By Myra Lee Adams Goff “Connecticut Yankees in Prince Carl’s Court” might describe the Torrey brothers, John F., Tudor, Abraham, George, David, and Thomas. They were indeed from Connecticut and three of them did end up in Prince Carl’s domain. One of them, John, stayed. If you look at the

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Next week is Valentine’s Day and the Sophienburg has a display of about 30 of their historic valentines from the early 1900s to the 1950s. The most elaborate and beautiful card is a zephyr (hot air balloon) decorated with a technique called “honeycomb”. Parts of

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The name Johann Jacob Rahm is not a very familiar one in New Braunfels – nothing is named after him, no street or school like after Solms, Seele, or Lindheimer. But Rahm is perhaps the one person who actually was the most influential in the

By Myra Lee Adams Goff On March 2, 1847, about 30 miles from the mouth of the San Saba River and north of Fredericksburg, John O. Meusebach, second commissioner-general to the Adelsverein, negotiated a peace treaty with the Comanche Indians. A treaty with the Comanches was essential to settling the

This traveling exhibit has been rescheduled for Jan. 12-Feb. 9, 2010. By Myra Lee Adams Goff The Sophienburg’s first traveling exhibit will be open at the museum on Tuesday, Jan. 12 and stay through Feb. 9. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. excluding Mondays and Sundays. The exhibit called

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Hermann Seele arrived in Galveston on Dec. 13, 1843. He had come alone to make his home in Texas. On Christmas Eve, he walked the streets of Galveston totally alone and his thoughts were of home in Germany. He remembered how the children stepped up

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Prince Carl, leader of the Adelsverein emigration group and Alamo hero Jim Bowie were vastly different from each other. And yet, the two had a round-about connection. They were both in Texas at about the same time, they both had a New Braunfels connection, and

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Emmie Seele Faust was the daughter of one of New Braunfels’ most outstanding citizens, Hermann Seele. He provided a good roll model for his daughter and for her 90 years, she contributed much to her beloved city. Mrs. Faust’s father, you recall, taught the first

By Myra Lee Adams Goff “Treue der Union”. These are words that memorialize a group of young Texas men who were loyal to the Union during the Civil War. It’s a sad story that has a New Braunfels connection through the three sons of Wilhelm and Caroline Brückisch. Wilhelm Brückisch

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit! Powerful words for an idea that is truly German. Loosely translated, it means “salute to German fellowship.” According to the late author Curt Schmidt, Gemütlichkeit is a concept that has grown out of thousands of years of German tradition based on