| Texas Germans |
| As early as 1850, Germans constituted more than 5 percent of the total Texas population. By 1980, persons of German descent were the third largest ethnic group in Texas and the 1990 US census revealed that 1,175,888 Texans claimed pure German ancestry and 1,775,838 partial German ancestry, for a total of 2,951,726, or 17½ percent of the total population, a rather large amount! The first permanent German settlement in Texas was in Austin County, established by Friedrich Ernst and Charles Fordtran in the early 1830s. Some of the Germans went to other counties. Later, twenty-one enterprising German noblemen formed the "Verein zum Schutz deutscher Einwanderer in Texas" in 1842 to buy a grant of 3,800,000 acres in west-central Texas for German immigrants. Prospective settlers were offered free passage to America and 320 acres of land for a married man or 160 acres for a single man, plus a fully furnished house, farming equipment as well as churches, hospitals and roads. Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, left, established the town of New Braunfels as a rest stop/way station to the proposed area (known as the "Fisher-Miller lands"). When they realized that there were too many anticipated settlers for tiny New Braunfels, Prince Solms- Braunfel's friend, Baron Ottfried von Meusebach (later John Meusebach), founded Fredericksburg and Castell. They meanwhile discovered that their tract of acreage was unfertile for farming and surrounded by many hostile Indians. Their Society was a victim of an unscrupulous Texan when it purchased, sight unseen, its interest in the Fisher-Miller Land Grant, located between the Llano and San Saba Rivers. The four million acre grant was supposedly in the very center of the legendary lost Spanish mines. But that did no good for the thousands of immigrants already enroute, and to make matters worse, war had broken out between the United States and Mexico and all routes of transportation were taken over by the Army. Meusebach went to the coast to receive the first large contingent of immigrants at Indianola, and found out that during their horrendous sea voyage, hundreds had perished from illness and disease before the others found themselves stranded on the Texas Coast with inadequate preparations: no buildings, tents, food or supplies. Some opted to "go for it" and walk to their destination. Sadly, however, out of the 6,000 immigrants who reached Indianola in 1845, no more than 1,500 ever made it to New Braunfels. Hit repeatedly by devastating hurricanes, Indianola is now a ghost town with almost nothing remaining of the original town. An account of their 'death march' was written by a survivor and published in Galveston Weekly News on November 12, 1877 as follows in this excerpt: "When Baron von Meusebach returned to the coast, he found that ships carrying 6,000 immigrants had unloaded at Indianola, for whose reception and transportation not the slightest preparation had been made. With no other shelter, these unfortunate victims lived in holes they had dug in the ground, without roofs and drinking water, except that which fell from heaven. Meusebach had contracted with teamsters to take the immigrants inland to New Braunfels. Instead, the teamsters ran away to earn more money working for the U. S. Army. Their principal food was fish and wild ducks, because none of them brought guns capable of killing larger game. For weeks, the rains came, and for miles around, the marsh prairies were covered with knee-deep water. Immigrants suffered first from malarial fever, and later, from a flux or dysentery, which resembled cholera and began thinning their ranks. Hundreds of corpses were buried (in shallow graves), only to be dug up by the wolves, and their bones were left dotting the prairie..." (end). Once they arrived at their destination, hundreds more died from the annual yellow fever plagues. Not all took that awful walk, however. Some had stayed put in the coastal towns and made the best of it. The noblemens' enterprise was soon bankrupt, but the treaties that they made with the Indians as further described opened up land for future German settlements in parts of the Texas Hill Country. Baron Otfried Hans von Meusebach (1812–1897), the founder of Fredericksburg, Texas was a peacemaker with the Comanche Indians. Meusebach was born at Dillenburg, Germany and studied mining in Germany and also attended the University of Bonn, where he specialized in law. Meusebach studied five languages and spoke fluent English. After transferring to the University of Halle, he took his bar examinations at Naumberg in 1836 and then worked in various administrative jobs in Trier, Berlin, Potsdam, and elsewhere. He left his life in Germany behind at age of thirty three to assume the role of commissioner general for the Manizer Adelverein for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas. As executive administrator, and received an allowance of $2,000 for the purchase of scientific equipment, a salary of $790 annually, a commission of 2 percent of all net profits of the society, and an allocation of 500 acres of land. He was guaranteed an indemnity of $5,000 if the society should dissolve within five years. Meusebach and his small group arrived in Galveston in May of 1845 and rode by horseback to New Braunfels. It was soon after his arrival that he adopted the name John O. Meusebach. He felt that the land in the Fisher-Miller Land Grant could still be put to good use, but first it would be necessary to come at an agreement with the Comanche Indians. Despite hearing reports that the Comanches were on the warpath, Meusebach arranged to meet with ten Comanche chiefs in early March 1847. He promised the Indians presents worth $3,000 in return for the Indians' pledge not to disturb the surveyors or harm the colonists, and on May 9, 1847, the Comanche chiefs came to Fredericksburg to sign the Meusebach-Comanche Treaty. Below: Prince Carl; Meusebach as an old man and a rock carving of the treaty |
| The Germans were facinated by the appearence of the Comanches, who smeared their bodies with powdered charcoal or chalk and had three lines tattooed from the lower eyelid over the cheeks. They were clean shaven and even plucked out their eyebrows and lashes. The following account is from an anonymous report taken from the files of officers of the expedition who later returned to Germany. Entitled "Meusebach's Expedition into the Territory of the Comanche Indians in January, 1847": The first day’s journey beyond the Llano took us across large layers of granite, which could hold deposits of precious metals. The following day we crossed a quartz regiion where we found rock crystals the size of a fist... On February 7 we finally approached their wigwams on the San Saba River and here we were given a ceremonious reception. From the distance we saw a large number of Indians in their colorful array coming down the hill in formation. As we came nearer they entered the valley, all mounted, and formed a long front. In the center was the flag; on the right wing were the warriors, divided in sections and each section had a chief, the left wing was formed by the women and children, also mounted. The entire spectacle presented a rich and colorful picture because the garb of the Comanche on festive occasions is indeed beautiful and in good taste. The neck and ears are decorated with pearls and shells and the arms with heavy brass rings. The long hair of the men is braided into long plaits, which, when interlaced with buffalo hair, reaches from head to foot and is decorated with many silver ornaments. ....As we approached the formation of the Comanche, it was requested of Mr. Meusebach that only he and few companions come nearer, and that was arranged. When our four or five men were within 100 paces, Lorenzo told us that if we fired our guns [into the air] as an indication of our confidence, that it would make a very favorable impression. This we did and the Comanche responded in a like manner. We were greeted with elaborate handshakes and then led into their village. In the treaty Meusebach and the Comanche agreed that Indians could be allowed into German settlements and would "have no cause to fear, but shall go wherever they please." In exchange for Comanche protection from "bad Indians", it was agreed that "the Germans likewise promise to aid the Comanches against their enemies, should they be in danger of having their horses stolen or in any way to be injured." (end) Meusebach was on a trip in Germany when he was elected to the Texas Senate in 1851. He was a member of Senate committees on state affairs and education, where he advocated universal and compulsory education. In 1854 Meusebach received an appointment as commissioner from Governor Elisha M. Peaseqv to issue land certificates to those immigrants of 1845 and 1846 who had been promised them by the Adelsverein. Meusebach lost his first love to typhoid, but married seventeen- year-old Countess Agnes of Coreth on September 28, 1852 and they had eleven children. Meusebach was very interested in botony, and grew thousands of native black Spanish grapes. He also cultivated the Texas yucca plants for the American and foreign markets. Meusebach retired to his 200-acre farm in Loyal Valley in 1869 and spent his remaining years tending his gardens, orchard and vineyards. He died in 1897. A description of Texas Germans in Neu Baunfels From: "The Great South; A Record of Journeys in Louisiana, Texas, the Indian Territory, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland" by Edward King 1848-1896, Illustrated by James Wells Champney 1843-1903: Toward sunset we come upon neat stone houses, with quaint German roofs. "Everything Dutch now," ejaculates the driver, and indeed we are about to see what German industry and German thrift have done for Western Texas. The stage rumbles on through the "lane" which extends for miles on either side of New Braunfels, bounded by fertile, well-fenced, well-cultivated fields, such as the eye of even a New England farmer never rested upon. It is dark as we rattle past the cottages; the German families, mother, father, and the whole gamut of children, from four to fourteen, are coming in from work. The women have been afield ploughing, with the reins round their necks and the plough handles grasped in their strong hands. Yet they are not uncouth or ungracious; their faces are ruddy, their hair, blown backward by the evening breeze, falls gracefully about their strong shoulders. Surely, this is better than the tenement house in the city! The stage rumbles on through the "lane" which extends for miles on either side of New Braunfels, bounded by fertile, well-fenced, well-cultivated fields, such as the eye of even a New England farmer never rested upon. It is dark as we rattle past the cottages; the German families, mother, father, and the whole gamut of children, from four to fourteen, are coming in from work. At last we reach the Comal, and crossing its foamy, greenish-blue waters, rattle on to New Braunfels, the cheery town which the German Immigration Company settled in 1845, and which is now an orderly and wealthy community of 4,000 inhabitants, set down in the midst of a county which has probably 10,000 residents. The Germans were the pioneers in this section, endured many hardships, and had many adventures, many battles with the Indians, before they were allowed to push forward from New Braunfels and create other settlements. As we enter the long main street of the town, the lights from the cottage doors gleam forth cheerily. The village maidens are walking two by two with their arms about each others' waists, and crooning little melodies, and the men are smoking long pipes at the gates. Suddenly we dash up to the hotel, and a pleasant-faced old gentleman, in a square silk cap, hastens to welcome us into a bright room, where little groups of Germans sit ranged about clean tables, drinking their foaming beer from shiniest of glasses. Are we then in Germany? Nay; for supper is spread in yonder hall, and the new driver whom we took up at the last relay is calling upon us, in our English tongue, to make haste. New Braunfels bears as many evidences of wealth and prosperity as any town in the Middle States. It has always been liberal in sentiment, and for many years boasted of having the only free school in Texas. The shrewd Germans have taken advantage of the admirable water-power of the Comal and Guadalupe, and have established manufactories in the county. The Comal, one of the most beautiful streams in Texas, gushes out at the foot of a mountain range not far from New Braunfels, from a vast number of springs; and from its sources to its confluence with the Guadalupe, a distance of three miles, has forty feet of fall, and mill-sites enough for a regiment of capitalists. Indeed it is easy to see that the place will, at some future time, become a great manufacturing centre. White labor is easily obtained, and the community is peaceful and law-abiding. (end) |
| And the description of San Antonio follows as: To the people of San Antonio it is a perpetual delight, a constant treasure, of which they speak almost reverently. The San Pedro is commonly known as a creek, but has many a beautiful nook along its banks; and in one of them, called "San Pedro Springs," the Germans have established their beer gardens. There, in the long Sunday afternoons, hundreds of families are gathered, drinking beer, listening to music and singing, playing with the fawns, or gazing into the beer garden and the den of the Mexican panther. There, too, the Turnverein takes its exercise; and in a long hall, dozens of children waltz, under the direction of a gray-haired old professor, while two spectacled masters of the violin make music. This is the Sunday rendezvous of great numbers of the citizens of San Antonio, Germans and Americans, and is as merry, as free from vulgarity or quarreling, as any beer garden in Dresden. The German element has been of incalculable value to Western Texas, and especially to San Antonio. It has aided much in building up the material interests of the whole section; has very largely increased the trade of the city; has brought with it conservatism and good sense in manners, so that even a frontier town, eighty miles from any railroad, and not more than thirty miles from Indians, has all the grace and decorum of older societies. (end) The many German immigrants mid-19th century moved mainly into the larger cities, notably San Antonio, Houston, and Galveston. Each of these had a population that was about one-third German. Among the many German immigrants to Texas during this time were the "Freethinkers" who immigrated to the Texas Hill Country in the late 1840s and 50s. There is more about them under the Civil War section. Following the Civil War, more Germans actually came to Texas than had come before, but in smaller groups. These Germans tended to settle in areas where other Germans were already active in central and southeast Texas. Settlements in north and northwest Texas, on the High Plains, and even into the Texas Panhandle, formed a chain of German "folk islands". |
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