My Parents' Grave

Today my siblings, our spouses, my son, and I were able to gather to finally have the Rite of Committal and bury the cremains of our parents, Frederick Henry Pape (1929-2017) and Geraldine Margaret Guokas Pape (1928-2019), at St. Mary's Memorial Garden Cemetery in Fredericksburg, Texas.  

My parents' cremains urns (pictured below) were placed in the vault (pictured above) before the Rite and burial.

Above, left to right:  Mark Pape and wife Nazli Rampi Mayer, Karen Pape, my husband Mark Gresham, Mary Pape, Brian Pape and wife Paige Frederick-Pape, my son Eric Bolme, me.

Originally we had planned to have a Celebration of Life with a larger number of family and friends in April 2020, but COVID caused it to be rescheduled twice and ultimately cancelled.  Some of my four siblings spend large parts of the year in other places (Turkey, Maine, and Colorado), and this was the first time we were all available since the last cancellation.  The weather kind of matched my mood. A cold front came through and it had rained all the night before, and was much cooler (in the 50s) than the previous day (sunny and in the 70s).

Their grave has a view of Cross Mountain (in the center background in the photo above), which was near their 1993-2013 Fredericksburg home after Dad retired.  I think they were happiest in this town.

© Amanda Pape - 2022 - e-mail me!

Friday's Faces From the Past: Bushes in V-J+50 Parade, Fredericksburg, Texas, September 2, 1995

I recently read George W. Bush's book about his father, George H. W. Bush:  41:  A Portrait of My Father.  About the same time, I was searching through a huge number of photos my mother recently gave me and came upon these three.

They are from the 50th anniversary of V-J Day (Victory over Japan) celebration in Fredericksburg, Texas, on Saturday, September 2, 1995.  There was a parade that day, and former President George H. W. Bush and then-Texas Governor George W. Bush, along with their wives Barbara and Laura respectively, were in it.  Mom & Dad lived in Fredericksburg at the time and went to the parade.

Also that day, at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg (aka the Admiral Nimitz Museum I've written about in an earlier post), the outdoor Plaza of Presidents was dedicated to the eight former U.S. Presidents who served in World War Two.  In addition, the George H. W. Bush Gallery at the museum was dedicated that day.

Interestingly, the festivities occurred on the 51st anniversary of George H. W. Bush being shot down over the Pacific during the war.

George W. Bush and his father, George H. W. Bush, September 2, 1995, Fredericksburg, Texas

 George H. W. Bush, September 2, 1995, Fredericksburg, Texas.  George W. is looking away from the camera.

Barbara Bush, September 2, 1995, Fredericksburg, Texas.  I think Laura Bush is next to her, also waving.

© Amanda Pape - 2015 - click here to e-mail me.

Tombstone Tuesday: Johann "John" Keller, 1815-1890, Fredericksburg, Texas

In mid-September, I was once again in Fredericksburg, Texas, visiting my parents. Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 by German settlers. We again stayed at a bed and breakfast that is about half a mile from St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery (the second one, founded in 1875; the first one, established in 1860 and called the Old Catholic or St. Mary's Pioneer Cemetery, is another half mile north).  Again, I fulfilled some photo requests for this cemetery on FindAGrave.com, and I also took a few more photos of interesting graves and tombstones.

This one is for Johann "John" Keller. He was born March 21, 1815, in Niederelbert, Nassau, Germany.  In 1845, he emigrated to Texas with his wife, Katharina Menges Keller (1815-1877), their children Maria Magdalena (also called Helena and Ellen, age 6) Hannah (also called Anna, age 3), and Adam (age 1), and a Maria Keller, age 50, possibly Anna Maria Keller (died 1860), and possibly Johann's mother.  They arrived in Galveston on November 20, 1845, on the Barque Straba.  The family originally settled in Gillespie County, Texas.

According to the passenger list, Keller was a wheelwright and farmer.  On the 1850 Census, he's a farmer living in Fredericksburg, and the family has grown to include son Carl (Charles P. Keller, 1849-1889).  Interestingly, on this same census, an Ann Mary Keller, age 64, is living nearby with Johann Adam "Adam" Keller, the future husband of Katharina Lang Keller who I profiled last week.  Adam was on the same boat as John, and not traveling with another Ann/Anna Mary/Maria, so I have to wonder if they had the same mother.

By the 1860 Census, the John Keller family has moved to adjacent Mason County, Texas, in the Fort Mason area.  John is still a farmer.  Oldest daughter Ellen is out of the house, as she married Wilhelm Jung on July 9, 1857, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Fredericksburg.  However, John and Katharina have three more children:  John Keller (1851-1917), Adolph Adam Keller (1854-1919), and August William Keller (1856-1931) - although the names of the last two were switched on the census.

On the 1870 Census, the family is still living in Mason County, near the Hedwigs Hill post office, but John is now listed as a merchant.  Daughter Anna had married her brother-in-law Wilhelm Jung's younger brother Jacob on October 16, 1860, in St. Mary's Catholic Church in Fredericksburg.  Son August does not appear with the family on this census - which is odd, because his future father-in-law, Francis Kettner, was the enumerator.

By the 1880 Census, John Keller is a widower, and is living with his son Charles and family in Mason County.  He is a merchant.

By the time John Keller died, on December 29, 1890, 36 of his 40 grandchildren had been born, and at least 26 of those 36 grandchildren were still living.

The tombstone reads: Hier ruht in Gott Johann Keller Geb. zu Niederelbert Herzogthum Nassau 21, Marz 1815 Gest. 29, Dez. 1890 Friede seiner Asche.

A translation: Rest in God Johann Keller Born in Niederelbert Duchy [of] Nassau March 21, 1815 Died  December 29, 1890 Peace to his ashes.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

Tombstone Tuesday: Katharina Lang Keller, 1832-1901, Fredericksburg, Texas

A couple weekends ago, I was once again in Fredericksburg, Texas, visiting my parents. Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 by German settlers. We again stayed at a bed and breakfast that is about half a mile from St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery (the second one, founded in 1875; the first one, established in 1860 and called the Old Catholic or St. Mary's Pioneer Cemetery, is another half mile north).  Again, I fulfilled some photo requests for this cemetery on FindAGrave.com, and I also took a few more photos of interesting graves and tombstones.

This one is for Katharina Lang Keller.  She was born February 24, 1832, in Nassau, Germany.  In 1852, she emigrated to Texas with her mother, Elisabeth Keller Lang (1803-1885), and her brother, Joseph Lang (1836-1918).

Apparently, Katharina's father had died before they left or arrived, as Elisabeth is listed as the primary immigrant.*

In January 1854, in Gillespie County, Texas, Katharina married Johann Adam "Adam" Keller (1827-1905). Also born in Nassau, Germany, he was a farmer who had emigrated to Texas in 1845.**  He arrived in Galveston on November 20, 1845, on the Barque Straba.

Katharina and Adam had eight children, all born in Gillespie County. Joseph Theodor Keller was born December 22, 1854, and died December 9, 1860. Maria Franciska Keller was born July 3, 1857 and died November 28, 1860.  Both children appear on the 1860 Census.  Their deaths were so close together, I have to wonder if they had the same illness.  Brother Otto Keller was spared; he was born August 9, 1859, but died young, at age 36, in 1895.

The other five children all lived to be age 82 or older. Mary Elizabeth Keller Stehling was born June 17, 1861, in the Honey Creek Community and died March 15, 1958.  Charles Joseph "Carl" Keller was born March 2, 1863, and died April 5, 1953, in nearby Harper.  Joseph John Keller was born April 22, 1865, in Fredericksburg, and died November 4, 1947, in Bandera, Texas.  Adam Gregor "Gregor" Keller was born November 4, 1867, and died November 15, 1958.  Arnold Keller was born April 26, 1872, and died July 21, 1961.

Katharina Lang Keller lived to see 15 of her 16 grandchildren born.  She died March 17, 1901, and her family erected the imposing tombstone pictured above.

The inscription (pictured at left) reads:

Katharina Keller
Geb. [Born]
Feb. 24, 1832
Gest. [Died]
Mar. 17, 1901

At the base of the monument (below left) is an inscription that appears to read, "There is rest in Jesus."

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.


* Struck, Wolf Heino. Die Auswanderung aus dem Herzogtum Nassau (1806-1866): Ein Kapitel der modernen politischen und sozialen Entwicklung, [Emigration from the Duchy of Nassau (1806-1866): a chapter in modern political and social development.  (Geschichtliche Landeskunde, Veroeffentlichungen des Instituts fuer Geschichtliche Landeskunde an der Universitaet Mainz, vol. 4.) Wiesbaden [Germany]: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1966.

[Source Annotation :  From notices of emigration published in the Nassauisches Intelligenzblatt for the years 1849 to 1868. Pages 134-203, an appendix, contain the names of about 4,000 emigrants from that region of Germany which was the Duchy of Nassau. Destinations include North and South America (Brazil, Venezuela, and Texas being indicated specifically). Names individuals or heads of emigrant groups with accompanying wives, children or other family members and places of origin.]

** Geue, Chester W., and Ethel Hander Geue, compilers. A New Land Beckoned: German Immigration to Texas 1844-1847. 1966. New and enlarged edition, Waco [Texas]: Texian Press, 1972. 178p. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1982. Page 108.

Those Places Thursday: Pape Log Cabin, Fredericksburg, Texas

On our latest visit to Fredericksburg, Texas, to visit my parents for Labor Day weekend, we stayed at a different place than where we usually stay.  It was located on the south side of Main Street, so on my morning walk, I had an opportunity to explore some of the old neighborhoods there.

One historic site I've wanted to see for some time is the Pape Log Cabin (no relation that I know of), pictured above.  Here's what the historical marker (pictured at left) says:

"One of the oldest structures in Fredericksburg, built by communal effort for the family of Friedrich Pape (1813-94). Pape, his wife Katherine, and a daughter arrived in Galveston in Nov. 1845 from Germany. Three Pape children died on the trip. The family was among the first forty to settle in Fredericksburg, and soon after arriving in May 1846, this cabin was erected to shelter the ailing Mrs. Pape. The post oak logs were cut nearby, and the first roof was probably thatched grass."

Friederich, of Gnadenstadt, Hanover, Germany, his wife Catherine (nee Vogel), daughters Doretta and Caroline, and sons Johanne and young Friederich, sailed from Bremen, Germany, on August 25, 1845, on the Barq Herkules.  Doretta (Dorethea, born in 1840) was the only child to survive the trip.

Catherine (Catharina, 1810-1884) recovered, and Friedrich was one of the settlers who signed the petition to form Gillespie County in December 1847.  The family can be found in Gillespie County on the next four censuses.  In 1850, Friedrich is listed as a farmer in the Zodiac Mills and Live Oak Creek settlement, and the family has grown to include son Louis (born 1848) and daughter Matilda (born 1850). 

By 1860, Friedrich (now called Fritz), is a miller and farmer, and twin daughters, Augusta and Sophia, were born in 1855. Also in 1855, Dorethea married Carl Hilmar Guenther (1826–1902), founder of San Antonio’s Pioneer Flour Mills.

By 1870, Fred and Catherine have moved into town and he is a merchant.  Only the twins are left at home.  In 1880, Fritz is listed on San Saba Street (today's Main Street) in a furniture store, and he and Catherine are empty-nesters.

Sometime between 1880 and 1884, the family (including the children's spouses) left Fredericksburg and wound up in San Antonio, where they are all buried (all but one in City Cemetery #1).

The Pape Log Cabin is located in the back yard of this house on W. Creek Street, which also has a historical marker:

The marker reads:

"Built in 1851 by the Rev. Gottlieb Burchard Dangers (1811-69), soon after his purchase of this town lot from Friedrich Pape. Dangers, who had emigrated from Germany in 1849, was the second Protestant minister in Fredericksburg. The two rooms in the rear and the cellar were added by Dangers about 1857. The house was constructed in the pioneer German style, with some walls of fachwerk (half-timbered) construction."

This might be my last post about Fredericksburg for a while.  This last visit was to help my parents prepare for an upcoming move to Austin, where three of my siblings live.  They will be leaving their custom-built home in Fredericksburg after almost exactly 20 years there.


© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday Houses, Fredericksburg, Texas

More than 100 Sunday houses were built in Fredericksburg, and many of them are still around. A Sunday house was a small house built in town by a rural family, to be used when they came into town for Sunday church services.  Often the family would come into town early Saturday morning for market, and perhaps a social event that afternoon or evening.  They'd sleep in the simple house, which was often one room with a lean-to kitchen and a sleeping loft for the children upstairs.  The house might also be used when a family member needed to be in town for a length of time, such as for business or medical care.  Sometimes the Sunday house became the home of a retired farmer/rancher after passing on his larger property to a grown child.

Sometimes there was an outside staircase to the sleeping loft, as you can see in the Knopp and Crenwelge houses pictured below.  A smaller house, like the Loeffler-Weber or Weber house (also below), might simply use a ladder to get to that loft.

While some of these houses are used as residences, today many are guest houses, museums, or places of business.  All of the ones pictured below are on the west end of town, within walking distance of my parents' home or of the bed and breakfast where we normally stay when we visit them.

Johann Joseph Knopp House, 309 W. Schubert at Milam.
The historic marker reads:  "Built of native stone in 1871, soon after Knopp and his wife Katherina (Stein) came to America. From Germany they traveled six weeks by clipper ship to Indianola and by oxcart to Fredericksburg. They bought this homesite for $70 in gold. Knopp was a stonemason; family farm, a mile from this home, was worked by the wife and children. (Of the 15 children born to the Knopps, nine reached adulthood.) House, restored in 1939, was extensively remodeled in 1968. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971."  There is a second marker just below the first that says, "In 1939, Fredericksburg's historical preservation era was opened when architect Albert Keidel restored this house.  Later (1968) remodeling was done by Mrs. Marschall D. Altgelt, a member of the family of the city's founder, John O. Meusebach."

Christian Crenwelge Place, 312 W. Schubert at Milam (across the street from the Knopp House).
The historic marker reads, "A native of Germany, Christian Crenwelge migrated to this area in 1854 and worked as a farmer and cabinetmaker. At a sheriff's land sale in 1872 he bought this property located across the street [diagonally] from his home [at 307 W. Schubert]. For a short time he operated a molasses press here. The Victorian style Sunday house was constructed about 1903. Crenwelge sold this residence and his homestead after the death of his wife in 1906.  Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1979."

Vogel Sunday House, 418 W. Austin St.
The historical marker reads, "In the 1880s German immigrant Christian Vogel (1824-1889) built the left half of this structure to house his family while in town for Saturday trading and Sunday church services. His son Amandus (1854-1898) and daughter-in-law Elizabeth (Weber) (1857-1944) added the right half and covered it with pressed tin at the turn of the century. It was used as a Sunday House by Elizabeth until her death and remained in the family until 1947.  Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1982."  And yes, this house belonged to kin of the owners of  Vogel Orchards.

Loeffler-Weber House, 508 W. Main 
The historical marker reads, "Log room and loft were built by German emigrant Gerhard Rorig as his home in first winter of Fredericksburg's existence, 1846-47. Noted cabinetmaker Johann Martin Loeffler added typical rock and half-timber rooms and cooking fireplace, 1867; his son-in-law, J. Charles Weber, in 1905 restored the southeast lean-to. For Loeffler-Weber family, this was home or Sunday house for 90 years.  Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971." On a plate added near the base: "Restored 1964 by Mr. and Mrs. George A. Hill, III - Consultant: Albert Keidel, Architectural Designer."

Weber Sunday House, on the grounds of the Pioneer Museum, off Milam near Main Street.
It was built by August Weber in 1904, with no electricity or running water, for the family's weekly 7-mile trips into town.  The main cabin is 16' by 20'.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From the Past: Picking Peaches near Fredericksburg, 1998

Fredericksburg, Texas, and the surrounding areas in Gillespie County, are known for their peaches.  On a visit in July 1998, I took the offspring to a pick-your-own farm, where we picked peaches and vegetables (green beans and black-eyed peas).  It was probably at Marburger Orchards, which has been around for 34 years.

Usually when we visit Fredericksburg between May and August, we get peaches from Vogel Orchards, which is actually in nearby Stonewall.  Carolyn Vogel was a senior and a friend when I was a freshman at Texas A&M, and this is her family's farm.  Although they are not U-pick, they have an easily accessible stand right on Highway 290 on the road into Fredericksburg.

Most years, my parents drive the 11 miles out to Vogel's numerous times through the season.  Some people consider the early-season (usually ripe in May) cling peach varieties (so called because the fruit clings to the stone), such as Bicentennial, to be more difficult to eat, but Dad says they are juicier.  Semi-freestone peaches (less "clingy"), like Sentinel, are available in early June.  Freestone peaches (where the stone separates easily from the fruit), such as my parents' favorite Lorings, are available late June and into July, while other freestone varieties such as Dixiland are available into early August.

I have to admire these farmers, suffering the ups and downs from season to season due to the vagaries of the weather.  This year a combination of a late freeze and hailstorms in May means very few peaches are available throughout the state, not just in Fredericksburg. Growers are hopeful that more rain this spring will help the peach trees in the long run.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

Those Places Thursday: St. Mary's Catholic Church, Fredericksburg, Texas

St. Mary's Catholic Church in Fredericksburg, Texas, has been my parents' parish church for the past 20 years. It has a gorgeous interior with intricate painting, wooden pews, and lovely commemorative stained glass windows were installed in 1906 and 1914–17.

[Interior "New"] Saint Mary's Catholic Church Fredericksburg Texas by Jim Crotty [26 March 2013] / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

["New"] St. Mary's Catholic Church (Fredericksburg, Texas) [10 January 2010] / Christoph Müller (Pisi.de) / CC BY 3.0

[Old St. Mary's] Catholic Church [10 June 2005] / MyEyeSees / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

This current church was built in 1906 and is on the National Register of Historic Sites.  The "old" church, Die Alte Kirche or Marienkirche, pictured in the foreground at right, was built in 1863.  Limestone for its foundation and two-foot-thick walls was quarried in Comfort, Texas, while soapstone for the floors came from nearby Willow City, and wood for the roof came from Bastrop.

The interior (pictured below) is simple, with lovely blue stained glass in the windows fitting for a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It is still used for special occasions today, including Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

[Interior Old ] St Mary's Church Fredericksburg [15 April 2008] / Celeste / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Vereins Kirche Museum, Fredericksburg, TX [12-07] / Franklin B. Thompson / CC BY-NC 2.0

When the settlers first arrived in 1846, Catholics and Protestants shared the Vereins-Kirche (Society Church), the first public building in town.  It was nicknamed the Kaffeemühle (coffee mill) for its octagonal shape.  A replica, pictured at left, is located in the Marktplatz, near its original location in the middle of Main Street.  The Catholics built their own church in 1848-50, on the site of  today's Marienkirche.

St. Mary's Parish has also operated a Catholic school since 1856.  In 1924, a high school was constructed, with the impressive motto pictured below at the top of its tall columns.  Although the high school closed in 1975, the building still houses grades 3-8 of the school.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

(Not-So-) Wordless Wednesday: Fredericksburg Maibaum

A German “Maibaum” (Maypole) tells the history of a town through the vignettes you see from bottom to top. A tall pole, usually painted blue and white in Bavarian villages, is typically put up for May Day (May 1st), and is often used as frameworks for symbols of the villages’ histories, points of interest, or signs indicating local craftsmen’s guilds. The Fredericksburg Maibaum was erected in 1991 in the downtown Marktplatz (Market Square) to symbolize the history of Fredericksburg, which was founded in May 1846.

Here's what the various symbols on Fredericksburg's Maibaum mean:

Maypole [Fredericksburg TX 2/11/2008] / John W. Schulze / CC BY 2.0

1 (top).  Tree branches represent the burr oak, a species noted for its height and strong, practical wood.

2.  Local landmarks Cross Mountain and the Vereins-Kirche.

3.  More local landmarks, a Sunday House and the Nimitz Hotel.

4.  How the German settlers got here:  by ship and by oxcart.

5.  Cattle, sheep, and goats play a big part in the local economy, then and now.

6.  So does hunting (deer and turkey).

7.  Farmers here grow peaches and grapes.

8.  Cowboy and dancers - settlers working and celebrating

9 (bottom).  March 2, 1847 peace negotiations between Comanche tribes and the German pioneers.


© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

Tombstone Tuesday: J. W. Fritz, Fredericksburg, Texas

A couple weekends ago, I was in Fredericksburg, Texas, visiting my parents.  Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 by German settlers. We stayed at a bed and breakfast that is about half a mile from St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery (the second one, founded in 1875; the first one, established in 1860 and called the Old Catholic or St. Mary's Pioneer Cemetery, is another half mile north).  I decided to check FindAGrave.com for any photo requests for this cemetery. 
 
One request was for the tombstone of William John Fritz, 1850-1907, also known as J. Wilhelm Fritz, J. W. Fritz, and John William Fritz.  I found him right where he was supposed to be, in Section B, Row 12, Space 4:

Some additional research at Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org turned up the following information:

William John "Wilhelm" Fritz was born July 29, 1850,in Breitenau, Hessen-Nassau, Preußen, Germany, the second child of Johann Fritz (1824-1864) and Catharina "Katherine" Knopp (1824-1896). According to page 28-29 of the second volume of Pioneers in God's Hills: Stories and Biographies of the Brave Men and Courageous Women Who Sought Homes and Peace in the Fertile Valleys Among the Hills of Fredericksburg and Gillespie County, William Fritz emigrated to Texas in 1853 with his parents and older brother Peter, sailing on the Franklin from Hamburg on September 21, 1853. They reached Fredericksburg by December 24, 1853.  A daughter and five more sons were born in Texas, and another daughter who died in infancy.

In 1855, Johann Fritz built a two-story limestone house, facing west) with an outside stairwell in the 100 block of North Milam, just off Main Street (I don't think this house is still standing).  Fritz was a blacksmith, and he made nails for the roof and benches, rain gutters, and helped cut and lay the soapstone floor of the first ("Old") St. Mary's Catholic Church, completed in 1863.  The following year, Johann Fritz died after being kicked in the head by a horse, when William was only 14.  He and his older brother Peter helped care for their mother and younger siblings.

On November 18, 1873, William married Maria Elizabetha Roeder (1857-18??), the Texas-born daughter of Fredericksburg German immigrants Jacob (1812-1867) and Margaretha Munter Roeder (1811-1878). They had at least three sons.  According to some sources,  Maria Elisabetha apparently died a couple weeks after giving birth to daughter Clara, who also died and is supposedly buried with her.

On June 13, 1881, William married Therese/TheresiaTheresa Marie Brinkrolf (1858-1928), also a Texas-born daughter of Fredericksburg German immigrants Christoff (1799-1883) and Catharina Becker Brinkholf (1824-1887).  They had at least six children.

William died on December 13, 1907, near Tivydale, Texas (near Fredericksburg) of "paralysis of the heart."


© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

Military Monday: Admiral Nimitz Museum, Fredericksburg, Texas

Nimitz Hotel & Museum, 20 September 2011 / Mike Fisher / CC BY 2.0

The Admiral Nimitz Museum, pictured at left, is the entry to the National Museum of the Pacific War, a complex spreading over six acres and nearly two full city blocks in downtown Fredericksburg, Texas.  It is the only institution in the United States dedicated exclusively to telling the story of the Pacific and Asiatic Theaters in World War II. 

The original Admiral Nimitz Museum was established in 1968 in the former Nimitz Hotel, established in 1855 by the grandfather of World War II Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (1885-1966), a Fredericksburg native.  Its distinctive Missisippi River steamboat facade (with a hurricane deck, pilothouse, and crow’s nest), added in the 1870s, is a landmark on Main Street.  I've been to this fabulous museum at least three times, but there is always something new to discover there.

Dad (above) and Eric (below) in the Pacific Combat Zone, a unique indoor/outdoor exhibit featuring restored WWII military vehicles and weaponry, situated in replicated docks, entrenchments, and beachheads, at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Left:  View of the 20mm gun deck and conning tower of the Pintado (SS-387) submarine, March 1995.   
Center & right:  Panels for Presidents George H.W. Bush and Richard Nixon in the Plaza of Presidents.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces from the Past: Dad At Cross Mountain, Fredericksburg, Texas

Lighted Cross / Tom Haymes /

CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

My parents' home in Fredericksburg, Texas, is near the base of Cross Mountain on the north side of town.  In fact, it's close enough to walk to and up the mountain, as Dad and I did shortly after they moved there, in September 1993.  In the photo above, you can see the "back" side of the cross, which has lights that are turned on at night.

Above is the historical marker for Kreuzberg or Cross Mountain, and below is how the other side of the cross looks during the day.

   Orange Cross / Tom Haymes /   CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Cross Mountain is also a Texas State Antiquities (formerly Archeological) Landmark.


© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

Those Places Thursday: Mom & Dad's House in Fredericksburg, Texas

When my dad retired in 1993, my parents were living in Lancaster, Texas.  Dad's company had transferred him there in 1985, but after 27 years in Houston, it didn't feel like home.  They did not want to go back to Houston, though, either - it had gotten too big since Mom's childhood there.

We spent a lot of wonderful vacations in the Texas Hill Country.  Mom & Dad had some other friends from Houston that had retired in Fredericksburg, so they decided to go there as well.  They found a vacant lot in an established neighborhood in town and had a custom home built there, moving in around September 1993.

Theirs was one of the first homes in Fredericksburg to be xeriscaped.  People used to drive by just to take a look at the landscaping, and now a number of homes in Fredericksburg are xeriscaped.  The front yard (pictured above) features sage and a desert willow.

The backyard does have a bit of grass, and they've also added a gazebo and storage shed.  They also have some beautiful drought-tolerant trees as well, such as Chinese pistache and Mexican plum.  At right is the view from the back porch, a pleasant place to be early in the morning, with its wind chimes and hummingbird feeder.

 © Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.

Tombstone Tuesday: Wendelin Mittel, Fredericksburg, Texas, Pioneer

This past weekend, I was in Fredericksburg, Texas, visiting my parents.  Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 by German settlers. We stayed at a bed and breakfast that is about half a mile from St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery (the second one, founded in 1875; the first one, established in 1860 and called the Old Catholic or St. Mary's Pioneer Cemetery, is another half mile north).  I decided to check FindAGrave.com for any photo requests for this cemetery. 

One request was for the tombstone of Wendelin Mittel. Some additional research at Ancestry.com turned up the following information:

Mittel was born September 14, 1812, in Baden, Germany. He arrived in 1846 in Galveston, Texas.  According to an 1867 voter registration list, he apparently came to Gillespie County (Fredericksburg is the county seat) immediately, as the voter registration list indicates that he had resided in both the county and the state 21 years at that point). 

Mittel is on the 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 censuses in Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas, with his wife Mary (Maria) Anna (1807-1886). His occupation is listed as wood chopper on the 1850 census, and as a farmer on subsequent censuses. He died January 8, 1883, in Gillespie County, and is buried in Section A (the oldest section), Row 8, Space 12 of St. Mary's Cemetery.

Compared to some other tombstones in this section, his is in pretty good shape.  The ivy vines and clasped hands are symbols for friendship or immortality and "farewell" respectively.  The inscription reads:

Hier ruht
WENDELIN MITTEL
Geb.
den.14,Sept.1812.
Gest.
den.8,Jan.1883

which translates to

Here rests
WENDELIN MITTEL
Born
on 14 Sept. 1812.
Died
on 8 Jan. 1883.

Mittel's wife Maria Anna Bladt Fries Mittel (1806/7-1886) was supposed to be buried near him, in Section A, Row 7, Space 3, but I could not find a marker.  As you can see from the photo above, some spaces are empty - if there are graves there, they never had a marker or the marker is long gone.

Maria's first husband was Johann (John) Fries, (1799-1846), whose gravesite is unknown.  He died shortly after arriving in Texas from Germany, and Wendelin married his widow.  Two children are listed as living with them on the 1850 census, Joseph Fries (1839-1864) and Mary Anna Fries Pehl (1840-1906).  Another son, Jacob Fries (1835-1918), had apparently been left with a doctor somewhere between Indianola and Fredericksburg when they arrived in 1846 as he was too sick to make the journey.  He eventually moved to Gillespie County.

Wendelin and Maria apparently had no children of their own, but took in other relatives and orphans over the years. Wilhelm (age 15), Josephine (age 11), and Mathilde (age 9) Burg are listed as living with them on the 1870 census, and Mathilde is still with them in 1880, listed as an orphan.  Also living with them in 1880 was Wendelin's nephew Wilhelm (William) Mittel (1866-1940), son of Wendelin's brother William Mittel (1822-1868), who had immigrated in 1854.  The latter's wife, Margaretha Wueth Deckel Mittel (ABT 1838-1884), also could not be found in this cemetery - she was supposed to be in Section A, Row 8, Plot 6, but I could not find a marker.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.