True Crime Series: ”Latro & Homicida” — The Joseph Wersdoerfer Incident
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Let me tell you the story of First Founder Joseph Wersdoerfer. He came to Texas with the Adelsverein on board the brig Ferdinand in 1844. He travelled from Hahn, Nassau, with his wife, Anna nee Schmidt and two children. Joseph received Town Lot #8 on West San Antonio Street just […]
Erste Fischerstechen in Texas
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — On Sunday, October 12, 1884, Texas witnessed its very first Fischerstechen right on the Comal River. Earlier in 1882, Clemens Dam had been completed and destined as a source of power for a textile mill. That same year, a benevolent society, the Knights of Honor, had been organized and one […]
Proclaim liberty throughout the land
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — It was a comfortable warm evening, Valentine’s Day, 1976, in fact. I was one of a group of NBHS seniors sitting on the hoods of several cars parked in front of Ortiz’s Bar across from the Brauntex. We had been told that the Freedom Train was making its way from […]
Lost map becomes found treasure
Detail of K. W. Pressler & W. Völker 1851 map of Texas. This map was issued as part of G. M. von Ross’ 1851 book, Der Nordamerikanische Freistaat Texas. By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Among a stack of “orphaned” papers, I found an old map of Texas. “Orphans” are those papers or artifacts that either […]
True Crime Series: A Christmas murder
By Simon V. Simek — Six score years ago to this very week of January, a story appeared in the English-language New Braunfels Herald, while the German-language paper, Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung, had run the story the previous week. They both detailed an interesting and puzzling report about how a meeting hall dedication party on Christmas night […]
Searching for clues
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — Researching your family? Maybe you want to know about who lived in/owned your home? The Sophienburg Museum and Archives has resources to help you! Research, of any subject, is basically detective work — analyzing the available records, searching through assembled stories and examining photographs and maps. The Sophienburg has been […]
“What’s in a name?” — William Shakespeare
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — What if New Braunfels was not named New Braunfels? I had never considered this, but of course the wonderful historian Oscar Haas did and recorded his findings in his book, History of New Braunfels and Comal County 1844-1946. There are two occasions on record wherein New Braunfels nearly lost its […]
Oscar Haas, the Battleship Texas and the “Spirit of the Spanish-American War”
By Keva Hoffmann Boardman — How great is this photo of New Braunfels boys! The image was copied for Oscar Haas by Mr. Seidel in 1960, but it dates way back to March 17, 1900. The young men, dressed up for the Kindermaskenzug (Children’s Masquerade Parade), are standing in front of the New Braunfels Academy. […]
Mueller family history tapestry
By Tara V. Kohlenberg — Have you ever tugged at a loose thread only to find that the thread was not really loose, resulting in an irritating unraveling of sorts? I recently pulled at said “loose thread,” but the odd “thread” that I pulled exposed a beautiful tapestry with a surprising outcome. Last month, I […]
Days of yule and yore in downtown New Braunfels
By Myra Lee Adams Goff — (Originally published December 13, 2006) I am sure you have seen our beautiful lighted Comal County Courthouse. The Grand Dame of Main Plaza buildings is 125 years old. In December 1898, the courthouse was inspected and given the seal of approval by the Commissioners Court. A translation of an […]
