Hi again, ic3poffs. You're right - no clear resolution yet. But because many descendants of Adam Goettge/Getchey/Geitgey were living in that Ohio county when your ancestor arrived, he may have been aware of them as distant cousins. Perhaps he communicated with them before emigrating. It seems the same thing happened in Columbia County, PA around 1900. Members of the GetcheyGoettge family who, I'm told, generations earlier had gone from near Lockersmuhl, Germany to Austria eventually emigrated from Austria to small communities in Columbia County, PA, USA where Getchey/Getkin descendants of immigrant stone mason Johann Ludwig Goettge were living. Helpful US or German records may yet be found, or DNA testing might establish a cousin link.