The Millheim and Cat Spring Pioneers


Book Description

This book is a continuation of an effort began in 2015 by a handful of individuals with an interest in the history of the German settlements at Cat Spring and Millheim in Austin County, Texas. Three of the early literary works by Millheim settlers have been republished — Experiences and Observations and A History of Austin County by William Andreas Trenckmann, and A Boy’s Civil War Story by Charles Nagel. Obscure books, newspaper and periodical articles, literary novels and plays written about the area by former residents a century or so ago have been identified. An inventory of all such documents and their current status as to public availability has been developed. This book presents a brief history of the extended Cat Spring–Millheim community in western Austin County, along with reproductions of several articles written by early area pioneers such as Robert Kleberg, Rosa von Roeder Kleberg, Caroline Ernst von Hineuber, Adalbert Regenbrecht and Ottilie Fuchs Goeth. We provide brief biographies of many of the early settlers including Elemenech Swearingen, Ludwig von Roeder, Robert Kleberg, Carl Amsler, Friedrich Engelking, Andreas Trenckmann, Robert Kloss, Gustav Maetze, Dr. Herman Nagel, Adalbert Regenbrecht, Rev. Arnost Bergmann and Louis Constant. Also summarized are the significant literary works created by early settlers in the area, including William Andreas Trenckmann, Charles Nagel, Johannes Christlieb Nathanael Romberg and Adolph Fuchs. Several of these long out-of-print works are reproduced herein.




Readings from the Apocryphal Gospels: Selected and with an Introduction by Hugh J. Schonfield


Book Description

This is a reissue of the book originally written by Hugh J. Schonfield in 1939 and published by Nelson in 1940. The front flap of the dust cover describes the work thus:"A collection of the many interesting stories about our Lord to be found in the accounts of His life not regarded as "canonical." The importance of these documents lies in the fact that they embody a useful remnant of independent tradition about the life and teaching of Christ; also they throw light on the spiritual outlook of the early Christian Age in which they were compiled.The Gospels of James, of Pseudo-Matthew, of Thomas, and of Nicodemus are those from which extracts have been taken, and the translation used is that of the late Alexander Walker."Here we have re-set and produced this fascinating book in Kindle Format.




A German Paradise in Texas


Book Description

A gripping historical novel about the Germans who left their home country more than 150 years ago. False promises of a better life and incompetent organisers attracted thousands who had little to lose back home to look for a new life in Texas with the hope of creating a New Germany free from tyranny and poverty. These courageous people created much of the culture of Texas today. This emotive rendering of Scheffel’s monumental ‘lost’ heart-rending classic makes this story available for English language readers for the first time. Notes are provided for additional background information.




The Story of My Life Written for My Children Summer 1939


Book Description

The Story of My Life Caroline Mackensen Romberg The author was the wife of Julius Romberg, youngest child of the poet Johannes Romberg and the brother of Louise and Caroline. She describes the early years of their marriage when they lived with Wilhelm and Louise Fuchs at Cypress Mill, years spent in the Romberg community at Black Jack Springs in Fayette County, and life on the Romberg Farm near Holland in Bell County. This edition includes a chapter from Louise's book as an introduction and is a valuable source of historic information about early Texas life.




Preserving German Texan Identity


Book Description

Born in Millheim, Texas, to a family of German immigrants who moved to Texas in the wake of the 1848 revolution, William Andreas Trenckmann was a teacher, journalist, and publisher who successfully combined his German heritage with a new, distinctly Texan identity. His education was cultivated at the brand new Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, where he distinguished himself as the valedictorian of the first graduating class; he later served on the college’s board of directors and was even offered the presidency. From 1907 to 1909, he represented Austin County in the Texas legislature. Trenckmann’s lasting contribution to Texas history, however, was the creation of Das Wochenblatt, a German-language weekly newspaper that he edited and published for over forty years. Das Wochenblatt became a popular and respected source of information for German-speaking immigrants, their descendants, and the Texas communities where they lived and worked. Through the paper, Trenckmann advocated for civil liberties and free elections. He also vigorously opposed prohibition, the Ku Klux Klan, and later the rise of Adolf Hitler and National Socialism. When the United States entered World War I, many German-language publications were suspended or otherwise heavily censored, but Trenckmann’s newspaper was granted a rare exemption from the wartime government. From 1931 to 1933, Trenckmann serialized his memoirs, Erlebtes und Beobachtetes, or “experiences and observations.” In Preserving German Texan Identity, historians Walter L. Buenger and Walter D. Kamphoefner present a revised and annotated translation of those memoirs as a revealing window into the lives of German Texans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.




Footprints of Five Generations


Book Description

There are yet among us men and women who braved the dangers and hardships of a frontier life in order that we may be enjoying the advantages and wealth of the present. Some of these have not great wealth and while others are drawing a small pension from the State, there are still others who are in dire poverty and never expect to ride on a concrete highway for pleasure and recreation. What they want to know more than anything else is that their lives have not been spent in vain; that we are actually building on the foundation they have laid; and that we appreciate just what they have done. Those were strenuous times when pioneer men and women had to be brave and face the dangers that threatened home and children; the men could not always be near to protect their families and their property; but seldom do we hear or read of a woman who did not nobly and bravely stand between her loved ones and danger, whether from dangerous wild animals, marauding redskins or from a devastating prairie fire that often swept the settlement, leaving nothing but a black streak of ashes in its wake. It is hard indeed fer us to realize as we sit beside our peaceful firesides, the hardships and perils those brave men and women had to endure when this country was an untamed wilderness. Therefore, we dedicate this manual to their memory.




Los Brazos de Dios


Book Description

Historians have long believed that the "frontier" shaped Texas plantation society, but in this detailed examination of Texas's most important plantation region, Sean M. Kelley asserts that the dominant influence was not the frontier but the Mexican Republic. The Lower Brazos River Valley -- the only slave society to take root under Mexican sovereignty -- made replication of eastern plantation culture extremely difficult and complicated. By tracing the synthesis of cultures, races, and politics in the region, Kelley reveals a distinct variant of southern slavery -- a borderland plantation society. Kelley opens by examining the four migration streams that defined the antebellum Brazos community: Anglo-Americans and their African American slaves who constituted the first two groups to immigrate; Germans who came after the Mexican government barred immigrants from the U.S. while encouraging those from Europe; and African-born slaves brought in through Cuba who ultimately made up the largest concentration of enslaved Africans in the antebellum South. Within this multicultural milieu, Kelley shows, the disparity between Mexican law and German practices complicated southern familial relationships and master-slave interaction. Though the Mexican policy on slavery was ambiguous, alternating between toleration and condemnation, Brazos slaves perceived the Rio Grande River as the boundary between white supremacy and racial egalitarianism. As a result, thousands fled across the border, further destabilizing the Brazos plantation society. In the1850s, nonslaveholding Germans also contributed to the upheaval by expressing a sense of ethnic solidarity in politics. In an attempt to undermine Anglo efforts to draw a sharp boundary between black and white, some Germans hid runaway slaves. Ultimately, Kelley demonstrates how the Civil War brought these issues to the fore, eroding the very foundations of Brazos plantation society. With Los Brazos de Dios, Kelley offers the first examination of Texas slavery as a borderland institution and reveals the difficulty with which southern plantation society was transplanted in the West.




The Cat Spring Story


Book Description







Texas Almanac 2012–2013


Book Description

First published in 1857, the Texas Almanac has a long history of chronicling the Lone Star State and its residents. The Almanac's 66th edition is printed in full color and includes hundreds of photographs from every region of the state. Color maps of the state and each of its 254 counties show relief, major and minor roads, waterways, parks, and other attractions. Each county map is accompanied by a profile outlining that county's history, physical features, recreation, population, and economy. Special features in the 66th Edition include: • An article on the birth of the Austin music scene and the influence on it by legendary musician Willie Nelson, written by Nelson biographer Joe Nick Patoski. The Austin music scene is recognized worldwide through Austin City Limits, the longest running music program on American television. • A history of the Civil War in Texas to mark the 150th year since the beginning of that conflict. Composed by Texana writer Mike Cox, the article highlights the unique aspects of the war in Texas, such as the Great Hanging at Gainesville and the Battle of Palmito Ranch. • Newly released 2010 population figures. • A complete history of voter turnout in Texas going back to 1866. • A history of professional football in Texas. • Comprehensive lists of high school football and basketball championships, Texas Olympians, and Texas Sports Hall of Fame inductees. The Texas Almanac 2012–2013 includes articles and data about: • history and government • population and demographics • the natural environment • sports and recreation • business and transportation • oil and minerals • agriculture • science and health • education • culture and the arts • obituaries of notable Texans • pronunciation guide to town and county names