History of the German Element in Texas from 1820-1850, And
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PD Commons PD Books PD Commons MORITZ TILING HISTORY OF The German Element in Texas FROM 1820- 1850 AND HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE GERMAN TEXAS SINGERS' LEAGUE AND HOUSTON TURNVEREIN FROM 1853-1913 BY MORITZ TILING Instructor in History, Houston Academy FIRST EDITION Published by Moritz Thing, Houston, Texas Nineteen Hundred and Thirteen PD Books PD Commons COPYRIGHT BY M. TILING 1913 PREFACE. This plain, unpretending monograph has been written for the purpose of preserving to posterity the records of German achievements in the colonization and upbuilding of the great state of Texas. The pioneer's humble life and courageous struggles are very often left unnoticed by the historian, yet, v/ithout his brave and patient labors none of the great commonwealths of the United States would exist. The early pioneer, whose brawny arm wielded the axe, who cleared the forest and broke the virgin soil, is as much a maker of a country, as the statesman, the diplom- atist and the soldier of today. His faithful work and often hazardous task are well worth remembering. The different Texas histories used in the public schools unfortunately are lamentably deficient with respect to the important part the Germans have taken in the coloniza- tion and shaping of Texas. Some of them, which are used extensively in the schools of the State, do not make any mention at all of the German immigration and its bearing on the rapid development— of Texas, while others at least state briefly that "Texas is indebted to her German till- ers of the soil for developments of great value, and which to Americans had been considered of impossible produc- tion in this climate." (Brown's School History of Texas, p. 218.) Prof. A. B. Faust of Cornell University devotes but ten pages to Texas in his History of the German Ele- ment in the United States. Thus the present generation is even nov/ almost ignor- ant of the men, who went intrepidly into an unknown coun- try, who fearlessly braved the many dangers and hardships incident to pioneer-life and who helped to lay the founda- tion of the great State of Texas. The publication of this unassuming book shall remedy this deficiency with proper accounts of the colonization of Texas and will give credit to whom credit is due. To Prof. C. W. Welch I am indebted for proof-reading and other valuable suggestions. Houston, Texas. M. T. PD Books PD Commons INDEX Introduction 1-2 Texas Before 1820 3-S The Immigration Proper Begins (1820-1830) 5-6 German Immigration from 1820-1830 7-11 German Immigration from 1830-1840 12-16 First German Settlement in Texas 17-23 Robert Kleberg, the Founder of Cat Spring 24-29 Cause of the Texas Revolution 30-32 The War for Independence 33-38 The Battle of San Jacinto 39-42 The Immigration Increases After Texas Wins Her Freedom 43-47 First German Societies of Texas 48-52 The Germans in the Republic of Texas 53-57 The Society of German Noblemen 58-62 The Adelsverein Buys a Worthless Land Grant 63-72 Colonization Under the Auspices of the Adelsverein 73-78 Further German Immigration Under the Adelsverein in 184S 79-85 Arrival of More Than 5,000 German Immigrants in 1845-46. 86-90 Last Effort of the Adelsverein in Colonization 91-94 Expedition of von Meusebach to the Comanche Territory and His Treaty With the Indians 95-107 Collapse of the Adelsverein 108-113 Criticism of the Adelsverein 114-120 The Revolution of 1848 and Its Effects on German Immi- gration 121-126 Industrial Establishments of the Early German Settlers and Their Relation to the Anglo-Saxons 127-131 Houston Saengerbund (Display Page) 132 Brief History of the German State Saengerbund of Texas. .135-159 Historical Sketch of the Houston Turnverein 161-175 German Day Celebration in Houston 177-181 Works for Bibliographical References 183-185 Landing in Galveston (Poem) 187-189 Die Landreise nach der nuen Colonie (Poem) 189-192 Das Lager auf der Zinkenburg, wo jetzt die Katholische Kirche steht, 1845 (Poem) 192-194 Die erste Ansiedelung der Stadt Neu Braunfels, 1845 (Poem) 194-196 Appendixes 197-225 ! TEXAS ODE FOR DEDICATION OF THE RICE INSTITUTE HOUSTON, TEXAS OCTOBER 12, MCMXII By Henry Van Dyke. (In ViTiting this poem Professor Van Dyke made use of an Indian legend. The leg-end is that when the Indian hears the bees in the forest he knows that his tribe must move on, for the whites are near. He lays stress upon the tact that when the white man brings his women, his children and his bees, he never retreats. It is then that he comes to stay.) All along the Brazos River, All along the Colorado, In the valleys and the lowlands Where the trees were tall and stately, In the rich and rolling meadows Where the grass was full of wild-flowers. Came a humming and a buzzing, Came the murmur of a going To and fro among the tree-tops. Far and wide across the meadows. And the red-men in their tepees Smoked their pipes of clay and listened. "What is this?" they asked in wonder; "Who can give the sound a meaning? Who can understand the language Of a going in the tree-tops?" Then the wisest of the Tejas Laid his pipe aside and answered: "O my brothers, these are people. Very little, winged people. Countless, busy, banded people. Coming humming through the timber These are tribes of bees, united By a single aim and purpose, To possess the Tejas' country. Gather harvest from the prairies. PD Books !! ; PD Commons TEXAS ODE Store their wealth among the timber. These are hive and honeymakers, Sent by Manito to warn us That the white men now are coming, With their women and their children! Not the fiery filibusters Passing wildly in a moment, Like a flame across the prairies, Like a whirlwind through the forest, Leaving empty lands behind them Not the Mexicans and Spaniards, Indolent and proud hidalgos, Dwelling in their haciendas. Dreaming, talking of tomorrow, While their cattle graze around them. And their fickle revolutions Change the rulers, not the people! Other folk are these who follow Where the wild-bees come to warn us These are hive and honeymakers. These are busy, banded people, Roaming far to swarm and settle. Working every day for harvest, Fighting hard for peace and order. Worshiping as queens their women, Making homes and building cities, Full of riches and of trouble. All our hunting-grounds must vanish, All our lodges fall before them. All our customs and traditions. All our happy life of freedom. Fade away like smoke before them. Come, my brothers, strike your tepees, Call your women, load your ponies Let us take the trail to westward, Where the plains are wide and open, ! viii TEXAS ODE Where the bison-herds are gathered Waiting for our feathered arrows. We will live as lived our fathers, Gleaners of the gifts of nature. Hunters of the unkept cattle. Men whose women run to serve them. If the toiling bees pursue us, If the white men seek to tame us. We will fight them off and flee them. Break their hives and take their honey, Moving westward, ever westward. There to live as lived our fathers." So the red-men drove their ponies. With the tent-poles trailing after. Out along the path to sunset, While along the river valleys Swarmed the wild-bees, the forerunners. And the white men, close behind them. Men of mark from old Missouri, Men of daring from Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Men of many states and races, Bringing wives and children with them. Followed up the wooded valleys. Spread across the rolling prairies. Raising homes and reaping harvests. Rude the toil that tried their patience. Fierce the fights that proved their courage, Rough the stone and tough the timber Out of which they built their order Yet they never failed nor faltered. And the instinct of their swarming Made them one and kept them working, Till their toil was crowned with triumph. And the country of the Tejas Was the fertile land of Texas. PD Books PD Commons THE GERMAN ELEMENT IN TEXAS. CHAPTER I—Introduction. The brilliant achievements of the conquering- hero, the records of marches and counter marches, of skirmishes and battles, of sieges and slaughters, have heretofore been uni- versally accepted as history. This is an erroneous, or at least only partly correct assumption, for such, certainly is not the history of the life and evolution of a people. Neither wars and conquests, nor glittering court life and elaborate social functions, but the quiet, peaceful and productive life of the people is that which makes or unmakes a nation. As Thomas H. Buckle pertinently says: "Nations are great through their architects, engineers, artists, teachers, busi- ness men and workers, and not through their lawyers, preachers, soldiers and policemen." The colonization and marvelous development of the United States furnish a striking example of the correctness of this axiom and so does Texas. A new country is no place for weaklings. Texas, 80 years ago, was such a country in every sense of the word, its broad plains being then the almost undisputed domain of barbarous Indian tribes, whose hunting grounds stretched practically from one end of the great State to the other. It required strong arms and stout hearts to enter this country as a settler and perform the dangerous and onerous work and labor of the pioneer. The Texas pioneers of the 30s and 40s of the last cen- tury—among them more than 15,000 Germans—were such men, who unflinchingly braved all dangers and hardships connected with the arduous task of clearing and cultivat- ing a country that was virtually in possession of ferocious redskins.