Ferdinand Lindheimer
Encyclopedia
Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer (May 21, 1801 - December 2, 1879) was a German Texan
botanist who spent his working life on the American frontier. In 1936, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
number 1590 was placed on Lindheimer's grave.
preparatory school, the University of Wiesbaden
, the University of Jena. He received a scholarship in Philology
at the University of Bonn
.
refugees who left Germany after participation in the failed Frankfurt Putsch insurrection in 1833. In 1834, Lindheimer arrived in Belleville, Illinois
, whence he traveled by boat to New Orleans.
where he lived and worked for more than a year. Late in 1835 he departed Mexico
as the Texas Revolution
was beginning and was shipwrecked on the coast near Mobile, Alabama
. Lindheimer headed to Texas and arrived at the San Jacinto
battlefield the day after the final battle of the Texas Revolution
.
In 1844 he met Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels
, Germany
, who was making final arrangements for the settlement of a German colony
in Texas, which would be known as New Braunfels, Texas
. Lindheimer lived the remainder of his life in New Braunfels, Texas
.
Meusebach and Hermann Spiess
of the Darmstadt Society of Forty chose the location for Bettina in 1847 on the banks of the Llano River
. Lindheimer was a botanist residing in this colony. The Fisher-Miller Land Grant
commune was named in honor of Bettina von Arnim
, an early feminist activist and a personal friend of the Meusebach family.
of Harvard University
. Lindheimer persuaded Wilhelm Bruckisch of the Silesian Beekeepers Society to bring black Italian bees to Texas for pollination of the fruit trees in the Guadalupe River
valley.
Lindheimer collected fifteen hundred species in the south Texas area, over a period of thirteen years.
In New Braunfels, Lindheimer began a friendship with fellow botanical enthusiast John O. Meusebach
, who appointed him director of a New Braunfels botanical garden. After resigning as Commissioner-General of the Adelsverein
, Meusebach moved from New Braunfels to some acreage he had bought at Comanche Springsin Bexar County
, believed to be in the vicinity of current-day Camp Bullis
. Lindheimer and Meusebach made botanical collections at Comanche Spring, with Lindheimer's 1849 collections bearing the Comanche Spring place tag. After Meusebach retired to Loyal Valley
, Lindheimer was a frequent visitor who exchanged botanical specimens for evaluation with Meusebach.
, helped found the German-language newspaper known as the Die Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung.
He is known as the Father of Texas Botany, with over 20 species and one genus bearing his name.
The Lindheimer House
in New Braunfels is preserved as a public museum and operated by the New Braunfels Conservation Society. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1970.
German Texan
German Texan is an ethnic category that includes residents of the state of Texas with German ancestry who identify with the term. This identification may include cultural agreements—German language, German cuisine, feasts, music, hard work, frugality, and close family ties. From their first...
botanist who spent his working life on the American frontier. In 1936, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the state of Texas....
number 1590 was placed on Lindheimer's grave.
Early life
Ferdinand Jacob Lindheimer was born to merchant Johann Hartmann and Jahnette Magdeline Reisser Lindheimer on May 21, 1801 in Frankfurt, Germany. Lindheimer was education at the Frankfurt Gymnasium, a BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
preparatory school, the University of Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, the University of Jena. He received a scholarship in Philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
at the University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
.
Political activitism
In 1827 Lindheimer became a teacher at the Bunsen Institute in Frankfurt, where he became an active proponent of governmental reform of Germany. He became one of the DreissigerDreissiger
The term Dreissiger refers to liberal intellectuals who left Germany and came to the United States in the 1830s to escape political repression....
refugees who left Germany after participation in the failed Frankfurt Putsch insurrection in 1833. In 1834, Lindheimer arrived in Belleville, Illinois
Belleville, Illinois
Belleville is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city has a population of 44,478. It is the eighth-most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area and the most populated city south of Springfield in the state of Illinois. It is the county...
, whence he traveled by boat to New Orleans.
Texas residency
Lindheimer and several companions began traveling to Texas, but were diverted to MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
where he lived and worked for more than a year. Late in 1835 he departed Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
as the Texas Revolution
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
was beginning and was shipwrecked on the coast near Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
. Lindheimer headed to Texas and arrived at the San Jacinto
San Jacinto
San Jacinto is Spanish for Saint Hyacinth; as a place name, it may refer to:* San Jacinto, Bolívar, Colombia* San Jacinto, Chiquimula, Guatemala* San Jacinto, Comondú, Mexico* San Jacinto, Lerdo, Mexico* San Jacinto, Ancash Region, Peru...
battlefield the day after the final battle of the Texas Revolution
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
.
In 1844 he met Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels , was a German prince and military officer in both the Austrian army and in the cavalry of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. As Commissioner General of the Adelsverein, he spearheaded the establishment of colonies of German immigrants in Texas...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, who was making final arrangements for the settlement of a German colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
in Texas, which would be known as New Braunfels, Texas
New Braunfels, Texas
New Braunfels is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas that is a principal city of the metropolitan area. Braunfels means "brown rock" in German; the city is named for Braunfels, in Germany. The city's population was 57,740 as of the 2010 census, up 58% from the 2000...
. Lindheimer lived the remainder of his life in New Braunfels, Texas
New Braunfels, Texas
New Braunfels is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas that is a principal city of the metropolitan area. Braunfels means "brown rock" in German; the city is named for Braunfels, in Germany. The city's population was 57,740 as of the 2010 census, up 58% from the 2000...
.
Meusebach and Hermann Spiess
Hermann Spiess
Hermann Spiess was co-founder of the Bettina, Texas commune in 1847. He became Commissioner-General of the Adelsverein after the resignation of John O. Meusebach.-Early life:...
of the Darmstadt Society of Forty chose the location for Bettina in 1847 on the banks of the Llano River
Llano River
The Llano River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 105 mi long, in central Texas in the United States. It drains part of the Edwards Plateau in Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin....
. Lindheimer was a botanist residing in this colony. The Fisher-Miller Land Grant
Fisher-Miller Land Grant
The Fisher-Miller Land Grant was part of an early colonization effort of the Republic of Texas. Its 3,878,000 acres covered between the Llano River and Colorado River. Originally granted to Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller, the grant was sold to the German colonization company of Adelsverein...
commune was named in honor of Bettina von Arnim
Bettina von Arnim
Bettina von Arnim , born Elisabeth Catharina Ludovica Magdalena Brentano, was a German writer and novelist....
, an early feminist activist and a personal friend of the Meusebach family.
Botanist
During the late 1830s and early 1840s, Lindheimer collected botanic specimens in Texas, part of this time for Dr. Asa GrayAsa Gray
-References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001....
of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Lindheimer persuaded Wilhelm Bruckisch of the Silesian Beekeepers Society to bring black Italian bees to Texas for pollination of the fruit trees in the Guadalupe River
Guadalupe River (Texas)
The Guadalupe River runs from Kerr County, Texas to San Antonio Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The river is a popular destination for rafters and canoers. Larger cities along the river include New Braunfels, Kerrville, Seguin, Gonzales, Cuero, and Victoria...
valley.
Lindheimer collected fifteen hundred species in the south Texas area, over a period of thirteen years.
In New Braunfels, Lindheimer began a friendship with fellow botanical enthusiast John O. Meusebach
John O. Meusebach
John O. Meusebach , born Baron Otfried Hans von Meusebach, was at first a Prussian bureaucrat, later an American farmer and politician who served in the Texas Senate, District 22.-Early years:John O...
, who appointed him director of a New Braunfels botanical garden. After resigning as Commissioner-General of the Adelsverein
Adelsverein
Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas, better known as Adelsverein , organized on April 20, 1842, was a colonial attempt to establish a new Germany within the borders of Texas.-History:...
, Meusebach moved from New Braunfels to some acreage he had bought at Comanche Springsin Bexar County
Bexar County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,392,931 people, 488,942 households, and 345,681 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,117 people per square mile . There were 521,359 housing units at an average density of 418 per square mile...
, believed to be in the vicinity of current-day Camp Bullis
Camp Bullis
Camp Bullis Military Training Reservation is a U.S. Army training camp located in Bexar County, Texas, just northwest of San Antonio, USA. The camp is named for Brigadier General John Lapham Bullis ,...
. Lindheimer and Meusebach made botanical collections at Comanche Spring, with Lindheimer's 1849 collections bearing the Comanche Spring place tag. After Meusebach retired to Loyal Valley
Loyal Valley, Texas
Loyal Valley is an unincorporated farming and ranching community, established in 1858, and is north of Cherry Spring in the southeastern corner of Mason County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The community is located near Cold Spring Creek, which runs east for to its mouth on Marschall Creek in...
, Lindheimer was a frequent visitor who exchanged botanical specimens for evaluation with Meusebach.
Newspaper
In 1852, Lindheimer was hired as an editor, and along with Carl Adolph DouaiCarl Adolph Douai
Karl Daniel Adolph Douai , known to his peers as "Adolph," was a German Texan teacher as well as a socialist and abolitionist newspaper editor...
, helped found the German-language newspaper known as the Die Neu-Braunfelser Zeitung.
Death and legacy
Lindheimer died December 2, 1879 in New Braunfels.He is known as the Father of Texas Botany, with over 20 species and one genus bearing his name.
The Lindheimer House
Lindheimer House
The Lindheimer House is located in the city of New Braunfels, county of Comal, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Comal County, Texas in 1970, and designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1936...
in New Braunfels is preserved as a public museum and operated by the New Braunfels Conservation Society. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1970.