The Inheritance Compiled and Edited by Gertrude Franke Electronic Text formatted by Kenneth W. Fuchs 2003 Nortex Press Austin, Texas FIRST EDITION Copyright © 1987 By Gertrude Franke Printed in the United States of America By Nortex Press, A Division of Eakin Publications Austin, Texas ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, except for brief passages included in a review appearing in a newspaper or magazine. ii This book of our ancestors’ reminiscences and the accumulation of incrustations of family anecdotes is dedicated to my sister BEATRICE FRANKE RICHTER without whose assistance and encouragement it could not have been written iii “There is no inheritance so rich as the records of the worthy lives of those who have departed this life and who had human frailties, yet were so enabled to overcome them as to lead lives of usefulness, integrity and true godliness.” iv Contents DEDICATION ......................................................... iii FOREWORD .......................................................... ix ACKNOWLEDGMENT .................................................. x FRANCKE The Francke Family ......................................................3 Peter Heinrich Francke .................................................... 7 Peter Heinrich Francke’s First Wife .......................................... 8 Peter Heinrich Francke’s Children by His First Wife . 9 Peter Heinrich Francke’s Second Wife ....................................... 11 Peter Heinrich Francke’s Children by His Second Wife . 12 The von Schmieterloew Family ............................................. 16 Francke Genealogy ...................................................... 17 The von Kamptz Family .................................................. 18 Glossary ..............................................................26 FRANKE Chronology of Louis Franke ............................................... 31 Louis Franke, by Helen Franke ............................................. 32 Early Influences ........................................................ 35 Immigration Contract .................................................... 40 The Making of a Texan ................................................... 50 Letter from Moody Texas Ranger Library ..................................... 58 Marriage Record .......................................................60 Louis Franke’s Naturalization Certificate . 60 Homestead Deed .......................................................63 Letter from Baylor University .............................................. 64 Baylor at Independence .................................................. 65 Black Jack Springs ...................................................... 70 Letter from B. Franke, 1859 ............................................... 71 Letter from L. Franke, 1859 ............................................... 76 A Centennial Story of the Lutheran Church, excerpts . 78 Civil War and Reconstruction Period ........................................ 82 v Commissioners Court Minutes ............................................. 85 Louis Franke’s Land Transactions .......................................... 89 Bernhardiene L. Franke’s Land Transactions . 90 Journal of the House of Representatives ...................................... 90 Journal of the Senate .................................................... 99 Newspaper Accounts of Louis Franke’s Death . 106 Letter from Friederike Romberg, 1873 . 120 Senate Resolutions ..................................................... 122 Letter from Secretary of State ............................................ 122 Estate Proceedings ..................................................... 123 In Memoriam ......................................................... 127 A Biography of Louis Franke ............................................. 130 Letter by Alma Shudde Kellersberger, 1951 . 132 Inscription on Louis Franke’s Tombstone . 132 Addenda, by Irene Franke Holm, 1951 . 132 Letter, from Louis O. Shudde, 1962 . 136 Letter, from Alma Shudde Kellersberger, 1969 . 138 Bernhardiene Romberg Franke, By Helen Franke . 139 A Texas Pioneer ....................................................... 140 Will of Bernhardine Franke ............................................... 155 Black Jack Springs, by Kathy Zimmermann . 156 Murder on the Balcony, by Caroline Perlitz MacFarland . 157 A Tribute to Bernhardine Romberg Franke, by Elfriede Wiederaenders Franke . 158 ROMBERG The Romberg Family, by Helen and Gertrude Franke . 162 Romberg Ancestors, by Annie Romberg ..................................... 165 Johannes Romberg’s Naturalization Certificate . 170 A Texas Literary Society of Pioneer Days, by Annie Romberg . 171 Will or Testament of Johannes and Friederike Romberg . 172 At Grandfather’s, by Helene Romberg Mackensen . 172 J. C. N. Romberg, German Poet of Texas, by Selma Metzenthin-Raunick . 175 Romberg Genealogy .................................................... 182 vi FRANKE FAMILY The Children of Louis and Bernhardine Romberg Franke . 186 The Shudde-Bauer Connection ............................................ 187 The Henry Franke Descendants ........................................... 188 The Paul C. Franke Descendants ........................................... 188 The Anna Franke Shudde Descendants ...................................... 196 The Marie Franke Fouts Descendants ....................................... 201 The Benoni A. Franke Descendants ........................................ 203 The Herman A. Franke Descendants ........................................ 204 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................... 209 vii Illustrations Pictures & Maps Page: 4 Map of Germany 5 Map of Germany 6 Map of Germany 12 Cathedral (southside) Güstrow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin 14 Cathedral (interior) Güstrow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin 30 Map showing location of Franke Home in Fayette County, Texas 35 Ludwig Francke, oil painting by his sister, Pauline Steinhäuser 40 Immigration Contract of Ludwig Francke 43 Hoffman von Fallensleben 47 Prince Carl Solms-Braunfels 48 Map – State of Texas 1848 50 Louis Franke, age 27 (?) 55 Fisher-Miller grant transfer 57 Map of Texas – showing location of Fisher-Miller Colony 59 Marriage Record of Louis Franke and Berhardine Romberg 62 Louis Franke’s Naturalization Certificate 67 Old Baylor Columns, Administration Building 70 Duplicate Certificate 100 Return of an Election 101 Return of an Election 102 Return of an Election 105 Second Capitol of State of Texas 106 Louis Franke 107 13th Legislature, 1873, Liberators of Texas 128 Drawing of Louis Franke made by his sister, Pauline Francke Steinhäuser, 1859 139 Bernhardine Romberg Franke, about 1873 (?) 143 Franke Home, Black Jack Springs, built 1877 (?) 143 Franke Home, oil painting by Benoni A. Franke 155 Berhardine Romberg Franke’s Will 163 Johannes and Fredericke Bauch Romberg viii Foreword In the seminary library of Dubuque, Iowa, there is a 45-volume set of ALLGEMEINE DEUTSCHE BIOGRAPHIEN . The biography says that the name Franke was spelled in various ways, such as Frank, Franck, Francke, Franch, Franckus, Franckz, and Vranckz! The first edition of the Franke papers was a pamphlet of only forty-two pages, which was printed in 1948 for private circulation among the children and grandchildren of Louis and Bernhardiene Franke. Our ancestors left the Confederation of German provinces which had in essence become a police state leaving no freedom of choice for the individual. Ironically, Louis Franke was bludgeoned to death by unknown assailants on the steps of the Texas State Capitol, while he was serving as legislator under a governor who was ruling Texas with an iron hand. Here was a man who left Europe seeking freedom, a lawyer helping to make laws and losing his life in the process. However, he did obtain for his descendants a home in a free democratic society. We should always be thankful to our ancestors for their self-sacrifices in giving us an inheritance in a new land. ix Acknowledgment This second edition is an effort to show to future generations of our family the inheritance we have received from our ancestors. Through the mists of history down to our time, records have been kept by certain families. We are fortunate to be their descendants. My grateful thanks to the cousins, whose names appear in the following pages, for generously sharing family data. To Paul and Crystal Ragsdale, Louise Jernigan and James Patrick McGuire, I owe a debt of gratitude for their helpful suggestions. Also, without the many hours of translation by my uncle Dr. A. G. Wiederaenders; the patient research of my cousin Ardone Workman; the encouragement, by underwriting this project, of my brother Arthur T. Franke; and last, but by no means least, the impetus given by my late cousin Helen Franke, this attempt would not have been made. However, I feel that I owe an apology to those of my relatives who are much better qualified than I to write a history of our family. The years passed; no one wrote a Franke book. I finally decided as G. K. Chesterton said, “If it is worth doing, it is worth doing poorly.” So, here is my poor effort. Please, be lenient. Having spent a life-time reading and taking notes of what was interesting, it is now impossible to acknowledge all of the sources from which material was drawn for this book. Researching, compiling and editing continued for many years. In conclusion here are several