The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 50, July 1946 - April, 1947 Page: 80
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Southwestern Historical Quarterly and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Texas State Historical Association.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Southwestern Historical Quarterly
that time.20 These small plots of land were not to take the place
of the 320-acre and 160-acre tracts specified in the agreements
between the Adelsverein and settlers.21 A little time was nec-
essarily consumed by the settlers in erecting tents for temporary
shelter for their families and their goods, after which they
began to fell cedars and oaks in the hills north of Comal Creek
for the construction of log cabins. Not until this work was
well out of the way could any time be spent in preparing the
farm lots for planting in the fall, although small vegetable
gardens were cultivated during the late spring and summer on
the town lots.22
All during the spring and summer of 1845 the Adelsverein
had to supply the settlers with the most needed means of sub-
sistence. Four wagon loads of corn and other supplies spoiled
because they were stored in a shed with a leaky roof. Fresh
meat was distributed daily by a rationing system. With the
arrival of new settlers in the summer more town lots were dis-
tributed, and in order that enough land would be available for
the distribution of farm lots another tract of land was pur-
chased on August 4, 1845, northwest of the original tract of
land and consisting both of cedar brakes and some farming
land along Comal Creek.
In his sixth report, dated December 23, 1844, at Port Lavaca,
Prince Solms asked that a capable person be sent to Texas in
his stead in order that he might return home and make a per-
sonal report. The Adelsverein acceded to the request and ap-
pointed Baron Hans Ottfried von Meusebach commissioner-
general on February 24, 1845. On May 16, 1845, Baron von
Meusebach23 arrived in New Braunfels to assume his duties.
20Eduard von Hartz, one of the first arrivals,' told Hermann Seele upon
his arrival in May that 'there was dissatisfaction among the settlers about
not being taken to the grant and that only a few understood that Prince
Solms had done the best under the circumstances. (See Seele, "Meine
Ankunft in Neu Braunfels," in Kalender der Neu Braunfelser Zeitung
fuer 1914, p. 41.)
21By the terms of the colonization contract which the Adelsverein ac-
quired from Fisher and Miller the heads of families were to get 640 acres
and single men over seventeen years old were to get 320 acres, but by
agreement with the settlers the Adelsverein could reduce the acreage to
half and acquire title to the other half. (See Colonization Papers, 1843-
1845, for the full text of the Fisher and Miller contract.)
22Seele, Di Cypres8se, 116-117; Solms-Braunfels Archiv, XXX, 190.
23Baron von Meusebach was naturalized as a citizen of Texas and of
the United States under the name of John O. Meusebach, thus discarding
all of the trappings of nobility. (For a brief sketch of his life, see Biesele,
German Settlements in Texas, 123, footnote 31.)
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue 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 Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 50, July 1946 - April, 1947, periodical, 1947; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101117/m1/96/?rotate=270: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.