I Find Dead People

Karl A. Langlotz 1834-1915

Karl, my GGGrandfather, is one of my most frustrating searches. Lets start with what I know. Karl was born on 20 June 1834 in Saxe-Meininger, Germany. He immigrated from Hamburg because he couldn't get a visa in his home town. He arrived at Castle Garden on 12 Sept. 1853 on the Deutschland. His first marriage was to Emma Rae. Together they had 4 children; Karl A., Clifton Adelbert, Rae & Emma. His wife Emma died about 1868 leaving his with the 4 small children. He then married Virginia Dunn in 1872. They had one child, Virginia Irwin in 1875. Karl was a teacher at Princeton University in New Jersey. He taught music and German. He then went on to write the music for "Old Nassau". For those non-Princeton fans, that is the alma mater song. I know from his autobiography that Karl's father was a musician in Court of Saxe-Meiningen and teacher of the piano to the Duke, who was then Crown Prince. I also know that he had 4 older sisters. The frustrating part is that it mentions his father, but not his NAME. It mentions his sisters, but not their NAMES. My big problem is that when ever I find someplace that might have the records I need, they are all in German. How can I know so much and yet still know so little to find the name of his parents. The stone below is from the Princeton Cemetery where Karl, his wife and some of his children are buried. His death record from Trenton, NJ does not list his parents names. Neither does the one marriage certificate. I am still working on finding the marriage records for the first marriage in Philadelphia, but it's not likely to give me what I want. PA records for that time period suck. If anyone knows where the first son Karl Jr. went to, please let me know. I know in 1880 he was a Lawyer still living with his father. Karl's obituary from 1915 mentions that on two daughters survived him, Emma and Virginia.