The Cypress and Other Writings of a German Pioneer in Texas / / Hermann Seele.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter University of Texas Press Complete eBook-Package Pre-2000
• VerfasserIn: Seele, Hermann,
• TeilnehmendeR: Breitenkamp, Edward C.
• MitwirkendeR: Breitenkamp, Edward C.,
• Place / Publishing House: Austin : : University of Texas Press, , [2021]; ©1979
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: Elma Dill Russell Spencer Foundation Series
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (232 p.)

When Hermann Seele anived in New Braunfels in 1845, the raw colony was plagued by poverty, disease, lack of food, and hostile Indians. This personal record of the Germans in Texas shows their evolution from struggling colonists to prosperous citizens. From his viewpoint of a hardworking yet imaginative pioneer, Seele presents first a history of German immigration and settlement in Texas during the nineteenth century. Next, his autobiographical writings range from a "sentimental recollection" of his first Christmas Eve in Texas to his first day of teaching in New Braunfels, from accounts of the popular singing society to murder and justice along the Comal River. In addition, Seele's romantic novel, The Cypress, is a delightful though improbable tale of a traveling botanist, a chieftain's daughter, and a savage Indian cult. Hermann Seele—farmer, lawyer, teacher, lay preacher, mayor, state representative, Civil War major, and editor—epitomizes the best of the German immigrants who established their communities as models of respectability and prosperity.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. The German Immigration into Texas -- 2. A History of the German Settlements in Comal County -- 3. My First Christmas Eve in Texas A Sentimental Recollection of the Past -- 4. Galveston County in 1844 -- 5. On the Brazos in April 1844 -- 6. The German Colony of New Braunfels in May 1845 -- 7. My First Day of Teaching in New Braunfels -- 8. Shadows: Dark Days of Death and Sorrow in 1846 -- 9. A Christmas Day in West Texas in 1849 -- 10. How the First Singing Festival Came to Be -- 11. How the Singing Society Traveled to Sisterdale -- 12. A Wedding -- 13. A Murder -- 14. Travels in Texas -- 15. The Cypress -- Index