The Cypress and Other Writings of a German Pioneer in Texas

by Hermann Seele, Edward C. Breitenkamp (Translator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780292729865
Publisher:	University of Texas Press
Publication date:	10/01/1979
Series:	Elma Dill Russell Spencer Foundation Series , #9
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d)

About the Author

Translator Edward C. Breitenkamp (1913–1995) was Professor of Modern Languages at Texas A&M University. He specialized in German literature and history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Table of 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: Pages from the Diary of a German Texan
• 5. On the Brazos in April 1844: From the Recollections of an Old German Texan
• 6. The German Colony of New Braunfels in May 1845
• 7. My First Day of Teaching in New Braunfels: A Recollection of the Time of the First German Settlement in West Texas
• 8. Shadows: Dark Days of Death and Sorrow in 1846: Scenes Remembered from the Time of the German Settlement of West Texas
• 9. A Christmas Day in West Texas in 1849: From the Memoirs of a German Texan
• 10. How the First Singing Festival Came to Be
• 11. How the Singing Society Traveled to Sisterdale
• 12. A Wedding: A Happy Scene from the Time of the German Settlements in Texas
• 13. A Murder: A Tragic Event from the Time of the German Settlement in Texas
• 14. Travels in Texas: From the Memoirs of a German Texan
• 15. The Cypress: A Legend from the Time of the First German Settlement in West Texas
• Index