The ''Mainzer Adelsverein at Biebrich am Rhein'' (''Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas''; "Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas"), better known as the ''Mainzer Adelsverein'' (; "Nobility Society of Mainz"), organized on April 20, 1842, was a colonial attempt to establish a new

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

settlement within the borders of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

History

Adelsverein Karte des Staates Texas 1851 UTA

The Adelsverein was organized on April 20, 1842, by 21 German noblemen at Biebrich on the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. They gathered at the castle of the German Duke of Nassau, the future

Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Adolphe (Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich; 24 July 1817 – 17 November 1905) was Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 23 November 1890 to his death on 17 November 1905. The first grand duke from the House of Nassau-Weilburg, he succeeded King Willia ...

, who was named Protector of the Society. In Germany, the society was referred to as ''Mainzer Adelsverein'' after the city of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

, where it was officially registered. The society represented a significant effort to establish a new Germany on Texas soil through organized mass emigration. The land for the emigrants was to be purchased by the Adelsverein or secured through

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

s from the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

. On January 9, 1843, Count Ludwig Joseph von Boos-Waldeck bought the 4,428-acre Nassau Plantation in

Fayette County, Texas Fayette County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 24,435. Its county seat is La Grange, Texas, La Grange. The county was created in 1837 a ...

, for $0.75 an acre and named it for the Duke of Nassau. Twenty-five slaves were bought to work the property, which initially was considered as the primary base for arriving German immigrants. When

Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels Prince Carl (Karl) of Solms-Braunfels (27 July 1812 – 13 November 1875) was a German prince and military officer in both the Austrian army and the cavalry of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. As commissioner general of the Adelsverein, he spearheaded ...

inspected the plantation in 1844, he recommended the Verein divest itself of the property, rather than be associated with slavery. Gustav Dresel, Special Business Agent for the Adelsverein, sold Nassau Plantation on July 28, 1848, to Otto von Roeder. Von Roeder had been the first settler in Shelby, Texas, in 1841, a year before the Adelsverein was founded in Germany, and three years before the Adelsverein sent its first colonists to Texas. Von Roeder had emigrated to Texas from

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

in the 1830s and was not affiliated with the Adelsverein's colonization efforts. The community of Shelby had been named for David Shelby, one of the Old Three Hundred under Stephen F. Austin. Shelby became the home of many Adelsverein colonists in 1845, but it was not founded by the organization. Shelby was one of the

Latin Settlement A Latin settlement (German: ''Lateinische Kolonie'') is a community founded by German immigrants to the United States in the 1840s. Most of these were in Texas, but there were "Latin Settlements" in other states as well. These German intellectuals, ...

communities populated by German intellectuals who had settled in Texas after

1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...

. Prince Carl was appointed commissioner general by the Adelsverein in May 1844 to lead its colony in Texas. Each head of household was required to deposit 600 gulden (300 gulden for a single person) with the Adelsverein to cover transportation and housing at the colony and as credit to draw upon until they made their first harvest. The first Adelsverein-sponsored immigrants arrived in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

in July 1844. They traveled from Galveston to Indianola in December 1844, then moved inland to land grants acquired by the Adelsverein near

Comal Springs Comal Springs ( ) are the largest concentration of naturally occurring freshwater springs in Texas. They are located in the city of New Braunfels and are the result of water percolating through the Edwards Aquifer formation. History The springs ...

. Prince Solms named the first colony New Braunfels in honor of his homeland.

Henry Francis Fisher Henry Francis Fisher (in German ''Heinrich Franz Fischer'', 1805–1867) was a German Texan. Born in Kassel, Electorate of Hesse in 1805, Fisher left the mainland in late 1833 spending a year each, in London and New York, and two years in New Orlean ...

and Burchard Miller sold their 1842 land grant to the Adelsverein on June 22, 1844. This grant was intended to provide for more settlements in Texas. After Prince Solms returned to Germany, John O. Meusebach was appointed the second commissioner general of the Adelsverein in April 1845. He founded the first settlement on the outskirts of the land grant, and named it Fredericksburg, in honor of Adelsverein member Prince Frederick of Prussia. The land grant was located in

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

territory, and to colonize, Meusebach first negotiated a

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

between the German Immigration Company (Adelsverein) and the Penateka Comanche. A separate agreement was made with the Darmstadt Forty, to settle socialist colonies within the land grant. In 1853, due to a large amount of debt, Adelsverein ended its colonization campaign in Texas.The German Texans
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Darmstadt Society of Forty

Count Castell negotiated with the separate Darmstadt Society of Forty to colonize 200 families on the

Fisher–Miller Land Grant The Fisher–Miller Land Grant was part of an early colonization effort of the Republic of Texas. Its 3,878,000 acres covered between the Llano River and Colorado River. Originally granted to Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller, the grant w ...

territory in

. In return, they were to receive $12,000 in money, livestock, equipment, and provisions for a year. After the first year, the colonies were expected to support themselves. The colonies attempted were

Castell A ''castell'' (: literally, ''castle'') is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in a part of Catalonia (Spain), now also found in the rest of Catalonia, in the Balearic islands and in the Valencian Community. At these festivals, s ...

, Leiningen, Bettina, Schoenburg and Meerholz in Llano County; Darmstädler Farm in

Comal County Comal County ( ) is a County (United States), county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 161,501. Comal County is known for its rich German-Texan and Eu ...

; and Tusculum in Kendall County. Of these, only Castell survives. The colonies failed after the Adelsverein funding expired, and also due to conflict of structure and authorities. Some members moved to other Adelsverein settlements in Texas. Others moved elsewhere, or returned to Germany.

Texas settlements

Mainzer Adelsverein Karte der Stadt Friedrichsburg 1851 UTA

Fisher–Miller Land Grant colonies

*Bettina, Llano County *Castell, Llano County * Leningen, Llano County * Meerholz, Llano County * Schoenburg, Llano County

Elsewhere

*Indianola, Calhoun County *Fredericksburg, Gillespie County *Nassau Plantation, Fayette County *New Braunfels, Comal County * Sisterdale, Kendall County *

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

, Kendall County * Gruene, Comal County * New Ulm,

Austin County Austin County is a rural, agricultural dominated county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,167. Its seat is Bellville. The county and region was settled primarily by German emigrants in the 1800s. Austi ...

Schertz, Texas Schertz ( ) is a city in Guadalupe County, Texas, Guadalupe, Bexar County, Texas, Bexar, and Comal County, Texas, Comal counties in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The population was 42,002 at the 2020 United States census ...

Members

Founding members

Source: * Adolf, Duke of Nassau *

Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar * Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 194 ...

Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Ernest II (; 21 June 181822 August 1893) was Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 29 January 1844 to his death in 1893. He was born in Coburg to Ernest III, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. His father be ...

* Prince Frederick of Prussia *

Friedrich Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Friedrich Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (6 November 1793 – 28 June 1867) was a sovereign prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. Biography He was born in Rudolstadt the second son of the reigning prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Louis ...

* Carl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen * Prince Hermann von Wied *Prince Ferdinand von Solms-Braunfels *Prince Franz von Colloredo-Mansfeld *Prince Otto Victor von Schoenberg-Waldenburg *

(Prince of Solms-Braunfels Rheingrafenstein) *Prince Alexander von Solms-Braunfels *Count Christian von Alt-Leiningen-Westerburg *Count Viktor August of Leiningen-Westerburg-Alt-Leiningen *Count Carl Frederick Christian of Castell-Castell *Count Carl von Isenburg-Meerholz *Count Edmund von Hatzfeld *Count Carl William von Inn und Knyphausen-Lutelsberg *Count Armand von Rennesse *Count Carl von Castell *Baron Paul Scirnay

Leadership

* Duke of Nassau – Protector * Carl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen – President *Count Carl Frederick Christian of Castell-Castell – Vice President, Executive Secretary-Business Director *Count Viktor August of Leiningen-Westerburg-Alt-Leiningen – Co-founder * Count Ludwig Joseph von Boos-Waldeck – Co-Founder * Baron August von Bibra – General Manager *Gustav Dresel – Special Business Agent *Philip Cappes – Special Commissioner *

– First Commissioner-General * John O. Meusebach – Second Commissioner-General *

Hermann Spiess Hermann Spiess (c. 1818–1873) was co-founder of the Bettina, Texas commune in 1847. He became Commissioner-General of the Adelsverein after the resignation of John O. Meusebach. Early life Hermann was born around 1818 in Offenbach am Main, Gran ...

– Third Commissioner-General

References

Sources

External links

A Guide to the Solms-Braunfels Archives, 1842–1957 at UT-AustinAugust von Bibra in ''Handbook of Texas Online''Adelsverein in ''Handbook of Texas Online''Collection of Adelsverein Documents, 1845-1864
This collection includes 44 documents relating to the German colonization of Texas and the Adelsverein, also known as Society for the Protection of German Emigrants to Texas (Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas). The Adelsverein brought thousands of German emigrants to Texas beginning in 1844. These documents include land grants, emigration contracts, promotional materials, and fiscal documents. {{Authority control Pre-statehood history of Texas German-American culture in Texas Former territorial entities in North America Former regions and territories of the United States States and territories established in 1842 1842 establishments in North America Texas Hill Country