By Myra Lee Adams Goff

In your imagination, go back to 1845. The German immigrants will be crossing the Guadalupe River into what would become the settlement of New Braunfels. The date is March 21st and in 1845, it was Good Friday. As we know, Good Friday is not often on that date, but New Braunfels celebrates Founder’s Day on March 21, 1845. When you go into the Sophienburg Museum, the first display you see is dedicated to the brigs that brought the immigrants from Germany.

Since it is said that “a picture is worth a thousand words”, picture in your mind what the following famous ships looked like and you can get a mental picture of a brig: How about the “Sea Hawk” from the movie “Pirate of the Mediterranean”? Do you remember the “Jolly Roger”, a pirate ship of “Capt. Hook”? And then the “Covenant” from the story “Kidnapped” by Robert Louis Stevenson.

A brig is a small sailing ship with two masts. A brigantine is the same kind of ship but has a different arrangement of sails. Even now, every ship has a brig which is a prison cell where prisoners are kept until the ship reaches shore. By the 19th century, most ships were made of pine and were standard cargo ships. (They are also called barks, barkentines, clippers, named according to size and shape, number of masts, and how the sail was rigged.)

Then there were schooners which were fast, small ships used often from Galveston to Indianola. Do you remember the “We’re Here” schooner made famous by Rudyard Kipling’s “Captain’s Courageous”?

The German immigrants had the idea, as promoted by writers and especially the Adelsverein, that the two month trip, was to take them to a new exciting country where all their problems would be left behind. The romance of traveling was exciting and since most of the immigrants came from the interior of Germany, few had even seen the ocean nor a sailing vessel. They had already traveled many miles to get to Bremen or Antwerp to get on the brig to travel thousands of miles to their new Heimat (homeland). They must have had a rather “child-like” anticipation of something new and adventurous. On the other hand, it must have been a bittersweet experience, leaving your home to which you would never return and saying goodbye to friends and relatives.

Around 60 ships were leased by the Adelsverein and eventually made over 100 trips. The time taken to get from Germany to Galveston was roughly around 58 to 146 days depending on the weather, especially wind. Most of the vessels were cargo ships, well built and heavy, but slow. Group transport at the time made it profitable to convert cargo ships into emigrant ships.

The ships were divided into three sections: The bottom or the “hold” carried water, provisions, and the baggage of the immigrants. The middle section, steerage, had a hallway through the middle from one end to the other, and contained cubicles 8 x 8 stacked one on another. These cubicles were arranged with upper and lower berths with ladders to get up and down. They contained the large trunks of the family and had only a rough sailcloth straw mattress.

In a few of the ships, the steerage had portholes, but in most, the only light and air that reached these cabins was from the stairway leading to the upper deck. No running water, no buckets for “conveniences”, no lamps except whale oil lanterns, no washing facilities for body or clothes. Slop jars served as toilets, the contents of which had to be carried to the upper deck each morning and dumped into the sea. An average of 150 persons were in steerage.

The upper deck was separated from steerage by a hatch. During stormy days, the hatch had to be kept closed. Imagine the seasickness, heat, and close quarters. Many died and were buried at sea. The number has not been determined.

The first emigrants traveled to Bremen, sailed north on the Weser River to Bracke. Here they embarked on the brigs tied to the docks. Then they sailed to Bremerhaven, and out into the North Sea. The rough English Channel brought on seasickness. Eventually the drinking water took on a bad taste and smell. The food consisted of salted beef, pork, peas, beans, barley, rice, potatoes, sauerkraut, and cabbage. There was much rejoicing when they finally reached Galveston and then Indianola.

As difficult as the trip was, “All for Texas and Texas forever” says it all. Victor Bracht, 1848.

A painting of the brig, Herschel. This ship’s first trip left Bremen on Sept. 23, 1844. The next trip left August 14, 1845. Artist unknown.

A copy of a certificate for the Hans Heinrich Wallhöfer family of six, stating that they could leave Brennen on Sept. 15, 1845 and arrive in Galveston.

By Myra Lee Adams Goff

A month from this day on March 21, New Braunfels will once again observe Founder’s Day. It was the year 1845 when the first emigrants crossed over the Guadalupe River and made their way into what would become their new homeland. Germany was left far behind. The vast majority of those that crossed that day and became the first settlers of the town had never seen Texas before landing in November of 1844. Some that joined Prince Carl on the coast had been in Texas for quite a while.

Four of the more well-known immigrants who had been in Texas a decade or more were Ferdinand Lindheimer, Louis Ervendberg, George Ullrich, and Friedrich von Wrede. Johann Rahm and Daniel Murchison had been with Jack Hays’ Ranger group in San Antonio when they joined the Adelsverein. They all joined the Adelsverein at the coast and came with that first group of settlers.

Not very well-known was Daniel Murchison. He was born in North Carolina in 1809 and arrived in Texas in 1832. He was a soldier in the War for Texas Independence and received many land grants for military service and for surveying for the Republic. Murchison had a town lot in the fledgling town of Austin and in 1840 he joined Capt. Jack Coffee Hays’ Spy Company. Brave men were the only protection on the Texas frontier and these groups of men were called “ranging companies” or also called “spy companies”.  Organized groups would later be called Texas Rangers.

Daniel Murchison was with Jack Hays in San Antonio when he met Prince Carl. He joined the militia of Prince Carl that was organized to accompany the emigrants in their trek inland as well as to protect them while they were in the new settlement. He accompanied the group and was given land.

After Meusebach took Prince Carl’s place, he disbanded the militia and organized another company with Lt. Murchison as leader. Rudolph Biesele in “The History of the German Settlements in Texas, 1831-1861” states that Meusebach left New Braunfels looking to establish a settlement due to additional emigrants on the way. Meusebach found a tract of land north of the Pedernales River about 80 miles from New Braunfels.  Meusebach organized a surveying party of 36 men equipped with wagons, tools, provisions and guns under the command of Lieutenants Bene, Groos and Murchison. They were to lay out a wagon road from New Braunfels to the new settlement. After the surveying expedition returned to New Braunfels, preparations were made to send the first settlers to what would become Fredericksburg.

In 1850 Daniel Murchison married immigrant Wilhelmina Holzgrefe from Hannover.  The 1860 census lists Daniel, 47, and wife Wilhelmina, 27, five children and two Holzsgrefe relatives living with them .He was politically involved in the community and served in the Texas Legislature in 1866 where he was on the initial committee to revise the state constitution.

In the old section of the Comal Cemetery is a lot with two identical obelisks, one for Daniel Murchison who died Feb. 22, 1867, and the other for his widow. After Murchison died, his wife, children and servant Hugh McCrainey moved to the Murchison’s ranch in Llano County. Six years later, Mrs. Murchison died and was buried at her husband’s side. The young children were then raised by the servant McCrainey.

Texans who emigrated independently of the Adelsverein like Murchison and others should be remembered as we once again observe Founder’s Day.  And let’s give Prince Carl credit for having the foresight to invite them.Comal County Deed Records show Murchison’s name many times as the agent for land owners who were selling lots in Braunfels and Comaltown, across the Comal River from New Braunfels. An agreement between land owner Rafael Garza and land agent Murchison stated that Murchison was to sell lots between the Comal Springs and the Guadalupe rivers (Comaltown and adjoining land) for fifteen percent of what he could get for the lots, and to “prevent the cutting of timber of said land and to prosecute trespassers on the same”. The 1881 map by Augustus Koch shows that the present Central St. was formerly named Murchison St. That street was stemmed off by the building of the railroad track.

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