A rendering of the second church at St. Alban (1648-1912), painted by a woman who grew up in its presence. This was the family church of Jacob and Carl's mother's family. Remnants of the original stone spire can be seen in front of the later-constructed wooden steeple.
“November 18, 1737. Andreas Engel, son of the late Peter Engel, was married to Catharina, Daughter of Peter Mertz.”
Although there are no baptismal records for Peter and Anna Gerdraudt Engel’s children at St. Alban, they do appear in confirmation records, some of which had been copied from earlier records.
Anna Catharina’s sister, Elizabetha, appears among a list of boys and girls who were confirmed at St. Alban in 1714, the year that the new church register was created. Using age fourteen as the customary age for confirmation, it can be assumed that Anna Elizabetha was born in 1700. Anna Catharina and Anna Barbara’s names appear on a list of persons confirmed between the years 1721 and 1748. Again, using fourteen as the age for confirmation, a child confirmed as early as 1721 would have been born in 1707, while any of those on the list who were confirmed as late as 1748 would have been born in 1713. Had any of Anna Catharina’s siblings been born in 1714 or later, their names would have appeared in the new church book’s baptismal register.
The above leads one to conclude that the known children of Johann Peter and Anna Gerdrauth were born in the first decade of the 18th century or very shortly thereafter.
Johann Peter Engel's family would have been familiar with this ancient shield (Wappen) shared by the communities of St. Alban and Gerbach. The significance of the frog and tree are unknown.
Anna Catharina, the future mother of Jacob and Carl Christlieb, married Gottfried [Gottfrid] Bock at Dielkirchen on April 17, 1736. Born in 1712, the groom was 24 years of age. Although Anna Catharina could have been born as early as 1707, it is doubtful that she would have been five years her husband’s senior. If that were the case, she would have been ages 42 and 44 respectively, when Jacob and Carl were born. It is more reasonable to believe that Anna Catharina’s birth occurred ca. 1710.
The fates of Anna Catharina’s mother, brother and sisters are completely unknown. None appear in the death records at Dielkirchen or in the church records of surrounding communities. Like their sister, Anna Catharina, they seem to have vanished from the area. Perhaps their lives followed courses similar to Anna Catharina, who married, moved to a distant community, and then to America.
Anna Catharina’s Marriage to Gottfried Bock
Gottfried Bock and Anna Catharina’s marriage appears to have been a double wedding with Adam Heddesheim and Catharina Mertz. Both grooms are believed to have resided at Cölln where they are believed to have been employed at the silver-quicksilver mines at Stahlberg.
Because Mannweiler-Cölln belonged to the Lutheran parish of Dielkirchen, the marriages took place there. Shown here is the original combined marriage entry for the two couples.
In modern German, the Bock portion of the double entry reads:
“Eodem die wurde auch Gottfrid Bock ein Bergman mit Anna Catharina, Peter Engels seelig, hinterlabener Dochter all heir copoliret”.
Translated, the combined entry reads:
“On 17th April, Adam Heddesheimer of Cölln, surviving son of Johannes Heddesheimer, the joiner of Cölln, was married to Catharina, surviving daughter of Valentine Mertz, the late former farm administrator on the Morsbacherhof farm, at Mannweiler [Mayntzweiler]. On the same day [April 17, 1736], Gottfrid Bock, a miner, was married to Anna Catharina, surviving daughter here of the late Peter Engels.”
