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 ...