| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Texas | |
| Languages | |
| Texas German,Texas English | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Missouri Rhinelanders,Louisiana Creoles,Pennsylvania Dutch,German Americans |
Texas Germans (German:Texas-Deutsche) are descendants ofGerman Americans who settled inTexas from the 1830s. The arriving Germans tended to cluster inethnic enclaves; most settled in a broad, fragmented belt across the south-central part of the state, where many became farmers.[1] As of 1990, about three million Texans considered themselvesGerman in ancestry.[2]
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Emigration in force began during the period of theRepublic of Texas (1836–1846) following the establishment in 1842 of theAdelsverein (Verein zum Schutze deutscher Einwanderer, Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas) by a group of Germans dedicated to colonizing Texas.[2]
TheAdelsverein helped establish German colonies throughout the state, including purchasing theFisher–Miller Land Grant, some 5,000 square miles between theColorado andLlano Rivers. In 1847,John O. Meusebach, acting as commissioner of theAdelsverein, negotiated theMeusebach–Comanche Treaty to settle German colonists on the land grant.[3] It remains the only unbroken treaty between European-American colonists andNative Americans.[4]
A large portion of the early settlers following statehood wereForty-Eighters, emigres from theRevolutions of 1848, who dispersed into areas ofCentral Texas.[5] After generations, German Texans spoke what became known asTexas German (German:Texasdeutsch), aGerman language dialect that was tied to the historic period of highest immigration. In Germany, the language developed differently from how it did among the relatively isolated ethnic colonies in the US. The dialect has largely died out since theFirst andSecond World Wars, as have many otherUS German dialects.
Texas Germans were strongabolitionists during the 1850s. In theAmerican Civil War, they opposed martial law and military conscription, and were made victims at theNueces massacre. AfterReconstruction, Texas Germans lived in relative obscurity as teachers, doctors, civil servants, politicians, musicians, farmers, and ranchers.[5] They founded the towns ofBulverde,New Braunfels,Fredericksburg,Boerne, andComfort in theTexas Hill Country, andSchulenburg,Walburg, andWeimar to the east.
German-American cultural institutions in Texas include theSophienburg Museum in New Braunfels, the Pioneer Museum in Fredericksburg,[6] the Witte-Schmid Haus Museum inAustin County,[7] the German-Texan Heritage Society,[8] and the Texas German Society.[9]
Texas Germans engaged with Black people economically and socially in the 1800s. Black Texans interacted much easier with Texas Germans than with Anglo-Texans; BlackFreedom colonies shared economic ties with Texas German communities, and maintained cordial relationships.[10]
After the Civil War, reports indicate Black Texas German communities in every county of the German belt, also known as theTexas German Country, running fromHouston to theHills Region.[11][12] For Black Texans, speakingTexas German was a means of social mimicry and protection.[10]
Doris Williams, anAfrican American inBastrop County, recalls:
"We lived near Smithville Texas with my grandparents, and they always referred to people asDutch... the thing that fascinated me most about them was that they never said anything negative about German people... you know, they would say 'Oh, he's German, you know that German family.' But they never said anything bad about them, and I felt that was unique, because they did say bad things about other people, but not about the Germans."[10]
Black Texans and Texas Germans had a strong political bond, and supported the same political parties. This bond became increasingly crucial, especially during the height ofanti-German sentiment in the 1920s when theKu Klux Klan began persecuting Texas Germans, seeking to eliminate the Texas German ethnicity in Texas. The Black-German alliance gave Black and German communities mutual protection.[10]
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