There's a lot of speculation about what the middle initial "I" that shows up in a number of official documents actually stands for. Some think that the "I" stands for "Ignatius" but it doesn't seem anyone is certain.
I suspect that maybe the "I" stands for "Ioannes", Latin for the name, "John". I have always seen the "I" used in conjuction with Andrew's Latin-spelling of first name, "Andreas", in official documents. Another reason I suspect it stands for "John" is that "John" seems to be a somewhat popular family name.
Andrew, in the early days, may have used his middle initial in official documents to avoid confusion with the three or four other Andrew Engler's, according to census records, living in the Dubuque area at the time, two from Switzerland and the St. Donatus Andrew from Germany.
Maybe Andrew's middle name is just another unsolvable mystery about our great grandfather but then maybe someday someone will show up with the answer.
