Meixner Family History #22 - Epilogue Part 5

                                                         Granddad's Cowboy Years

It's difficult for me to think of Granddad as a cowboy, since my only remembrances of him are when he was in his 80s,.  But that is what he was in his early years in Concho County.  He moved west like many others were doing at this time to follow the opening of the frontier in Texas and to take advantage of the opportunity that it offered.  He worked on large ranches riding the herds and working the cattle, breaking horses, etc as recounted in post #20.

A couple weeks ago I made a trip to Bell County and several other places and met one of my cousins.  I most likely met him before, but this was before I started getting into my family history and before I knew all the people and relationships, so that may be why I really don't remember our prior meetings.  His name is William Rudolph (Bill) Schleede and he lives on a farm in Bell County.  His current place is located just a short distance from the farm where he grew up which is also the farm where Theresia and her second husband Rudolph Schleede lived from 1892 until his death in 1911 and then her death in 1932.  His grandmother (who is also my great-grandmother) is Theresia (Eigel) (Meixner) Schleede and his grandfather was William Rudolph Schleede.  His father was also named William Rudolph so he is the third one to carry the name.  I had a wonderful visit with Bill and I will write more about that visit in a later post.  Bill related a story to me that is relevant to granddad's cowboy days.  

In 1901 a young man by the name of M.P. McElhannon started his practice as a doctor at Belton in Bell County.  Bill told me that my granddad, Harmon, broke a horse for Dr. McElhannon.  (This is the process of taming a wild horse down to the point you are able to mount and ride it without it bucking you off.)  This was the first horse the doctor owned and was the horse he used as he began his practice as a doctor in Bell County.  He practiced in Bell County for many years and was a well respected and well known doctor in that area.  I found it interesting that "cowboy" Harmon helped him get started.

Cowboys Breaking In Horses.

http://uair.arizona.edu/item/294498, Photograph of cowboys breaking in horses on the Empire Ranch [ca. 1890-1900]. Empire Ranch -- Portfolio Box: (2) [Vault] Special Collections, http://www.library.arizona.edu/

Cowboy Breaking in a Horse.  Painted by Fredrick Remington.

http://www.wpclipart.com/American_History/commerce/commerce_2/Cowboy_breaking_a_horse__Remington_1893.png

When granddad got to Concho County my dad stated in his book that:  (He) "...worked for Sam Henderson, who had some fifty sections of land (32,000 acres) in his spread." (1)  and later he said "Papa worked for an old time family by the name of D.E. Sims.  Mr. Sims lived on the Concho River and his spread took in the present site of the Painted Rocks.  Dad worked for the Sims family for quite a long time .  He was a friend to the family many years as we lived in Concho County." (2)

Granddad Harmon Meixner in his early years.  Picture shared by my cousin Claudia Brown.

Working on a large ranch was lonely work.  It meant hours spent riding in the blazing sun, freezing cold or driving rain and watching the heard or looking for strays.  Cowboys found various means of diversion to liven up their day and to entertain themselves.  Granddad said "one day he and his buddy were riding along and came up on a huge badger.  They got off their horses and took their quirts with them. (A quirt is:  "a riding whip with a short handle and a rawhide lash.")  One would hit the badger with a quirt and get him to chase him, then the other one would run up and give the old badger a good lick with the quirt and the badger would turn and chase him.  They would finally wear the badger out." (3)

Badger.  Somehow this guy doesn't look like he would be that much fun.  

http://theshroom.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/advice-column-ask-a-honey-badger/

Cowboys worked in all types of weather and all types of conditions both day and night.  ..."often while driving the cattle at night a storm would be raging.  He said that the lightening would play back and forth on the tips of the horns on the cattle." (4)  I guess this would have been static electricity.  I think that would be quite a sight on a dark stormy night.  Sounds to me like St. Elmo's Fire.  * (See my reference below about St. Elmo's Fire.)

As they worked the heard of cattle the "cowboys never yelled, whistled or made any kind of unusual noise because if they did they would have a stampede.  That meant that the cattle would run and then scatter everywhere.  It would take days to round them up again.  For the most part the cattle were roped, marked, and worked right out in the open prairie.  Fences were few and far between.  It was a very common thing to ride for fifty miles without opening a gate." (5)

Description: Photograph of four cowboys on horseback in front of a column of cattle in an open field. Behind the cowboys and cattle are two small, wooden houses.  Creator: Mugg, Kilo

Harvey Patteson & Son Photographers. [Field of Longhorn Cattle], Photograph, 1952; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth44331/ : accessed March 18, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Cattle Raisers Museum, Fort Worth, Texas.

Cowboys Herding Cattle, Photograph, n.d.; digital image.

(http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth44466/ : accessed March 18, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Cattle Raisers Museum, Fort Worth, Texas.

A couple more interesting stories that I got from my dad's book were granddad's stories about snakes.  I would guess you had to become somehow reconciled with snakes when you were living as close to nature as they were back then.  Remember the snakes in the rafters dropping on to the beds that I told about in post #12?

"... the cowboys were riding the range several miles from the ranch house and the bunk house.  They were living in a tent.  One morning they got up and ate their breakfast and then proceeded to roll up their bunks.  Dad discovered a large rattlesnake had spent the night with him.  The snake was under his bed roll and was mashed rather flat.  Dad said that he could not bear to kill the snake after he had been so nice and hadn't bitten him. He got a long stick and carried the snake a good way from the camp site and let him go." (6)

Another story went like this:  "As dad first started riding the range, he would notice the old cowpokes spying a rattlesnake and simply ride up close - drop the reigns to his horse.  Then he would walk, or I had better say, ease over to where the snake was coiled and gently raise their cowboy boots (these boots had a long heel) high over the snake and come down with the heel of the boot on the snake's head and kill him."

"Dad said that he was riding the pasture by himself one day and he noticed a rattler coiled up which gave him a chance to try and do what the other boys had been doing.  He got up to the snake, raised his foot high and came down toward the snake's head.  He missed the snake's head and the snake grabbed his pant leg.  He said that he took off at a high rate of speed.  He just didn't know when to stop running.  A morning or two later, he was going after his horse and one of his bridle reigns dropped down and made a hissing noise and he took off and ran for a hundred yards.  He thought that a rattler was about to get him." (7)

Rattlesnake.  You aren't going to catch me trying to stomp on one of these things!

Mitchell, J. D.. Rattlesnake at bay, Photograph, May 25, 1917; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth64950/ : accessed March 18, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Victoria College/ University of Houston-Victoria Library, Victoria, Texas.

"Dad said that one time while working for Mr. Sims, it came time for him to do his washing.  He took his clothes and went down to the Concho River to do his wash.  Dad said that it was a moon light night and he was stooped over washing his clothes in the clear water and all at once he heard a rumbling noise.  At once he became aware that the 'river was coming down', (an expression used to indicate that a head rise was coming down the river).  A roll of water was coming down the river about four feet high.  He lost no time in grabbing his clothes, at least those that he could quickly grab, and get out of the river.  He lost most of his clothes, but he saved his life." (8)  This was not an unusual occurrence on the river.  When you got a heavy rain upstream from where you were located the water would quickly fill the river and it would go down stream as a wall.  ** (Isaac Cline recounted a similar event on the Concho River.  See the link to this very interesting story below about "The 1885 Hail Storm, Concho County, Texas".)

After years of being a cowboy, granddad finally decided to settle down.  Or maybe it was the fact that he met this pretty lady named Alice Armistead and fell in love and she decided it was time he was going to settle down.  Either way, granddad and Alice started their married life in December 1905.  Their first home was on the Trail Ranch which was located about two and a half miles south of Paint Rock, TX.  (9)

Grandmother Alice Meixner in her early years.  Picture shared by my cousin Claudia Brown.

I'm sure granddad was still a cowboy for his entire life but his marriage did start a new phase of his life: Marriage and Raising Children.  I'll talk about that next time.

* Wikipidia's description of St Elmo's Fire:  Physically, St. Elmo's fire is a bright blue or violet glow, appearing like fire in some circumstances, from tall, sharply pointed structures.  St. Elmo's fire can also appear on leaves, grass, and even at the tips of cattle horns.  Conditions that can generate St.Elmo's fire are present during thunderstorms, when high voltage levels are present between clouds and the ground underneath. Air molecules glow owing to the effects of such voltage, producing St. Elmo's fire.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Elmo's_fire        

** This is a facinating story about an incounter Isaac Cline had in Concho County with the river "coming down".  Isaac Cline was with the cavalry at the time.  He would later become famous as the meteorolgist for the U.S. Goverment at Galveston when the great hurricane hit  in 1900.  Read the story at this website:   http://www.texasescapes.com/MikeCoxTexasTales/Chilled-Catfish-of-Concho-County.htm

References:
(1)  Meixner, Robert Harmon, Sr., Memoirs of Robert Harmon Meixner, Sr. July 10, 1910 - June 13, 1994. Unpublished. Compiled by Margaret Avis Meixner, pg 12.

(2)  Ibid, pg 13.
(3)  Ibid, pg 15-16.
(4)  Ibid, pg 16.
(5)  Ibid, pg 16.
(6)  Ibid, pg 17.
(7)  Ibid, pg 18.
(8)  Ibid, pg 14.
(9)  Ibid, pg 27.

My Paint Rock Excursion

"Hundreds of Indian Pictographs are found along a Rock bluff overlooking a once widely-used Indian camp ground.  One mile northwest of Paint Rock on U.S. Highway 83, the site is easily accessible..."  This is a quote from the brochure of "Paint Rock Excursions".  This tour takes place on the Sims/Campbell Ranch in Concho County.

Brochure for "Paint Rock Excursions".

D.E. Sims came to Concho County in 1876 and by 1886 he had amassed some 14,000 acres of land and had built a large ranching operation.  His ranch spanned the area just north of Paint Rock, TX along the Concho River.  This area included a rock bluff that was home to over 1500 Indian pictographs.

I knew that my granddad, Harmon Meixner, worked for D.E. Sims in the late 1800s and early 1900s and that my father, Robert Harmon Meixner, worked for Mr. Sims' son, Benjamin Victor Sims, during the depression years (probably around 1930-32).  So for those two reasons I had wanted to visit the Sims ranch for some time.  When I discovered a site on the Internet about tours to the pictographs, I decided a tour would be a great way to be able to visit the ranch and to see the pictographs as well.

The current owners of the ranch are Kay and Fred Campbell.  Kay inherited a portion of the original ranch owned by her grandfather, D. E. Sims, that included the area around the pictographs.  After varied careers, Kay and her husband decided to move back to the ranch when they retired several years ago.  A small snapshot of the family tree looks like this:  Dunlap Edward Sims married Ella LeCompte and had five children.  They were Orland LeCompte Sims, Dunlap Sims, William Sims, Benjamin Victor Sims, and Walter Sims.  Walter died at the young age of 14.  Benjamin Victor Sims married Ellen Hartgrove in 1920.  They had four children:  Dunlap Sims, Benjamin Orland Sims, William McKinnie Sims, and Cora Ellen Sims.  Cora Ellen Sims was called "Kay" by the family and has been known by that name ever since.  She married Fred Campbell and this couple, Kay and Fred Campbell, are the current owners of the ranch with the Indian pictographs.  I explained the family a little so you can see the relationship my family had with the Sims family.  (1)

Photographs of the Sims family at the Visitor's Center.

On Feb. 19, 2013 (which is also my mother's birthday - she would have been 96) I met for lunch with my sister, Oneta, my brother Harmon and his wife Tanya, and my brother Jack and his wife Bobbie in Ballinger, TX.  After lunch and a nice visit, we headed to the Sims/Campbell Ranch in Concho County to tour the pictographs.

Here we are at a restaurant in Ballinger for lunch and visiting before we head out for the tour.

The ranch is a mile northwest of Paint Rock.  To get there just head north on Hwy 83 out of Paint Rock, TX, cross the bridge over the Concho River, and look for a brown sign on the left that says "Indian Pictographs".  Turn in at the dirt road and proceed to the Visitor Center.

As I traveled up the dirt road that day, I saw what I considered typical pasture land for livestock but then the next thing I saw were two not so typical buffalo off to the right.  These are truly beautiful animals.

Buffalo on the Sims/Campbell Ranch.

I had called ahead of time and talked to Kay (Sims) Campbell by phone to set up our appointment.  (Making an appointment by phone is the preferred way to set up a tour.)  I had a wonderful visit with Kay by phone.  I found that not only had our father and grandfather worked for the Sims family but that the Meixner and Sims families had been lifelong family friends.  In fact Kay told me a bit of family history I had not known before.  She told me my uncle Victor Meixner was named after her father, Benjamin Victor Sims.  This is the same Ben Sims my Dad worked for during the depressions.

The Visitor's Center on the Sims/Campbell Ranch.

As we approached the Visitor Center I was excited about finally meeting Kay in person.  As it turned out my experience exceeded my high expectations.  Kay welcomed us warmly.  We had a nice though brief meeting with her husband, Fred Campbell, before he headed out to take care of ranch business.  Kay is a very warm, friendly, and interesting person.  Her knowledge about the pictographs and the various Indian tribes that painted them is extensive and her unique presentation was witty and charming.  I thoroughly enjoyed her account of the Indians that roamed the area, her discussion about current interpretation of the pictographs, and what part the pictographs played in the Indian's spiritual ceremonies.

Kay (Sims) Campbell showing a picture of the Concho River and the cliffs where the pictographs are located.

The family listening to Kay's presentation and passing around artifacts she showed us.

She also gave us an informational demonstration of how the Indians probably made the paint that was used in painting the pictographs.

Kay's presentation of how the paint was made and a demonstration of pictograph painting on her arm.

Our time at the visitors center took a little longer than it normally would because we talked about our two families and the relationship they have had over the years.

After her presentation, Kay gave us a brochure titled "Along the Trail".

Along the Trail brochure.

We then proceeded to our cars to drive down to the cliffs and view the pictographs.  I jumped at Kay's invitation to ride with her to the cliffs so that I could continue our visit about our families.  We had a great visit riding down to where the pictographs were located but I was shocked and saddened to hear that one of her sons had passed away suddenly just the week before.  Yet, here she was welcoming us and making sure we had an enjoyable experience just a few days after this tragic event.

Upon arrival we departed our cars and worked our way by foot along the line of cliffs.  Kay pointed out and explained the various pictographs and gave us great insight into each one.  Be sure to refer to and follow along in the "Along the Trail" brochure.  It also gives a good explanation of the paintings.

Kay pointing out the pictographs to the family.

A small sampling of the many pictographs.  The last two photographs of our family group were taken by Kay (Sims) Campbell.

Upon completion of the tour we returned to the Visitor's Center.  We took pictures and examined the various artifacts, arrow heads, and pictures on display and then it was time to go.

Top two pictures are artifacts and arrow heads found on the ranch.  The next two are family members checking things out and looking at pictures with Kay.

I could have spent several more hours visiting with Kay.  She is a living symbol of that pioneer spirit in Concho County.  She is a wonderful lady that gave a gift of what, to me, was a magical afternoon.  In addition to that, my generation of the Meixner family re-connected to Kay's Sims/Campbell family.  A connection that started over 110 years ago.

Here I am visiting with Kay (Sims) Campbell about our families before the tour (above) and after the tour (below).

I highly recommend a "Paint Rock Excursions" tour.  Set up a time with Kay and then take the day and drive down for the tour.  It will be well worth your time effort.

After we left the Sims/Campbell Ranch, we proceeded to the old house where my father grew up.  I will make a separate post about this experience.

References:
(1)  http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/mar/17/local-ranch-displays-history-citys-namesake/

Meixner Family History #21 - Epilogue Part 4

During the first decade of the Twentieth Century Theodore Roosevelt was President from 1901 to 1909.  Howard Taft became the 27th president in 1909.

President William Howard Taft (1)

Many events occurred during this decade that have impacted our lives even to this day.  The first powered flight made by the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk, N.C. in 1903 propelled us toward commercial airlines and a way to cross he country in hours instead of days.  Also in 1903 the Ford Motor Company was formed.  In 1908 Ford introduced the Model T Ford, which would drastically change the automotive industry.

Wright brothers first powered flight. (2)

Model T Ford. (3)

Construction of the Panama Canal was started in 1904.  In 1905 Albert Einstein proposed the Theory of Relativity, which would have a profound and long lasting effect on the scientific world.

Albert Einstein. (4)

In the world of college football the first Rose Bowl game was played in 1902, starting a long tradition and spawning dozens of bowl games today.

East-West Football Game, Jan. 1, 1902 at the Rose Bowl. (5)

Oklahoma became the 46th state in 1907 and over the last three years of the decade the FBI was established, the NAACP founded, and the Boy Scouts of America and Camp Fire Girls were chartered.

During this time Concho County grew rapidly in population.  This increase had its beginnings in the previous century with men like D.E. Sims, J.E. and Sam Henderson, R.T. Trail, and many others.

In 1876 Dunlap Edward Sims left his home in Missouri and traveled by train to what is now Fort Worth, Texas.  He then headed south by wagon into the heart of Texas.  At some point he bought some sheep and established a sheep camp near Brady in McCullough County.  He decided to continue his exploration so he headed northwest from Brady into Concho County.  Daughter-in-law Ellen Sims explained it this way in an interview for West Texas Business Journal in May 1983, ..."when he traveled farther and laid eyes on the Concho (River), that, to him, was paradise". (6)  Sims' son, Orland L. Sims, said in his book: "I can picture him taking off his hat and reverently intoning 'Amazing Grace' as was his wont when well-pleased.  He had found his home." (7)

Mr Sims soon started buying land in Concho county and by 1886 he had amassed about 14,000 acres.  This acreage included the area just north of Paint Rock along the Concho River.  This area included a rock bluff  that was home to over 1500 Indian pictographs.  These paintings were what inspired the name for the town of Paint Rock.  Mr Sims started out raising sheep and then later moved into raising cattle as well.

J.E. Henderson was another early arrival in the county.  In 1876 he established himself and built a large herd of cattle.  His brother, Sam Henderson, followed him to the county in 1878 or 1879.  Sam Henderson bought some cattle from his brother and settled along the Kickapoo River.  He began to purchase land and would own close to 100,000 acres of land in four counties before he died. (8)

Another early rancher was Richard T. Trail, who settled a few miles south of Paint Rock and developed an extensive ranching operation there.

The Concho Herald newspaper in 1890. (9)

These ranchers figured prominently in the story of my granddad, Harmon Meixner.

Last week I had an opportunity to travel to Concho County with a few family members and take the "Paint Rock Excursions" tour on what is now the Sims/Campbell Ranch.  We wanted to visit the ranch where our granddad had worked as a young man  and also see the Indian paintings.  We were treated to a guided tour by a wonderful lady by the name of "Kay" (Sims) Campbell.  She and her husband Fred Campbell own the ranch and have preserved the pictographs.  They have facilitated bringing in experts to study the paintings, determine their age, origins, etc.

Kay (Sims) Campbell.  Photograph taken Feb. 19, 2013 by Moody Meixner.

Kay was born Cora Ellen Sims in 1927 but the family always called her "Kay".  Her father was Benjamin Victor Sims.  Her grandfather was the Dunlap Edward Sims I wrote about above and Orland L. Sims was her uncle.  I plan to write a separate post with more details about this most enjoyable afternoon spent with Kay Campbell and my family members on the Sims/Campbell Ranch.

Next time I will relate some stories about Harmon Meixner and his "cowboy" days in Concho County.

References:
(1)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WmHTaft.jpg   photo of taft from wiki
(2)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers
(3)  http://wyrk.com/first-model-t-rolls-off-the-assembly-line-dale-daily-data/
(4)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Einstein_(Nobel).png
(5)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1st-Rose-Bowl-game-1902.jpg
(6)  http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/mar/17/local-ranch-displays-history-citys-namesake/?print=1
(7)  Sims, Judge Orland L., Cowpokes, Nesters, & So Forth, The Encino Press, Austin, TX 1970, pg 94
(8)  //www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/mar/17/local-ranch-displays-history-citys-namesake/?print=1
(9)  Huston, Gerard, editor. The Concho Herald. (Paint Rock, Tex.), Vol. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 2, 1890, Newspaper, October 2, 1890; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth235645/ : accessed December 17, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin, Texas.

Meixner Family History #20 - Epilogue Part 3

By the late 1800s the railroads were snaking their way west, facilitating the westward movement of the U.S. population.  People in the East were moving west to Texas.  People in East Texas were moving west to Central and West Texas.

Train in Texas. (1)

Cattle ranchers moved large herds of cattle into areas of open range land in Texas to freely pasture their cattle.  Eventually any Indians in the area would be driven out, then the smaller ranchers and farmers would move in, put up fences and put down roots.  This was the process that occurred in Concho County and this pattern was repeated in several other areas of Texas.  In 1895 the Texas Legislature lowered the price of it's public land for sale and made available loans for 40 years at 3 percent interest.  This combination of lower prices and easier and cheaper financing helped fuel the migration of farmers to new areas of Texas.

The first decade of the twentieth century was a period of growth in most of the counties to the west.  Concho County recorded the fastest growth in it's entire history.  The 1900 U.S. Census showed a population of 1427.  This number exploded to 6,654 in 1910, almost 5 times the 1900 number.  The Meixners and Armisteads were a part of this growth.  Similar growth was experienced in nearby counties such as Runnels County (4 times it's 1900 population) and Tom green County (2 1/2 times it's 1900 population) as well as many other counties across the state.  After Concho County was organized as a county and Paint Rock was established as the county seat in 1879, other towns started to spring up.  Eden was established about 20 miles south of Paint Rock in 1882.  Eola, Lowake, and Millersview were all in existence by 1910.

After he moved to Concho County in 1901, my granddad Harmon Meixner "...worked at a variety of jobs, such as riding wild horses, breaking young horses to work for purposes of pulling wagons, buggies, hacks, and plowing.  Of course there were cattle to look after and fences to repair and build.  The cowboys worked large herds of cattle.  Often they would drive them at night" (2)  In the early years he worked for ranchers in the area such as D.E. Sims and Sam Henderson.  Both were pioneer ranchers in Concho County.

 Cowboys in Texas (3)   

Only a short post today.  Just a tease to get you to come back in a few weeks.  I am planning a trip to Concho County to do a little research so I will wait to write about these ranchers after I return.  Hopefully I will have more facts and maybe a few photographs to share in my next post when I continue talking about Harmon Meixner in Concho County.

If any of the family would like to join me please let me know.  I've talked to a couple of you about going so we'll see what happens.

References:

(1) American Lumberman. [Texas South-Eastern Railroad Engine 4 - Broadside], Photograph, 1907; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth204445/ark:/67531/metapth204445/ : accessed January 29, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The History Center, Diboll, Texas.
(2) Memoirs of Robert Harmon Meixner, Sr., July 10, 1910 - June 13, 1994.
(3) Crews Ranch Cowboys, Early 1900's], Photograph, n.d.; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth34628/ : accessed January 29, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Childress County Heritage Museum, Childress, Texas.  Picture of cowboys early 1900s

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.