[1] Born into a family of teachers, Gottschall was a resident of the Mennonite community of Franconia, Pennsylvania.
His father, Jacob Gottschall, was a preacher and bishop as well as a sometime teacher; with his students he produced books of musical notation.
Neither of the two signed his work, and it is difficult to tell the two apart; their paintings have become popular among collectors because of the colors and imagery employed in their creation.
Neither of the two men married; they worked as millers after the end of their teaching careers,[2] operating a property on Perkiomen Creek in Salford.
[2] Surviving frakturs from Gottschall date to the years 1833 to 1836, and do not appear to postdate his teaching career.