By Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

A Princely Estate — We learn that Maj Leland of New York, has settled among us, having purchased the Comal Ranch of Col. Sparks, fronting the Guadalupe River 9 miles, and laying 22 miles west of New Braunfels … all one body of some ten thousand acres with improvements thereon, and some 640 acres under fence near Mr. G.W. Kendall’s celebrated sheep farm. In his purchase of stock from Col. Sparks, there are some 3000 sheep, 750 head of cattle, 250 head of horses and mules, working oxen, a Maltese jack, two Bramah bulls and the celebrated race horse, Hockaway, and also 1000 hogs, goats, etc … amounting to $106,700, the largest sale ever made in Texas of any stock farm.” — The True Issue (LaGrange) Feb 22, 1859.

Wow. So many questions. Where was this? Who was Col. Sparks? Who was Maj. Leland? Why have I not heard of this enormous ranch?

Oscar Haas apparently had the same questions, because piece-by-piece he collected information from the older generation. Piece-by-piece a mental image has started to come together in my head.

First, where was it? The article said, “fronting nine miles on the Guadalupe … 22 miles west of New Braunfels” and another description adds “about 30 miles nearly north of San Antonio”. This puts us in the Spring Branch area. Bridging Spring Branch and Western Comal County, Texas, by Brenda Anderson-Lindemann, is an exhaustive history of the early German settlers of that area. However, there are only a few references to Comal Ranch, one being that “the Comal Ranch, a Confederate Post about a mile from Spring Branch” became the area post office with William DeForest Holly as postmaster in 1861 and Col. Charles Power from 1862-1865. Knowing these names, Mr. Haas delved into early land records. If you have never read original land grants/deeds, let me tell you, it is not easy.

The news article of Feb 1859 gave the names Col. Sparks and Maj. Leland. Found very little on Daniel P. Sparks. He was originally from South Carolina and served in the US Army in 1812 (yes, that war). In 1857, he moved his family to Louisiana and then to Indianola, Texas. Don’t know how he got to Comal County but after he died in 1867 on a trip to New Orleans, his will was probated in Comal County. According to the above news article, he sold the expansive Rancho Comal to Maj. Leland in 1859.

Maj. William W. Leland was from a well-known family of New York hotel proprietors. In 1849 at age 28, he headed to California for 10 years. After that, he owned a hotel in New York for several years and then did a salvage project in Russia. He took the remains of his fortune and purchased the Comal Ranch, in 1859, to go into stock raising on a grand scale. In a May 1859 issue of the NB Zeitung, Maj. Leland advertised the service of several fine stallions for $25-$75 and the sale of merino rams from Vermont for $100-$500. He was fairly successful, but the project was doomed by the coming of the Civil War. Maj. Leland was elected to the Texas Convention on Secession as a delegate from Karnes County. He strongly opposed secession and spoke out defending the Union. He was given two hours to leave the State, his property was confiscated, and he went back to New York financially ruined. He joined the Union Army and after the war got into the hotel business again.

The Rancho Comal was next owned by William DeForest Holly and Danville Leadbetter. In 1860, DeForest Holly conveyed half of the following tracts of land for $19,375 to Danville Leadbetter: 431 acres of the (1851) James Henderson Survey north of the river; 50 acres known as the Foster Place on Spring Branch Creek; 960 acres of (1846) John Angel Survey; 1280 acres of the (1846) James Henderson Survey; 1600 acres of three (1846) Gordon C. Jennings Surveys; 580 acres of the (1848) James Webb Survey; and 640 acres of the (1848) James W. Luckett Survey. You can see these land grants on the map.

DeForest Holly was made Confederate postmaster of the Comal Ranch/Spring Branch area in 1861, but in 1862, the Comal Ranch was sold to Col. Charles Power … 5324 acres for $19,543.44. The ranch came with: a caballado of 322 horses; 350 head of stock cattle; 50 beef cattle; 2000 sheep; 40 bucks; one Brahmin bull; 3 stallion horses named Belchazer, Scott Morgan and Hockaway; 5 yokes of oxen; 1 ox wagon; hogs and goats.

In 1869, an incident at Rancho Comal made the NB Zeitung. A young black girl was living with a Mexican family named Rodriguez. She was molested by a black man called “Crazy Gus’. Mr. Rodriguez confronted Crazy Gus, but was stopped in his questioning by two other men, Alfred Carson and Antonio Rubio, who defended Gus. A week later, Crazy Gus went to the Rodriguez home and threatened to hurt or murder the girl and Mrs. Rodriguez. Old man Carson tried to shoot him but Mrs. Rodriguez intervened and the men were taken to Comal Ranch and held. Rodriguez appealed to the Justice of the Peace Theodor Goldbeck for retribution. JP Goldbeck could not have Crazy Gus arrested because there was no sheriff sworn in. It seems that the Reconstruction government after the Civil War had not gotten around to everything yet. Crazy Gus, crazy politics, just crazy.

Col. Power went bankrupt in 1869. The Rancho Comal went into receivership secured by creditors in Austin. 2800 sheep, 233 horse, 400 cattle, 30 beeves, 2 stallions, 1 jack, 28 bucks, 2 Mexican jacks, 1 jenny, 1 Durham bull, 12 stock horses, 200 hogs, 6 yokes of oxen, 2 ambulances, 6 sets of harness, and 3 mules were auctioned off on Tuesday, May 1, 1869.

The 5334 acres, made up of 9 surveys, were bought by the creditors for $4,500.

In 1871, 960 acres of the John Angel Survey were purchased by Dietrich Knibbe who had founded the community of Spring Branch in 1852. In 1880, 92 acres were bought by Keturah M. Voight; Voight picked up 277 ½ acres more in 1881. In 1882, 1421 acres of the Luckett, Webb and Jennings Surveys were sold to F.W. Rust; 195 ½ acres were bought by Herman and Charles Knibbe; 976 ½ acres were sold to Friedrich Bartels; and the last 546 acres were purchased by Henry Bender.

The Comal Ranch was now a part of the families of many of the early Spring Branch settlers. However, the extensive ranch with prize stallions lived on in stories. In 1884, the San Antonio Light related a story which had recently occurred to C. J. Forester while at “Comal Ranch”:

I want to tell you a horse story, not a fish story, yet a true story … I had in New Braunfels a spring wagon and a pair of horses. One of them, a stallion was taken sick with colic and came near dying; he was so bad that after the lance was struck it was nearly two minutes before he bled. We then took about a gallon of blood from him, and turned him into an unused lot to get a roll and some grass. Next morning I put his mate in with him. In the lot was a well about 50 feet deep, with 15 feet of water in it, partially covered with plank, and it is supposed that in playing or fighting, the stallion kicked his mate into the well. Some men nearby, hearing the rumpus and the fall, and going to the well, found the horse partly submerged, with his feet resting on the ledges of rock, keeping his head above water. Being at once apprised of the case, I had a derrick rigged and placed, and paid a negro $10 to go down and fix the ropes on him. The air was so bad that he nearly fainted, but pulled through, and we pulled up the horse, who, strange to say, after four hours in the well, started off with only a limp, and went to grazing. We found he had a cut in the shoulder, which we sewed up; otherwise he seemed uninjured …” — San Antonio Light, October 9, 1884

I have asked lots of people what they know about Rancho Comal and truth be told, even if they have heard of it, no one really knows anything about it. Was that because it belonged to a string of Anglo Americans originally from other parts of the US and not the German immigrants? I find it interesting that several of the early owners were military men with visions of a grand project in Texas, but that none of them were buried in Texas. And then there was the Civil War; it definitely had an impact on the viability of Comal Ranch.

I keep looking at the land grant maps and thinking, “Wow. I can barely imagine a huge ranch like that here in Comal County.” Sadly, that vast Comal Ranch full of cattle, race horses, sheep, goats, pastures and farm buildings is now full of lots and lots and lots of homes.

Sources: Sophienburg Museum Oscar Haas Collection; Texas General Land Office; Neu Braunfelser-Zeitung; San Antonio Light; The True Issue, LaGrange; Bridging Spring Branch and Western Comal County, Texas, Brenda Anderson-Lindemann; Sparks Family pedigree; Find a Grave; Wikipedia; Comal County Historical Commission; Land Grant Map of Comal County, DelRay E. Fischer, 2007.

The post Rancho Comal at Spring Branch appeared first on Sophienburg Museum and Archives.

By Keva Hoffmann Boardman

Some stories seem to write themselves. Not this one. I have struggled with this story for over 2 years. On the morning of Thursday, Sept. 13, 1923, nine-year-old Irene Hitzfelder was brutally killed by sixteen year-old Clarke Coffield.

Irene, the daughter of Herman and Wanda nee Pfeuffer Hitzfelder, had left her home around eight o’clock. She rode her horse “Charlie” down the road towards the Spring Branch school house. By 9 o’clock, she was lying, dead, in a clump of bushes about 200 yards off the road — the left side of her skull shattered in pieces.

Clarke, the stepson of James and Melitta Coffield, left his home that morning to hunt for turkeys. By lunchtime, he was taken into custody for the murder and assault of Irene.

The Spring Branch community, 25 miles northwest of New Braunfels, had been settled by Germans. They were farmers and ranchers with familial ties to New Braunfels. It was a close-knit settlement where people knew their neighbors. The Hitzfelders had a large prosperous ranch; Irene was their only child.

Clarke’s family had moved to Spring Branch when his mother married his stepdad. James Coffield had a small farm which he augmented with funds from cedar chopping and charcoal burning. The newspaper sources I read make me believe that the Coffield’s were considered “lower class.”

The events of the murder, spelled out in detail in dozens of news publications across the US, went like this.

Irene never made it to school. At 10 o’clock recess, nine year-old classmate Valeska Bindseil told her teacher that she had seen Irene’s horse tied to a fence post on the road. 13 year-old Lawrence Knibbe was sent over to his father’s store to phone the Hitzfelder and report her missing.

Henry Bender, a neighboring rancher waiting for his mail, grabbed Lawrence and drove to find the horse. Near the animal, the wire fencing had been lifted and there were two sets of barefoot prints that led towards the Coffield home. Bender and Lawrence drove to the house and found Mrs. Coffield and Clarke. Wet clothes hung on the wash line and Clarke’s clothes were damp.

Bender asked Clarke to join them in looking for Irene in the area between the Coffield home and the horse. Other neighbors, including Irene’s father, joined the search party. Clarke suggested they call out for the girl.

It was Mr. Hitzfelder and Bender who found the child in a clump of bushes — face up, arms outstretched, clothing in disarray. Next to her shattered head was a blood-stained rock the size of two fists. A second stained rock was found seven yards away. Following a trail of blood drops, a third rock was found lying on top of a tangle of barefoot prints that indicated a struggle. Two sets of prints led to this spot: the small set was in front with deep heel marks and the larger set followed close behind as if one person was pushing the other forward.

Bender compared Irene’s foot to the small print and Sheriff Peter Nowotny put Clarke’s foot next to the larger print — both matched perfectly. Clarke immediately claimed his innocence, but when Sheriff Nowotny took him to the body, he confessed his guilt and was secured. The men of the search party, understandably incensed over what they saw, tried to take Clarke by force. Knives were drawn, but Sheriff Nowotny kept a cool head and with the help of Bender got Clarke unharmed into his car. He took Clarke to the Comal County jail. The tragic news spread quickly and fearing trouble from the citizens of NB, Nowotny secretly moved Clarke to the Bexar County jail in San Antonio.

Dr. Rennie Wright was called out to the scene of the crime. After examining the body, he stated that she died of a massive head wound and that there were definitely signs of assault but that he felt certain it had occurred after death.

Later that evening, Clarke sent for Sheriff Nowotny to come and take his confession. Clarke is reported to have confessed that he killed Irene but did not assault her. He had thrown a rock and accidently hit her, wounding her badly on the head. He killed her instead of letting her remain in pain.

It gets a little weird here.

By Friday morning, Clarke’s written confession said, “…after looking for turkeys I grabbed her by the shoulders … we struggled … I released her, grabbed up a rock and threw it hitting her in the head. After assaulting her I killed her with a rock then went to a small pool of water and washed the blood off… I told my mother I had killed a jack rabbit.”

On Friday, Sheriff Nowotny drove Clarke back to NB for the indictment and then returned him to the Bexar County jail to await trial. I found two references to Clarke’s incarceration. One, he asked for a photo of Irene; I think this is pure journalistic fabrication. Two, a Kelly Field woman heard Clarke had asked for clothing and left a package at the jail for him. She said she thought the boy was not in his right mind and would probably be punished severely. She could see no reason for him to be uncomfortable. The package contained: 2 shirts, underwear, socks, a tie, collars, tooth brush and paste, soap and towels, a Bible and a $5 check.

Coffield’s trial was set for some time in February 1924. There was confusion over Clarke’s true age. Clarke and his mother said his birthday was Feb. 11, 1907, but no birth certificate could be located in Houston. This became a big deal. Under Texas law, if Clarke were tried before he was 17, he could only be sent to reform school; if he was tried after that age, because of his confession, he could be given life imprisonment but not executed.

The trial took place on Feb. 13, 1924 — after Clarke had turned 17 — with accounts saying it was not manipulated that way. He was assigned Frank B. Voigt of New Braunfels as his attorney. This was Voigt’s very first trial. Jury selection began at 10:15 and the jury, composed of 6 farmers and 6 businessmen, were sworn in at 12:15. The trial began at 1:15 and was concluded at 4:10. It took the jury a mere four minutes to decide Clarke’s penalty — life imprisonment.

Clarke was sent to Huntsville. He died of congestive heart failure on Jun 13, 1966, and was buried in the Blanco Cemetery.

Irene was buried Friday, Sept. 14, 1923, in Spring Branch, with Pastor Mornhinweg officiating. All the children of Spring Branch School attended with their teacher. Mrs. Hitzfelder gave birth to another little girl, Joyce, on Feb. 25, 1924 — just 12 days after the trial. She died of complications following appendicitis surgery on Oct 20, 1934. She was ten years old.

I told you this was a tough tale to tell.

Sources: “Reflections” interview #970, Mrs. Valeska Bindseil Heimer, Sophienburg Museum & Archives; Newspapers: NB Herald, Sept. 15, 1923; Sept. 21, 1923; Feb. 22, 1924; Mar 7, 1924; NB Zeitung, Sept. 13, 1923; Feb. 21, 1924; SA Light, Sept. 14, 1923; Feb. 12, 1924; Feb. 15, 1924’ Feb. 16, 1924; SA Express, Sept. 14, 1923; Sept. 15, 1923; Sept. 16, 1923; Feb. 16, 1923; The Junction Eagle, Sept. 21, 1923; The Chillicote Constitution, MO, Sept. 18, 1923; Sept. 19, 1923; The Evening Independent, OH, Sept. 13, 1923; The Daily Record, Weatherford, Sept. 14, 1923; The Ada Evening News, OK, Sept. 14, 1923; US Census 1930, 1940; Texas Convict and Conduct Registers 1875-1945; www.ancestry.com, www.findagrave.com

The post True crime series: The Irene Hitzfelder murder appeared first on Sophienburg Museum and Archives.