WHO WAS THE BIRTH MOTHER OF ANNA SIMON?

Problem #3 researched at the Family History Library:  Who was the birth mother of my 2nd great grandmother Anna Simon Homrich?  Anna Simon was born 6 years before the marriage of her father Joseph Simon to Catherine Schneider.  So even though she is listed on later documents as her mother, was there really someone else who died when Anna was very young?

Background information:  Anna Simon's father Joseph Simon was born in 1818 in Prussia.  He immigrated to the United States in 1952 with his wife Catherine Schneider and their children - Phillip (17), Anna (16), Mathias (13), Peter (8), Nicholas (5) and a 2 month old baby.  In the 1900 US Census, it was reported that Joseph and Catherine were married for 50 years and that Catherine gave birth to 7 children with 2 still alive.  According to Joseph Simon's death certificate from 1906, he was the father of 12 children but only 4 were still alive at the time of his death.

Findings: I located a German marriage record for Joseph Simon and Catharina Schneider which states they were married on 4 August 1850 in a Catholic church in Mehring, Rheinland, Prussia.  I had been told that Anna Simon was from Bavaria, but this record shows that there is another town named Mehring and is located in the Rheinland area of Germany.

I also located a German marriage record for Joseph Simon and Anna Maria Josepha Kesten.  Could this be the missing mother?  According to the record, they were married on 1 Dec 1841 in Mehring, Rheinland, Prussia.  In addition, I found a baptism record for Joseph Simon, the son of Joseph Simon and Maria Josepha Kesten.  This Joseph Simon was born on 8 October 1848 and baptized on 12 October 1848 in a Catholic church in Mehring, Rheinland, Prussia.

Going back to the clues from the 1900 US census, the two children of hers that were still living were Peter Simon (1852-1943) and Nicholas Simon (1853-1936).  So far I can only find 3 of the 7 children that she gave birth to -- Peter, Nicholas and the infant named in the 1860 census.

Now, for Joseph Simon, who was the father of 12 but only 4 were alive at his death in 1906 -- those alive would include Anna (1844-1914), Mathias (1846-1922), Peter and Nicholas. If you add to these names, Phillip Simon (1843-1863), the infant and Joseph Simon, there is still 5 more names of children that I am missing.  Of those children, 4 of them were the children of Catherine Schneider and 1 of them was from Maria Josepha Kesten.

So, my plan is to look for birth records for the other children in both Germany and the United States records. I also need to research Maria Josepha Kesten further to see if I can find out who her parents were and if there were any siblings.

The more information I discover, the more questions I have ...

TRYING TO UNRAVEL THE "SIMON" MYSTERY

My 3rd Great Grandfather Joseph Simon (born in Prussia in 18118) immigrated to the US in 1852.  The earliest records I have been able to locate on Joseph is the ship manifest on his trip from Liverpool, England to Boston, Massachusetts.  He sailed on the ship Tirrell and arrived in Boston on 29 Nov 1852.  He traveled with his wife Catherine (Schneider) and children Philip, Mary [Anna], Matthias and Peter.  Anna Maria Simon (born in 1844) is my 2nd great Grandmother.

What I find interesting is in the 1900 census it asks 3 of my favorite genealogical questions -- How many children have you given birth to?  How many children still survive?  How long have you been married?  You wouldn't believe the information I have learned from those simple questions!  Okay, back to my story -- Catherine answered that she had been married 50 years, which would mean that Joseph and Catherine got married in 1850.  This would have been after the births of Philip (1843), Anna (1844) and Mathias (1846).  No, of course, that doesn't rule out Catherine as their mother but the next little nugget of information does.  Catherine answered that she gave birth to 7 children but only 2 survive.  At first glance, it looks like she could be the mother since in addition to Philip, Anna and Mathias, there were also younger children -- Peter, Nicholas and Mary.  However, the answer to how many survive throws "a big wrench" into the situation.  In 1900, Anna, Mathias, Peter and Nicholas were all still alive with Philip dying in January of that year.  So, what makes sense and backs up my theory is that Catherine was only the birth mother of Peter and Nicholas and Mary (who died in 1874).  This means that Joseph had been married before (while in Prussia) and probably the birth mother died before he married Catherine.  Catherine is listed on some of the documents as their mother but this is a common occurrence when the birth mother dies when the children are very young and the father remarries.

So what is the mystery?  What is the name of the birth mother of Anna Simon and who are her ancestors?  That would open up an entire new branch of my family tree.   Some times I don't feel like I am just hitting a brick wall, I feel like I am in a maze -- where there is wall after wall after wall!