Reared in Baltimore, Maryland, and educated at the then famous Professor Scheib's School, C. F. Pietsch moved to Chicago in 1866, where, from 1867, he became associated with newspapers printed in German.

From that same year, he was secretary, treasurer, and general business manager of the Illinois Staats-Zeitung (founded April 21, 1848), until he left in 1899.

[1] In 1904, he founded Das Wochenblatt, a weekly American newspaper printed in German, headquartered at 35 North Dearborn Street—"If You Can Read German, Subscribe to Das Wochenblatt, One Dollar Per Year, All Authentic News in a Nutshell"—which he was still publishing in 1920 at the time of his death.

On June 14, 1866, he married Florence Augusta Wells (whose parents were originally from Connecticut, but settled in Maryland prior to the outbreak of the Civil War).

Born November 11, 1845, at Baltimore, Florence died on March 20, 1877, after a prolonged illness at the home of her parents.