
Look up these towns in the Gazetteer.

Get the scoop - read on!

More on Christof Kluge (2016) Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Before I left for Salt Lake, I reviewed the info I had on my third great-grandfather, Christof Kluge and third great-grandmother, Wilhelmina Norwald.

Pre-visit Info
Names, birth dates, parents names, sibling and origin info

Christof Kluge,
b. 17 Oct 1819 in Treskowo, Posen, Prussia (now Poland)

Emigrated on Ship: Electric

From: Hamburg

To: New York

Arrived: 20 June 1865 with his wife and children

Wilhelmina Norwald
b. 8 Jan 1825 in ?? Posen

Carl Julius Kluge (son) (2nd great-grandfather)
b. abt 1852 in Prussia

Carl's siblings at emigration date:
Justine, Wilhelm Johannes, Pauline, August Ferdinand, Johannes Friedrich

Christof's father Georg Kluge

Christiana Dobler (father Johannes Dobler, mother Anna Marie Hubschneider) married Carl Kluge at Freedom Moravian Chruch, Freedom, WI.

Christina's parents Johann Dobler and Anna Marie Hubschneider are buried at the Freedom Moravian Church Cemetery.

Thursday Search Steps

kartenmeister.com

The first goal was to determine where Treskowo was located. A volunteer told me about a German/Polish placename mapping website. So I went there and entered Treskowo. This is the entry.

German Name	Treskowo, Vorwerk
Polish/Russian Name	More Research Needed
Kreis/County	Posen-Ost
German Province	Posen
Today's Province	Wielkopolskie
Location	East 17°01' North 52°32'
Google Map	Google Maps (Treskowo, Vorwerk)
Map Number	68
Location Description	This village/town is located 3.6 km and 56 degrees from Treskau, which is known today as Owinsk
Lutheran Parish	Murowana Goslin, Kreis Obornik 1905
Catholic Parish	Owinsk 1905
Standesamt/Civil Registry	Owinsk 1905
Gemeindelexikon/Town Index	V-27-101
Population By Year/Einwohner	1905: 88

Map Guide to German Parish Registers, Kingdom of Prussia, Province of Posen II, Regierungsbezirk Posen (MGPosen)
Next, I looked in the (MGPosen) index and traced Treskowo to 2 potential Lutheran counties Kreis Posen Ost  and Stadtkreis Posen, and Kreis Obornik. So now from the kartenmeister.com and the MGPosen, I have all these names of areas for which Treskowo could be part.  Murowana Goslin is shown in the Kreis Obornik area. At this point, I wasn't feeling too confident about the village name (I couldn't remember where I had gotten the name because I had a bunch of sources listed in my database and didn't have time to go back to each one to verify).

Monday Search Steps

Hamburg Passenger Lists
I spoke with the FHL volunteer. She asked "did your ancestor come thru Hamburg to New York?" I said he did. She indicted I should look at the Hamburg passenger list record in ancestry.com because the place of origin would be listed there. In the Hamburg passenger list record for C. Kluge, there was a full listing of the family members and their place of origin (Treskowo)!

Note: I had a listing in my research from Germans to America Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports Vol 16 November 1864-November 1865 book with a partial listing of the family (I wasn't sure if it was the correct Kluge family) but no place of origin was listed.

Moravian Church, Freedom Wisconsin Records
We have the marriage certificate for Carl Kluge and Christiane Dobler (1873) and baptismal certificate for Rose Amelia Kluge (1878). They both list this church as the place of the events. Therefore, I wanted to look at the marriage record to see if Carl's or Christina's place of birth is listed. From the FHL catalog, the records were on US and Canada film #1392658.

I was able to locate the marriage record. Carl was listed as being from "Prussia" and Christiane from "Wuerttemberg" - while these aid in general confirmation, not as good as specific villages or towns. I had the volunteer look at the record. I asked if the mother's maiden name was "Nowack". She said, "yes, that's a typical spelling".  There's also a Wilhelm Kluge listed as one of the witnesses (?) (need translation)

Gazetteer of the Kingdom of Prussia (v5 Posen Province)
I reported to the German native FHLvolunteer that the Kluges were from Treskowo, Posen. She quickly pulled out this book, went to the index and said "27, 101". Then turned to this page labeled "27, Kreis Posen Ost" and scanned to line numbered 101. "Yep," she said, "see this footnote - Treskowo is included with this town. Let's look up Treskowo/Murowana Goslina in the FHL catalog." So we did. But then there were no Lutheran church films available for the time periods for which I was looking (e.g., 1819, 1825, 1852ish). The volunteer said "hey, wait a minute .." and went back to the gazetteer. "There were only 4 Lutherans in this town! So maybe your family was Catholic. Let's look at the Catholic film."

Księgi metrykalne, 1603-1949, Kościół rzymsko-katolicki. Parafja Murowana Goślina (Oborniki)

There were 7 films in the record. The descriptions are in Polish! But I see 2 that have dates in the 1800 range.  I also went to the FHL Info desk and asked if anyone could help me read Polish. They gave me a pager. In the meantime, I went and pulled the 2 intl films from the vault. 

Of course by this time, it was only about 1/2 hour until I needed to leave the library to go to the airport - rats!! Pretty much as soon as I had the first film loaded on the reader, my pager buzzed. I went back to the desk and a volunteer with whom I had worked on Friday was there. She was super knowledgeable! The film turned out to be in Latin (since Catholic records). It was slow going to try and pick thru 1819 and 1852 for "Kluge". We weren't successful, but only spent about 20 minutes searching. There is a large index on this film too. The volunteer suggested looking at the small print under the special 42x or 64x magnification film readers next time I'm in town.

FHL Green Handout on Polish Research

Several people over the course of the visit recommended I speak w/ "Marie Eppich", the FHL Polish research expert. She was not there any of the days but I was able to take a photo of the "FHL green handout on Polish research". Apparently this info is also on the familysearch.org Wiki for Polish research (I haven't looked there yet).

Update:  using the Poznan Project Region Marriage Indexing for 1800-1899, I typed in
"Christoph Kluge" and "Wilhelmina Nowack" and got this response:

Protestant community Szamotuły [Samter]entry 2 / 1850

• Christoph Kluge (30 years old)  100%
• Wilhelmine Nowald (24 years old)  72%

Then I looked up the village in kartenmeiser.com

German Name	Samter
Polish/Russian Name	Szamotuly
Kreis/County	Samter
Residents of Jewish Faith	537
German Province	Posen
Today's Province	Wielkopolskie
Location	East 16°35' North 52°36'
Google Map	Google Maps (Samter)
Map Number	68
Location Description	This village/town is located 32.7 km and 315 degrees from Posen, which is known today as Poznan
Lutheran Parish	Samter 1905
Catholic Parish	Samter 1905
Standesamt/Civil Registry	Samter 1905
Gemeindelexikon/Town Index	V-30-3
Population By Year/Einwohner	1875: 4316 1880: 4414 1905: 6423
Remarks	Kreisstadt - County Seat in the same named Kreis/County
Church	Yes

I'm hoping I can continue to search this village from afar!!

What was surprising or different from the information we had at the outset?
1. The only new information listed was Carl's mother's maiden name being Nowack (not Norwald as we thought). I thought it even said Norwald on her headstone!
2. There's a Wilhelm Kluge listed on the marriage certificate. Who is he? Perhaps Carl's brother?
3. Christiane's mother's maiden name is listed as Hubschneider (great confirmation on info we had from another source).
4. Many Doblers were listed among the church members, so it seems that's why Carl and Christiane were married here.
5. Many Doblers were listed as having come from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
6. The Kluge and Nowack families were possibly Catholic.

Records of which I have a copy now:
- Carl Kluge and Christiane Dobler marriage record from Moravian church book
- Rose Amelia Kluge baptism record from Moravian church book
- Hamburg passenger list entry, C Kluge family

---Refs ---

1. kartenmeister.com

2. Hamburg passenger list index 1872, record for C Kluge

3. Germans to America Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports Vol 16 November 1864-November 1865

4. Church records, 1870-1960 [Freedom Township, Wisconsin], Freedom Moravian Church (Freedom Township, Wisconsin). Contains baptisms 1870-1939; confirmations 1870-1939; communicants; 1870-1888; marriages 1868-1939; funerals 1870-1940, 1957; removals and dismissals 1872-1938, 1953; receptions 1913-1915, 1934-1939; and memberships ca. 1870-1960.

5. Gemeindelexikon fur das Koenigreich Preussen, heft 5, Provinz Posen

6. Księgi metrykalne, 1603-1949, Kościół rzymsko-katolicki. Parafja Murowana Goślina (Oborniki), 

FHL intl film # 1191115 Akta urodzeń 1790-1794 -- Akta zgonów 1772-1794 -- Akta małżeństw 1772-1794 -- Akta urodzeń 1795-1837, 1772-1794, 1815-1847 (okolica) -- Akta małżeństw 1795-1849 -- Akta zgonów 1795-1823
FHL intl film # 1191116 Akta zgonów 1823-1849 -- Akta urodzeń 1848-1874 -- Akta zgonów 1849-1875 -- Akta małżeństw 1849-1901 -- Akta urodzeń 1753

7. FHL green handout on Polish research
8. Poznan Project Region Marriage Indexing for 1800-1899 at poznan-project.psnc.pl

----Notes from Research Days----
Update 5/20: In looking at the Map Guide to German Parish Registers Kingdom of Prussia  - Province of Posen book II; no direct translation of Treskowo. But it does show the Murowana-Goslin parish #746968. There is also a Kreis Posen Ost.

From the kartenmeister.com, it says Treskowo, Vorwerk and Lutheran Parish Murowana Goslin, Kreis Obornik 1905. Civil registry Owinsk 1905. Kreis Posen-Ost.

Looking for the village of Christof Kluge......he may have come from Treskowo, Posen, Prussia.

To date, I'm not sure what the Polish version of this place name is.

From the LDS catalog, there's Germany, Preußen, Posen, Trzuskotowo or Treskowo/Owinsk, Posen/Pozan

Link to Christof Kluge past post.
Possibly emigrated in 1866
From Germans to America Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports
Vol 16 November 1864-November 1865
Page 175 

Ancestry: Wisconsin wills and probate for Christof

What about looking at their church records (Moravian church of Black Creek?)
LDS film: Church records, 1870-1960 [Freedom Township, Wisconsin]

Get the scoop - read on!

Heitzmann / Heismann / Heitchmann Hot on the Trail? (2016) Sunday, May 15, 2016

Before I left for Salt Lake, I reviewed the info I had on my thrid great-grandfather, Jakob Heizmann and third great-grandmother, Mary Scheibel.

Pre-visit Info
Names, birth dates, parents names, sibling and origin info

i. Jacob Heizman (b. abt 1808, d. ?)
+ Mary Scheibel (b. abt 1808, d. after 1880; she appears in 1880 US Census)
Children:
a. Caroline Barbara (b. 1834, Germany, d. 1910, Michigan)
+ John Hiller (m. 1860 Detroit, Michigan)
b. Fredrich (b. 1836, Germany, d. ?)
+ Julie Crawford (Morgan) (m. 1893 Northville, Michigan)
c. Christine (b. 2 Aug 1839, Wittenberg or Wittershausen, Germany (per death cert), d. 1919, Michigan)
+ HF Ludwig Goetz (m. Mar 1861 at Trinity Church, Detroit, Michigan)
d. Johann ?
e. Ursula (aka Lucy) (b. 1850, Germany, d. 1933, Michigan)
+ Peter Brink (m. 1876)

Emigration: 23 Jan 1854 - William Jarvis ship's record for Jacob, Barbary (19yr), Fredrich (18yr) and Christine (14yr).

New York State Census 1855 - Christine Heizman as a servant (16yr)
So many spellings of Heitzmann. Here are a few:

Hetzman Haizman Heitchmann Heisman Heizmann Hutzman Haitzman Heitzman

What about obits? I don't have any from these folks.

Thursday Search Steps
Wurttemberg Emigration Index (WEI): I looked in the Index (all volumes) and found an entry in volume five for Jakob Heizman and F (family?) with a close birthday (21 Nov 1808) and an 1853 departure date matching approximately the Jan 1854 ship record. The WEI indicted the family was from Wittershausen, Sulz. In addition, there were entries for other family members that matched the info we have. It appears that the family came in two groups. One group in 1853; the other in Oct 1860. I knew there was one child named Ursula, but it appears that our ancestor "Mary" was also named Ursula. It appears that the first group left the mother (Ursula/Mary with a 2 week old baby (Johannes) and three other kids ages 4, 9 and 12)
- Jakob & F 21 Nov 1808 (1853)

- Barbara 10 Mar 1834 (1853)

- Friedrich 7 Aug 1835 (1853)

- Christina 2 Aug 1839 (1853)

- Ursula & F 18 Jun 1809 (Oct 1860)

- Anna Maria 25 Jan 1845 (Oct 1860)
- Jakob 30 Oct 1842 (Oct 1860)
- Johannes 13 Nov 1853 (Oct 1860)
- Ursula 12 May 1849 (Oct 1860)

- Jakob F Heizmann, 21 Nov 1808, Wittershausen (district Sulz) application date 1853, dest. North Am, #FHL intl film 849644
- Christina Heizmann, 2 Aug 1839, Wittershausen (district Sulz) application date 1853, dest. North Am, #FHL intl film 849644

Map Guide to German Parish Registers, Kingdom of Wurttemberg (MGW), vol III Schwartzwaldkreis: Wittershausen is contained within the parish of Wittershausen, oberamt/district of Sulz, and the greater district Schwarzwaldkreis.

Wittershausen Lutheran Church Records:
Kirchenbuch, 1640-1892, Evangelische Kirche Wittershausen (OA. Sulz). There are four films ranging from 1640 to 1892. I selected FHL intl film #1732339 to look for the birth records. The first I found was the birth record for Jakob Heizmann b. 1842 -- last name was written Heinzmann; the mother's name was Ursula Schäuble. (umlout a)

In looking at the birth records for the two oldest children (Barbara and Friedrich, born 1834 and 1835) were listed in a different section of the book - for illegitimate children. Ursula Schäuble was listed as their mother. Next to each birth entry, was a notation indicating that Jakob Heinzmann, in 1836, claimed these to be his children. He first claimed Barbara on 5 Feb(?) 1836 and then Friedrich on 22 Feb(?) 1836 - also the day of his marriage to Ursula.

New York State Census 1855
Finally, I looked at the NY State Census in ancestry and confirmed that Christina was a servant at age 16 in New York City. So it seems Jakob, Barbara, Friedrich and Christina must have stayed in New York to earn money before moving on to Detroit.

What was surprising or different from the info we had at the outset?
1. Learned names are really Heinzmann and Schäuble
2. Learned mother's name "Ursula".
3. Verified/got complete birth dates for all
4. Learned that family came as 2 groups (1853 and 1860)
5. From the family registers, learned the names of 2 or 3 more generations of ancestors! (4th and 5th great-grandparents)
6. Learned and confirmed the village from which they came (Wittershausen, Sulz).
7. Jakob and 3 kids were in New York City working until at least 1855.

---References---
1. Wuerttemberg emigration index volumes 1-8 (books)
2. Map guide to German parish registers vol III (Schwartzwaldkreis), and master index volume (books)
3. Kirchenbuch, 1640-1892, Evangelische Kirche Wittershausen (OA. Sulz). FHL intl film #1732339 Heiraten 1808-1843 Taufen 1842-1876 Taufen 1832-1871 (unehel.) Heiraten 1843-1876 Tote 1844-1876 Konfirmationen 1723-1892 Seelenregister 1732-1789 Familienregister A (S. 1-200) 1808-1837
4. New York State census 1855

----Research Notes----
Update PM on 5/20:
Was able to validate that the Heinzmann/Schäuble family is from Wittershausen, Sulz, Wuerttemburg, Germany
From tape #1732339 (Wittershausen), was able to review the birth records and family register for the Heinzmann and Schäuble families.

Johann Jakob Heinzmann (1776-1857)
+ Barbara (1779-1865)
i. Jakob Heinzmann b 21 Nov 1808

Johannes Schäuble (1774-1847)
+ Anna Maria V (1780-1843)
i. Ursula/Mary b 18 jun 1809

In the AM on 5/20: In Ancestry for Jakob Heizman, there's a Wuerttemberg, Germany Emigration Index. Looked in hardcopy of the book (you have to look in all 8 volumes) for the set of records with all Heizmans and learned names and emigration dates:

- Anna Maria 25 Jan 1845 (Oct 1860)
- Barbara 10 Mar 1834 (1853)
- Friedrich 7 Aug 1835 (1853)
- Jakob 30 Oct 1842 (Oct 1860)
- Jakob & F 21 Nov 1808 (1853)
- Johannes 13 Nov 1853 (Oct 1860)
- Ursula 12 May 1849 (Oct 1860)
- Ursula & F 18 Jun 1809 (Oct 1860)

- "Jakob F Heizmann, 21 Nov 1808, Wittershausen (district Sulz) application date 1853, dest. North Am, #849644"
- Christina Heizmann, 2 Aug 1839, Wittershausen (district Sulz) application date 1853, dest. North Am, #849644

In Ancestry for Christine Heizmann, there's a New York State Census 1855 record with Christine Heizmann, birth yr about 1839, age 16, female, servant, resident New York City, Ward 1, NY, NY (distr E.D.3)

In looking in the Map Guide to German Parish Registers Kingdom of Wurttemberg, VIII - Schwarzwaldkreis, for Wittershausen town key 62 maps to parish key 10 Wittershausen Tape #1732338

Get the scoop - read on!

HF Ludwig Goetz Next Steps (2016)

Before I left for Salt Lake, I reviewed the info I had on my second great-grandfather, Heinrich Friedrich Ludwig Goetz and family.

Pre-visit Info
Names, birth dates, parents names, sibling and origin info

Part 1:
i. Wilhelm Goetz (d. abt 1800, Geotha, Saxony, Germany?, d. after 1870, , US)
+??
Children:
a. Heinrich Friedrich Ludwig Goetz (b. 1 Sep 1836 in Germany (possibly Wittemberg), d. 15 Apr 1898, Detroit/Gratiot, MI)
b. John (b. abt 1839, Germany, d.?)
c. Anna (b. 28 Oct 1843?, Baden, Germany(?), d?)

Heinrich Friedrich Ludwig Goetz was known by the name Ludwig and may have immigrated to the US in 16 Sep 1858 to New York (under the name Louis Goetz). His last will and testament did not yield any new information on the family origins.

Part 2:
Father William Gates/Getz info (b. abt 1803-4, Germany, d. between 1870-80, US)
1870 US Census: lives in Gross Pointe with son (from Prussia, 67 yrs old)
1860 US Census: lives in Township of Hamtramck (age 56) with Louis b. 1836, John b. 1839 and Anna b. 1844.

Part 3:
Then searching on Johanna Caroline Christiane Dorothea, found the following in Find a Grave:
U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
Name Johannah Caroline Dahlinger
Birth Date 28 Oct 1843
Birth Place Baden-Baden, Baden-Badener Stadtkreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Death Date 21 Jan 1926
Death Place Barr Lake, Adams County, Colorado, USA
Cemetery Riverside Cemetery

(I have a note from the Trinity Church records that Johanna Goetz married Dahlinger and moved away to Colorado and also a note to that effect from a History of Colorado ebook entry).

So, need to look at Baden-Badener Stadskreis records in the 1830-1840 range for Wilhelm Goetz with at least 3 children (??)

Thursday Search Steps

Kirchenbuchduplikat, 1832-1869 Evangelische Kirche Baden (Baden). I eagerly located the FHL intl film # 1055196 Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1832-1869 for Baden and loaded it in the film reader. Scanned for the ancestors and their birth dates but found nothing. I had thought to look in the Wuerttemberg Emigration Index (WEI), but then the volunteer indicated that if they came from Baden, they wouldn't be found in the WEI. Wuerttemberg is separate from Baden. 

Monday Search Steps

I looked in ancestry.com again, and found the ship's record I had for a potential Louis Goetz ancestor. He arrived by himself (no parents nor siblings) on 16 Sep 1858 and the place he came from was indicated in the ship list as "Baden" (It hadn't been readable to me before). So now the question is, which Baden village is he from?

Update from 2017: Or is this the correct Goetz?

The FHL volunteer a the desk happened to be Trudy Schenk - the author of the WEI. She suggested looking up the names of the people from the passenger list to see if any towns came up for them in familysearch.org or ancestry.com (the thought being that Louis would be in line with people from his area) .... not much luck. Trudy suggested looking in the Ihringen ortssippenbuch (which I did) but there was only 1 Gotz (not anyone I could identify) and also the village of Eichstetten. The Eichstetten ortsfamilienbuch was not on the shelf. It is apparently a new item and it was still in the process of being cataloged. I left Trudy with Ludwig's information and my email address as she said she may have some other resources at home to review.

What was surprising or different from the info we had at the outset?

1. Confirmed that Ludwig was most probably from the greater district of Baden!

2. Confirmed that the 16 Sep 1858 ship's entry was probably the correct Louis Goetz.

---Refs---

1. Kirchenbuchduplikat, 1832-1869 Evangelische Kirche Baden (Baden), FHL intl film # 1055196, Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1832-1869

2. Ortssippenbuch Ihringen am Kaiserstuhl : bis 1810, Tote teilweise bis 1850 und mit etwas 300 Militärpersonen der kaiserlichen Festung Breisach

3. Ortsfamilienbuch Eichstetten : Eichstetten am Kaiserstuhl, 1644-1900

4. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, entry for Louis Goetz on ancestry.com

---- Research Notes ----

Update 5/20: Maybe look in Wuerttemberg Emigration Index? Possibly came to US in Sep 1858? or 1857/56.
No 1860 census entry found yet. 
Married in 1861.
Sister: Johanne Caroline b. 28 Oct 1843
Brother: Johann b 1839

Update 5/19: Look at LDS tape 1055196 Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1832-1869 for Baden-Baden -- didn't see any Goetz born in the year 1843.

Get the scoop - read on!

Radde / Goetsch Next Steps (2017)

Before I left for Salt Lake, I reviewed the info I had on my second great-grandmother, Albertine Henrietta Radde, and second great-grandfather, Wilhelm R Goetsch.

Pre-visit Info
Names, birth dates, parents names, sibling and origin info

From a past post :
Wilhelm R. Goetsch married Albertine Radde in the old country circa 1868. Together, they sailed on the Columbus, presumably from Bremen, to New York arriving on 1 Sept 1868. From New York, they made their way to Detroit, Michigan.

i. Wilhelm R. Goetsch (b. Jul 1842, Prussia, d. Detroit, MI by 1930)(may have 6 siblings)
+ Albertine Radde (b. Sep 1849, Sochow, Stolp, Pommern, Prussia (?), d. Detroit, MI by 1930)(may have 14 siblings)
Children:
a. Ernst Carl Rudolph
b. Rudolph Carl Hermann
c. Wilhelm Carl Christian
d. Eduard Gustav Carl
e. Franz Ferdinand Robert
f. Albertine Wilhelmine Auguste
g. Paul Ferdinand Julius
h. Robert Carl Albert
i. Carl Friedrich Wilhelm
j. Otto
k. John F.
l. Arthur
m. Laura

They joined the Detroit Trinity Lutheran Church and all 13 of their children's birth from 1869 - 1895 are found in the church book (on LDS film).

Now, in trying to research the parents of Wilhelm and Albertine, this is what I found to date.

Part 1a: The birth places of Albertine's siblings shed some light on their origins.
It looks like the family moved from Sochow/Sugow, Stolp to Darsin between Apr 1858 and May 1860.

Would be useful to look at Lutheran church records in:
Sockow (1840s to 1858) and
Darsin (1858 to 1869).

i. Wilhelm Karl Radde (b. abt 1815, d. ?)
+ Henrietta Pier (b. 14 Sep 1825, Prussia, d. 25 Jun 1903, Detroit, MI)
Children:
a. Carl August (b. abt 1844)
b. Wilhelm Friedrich
c. Pauline Wilhelmina (b. 5 Jul 1847, Sugow, Stolp, Pommern, d.1939, Detroit, MI)
d. Albertine Henrietta
e. Johanna Caroline
f. Wilhelm Ferdinand
g. Eveline Wilhelmina
h. Carl Albert
i. Beulah Caroline (b. 28 Apr 1858, Sochow, Stolp, Pommern, d. 21 May 1862, Darsin, Stolp, Pommern)
j. Wilhelmina Marie (b. 26 May 1860, Darsin, Stolp, Pommern, d. 1936, Detroit, MI)
k. Ida Auguste (b. 13 Dec 1861, Darsin, Stolp, Pommern, d.?)
l. Eduard (not sure who parents are)
m. Emma Hulda (b. 19 Feb 1864, Darsin, Stolp, Pommern, d.?)
n. Augusta Henrietta (b. 14 Sep 1866, Darsin, Stolp, Pommern, d.?)
o. Theresa (b. 1 Jul 1869, Darsin, Stolp, Pommern, d. 21 Dec 1942, Mt. Clemens, MI)

Part 1b: Henrietta Pier's ancestors
ii. August Pier (or Pirr)
+ Anna Geis (or Geiss)
Children:
a. Henrietta (b. 14 Sep 1825, Prussia, d. 25 Jun 1903, Detroit, MI)

Henrietta possibly came to the US on the Ship Hannover from Bremmen 14 Jun 1880 (Castle Garden)

Part 2: For the Goetsch family -- it is more sketchy ....
The family was possibly in Kurow, Pommern in the 1830s. Would be useful to look at Lutheran church records in Kurow (1830s). (From Ferdinand Ludwig death cert)

i. Karl Goetsch (b. abt 1810, d?)
+ ??
Children: (unsubstantiated)
a. TBD - Ferdinand Ludwig (b. 29 Nov 1835, Kurow, , Pommern, d. 1918, Detroit, MI)
b. Wilhelm R (b. Jul 1842, Prussia, d. after 1920)

Thursday Search Steps
Kartenmeister.com
The volunteer asked me if I was familiar with the kartenmeister.com website. I said I was not. She went to a computer and pulled it up; then typed in Sochow. This town is located in Pomorskie province within Stolp county.

German Name	Sochow
Polish/Russian Name	Zochowo
Kreis/County	Stolp
German Province	Pommern
Today's Province	Pomorskie
Location	East 17°24' North 54°26'
Google Map	Google Maps (Sochow)
Map Number	12
Location Description	This village/town is located 3.1 km and 96 degrees from Ramnitz, which is known today as Karznica
Lutheran Parish	Lupow 1905
Catholic Parish	Stolp, Stadt 1905
Standesamt/Civil Registry	Wendisch Karstnitz 1905
Gemeindelexikon/Town Index	IV-29-298
Population By Year/Einwohner	1905: 135
Remarks	Urkundlich bewiesen seit 1523

We also looked up Darsin.

German Name Darsin Alternate Name 1: Darsyn 1523 Alternate Name 2: Darzin Polish/Russian Name Darzyno Kreis/County Stolp German Province Pommern Today's Province Pomorskie Location East 17°27' North 54°27' Google Map Google Maps (Darsin) Map Number 12 Location Description This village/town is located 6.0 km and 224 degrees from Schurow, which is known today as Skorowo Lutheran Parish Lupow 1905 Catholic Parish Stolp, Stadt 1905 Standesamt/Civil Registry Grumbkow 1905 Gemeindelexikon/Town Index IV-29-16 Population By Year/Einwohner 1905: 206 1936: 437 Remarks Add 175 residents for Gutsbezirk 1905. Gemeindelexikon Code: IV-29-174

Map Guide to German Parish Registers, Kingdom of Prussia, Province of Pomerania I (MGPomerania)
Next the FHL voluteer suggested I look in the MGPomerania to verify the parish(es) for these villages.
Darsin - page 82/Lutheran, Town Key 24 maps to parish key 24 Lupow FHL intl film #904694
Sochow - page 82/Lutheran, Town Key 24 maps to parish key 24 Lupow FHL intl film #904694
Landkreis and Stadtkreis Stolp.

Kirchenbuch, 1847-1875, Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche. Altlutheraner Gemeinde Darsin (Kr. Stolp), intl film #1194079 Item 2
Since many of Wilhelm R Goetsch's children were born in Darsin, I thought I'd look up that intl film first. Plus the description of this film claims it includes Sochow as well. The records were pretty easy to read and I found the following in the Darsin section, birth records for:
d. Albertine Henrietta (image 12 (004))
f. Wilhelm Ferdinand (image 15 (010))
g. Eveline Wilhelmina (image 16 (012))
h. Carl Albert (image 17 (014))
i. Beulah Caroline (image 19 (058))
j. Wilhelmina Marie (image 20 (020))
k. Ida Auguste (image 21 (022))
m. Emma Hulda (image 22 (024))
Notes said alternating that the father Karl Rade/Radde was from  Sochow, then Darsin, and alt Darsin, and the mother of children was listed as Henrietta Pirr/Pirren.

What was surprising or different from the info we had at the outset?
to be completed

Monday Search Steps 

I thought this AM I'd take a stab at the Goetsch family. The only specific place name I have is "Kurow".  When I type this into kartenmeister.com, I got a list of  8 places named Kurow.

German Name	County/Kreis
Kurow	Bublitz
Kurow	Randow
Kurow	Lauenburg
Kurow	Ostrowo
Kurower Mühle	Bublitz
Kurowo	Grätz
Kurowo	Kosten
Kurowskie Chalupy 1840 P	Ohlau

I reasoned that since Albertine Radde and Wilhelm R Goetsch got married in the old country, their towns must be near each other. So I picked Kurow / Bublitz. 

German Name	Kurow
Alternate Name 1:	Curowe 1288
Polish/Russian Name	Kurowo
Kreis/County	Bublitz
Residents of Jewish Faith	2
German Province	Pommern
Today's Province	Zachodnio-Pomorskie
Location	East 16°34' North 54°02'
Google Map	Google Maps (Kurow)
Map Number	25
Location Description	This village/town is located 7.4 km and 85 degrees from Klannin, which is known today as Klanino
Lutheran Parish	Kurow 1905
Catholic Parish	Pollnow, Kreis Schlawe 1905
Standesamt/Civil Registry	Kurow 1905
Gemeindelexikon/Town Index	IV-3-20
Population By Year/Einwohner	1905: 549
Church	Yes

Map Guide to German Parish Registers, Kingdom of Prussia, Province of Pomerania II (MGPomerania) In looking in the MGPomerania for Kurow, page 288/Lutheran, Town key 36 maps to parish key 36 Gustow (umlaut u) yielded Kreis (County Randow and Stadtkeris Stettin). Again these were far away from Darsin/Sochow. So then I looked up the alternate spelling that I learned from kartenmeister.com: Curowe 1288 - in Kreis Bublitz. This also yielded the Lutheran parish Kurow 1905 and a town closer to Darsin/Sochow.

I also looked in Kurow and Bublitz church records FHL intl films - without luck.

After Returning Search Steps
I looked again in Seeking Michigan and found a death certificate for Wilhelm R Goetsch indicating he was from Berbero, Germany. This village/spelling doesn't come up in kartenmeister.com.

I used a web site from the "Green Polish Research Handout". I looked up "Gotsch" in herby.com.pl/indexslo.html and it yielded 10 records in OP=Opolskie.  Looking up Gotsch in kartenmeister.com yielded:

German Name	Mochau
Polish/Russian Name	Mochow
Kreis/County	Neustadt
German Province	Schlesien
Today's Province	Opolskie
Location	East 17°50' North 50°21'
Google Map	Google Maps (Mochau)
Map Number	117
Location Description	This village/town is located 1.6 km and 291 degrees from Ober Glogau, which is known today as Glogowek
Lutheran Parish	Ober Glogau 1905
Catholic Parish	Wiese Pauliner 1905
Standesamt/Civil Registry	Schloß Ober Glogau II 1905
Gemeindelexikon/Town Index	VI-46-52
Population By Year/Einwohner	1905: 684

Will need to do further research.

Follow-up July 2017.
Reviewed the #1194079 Item 2 film (On-line film #007768338) as it is now online and available remotely!

---References ---
1. Using German Church Records, narafriends-pittsfield.org/gechurch.htm
2. kartenmeister.com
3. Map Guide to German Parish Registers, Kingdom of Prussia, Province of Pomerania I, Regierungsbezirk Köslin
4. Map Guide to German Parish Registers, Kingdom of Prussia, Province of Pomerania II, Regierungsbezirk Stettin and Regierungsbezirk Stralsund

4. Kirchenbuch, 1847-1875, Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche. Altlutheraner Gemeinde Darsin (Kr. Stolp), intl film #1194079 Item 2. Darsin (mit Sochow, Grumbkow, Zechlin, usw.): Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1847-1875 (l. S., r. S. rückw.)

5. Kirchenbuchduplikat, 1840-1874, Evangelische Kirche Kurow (Kr. Bublitz). FHL Intl Film # 1496969 Items 3-5. Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1840 (Zeblin) Kurow, Bewerhusen, Ubedel, Schloßkämpen: Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1840 Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1840 (Gersin) Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1840 (Lubow) Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1841-1843 (Kurow) Tote, Taufen (Auszüge) 1850-1860 Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1860-1874

6. Also looked at a Bublitz film (but didn't write down the #)

-----Research Notes-----

Update 5/20: In looking in the Map Guide to German Parish Registers (Kingdom of Prussia, Province of Pomerania I" 

For the Radde Family:
Darsin - page 82/Lutheran, Town Key 24 maps to parish key 24 Lupow tape #904694
Sochow - page 82/Lutheran, Town Key 24 maps to parish key 24 Lupow tape #904694
Landkreis and Stadtkreis Stolp

and use kartenmeister.com to look up the mapping of town names/counties/German v Polish.

For the Goetsch Family:
In looking in the Map Guide to German Parish Registers (Kindom of Prussia, Province of Pomeriania II"Curowe 1288 -  in Kreis Bublitz, Lutheran parish Kurow 1905 an alternate spelling that yields a town closer to Darsin/Sochow.

(Also looked at Kurow - page 288/Lutheran, Town key 36 maps to parish key 36 Gustow (omlout u) Kreis (County Randow and Stadtkeris Stettin))

Good discussion on reading German records at this link.


Update 5/19: at SLC LDS library, looked at Film # 1194079 Item 2
Darsin (mit Sochow, Grumbkow, Zechlin, usw.): Taufen, Heiraten, Tote 1847-1875 (l. S., r. S. rückw.)

In the Darsin section, found the birth records for:
d. Albertine Henrietta
f. Wilhelm Ferdinand
g. Eveline Wilhelmina
h. Carl Albert
i. Beulah Caroline
j. Wilhelmina Marie 
k. Ida Auguste 
m. Emma Hulda 

Notes said alternating that Karl Rade/Radde was from Darsin, Sochow, Old Sochow
Mother of children was listed as Henrietta Pirr/Pirren

Get the scoop - read on!