USA > Texas > Indian wars and pioneers of Texas, Vol. 2 > Part 24
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Mr. McFadden was united in marriage, July 8th. 1852, to Miss Salena Harris, who was born in
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INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
Randolph County, Mo., August 24, 1835, a daugh- ter of David Harris, who came to Travis County, this State, in 1847, and died there in 1819.
Mr. and Mrs. McFadden have had five children, viz. : Bell, born September 2, 1853, first married Wm. Ish, and after his death Dr. Boyett, now of Waco; Dink, born September 22, 1855, married to T. Woodmansee, -- both are now deceased - of which union one child, Zo, now survives and resides with her aunt at Waco; Aribell, born in 1857, died in- 1863; Emma, born March 18, 1860, married G. W.
Jones, a farmer of Bosque County ; and Ruva, born December 8, 1868, married Dr. Thompson, of Mineral Wells, Palo Pinto County. Mr. McFadden lost his first wife, October 8, 1893, and he was married again October 25th, 1894, to Mrs. M. E. Mevoney, of Crawford, McLennan County, where they now reside. Mr. McFadden and his wife are both members of the Missionary Baptist Church. His first wife was also a member of that church.
He is a staunch Democrat in his political views. He hates blue coats and brass buttons.
E. S. PETERS,
CALVERT,
Was born in Detroit, Mich., May 2, 1852. His ancestors came to America as colonists in 1636, and settled in Connecticut, where his father, Samuel E. Peters, was born at the town of Litch- field in 1818. Mr. Samuel E. Peters was an active, progressive man, a pioneer real estate dealer at Detroit, Mich., and accumulated a large property.
The subject of this notice, E. S. Peters, was educated in the public schools of Detroit ; studied law in the office of Ward & Palmer for some time, when, his health failing, he, in 1872, moved to Texas and lived for a time with relatives at Cor- sicana.
He was united in marriage in 1879 to Miss Mollie Hannah, daughter of James S. Hannah, a pioneer from Alabama, who settled in Robertson County in 1851. Mr. Peters embarked in the hardware bus- iness at Corsicana in 1879, in partnership with
S. J. T. Johnson, a connection that continued until 1882, after which Mr. Peters conducted the business alone until 1885, when he sold it, and engaged in ranching near Calvert, in which he has since been eminently successful. His land-hold- ings are among the largest in the Brazos Valley, and embrace extensive tracts devoted chiefly to the cultivation of cotton. He also owns valuable interests in Corsicana, Texas, and his native city, Detroit, Mich.
He is Texas President of the American Cotton Growers Association, and National Executive Com- mittee of the Populist party, owner of the Weekly Citizen Democrat, a well established and influential newspaper published at Calvert, and has been, and still is, active in all that pertains to the advance- ment of his adopted city, county and State.
Ile has two children, a son and daughter, Eber and Beulah Peters.
JAMES BIDDLE LANGHAM,
BEAUMONT,
Was born October 9, 1820, four miles from the town of Summerville, in Fayette County, Tenn. His parents were Thomas and Wilmouth (Lee) Langham. His mother died in Jefferson County. Texas, in November, 1855, and is buried near
Beaumont. His father died in Jefferson County in 1868. His parents came to Texas from Tennessee in 1836, located at San Augustinc, lived there two years, then moved to Nachitoches, La ; lived there four years (the mother and four sons) ;
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INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
removed to Tennessee, where they remained a year and then again came to Texas. The subject of this notice. Mr. James R. Langham, then a youth six- teen years of age, left the family at San Augustine and went to Montgomery County, where he worked on a farm for eighteen months, receiving $20.00 per month for his services and taking horses for his pay. He drove these horses to Beaumont and left them, with the exception of one that he retained as a saddle animal, with an uncle living at Grigsby's Bluff.
He married Miss Sarah Jane Nettles, daughter of James Nettles, of Jefferson County, Texas, May
T. D. Brooks, proceeded with it to a spot sitnated near where the city of Dallas is now situated and there erected a fort. He was with the company something over three months.
At the breaking out of the war between the States, being physically unable for active service in the Confederate army, he promptly joined the militia for home protection and was stationed at Sabine Pass immediately after the capture of the " Morning Light."
After his marriage Mr. Langham farmed two years, then moved to Village Creek with his family and remained there a year, then moved to Leon
JAMES BIDDLE LANGHAM.
15, 1845, and settled about two miles from Beau- mont on a tract of one hundred aeres of land, inherited by them from his wife's father, and opened up a farm on it. They have had nine chil- dren, seven of whom are living, viz. : Thomas, now Sheriff of Jefferson County, an office that he has held for nineteen years; William, City Marshal of Beaumont ; Lizzie, wife of Frank Wilson, of Har- risburg, Texas ; Biddle, a farmer of Orange County, Texas; Victoria, wife of Charles Wakefield, of Beaumout: Annie, who died August 20, 1882, at the age of twenty-two years; Nora, wife of Alex. Broussard, of Beaumont; Cora, wife of Richard Garrett, of Beaumont, and one child who died in infancy.
At an early day Mr. Langham joined, at Nacog- doches, a ranger company, commanded by Capt.
County, and stayed there a year, then moved to New- ton County, where he rented land and farmed one year and then moved back to the house in which he was married in Jefferson County, where all of his children were born except two. Here he again went to farming, at the time owning two negrocs. At the beginning of the late war he owned fourteen slaves, and had acquired three leagues of valuable land. In April, 1891, Mr. Langham was hurt by a horse, which caught him by the coat collar and jerked him backward, breaking bis hip. When he came to Beaumont he endured all of the hardships ineident to a pioneer life in Texas. He has pro- vided a home for all of his children. Ile is one of the well-to-do men of the town. His wife died February 12, 1875, and is buried in the family cemetery at the old homestead.
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INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
WILLIAM W. ALLEY, COLORADO COUNTY ..
William W. Alley, a prosperous farmer of Colo- rado County, Texas, was born in that county, Janu- ary 3, 1849. His parents were Abraham and Naney Alley. Ilis father and mother's brother, Daniel Millar, were San Jacinto heroes. The Alleys have been conspicuous in Texas history for patriotism and valor. Many of them in the early days fought for the defense of the frontier homes. John Alley, an uncle of the subject of this notice, returning from
a seout after hostile Indians, attempted to cross the Brazos river, then swollen by recent rains, and was drowned, and another unele, Tom Alley, was killed by Indians.
Mr. William W. Alley is a useful and influential eitizen and a wide-awake, progressive and broadly cultured farmer, one of the leading representative men of Colorado County.
JOHN R. ALLEY,
NIGH.
John R. Alley, the popular and efficient postmas- ter at Nigh, Colorado County, Texas, was born June 15, 1846, in that county. He is a son of Abraham and Naney Alley, a biographical notice of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Alley mar- ried first in 1867 and again in 1878. He had two children by his first wife, Lena and Mack, and five by his second wife: Florence, Daniel, Peter, Ray,
and Shelly. He was a gallant Confederate soldier during the war, serving in what was known as Henry Johnson's Company, a part of Bates' regiment. Besides being postmaster, Mr. Alley is also a ginner and miller.
He owns a nice home in Nigh, takes an interest in all publie improvements, and is one of the solid men of that county.
JOHN HARDAMAN OWEN,
NAVASOTA.
The subject of this sketch was born in Oglethorpe County, Ga., October 10, 1823, was reared on a farm in his native county, and after growing up became a clerk in a mercantile establishment. He married Miss Elizabeth Grier Fleming, a daughter of Robert Fleming, at Newman, Ga., in 1845, and engaged in business in that place. In 1851 he came to Texas and settled near Piedmont Springs, in Grimes County. Later he moved to Anderson, and resided there until 1874, when he moved to Navasota. He was engaged in various pursuits and made considerable money, being energetic and
progressive and a man of good business ability and sterling integrity. He was never in public life, and during the late war served only on detail duty, his career being thus purely of a private nature, though he was publie-spirited. Mr. Owen's death occurred in 1886 and he left surviving a widow and a number of sons and daughters, most of whom reside in Texas.
Ile was esteemed by all for his sterling traits of character ; beloved by many who found him a friend in time of need, and had the confidence of the people wherever he lived.
INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
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JOHN B. BARNHILL,
FAYETTE COUNTY.
John B. Barnhill was born in Greenville District, S. C., December 12th, 1824; cdueated in Ten- nessee and came to Texas in 1877 and settled near Plum, Fayette County, where he engaged in farming, and two years later married Miss Florence Bledsoe.
During the war between the States he enlisted in Company I., Twenty-seventh Tennessee,
and afterwards served with Forest's cavalry and participated in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, Brice's Cross-roads, Fort Pillow and other engage- ments, rising to the rank of First Lieutenant and conducting himself with commendable gallantry. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, a sturdy Democrat and a leading and influential citizen in his section.
FREDERICK HAMPE,
NEW BRAUNFELS,
Was born in Hanover, January 5, 1840, and emi- grated from his native land to New Braunfels, Texas, with his parents (Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Hampe) and his brother, August (now deceased), in 1855. Frederick and his brother August enlisted in Company F., Thirty-second Texas Cavalry, Capt. Edgar Schramme, and fought for the Confederate cause until the surrender in 1865. Frederick Hampe enlisted as a private and served as such until the end of the war. He was offered a eom- mission at various times and declined the honor, but was finally induced to act as first sergeant of his company. Even this position was not desired. His services to the Confederacy were cheerfully and faithfully rendered until he received an honor- able discharge at New Braunfels, May 24, 1865, when the battle-scarred veterans of the South were at last compelled to stack their arms. October 9, following, he formally turned over his ritle to Capt. William Davis, of the Eighteenth New York Cavalry, acting United States paroling officer, and received his full reinstatement as a citizen of the United States. After the war he worked as a salesman in various establishments in New Braunfels, until 1869, when he embarked in a modest way in business for himself. He was appointed Clerk of the District Court for Comal Connty, August 4, 1869, by Will- iam R. Bainridge, Secretary of Civil Affairs, to succeed Theodore Goldbeck, resigned. In 1873 he was duly elected Chief Justice (or, as now styled, County Judge) of Comal County as a
Democrat at a time when the county polled a Republican majority. He received his certificate of eleetion from the Republican incumbent, Fred Goldbeck, but possession of the office was peremp- torily denied him. During the period of recon- struetion the Republicans held the reins of State, and in many instances, of eounty and municipal, government; but, when reconstruction was finally accomplished and the country polled its full voting strength, the Democratic party in Texas resumed control. Thus Riehard Coke, Democrat, was elected Governor of Texas to succeed E. J. Davis, Republican, after a bitter fight, in 1873. The majority was overwhelming, but Davis declined to surrender the office, because of the alleged unconstitutionality of the new election laws, which position, upon appeal, the State Supreme Court upheld. It was upon this decision that Mr. Hampe was denied the exercise of the duties of his office. Prompt and vigorous legal measures were taken, however, to enforce the expressed will of the people of Comal County, and Mr. Hampe was duly installed as Judge a short time before Governor Coke took his seat as Governor of Texas. Judge HIampe was elected for four years, but by the terms of the subsequently adopted constitution of 1875, his term as Judge was shortened to two years. He retired from office at the end of that time. In 1875 he was elected County Assessor and served until 1884. He has held a commission as Notary Public under every Governor since 1874. He was
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INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
a member of the New Braunfels City Council soon after the reconstruction era, when the duties of the position were arduous, the city being heavily in debt and its affairs generally unsettled. He has at all times been a consistent and active Democrat and has for several years held the chairmanship of the County Executive Committee of his county.
Mr. Hampe married, in 1865, Miss Jacobine Wolfshole, a daughter of August Wolfshole, who came from Nassau, Germany, to Texas, in 1845, and of whom further mention will be made else- where in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Hampe have seven children: Johanna, wife of Charles Flocge, a merchant of New Braunfels; Augusta ; Kate, wife of Gustav Tolle; Lena, wife of C. F. Hoffman, jeweler, of New Braunfels ; Fritz, Alfred, and Alfrida. The two latter are twins. The unmarried
children live under the old parental vine and fig trec.
Judge Hampe is esteemed for his good citi- zenship, for his enterprise and thrift as a busi- ness man, and for his genial and courtly manners. August Ilampe, a brother of the subject of this notice, served as a private in the same company as his brother, Frederick, and after the war returned home and married. He died in 1882 at thirty-eight years of age. During his later years he held the office of City Marshal of New Braunfels. He left a widow, two daughters and four sons, all now residing in Comal County. His widow remarried in 1888. Mr. Hampe has served as a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee, and Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of his Senatorial District.
JOHN WEINHEIMER,
FREDERICKSBURG.
.
Jacob Weinheimer, father of the subject of this
notice, was born in the town of Meunster, Prussia, in 1797, and emigrated to America in 1845. Landing with his wife and six children at Gal- veston in October of that year, he proceeded to Indianola, where he remained for about fifteen months, and then, in 1847, moved to Fredericks- burg, where he and his two sons each received their allotment of two town lots and ten acres of land adjoining the town. Jacob Weinheimer died at Fredericksburg in 1887, aged eighty-nine years, and his wife at the same place during the same year, aged eighty-five years. The six children, all of whom are living, are: George, who lives on & farm five miles from Fredericksburg; Antone, who
is a farmer near Fredericksburg; Elizabeth, who is the wife of John Deitz, and resides near Fredericks- burg; Sophia, wife of B. Meckel, a citizen of Fredericksburg; Anna, wife of John Pelsch, & farmer on Grape Creek, and John Weinheimer, of Fredericksburg.
John Weinheimer was born in Mcunster, Prussia, March 23, 1833. He was united in marriage to Miss Anna Merz, daughter of Mr. John Merz, of Fredericksburg. They have ten children, viz. : Jolin, Jacob, Anna, Otto, Mary, Henry, Ida, Lonise, Adolph, and Louis.
Mr. Weinheimer has pursued in a quiet and suc- cessful way the occupation of a farmer and stock- raiser. He is esteeemed wherever known.
FRITZ KOCH,
BULVERDE.
Fritz Koch is a son of Charles Koch, of Anhalt, one of the leading pioneers of Comal County, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this book.
Fritz Koch was born March 21, 1851, in Comal County, Texas. He married Miss Wilhelmina
Voges, a daughter of Henry Voges, July 18, 1873. They have five chileren : Emma, Bertha, Frederick, Bruno, and Annie. Mr. Koch owns an excellent farm of three bundred and sixty acres and is one of the most enterprising farmers of Comal County.
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1
HENRY S. WILLIAMS,
COLUMBUS.
Henry S. Williams was born in Obion County, Tenn., March 10th, 1854 ; came to Johnson County, Texas, November 1, 1876, and in 1883 moved to Columbus, in Colorado County, where he has since resided. May 18th, 1884, he was married to Miss Mattie Ramsey, of Columbus, and has six children : Roy, Henry S., Sr., R. Q. Mills, Mattie, John and Joe. He served an unexpired term as City Marshal of Columbus and is now a member of the Board of Aldermen.
He owns a large grocery, grain and feed business
in the town, and a fine farin in the country which he has let to renters. When Mr. Williams first went to Columbus he was an entire stranger to the peo- ple and without money, or even cheering prospects. He set to work with a will, however, and conducted himself in a manner that won for him the friendship of the best people in the community. He was soon on the high road to prosperity. He is one of those bright, stirring, able self-made men who have won their way to the front in Texas. 'Mr. Williams is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
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AUGUST KNIBBE,
KENDALIA,
Was born in New Braunfels in 1848. He is & son of Detrich Knibbe, an early Texas pioneer and the first settler at Spring Branch, in Comal County. In 1862 the subject of this notice, then fourteen years of age, left the family at Spring Branch and went to Curry's Creek, where he ran a flouring mill until July, 1869, when it was washed away by a flood.
Hle was united in marriage, March 25th, 1869, to Miss Mary Gourley. They have thirteen children : Donie (a daughter), Mary, Emma, Augusta, William, Ida, Lafayette, Exer, Ora, Rosa, Felix, Rolla, and Theodosia. Mr. Knibbe ran a shingle manufactory from 1869 to 1886, and then embarked in merchandising at Kendalia, in which he is still engaged.
OTTO VOGEL,
SMITHSON'S VALLEY.
Otto Vogel, a successful business man, of Smith- son's Valley, Comal County, has been a resident of Texas since 1885. He was born in Rhineland, Germany, February 17, 1863, and came to this State with his brother, Fritz, now an engineer in Mexico. He worked for about two years by the month on a farm and commenced the weil-boring
business, which he has since followed. He mar- ried, in 1888, Miss Laura Boltom, of Smithson's Valley. They have three children : Bruno, Fred- erick, and Otelia. Mr. Vogel is one of the most enterprising men in Comal County, and by indus- try and sagacity has become in a brief time inde- pendent in money and property.
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INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
CHARLES KARGER,
COMFORT,
A well-known and prosperous farmer of Comfort, Kendall County, Texas, was born in the town of Falkenberg, Province of Schlussing, in North Ger- many, March 24th, 1845, and came to Texas with his father and mother (Mr. and Mrs. Karger ) and other members of the family, in 1860. They first touched Texas soil at Galveston, disembarked at Indianola a few days later and journeyed overland in ox teams from that place to San Antonio. They went almost immediately from San Antonio to Sis- terdale, where they lived for about a year, and then moved to Comfort. John Karger was a tanner and did a prosperous business at his trade at Comfort during the war between the States. He died in
1864, at forty-eight years of age, leaving a widow, who survives at seventy-three years of age, and eight children: Marie, Charles, Frederica (widow of Fritz Dietert), Paul, Emil, Fritz, August and Ernst, all living.
Charles Karger married Miss Alvina Weber, & daughter of Henry Weber, of Comfort. They have three daughters and two sons, viz. : Ida, Bertha, Helen, Louis, and Adolf.
Mr. Karger has a good farm of seven hundred and seventy-five acres.
He has served several years as Deputy Sheriff of his county and Deputy Postmaster at Comfort, and has held several mail contracts.
AUGUST PIEPER,
BULVERDE,
Is one of the original settlers of Comal County. He was born in Hanover, Germany, June 13, 1824 ; came to America with the Prince Solins colony in 1835 and located at New Braunfels, where he worked at his trade (that of carpenter and joiner), for two and a half years, and later followed the business of contractor and builder for nine years. In 1850 he married Mrs. Johanna Kwamm, a daughter of Conrad Kwamm, and in 1852 they became the first
white settlers of what has since been known as the Pieper Settlement, a settlement situated in one of the finest mountain districts of Comal County. Mr. and Mrs. Pieper have seven children : Caroline, now Mrs. Peter Lex; Emma, now Mrs. Otto Wehe; Sophia, now Mrs. Gustav Ecker; William, married to Miss Minnie Reinhardt; Frederick, married to Miss Augusta Arns, and Herman, married to Miss Helen Ecker.
CHRISTOPHER SCHMIDT,
KENDALIA,
Came to Texas in 1850 and located at New Braun- fels, where he worked for James Furguson until 1855, when he took up land on the Little Blanco river, where he was the first settler, and lived there until 1878, when he moved to Kendalia. There he
purchased and developed a fine farm of about 800 acres, a portion of which his son Adolf now owns.
Mr. Schmidt was born September 21, 1828, in Saxony. lle came to America by way of Bremen,
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INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
landed at Galveston and proceeded thence to Indianola and New Braunfels. IIe was united in marriage to Miss Mary Schalfer of Boerne, in 1859. She was born in Germany in 1835. They have ten children : Winnie, now Mrs. John Knepper, of Kendalia ; Herman, a citizen of Kendalia : Henry,
who lives at the head of the Little Blanco, four miles from Kendalia; Christian, Jr., living at Kendalia ; Martin, Mary, Theresa, Emma and William, who are single and live at Kendalia, and Adolf, who is married and lives near the old home. Five children are deceased.
ROMANUS TALBOT,
CALVERT,
Familiarly known as Roe Talbot, a well-to-do planter of Robertson County, was born in Pike County, Ala., in 1833. He accompanied his parents, James and Hannah Talbot, to Texas, in 1852, and the following year settled on the farm where he has continuously lived for the past forty- two years. In 1858 he married Miss Nannie Wood, daughter of Aaron Wood, who emigrated to Texas from Aberdeen, Miss., where Mrs. Talbot was born, and settled in Robertson County in 1851. In January, 1862, Mr. Talbot entered the Confederate army, enlisting in Capt. Johnson's Spy Company, which was organized for service in Gen. Ben Mc- Culloch's command and which for two years was engaged in scouting and outpost duty in Arkansas. At the time of the investment of Arkansas Post by the Federals, Mr. Talbot was sent with fifteen others to occupy outlying points and report the movements of the enemy. He continued at this work, return- ing messengers until only himself and one comrade were left, when the final fall of the post occurred, news of which reaching him, he made good his escape and returned to Texas. Here he raised a company of which he was elected First Lieutenant and again entered the service, accompanying his
command to the forces then massing along the Louisiana and Arkansas line to resist the invasion of the Federal army under General Banks. He took part in the series of engagements incident to Banks' Red River campaign, commanding his company most of the time, and surrendered at the general armistice in May, 1865, having been in active service for three years without being cap- tured or wounded.
After the war Mr. Talbot took up farming and, though pursuing it under many disadvantages, made good progress from year to year, and is to- day one of the wealthy planters of Robertson County, having in cultivation over 800 acres in the Brazos Valley.
He represented Roberston County in the Twen- ty-third Legislature, discharging acceptably the duties imposed on him, and refused the position a second time. He and his good wife have raised four sons, all of whom were given educa- tional advantages, and three of whom, Frank L, Aaron and James R., are now living and occupy positions of usefulness. Their second son, Joseph W., was accidentally killed on the railroad in June, .1894.
HENRY VOGES, SR.,
BULVERDE,
One of the most prominent pioneers of the Comal County mountain district and the worthy founder of one of the most highly esteemed families in Cen- tral Texas, was born in the town of Pina, near the
city of Brunswick, Germany, May 27, 1811. He came from Bremen, Germany, to Galveston, in 1815, bringing with him two sons and one daughter. The latter is deceased. The two sons are Frederick
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INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
and Henry, residents of Voges' Valley. From Gal- veston they proceeded to Seguin, and later to New Braunfels and in 18CO located in what is now known as Voges' Valley, in Comal County, where he reared his family and is now spending his declining years in peace and quietude. From 1846 to 1852 he did whatever his bands found to do. He soon
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