I am seeking information on the family of my gggrandfather Dietrich Koester. According to information available on the LDS website he was born April 2, 1866 in Klein, Boerstel, Germany. He married Lena Busch in Avoca, Cass, Nebraska on Oct 14, 1889. Lena was born Aug 19, 1870 in Martfeld, Hannover, Preussen. Dietrich and Lena had three children - my ggrandfather Fred John Henry Koester, Sophia Koester, and Doretta Koester - all born in Nebraska. Fred John Henry married Mattie Laura Nutzman, daughter of Ernest Nutzman and Catherine Opp sometime before 1920 and moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho about 1926. It is believed that Dietrich's father was named Fredrick Koester, and that he and his wife and family left Germany and came to Illinois in the 1870's. I have not been able to find any record of this family in the 1880 U.S. census, so they may have come to the U.S. after 1880. Their son Dietrich was living in Nebraska by at least 1889 and his parents also moved to the Avoca area at the same time or perhaps later. It is believed that most of Dietrich's brothers (perhaps as many as 5) remained in Illinois. It is also believed that Dietrich was the oldest son. This leads me to believe that his father Fredrick would have come to Nebraska later, because the other children supposedly did not come to Nebraska and they likely would not have been old enough to stay in Illinois alone if they were younger than Dietrich. I am not sure where in Illinois the family lived, but I am told that it was probably within 90 miles of Chicago. As I eluded earlier, Frederick and his wife (I have no idea of her name) possibly had six sons including Dietrich. Other sons might have been named John, Henry, and Possibly Herman. It is also believed that one of these
sons had a son named Wilbur. If anyone can provide any information on this family, or provide hints as to how/where I can search for more information, I would greatly appreciate it.