The 2024 Myra Lee Adams Goff Sophienburg History Scholarship was awarded to Nathan Martinez. In a ceremony during the Sophienburg Museum’s annual meeting on April 18, Nathan was presented with the award ― a $1000 scholarship ― and got to meet and visit with Mrs. Goff. He is the eleventh recipient of this annual award and scholarship.

Nathan will be graduating from Pieper High School (CISD) where he played and lettered in both varsity football and track while maintaining a 3.70 GPA. He plans on attending Texas State University this fall and majoring in marketing and business. Nathan’s essay was chosen by Mrs. Goff from 36 applicants and addressed the prompt, “Write about an historically significant person or event in Comal County.”

The Sophienburg Museum is delighted to partner with Myra Lee Adams Goff in this scholarship program which encourages young people to learn and understand the history of Comal County. Congratulations Nathan!

Knibbe Ranch ― by Nathan Martinez

I had just moved into my house in Spring Branch and was hanging out in my room at night when I heard a loud explosion. I got up to see what was happening and went to look outside. I was walking slowly up my driveway, when I heard another explosion and then saw fireworks. I remember thinking how strange it was that my usually quiet neighborhood had fireworks so close. It wasn’t long before I learned the fireworks were from the nearby Knibbe ranch. Now I drive by the ranch at least twice a day. I watch the long horns and other cattle roam over the hills and watch to see if the recent rains have filled the tank. The scorching summer had left the indentation cracked and dry. Before writing this essay, I didn’t know the history of the ranch or what Knibbe meant. Now I do.

Dietrich Knibbe, who came from Germany, founded the settlement in Spring Branch in 1852. He was the first settler in Spring Branch, and ended up owning 22,000 acres of land along the Guadalupe River where he built a sawmill, flourmill, and a shingle mill. He raised oxen on the land. He helped to establish the many different places in Spring Branch including a Knibbe General Store, the Knibbe Brothers cotton gin, the Spring Branch dance hall and saloon and a one room Spring Branch school. His family has lived on the ranch for seven generations now. The Knibbe ranch has raised cattle for over 150 years and have even bred a specialty breed of cows called F-1 Tiger Stripes. They are a cross between Hereford and Brahman cattle.

There is a spring creek that runs through my neighborhood where I have spent many summers jumping off trees into the creek and swimming with the fish, turtles and sometimes even snakes. That creek runs down into Knibbe ranch too. Just like on the ranch, you can see many different types of animals and birds along the creek. One other thing I learned when doing research on the ranch is that at least 8,000 years ago, hunters-gatherers used the area now called Knibbe ranch to hunt bison. The ranch has found many artifacts such as things used to hunt like arrowheads.

I had always wanted to drive onto the ranch to see what it was like and finally last Easter I got my chance. My church was having Easter Sunday service on the ranch. I had to get up really early because it was a sunrise service, but it was cool to finally see what the ranch looked like. Now that I know the history of the ranch, I wish I could go back to see in person the cliff where the bison were killed or where different buildings are.

As I get closer and closer to leaving for college, it’s hard to imagine not driving by and seeing the ranch every day. Sometimes it’s scary to think about leaving home and moving away, but I can’t imagine how afraid Dietrich Knibbe must have felt when he boarded the boat to cross the ocean from Germany. That makes my move to Texas State University only 45 minutes away seem like such a small thing. I know I will have many new adventures when I go to college, but I will always know I am almost home when I come to visit and pass by The Knibbe Ranch.

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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.

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By Myra Lee Adams Goff —

A young German count, Arnold-Henkel von Donnersmark, came to the New Braunfels settlement in 1845 with Prince Carl. He built a large frame building where he lived and conducted his hotel and saloon business. In less than a year he had accumulated several thousand dollars.

This is how he did it: he bought a barrel of whiskey in San Antonio, set up a tent in New Braunfels, and sold it to emigrants that had money. These early emigrants, having just arrived and not yet established homes, stayed in Donnersmark’s hotel, for it provided a comfortable place to stay. Besides, they liked the idea of being served by a member of the aristocracy. This would never have happened in Germany. (Source: Roemer’s “Texas”)

Donnersmark’s house, hotel, saloon, was located on the corner of Castell and Mill Sts. which is now a parking lot across the street from McAdoo’s Restaurant. Donnersmark’s house itself served a very important role in early New Braunfels because it was designated as the first post office. It was dismantled in 1904 by Louis Henne who then used the lot for a customer camp yard for his lumber, hardware, and tinning business.

C.W. Thomae was the first postmaster in 1846 and then Donnersmark took over in 1847.

In 1851 the post offices moved to the Adolphus Benner store. Benner was the postmaster and when he died, Mrs. Benner took her husband’s place, thereby having the distinction of being the first woman postmaster. She served until after the Civil War, when she was replaced due to the fact that she served under the Confederacy. (All of those positions were replaced if they had served during the Confederacy).

Next, post offices were in the bus station, Courthouse, Hermann Seele residence, and Pfeuffer store. Then in 1915 President Woodrow Wilson signed a law appropriating $50,000 to build a post office building in New Braunfels. This is the building that now houses McAdoo’s Restaurant. Guess who the U.S. Secretary of Treasury was at that time? William G. McAdoo! The present post office on Seguin Ave. was built in 1984.

In addition to the post offices in New Braunfels, there were about 20 rural post offices, two of which are at the bottom of Canyon Lake (Cranes Mill and Hancock). Each of these post offices had an individual postmark signifying that the letter had been mailed from there. Eventually all small sites were closed except New Braunfels, Spring Branch, Fischer, and Canyon Lake.

Originally stamps on letters were postmarked by the postmaster writing the cancellation date and place. Then cancellation progressed to hand stamping. Can you imagine the post office doing either one of those methods now? Cancellation then moved to digital postmarks.

These postmarked letters have become collector’s items, as everything does when it becomes obsolete. One can learn a lot about history by collecting these cancelled letters. Collectors look for old hand-cancelled letters and specific postmarks. I have seen a 28th Wurstfest postmark dated Nov 4, 1988, and a New Braunfels Sesquicentennial postmark of April 14, 1995, with the Sesquicentennial seal. A most interesting one to me is a New Braunfels Centennial celebration envelope which says “mailed from Landa Park.” It has a picture of the old Sophienburg, Las Fontanas, with the message “Because of these, the now famous Comal Springs, the German emigrants chose the site of New Braunfels.” The official postmark is New Braunfels.

Permission for special postmarks have been granted, like the commerative Pony Express rider in 2006. I have seen two stop stations, one in Gruene and one at the Schmidt Hotel.

Growing up in New Braunfels, I remember the socializing that took place on the post office steps on Castell St., especially on Saturday. Maybe this form of socializing had its roots in Arnold-Henkel von Donnersmark’s hotel and saloon across the street.

Excerpt from Around The Sophienburg by Myra Lee Adams Goff, Sophienburg Museum & Archives.

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By Keva Hoffmann Boardman –

Tokology. When you read that word, what do you think of? When I came across an old book in the Sophienburg’s collections with this title I was intrigued. If you are like me, you may have thought this book was about “the study of toking” or “a how-to book on smoking pot”. Well, it turns out we would both be wrong. In Greek, tokos means childbirth. Tokology is the study of childbirth, midwifery and obstetrics. Ah!

A couple of years ago, researcher Kathleen A. Huston contacted the museum for information on 19th C. German midwives. Now you might think that particular research subject is strange for us, but it really isn’t. With our vast collections, we help many professors, students and researchers in finding peculiar, off-beat and always interesting information.

Kathleen was in luck. I had recently searched through the Neu Braunfelser Zeitung and other archival collections on midwives. It was midwives who delivered most of the babies in early Texas. There were native-born white midwives, African American “granny midwives”, Hispanic pateras and immigrant midwives from Europe. Ms. Huston had chosen to look into the midwives who were part of the influx of German-speaking immigrants of the 1840s to 1890s.

Prissy’s line in Gone With the Wind, “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ babies,” passed through my mind. Well, it turns out that the German immigrant women in Texas knew plenty.

Kathleen Huston concentrated on three themes in her research. The first is that the German-Texan midwives seemed to view midwifery (I love the way that words sounds!) as a true profession not as “neighbor helping neighbor”. Secondly, that midwife-assisted births were as safe and even safer than physician-attended births. And thirdly, that midwives and doctors cooperated: midwives performing most of the deliveries and doctors called in for difficult or unusual situations.

I had found in the German-language Neu Braunfelser Zeitung, that as early as 1853 (the paper began its run in 1852), two German women were marketing their midwife skills much like other contemporary businessmen. Johanne Bandelow advertised as a nurse and midwife who could be reached at the drugstore of August Forcke. County records also show that Dr. Remer had her testify to the birth and birthdates of NB citizens she had helped deliver. The second woman, Elizabeth Katterle, advertised specifically to reach her rural area around Henderson’s Settlement. This area was settled in 1850, 19 miles northwest of NB on the Guadalupe and was also called Esser’s Crossing or the Guadalupe Valley community.

The 1860 Comal County census showed that two German women, Barbara Alsens and Frederika Pendalon, actually listed their profession as “midwife”. In the following years, Mrs. Madeleine Le Fevre, Mrs. Louis Dillits Leuders, Mrs. Marie Groos Haas and Mrs. Ida Habermann Tolle promoted themselves in the newspaper as midwives. According to Ms. Huston, 65% of all midwives advertising in Texas newspapers between 1850 and 1890 were of German descent.

She speculated that one reason for the prevalence of German-born midwives may have been Germany’s strong traditions of midwifery as an acknowledged profession. By 1456, the town of Frankfurt was hiring midwives as city employees. Schools for the study of midwifery were created and funded by several German towns. Many books on obstetrics and midwifery were published in German and were authored by German women. The Tokology book (1885), was written by Dr. Alice B Stockam specifically for women to give them knowledge about issues related to childbirth and women’s health. This book became a huge success, reprinted over forty-five times with hundreds of thousands of copies sold over the years.

In “Reflections” #237, Edna Voigt gave her oral history which included stories of her grandmother, Teresa Schlather Guenther. Mrs. Guenther was a well-known midwife who assisted the births of many in Sattler, Spring Branch, Smithson’s Valley, Hancock, Fischer and Wimberley. Mrs. Voigt remembers that her grandmother was in such demand in the days of large families, that she was seldom ever at home. People would come and take her to stay with them through labor, delivery and the “lying in” period that followed. Mrs. Guenther practiced midwifery from around 1910 to 1925.

Midwifery fell out of fashion during the 1940s as hospital births were pushed as a more sterile and safe location, but these early women were an integral part of Texas history. More than just “helping out a neighbor”, they saw midwifery as a calling of immense importance. They sacrificed their own family life in order to spend long periods of time to help the new mothers around them — and they were much less expensive than a doctor. For the poor, this access to quality assistance in birthing was a God-send.

You may be a descendant of one of these remarkable women. Spurred on by Kathleen Huston, I have begun a database on Comal County midwives and their biographical information. The list, including those mentioned above, includes the following women up until the 1940s: Mrs. A. Floege (1902-1905), Mrs. Berrison (1900-1909), Mrs. Elizabeth Vecker (1917-1920) (I bet she was busy after WWI!), Mrs. Rosa Sieber (1922), Mrs. Francisca Sanchez (1920s), Mrs. Elisa Phillip (1920s) and Mrs. Josefa Sirio (1930-1940s).

Also included on the list is Mrs. Lina Chapa Delgado who was a midwife from 1931 to 1971 — forty years! Lina worked together with the county nurse and local doctors to provide trusted, skilled and conscientious care especially to the growing Hispanic community within Comal County. She assisted in over 1,600 births including four sets of twins.

If you have any information on these or other local midwives from New Braunfels’ history, please call me at the Sophienburg, 830.629-1572, or email to: museumom4@yahoo.com.

Sources: “German Midwives of Nineteenth Century Texas” by Kathleen A. Huston, 2019; Sophienburg Museum & Archives collections: Neu Braunfelser Zeitung, New Braunfels Herald, “Reflections” programs #2 and #237, Rare Books Library, Oscar Haas collections; https://medicine.iu.edu/blogs/medical-library/Historical-Book-of-the-week — Tokology

Photo Caption: Lina Chapa Delgado helping her granddaughter Michelle Ortiz listen to her heartbeat in January 1973. On the table are instruments given to Mrs. Delgado by Dr. Hylmar Karbach, Sr., a book on obstetrics from Dr. Frederick Casto and records of some of her 1,600+ deliveries. (New Braunfels Herald negative collection, Feb 1, 1973)

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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

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

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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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The history of every area reveals that there are many individuals who live lives that help their community without fanfare. They don’t have schools or streets named after them, but they make an impact, nevertheless. People and places come and go, and their significance often is only recorded in books, buildings, photographs and gravestones, but their stories endure. Two of these individuals were brothers, Hermann and Louis (or Ludwig) Willke. They were leaders on the coast, founders of New Braunfels, founders of Fredericksburg, and important to Spring Branch, Kendall County and the State of Texas.

Louis and Hermann Willke probably came to Texas for the same reasons that most other immigrants did. The bottom line was a search for freedom in a land that offered great opportunity. They were born in Collberg on the Baltic Sea in Northern Germany. Louis was born in 1818 and Hermann was born in 1822. Both had been trained as officers in the Prussian Military. Louis was called Lieutenant Willke I and Hermann was called Lieutenant Willke II. They must have had a good education, for both spoke several languages.

Hermann arrived on the coast at Galveston and traveled from there to Carlshaven. He traveled as a single man on the ship Ferdinand. It was one of the first three ships to arrive with the Adelsverein in Texas. He transferred by schooner to the Adelsverein’s meeting place at Carlshaven to wait to begin the trek inland.

Louis and his wife, child and mother-in-law must have met Hermann at the coast. There is some evidence that Louis and family arrived in Texas “by land” on October 1, 1843. He worked at the Adelsverein’s Nassau Farm in Fayette County, but by 1844, he was at Matagorda Bay. Both brothers were at the coast together and they made a favorable impression on Prince Carl. At the first meeting of the Colonial Council, the prince announced that he was appointing Hermann Willke as an assistant to Nicholas Zink with the plotting out of the community of New Braunfels. Hermann was a surveyor and well qualified for the job. This skill would aid him in the future. He was also put in charge of supplies in the warehouse at Carlshaven. The supplies had to be protected so that a fair distribution would be made with the immigrants.

Louis too was given a responsible position at Carlshaven by the prince. He was put in charge of the powder magazine (guns and ammunition). With his military background he was selected to be commander of the station of Carlshaven.

You ask, “Where is Carlshaven?” In 1846, the area on Matagorda Bay was known as Indian Point and near this area was Carlshaven, named partly for Prince Carl. In 1849, the site was named Indianola. The area was the second main port in Texas and most immigrants to Texas from Europe and America came through this port city. It grew rapidly with a population of 5,000 until the hurricane of 1875. Up until that time, it had hotels, large homes, businesses and a steamship line terminal. The city rebuilt after the 1875 hurricane only to be nearly wiped off of the coast by another hurricane in 1886. If you visit the area today, it is much different than the bustling port city of the 1800s. Hermann Willke is also credited with making an accurate map of Indianola.

After the trek inland, the immigrants arrived at the Guadalupe crossing on March 21, 1845. At that time Hermann Willke was 22 years old and Louis Willke was 26 years old with a wife and children. Hermann drew lot 128 on Comal Avenue between Coll and Garden Streets. Hermann also bought lot 161, paying only $14 for the whole lot. Louis was granted lot 135 next to his brother’s where he built a house for his family.

When John Meusebach decided to move some of the immigrants to the Fredericksburg area, he asked Hermann to plot the trail. With the help of Louis, Hermann followed the El Camino Real from New Braunfels toward San Antonio, over the Cibolo and then followed an old Indian trail, the Pinto Trail, to what would become Fredericksburg. On the arrival at the site of Fredericksburg, Hermann laid out the lots of that future city.

Meusebach wanted to claim the Fisher-Miller grant that the immigrants had been originally promised and never received. He asked Hermann go with him because, as he said, “he was one of five educated men to accompany him to sign a treaty with the Comanche.” The Fisher-Miller grant could not be inhabited until this treaty was signed. Hermann surveyed the San Saba and stayed there for eight years at a salary of $100 a year paid by the Adelsverein. He made a map of the route from New Braunfels to Fredericksburg including the land grant. The map is in the Texas Archives in Austin. When the Adelsverein ran out of money, Hermann lost his salary. He was offered a job by the Texas General Land Office at a salary of $1,000 a year.

Now to Louis Willke and family. Louis built a fachwerk house on his town lot in New Braunfels (on Comal Avenue) for his family. By 1849, the family moved and was living on 40 acres, six miles outside of town. They had left town, as many did, to escape the epidemics. The 1850 census lists Louis as a farmer and a wagoner. This was a lucrative business that transferred goods from the coast to the inland settlements. Then in 1858, Louis moved his family to the Hill Country. He was a farmer and worked part-time in the Porter Store in Spring Branch. He is responsible for applying for the post office under the name of Spring Branch and by doing so, put the name of Spring Branch on the map. He became the first postmaster of Spring Branch from 1858 until 1860. The family then moved to Kendall County. Louis and wife, Elizabeth had seven children all born in Texas with the first being born in 1843 at Port Lavaca.

Not surprising, both brothers became officers in the Civil War. Capt. Hermann Willke served on the Texas coast in Galveston and Lt. Louis Willke was an officer in Julius Bose’s campaign in Arkansas. After the Civil War, Hermann left the Hill Country and settled in Galveston where he went into the surveying business. He lived there until he died.

Louis is listed in the Kendall County history as a surveyor. The family had moved to Kendall County and settled there on 160 acres. The 1880 Kendall County census lists him as a merchant and farmer. He died on the ranch and he and his wife are buried in a Willke family cemetery located on the Willard Dierks property.

In all of the references found on the Willke brothers (Fey’s New Braunfels, The First Founders and Anderson-Lindemann’s Bridging Spring Branch and Western Comal County, Texas), all of the descriptions of their work and character were complimentary.

Leo Scherer describes the house on Comal Street as actually four separate structures. It was a common practice to add on to a home as more space was needed by a family. Visible from the road, is the Victorian-style home built after 1881. Attached to the back of this home are structures built in the mid-to-late 1800s. The oldest fachwerk home originally built by Louis Willke when he arrived in New Braunfels, was attached to these structures but no longer stands.

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