Anna Christina Nicola and Jacob Engel

On 07 Jan 1820 a man named Jacob Engel was buried in Freinsheim. The burial record does not give his age, spouse's name or parents' names.

Volume 3 of the Intelligenzblatt des Rheinkreises includes a notice published 24 Apr 1820 announcing the auction of a house and goods to be held on 19 May 1820 at 2 PM in the community meeting house in Freinsheim. Jacob Engel, a brickmaker, had died, leaving behind his second wife, Anna Christina Nicola, and three minor children from his first marriage: Anna Barbara, Anna Elisabetha and Johann Jacob. It was his house and goods that were being auctioned off. The parties involved included not only Anna Christina and the children but also the children's three guardians: Johann Jacob Wernher, farmer, as guardian (Vormund); Ludwig Fuhrmann, locksmith or metal worker (Schlosser), as co-guardian (Mitvormund) and Wernher Engel, farmer, as secondary guardian (Beyvormund).

The items being auctioned off were:

• a residence house with a brick hut (Ziegelhütte - I'm not sure if this was a hut made of bricks or a hut, possibly a kiln, where bricks were made), stable, barn, yard and garden at the Eisentor (the iron city gate in Freinsheim) valued at 1,900 florins;
• seven Viertel arable land (Acker, hence Ackerer, farmer) in the Sauhalt (a local place name) valued at 200 florins;
• two Viertel arable land and vineyard (Wingert) also there (in the Sauhalt) valued at 120 florins;
• one Viertel arable land and vineyard on the Holzweg valued at 70 florins. The Holzweg is a road - it still exists today;
• four and a half Viertel arable land on Karlbacher Hill valued at 180 florins; and
• seventy Ruthen arable land on the Weisenheimer Road valued at 125 florins.

(If you ever find yourself trying to decipher Fraktur, Steve Morse's converter is the place to go.)

Johann Jacob Wernher or Werner was 43 at the time. He doesn't seem to have been immediately related to the Engels, but his son Jacob (age 5) was to marry Katharina Engel (the daughter of Maria Elisabetha Hohl and Jacob Engel) in 1837. Ludwig Fuhrmann was quite likely the Ludwig Fuhrmann (age 33) who married Christina Elisabetha Engel.

Wernher Engel might be the Johann Woerner Engel born in 1756, who in turn might have been the father of the afore-mentioned Christina Elisabetha. He would have been 64 at the time. But Wernher Engel could also the son of Maria Sibilla Seltzer and Johann Jacob Engel born in 1793, who would have been 27.

Anna Christina Nicola was probably the daughter of Susanna Christina (Weilbrenner?) and Heinrich Nicola(us?) born 10 May 1785 and christened 11 May 1785.

So who was the Jacob Engel who was buried in 1820?

He definitely wasn't the Jacob Engel born 1777 who married Maria Elisabetha Hohl. Maria Elisabetha died in 1833 and her husband, in 1844. (It was their daughter Katharina who married Jacob Werner in 1837.)

It's not impossible that he might be Wernher Engel's father, the Johann Jacob Engel who married Maria Sibilla Seltzer. This Jacob Engel was born in 1753. Sibilla was born in 1760. I know that they had ten children born 1780-1793. It's not impossible that they had three more children born while Sibilla was in her 40s, after which she died and Jacob married Anna Christina Nicola. However, the 32-year age difference between Sibilla's widower and Anna Christina is notable.

By me, the two most likely candidates are Johann Jacob Engel born 1781 to Maria Christina Heck and Johann Woerner Engel and Johann Jacob Engel born 1782 to Christina Elisabetha and Henrich Engel. These men would have been 27 and 26 years old respectively in 1808. Either one could have married, had three children born, lost their first spouse and then remarried in or before 1815, the last year of the records gap.

Note that if the Jacob Engel buried in 1820 was the son of Johann Woerner Engel, then the Wernher Engel who was named as secondary guardian may have been his father and Ludwig Fuhrmann, who was named as co-guardian, was almost certainly his brother-in-law.

It's not impossible that the Jacob Engel buried in 1820 was from Dackenheim, either the son of Maria Catharina Muschel and Hartmann Engel, christened in Dackenheim 24 Feb 1784, or the son of Catharina Margaretha Wagner and Martin Engel christened in Dackenheim 13 Sep 1770. However, Anna Christina Nicola, Jacob Engel and their children don't seem to have been closely associated with Dackenheim.

Children of Anna Christina Nicola and Jacob Engel

The auction notice doesn't mention any children from Jacob Engel's second marriage with Anna Christina Nicola. However, I know that there were at least two couples named Christina and Jacob Engel having children in Freinsheim in the years 1816-1822. I know this because Jacob Engel, the son of Christina and Jacob Engel, was christened 14 May 1817, while Werner Engel, the son of Anna Christina and Jacob Engel, was christened 18 days later on 01 Jun 1817. Twins would likely have been christened the same day.

I also know that on 12 Mar 1844, Jacob Engel married Anna Margaretha Kohl in Bobenheim, 6 km WNW of Freinsheim. The marriage record says that he was born in Dackenheim - between Freinsheim and Bobenheim - 14 May 1817, the son of Christina Schwind and Jacob Engel.

It seems to me entirely likely that Jacob christened 14 May 1817 was the son of Christina Schwind and Jacob Engel, while Werner christened 01 Jun 1817 was the son of Anna Christina Nicola and Jacob Engel. Then there's a little girl, Anna Elisabetha Engel, christened 12 Mar 1820, the daughter of Christina and Jacob Engel. As she would have been conceived in 1819, she could be the daughter of either couple. However, Anna Christina Nicola already had a stepdaughter named Anna Elisabetha Engel. Would she have given her daughter the same name?

Finally - this is the kicker - there's another little girl, Catharina Elisabetha Engel, christened 23 Feb 1822, almost two years after the death of Anna Christina's husband. Her parents are recorded as Anna Christina Nikola and Jakob Engel. A second record dated the same day records the christening of Catharina Elisabetha Nikola, also the daughter of Anna Christina Nikola and Jakob Engel.

I'm fairly sure that Catharina Elisabetha was Anna Christina's illegitimate daughter. The other option is a delayed christening, but this seems to me far less likely. Catharina Elisabetha would have had to have been born in October 1820 at the latest. Thus, the delay would have to have been at least 16 months. I haven't seen delays of this length in any Freinsheim records which record the dates of both birth and christening.

Moving Forward

Werner Engel christened 01 Jun 1817 could be the Werner Engel who died and was buried in Freinsheim 20 Jan 1826. However, this could also be either the Werner Engel born 1756 or the Werner Engel born 1793 (see above). The burial record does not specify age, parents' names or spouse's name.

Anna Elisabetha Engel christened 12 Mar 1820 was possibly the Elisabetha Engel born in 1820 who married Georg Heinrich Schiffer in Freinsheim 16 Jul 1844. They had five children christened in Großkarlbach 1849-1856. Anna Elisabetha died 20 Dec 1873 in Großkarlbach.

I have no further information on Catharina Elisabetha Engel/Nicola christened 23 Feb 1822 or on Anna Christina Nicola herself.

I have no definitive information on the three children of Jacob Engel's first marriage, all presumably born before 1816: Anna Barbara, Anna Elisabetha and Johann Jacob. Anna Barbara may or may not be Barbara Engel who married Gottlob Martini in Freinsheim 23 Apr 1833. Anna Elisabetha may be either, both or neither of Elisabetha Engel who married Georg Jacob Keck in Freinsheim 31 Jan 1833 and Elisabetha Engel who married Albert Mack in Freinsheim 20 Jul 1837. Jacob may or may not be Jacob II Engel who married Anna Christina Michel in Freinsheim 10 Oct 1837.