Son of Christian Santleben & Sophie Haas
born at Hanover, Germany

Husband of Mary Ann Obert
married 12/30/1870 at St. John's Lutheran Church in San Antonio, Texas
7 children
2 adopted children


Exert:

A TEXAS PIONEER
by: August Santleben

Published by Neale Publishing Company 1910

I WAS born in the city of Hanover, Germany, on the 28th day of February, 1845, and I was three and a half months old when my parents emigrated from that country and brought me with a sister and brother to America. We made the voyage in a sailing vessel, the Charles Wil-Uams, which left Bremen with a full crew and one hundred and thirty passengers on board. The city of Galveston, Texas, was sighted about the middle of July, 1845, after making a safe voyage of seven weeks' duration, but many of those who greeted the land of their adoption with joyful expectations were destined to a watery grave when entering the harbor.

I do not know what brought about the catastrophe, but my parents, who gave me this information, said that the ship was stranded when passing through the channel leading into Galveston Bay, about half a mile from shore, where it was broken to pieces, and the wreck could be seen as late as 1885. Only thirty-five of the passengers were saved, and they were rescued by a life-boat that was sent from the shore. Among them was an infant boy, about two years of age, who was thrown to my parents after they entered the boat, by some one on the vessel, under the impression that the child belonged to our family. Fortunately the boat conveyed its living freight safely to land, but none of the desolate people could comprehend their losses until they congregated on shore, and one of those who realized them least was the author of these memoirs, who at the age of five months was thus transferred from the wreck of a ship and placed on the soil of Texas. Another was the child who had been saved through a mistake, whose parents and his entire family were drowned; but friends took the orphan in charge and conveyed him to Castroville, where he was raised to manhood by a man named Bader, who was perhaps a friend of his family. Christian Schuhart was his name, and he is now a well-to-do farmer and ranchman on the San Geronimo, where I became intimate with him and we often discussed the early misfortunes of our families.

The ship's cargo, including all the belongings of the passengers, was a total loss. The disaster fell heavily on the emigrants who had supplied themselves with wagons, farm implements and other necessaries in Germany, with the expectation of using them in the New World, where their lot had been cast. All were alike destitute of everything except the clothing they wore, but, perhaps, a few had saved small amounts of money that was carried on their persons, and they were thrown on the charity of strangers. Although their pressing wants were supplied by subscriptions, there was no extravagant display of generosity, and a long time passed away before the effects of the calamity ceased to be felt.

My father secured passage, with others of the unfortunate emigrants, for his family on a schooner and sailed for Port Lavaca, where after his arrival he arranged with Plasedo Olivarri, a Mexican, to transport his wife and children, and the few things he possessed, to the Medina River, eight miles above Castroville. There land was assigned for my father's use in the " Castro Corner," but it was unimproved, and as the country was unsettled, we were compelled to live under the canopy of heaven, exposed to all kinds of weather, until a suitable shelter could be erected.

On the opposite side of the river from where we settled was a camp of Lipan Indians, who were then friendly with the whites, and when they visited us, my parents would sometimes allow the two elder children to return with them to their settlement. They were very generous, and they supplied our family with game all the time they lived in our vicinity. Later on the Indians moved elsewhere and immediately, I believe it was in 1847, they went on the war-path. Thereafter they and all the Texas Indians depredated on the white settlements continuously until 1878, during which time many of my acquaintances and some of my dear friends were killed by them. I have endeavored to recall all the names of those who were killed by the hostiles during that period, in connection with the time and place of the murders, which will be presented elsewhere.

The first work my father did, after he became settled, was for Mr. Castro, who employed him and Mr. Huehner, the grandfather of Albert Huth, Bexar County's present Tax Assessor, to dig a ditch on the east side of " Castro's Corner," for which he agreed to pay each of them fifty cents per day. The ditch was eight feet wide and eight feet deep and it took them four months to complete the job. After the ditch was finished Castro leased a piece of land in the Corner to my father for three years, free of charge, except that he was to put it in cultivation.

After that he engaged in farming, but he also made a pit for the purpose of sawing lumber with a whip-saw and at odd times he cut cypress trees along the banks of the Medina River and turned them into lumber and shingles. Such work was very laborious, and as two men were required to run the saw he was only occasionally employed at it because he could not always hire help. By hard toil he managed to support his family with the necessaries of life without any of the luxuries. My parents were affectionate and considerate in the treatment of their children and tried to raise them properly. They were also strictly religious, and they often tried to impress upon the minds of their offspring the importance of thinking and acting in accordance with the Ten Commandments so that they would not come in conflict with the laws of their country.

They were well known throughout west Texas and had many friends on account of their conscientiousness and kind-heartedness. My father was strongly impressed by the obligations and duties of his citizenship, and as he had come to the United States on account of its free institutions, he did not delay, after the expiration of five years, in taking out his naturalization papers which were secured in July, 1850.

He resided on the land he first settled until 1854, and then removed to a tract which he purchased from Samuel Etter, the father of Jacob and Samuel Etter, Jr., both of whom are now substantial farmers and live on Sous Creek, four miles east of Castro ville, adjoining the farm bought by my father, which was then situated in Bexar County on the Eagle Pass and El Paso road. In a few years the farm was nicely improved by hard work, and as the land was productive he made good crops, at the same time gathering around him a small number of horses and cattle, so that he was able to live more comfortably.

Free pasturage was abundant, and as there was no expense attached to stock raising every farmer had a few animals, but many owned a thousand or more cattle, besides small herds of horses. The latter were not numerous, because of the risk of having them stolen by Indians. Big-foot Wallace owned the largest number in that region which were principally on Mustang Prairie, four miles below La Coste station, but the Indians succeeded in stealing them all eventually notwithstanding the fact that he kept a constant watch over them and often punished them severely for their thefts.

My childhood years were passed happily and I had a good and easy time, although I helped my father all I could on the farm in light work or in making myself useful in many ways, but I never fancied farming very much. When I was not more than eight years old I would occasionally help him saw lumber when he could get no one else to assist him, because, as I have stated, it required two persons to perform such work with a whipsaw one above and another in the pit below.

My first visit to San Antonio was made with my father in 1854, and it was on this occasion that I was made happy by the wonderful things I saw in the city which filled my childish mind with astonishment. The business portion of the town was then confined to the two plazas, and most of the improvements were in that vicinity. I suppose the population at that time was not more than 3000 of all classes.

...

My father, Christian Santleben, was born in Hanover, Germany, on the 27th day of July, 1809, and my mother, Sophie Haas, was born in the same city on the 25th day of October, 1810. They were married in said city on the 13th day of January, 1837, and it was their place of residence until they emigrated to America, in 1845. Three children were born to them in Hanover and two in Texas, whose names, with the dates of their birth and christening, are as follows: Christian, born January 20, 1838, and christened January 25, 1838 ; Wilhelmina, born May 22, 1842, and christened June 5, 1842; August, born February 28, 1845, and christened March 11, 1845; Mary, born July 8, 1850, and christened July 25, 1850; Ferdinand, born, 1852. My mother died November 30, 1886, and my father died March 11, 1889, at their home near Castroville.

I, August Santleben, married Mary Anna Obert, of Boerne, Kendall County, Texas, on the 30th day of December, 1870, and the names of our children are as follows:
Sophie
Charlotta
Henry
August
Graves
Alfred
Ella