Heinrich Goetz was a clockmaker, and he and his wife had five children:
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· Anna Maria Goetz (b. 15 Mar 1858)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· Zelma Etta Goetz (b. ca 1860)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· Max Henry Goetz (b. 1861)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· Hulda M. Goetz (b. ca 1863)
<!--[if !supportLists]-->· Lillie B. Goetz (b. ca 1865)
He and his family lived in Ihringen, Baden, Germany, at the least during the time surrounding when Anna Maria Goetz was baptized (21 Mar 1858 in Ihringen – A. Breisach).
In 1864, Heinrich Goetz left his family behind and took the ship Therese to the USA. He arrived at Castle Garden, New York, USA from “Prussia.” Three years later, an adult - perhaps their mother, perhaps not - and the Goetz children departed from Bremen, Germany to join Heinrich Goetz in the USA. They took the ship Northern Light, and arrived in New York, USA on 29 Aug 1867.
Sometime after Heinrich Goetz emigrated to the USA, his first wife died (whether this occurred in Germany or the USA is undetermined). He remarried Carolina Shultz, who was born in Illinois, USA. The ‘Getz’ family eventually relocated to Nebraska, USA, where both Henry Getz and Zelma Etta Getz (his daughter, my great-grandmother) died. At least as an adult in Nebraska, USA, Zelma Etta Getz was a Presbyterian.
Where I need help is determining who the mother of Zelma Etta Goetz is (which would presumably help me find record of Zelma Etta Goetz’s birth).
When Zelma Etta Goetz’s older sister Anna Marie Goetz was born and baptized in March, 1858 in Ihringen, Baden, Germany, her mother was listed as Maria Barbara Schillinger. [Ancestry.com. Germany, Select Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898]
However, when the ‘Gatz’ children emigrated to the USA nine years later, in 1867, the only two adults accompanying them were Carall Gatz (about 33 years old) and Ernestine Gatz (about 19 years old). [Heinrich Goetz would have been about 31 years old in 1867]
So who is the mother of Zelma Etta Goetz? Maria Barbara Schillinger? Or ‘Carall’ Goetz, maiden name unknown?
Previous G2G responses have shown that Elisabeth Oswald (b. 7 Jan 1822) is not the mother of Zelma Etta Goetz.
