The River Running
"Immigrants: we get the job done" -- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Catharina Stephan and Heinrich Engel
I can't find a marriage record for Catharina Stephan and Heinrich Engel, but I also don't think that's because they married during the Freinsheim marriage gap (which ended in 1816) as I can't find any records of them having children before 1823.
The couple and their children are closely associated with Dackenheim, so I suspect that Heinrich was born there rather than in Freinsheim. In particular, I think he may be Johann Hennrich Engel, the son of Maria Catharina Muschel and Hartmann Engel christened in Dackenheim in 1792. There was another Johann Henrich Engel, son of Martin Engel, born in Dackenheim in 1790, but his record has no christening date. I suspect that means he was stillborn.
A less likely possibility for Catharina Stephan's husband is the Freinsheimer Heinrich Engel, the son of Christina Margaretha Schik and Georg Jacob Engel born 27 Mar 1791 and christened in Freinsheim 28 Mar 1791.
Catharina may be Catharina Magdalena Stephan, the daughter of Elisabetha Morel and Jcob Stephan baptized as a Catholic 09 Jul 1802 in Günstadt, 6 km north of Dackenheim. However, my money is on Maria Katharina Stephan, the daughter of Anna Maria Gabelin and Heinrich Stephan christened as a Protestant 10 Oct 1795 in Lambsheim, 9 km east of Dackenheim. The reason I'm saying this is that from the French Republic years until 1830, there are no Protestant marriage records available for Lambsheim. Furthermore, it looks as if there were people getting married in Lambsheim but then the records were lost or destroyed (vs people getting married elsewhere, as Protestant Dackenheimers did in Freinsheim 1816-1839). I looked at 59 couples who had children christened as Protestants in Lambsheim in 1830. Of these, I could find marriage records for only seven. Five of the seven were married in Lambsheim in 1830. One couple was married in 1828 in Großkarlbach, 4 km ENE of Dackenheim. One couple may or may not be the similarly named couple who were married in Horschbach (60 km west) in 1811.
If Catharina was from Lambsheim and she and Heinrich married there, that would neatly explain the absence of a marriage record. Of course, actual events are not always neat.
Heinrich is probably the Heinrich Engel who served as the Bürgermeister of Dackenheim from 1830 until 1836-1838.
Catharina and Heinrich had nine children, of whom two died young:
Note that 1839 was the first year that christening records for Dackenheim for anyone except Catholics resumed after the records gap.
Except for Anna Maria born in 1839, about whom I have no further records, all of Catharina and Heinrich's children's first marriages were recorded in both Dackenheim and Freinsheim:
Note that Heinrich and Johannes married sisters, the daughters of Catharina Elisabetha Engel and Georg Schranck, sometimes referred to as Georg II Schranck. Catharina Elisabetha and Georg were married in Freinsheim 26 Dec 1831. They had six children born 1832-1845. All of the children were christened in Freinsheim, and the three born after 1838 were christened in Dackenheim as well. Catharina Elisabetha seems to have been born during the records gap, although almost certainly in or before 1813. Like the senior Heinrich Engel, Georg II Schranck seems to have been involved in local government. He was probably the Georg II Schranck who was chosen as Adjunct to the Bürgermeister in 1838 and again in 1843.
The senior Heinrich Engel died and was buried in Freinsheim 13 Nov 1860.
Catharina Stephan died and was buried in Dackenheim less than a year later, on 14 Jun 1861.
I, II, III, They Gonna Come Back to Me...
Catharina Stephan's husband Heinrich is referred to as "Heinrich I Engel" in six records that I know of: four of his children's marriage records, his own burial record and Catharina's burial record. However, Catharina Willy's husband Johann Henrich Engel born 1779 was also referred to as "Heinrich I Engel" in the record of his burial in Freinsheim 27 Sep 1843. To make things more confusing, Catharina Stephan's husband is referred to as "Heinrich II Engel" in the second (but not the first) marriage record of his son Heinrich born 1824.
Heinrich Engel born 1824 is referred to as "Heinrich III Engel" in six records that I know of: four of his children's christening records, one child's burial record and the record of his own second marriage. However, "Heinrich III Engel" is also used to describe the Barbara Becker's husband in the record of his burial in Freinsheim 11 Feb 1858.
Barbara Becker's husband was the son of Anna Christina Orth and Heinrich Engel. Anna Christina's husband is referred to as "Heinrich Jr Engel" in the christening record of Christina Margaretha Engel in Freinsheim 05 Dec 1816. It makes sense that the son of Heinrich Jr would be Heinrich III. However, "Jr" is usually applied when the person is question is named after his father. "II" is usually applied when the person in question is named after a paternal uncle, grandfather or other older male relative. None of the possibilties I'm aware of for "Heinrich Jr Engel's" father were named Heinrich. It's Catharina Willy's husband Johann Henrich who was quite likely named after his father, but his burial record in 1843 and Christina Orth's husband's burial record in 1858 establish that they were two different people.
I think part of the confusion that we're seeing is that the men who were known as Heinrich I, II (or Jr) and III in Dackenheim were not necessarily the same as the men who were known by these names in Freinsheim. This would cause confusion in cases when Freinsheim and Dackenheim records overlapped.