The Millheim and Cat Spring Pioneers

Book excerpt: This book is a continuation of an effort began in 2015 by a handful of individuals with an interest in the history of the German settlements at Cat Spring and Millheim in Austin County, Texas. Three of the early literary works by Millheim settlers have been republished — Experiences and Observations and A History of Austin County by William Andreas Trenckmann, and A Boy’s Civil War Story by Charles Nagel. Obscure books, newspaper and periodical articles, literary novels and plays written about the area by former residents a century or so ago have been identified. An inventory of all such documents and their current status as to public availability has been developed. This book presents a brief history of the extended Cat Spring–Millheim community in western Austin County, along with reproductions of several articles written by early area pioneers such as Robert Kleberg, Rosa von Roeder Kleberg, Caroline Ernst von Hineuber, Adalbert Regenbrecht and Ottilie Fuchs Goeth. We provide brief biographies of many of the early settlers including Elemenech Swearingen, Ludwig von Roeder, Robert Kleberg, Carl Amsler, Friedrich Engelking, Andreas Trenckmann, Robert Kloss, Gustav Maetze, Dr. Herman Nagel, Adalbert Regenbrecht, Rev. Arnost Bergmann and Louis Constant. Also summarized are the significant literary works created by early settlers in the area, including William Andreas Trenckmann, Charles Nagel, Johannes Christlieb Nathanael Romberg and Adolph Fuchs. Several of these long out-of-print works are reproduced herein.