Where There’s a Will From 1820 to 1870, a second wave of German immigrants landed on the shores of Galveston Bay, seeking a new life. The collapse of the old agricultural society and the dawn of the industrial age displaced peasants, and artisans found themselves jobless. Improvements in medical care led to a reduced death …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Working
When you were in middle school or high school, did you have a summer job? What was it? How much of your day was spent at work? Could you quit if you wanted to? Well, children growing up on family farms did not have the luxury of calling in sick or quitting if they found …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Blended Family
The following entry is about the Stork family. They were one of the first pioneer families to settle in the Washington County area. Barry Graul, great-grandson of the Reverend Doctor Jacob Graul (a neighbor of Peter Jaeger), and I have been in contact for nearly five years. Barry has visited his ancestors’ farms and became …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Document
Social media has connected our world in ways never thought possible. Facebook Memories pulls up events we attended, dinners we ate, and visits to friends going back a decade or more. Instagram allows us to tag our friends and mark our location. For those with Smart phones with digital cameras, all we need to do …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Courting
Henry C. Jaeger & Lillie Neumann's Wedding My grandparents, Henry and Lillie, were married on September 18, 1929, one day after Grandpa’s 19th birthday. Granny was 16. They were married, in Shelby, Texas at the home of Granny’s father and step-mother, Theodore and Selma. Because Granny spoke only German, Pastor Henry Brunotte of Martin Luther …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Landed
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Landed Christine Haun (née Doehring) sailed from Germany to Texas in 1853. She departed the port of Bremen on October 1st and arrived in Galveston on November 28th. From there, she went on to Round Top. A few years ago, I received a translated copy of a 68-page record she …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Maps
I've been interested in learning about the origins of the family cemetery as long as I can remember. As a child, I used to walk along the graves in the historic Witte section and wonder about the lives of those buried in the ground. When the Jaeger Witte Heritage Cemetery Association was still in its …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Water
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Isaiah 43:2 (KJV) My mother’s aunt Hertha was very fond of this verse from the Bible. You …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: In the Kitchen
Elsie Teufel (née Jaeger) was Grandpa Henry's older sister. She married Henry Teufel in 1914 and lived in Balaton, Minnesota, which was Henry's hometown. After deciding that it was too cold to stay, the couple and their son Earl moved to Port Arthur, Texas, where Henry took a job working in the Gulf Refinery with …
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Stormy Weather
Stormy Weather From 1949 until 1957, severely deficient rainfall plunged Texas into a devastating water shortage. Wells and reservoir dried up, crops withered, and thirsty cattle bawled in the scorching heat. The number of farms and ranches shrank from 345,000 to 247,000 and the rural population declined to just one fourth of the state population …