The Junior Historian, Volume 28, Number 1, September 1967 Page: 2
[2], 32 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
It proceeded to advertise its tremendous
tract throughout Germany. To each immi-
grant a tract of good land in a fertile and
healthy country was guaranteed, "a pres-
ent from the company at no compensa-
tion whatsoever." Each single man was
required to deposit $120, "for the cost
of transportation to the land and to pro-
vide a fund to sustain the colony," and
each married man would pay $240. Each
single man was to get 320 acres and each
married man 640 acres.
The enthusiasm held by the common-
ers to leave the Fatherland and come
to Texas led a great many fellow Ger-
mans to join the prince in his trip. Many
were exuberant young men like Ernst
Grtine, and, like him, many were in-
spired by fresh ideals. The emigrants,
especially those who were older and
whose hopes had been blighted by the
unsuccessful revolutions in Germany in
the 1830's, spoke with faith of Texas
as being the Schlaraffenland, "the land
of plenty, the Utopia."
Numerous single men, upon hearing
of the optimistic prospects of the trip,
decided that Texas would be the ideal
place for them to settle and rear fam-
ilies. In the small German village that
was his home, Ernst had the local pas-
tor announce during a church service
that a young man was planning to emi-
grate to Texas and would like to find
a wife to take with him. As the "can-
didates" applied, Grtine went from house
to house interviewing prospects. At the
Kloepper household, young Antoinette
received the tall, blonde, blue-eyed man
of twenty-six in the yard where she was
scrubbing the family laundry. During
their talk, she continued to work with
the wash and thereby won Ernst. "He
was convinced that any young woman so
diligent was bound to make a good wife."
Ernst Griine of Netze, Hanover, his
new wife, Maria Antoinette Kloepper, of
Adenstadt, Hanover, his fifty-year-old
mother, and a maid (who was the same
age as Ernst's wife, nineteen) boardedthe sailship Margaretha in August of
1845. The Margaretha was one of many
ships that carried German colonists to
Texas during that period.
When looking at the ship lists of the
immigrants from Germany, one notices
that few gave as his occupation any-
thing other than that of farming. In many
cases this was probably done so as to
have a greater chance of fulfilling pas-
sage, for Texas was in dire need of farm-
ers at that time. Numerous younger pas-
sengers, in order to avoid delay and
questioning gave their ages as several
years older when they registered for the
trip.
Ernst Griine had been sincere when
he put down the occupation of "farm-
er" at the German immigration office.
The immigrants landed at Indianola and
remained there for two months until a
settlement site was selected. Independent
and anxious to make a start in the new
land, he immediately refused the acreage
to which he was entitled with his de-
posit and settled land of his own choos-
ing north of New Braunfels, the town
which Prince Solms had so generously
named after himself. Griine chose a hill
covered with pecan trees on which to
build his frame home. This, his first
farm, consisted of 225 acres, much of
which had to be cleared by the strong
and youthful German. Two years after
their marriage, Ernst and his wife had
a son born to them, Ernst, Jr. In 1849,
a second son, Heinrich (Henry) D., was
born. Adding to his agricultural inter-
ests, Ernst developed a second farm of
one hundred acres. Together the fam-
ily worked to make the land yield
abundant crops of corn and feed-
stuffs. As the boys grew older, they be-
gan to take responsibilities on the farm,
doing various chores, such as caring for
the livestock. Together the Griines be-
gan to make their "good life" in their
Schlaraffenland.
Henry D. Gruene, who was to become
the founder of Gruene, Texas, began
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 28, Number 1, September 1967, periodical, September 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391552/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.