By Myra Lee Adams Goff Can you think of three words that would describe what was important to your mother’s generation? How about your grandmother’s? Go back one more generation and it’s easy because that generation of immigrant women spelled it out: “Küche, Kirche, und Kinder, or “kitchen, church and

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 Baron Ottfried von Meusebach dropped his aristocratic title and became John Meusebach when he came to Texas in May of 1845. He was to be the Adelsverein’s second administrator of the German settlement of New Braunfels succeeding Prince Carl. The prince had departed just two

By Myra Lee Adams Goff It’s early spring in the year 1846 and I am imagining myself at the edge of the Guadalupe where the ferry would be bringing Dr. Ferdinand Roemer into the new town of New Braunfels. He had arrived in Texas the year before to study the resources, geology, and flora

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The late Dr. Robert Govier was a friend of mine and a real friend to the Sophienburg Archives. A native of New Braunfels, he got his Ph.D. in German and translated many documents for the Sophienburg. I considered him a multi-talented genius. While working on his

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Prince Carl in the diary of his sojourn to Texas writes about sleeping on the ground, using a pistol case as a pillow. Even before the emigrants arrived, he feared an Indian attack. He recalled a patriotic drinking song called “Deutschland Hoch”. Rewriting his own words

By Myra Lee Adams Goff This Good Friday, March 21, marks the 163rd year since the first emigrants crossed the Guadalupe into what would become New Braunfels. At noon Sophienburg members and others interested in NB history will be on the Plaza commemorating this event. Please join us. Having written much about that first crossing, I

By Myra Lee Adams Goff The year is 1849, just five years after the first emigrants arrived on the Texas coast. Hermann Seele has been invited to spend December 26th with Pastor L.C. Ervendberg, his wife Luise, their five children, and the 19 orphans left parentless by the devastating immigration

By Myra Lee Adams Goff Several months ago, sitting at the back of the Archives, I saw what appeared to be a wolf and a child at the front door. The sun was behind them so I got up to investigate. In the front foyer were two almost life-size plaster

By Myra Lee Adams Goff One of my favorite historical places to go is the middle of the Faust Street Bridge and look upstream to where the first settlers crossed the Guadalupe on their way into NB. I have walked Nacogdoches St. on the east side of Seguin Ave. towards