Nicholas Adolphus Sterne (April 5, 1801 – March 27, 1852) served three terms in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

and one term in the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate is made up of 31 members, where eac ...

. He immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1817, living in Louisiana for ten years. In 1826, he moved to

Nacogdoches, Texas Nacogdoches ( ) is a city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Stephen F. Austin State University is located in Nacogdoches and special ...

, where he operated a mercantile and smuggled weapons for the colonist who wished to rebel against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. His position as a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

helped save him from a death sentence, and Sterne went on to finance the two companies of men known as the New Orleans Greys, to assist in fighting in the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

Early years

Adolphus Sterne, the eldest son of Emmanuel Sterne and his second wife, Helen, was born on April 5, 1801, in Cologne, although Alsace is also claimed as his birthplace. The elder Sterne was an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tran ...

, and Helen Sterne was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. Sterne grew up amid turmoil. At sixteen he was working in a passport office when he learned that he was going to be conscripted for military service, forged a passport for himself, and immigrated to the United States. He landed in New Orleans in 1817, found mercantile employment, and studied law.

Moved to Texas

In 1826, Sterne moved to

and established a mercantile business. He was required to swear an oath of loyalty to

, which governed Texas at the time. Despite having given his oath, Sterne soon became involved in the

Fredonian Rebellion The Fredonian Rebellion or Texan revolt of 1826 (December 21, 1826 – January 31, 1827) was the first attempt by Texans to secede from Mexico. The settlers, led by Empresario Haden Edwards, declared independence from Mexican Texas and creat ...

smuggling guns in coffee barrels. He was arrested and sentenced to death for treason after spies in New Orleans reported his activities. His guards were also Masons and allowed him a great deal of freedom, finally releasing him on the grounds that he never again take up arms against the government.

Personal life

On June 2, 1828, Sterne married Eva Catherine Rosine Ruff, an immigrant from Württemberg, Germany who had also lived in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. The couple lived in Nacogdoches, where they raised their seven children.

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

lived with them for a time, and was baptized as a Roman Catholic in their parlor, with Eva Sterne serving as his godmother. Sterne was asked to be his godfather but refused because the date coincided with

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

. With the assistance of the requirements of Mexican law, Eva succeeded in converting Sterne officially to the Catholic faith, although unofficially he remained a

deist Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin term '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...

. Sterne also worked as an interpreter in English, French, Spanish, German, Yiddish, Portuguese, and Latin.

Public service

A provisional provincial government was created in Texas in 1835, and Sterne traveled to New Orleans as an agent of that government to recruit an army. He personally financed two companies, later known as the New Orleans Grays. Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836, and 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 ...

was born. Under the Republic, Sterne served briefly as a commander in the militia during the Cherokee War in 1839. In 1840, he became a postmaster at Nacogdoches, and later served as a deputy clerk and associate justice of the county court. The following year he became a justice of the peace. After Texas was annexed to the United States, Sterne was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he served three terms. In 1851 he was elected to the Texas State Senate. He died in New Orleans on March 27, 1852.

Notes

References

tshaonline.org

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sterne, Adolphus 1801 births 1852 deaths Members of the Texas House of Representatives People of the Texas Revolution Texas state senators Emigrants from the German Confederation to the United States People from Nacogdoches, Texas 19th-century members of the Texas Legislature