Yesterday (Feb. 9) a historic event took place for New Braunfels Masonic Lodge No. 1109. The cornerstone leveling of a new lodge building at 1353 Wald Rd. took place. This is the fourth home for this lodge.

It is believed that the history of the Freemasons goes back in antiquity to the worker organizations formed into guilds of like trades, particularly the building trades. A group of members is called a lodge. Today members wear aprons that look like the working clothes of the old stonemasons. The term “free” possibly refers to the freedom to move without the restrictions of the feudal lords.

Although it is not a religious organization, nor does it take the place of religion, members must believe in a Higher Being. Freemasonry accepts worthy men and seeks to make good men better. Members work through degrees, the highest being the 33^rd degree. Lodges support all good works, and believe in the equality of people, freedom, and democracy.

The first Grand Lodge was established on June 24, 1717, in London, England. The first Grand Master in America was appointed in 1730 by the Grand Lodge of England. Fourteen U.S. presidents were Freemasons, plus other Revolutionary notables, such as Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere. The cornerstone of the National Capitol was laid by Mason George Washington on Sept 18, 1793. The well-known painting of him wearing his Masonic apron was given to him by the Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat fighting for the American cause.

Closer to home, the Grand Lodge of Texas was formed during the time of the Republic with Sam Houston presiding at the formation. This Grand Lodge set aside 10% of their revenues for free public education. The Texas Freemason charter was received during the Battle of San Jacinto.

With this impressive background, let us get to the history of NB Lodge #1109. Remember that before the Texas Revolution the area that we now call Comal County was in the larger district of Bexar. The Texas Legislature created Comal County in 1846 after Texas became a state. The first Masonic Lodge in Comal County was actually in Twin Sisters on Curry Creek. Then when the final boundaries for Comal County were set in 1858, the western section of Comal County, where the lodge was located, was separated and the lodge was then located in Blanco and Kendall counties. Twin Sisters Lodge #216 was eventually moved to the city of Blanco and named Blanco Lodge #216 where it still exists.

The second Comal County Masonic Lodge, #276, was chartered in 1864 and demised in 1874. Some well-known early leading citizens belonged to this lodge, a few of which were Hermann Seele, Ferdinand Lindheimer, George Pfeuffer, Louis Henne, J.J. Groos, Joseph Landa, John Torrey, and Joseph Faust.

In 1915 the third lodge ,#1109, was chartered and met at the carriage house next to the Jahn building on South Seguin Avenue(building no longer standing). Fourteen Master Masons asked for a charter and chose R.E. Kloepper the first Worshipful Master, J.E. Abrahams the first Senior Warden, and J.E. Herd the Junior Warden. Celebrating the formation of this lodge in 1916, more than 200 Masons from neighboring counties marched with local candidates and guests from the Jahn Building to where the ceremony was to take place in the Knoke building (where the former Eiband and Fischer store was located). Some visitors came by train, but the majority came in automobiles. After the ceremony, they went to Tolle Hall for roast pig and sweet potatoes.

Then in 1923 the lodge moved to the Albert Ludwig building on the corner of W. San Antonio St. and S. Castell Avenue (present site of Phoenix Saloon). Being a Mason, Ludwig built a third floor to his building and offered it to house the lodge. Notice that the third story does not cover the whole building.

Forty two years later, the lodge was moved to its building at 1157 W. San Anonio St. where it remained until the new lodge was purchased and dedicated yesterday. This building is also home of the New Braunfels Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star and the New Braunfels Assembly of Rainbow Girls, affiliates of New Braunfels Masonic Lodge #1109.

Worshipful Master Riley Miller, who jokingly says that “real men do wear aprons”, invites all to come visit the lodge with its Museum and Library any Tuesday evening.

The post Local Masons dedicate new lodge appeared first on Sophies Shop.

Would you like to know what was on the property on which our present Comal County Courthouse sits? If so, read on.

When Nicholas Zink laid out the town of New Braunfels, with its main plaza and streets leading to it, he was given the town lot #32 by the Adelsverein for his efforts. Town lot #32 is the lot on which our present courthouse is built. Zink built a house on this lot in 1845. In 1847, the year that Zink and his first wife were divorced, he began selling his property in New Braunfels and eventually left altogether.

Zink sold lot #32 to Samuel Millet dated January 21st, 1847, who used the house as a hotel. Millet, in turn, sold the house in 1852 to Dan Wheeler and Wheeler sold it to Karl Floege in 1866. (Source: County Clerk’s office, book A, deeds p. 35) The family moved to a farm outside of Seguin.

Samuel Millet who was originally from Maine has a Texas Historical Marker at his gravesite in Guadalupe County. It states that he had come to Texas in 1827 and died in 1863. Records show his birth as 1801. He came to Texas as a member of Stephen F. Austin’s colony. During the Texas Revolution, he took part in the battle of San Jacinto.

In 1833, he married Clementina Bartlett and they had nine children. She was also with Austin’s colony and from Tennessee. She married her teacher, Samuel Millett, who was a graduate of Bowdoin College. Family tradition claims that Clementina at age 90 could recall early history of the Republic and those who were instrumental in its founding.

Harry Landa, in his memoirs “As I Remember” writes that his father, Joseph Landa, made this statement about the hotel: “Old lady Millett, mother of the well-known cattleman, Alonzo Millett, was operating a boarding house at the corner where the Comal County Courthouse now stands. The Landas boarded for a few months at Mrs. Millett’s establishment until they bought the adjoining property on the Plaza”.

Alonzo Millett, one of Samuel Millett’s sons, made a name for himself in the ranching business. In “The Traildrivers of Texas”, Alonzo Millett is described as spending his boyhood days in Bastrop County and Seguin where he attended school. When the Civil War broke out, he and his brothers volunteered in the Confederate army. Alonzo was only 16 and his twin brother, Leonidas, was killed. After the war, the surviving brothers returned to Texas and over the years that followed, gained wealth by accumulating ranches in several states. “Misfortune came and their wealth was swept away”.(Traildrivers…)  Alonzo persevered and when he died, he owned a large ranch in San Juan Valley, Colorado. He was killed by being thrown by a horse and then buried in San Antonio. Thirty-five miles south of San Antonio was a small settlement named “Millett” after Alonzo. Many local and Seguin Milletts are descendants of Alonzo Millett and his wife, Arlene Wilson Millett.

Now back to the present courthouse: Early on, Comal County conducted its business in rented rooms, then to a privately owned building on Seguin St. (Elks parking lot). In 1860 the first two-story courthouse was built on the corner occupied by Chase Bank. In 1999 the present courthouse celebrated its 100th birthday. (For more information about this courthouse, log on to Sophienburg.com, Jan. 20, 2009)

Our present courthouse was originally designed to sit in the middle of the Main Plaza with four easy accesses. When that plan fell through, the present location was chosen. The jail was added later, obscuring two entrances and another closed to add more office space. When this present restoration is complete, the original four entrances will once again be usable.

Nothing is left of the Millett Hotel, as the building was torn down shortly before the new courthouse was started. Behind the present courthouse where a parking area was located by the jail, a water well was discovered. The Texas Historic Commission evaluated the dry well and said that it pre-dated the Courthouse.  The well would have been in the right spot for use by the hotel. It was recently filled in with sand to protect its integrity and to prevent a cave-in. The last remnant of an era.

The post The last remnant of an era appeared first on Sophies Shop.

There are times, during the course of researching a topic, that we come across a story that just says it all. The following, a reprint of a story written by Susan Flynt England, is exactly that. It appeared in the Herald-Zeitung on Sunday, January 7, 1996.

Local family traces heritage to prominent pioneer hotel owner

When Prince Solms of Braunfels, Germany came to Comal county, the area was occupied and its residents weren’t all Native Americans. Some of them were Milletts. Nathan Millett of New Braunfels is their great-great-great-great grandson.

Samuel Millett, born in Maine, came to Texas in 1827. Millett’s wife Clementine was born in Tennessee. Samuel and Clementine moved to New Braunfels in 1845. They bought Lot # 32. Joshua Bartlett, Clementine’s grandfather, signed the Declaration of Independence. The Milletts opened a hotel, called the Samuel Millett Hotel. It stood about were the Comal County Courthouse does now.

They bought the hotel and the property on which it sat from Nicholas Zink, the original surveyor of New Braunfels. Joseph Landa with his young bride lived in Millett’s Hotel until Landa bought the north corner lot where the family lived for more than 75 years,’ said the Haas history of New Braunfels.

Samuel Millett also fought for Texas independence. He volunteered in Captain Moseley Baker’s company at the battle of San Jacinto. He received land donation certificates for his part in the battle. The Samuel Milletts eventually moved to a farm near what is now Navarro School. They also operated a school out of their farm house.

Samuel and Clementine Millett had seven children, two of whom were twin brothers, Alonzo and Leonidas. Both twins fought in the confederate army. Leonidas died at Manses, according to “The Trail Drivers of Texas” in the Texas State Archives.

Alonzo signed up with General Wood when he was 16 years old. He distinguished himself in battle and was promoted three times, said “Trail Drivers.”

Nathan Millett traces his ancestry to Alonzo Millett. He married Arlene Wilson, who was a slave. Alonzo Millett prospered as a rancher after the Civil War. Millett brothers’ ranches were scattered over Kansas, Idaho, Texas and the Dakotas. The town of Millett, Texas, about 90 miles south of San Antonio, was named after Alonzo Millett, who had a ranch in the area.

The 20th Century

Early New Braunfels ancestry did not exempt the 20th Century Milletts from 20th-Century discrimination. Cora Coleman, 22-year nursing assistant at McKenna Memorial Hospital, remembers many changes in New Braunfels during her long life in the area.

“Segregation was the biggest change, “Coleman said. “I came through when it was the back door.” Coleman grew up on a farm near the Comal-Hays county line. “My daddy worked on the farm and had a business down at the county line, “she said. “He ran it. We worked a farm and raised our own food.”

“Back in those days the blacks who lived in New Braunfels spoke German very well,” Nathan Millet said.

Coleman’s brother, Eddie Millett Jr., was a Methodist minister. “He had churches here – Allen Chapel in New Braunfels with others in San Marcos and Luling. He passed on in 1988,” Coleman said.

Mary Johnson grew up on a Millett farm. “My growing up years were beautiful,” she said. “We were poor, but Mama and Daddy were together. We grew about everything we put in our mouths. Farm life would benefit today’s young adults,” Johnson said. “Maybe they wouldn’t sit and watch those idiot boxes and not do anything else.”

Nathan Millet teaches in Austin and owns High Sierra Company in New Braunfels. A charter member of the Greater Comal County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he served as its first treasurer.

Millett is also instrumental in the success of the New Braunfels Black Heritage Society.

(Sources provided by the Sophienburg Archives, Annette Boenig Waite and the Millett family.)

Update

Since this article appeared in the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung in 1996, the Millett family legacy continues. Nathan Millett, a 1974 graduate of New Braunfels High School, completed his Ph.D. in Education and moved to the Austin area. He has since retired from public school systems and teaches math at Gary Job Corp. in San Marcos. Nathan has one son and three grandchildren living in New Braunfels. High Sierra Company, owned by his father Robert Millett, is run by his son, Kevin Millett.

The Black Heritage Society dissolved around 2002 due to declining membership; however, Beverly Millet and Karen Wilson are working to get it started again this spring. If you are interested in helping re-establish the New Braunfels Black Heritage Society, please send inquiries to drnathanedu@yahoo.com

The post Millett family appeared first on Sophies Shop.

The banner year in the history of Texas was 1836, the year that the Republic of Texas declared its independence from Mexico, drew up its first constitution and declared itself independent. This constitution with its generous land policy would be the driving force leading to the German immigration movement. What happened at that convention determined that estimated 7,000 Germans would emigrate to Texas. Many settled in Comal County.

Republic of Texas Declaration of Independence

The Texas Declaration of Independence stated that Mexico, under the presidency of Santa Anna, had violated the liberties that had been guaranteed Mexican citizens according to the Mexican Constitution of 1821. It stated that Texicans (Mexicans in the Texas part of Mexico) had been deprived of freedom of religion, right to trial by jury, the right to bear arms, and the provision of public education for its children.

Spanish explorers had made claim to most of the land called Texas since the 1500s. Texas was the northern area of Mexico called Coahuila that had been controlled by Spain until they were defeated by Mexico in 1821.

Texas was not the “pick of the crop” by either Mexicans or Americans. The Comanche of the plains and in the hill country were a big problem for the settlers. Few people ventured into the area, much less settled there. When the Texicans complained to Mexican authorities about their problems, they were met with force on the part of the Santa Anna, president of Mexico. With a large army, determined to drive the Texicans out, Santa Anna’s entry into Texas would lead to the Battle of the Alamo, of Goliad, and then eventually to the Battle of San Jacinto.

These battles resulted from the formation of the Declaration of Independence. The convention to make that decision took place at Washington-on the-Brazos. This small town had enough housing for the delegates and other towns did not.

Fifty-nine delegates met and adopted a constitution unanimously on March 2, 1836. Can you guess how many of these delegates were Texans? Now count: Twelve from Virginia, 10 from North Carolina, nine from Tennessee, six from Kentucky, four from Georgia, three from South Carolina, three from Pennsylvania, three from Mexico (two of which were native Texans, Jose Antonio Navarro and Jose Francisco Ruiz), two from New York, one from Massachusetts, one from Mississippi, one from New Jersey, one from England, one from Ireland, one from Scotland and one from Canada.

After the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, Texas was a free Republic and remained independent from 1836 to 1845.The constitution went into effect immediately and its generous land policy eventually became the reason for the German emigration.

Adelsverein

Now the Adelsverein in Germany enters the picture. A group of German counts and princes met at Biebrich on the Rhine to establish a colony in Texas. Wanting to relieve overpopulation and establish overseas markets to help Germany pay for the Napoleonic War was the main reason for this organization. Besides, the Texas Republic had awarded land to immigrant agents in the form of colonization contracts.

The “Society for the Protection of German Immigrants” was organized and Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels was sent to Texas to purchase land for the colonists.

New Braunfels was never intended to be the final destination of the colony. The original destination of the emigration project was the Bourgeois/Ducos grant on the Medina River. Bourgeois’ contract with the Republic of Texas was not renewed. Then Solms considered another tract of land. Two men, Fischer and Miller, acquired large plots of land on the San Saba and Llano Rivers. The Prince decided that because it was so far away from the coast, he would have to have a waystation. Just six days before the emigrants crossed the Guadalupe the Prince purchased the Comal Tract from the Veramendi heirs as a waystation.

The original immigrant contract with the Adelsverein stated that each head of family would receive 320 acres and single men would receive 160 acres. Only after they crossed the Guadalupe into New Braunfels were they told that they would receive one-half acre lot and one 10-acre plot. They were not happy campers. A few went on their own to claim land on the San Saba, but not many. New Braunfels became the home for most of them.

Veramendi’s Comal Tract

When Texas was still under Spanish control in 1807, a land speculator named Baron de Bastrop purchased four leagues of land on the Guadalupe which included the Comal Springs (later called the Comal Tract). When the Mexican flag flew over Texas, the vice-governor of Texas and Coahuila in 1825, Juan de Veramendi, petitioned the Mexican government for 11 leagues of land which also included the Comal Tract. When Veramendi died, his daughter Maria Veramendi and husband Rafael Garza, inherited the tract of land and sold it to Prince Carl for $1,111.

In Comal County there were three Mexican Land Grants from 1831 before the Republic, two for Veramendi and one for Antonio Maria Esnaurizer. There were eventually many different types of grants available in the Republic of Texas and State of Texas for citizenship, military service, colonization and public improvement, such as schools and railroads. Looking at the Land Grant Map of Comal County, one can find such grantees as Samuel Millett who fought at San Jacinto, Gordon Jennings (heirs), David Crockett (heirs) and Toribio Lasoya (heirs), who died at the Alamo.

Texas became a state of the United States in 1845 and between 1845 and 1898 Texans were issued preemption grants for 160 to 320 acres with the stipulation that the grantee must live on and improve the land for three years. This happened to hundreds of Comal County land owners. These grants were acquired by many German settlers in Comal County.

Without the formation of the Republic of Texas and the Declaration of Independence, the future of Comal County would have been quite different. On March 2^nd, drive around our Main Plaza and salute the many Texas flags put up by the Ferdinand Lindheimer Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

The post Settlement of New Braunfels prompted by Republic of Texas Constitution appeared first on Sophies Shop.