My aunt Joan has many family documents and photos. She lent me some to scan, including my the marriage record of my 2nd-great-grandparents Carl Joseph Schneider and Christina Nagel. A handwritten summary of the data accompanied the document.
According to the handwritten summary, my 2nd-great-grandmother Christina Nagel's mother was Anna Marie Aupin. The assumption had been made that her mother was of French ancestry because the surname Aupin seems to be French.
Although the family believed that Anna Marie's surname was Aupin, I saw something different when I looked at the original document.
My knowledge of German helped me when I looked at this document. I knew about the German letter eszett (ß). I could see how it might be confused with the letter p. Someone unfamiliar with this letter would not read it as ss. I thought it was more likely that Christina Nagel's mother's name was Anna Maria Aussem. Further research in German records showed that I was right. Anna Maria's surname was Aussem, not Aupin, and she was of German descent, not French.
Anna Maria Aussem was born on 15 October 1815 in Kendenich, Rhein-Erft, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. She was the daughter of Mathias Aussem and Theresia Erp (also given as Erles). Kendenich is now part of Hürth.
On 1 February 1837, Anna Maria married Wilhelm Esser, a farmer from Hürth. He was the son of Peter Esser and Margaretha Horst.
Wilhelm and Anna Maria's son Peter Esser was born on 10 March 1838. Wilhelm Esser died on 20 April 1839. He was only about 23 years old.
On 17 March 1845, Anna Maria gave birth to an illegitimate son, Mathias Aussem. Her son's father was my 3rd-great-grandfather Johann Nagel. Perhaps Johann and Anna Maria could not obtain permission to marry sooner. Johann may not have been financially secure enough to support a wife, stepson, and any additional children that might be born. Mathias was later known as Mathias Joseph Nagel. He took his father's surname after he was legitimized as a result of his parents' marriage.
Johann and Anna Maria married on 31 August 1848, more than three years after the birth of their son Mathias.
Almost a year after their marriage, on 19 August 1849, Johann and Anna Maria had a daughter, Theresia. Their next child, my 3rd-great-grandmother Christina Nagel, was born in Kendenich on 27 February 1851. Johann and Anna Maria had another daughter, Agnes, on 21 December 1855.
Anna Maria died in Kendenich on 8 September 1861.
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