This certifies that on the 24th day of March 1851, I united the above named Andreas Engler aged 30 yrs & Margaret Les, aged 18 yrs in the holy bands of matrimony.
Mathias T. Michel
Transliteration of record:
In the year of Our Lord, 1851, and on the 24 of March, I the undersigned, certify, that I have joined in the holy bands of matrimony, Andreas I. Engel and Margaret Les, the licence having been (obtained), bands having been published and two witnesses having been present.
In faith whereof I have signed,
M. T. Michels
Dubuque County Record
The "r" and "s" are very similar in this record. Especially, look at the "r" in the word "yrs". The name "Les" has many variant spellings within the same family even in the Luxembourg birth certificates. It seems to have been a very difficult name to pronounce, the "o", in Luxembourg records, is an "o" with an umlaut which in some cases caused the name to be transcribed into English as Ives.
Wedding Date and Location
Andrew's obituary and Margaret's obituary give different dates and locations of their marriage. Both obituaries, Andrew's and Margaret's, are recorded in the Dyersville Commercial, a very reliable source. Most likely, when Andrew died in 1899, their children had a better recollection of exactly when and where their parents were married then 25 years later when their mother died in 1924.
From Andrew's obituary (1899):
"In 1850 he was married to Margaret Loes in the Cathedral at Dubuque, and resided at Garnavillo for two years, then moved to Cascade in 1852."
I checked the records at both the Cathedral at Dubuque and at St. Mary's Church in Cascade. I also checked the civil records in Dubuque. There are no records of the wedding in Cascade. The best bet seems to be the church record and civil record I found in Dubuque, although, unfortunately, there are some name differences, but I think these are only spelling mistakes of the recorder. I have found no evidence that Andrew's name was ever "Engel" or "Engles".
Andrew and Margaret were most likely married in the Cathedral at Dubuque on March 24, 1851.
From Margaret's obituary (1924):
"In the year, 1849, deceased was united in marriage to Mr. Andrew Engler in the Catholic church at Cascade, after which they settled down on a farm."
In the 1924 obituary, Margaret's name has also changed from "Loes" to "Less":
"Mrs. Engler's maiden name was Miss Margaret Less, and she was born in Medinger, Luxemburg, Germany on June 22, 1831."
