By Tara V. Kohlenberg —

After this past week’s historic Arctic storms Uri and Viola had us in winter lockdown, I jumped at the chance to go driving through the Comal countryside under the clear blue skies. It wasn’t just the sunshine and 70-degree temperatures that were so inviting. It was our history on display all across the county. Did you know that our beautiful Comal County is officially 175 years old this year? The Texas Legislature formed Comal County in 1846. Comal, Spanish for “flat dish”, perhaps so named due to the flat islands in the river near the springs or shallow river basin, lent its name to the newly formed county. Let’s take a look at what the early immigrants outside New Braunfels.

In our last article, I wrote about the historic Freiheit Store and Freiheit Bowling Club in the southeast corner of the county. Using that as our starting point, we can travel down I-35, basically along the edge of the Comal/Guadalupe line, to the southwest corner of the county. Hidden just off of I-35 on FM 482 is the community known early on by several names: “Eight-Miles” and “Seven Miles Creek” (as it as located seven or eight miles from New Braunfels) and Comal, Texas. The families that settled the community were first generation immigrants from Germany who arrived aboard the first group of ships carrying prospective immigrant settlers to Texas. By the 1870s, Comal citizens formed a church and built a one-room log schoolhouse on land donated by Ignatz Wenzel. By the 1900s, the community grew to include a general store, cotton gin, corn-shelling operation and community hall. A brick Catholic Church, St. Joseph’s Chapel, was built in 1905 that still stands today. Plus, any blossoming genealogist would want to know about the St. Joseph Cemetery (if you have family from out there). There are two historical markers detailing the stories of the Comal Settlement and St. Joseph’s Chapel, one of which is by the City of Schertz.

The next place I want to point out is way up on the northern part of Comal County, located 19 miles northwest of New Braunfels on present-day Farm to Market 311 near Highway 281. The area was called Esser’s Crossing. Community survival depended on being able to move harvested crops to market, as well as getting supplies. Crossing rivers with a loaded wagon was not an easy thing to do. Natural shallow rock crossings were sought out and way-stations sprang up along these routes. Hill country rivers were prone to flooding, so they needed to have something seldom affected by the high waters. After evaluating several nearby crossings, the bridge was built at Esser’s Crossing in 1904. The wrought iron, wooden wagon bridge construction was comprised of two main spans knows as Pratt truss spans, flanked by two smaller spans. The Whipple truss style bridge design was popular in the mid-to-late 19th century. The 1904 Esser’s Crossing bridge was the first/only high water crossing of the Guadalupe River between San Antonio, Spring Branch, Blanco/Fredericksburg. Under highwater conditions before the bridge was built, travelers would have to go out of their way to come into town to cross the Guadalupe. That is 30 miles difference one way on our current road system. I cannot imagine how long it would take, with a wagon on dusty, old, windy roads.

The bridge was only the second high water bridge built in Comal County (behind Faust Street), lasting until 1974 when it was removed and replaced. Near to the bridge, a post office popped up and was called Wesson, TX. You can read the markers there.

The last destination for today’s article is in the northeast corner of Comal County, where we find a treasure trove of history: Fischer, Texas. Not only do they have markers, the Fischer Historic District is listed in the national register of historic places. The Fischer Historical District consists of a store, hall, and period houses. The 1902 Fischer Store is located at 4040 FM 484 in Fischer. It is the third structure to serve as the mercantile establishment with that name originally started by Hermann Fischer Sr. in 1866. He and his brother, Otto, settled the northern part of Comal County in 1853 after previously farming in Geronimo, Texas. They both had their part in developing this area of Texas and building the community today called Fischer, Texas. The Fischer Agricultural Society was formed to promote agriculture and animal husbandry and to acquaint families in the area through social activities, like dances. In 1897, Otto Fischer gave a portion of his property to the Society to construct a hall for the Society meetings and activities, including dances. The store is now a museum, opened at limited times, but the marker is out front for all to read.

These are just a few of the notable historical treasures of our county. You can read more about the town of Comal, the Agricultural Society of Fischer and Esser’s Crossing and the rest of Comal County in Around the Sophienburg by Myra Lee Goff ; Bridging Spring Branch by Brenda Anderson-Lindemann or Hill Country Backroads by Laurie E. Jasinsky, all of which are available at Sophie’s Shop inside the Sophienburg Museum & Archives (online sales www.sophienburg.com). Or, you can create your own Comal Backroad Bingo by finding and checking off the historical markers listed on the Comal County Historical Commission website while driving, cycling or running the roadways of Comal County. Bingo!

Sources: Sophienburg Museum & Archives; Around the Sophienburg by Myra Lee Goff; Comal County Historical Commission.

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman –

I just finished an exhibit on the Waissenhaus or Orphan’s Home. Organized in 1848 near Gruene, it was the first orphanage in Texas. I perused the Sophienburg’s collections to find original artifacts to use in the exhibit, and knew that of two large dough troughs, one was used at Waissenhaus. The other simply has a note, “used by the Mormons” and no donor name or other provenance. Hmmmmm …

Looks like it’s time to get out all the old standard research materials.

In a nutshell, the history of Mormonism in Texas began in 1844 with a plan by its founder, Joseph Smith. When Smith was killed, Brigham Young was made the new leader. Young decided to move the group to Utah; however, there were a few who wanted to continue Joseph Smith’s plan to settle in Texas (negotiations had already been made with Sam Houston). A group broke away from Young and moved to Texas with 200 settlers. They were led by Lyman Wight. Wight guided the group across the Red River in November 1845 and wintered in an abandoned fort in Grayson County until April. On June 6, 1846, the group settled at what is now called Mormon Springs, on the Colorado River, just under Mount Bonnell in Austin. They built the first water powered mill in the area.

Here is where they get tied in with the German colonists.

For some reason, Lyman Wight did not feel like his people were at their “Eden”. In 1847, he sent a team of four scouts into the Texas hill country. They found a site on the Pedernales River, four miles southeast of Fredericksburg — they reported, “a land with plenty of water and timber and abounding in good game and honey.” The colonists began to construct a 35-mile road leading north to the Pedernales which became known as the Old Mormon Road.

“Three elders from a Mormon Colony who had settled near Austin, came to Herr Meusebach. They asked permission to settle a company of 46 families on the grant of the Verein…the group had come to Texas and settled…with great foresight and remarkable speed they had erected a mill … this mill now produces most of the cornmeal used at Austin and New Braunfels. … The three elders were not given an unqualified promise to their petition; however, a contract was signed with them whereby they agreed to build a mill at Fredericksburg.” — Ferdinand Roemer, Roemer’s Texas

“I have visited Austin … the well-equipped mill, that supplies Austin and Fredericksburg in part with corn meal is located near a spring on the Colorado … This mill is at present operated by Mormons, of whom about a hundred will settle in the grant of the Verein.” — Felix Bracht, Texas in 1848

The Wight colony packed up and moved to their new Fredericksburg location. Within six weeks, they constructed and opened a gristmill and saw mill. Wight named the colony ZODIAK. About 20 families built homes on regularly spaced plots of land all with river frontage. They helped with the construction of Fort Martin Scott and even took in new German settlers arriving to the town.

“The Mormons built convenient houses, a large school, and a temple … They engaged in agriculture, producing mostly corn. They were on friendly terms with their German neighbors, furnished them with meal and lumber, and instructed them how to cultivate their fields advantageously.” — R.L. Biesele, History of the German Settlements in Texas

“Much of the lumber that they [the Germans] used came from the saw mill on the Pedernales in the Mormon community of Zodiak … Meusebach had welcomed the Mormons when they had established the settlement in 1847. Their technical skill in the building and operation of a saw mill as well as a gristmill, was a useful addition to this pioneer region … Meusebach and his wife enjoyed the wheat flour ground at the Mormon mill, where the first wheat flour of the entire region was made.” — Irene Marshall King, John O. Meusebach

It seemed peaceful enough. The Germans and the Mormons were much alike in regards to social interaction and business ethics. In 1850, Lyman Wight was elected Chief Justice (County Judge) of Gillespie County. The trouble began when disputes arose between the German colonists and Wight’s congregation. He invariably sided with the Mormons. It was also said that the Mormon grain was always ground first. Wight became offended by the comments of the members of the commissioner’s court and then refused to show up for court sessions. The commissioner’s court finally declared his position vacant and voted in a new justice.

Wight was ready to move his people again, even before the Pedernales flooded and washed away the Zodiak mills in 1851. The colony moved to Burnet County, then wandered through Llano, Gillespie, Kerr and Bandera counties before settling 12 miles outside of Bandera at a site called Mountain Valley (now under Medina Lake) in 1854. Incidently, I found out from my mom that the Mormons had camped on the creek below my great great grandfather’s home at Cherry Springs! In 1858, with only a few of his followers still in tow, he moved from Mountain Valley and headed towards San Antonio. He died unexpectedly in Dexter and was taken back to Zodiak. He was buried in the colony’s cemetery, now on private land. A Texas Historical Marker was placed nearby.

All that is to say, that New Braunfelsers did have contact with the Mormons. I looked in the old records and found that the two donations above the dough trough were from Mrs. Fridolin Hanz, and seem to have been recorded the same day. Mrs. Faust, the first Sophienburg Museum director, kept great records and I can only assume that so much was coming in for the Museum’s opening in October 1933, that this enigmatic artifact, the 60th recorded item, got lost in the shuffle. Did she forget to add the Hanz name?

The Hanz family ranch was located near the Anhalt area near where US 281 intersects Hwy 46. Fridolin Hanz was the mail carrier between New Braunfels, Spring Branch, Bulverde and Blanco. The early Hanz family could definitely have encountered the Mormons, maybe even several times. But, that’s just an educated guess.

For now, it looks like the story of the Mormon dough trough will remain a mystery.

Sources: The Democratic Telegraph and Texas Register, Jul 8, 1846 and Sep 7, 1848; The Dallas Morning News, Jan 23, 1928, Ted Thompson, “Texas History 101: Texas is Morman country”, Susan Currie, October 2001; The Lyman Wight Colony in Texas, Came to Bandera in 1854, J. Marvin Hunter; “The Southwestern Historical Quarterly”, Vol 49, Jul 1945-Apr 1946; The History of the German Settlements in Texas, R.L. Biesele, 1930; Texas in 1848, Felix Bracht, 1931; John O. Meusebach, Irene Marshall King, 1967; Roemer’s Texas, Ferdinand Roemer, 1935

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In 1975, Oscar Haas (known as the historian of New Braunfels) delivered a talk on things he remembered in his youth. Oscar was born in 1895, so by youth, he means somewhere between 1905-1915. One of the things he talked about was his cycling escapades.

Bicycle trips were often made with as many as a dozen boys participating. Usually leaving town by daybreak, and by noon finding a restaurant and after coursing around town, returning to New Braunfels to be home before night.

Personally, I made five trips to Fredericksburg during summer vacation weeks. Three times all by myself, one summer with George Baetge and another with Hermann Overhue. We cycled all the way up to Johnson City, from there to Stonewall, Luckenbach, to Fredericksburg, from there via Comfort, Boerne, and Anhalt back home.

Hmmm…. would I have let my young teenage boy jump on his “Zweirad” (two-wheeler) and head into the hill country? The world was so much more gentle back then. Haas described several of these cycling trips in the New Braunfels Herald in 1909, “Three Successful Vacation Trips on Racycles.”

… to silently glide out of town into the fresh morning air and “just go a sailing,” coasting down the long slopes of the country roads, up the hills and down again in a speed that the air howls past the ears and you grab on to the handle bars as to a bucking pony, in shooting the gullies leaving a whirl of dust behind; down, down you go missing a rock here and there by an inch, of course you see these, in time, ahead and steer accordingly, then off-hand, noiselessly on, on the smooth road, faster than all teams on the road, yet slow enough to glance right and left over the fields, pastures, hills and valleys…

In reading this I was first struck by the poetry of his great writing style. I can see and hear and feel the freedom he is describing. I then caught on the phrase, “faster than all teams on the road.” Finally, it hits me that this was written by a 14-year-old! I’m just going to put my pencil down and let Oscar continue.

In 1907 Herm. Overhue and I decided to take a week’s trip during our vacation. On a map we outlined a route … we measured the distances between these towns and thus scheduled each day’s riding … we made a list of things necessary for our comfort … for every pound weighs double when it is added to a bicycle, though the Racycle was just as easy with a heavy load, but sometimes it is necessary to carry the outfit through a stream or push up a little mountain. The first on our list was a tent … in two pieces of 8 oz duck 5 feet wide and 6 feet long. In this we had button holes made so we could button it together, then two tent poles each of three pieces made of broom handles so we could take them apart like a fishing rod, then ropes and spikes … a blanket for each also an extra pair of trousers, shirt, under wear, hosiery, towels, repair tools, bicycle lamp and carbide for same, frying pan, enameled coffee pot, plates, cups, knives and forks, ground coffee, salt, pepper and sugar in air tight tin cans, fishing tackle and various other smaller articles all of this we divided equally and rolled it up in half a tent, fastening the bundle in back of the bicycle seat with six-foot leather straps. In a leather bag we carried postals, paper, envelopes, stamps, pencils, memo books, comb, shoe polish, chain oil, chain links, valves, pump etc., a water canteen strapped over the shoulders, which we refilled often, for water is the main part on a trip.

I’m not for sure I would have made a list that was that inclusive. I’m totally sure my sons would not have. But then, these were young men from a different era. They took along towels, letter writing stuffs, shoe polish? I’m literally shaking my head.

… on Sunday evening, June 19th, 1907, at 7 o’clock we started and with lamp light rode to Smithson’s Valley. At 11 o’clock we pitched camp … slept till 6 o’clock Monday morning. Our intentions were to wake up earlier. At 7 o’clock after a hearty breakfast we were on the road again, singing, laughing and whistling. We mailed postals at Smithson’s Valley and then coasted down the long hills to the Guadalupe river, from there on it was mostly up-hill work. At 10:30 we arrived at Twin Sisters, mailed postals, bought provisions and pressed on for Blanco City where under a shady tree we had dinner and rested till 2 o’clock. We then started for Johnson City, roads were fine, but more and higher hills, going down, we always made up for lost time and we would soon have arrived at our destination for the day, but we could not pass a lady driving a shying horse. It was slow progress for an hour or so when finally she turned off. At 5 o’clock we were in Johnson City, cyclometer showing 56 miles from New Braunfels. After mailing postals, and looking around we bought eggs, butter, bread and bacon and started out to a spring of fresh water near the road about 2 miles from town, found a good camping place with plenty of wood for an all-night campfire and had supper before sundown. We sat around the fire and after a bath, we rolled up in our blankets. A refreshing breeze from the south, brushed the mosquitos off our faces, towards the north lightning was going.

Did you notice that they have popped “postals” in the mail three times in two days? You might think they are keeping the parents informed but, really, they stopped at each post office along their route to mark their progress. The two boys got an early start the next morning but met with trouble.

… all of a sudden we both took a tumble, we had struck real heavy sands and the wheels refused to turn. From there on “walk and push” was the game … The next P. O. we came to was Stone Wall …the sand getting deeper and heavier…

The two get Fredericksburg after 9 hours, travelling only 31 miles, and resolved never to take that route again.

They camped on the Pedernales using camphor-ice for sunburn and to keep mosquitoes away. The next morning, they started for Kerrville riding through both sand and a drizzling rain. Except for some rutting from wagon wheels in the mud, the ride was easy into Comfort. They camped near the Guadalupe River but were awakened by a storm. Undaunted, they got up at 3 am, were back on the road by 4, reaching Boerne at 9:30 am.

We stayed in town till 6 o’clock, rode down to Cibolo, crossed over and pitched camp, where frogs concerted all night. At 5 o’clock Friday morning we were on the road again going to Leon Springs. There we mailed postals and then rode to San Antonio. In the evening we rode out to Look Out where we camped for the last time on this trip and Saturday morning we came back home with a total of 235 miles. We broke no records … but made the trip like we had planned.

Fun times in the old days. But you know what? Growing up here as late as the ‘60s, the town still felt very “Mayberry-like”. We rode our bikes all around town, stopping for water straight out of the Comal Springs and sometimes a lime freeze at Ol’ Bossy. I wouldn’t trade those days for anything money can buy.

Sources:

• Oscar Haas Collection – Sophienburg Museum & Archives
• New Braunfels Herald

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Occasionally, I need to look through the Sophienburg’s newspaper collection. The papers, on microfilm, date from 1852 to present day; it is an amazing resource. Often, an unrelated search sends me “down a bunny trail” (of course, I follow!). As I was researching pigeons a couple columns back, I came across Dr. Grube. His name was familiar to me because there are several artifacts in the Museum collections associated with him: a wood box overlaid with sliced deer horn, an engraved watch fob, a meerschaum cigar holder, and some cut-glass steins. So I began to wonder, who was this guy?

A name search in the news index revealed over 80 mentions for Dr. Otto R. Grube in the Neu Braunfelser Zeitung, from 1876-1902. The advertisements, small articles, and one sentence reports in Locales (Local news), gave me a sense of what the everyday life of this local physician was like. This good doctor was a busy, busy man.

The paper announced in November 1876, that Dr. Grube had taken over Dr. Lehde’s medical practice. The practice remained in Dr. Lehde’s home, but Otto made many house calls. During 1877, Dr. Grube rode his horse 10 miles south of New Braunfels to Santa Clara to cure the Helmke child of nervous fever, moved his office to the Voges home on Castell Street, and joined Dr. Claessan in performing an autopsy. The theft of Otto’s horse from in front of the Guadalupe Hotel (Schmitz) during a failed robbery attempt definitely made news in July. Later that fall, he joined the Turnverein (Athletic Club) and the Saengerverein (Singing Society). He was fitting into the New Braunfels “scene” quite nicely.

The Zeitung printed a thank you to Grube in February 1878 for his “special attention and services rendered” during Mrs. Roessing’s illness. That spring, advertisements reminded townsfolk that he was giving smallpox vaccinations during the lunch hour each day at Voelcker’s Drugstore. He is involved in the November murder investigation at the Breustedt Farm, 6 miles from downtown; called in to examine a woman’s body found in the well, he determined that her head had been beaten in with the “weapon” found near her. The murderer turned out to be the woman’s husband, a Polish man, who worked on the farm. (Talk about a bunny trail!) Grube removed Dr. Claessan’s finger in December — it had become infected during an earlier operation.

In 1879, Dr. Grube assisted several San Antonio physicians in a hernia operation; this was considered “major surgery”. Later that year, his neighbor’s dog was poisoned, he was appointed to the examiners board to hire English-speaking teachers, and he amputated Mrs. Seele’s foot after it was badly broken in a wagon accident.

He treated Mrs. Eiband’s lung disease until her death and got politically involved in 1880. He went to Galveston and Dallas as a delegate to the Democratic Convention. He also took ownership of a beautiful, hand-crafted coach made by “blacksmith Galle and wagon maker Mueller, with lacquer-work done by Streuer”. He and his friends survived a “mule and ambulance” accident on the way to a Saengerverein event and that summer he worked on the fair planning committee.

Advertisements in 1881, announced that Dr. Grube was a “family doctor.” He helped reestablish the local masonic lodge. That summer he and Mr. Voelcker began a soda water business. He treated Mr. Glenewinkle’s arm after a thrashing machine mishap and he served as coroner for the intentional morphine overdose of Lee Wilson at Ludwig’s boarding house.

1882 was a difficult year for Dr. Grube. First, he served as pallbearer for his good friend, Dr. Claessen. Next, he treated the wound of M. Starcke’s 12-year-old son after he was accidentally shot by his 14-year-old brother. In November, he travelled all the way to Laredo to treat Judge Pfeuffer’s son, George. (That’s one heck of a house call!). Then in 1883, Grube’s 12-year-old brother-in-law, John Dyer, was shot by Alfred Rheinlaender.

Personal tragedy struck again in March 1885, when Grube’s wife died suddenly at age 30; he buried her with her family in New Orleans. That summer, he treated Mrs. Waldschmidt after a terrible accident. While she was milking a cow, it tried to butt away her dog. She was knocked down instead and suffered a serious “wound” because she was pregnant. At the same time, Dr. Grube cared for the son of Mr. Hildebrand who had shot himself in the head with a shotgun. After the last few months it was not surprising to read in the newspaper that Grube gave his practice to Dr. Underhill and moved to New Orleans in November. The Zeitung reported that “the town would truly miss him.”

And then, in May 1895, Dr. Grube returned to New Braunfels. He set up his practice in Voelcker’s Drugstore and specialized in the diseases of women and children.

In 1896, Grube was reported to have tried a telephone connection between New Braunfels and Blanco. New Braunfels had been connected to San Antonio since January. He continued to give smallpox vaccinations and once again was elected to be a delegate to the Democratic Convention.

He bought shares in the Comal County Fair Association in 1899 and became the president of the Schuetzenverein (Shooting Club). Most importantly, Otto Grube married Emmy Weber in a December ceremony. He was 50; Emmy was 28.

1902 saw a rise in smallpox cases. Dr. Grube, the Comal County Health Officer, reported on the victims: Tausch’s daughter, 2 Catholic nuns, Kern’s son, 1 member of the Lueder family, 2 of Albrecht’s daughters, and 3 Mexican workers on the Kuehler Farm.

Dr. Otto R. Grube died July 8, 1902, of kidney failure, and was buried in Comal Cemetery. His second wife, Emmy, lived until November 23, 1956.

Now I wonder how much of my life — or yours — is recorded in the newspaper.

Sources:

• Neu Braunfelser Zeitung microfilm collection
• First Protestant Church records
• US Census reports
• The Portal to Texas History https://texashistory.unt.edu

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Recently Brenda Anderson-Lindemann released her new book, “Bridging Spring Branch and Comal County, Texas.” What an interesting collection of true family stories of the people living in that area back to the early 1850s. Some of the subjects that she covers are rural schools and how the Comal Independent School District started. She has many stories of the early days, who’s in what cemetery, ranchland histories, obituaries, Canyon Dam, the Guadalupe, and history of floods in the area. The cover and title of the book are clever and appropriate. It is a picture of the U.S. Highway 281 Guadalupe River Bridge taken by Michael Krause.

This past week when we had so much rain, I knew immediately where to find information about floods, droughts and rainfall in Comal County. The book has so much information in it that it is impossible to give an adequate book review. I began reading the 474 page book and I was overwhelmed by a choice I had to make as to what to write about. Then almost at the end, I found my choice.

Pastor August Engel

Towards the back of the book my attention led me to Pastor August Engel. I had mentioned him before when I wrote about what was at the bottom of Canyon Lake, but Brenda had much more information.

My interest in Pastor Engel is because of my neighbor, Olive Marcel Georg Hofheinz. When she was a teenager and I was in Lamar Elementary, she lived in the house that my great-grandparents lived in and sold to her parents, Hollis and Hedwig (Artie) Georg. To this day, she reminds me that while I was visiting her mother, which apparently I did often, I cut up her brand new pajamas. Young girls are fascinated with and admire teenage girls. She had a small radio and she pasted her friends’ names out of alphabet soup on the outside. You never forget the teenagers who were kind to you when you were young.

Olive (Marci) and Will Hofheinz lived most of their married life in Dickinson and when Marci’s parents died, the Hofheinzs moved into the house next to ours. Our friendship continued. During the summer when my teaching career was on vacation, Marci and I would walk to the Comal Cemetery. Through our conversation, I became acquainted with the residents of this cemetery. She told me stories of the people and really got me interested in who was related to whom, a skill that I have perfected to this day.

Marci wrote what she remembered about her great-grandfather, August Engel. I immediately knew that his life would be interesting, remembering Marci’s ability to tell a story. I chose Engel’s story to write about based on what she told Brenda in an interview. I knew it would be informative because Marci’s family, the Engels and the Georgs, are from old families in the Spring Branch area and buried in the Cranes Mill Cemetery.

August Engel was born March 16^th, 1818, in Wurthemberg, Prussia. He was schooled at the Evangelischam Akademy Bad Bol Stuttgart. He was ordained a Methodist Episcopal minister. His parents owned a woolen factory in Germany. At that time, factories in England were able to make products out of wool at a lesser cost than the Engels could in Germany. Consequently, the parents decided to send their two sons, August and Wilhelm, to England to investigate the English woolen industry. Apparently their conclusion was that they would not be able to compete with the English companies.

The two brothers took off traveling around Europe and while they were traveling, they heard about the emigration movement to the United States. They decided they wanted to emigrate. August was married at the time, but his wife refused to leave Germany, so August and Wilhelm left alone. They arrived in America and Wilhelm stayed in Pennsylvania and became a newspaperman. Ironically, years later August’s son August W. became a journalist and eventually owned the “Arkansas Democrat” newspaper in 1926. His nephew, Marcus Georg (Marci’s brother) worked with his uncle and eventually owned the newspaper. He sold the newspaper and bought a TV station.

Back to the brothers August and Wilhelm. August was the one who emigrated to Texas. Coming to Cranes Mill in the mid-1800s, he opened a store and after the Civil War he became a postmaster in that store from 1873 to 1904. He also began his profession as a Methodist preacher. He found that most of the Protestants in the Hill Country were German Lutherans. He was granted permission to change to the Lutheran faith and become a circuit riding preacher in a tri-county territory of Cranes Mill, Rebecca Creek, and Twin Sisters in the Guadalupe Valley. Marriage records show that he also served people of Bulverde, Smithsons Valley, Spring Branch and Kendalia.

August Engel married Katherine Ernst. Remember that August was married in Germany? Because August had been away from his wife for nine years, he was granted a divorce. Katherine was a midwife, nurse, and she prepared bodies for funerals. She charged $3 to help deliver a baby and then would stay as long as ten days helping with what needed to be done around the house so that the mother could recuperate. Pastor Engel would drive Katherine in a buggy to the home where she was needed and then come back to pick her up.

Together the couple took care of burials. Katherine would bathe and dress the body and place two silver dollars over the eyelids. Within 24 hours the body had to be buried, as there was no embalming fluid at that time. Pastor Engel performed the burial service, usually on private land of the deceased. The coins were removed before burial. Hundreds of burials were conducted and Pastor Engel kept records of all births, baptisms, weddings and funerals.

The photo is an example of the kind of baptismal certificates issued in the early days. It is in German script and translated it says:

Birth and Baptism
The two parents are August Jonas and Sophia Yablsey Jonas
14^th December 1873
A boy in Blanco County, State of Texas, United States of North America
Baptized in 1875 by Pastor Engel
Pastor Engel named him Benjamin Adolph (this is the first time the child is named in the document)
Godparents are Adolph Jonas, Heinrich Braemer, Miss Matilda Rochau
Signed August Engel in Twin Sisters Blanco Texas

August Engel died in 1904. Several years before his death, many records were lost as a result of an Indian confrontation where his satchel was stolen (a brutal story that you can read in Brenda’s book). Mrs. Engel lived on in the house after he died and years later during a very cold winter, she used many of the remaining records to burn in the wood burning stove. She had run out of firewood and probably didn’t know the value of records like that.

To purchase Brenda Anderson-Lindemann’s book, you may contact her at 830-228-5245 or purchase it at Sophie’s Shop at the Sophienburg Museum and Archives.

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