The Corts/Cortz Family

by David A. Wyatt
Copyright ©2003-2022 David A. Wyatt
Email: dawwpg@shaw.ca

I am researching the ancestry and descendants of Godfrey Corts (Gottfried Cortz) and his wives Charlotte Sause and Ann Hostadt, who lived in the Cleveland, Ohio, and Midland, Michigan, areas in the latter half of the 19th Century.

In the words of his granddaughter, “Grandpa Corts liked to move around a lot” and he has proven difficult to find in census or other records.

In various records the family surname has been spelled Corts, Cortz, Court, Courts, and Kortz.

Tintype photograph believed to be of Gottfried Corts and his first wife Charlotte Sause (ca. 1865)
Tintype photograph believed to be of Gottfried Corts and his first wife Charlotte Sause, circa 1865.
Godfrey Corts (Gottfried Cortz) Charlotte Sause
  • b. 03 November 1833 in Prussia, Germany (perhaps in or near Königsburg)
  • m. firstly probably between 1852 and 1859, to Charlotte Sause
  • m. secondly, 1873 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, to Ann Hostadt
  • d. 25 February 1917 Albany, Linn County, Oregon, USA
  • ethnicity: German
  • b. [date unknown], probably in Germany
  • d. probably about 1872 [place unknown]
Anna Hostadt (or Katie Hastesd)
  • b. about 1841 in Hanover, Germany
  • listed in the 1880 census
  • d. [date and place unknown]
---
  • Residence: 1873, 1874 and 1875 Cuyahoga County, Ohio, [Cleveland and area]
  • Residence: Abt. 1880, Homer, Midland, Michigan, USA
  • Residence: 1904 Cuyahoga County, Ohio, [Cleveland and area]
  • lived in Los Angeles County, California, 1910 [with daughter Charlotte].
  • lived in Linn County, Oregon, 1916, 1917. [near son John].
  • According to family legend Godfrey Corts was a soldier in the German Imperial army, and deserted to immigrate to the United States.
  • The "Index to Cuyahoga County Probate Court Naturalization Records, 1859-1901," available on the world wide web at the URL http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohcuyah2/nats/aliendkt/ lists a Gottfried Cortz from Germany, naturalized September 27, 1875. [Vol.: NB Vol#: 9 Page#: 195. 2002]

Godfrey Corts and his wives raised a family of about eight children.

Children of Godfrey Corts and Charlotte Sause (given names have probably been anglicized in this list):

  1. Louis [Ludwig?] Corts, born [date and place unknown]; died [date and place unknown].
  2. Charles [Karl?] Corts, born [date and place unknown]; died [date and place unknown].
  3. William [Wilhelm?] Corts, born [date and place unknown]; died [date and place unknown].
  4. Charlotte Corts, born 22 August 1959 Königsburg, Prussia; died 22 August 1937 Alhambrama, Los Angeles, California. Married 1880 Cuyahoga County, Ohio, to William W. Johns. Three children known:
    • Florence Isabel Johns (1880-1946, m. John Alfred Martin-Cooke),
    • Eva Johns (b. 1884), and
    • William Albert Johns (1886-1941, m. Lou Agnes Pollard).
  5. Elizabeth Corts, born April 18, 1869 in Trumbul, Ohio, USA; died January 27, 1951 in Perdue, Perdue, Saskatchewan, Canada. Married 1885 in Midland, Michigan, to Thomas Harrison
    (For descendants see Harrison page).

Children of Godfrey Corts and Anna Hostadt:

  1. Katie Corts, born Abt. 1874 in Ohio; died [date and place unknown].
  2. Otto Corts, born Abt. 1876 in Michigan; died [date unknown] in Kansas or Oregon. Cause of Death: froze to death while lost riding horseback in a storm
  3. Johnny Corts, born 1883 Lee, Michigan; died 1954 Snohomish, Washington. Married [date and place unknown], to Margaret ?.
    Children:
    1. Walter Corts
    2. Liza Corts
    3. Tommy Corts
    4. Ludwig Corts

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This page last modified: Wednesday, 07-Sep-2022 20:37:05 CDT