Jacob Kuechler (February 18, 1823 – April 4, 1893) was a surveyor,

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and commissioner of the Texas General Land Office. Kuechler pioneered the science of

dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of chronological dating, dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, ...

to date natural events.

Early life and education

Jacob Kuechler was born in Schoellenbach, Hesse-Darmstadt, on February 18, 1823; his father was Albrecht Kuechler, an engineering and forestry official. Jacob Kuechler graduated from the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

with degrees in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

Texas

Kuechler 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 ...

on July 4, 1847, on the ship ''St. Pauli ''from

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. He was part of the

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

free-thinker fraternity of intellectuals from the universities of Giessen and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and the Gewerbeschule of Darmstadt. They founded the Fisher–Miller Land Grant community of Bettina, Texas, after John O. Meusebach negotiated the Meusebach–Comanche Treaty in 1847. Bettina failed after the Adelsverein funding expired, and due to conflict of structure and authorities. The members dispersed to other communities, and Kuechler moved to Pedernales, Texas, to take up farming and ranching with the Lungkwitz and Petri families. As Gillespie County surveyor, he pioneered

at Fredericksburg during the drought of the late 1850s by comparing tree-ring sequences for dating natural events. The Kuechler study was published in 1859 as "Das Klima von Texas" in Gustav Schleicher's ''Texas Staats-Zeitung'' and 1861 in the Texas Almanac.

Nueces massacre and exile

In 1861, Texas

seceded Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal is the c ...

from the Union, and joined the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

. Upon recommendation by Samuel Maverick, Jacob Kuechler was commissioned as a captain by

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 ...

to enroll state militia troops in Gillespie County. Kuechler signed up only German Unionists in his frontier company, and was dismissed by Governor Francis R. Lubbock. In 1862, Confederate authorities imposed martial law on Central Texas. Jacob Kuechler served as a guide for 61

s attempting to flee to

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 ...

. In what later became known as the Nueces massacre, Confederate irregular James Duff and his Duff's Partisan Rangers pursued and overtook them at the

Nueces River The Nueces River ( ; , ) is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. ''Nu ...

. Thirty-four were killed, some executed after being taken prisoner. Jacob Kuechler survived the battle. The cruelty shocked the people of Gillespie County. About 2000 people took to the hills to escape Duff's reign of terror. Kuechler remained in exile in Mexico, working as a surveyor until 1867.

Return to Texas

Kuechler returned to Texas in 1867 during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

and entered the political arena, becoming a leading German voice in the Republican Party. He was appointed deputy collector of customs at San Antonio. Kuechler was elected a delegate to the state Constitutional Convention of 1868–69. He was elected commissioner of the Texas General Land Office in 1870, holding the position for the entire four years of the administration of Governor Edmund J. Davis. In 1873, he appointed Jacob Bickler as assistant draftsman and calculator. Kuechler's wife's brother-in-law Hermann Lungkwitz received an appointment for the Texas General Land Office, and Lungkwitz's daughter Martha Lungkwitz Bickler became a clerk with the office. Keuchler was the last Republican to be elected Texas Land Commissioner until the election of David Dewhurst in 1999. He became a surveyor along the Devils River and the

Pecos River The Pecos River ( ; ) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico, at an elev ...

for the International and Great Northern Railroad and the Gulf, Western Texas and Pacific Railroad. In 1878, he was appointed principal surveyor for the

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...

Personal life and death

Kuechler became an American citizen on October 10, 1853. In May 1856, Kuechler married Marie Petri, sister of painter

Friedrich Richard Petri Friedrich Richard Petri (1824–1857) was a Kingdom of Saxony-born Texas painter whose works recorded life in the original German immigrant settlements, and portrayed Native American tribes in family settings. Early life Friedrich Richard Petri ...

. The couple had three sons. In 1887, the Petri family returned for a visit to Germany. Kuechler died in Austin on April 4, 1893, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery.

References

External links

"Jacob Kuechler"
by Robert Kuhmann, Find a Grave.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuechler, Jacob 1823 births 1893 deaths American conscientious objectors American foresters Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Austin, Texas) Texas land commissioners Hessian emigrants to the United States German-American culture in Texas University of Giessen alumni Forestry academics German foresters Texas Republicans 19th-century Texas politicians