The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 6, July 1902 - April, 1903 Page: 257
401 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews and Notices.
257
This carefully written autobiography contains interesting mater-
ial touching portions of the history of our State during the fifty
years just past. A brief synopsis of this material may be of ser-
vice, so the narrative is summarized as follows:
The great emigration of Germans to Texas in 1848-49 caused
numerous reports of the excellence of the climate and of the fer-
tility of the soil to be published in various parts of Europe. These
reports caused the author to remove hither. He landed at Harris-
burg in October, 1853. From Harrisburg he proceeded by rail to
Walles Station, the terminus, seventeen miles distant; flat cars were
used for transportation and four hours required for the trip. At
Milbeim he attended a German ball, and he gives a description of
men's clothing and of the culture of the company. After serving
for three years for hire, he purchased a piece of raw land and began
to open up a farm. Barring Indians, he suffered nearly all the
hardships of earlier colonists. The privations entailed by the Civil
War are touched upon.
Exempted from service in the war on account of physical ail-
ment, he came in contact with Methodist missionaries in 1862, was
converted, and finally became a circuit rider in the M. E. Church,
South. However, since the church published no church literature
(catechisms, hymnals, disciplines, etc.) in the German language,
the Germon churches of Texas used those of the Northern Church.
The relations thus maintained and the outcome of the war
prompted a movement having for its end the reunion of the German
churches of the North and South. The German missionaries in
Texas conferred with each other on this matter, laid the subject
before their congregations, and in several instances reunion was
determined upon. On January 3, 1867, the Texas Mission Con-
ference was organized at Houston; Bishop Simpson presided and
eighty or ninety ministers attended, of which number only eight or
ten were white-three German. In 1873 the Texas Conference was
divided into four annual conferences-two colored and two white;
the Southern German Conference included the German missions in
Texas and Louisiana. The growth of this conference (which is
sketched briefly) created a demand for additional workers, and led
to the founding in 1882 of Mission Institute at Brenham. The last
chapter of the book gives an account of the history of this school
over which the author presided for seventeen years.
E. W. WINKLE.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 6, July 1902 - April, 1903, periodical, 1903; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101028/m1/261/?rotate=270: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.