My 5th great-grandparents Johann CONSBRÜCK (1749-1796) of Echternach and Barbara SCHMIDT (1747-1829) of Koedange celebrated their marriage in the hometown of the groom.1
In this direct line from myself to Johann’s parents, only two of the nine couples did not marry in Echternach. My great-grandparents married in Mamer in 1900 and my 3rd great-grandparents married in Metz, France, in 1835. My husband and I were married in Echternach in 1978, my parents in 1957, my grandparents in 1935, my 2nd great-grandparents in 1867, 4th in 1805, 5th in 1773, and 6th in 1735. My 7th great-grandparents likely married in Echternach or Mersch about 1705. After the death of my 7th great-grandfather, his widow, my 7th great-grandmother married again, in Echternach.
1773 Marriage Record
On Monday, 22 February 1773, in the presence of Johann HINCKES and Martin HERCKES, citizens of Echternach, Father LUCIUS solemnized the marriage between the respectable young Johann, the legitimate son of Johann Wilhelm CONSBRÜCK of Echternach, and Barbara, the legitimate daughter of Peter SCHMIDT of Koedingen, after prior review of the dismissal by the priest of the parish of Waldbillig.2
The parish priest provided a dimissionis, a dismissal or nuptial certificate for the party (bride or groom) marrying in a different parish. In this document, the parish priest certified to his colleague who was to celebrate the marriage that the person in question was single (or widower/widower) and that the prescribed bans (public announcement of the marriage) had been correctly made.
Barbara’s nuptial certificate came from Waldbillig as the hamlet of Koedingen (Kéidéng in Luxembourgish) was at the time attached to the parish of Waldbillig.
The CONSBRÜCK Children
Johann CONSBRÜCK (1749-1796) and Barbara SCHMIDT (1747-1829) made their home in Echternach. They were the parents of three known children born between 1775 and 1782.
Henri CONSBRÜCK was born on 5 April 1775 in Echternach.3 He died at the age of 75 years on 22 May 1850 in Echternach.4 He married Eva LANSER, daughter of Sébastian LANSER and Maria Catharina HASTERT, on 10 February 1805 in Echternach.5 Henri and Eva were my 4th great-grandparents. They were the parents of eight children, four of whom died between the ages of one and seven months. Three of the four surviving daughters never married but lived long lives working as seamstresses. Only one daughter, Anna Maria (1810-1897), my 3rd great-grandmother, married and continued this line.
Anna Maria CONSBRÜCK was born on 29 October 1779 in Echternach.6 She died on 10 September 1788 in Echternach at the age of 8.7
Matthias CONSBRÜCK was born on 3 June 1782 in Echternach.8 He died at the age of 54 years on 30 October 1836 in Trier, Germany.9 He was married twice. He married Katharina BASTIAN (1797-1831) on 9 January 1810 in St. Laurentius Church in Trier.10 They had four known children. After her death, he married Elisabetha RAMMES (1791-1861) on 8 June 1832 in Trier.11 Their marriage lasted only four years, ending with Matthias’ death. They had no children.
Twenty-three years of marriage
Johann CONSBRÜCK died on 21 July 1796 in Echternach at the age of 47.12 His wife of 23 years outlived him by 33 years. Barbara SCHMIDT died in Echternach in the rue de Luxembourg on 10 May 1829 at the age of 81 years.13
Research Manager
In May 2018, a photo was posted in a Facebook group taken during WWI. The text included two of my surnames associated with the CONSBRÜCK-SCHMIDT line. I commented on the post and received a private message from the lady who posted the photo. During our conversation, I learned she is my third cousin once removed, a descendant of Henri CONSBRÜCK’s daughter Anna Maria, the only child to marry and have children.
In 1894 Anna Maria CONSBRÜCK at the age of 84 years divided six pieces of land she owned between her two living daughters and their husbands by selling the land to them. The daughters were Odile Lucie SCHLOESSER, my 2nd great-grandmother, and Maria SCHLOESSER, my newfound cousin’s great-grandmother. My cousin had the original notary record of the sale and sent photos of the four pages. The plots were likely once owned by Anna Maria’s father Henri CONSBRÜCK and his parents before him.
On my to-do list is the transcription and analysis of the 1894 deed of sale for land owned by Anna Maria CONSBRÜCK, granddaughter of the CONSBRÜCK-SCHMIDT couple. It may help to determine the present-day address of the home of Johann CONSBRÜCK and Barbara SCHMIDT.
© 2021, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.
- Luxembourg, registres paroissiaux, 1601-1948 (images), FamilySearch (original records at Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit, Luxembourg), Echternach > Tables des mariages 1706-1797 A-Lahr (index organisée par l’époux) > image 407 of 1598. 1773 Marriage Card. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-32468-29388-23?cc=2037955 : accessed 19 November 2015). ↩
- Ibid., Echternach > Mariages, décès 1706-1778 > image 165 of 293. 1773 Religious Marriage Record (left page, 2nd entry).(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-32399-12108-26?cc=2037955 : accessed 19 November 2015). ↩
- Ibid., Echternach > Baptêmes 1761-1797 > image 73 of 131. 1775 Baptismal Record, bottom left page. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-32399-12831-27?cc=2037955 : accessed 19 November 2015). ↩
- Luxembourg, Registres d’état civil, 1662-1941 (images), FamilySearch (original records at Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit, Luxembourg), Echternach > Mariages 1887-1890 Décès 1796-1853 > image 1347 of 1463. 1850 Death Record No. 39. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-12662-58715-84?cc=1709358 : accessed 18 November 2015). ↩
- Ibid., Echternach > Tables décennales 1823-1892 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1797 Naissances 1796-1808 > image 1343 & 1344 of 1446. 1805 (21 pluviose an 13) Marriage Record No. 100 (part 1). (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11573-62479-92?cc=1709358 : accessed 19 November 2015) and 1805 (21 pluviose an 13) Marriage Record No. 100 (part 2). (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11573-72489-87?cc=1709358 : accessed 19 November 2015). ↩
- Ibid., Echternach > Tables décennales 1823-1892 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1797 Naissances 1796-1808 > image 421 of 1446. 1779 Baptismal Record. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DRPS-GQG?cc=1709358&wc=9RY9-3TL%3A129623201%2C130776701 : accessed 8 October 2015). ↩
- Ibid., Echternach > Tables décennales 1823-1892 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1797 Naissances 1796-1808 > image 730 of 1446. 1788 Death Record. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DRPS-NZW?cc=1709358&wc=9RY9-3TL%3A129623201%2C130776701 : accessed 8 October 2015). ↩
- Ibid., Echternach > Tables décennales 1823-1892 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1797 Naissances 1796-1808 > image 510 of 1446. 1782 Baptismal Record (right page, last entry). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-DRPS-F2B?cc=1709358&wc=9RY9-3TL%3A129623201%2C130776701 : accessed 27 May 2021. ↩
- “Trier, Germany, Deaths, 1798-1950,” (index and images), Ancestry.com, citing “Zivil- und Personenstandsregister Sterberegister”, Stadtverwaltung Trier, Stadtarchiv, Trier, Germany. 1836 Death Record No. 540. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 28 May 2021). ↩
- “Trier, Germany, Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1600-1798,” (index and images), Ancestry.com, citing Genealogische dokumentation des Dechanten Heinrich Wurringent anhand der Trierer Kirchenbücher vor 1798, Bestand 60. Stadtverwaltung Trier, Trier, Deutschland. 1810 Marriage Record. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 27 May 2021). ↩
- Ibid., 1832 Marriage Record. (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 27 May 2021). ↩
- Luxembourg Civil Records, Echternach > Tables décennales 1823-1892 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1797 Naissances 1796-1808 > image 946 of 1446. 1796 Death Record (left, 5th entry). (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11573-62393-97?cc=1709358 : accessed 21 November 2015). ↩
- Ibid., Echternach > Mariages 1887-1890 Décès 1796-1853 > image 770 of 1463. 1829 Death Record No. 39. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-XSSS-H3C?cc=1709358&wc=9RY7-L29%3A129623201%2C129958201 : accessed 8 October 2015). ↩
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Opening Doors in Brick Walls 
The story of how you connected with your new cousin through a photo posted on Facebook is just amazing. I realize Luxembourg is a small country, but still—amazing!
When you wrote that your direct ancestor Anna Maria was the only one of her seven siblings to have children, my first thought was—how lucky we are that she did or you wouldn’t be here!
Was it unusual to be married where the groom lived instead of the bride? My German relatives all seemed to marry in the hometown of the bride but then move to the hometown of the groom.
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Even more amazing is that she lives in the same town and we know each other by sight. My grandmother would have been able to tell me all about the family if she were still alive.
It’s kind of scary to think that I might not be here if anna Maria had not had her daughters.
I haven’t paid close attention to whether it was the home of the bride or the groom when the couple was not from the same place. I think maybe in this case Echternach was chosen as it was the larger parish at the time.
Thanks, Amy.
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Wow, the same town! Luxembourg is small, isn’t it!?
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She remembered meeting me when I young and that we couldn’t talk to each other because she couldn’t speak English and I didn’t understand Luxembourgish. And there are no pictures of this meeting. 😦
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The photographs are wonderful and add a visual dimension to your family history. It is a fun fact to learn how many of your ancestors married in Echternach and that you did as well! What about your children?
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Thank you, Kendra. I’m going to try and some photos for the upcoming posts. No, our children didn’t marry in the town of Echternach but one did marry in the canton of Echternach.
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