Friedrich Armand Strubberg (born Frédéric Armand Strubberg, March 18, 1806 in Kassel, Germany – April 3, 1889 in Linsengericht, Germany) was a merchant, physician, and pioneer colonist. Born in Germany, Strubberg spent many decades in the United States. In Texas, he used the pseudonym Dr. Friedrich Schubbert. He designed the Vereins Kirche in Fredericksburg. Strubberg spent the last few decades of his life as an author in Germany.
Family background and early life
The man known in Texas as Dr. Friedrich Schubbert claimed to be of
royal descent
A royal descent is a genealogical line of descent from a past or present monarch.
Both geneticists and genealogists have attempted to estimate the percentage of living people with royal descent. From a genetic perspective, the number of un ...
and was born Frédéric Armand Strubberg on March 18, 1806, in
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...
, Hesse, Germany. His father was tobacco merchant Henry Frédéric Strubberg, son of Frédéric Rodolphe Strubberg and Emilie Cordesse. Henry Strubberg was a grandson of Anna Amalie and her husband Christian Friedrich Strubberg. Frédéric's assertion to be a great-great-grandson of
Frederick I of Sweden
Frederick I (; 28 April 1676 – 5 April 1751) was List of Swedish monarchs, King of Sweden from 1720 until his death, having been prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and was also Landgrave of Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Kassel fr ...
based on an alleged
morganatic marriage
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...
between Frederick I and the widow of a General Count Wilmsdorf-Brevendorf in the years 1717–1720 (which never occurred) and that Anna Amalie was an offspring of this marriage. An aristocratic family of the name Wilmsdorf-Brevendorf never existed. His mother was Frederique Elise of the
aristocratic
Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats.
Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...
Marville family. Strubberg grew up in a house of wealth and privilege, groomed for a career in the mercantile business.
The United States
Strubberg made his first voyage to the United States as a representative of the mercantile houses, stopping at
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...
in 1828, and returning home to Hesse in 1829. For the next decade, Strubberg remained in Germany as an integral partner in his father's tobacco business. His return visit to the North American continent was also connected to the mercantile business and included
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
,
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, New York,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
,
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, and
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Barba (1913), pp.32, 33
While en route to Texas in the early 1840s, Strubberg visited
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
and enrolled in a local medical school at the urging of one of the school's instructors. It was here he earned a medical degree in two years. Upon receiving his diploma, Strubberg visited
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
and purchased a stallion, which he rode to Texas. Strubberg passed through
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
and traveled down to the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
. From there, he journeyed to the Leona River into what became Uvalde County. He looked upon this area as a place to build his new life, and returned to Memphis to enlist others to help him with the new settlement. He went north east by way of
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...
, then up the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
to Memphis. When he returned to the banks of the Leona, he was accompanied by three other men, re-entering Texas from
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...
and across
Caddo Lake
Caddo Lake () is a lake and bayou (wetland) on the border between Texas and Louisiana, in northern Harrison County and southern Marion County in Texas and western Caddo Parish in Louisiana. The lake is named after the Caddoans or Caddo, ...
. By this point in time, he was operating under the alias of Dr. Schubbert.
Strubberg had teamed up with Henry Francis Fisher by February 1845, and, according to Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, began trying to lure emigrating Adelsverein settlers to a colony that Strubberg and Fisher were starting in Milam County. When John O. Meusebach succeeded Prince Solms as Commissioner-General of the Adelsverein, he followed advice from Henry Fisher and in June 1846 appointed Strubberg to lead colonists into what became known as Fredericksburg. Strubberg designed the Vereins Kirche community building in the center of Fredericksburg. Without authorization from Meusebach, Strubberg led an armed group of colonists into Comanche territory.
Shawnee
The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language.
Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...
scouts reported seeing 40,000 to 60,000 Kickapoo at the Llano River, and Strubberg's group retreated to Fredericksburg. When Meusebach was not deterred and decided to make his own journey into Comanche territory, Strubberg instigated a failed
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup
, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
against Meusebach. Ninety-five colonists signed a petition urging Meusebach to remain as Commissioner-General.
On July 12, 1847, Meusebach sent Strubberg a letter of dismissal from his position as director of Fredericksburg. Jean Jacques von Coll was appointed his successor. Strubberg retreated to Nassau Plantation, and refused to relinquish the position to von Coll. After Hermann Spiess succeeded Meusebach as Commissioner-General of the Adelsverein, he engaged Strubberg in a gunfight on October 28, 1847, while trying to oust him from the plantation.
Strubberg became active in the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
until its end in 1848. He then joined medical teams in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
to combat several epidemics in the area. He built a home, became a slave owner, and opened a medical practice in
Camden, Arkansas
Camden is a city in and the county seat of Ouachita County, Arkansas, Ouachita County in the south-central part of the U.S. state portals, U.S. state of Arkansas. The city is located about 100 miles south of Little Rock. Situated on bluffs overlo ...
.
Return to Europe
A freak accident in 1854, with an insect sting to his eye, brought his return to Europe for medical treatments. By 1860, he was again living in Kassel with his sister Emilie. There he changed careers and became an author, both of fiction and non-fiction.
Personal life and death
Three times Strubberg was engaged to be married. While in New York sometime in the 1830s or 1840s, his engagement to an heiress led to a duel over her affections and the death of his opponent. Strubberg fled New York with the intent of seeking a new life in Texas. During his years in Arkansas, he became engaged to the owner of a slave plantation. It is unclear if this last engagement also led to marriage. Strubberg became a slave owner, but whether that was through marriage to his fiancée in Arkansas, or in his own right, is unknown.Barba (1913), p.50
The first engagement was in 1826 to Antoinette Sattler in Germany. She was the daughter of a fellow merchant. A non-fatal duel with a romantic rival for her affections coincided with Strubberg's departure for his first journey to the United States. Antoinette did not make the trip with him, and he apparently never saw her again until the latter part of his life. He re-connected with Antoinette in the last decade of his life, after his return to Germany. Unknown to Strubberg, she had spent the intervening years in an asylum and had only recently been released. The two were married. Antoinette became afflicted with a form of
dementia
Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
and had to be institutionalized and died in the asylum.
His sister Emilie with whom he had been living died in late January or early February 1876 (buried Febr. 2). In August 1885, Strubberg moved to Altenhasslau where he spent the rest of his life. He died April 3, 1889, and was buried in a local graveyard there.Barba (1913), p. 59 The graveyard was removed in 1957, the memorial slab was brought to Erfurt and got lost.
Works by Strubberg
* ''Amerikanische Jagd- und Reiseabenteuer aus meinem Leben in den westlichen Indianergebieten'' (1858)
* ''Bis in die Wildniß'' (1858)
* ''Scenen aus den Kämpfen der Mexicaner und Nordamerikaner'' (1859)
*:''Die Amerikaner in Mexico''
*:''Der Sturm von San Antonio''
* ''Alte und neue Heimath'' (1859)
* ''An der Indianergrenze'' (1859)
* ''Ralph Norwood'' (1860)
* ''Sclaverei in Amerika'' (1862)
* ''Carl Scharnhorst. Abenteuer eines deutschen Knaben in Amerika'' (1862, preliminary matter: 1863)
* ''Der Sprung vom Niagarafalle'' (1864)
* ''In Mexico'' (1865)
* ''Saat und Ernte'' (1866)
* ''Friedrichsburg, die Colonie des deutschen Fürsten-Vereins in Texas'' (1867)
* ''Aus Armand's Frontierleben'' (1868)
* ''In Süd-Carolina und auf dem Schlachtfelde von Langensalza'' (1868)
* ''Die Quadrone'' (Play) (1869, revised 1885)
* ''Der Mann ohne Poesie'' (Play) (1869, under the pseudonym Norwald) (1943 destroyed in WWII)
* ''Der Krösus von Philadelphia'' (1870)
* ''Die Fürstentochter'' (1872)
* ''Die alte spanische Urkunde'' (1872)
* ''Der Methodisten-Geistliche'' (1873)
* ''Zwei Lebenswege'' (1873)
* ''Die geraubten Kinder. Eine Erzählung aus Texas für die Jugend'' (1875)
* ''Vornehm und Bürgerlich. Roman aus dem Leben von Armand'' (1878)
* ''Gustav Adolf'' (Play) (1882)
* ''Der Freigeist'' (Play) (1883)
* ''Leben und Tod des Kaisers Friedrich Barbarossa'' (Play) (1886)
Critical Edition ("Marburger Ausgabe")
* Vol. I: ''Amerikanische Jagd- und Reiseabenteuer'' (2010, 2nd Ed. 2011)
* Vol. III: ''Scenen aus den Kämpfen der Mexicaner und Nordamerikaner / Alte und neue Heimath'' (2011)
* Vol. V: ''Ralph Norwood'' (Spring 2012)
* Vol. VII: ''Carl Scharnhorst'' (Winter 2011/2012)
* Vol. XVIII: ''Die geraubten Kinder'' (2011)
* Vol. XIX: ''Vornehm und Bürgerlich'' (2010, 2nd Ed. 2011)