German Pioneers in Texas; A Brief History of Their Hardships, Struggles and Achievements Page: 5
3 p.l., 230 p. incl. plates, ports. 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
- 5
few of them were failures because of unavoidable misfortunes.
Stephen F. Austin stands out conspicuously as
the greatest of all Texas colonizers. He was earnest, honest
and practical. Even with the Austin colonists material development
was more of a vague dream that a fixed purpose
and planned policy. Courage was their chief asset, determination
their outstanding characteristic, honesty their guide
and love of liberty their creed. They were the fighting
forerunners of a new republic. They were the instruments
destiny would in due time use to expel the last vestige of
Spanish authority from the domain north of the Rio Grande.
And in the meantime another element was introducing
itself. This element was the force that had a plan and a
fixed purpose for real development. It was an element that
planned to build, create and utilize. This was the German
element.
Hecke Gets Enthused and Writes a Book. Adventurers Get
Arrested.
It is not a clearly established fact as to when the first
Germans came to Texas. One of LaSalle's adventurers was
presumably a German. Contemporaneous with Austin's
colonization work the Mexican government granted concessions
to two Germans, at that time residents and presumably
citizens of the United States. One of these was
Joseph Vehlein, the other Robert Leftwich. If Vehlein ever
attempted to put a colony on his grant the records fail to
disclose the fact. Concerning the Leftwich grant Prof.
Tiling in his history says:
"Leftwich's grant dates from the year 1822, and his
extensive lands were situated near the old San Antonio
road, leading from New Orleans to Texas, between the
Colorado and San Marcos rivers. He built a small fort and
settled a few families on his land in 1826, but soon afterwards
returned to Tennessee, where he had formerly lived
and died there. After his death a company was formed at
Nashville in 1830 to carry out the conditions of his contract,
but the Mexican government did not recognize the transfer
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Biggers, Don Hampton, 1869-1957. German Pioneers in Texas; A Brief History of Their Hardships, Struggles and Achievements, book, 1925; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth29394/m1/11/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Texas at Arlington Library.