Motivation Monday - Looking for Live Cousins- "DIETZ" of Bavaria and Hesse Darmstadt

           Looking for Live Cousins from my German Twig on my Fathers Side 

                                                    Searching for live cousins? 
                                                   
                            This is such a new concept for me.....  
                                                 ..........and I am finding it exciting!  
                                                                               I am anxious to start this adventure.

                                 ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS PLEASE SHARE


Looking over my August posts and I can see that I really slacked off. I seemed to have lost my mojo, my enthusiasm.  Maybe I needed a break and just didn't know it- just so much going on in July.  I was out of the state traveling for over 3 weeks in July. Everything just caught up with me and I got lazy and unfocused.  Funny thing is I out of the state in Texas right now, so now I am trying to think things through and see what I want to do next..........  I certainly have a pretty lengthy TO-DO list from previous months of posting and analysing .

I did take a number of German based classes this past week at FGS Conference in San Antonio. And one class that dealt with finding live cousins. Who knew!! So I need to go through my notes and the syllabus and see what I need to do to start this process. I am almost sure that I need to connect with a live female cousin who probably has the family bible, documents, pictures and personal information I need. But it could be any of them, you just never know where you will find the information you need.

I really do want to find some living cousins on my German twig, I cannot do anything cross the pond into Germany because I do not have  the parish/ village / town/ city. I do know the regions in Germany but both are too massive to really do anything with, so I am back to square one - finding out where they came from in Germany the exact Parish and/or Village in Bavaria and Hesse Darmstadt. I do need to get my maps out and see what "Germany" looked like in mid 1800's. What was going on in Germany and with them that caused them to come to America?

OK the German family name is DIETZ. I have posted a little on this name already but it was in connection to the GARDNER name...  Both were children coming from Europe with their parents, They met and married in the United States, I have done some posting about Harry but need to do some research and posting about Elizabeth and her family........ need to make that German connection.  Need to find living descendants of Elizabeth DIETZ and her siblings.

Here is the family structure as I know it right now........
........ starting with my 2x great grandparents on my fathers side - George and Caroline DIETZ 

George A DIETZ (b:1832 Bavaria -d:1907 Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania)
and
wife Caroline NOEL (b:1844 Hesse Darmstadt - d: 1928 Pittsburgh Allegheny, Pennsylvania)
married to George before 1864 in Germany [best guess]

children: 
Elizabeth -my great grand mother on my fathers side 
(b: 1864 Baltimore Maryland -d: 1951 Alliance, Stark, Ohio)  married Harry B GARDNER no date/location - 6 known children

George, Jr (b: abt 1865 Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania - d: unknown [possibly Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania]- single.married children?

Henrietta (b:1868 Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania  - d: 1917 Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania - married Robert LEVY in 1898 in Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania- no known children

Christian  (b: 1871  [probably Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania] - d: unknown  married Fannie LUTTINGER in Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania in 1905 - 2 known children

Maria   (b: 1874 unknown [probably Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania] - d: 1938 Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania married John H SHIER unknown date/location  - no known children

Emma (1876, [probably Allegheny, Allegheny Pennsylvania]  - unknown married Edward RAIDER unknown date/location- 6 known children

Andrew H (b: 1880 [probably Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania] - d: 1914 Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania - single/married children? -

Kate (b: 1882Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania  - d: 1941 Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania married John T RHALL in 1902 in Allegheny, Allegheny, Pennsylvania - no known children

                                                           ---------------------------

The first record I have for George and Caroline DIETZ is the 1870 US Census. They are living in Allegheny City. Allegheny, Pennsylvania - no street address listed -

George is 32, white male, a chairmaker, from Bavaria, father & mother are foreign born, box is checked that he is a citizen
Caroline is 27, white female, keeping house, from Hesse-Darmstadt& father/mother are foreign born

children listed 
Lizzie, 5yr, from Pennsylvania - father & mother foreign born - att school
                   other records show Elizabeth was born in Baltimore, Maryland
George, 4yr, from Pennsylvania- father & mother foreign born
Henrietta, 1yr, from Pennsylvania - father & mother foreign born

There were two people in the 1880 US Census that were listed in the household above George & Caroline.  I thought they were related but not sure now.But I have not found any information to connect them or t disprove it,. I only found them on the one census and nothing after. I will be carrying them along for a while so I don't forget them. I want to connect them or disprove the relationship. .

John (72) and Johanna (70) DIETZ  both from Bavaria ...he was a stocking weaver
The 1880 Census shows both families were living at the same address.
                                                             ----------------------------


So there are a number of grandchildren from George and Caroline children that I can try to follow and find them or their children .........

Elizabeth - 6 children (one of them is my grandfather)
Christian - 2 children
Emma - 6 children


Now that I have all this information in front on me, I can see the holes and what I have,  what I have makes more sense and gives me a better sense of what I need to do next.............but the first thing I need to do is go back over my materials from the conference and use it to my advantage. Keep it fresh  and use it........

.........continuing again soon.