The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 20, July 1916 - April, 1917 Page: 30
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:30 The Southwestern Historical Quarterly
In 1856 the settlers had better vegetable gardens and orchards
and more milk, butter and cheese. There were more stores. Most
farmers had wells or cisterns. There was a singing society in
Millheim. In 1856 the farmers of Millheim at Catspring formed
the Agricultural Society of Austin County at C'atspring, which
still exists, in which the book farmers of Millheim and the prac-
?tical farmers of Catspring exchanged their knowledge. In Mill-
'heim was one of the best elementary schools of Texas, conducted
by E. G. Maetze for more than twenty-five years. Many of his
pupils became prominent, for instance, Charles Nagel, Secretary
of Commerce and Labor; Winm. D. Cleveland, of Houston, and
Hugo. Becker, wholesale merchants, W. A. Trenckmann, editor
,of Das Wochenblatt and State representative, and Wm. Hage-
mann, internal revenue officer. All Germans of Millheim were
Democrats, but, as the Democratic Party in the Southern States
was for slavery, many Germans did not join said party. In the
first election in which I participated 1 voted against secession.
Ninety-nine votes were cast against secession, eight for secession
at the Millheim-Catspring box. Nearly every one voted. Ac-
cording to my opinion the State of Texas had no better right to
secede on account of slavery than the State of Utah on account
-of polygamy, slavery and polygamy being wrong. Nevertheless,
I admit that the slaveholders were a noble class of people.
Physically perfectly unfit for military service and opposed to the
war, I succeeded in avoiding the service except that, although
exempt as justice of the peace, I was compelled to go to the
,camp of instruction near Houston. After some weeks I was dis-
'charged by a writ of habeas corpus. The perfectly blind son of
my neighbor Constant was carried to the same camp and detained
there until his father succeeded in liberating him. Many Union
'men of our neighborhood enlisted in the Cbnfederate Army be-
'cause they believed it to be their duty. After the war I was
probably the first justice of the peace in Texas in whose court a
freedman recovered the wages for his labor from his former
master. After the war I was appointed director of public schools
and assessor and collector of taxes and elected four times county
,commissioner. After the Democratic Party had declared that the
'freedmen be protected by law I joined the party. Six German
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 20, July 1916 - April, 1917, periodical, 1917; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101070/m1/36/?rotate=270: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.