Keva Hoffmann Boardman —

When nine young men from Frankfort emigrated to Texas in 1849, they were given the nickname of “Die Neunköder” or “the Nine Lures” or “the Niners.” One of them, George Weber, described the group of adventurers:

“Taking a sailship at Antwerpen, we finally landed at Indianola after a 57-days voyage…after a four-weeks trip reached our destination New Braunfels shortly before Christmas 1849. We were a group of nine who in jest were called “die Neunköder”. After a number of trips into the surrounding country in its yet primitive state, we bought 400 acres of raw land on the left bank of the Guadalupe between New Braunfels and Seguin and began early 1850 to put it into cultivation. It soon proved that our plan “one for all and all for one” was a miserable failure. Ability, views, skills, etc…, are so dissimilar apportioned. And so after 4-months of labor it was decided to sell the land and each go his own way…”

Tradition has it that the nine bachelors first worked for Jacob de Cordova at his home, Wanderer’s Retreat (south of present day Clear Springs), before they bought 400 acres from him and named their new community Neu Frankfort. Hermann Seele named all but one of them in his Gesammelte Schriften: J. August and Ferdinand Michael Dietz, J. Halm, Rudorf, Behr (or Boer), Buss, Heinrich Bauer, and George Weber. Oscar Haas thought possible names for the ninth “lure” might be Fertsch, Deisler, Grossmann or Meimoro.

After the collapse of their communal farm project, the Dietz brothers bought out Bauer, Behr, and Buss and by 1853, the community was known as Dietz. Oddly enough, two of my dad’s ancestors, Johahn Phillip and Jacob Stautzenberger, bought some of August Dietz’s land in 1861 and 1871.

I started following up on George Weber and found out that in 1869 he invented a machine to clean castor beans. He then set up the first castor oil mill in our area in 1870. He sold the oil as a medicine and a lubricant. Ok, now I have to know more about castor oil. I remember my mom saying they had to take spoonfuls of castor oil as kids. Just what is it and why did they have to take it?

Humans have harvested and used the castor plant for 7000 years. Castor oil (known as kiki by the ancient Greeks) was an early commercial product used by many ancient cultures as a medicine, lamp fuel, in wick-making, leather lubrication, fabrics, and varnish. Egyptians used castor oil to prevent eye irritations. It was used in India as a laxative. The Chinese used it both internally and externally in medical treatments. You can find it mentioned in the Book of Jonah in the Bible. Folks in the middle ages used the oil for its skin healing properties. Travelling salesman of the 19th C hawked castor oil mixed with as much as 40% alcohol as a cure for many things including heartburn, constipation and to induce labor.

The castor plant (Ricinus communis) is a perennial shrub which grows between 6’-8’. Dorothy Kypfer Constable, a staff member at the Sophienburg, brought me some seed pods from a wild castor plant growing on the Kypfer Farm out past the NB Airport and in the area of the old Dietz community. The seeds or beans, encased in spiny pods, are silky smooth and shiny grey to brown in color with intricate mottled designs. They actually look a little like cow ticks.

The plant contains three poisons so it is classified as a toxic plant. You think? The seeds contain about 50% oil by weight. The poison lectin is extracted from the seeds during the oil-making process. We’ve all heard of terrorists using ricin, right? Well, this is where it comes from!

There is science behind the use of the castor bean oil. Castor oil contains a high amount of ricinoleic acid, a fatty acid that is the source of its healing properties. It prevents bacteria and virus growth by increasing white blood cells and antibodies. Rub it on arthritic joints and it increases blood circulation to those areas. Castor oil also contains salts and ethers which act as skin conditioners and it can assist the body in expelling toxins.

Grandmas and moms don’t sound so mean now for making kids take the oil, do they? The seemingly cruel doling out of castor oil, was really doing a lot of good. If you were constipated, it was a laxative. If you had PMS, it helped absorb hormones. It also strengthened your body’s viral and bacterial resistance by increasing the production of lymphocytes.

Today, people are using this ancient homeopathic medicine to treat skin infections — – its antifungal, antibacterial properties remove toxins and reduce swelling. It fights acne — – it kills bacteria that causes breakouts and hydrates the skin. It relieves arthritis — – used as a massage oil, its anti-inflammatory properties ease pain in joints and muscles. And it promotes healthy hair growth — – its omega-6 acids help hair grow and give it shine.

Castor oil also has the ability to “cling” to very hot moving parts so it is utilized in high performance engines (Castrol-R). It was used extensively in WWI, WWII and Korea in hydraulic fluids, greases and lubricants for military equipment. Castor oil is added to paints and varnishes to help them dry faster, and it is a basic ingredient in the making of nylon and other synthetic resins and fibers. The castor plant is currently being researched as a product plant to use in rotation with cotton and studies are testing its use as a biofuel.

Cool beans, right? Just be aware that It grows wild in our area and remember, the castor bean plant is poisonous.

Sources: Neu Braunfelser Zeitung and New Braunfels Herald newspaper collections – Sophienburg Museum & Archives; The New Braunfels Sesquicentennial Minutes, ed. Roger Nuhn, 1995; Edna Faust and Oscar Haas collections — Sophienburg Museum & Archives; www.tshaonline.org; www.dovebiotech.com; The Agriculturist, “The Perfect Storm”, Fall 2011; FarmProgress, “Castor an oilseed crop that can cure, kill you”, Oct 9, 2012.

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Almost 70 years ago (1947), local historian Oscar Haas was asked by the Texas State Historical Association to compile the origin and history of all name-places in Comal County. Haas’ histories and thousands of others are what make up the Handbook of Texas that can be accessed online. One of these places was the small settlement of Neighborsville across the Guadalupe River from New Braunfels. This settlement was founded by Jacob deCordova, who called himself “The Wanderer.” You will know why when you read his story his story.

Jacob Raphael de Cordova was born in Spanish Town on the island of Jamaica in 1808 to Raphael and Judith deCordova. His father was a coffee grower and exporter. During the Spanish Inquisition, many Jewish people were forced out of Spain if they did not convert to Catholicism. The Jewish deCordova family moved to Jamaica. Jacob’s mother died when he was born and he was reared in England by an aunt. In the 1820s, Jacob and his father moved to Philadelphia. Jacob was well educated and learned English, French, Spanish, German, Hebrew and several Indian dialects. He, no doubt, had a “gift of gab.” In Philadelphia, Jacob married Rebecca Sterling and they eventually had five children.

At age 25, he moved back to Jamaica and founded a newspaper, the Kingston Daily Gleaner. He and his wife left there after three years and traveled to New Orleans where he became a merchant, shipping goods to Texas during and following the Texas Revolution. His next “wandering” took him to Galveston, and then to Houston. Here he was elected a representative for Harris County to the Legislature of the State of Texas. After losing the election for his second term, he moved to Austin and then began traveling all over Texas acquiring land to sell. He had a land agency with his brother that surveyed and performed land transactions. It was one of the largest to operate in the Southwest. DeCordova was hired to lay out the town of Waco in 1848-1849. He was also an expert map maker and compiled a map of Texas in 1849 with cartographer Robert Creuzbaur. He was an avid writer of immigrant guides and travel books, and also published newspapers, the Texas Herald out of Houston and the Southwestern American out of Austin. He became well-known by giving lectures all over the United States and even Europe, to attract settlers.

In the 1850s the family moved five miles outside of Seguin where he built a large house for his wife and children. He named it “Wanderer’s Retreat.” A retreat became necessary during the Civil War when he experienced financial issues. The land business slowed and he had overextended himself. He died in 1868 and was buried in Kimball on his land near the Brazos River.

There are many places in Texas named for or by deCordova. There is the De Cordova Bend on the Brazos (south of Fort Worth), the De Cordova Bend Dam (Lake Granbury), Cordova Road (Guadalupe County), Jacobs Creek (Comal County), Cordova Creek (Comal County), Jacobs Well (Hays County) and then there is Rebecca Creek (Comal County) named after deCordova’s wife, Rebecca, Wanderer’s Creek (north Texas running into the Red River), and Phineas Creek, named for his brother (Brazos tributary). He was known as the “Texas Champion Creek-Namer.”

Neighborsville

By 1846, when the legislature formed Comal County, immigrants arriving looked for land. Besides New Braunfels and Comaltown, many settlements emerged in the county outside of New Braunfels. Because of the good farm land on the east side of the Guadalupe River from New Braunfels, settlements developed such as Hortontown (Horton’s League). On the same side of the Guadalupe River as Hortontown but to the south, Neighborsville was established.

In the early years, if you were traveling up from the coast to New Braunfels, you would travel on the east side of the Guadalupe River, crossing into New Braunfels at the Nacogdoches Road crossing or you would use the ferry a little farther up river at the confluence of the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers. Seguin Street (avenue now) was the main street in New Braunfels but you had to cross the Guadalupe first to get there.

Now let’s look at DeCordova’s connection to Neighborsville. In 1851, the land that became Neighborsville was surveyed and a map made by J. Groos for Jacob deCordova. The location was across the Guadalupe River from New Braunfels and deCordova was considered the founder. The land was actually laid out into acreage plots. There were five streets originally laid out that included Benner, Broadway (still there), Rusk (still there), Shaw (changed to Churchill) and Jacobs (changed to Wright). There was also a Seguin Street that changed to Horton Avenue but I drove over to the area and could not find it. The Nacogdoches Road or Camino Real ran right through the middle of the area and the Guadalupe River with the river crossing was one of the boundaries. DeCordova thought the settlement would be ideal right on the Guadalupe River near the Camino Real crossing. If you drive on Churchill Drive, you will see the El Camino Real de las Tejas National Historic Trail signs showing the road as an original route where the first immigrants crossed the river. (You can see the signs also on Nacogdoches Road.)

In order to imagine the area as deCordova saw it, you have to remove the old Mission Valley Mill Plant, the railroad, Loop 337, and the US 81 and IH 35 north to south highways.

The land was situated in the northwest end of the Esnaurizer Eleven Leagues grant and was bound on the north by the Horton League. Hortontown was the next-door-neighbor. In 1830, General Antonio Esnaurizer petitioned the Governor of Coahuila and Texas for a grant of land. He wanted to establish farming and ranching between the San Marcos River and the Guadalupe River. Someone had to take possession of the land to survey and administer the grant. First, Juan Martin de Veramendi was appointed, then James Bowie and finally Jacob deCordova. The Esnaurizer grant begins in Seguin, follows the San Marcos-Austin Road almost to San Marcos, then follows the Austin-New Braunfels Road to the Guadalupe River. It then goes to a mile below McQueeney and then back up around the Clements and Branch leagues to Seguin. DeCordova received land as payment for his services.

Guadalupe County once extended north-east of the Guadalupe River right up to the Nacogdoches Road crossing but in 1853, thirty-one settlers from Neighborsville and Hortontown petitioned the legislature to be a part of Comal County. If you are looking for records between 1845 and 1853 for this area, you might try the Guadalupe County Courthouse.

“For $1 and in consideration for advancement of Religion and Education,” Jacob deCordova conveyed two acres of land for the St. Martin’s Evengelical Lutheran Church and Churchill School. This beautiful quaint little church can be seen as you drive down Loop 337 and at one time was located next to the Churchill School that is part of the New Braunfels Conservation Society campus. The church was moved to its current location in the Hortontown Cemetery in 1968.

In 1935, after seventy years, the bodies of Jacob and Rebecca deCordova were moved to the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, an honor afforded only to those who made an outstanding contribution to the state. Jacob deCordova was one of those citizens.

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