Meixner Family History #19 - Epilogue - Part 2

By 1901 Harmon Meixner was ready to move west permanently.  He moved to the Concho county area to work for ranchers in Concho and Tom Green Counties.  In 1900 the population of Concho County was 1427 and the town of Paint Rock had a population of 323. (1)

                                        Bell County to Concho County on a present day map.

Why did Harmon choose Concho County?  I don't know the answer to that question.  Was it possibly due to a connection to the German community or perhaps some influence by a relative?  Maybe it was just because it was the next frontier and that's where he could go and find work and a place to make a living.  First I'll examine the opening of this area to settlement.

In the book A New Land Beckoned the authors stated "The largest colonization project in Texas history was the mass immigration of Germans to Texas in the years 1844-1847."  On April 20, 1842 the "Verein zum Schutz deutscher Einwandrer in Texas" was organized by a group of German noblemen.  Known by it's shorter name "Verein", it was created for the purpose of facilitating the immigration of Germans to Texas. (2)

                                                                 Symbol of the Verein. (3)

The Verein sought land grants from the Republic of Texas without much success so in June of 1844 it purchased an interest in the Fisher-Miller colonization contract.  Henry Fisher and Burchard Miller originally made application with the Republic of Texas in 1842 for this land grant.  This grant was known as the Fisher-Miller grant and was for 3,800,000 acres of land between the Colorado and Llano Rivers.

                                 Approximate area of the Fisher-Miller Grant on a present day map.

Shiploads of immigrants arrived in Texas in the fall of 1844.  "Each verein immigrant had signed an Immigration contract (Einwanderungs Vertrag) in Germany at the port of embarkation before he boarded the ship on which he would make the journey to Texas.  This contract entitled him to 320 acres of land if he was a married man and 160 acres if he was single."  Between the years of 1844-1847 there were more than 7,000 German immigrants to Texas. (4)

There was a problem with the Fisher-Miller grant, however.  It was nearly 300 miles from the coast, the land was not fertile and the Comanche Indians still roamed the area.  Extreme difficulties were faced by the Verein in trying to transport the immigrants inland.  Their route took them from Indianola up to Victoria and then through Gonzales and Seguin, finally arriving at a location along the banks of the Comal and Guadalupe Rivers where they established the town of New Braunfels.  The immigrants suffered greatly from disease and the elements.  Hundreds died.  Some of the immigrants would push on farther up to establish the town of Fredricksburg. (5)

Route from Indianola to Victoria, Gonzales, Seguin, New Braunfels, and Fredricksbug that I traced on a present day map.  Source:  A New Land Beckoned.  (6)

Poor planning, unexpected expenses, and the extreme difficulties encountered all contributed to the Verein going bankrupt and ceasing operations.  Few of the original immigrants settled beyond Fredricksburg.  In 1858 the Texas Legislature would carve 10 counties out of the Fisher-Miller lands:  Llano, San Saba, McCulloch, Mason, Menard, Kimble, Sutton, Tom Green, Schleicher, and Concho.  Though the original German immigrants did not settle in these counties, many of the descendants of the German immigrants did settle there in years to come in towns such as Mason, Boerne, Comfort, Llano, Brady, San Saba, and Paint Rock.  (7)                                      

                        The 10 counties carved from the Fisher-Miller Grant on a present day map.

An intriguing side note to this story is that on one of the early immigrant ships that came in 1844 was a man named Andreas Meixner.  He brought with him his wife, Marianna (Pohlert/Bohlert) Meixner, and three children.  They were listed as being from Forcheim, Bavaria.  He was one of the group that founded New Braunfels.  He is listed in the 1850 census in New Braunfels and died there in 1855.

                                       1850 United States Census for Comal County, Texas.  (8)

A listing of the original grantees in Concho County shows two sections, #30 & #31, as being granted to Andreas Meixner.  So I assume this was his original land grant from the Verein.  He most likely never set foot in Concho County.  Most of the immigrants sold their land grants for small sums of money and did not go further into that area because it was still inhabited by Comanche Indians.  I have not been able to trace his ancestors in Germany nor have I made any connection to him with my Meixner family.  Andreas' descendants lived in San Antonio and other areas and some probably still reside in Texas.  I think it is very interesting that a Meixner owned land in Concho County 45 years before Harmon Meixner arrived on the scene.  Who knows, maybe they are long lost cousins and I just have not found the connection yet.

                                       Map of Original Grantees of Land in Concho County.  (9)

Concho County was formed by the Texas Legislature in 1858.  It's name is derived from the Concho ("shell") River which is named for the large number of mussels found there.  Large-scale cattle ranchers, such as John S. Chisum and others, began to establish cow camps along the Concho River in the 1860s.  Settlement didn't begin in the county until after Ranald S. Mackenzie's campaign in 1874 drove out the remaining Indians and forced them onto reservations.  (10)

In 1879 Concho County was finally organized and the site for a county seat was selected on the Concho river "twelve miles west of the confluence of the Concho and Colorado Rivers and five miles south of the Concho-Runnels County line".  The county seat was named Paint Rock after the nearby Indian pictographs. (11)

Harmon Meixner moved to Concho county in 1901.  The swiftest population growth in Concho County history occurred between 1900 and 1910 when the number of farms went from 119 to 865.  More than half the farms in 1910 were tenant farms.

One of the ranchers Harmon Meixner worked for, according to my Dad, was D.E. Sims.  Next time I'll have more on him and some of the stories Harmon told about his adventures as a cowboy.

References:
(1)  www.texasalmanac.com/topics/population
(2)  Geue, Chester W. & Ethel H., A New Land Beckoned, German Immigration to Texas 1844-1847, Baltimore, Maryland:  Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1966. pg ix.
(3)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelsverein
(4)  Geue, pg 7.
(5)  Ibid. pg 13.
(6)  Ibid. plate #8.
(7)  Ibid. pg 14-15.
(8)  Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
(9)  Dietz, O.. Concho County, Map, March 1862; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth88451/ : accessed January 09, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas General Land Office, Austin , Texas.
(10)  Mary M. Standifer, "CONCHO COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcc21), accessed December 12, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
(11)  Ibid.

Meixner Family History #18 - Epilogue - Part 1

My first project was to write about Frank and Theresia Meixner and their journey from Bohemia in the Austrian Empire to Texas in the United States.  That journey was brought to a close with the death of Theresia.  But before I move on to chronicle other lines of my family tree I want to spend a few weeks writing about my grandfather Harmon Meixner.  I will end all my lines at the grandparent level because I do not want to get into talking about anyone that is still living.  At some point I also want to write about my father, maybe in conjunction with quoting from his book about his life.  That will be down the line however.

I'm going to back track a little with Harmon.  I've already talked about his early years but I'm going to go back and add some stories from that time.

You read about Harmon's battle with the big catfish at the age of 7 or 8 in an earlier post.  Another story dad remembered about granddad at around this age was as follows:  "My Dad occasionally visited in the little town of Belton.  I am sure that he went for haircuts, on errands and for other reasons.  He said that there was a large boy that made it a practice to shove any young boy off the sidewalk that came down his way.  Dad said that he was walking down the sidewalk and the big boy gave him a terrific shove and he went sailing out into the street.  He said that his hand happened to fall on a right smooth rock about the size of a hen egg.  He said that he grasped the rock in this hand, rose up, and hurled the rock at the big boy.  He hit him right square between the eyes and knocked him cold.  Pa said that it broke the young rascal from shoving people off the sidewalk."

In my post on Oct 22nd I mentioned Harmon worked for a wealthy family that lived near Little River, TX by the name of Wallace.  Harmon had to work for other people to help contribute to the livelihood of the family.    Most likely he was 10 or 11.  Joseph and Eliza Wallace had a daughter, Miriam, born in 1875.  In his book Dad said that granddad rocked Miriam on his knee when she was little and granddad worked for the Wallaces.  However, it turns out Miriam was actually older than Harmon so that probably didn't happen.  I don't know what work Harmon preformed but probably worked helping do odd jobs around the house.  Eventually Miriam would go on to Salado College and Baylor Female College.  A future husband, fame and prestige in the state of Texas were in her future. (1)(2)

Several years later, after Harmon and the family had moved to Salado, Harmon met a man named Jim Ferguson.  My dad stated in his book that Harmon "palled with Jim. They often went hunting together.  Jim was a rough and tumble type of fellow.  I guess that is the reason my Dad liked him."  Jim was several years older than Harmon having been born in 1871 near Salado, TX.  He left home at 16 and traveled around several states in the far west before returning to Bell County to farm and work with a railroad-bridge gang.  He also studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1897.  Around this same time Jim Ferguson and Miriam Wallace's paths crossed in Bell County.  It is said that it took a couple of years of pursuit by Jim, before they were finally married in 1899.  (Their first child was born in 1900.  Dad remembered in his book that Harmon rocked little Miriam on his knee but I think it was probably Miriam's baby that Harmon rocked.)

After a number of successful years in banking, Jim Ferguson became involved in politics.  He was elected governor of Texas in 1914.  He won a second term but was impeached in 1917, well before his second term was completed.  Several years of near poverty followed before they decided Miriam should run for governor.  In 1925 she became the second female governor but the first woman to actually be elected as governor in the United States and the first female governor of Texas.  They became known as "Ma" and "Pa" Ferguson.  Miriam would serve a second terms as governor from 1933-1935.  My dad said in his book that granddad Harmon was "a staunch supporter of the Fergusons during their campaigns an during their terms in office."  It is interesting to think of granddad hanging out with two future governors of Texas. (3)

"Ma" and "Pa" Ferguson.  Former Governors of Texas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_A._Ferguson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._Ferguson

I posted this family picture once before of the Meixner-Schleede family.  It was probably taken at the end of 1896.  Standing in the center of the family, between his mom and step-dad, is Harmon Meixner.  Probably at the age of 17.  Certainly a grown man in those days.  This would also be about the time he was "palling around" with Jim Ferguson.

My dad remembered another story about granddad from around the late 1890s.  It goes like this:  "Dad told me of an incident that was rather funny.  He was plowing with a double shovel hooked behind a mule.  Every time that Dad went to turn the mule around on the turn row the old mule would come right back down the row that they had come up on.  That means he came back over the row that my Dad was standing on.  Dad finally got mad and when the mule came back over him he hit the mule up beside the head with his fist.  The mule fell to the ground as though he were dead.  The step-dad was watching, so he came running to give my Dad a dressing down.  He accused Dad of hitting the mule with a club.  The fact was that no sticks, clubs or anything of that kind could be found in the area."  Strong enough to stun a mule!  That's pretty strong.

Double Shovel Plow
http://n5tjt.tripod.com/yesteryear.html

Granddad Harmon Meixner made a couple of trips from his home in Bell County west out to Concho County to work on ranches in the area.  He returned home each time and was listed as living with the family in the census of 1900.  But by 1901 it was time for Harmon to strike out on his own for good.

Next time:  Harmon moves west to Concho County.

References:
(1)  http://www.bellcountytx.com/about_us/county_history/index.php

(2)  John D. Huddleston, "FERGUSON, MIRIAM AMANDA WALLACE [MA]," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ffe06), accessed December 17, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

(3)  Ralph W. Steen, "FERGUSON, JAMES EDWARD," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ffe05), accessed December 17, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Meixner Family History #17 - The Meixner - Schleede Family in the 20th Centruy

The year 1900 closed out the 19th Century (or began the 20th if you prefer), but the year of 1900 also made it's mark in a very tragic way. A massive hurricane slammed Galveston, Texas on Sep 8, 1900 with winds of 145 miles an hour and a storm surge that measured 15 feet. Galveston, which only had an elevation of 8.7 feet at it's highest point, was devastated.  Over 3600 homes were destroyed and between 6,000 and 12,000 people were killed. (1)

Photographs from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_Galveston_hurricane

In 1901 the country suffered another tragedy when president William McKinley was assassinated.  This was the second assassination of a United States president in 20 years.  Vice President Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th president.

Photographs of President McKinley and President Roosevelt from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McKinley and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt

At the Meixner - Schleede household in 1901 the oldest child remaining at home, Harmon Meixner, decided to move out for good and go further west.  My dad said Harmon had gone out west several times before relocating permanently.  He worked for ranchers located in Concho County and Tom Green County which are located in what I would consider the western edge of Central Texas.

Map image from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concho_County,_Texas

In November of 1902 the remaining daughter living at home, Minnie Meixner, was married to William Penn Wheeler and in October 1904 the youngest Meixner, Henry, was married to Mable Ditto.  This left only William Rudolph Schleede still at home.

I mentioned in an earlier post that the Armistead family settled in Bell County.  Robert Stewart Armistead arrived in Bell County in 1872.  He married Virginia Texas Whiteley in 1878 and they had a daughter, Alice, in 1881.  The Armistead family moved to near Paint Rock in Concho County in 1904.  (Paint Rock and Concho County are located about 180 miles north west of Salado.)  Shortly after the move Alice started teaching at a little school located at what is present day Lowake, Texas.  Harmon was working on a nearby ranch.  The story goes that they had not met when they were in Bell County but were introduced at a mutual friend's home in Concho County.  Harmon Meixner and Alice Armistead (my grandparents) were married on Dec 25, 1905.

In July of 1911, after nearly 21 years of marriage to Theresia, Rudolph Schleede died in Bell County.  Theresia's last child, William Rudolph Schleede, married Maye Porter in January 1916.

There are stories within the family about some of Theresia's grandchildredn being teased in school as being "German Slackers" because they didn't have much money.  When Theresia heard this she said "We are just as American as they are: we have our papers.  We left Germany behind to come to America and we left behind our German ways."  My dad also tells of an encounter during World War I (1914-1918).  He said Theresia was in downtown Belton doing her shopping and was speaking German (it was said she never learned to speak English).  Dad continued:  "Some of the authorities there heard her speaking German.  They went to her and told her that if they ever heard her speaking German on the streets of Belton again they would put her so far back into prison that she would never get out."

In the 1920 US Census for Bell County Texas Theresia was listed living next to her son William Rudolph Schleede.  I'm sure this had been the arrangement since William's marriage in 1916.  In the 1930 census William and his family were living with Thereisia.  She is listed as owning the property and William Rudolph Schleede was renting from her.

Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database online].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920.  (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA. Note:  Enumeration Districts 819-839 are on roll 323 (Chicago City)  (2)

Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:  Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.  Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. (3)

The 1920 and 1930 US Censuses for Bell County are shown above.  If you click on any of the pictures in my posts they will be enlarged so you can see them better.

Maria Theresia (Eigel) (Meixner) Schleede lived to be 84 years old, survived two husbands that she was married to for 18 years and almost 21 years respectivley, gave birth to 10 children (possibly more), had the last child at the age of 42, and buried two husbands, and four children.  I'm sure Theresia participated in the decision to leave their homeland to come to the United States, and she was shrewd enough to stash away $40 so they didn't lose every penny to a swindler at Castle Garden.  She endured at least four moves and difficult living conditions including the events described above.  I can't think of Theresia without thinking toughness, strength, and perseverance.

On Sep 1, 1932 Theresia died in Bell County and was buried in the Salado cemetery next to her second husband.

Photographs taken by Moody Meixner May 5, 2008 at the Salado Cemetery.

Theresia's death brings to an end the Meixner Family History story from the perspective of Frank and Theresia Meixner.

I will talk a little bit about my grandfather Harmon Meixner in my next post in a couple weeks and then move on to other lines of my family tree.  Stay tuned.

References:
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_Galveston_hurricane
(2) Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database online].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com
Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.  Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920.  (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. For details on the contents of the film numbers, visit the following NARA web page: NARA. Note:  Enumeration Districts 819-839 are on roll 323 (Chicago City)
(3) Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:  Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.  Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.

Meixner Family History #16 - What Does Theresia Meixner Do Now?

In the year 1890 Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the U.S., was serving his second year in office, Idaho and Wyoming would become the 43rd and 44th states, and Dwight D. Eisenhower would be born.  Eisenhower would later become a five star general and the 34th president of the U.S.  During this year the first Army - Navy football game was played and the Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks were established in California.  But there was also the tragedy of the U.S. Calvary massacre of more than 150 captive Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. (1)

At the end of February of 1890, Theresia Meixner found herself alone in Bell County, Texas.  Theresia's husband had just died and she had five children still at home to care for, ages 17,16,11, 5 1/2, and 2 1/2.  Theresia spoke no english, she had no family to rely on, because all her relatives were thousands of miles away in another country, and she had no means of making a living.  The 1890 Bell County Tax Roll list shows she had a wagon, two horses and two head of cattle.

Bell County Tax Roll for 1890.  She is listed 16th as Meixner, T.  (2)

This would have been a very frightening position to be in.  I don't know how she survived for the next seven months but she did and on Oct 9th she married Rudolph Schleede.

Marriage Record of Rudolph Schleede and Theresia Meixner.

Unfortunately I don't have a lot to tell you about Rudolph. He was born in Germany according to census records.  I have done very little research on him.  Their descendants would be my (half) cousins so that is an area I need to work on.  I don't know how they met but I would assume that they lived near each other or possibly Rudolph worked with Frank or farmed near where Frank farmed.  I know that in an agrarian society as this was both women and men remarried quickly after losing a spouse.  The women usually had no means of income and had children to take care of and in the case of the man he had children and couldn't take care of them because he was working the farm.  Theresia was a 42 year old widow with 5 dependant children and no meas of support.  Rudolph was a 36 year old bachelor.  I admire the man for taking on this challenge.  Regardless of weather the marriage was born out of love or necessity it saved Theresia and her family.  We have to remember that things were a lot different in 1890 than they are today.

In March of 1892 a son was born to Rudolph and Theresia and was named William Rudolph Schleede.  The information I have is that he was born at Three Forks.  The only reference I have found on this location is in the history of Bell county that states:  "...the Leon, Lampasas, and Salado rivers, ... came together at historic Three Forks to form the Little River".

Map of Bell County, 1885.

This is consistent with where Frank and Theresia lived, between the town of Little River and the Leon river.  In the above image in the middle of the picture you can see Belton.  Just above is the Leon River, just below is the Lampasas River, and just below that is Salado Creek.  Just to the southeast of Belton you can see where the three rivers converge (which would be the Three forks area) and become the Little River.  Just to the right of this junction is the town of Little River.

In September of 1892 Rudolph Schleede purchased 113 acres of land close to Salado, TX and Theresia made another move with him and their children to their new home.

Record of transaction from Bell County, TX land records.

Salado, TX is 9 miles south of Belton in Bell County.  The town was founded by Sterling C. Robertson, namesake and son of the original founder of Robertson's Colony, who donated land around the springs of Salado Creek to layout the town.  (3)

In October of 1896 Theresia's daughter, Antonia, was married to Abraham "Doc" Reid.

Marriage Record of Abraham Reid and Antonia Meixner.

This picture of the family was probably taken at the end of 1896 after the marriage of Antonia.

In the picture from left to right:  Abraham Reid, Antonia (Meixner) Reid, Minnie Meixner, Rudolph Schleede, William Rudolph Schleede (on the rocking horse), Harmon Meixner, Theresia (Meixner) Schleede, Henry Meixner, Alvisa Meixner.

Tragedy for Theresia didn't stop with her move to Salado.  On May 17, 1899 Theresia's oldest daughter, 26 year old Alvisa, died.

Above is a copy of the 1900 United States Census for Bell County that lists Rudolph & Theresia Schleede, Harmon Meixner, Minnie Meixner, Henry Meixner, and William Rudolph Schleede.  (4)

The 1900 United States Census above is for Falls County, TX where Theresia and Frank Meixner's eldest son, Frank Jr., was living.  Falls County is just northeast of Bell County.  Frank, his wife Mary, and their first child Willie (Wilhelm) are listed.  (4)

Next:  The Meixner - Schleede families face the twentieth century.

References:
(1)  en.wikipedia.org
(2)  "Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1846-1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VBMV-QGK : accessed 12 Nov 2012), T Meixner, 1890.
(3)  Elizabeth Silverthorne, "SALADO, TX," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hls05), accessed November 12, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
(4)  Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

Meixner Family History #15 - Frank Meixner's Legacy

I suppose you could look at Frank's life and see a life of tragedy and misfortune.  He left his homeland, friends and family members, and sailed to a new land where he was swindled out of all his money.  He had to work on a plantation, lost at least two children to disease, scratched out a living, and died at the young age of 41.

I think looking at his life that way would be totally missing several very important points.  Here is the way I look at Frank's life:

First, just making that momentous decision to leave home with a wife and six children and go thousands of miles to a new land seeking a better life took a great deal of courage and determination.

Second, many thousands of immigrants were swindled out of their money and taken advantage of in many ways.  The fact that he overcame this extremely discouraging event of losing his money by coming up with an alternate plan and moving forward shows a lot about his character.  He didn't quit, he keep moving forward.

Third, he made a change after the loss of his little girls and his own illness and moved his family to a more healthy location with better opportunity.  He continued to improve their way of life.  He went from having no property at all on the 1884 tax roll to having a wagon, 2 horses, and 2 head of cattle at the time of his death in 1890.

The last point I would make is he had made his application for citizenship of the United States.  He achieved what must have been his dream ever since he made the decision to come to the United States years before.

Webster's New World Dictionary defines legacy as:  1) (law) money or property left to one by a will,         2) anything handed down as from an ancestor

Frank's legacy comes from the second, and I think most important, definition.  Part of the legacy is in the genes he passed down.  What I saw in my dad growing up was strength, both physical strength and strength of character.  I saw determination and a will to succeed.  I think that's what he got from his father, Harmon, and his grandfather, Frank.  I  can only hope I got a little tiny bit of that.

The other part of the legacy, again, much better than money or property passed down in a will, is each and every descendant of Frank and Theresia.  I am here because he brought his family here and started his  children out in a new life in this country. Five of them got married and had families.  One of those was my grandfather Harmon.

I am here and I am a citizen of the United States of America.  What better legacy could I have asked for?

 Next time:  What does Theresia Meixner do now?

Meixner Family History #14 - More Difficult Times For The Meixner Family

The first decade the Meixner Family spent in their new country was an eventful time for them and the United States as well as the rest of the world.

Bell County grew from 20,518 people in 1880 to 33,377 in 1890.  The County Seat of Belton was the hub of the county with a population of 3,000.  The United States consisted of 44 states in 1890 and had almost 63 million people.

In 1883 the University of Texas was established in Austin, TX and the "Old Main" building started.

         Picture of University of Texas "Old Main" in Austin, TX in 1903. (1)

The corner stone for the Bell County Courthouse was laid in 1884 in Belton.

                                                                      

        Laying of the cornerstone for the Bell County Courthouse in 1884. (2)           

The courthouse was completed in 1885.

        Bell County courthouse ca. 1885. (2)

By the mid 1880s Belton had "daily mail and stagecoach service, three newspapers, an opera house, two hotels, thirteen grocery stores, and three banks.  During this period Belton also developed into a processing and shipping center for the region's growing cotton crops.  In the early 1880s the first railroad reached the town." (3)

Two of the newspapers in Belton are shown below.

        The Texas Farmer Jan. 9, 1884. (4)

        The Belton Journal, Aug. 15, 1889. (5)

In 1885 the first Dr Pepper was served at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, TX.

        The Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, TX. (6)

Also in 1885 Karl Benz introduced the Benz Patent Motorwagen, which is credited as the first automobile.
 

                                       The Benz Patent Motorwagen.    
 Picture taken at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany June 2006.

1886 brought the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in new York Harbor.

        Statue of Liberty. (7)

Back in Bell County, even with all the progress being made in the county and elsewhere, farming in Texas was still a difficult proposition.  My father said in his book "The Meixner family moved to Bell county where they were engaged in farming.  Dad said that the crab grass was extremely bad.  They had to scrape the rows from one end to the other with a hoe.  I imagine that they irrigated their crops with the sweat of their bodies.  No one knows what a grueling task this can be unless he has done something similar." (8)

Other families living in this area included the wealthy family of Joseph and Eliza Wallace and their daughter Miriam.  My grandfather Harmon worked for the Wallaces.  I'll have more on this family in a later post.

Another family, Rev. Early Greathouse and his wife Elizabeth moved to Bell County in 1870 and purchased 1000 acres of land just north of Little River, TX. Rev. Greathouse established at least two churches in the area.  He also dedicated a parcel of his land to be used as a family cemetery.  It was later opened up for use by others in the area. (9)  Possibly Frank Meixner knew or worked for Rev. Greathouse because his land is located in the area where Frank is believed to have lived in Bell County.  Below is a map of the area showing Little River, TX at the bottom, the Leon River to the left and the Greathouse Cemetery to the upper right.  All these families must have been living in this general area.

Google Earth Maps

In mid February 1890 Frank Meixner was riding home in his buggy.  He may have been coming home from business in town or from his farm work.  It has been handed down that the day was cold and rainy.  It is also thought that Frank may have suffered from poor health ever since the time he had typhoid 8 years before.  Riding for miles in the buggy, cold and wet, Frank became ill and most likely developed pneumonia.  On Feb 22, 1890 Frank Meixner died. (10)  He is buried in the Greathouse Cemetery.

The family apparently could not afford a headstone for Frank.  This headstone was placed at the grave by some of his grandchildren almost 100 years after his death.

Next time:  Frank Meixner's Legacy and What does Theresia Meixner do now?

References:
(1) www.lsjunction.com/schools/ut/ut.asp, accessed Oct. 21, 2012.
(2) Photographs I took of a display at the Bell County Courthouse May 5, 2008.
(3) http://www.beltonclassof60.com/History_of_Belton_Texas.html, accessed Oct. 22, 2012.
(4) Fuller, J.F., editor.  Texas Farmer (Belton, TX.), Vol. 4, No. 37, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 9, 1884, Newspaper; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth181531/ : accessed October 7, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas history, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin, Texas.
(5) The Belton Journal (Belton, TX.), Vol. 23, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 9, 1884, Newspaper; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth233458/ : accessed October 7, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas history, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin, Texas.
(6) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr_Pepper accessed Oct 21, 2012
(7) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty accessed Oct 21, 2012
(8) Memoirs of Robert Harmon Meixner, Sr., July 10, 1910 - June 13, 1994.
(9) http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/tallapoosa/bios/g6320001.txt  accessed Oct 21, 2012
(10) Claudia Brown's account of Frank Meixner's death as told to her by her mother, Alberta (Meixner) Neve. 

Meixner Family History #13 - Another Move for the Meixner Family

Before I get started on the next chapter of this family's life I'm taking a short side trip.

Texas Highway Map

If you take a close look at the map above Robertson County is on the far right and is outlined in orange.  Milam County is just west of Robertson and outlined in green.  Just to the northwest of Milam is Bell County (outlined in blue) and to the west of Milam is Williamson County (outlined in pink).

These four counties played important roles in my family history.  The Meixners origiinally settled in Robertson Co. and then moved to Bell Co.  Bell County is where my grandmother's family, the Armisteads, settled after they left Florida.  My mother's family, the Galbreaths, settled in Milam Co.  Later on the Galbreaths would move next door to Williamson County.  Mom and dad met and fell in love in Georgetown in Williamson Co. My dad came there from Concho County, where he grew up, and was attending Southwestern University. Mom was working for a professor at Southwestern.  I hope to cover all this in future posts but I wanted to point out the significance of these four counties in my family's history.

Now back to the story.

When did the Meixner Family make their next move?  If family stories are correct about the location and timing of the tragic deaths of the two little girls, that it happened in Robertson Co. on Good Friday, then the Meixner family's next move occurred some time between Easter 1882 and the year 1884.  I base this on the above information and the fact that I found a copy of the Bell County Tax List for 1884 showing Frank Meixner's name.

Where did they move to?  My cousin Claudia told me they moved about 60 miles northwest and settled near a little community called Little River in Bell County.  Bell County was originally a part of Robertson's Colony just as Robertson County was.  The first Anglo settlements in this area began in the 1830s.  The area was abandoned and resettled a couple times before  peace treaties were signed in 1843-44 with the Indians.  The treaties resulted in a decrease in Indian raids into the county and helped stabilize the area.  The county was formed on Jan. 22, 1850 and named for Peter H. Bell.  Belton was made the county seat.  In 1880 Bell County had a population of 20,517.  (1)

Little River, Texas is about 9 miles south of Temple and about 9 miles a little southeast of Belton.  It is just north of the Little River, which gave the town its name.   It is one of the earliest settlements in Bell County.  Families settled here after a fort was built  along the river in 1836 to guard against Indian attacks.  The community only had a population of 25 in 1890.  (2)

Google Earth Map

You can see the farm land in the picture above.  I noted the names of the town of Little River, center right, and the river, Little River, lower left, and then the Leon River, which flows into the Little River, is on the upper left.  Somewhere in this picture, where all this farm land is pictured, is where I would speculate the Meixner family settled.  Some where between Little River, TX and the Leon River, or possibly more to the north and close to the Leon River.  I will develop this thought a little more later.

So why did they move yet again?  I don't know.  My speculation would be that Frank may have heard of a better opportunity as a tenant farmer in Bell County.  At this time nearly all of Bell County was divided into farm land and was not a part of the plantation economy.  Over 41 percent of the county's farms were worked by tenants.  Tenant farming may have offered a better opportunity or at least sounded better than what the plantation life offered.  Possibly, with the death of his two children, Frank wanted to get away from the unhealthy living conditions of the plantation and the Brazos River bottoms.

How did Frank make a living?  I believe Frank must have been working for someone else when he moved to Bell County.  Here are the 1884 and 1885 Bell County Tax Rolls.

1884 Bell County Tax Roll (3)

1885 Bell County Tax Roll (3)

On the 1884 tax roll Frank is listed at the very top.  He showed no land, no carriage or buggy, no horse or mule, and no cattle.  In 1885 he is the last name on the list and he showed one horse worth $10.  Clearly this would suggest either he was working for someone or he was a tenant farmer using the owners equipment because he did not list any equipment or live stock that he could have been using to make a living.

Over the next several years there were some good times in Bell County.  On Sep 23, 1884 a daughter, Minnie May, was born and on July 10, 1887 a son, Henry, was born.

My dad (Robert Harmon Meixner) had an account in his book about his father that must have taken place sometime around 1886 or 87 and involves the Leon River.  This is one reason I said the family must have lived close to this river.  Here is my dad's story:  "I remember Dad (Harmon Meixner) telling a few things that happened during his boyhood.  He said that one time his dad had set some trot lines in the Leon River.  Grandfather became ill and was resting in bed.  Dad said that he felt called upon to run the trot lines.  Dad was a little boy about seven years of age.  He took it upon himself to go down to the river, get into the little make-shift boat they had, and go out to run the trot lines.  The river was rising and as he made his way down the lines he discovered that a very large yellow catfish was on he trot line.  He went on toward the big fish and attempted to take it off the line.  The fish gave a tremendous flounce and turned the boat over with my Dad holding on to the fish.  I don't know how he got the fish out and on the bank, but he did - regardless of the rising river and the swift water.  He took his fish to the house and his father was very disturbed because of what he had done.  He told my Dad never to attempt a fete like that again.  My Dad sad that grandmother cleaned the catfish and they had a huge dishpan full of yellow catfish meat to eat.  I am sure that my grandfather enjoyed the fish and was proud of his little son."

One story that may not have been a happy story is one my Aunt Peaches tells of Frank Meixner, Jr.  She said Frank Jr. left home at an early age, possibly around 1885.  He would have been around 13 or 14.  The story goes that he traveled north to Waco and had to cross a toll bridge to get across the Brazos River.  He did not have the 10 cents to pay the toll so he asked a stranger driving a covered wagon if he could get in to the wagon and in that way was able to cross the Brazos.  She also said, "He got a job for room and board grubbing stumps (that means digging them out by hand with a shovel and a pick or hoe) and milking cows.  He told of having to wear a woman's bonnet because the cows were only used to a woman milking them."  He also plowed the fields with a yolk of oxen (see below).  In my dad's book he said Frank left home and no one in the family knew where he was until he was a grown man.

Picture I found on the internet of a yolk of oxen.

Image Source Page: http://www.wvpics.com/cattle.htm

In 1887 my grandfather took what I think must have been a very happy and rewarding step.  He applied for citizenship of the United States of America.

This is a copy of the application my cousin Claudia Brown located in the courthouse in Belton, TX.

I can only imagine the pride Frank must have felt when he went down to the courthouse in Belton, TX and made the application.  He had taken a great risk to leave his homeland and come to America.  Now, as stated in the application above, he would  "renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignty whatsoever, and particularly any and all allegiance to the Emperor Osterich of the Osterich Empire (Austria) and that he will bear true allegiance to the United States, and support the Constitution of the same."  This statement was sworn to and subscribed before the county clerk on July 4, 1887.  Quite a nice 4th of July celebration I think!

Next time:  More Difficult Times for the Meixner Family

References:
(1)  Seymour V. Connor and Mark Odintz, "BELL COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcb06), accessed October 09, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

(2)  Mark Odintz, "LITTLE RIVER ACADEMY, TX," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hjl10), accessed October 09, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

(3)  "Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1846-1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1/VBMJ-BSR : accessed 20 Sep 2012), Frank Meixner 1884 & 1885.

Meixner Family History #12 - Texas: Their New Home

The Meixner family probably arrived in Texas sometime in Sep. 1881.

On Oct. 26, 1881 at 3:00 in the afternoon a gunfight broke out in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, with Marshall Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday on one side and the Clanton brothers and Mclaury brothers on the other side.  This gunfight would later be known as the "Gunfight at the OK Corral". (1)

Tombstone, Arizona Territory (2)

On Dec 25, 1881 in Waco, TX, The Waco Daily Examiner published a newspaper where Sanger Brothers was advertising clothes, boots, shoes, and carpet for sale and R.S. Mills advertised "Staple and Fancy Groceries".  (Sanger Brothers was started by Isaac Sanger in 1857 in McKinney, TX and later was joined by his brothers to open stores along major railroad lines in Texas.  Sanger Brothers would later become Sanger-Harris a prominent part of Dallas business and Texas history. (3))

The Waco Daily Examiner. (Waco, TX), Sunday, Dec. 25, 1881. (4)

"The Meixner family settled on the Brazos River bottoms.  I am sure that they were very poor and that they had to live in impoverished quarters.  Dad said that the water snakes, perhaps some of the poisonous, would slither round on the rafters and often fall down on the beds.  It makes one shudder to think of such uncomfortable conditions."  This quote is what my dad wrote in his unpublished book titled "Memoirs of Robert Harmon Meixner, Sr., July 10, 1910 - June 13, 1994" describing what his dad had told him about living on the Brazos River bottoms.  One article I read about Robertson County confirmed there were ..."numerous snake species, including the poisonous copperhead, cottonmouth, coral snake, and rattlesnake"... (5)

I would think living conditions were very bad  for the farm laborers on the plantation. This thought is basesd on the fact the plantation owners first used slave labor, then ex-slaves and convict labor.  I can't imagine the working conditions were much better for immigrants and other workers in the 1880s.  Wages were $12 to $15 per month plus "keep". (6)

Rasche Hearne's home was located in the community of Sutton 5 miles south of Hearne, TX.  (7)  Hearne traveled from his home to the several farms located in the bottom lands.  I assume the Meixners lived in the bottoms near the area where they worked.  I don't know for sure that Frank Meixner worked as a farm laborer.  Claudia suggested he might have worked as a butcher for the plantation, since that is the occupation listed in the ship's records when he came to the U.S.

As you look at the map below, Hearne is located in the center of the map.  The light area from upper left toward the lower right is part of the Brazos River bottom lands.  I'm guessing that somewhere to the left of Hearne and Sutton would be where the Meixner family lived.

Google Earth Maps.

Up to this point it seems to me the Meixner family's new life in America had been pretty difficult.  Unfortunately it would get worse.

In the 1800's typhoid was very prevalent.  Typhoid fever is an acute illness associated with fever that  is most often caused by the Salmonella typhi bacteria.  The bacteria are deposited in water or food by a human carrier and are then spread to other people in the area.  Symptoms include:  confusion, abdominal pain, generalized aches and pain, fever (often up to 104 degrees), intestinal bleeding, diarrhea, etc.  Death occurred from overwhelming infection, pneumonia, and intestinal bleeding.  Prior to antibiotics the fatality rate was 20% or more.  From 1880 to 1920 typhoid killed an estimated one million people.  (8)

On Good Friday, April 7, 1882, all the family was sick with typhoid fever.  The two little girls, 6 year old Herminia and 7 year old Theresia, died.  (9)

Claudia said her mother "heard it was raining the day they tried to bury them and the little coffins floated up in the graves".  "Frank was ill with the fever and kept calling for one of them to bring him some water, not knowing that they were dead."  My dad wrote in his book:  "All of the Meixner family were in bed with the smallpox."  (He remembered hearing it was smallpox though typhoid seems to me to be more likely the cause.)  "Two of the girls died.  There was no help to be had so grandfather Meixner had to bury his own daughters."

In two weeks:  Another Move for the Meixner Family

References:
1) & 2)  Wikipedia.org, wikipedia/gunfight_at_the_O.K._corral.
3)  Diana J. Kleiner, "SANGER BROTHERS," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ijsqi), accessed September 22, 2012.  Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
4)  The Waco Daily Examiner. (Waco,Tex.), Vol. 13, No. 249, Ed. 1, Sunday, December 25, 1881, Newspaper; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ ark:/67531/metapth112235/ : accessed August 23, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas.
5)  James L. Hailey and Christoher Long, "ROBERTSON COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcr09), accessed August 20,2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Associaton.
6)  http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txrober2/Carson_Thesis/ CarsonChapterV.html
7)  Richard Allen Burns, "Sutton, TX", Handbook of Texas online (http://www.tshaoline.org/handbook/online/articles/hvsdf), accessed September 09, 2012.  Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
8)  www.medicinenet.com
9)  Family sources said the girls died on Good Friday in 1882.  According to www.timeanddate.com Good Friday fell on April 7 in 1882.