1868 07
Submitted By Roy Pfeiffer
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Letter from Anton Pfeiffer on Sandy
Creek near McDade to a cousin in Germany.
BASTROP 15 JULY, 1868,
(( LETTER 1861_05 FROM ERHARD WILL SHED
LIGHT ON THE ERHARD/JOHANN AFFAIR MENTIONED IN THIS LETTER.
WHY DID ANTON BOTHER TO MAKE A COPY OF THIS LETTER TO HIS COUSIN?
WAS THIS AN UNMAILED LETTER? ))
DEAR COUSIN,-
I HAVE RECEIVED YOUR LETTER OF MARCH 19,
1867 ((THE LETTER BEING ANSWERED IS NOT AVAILABLE.)). WE ARE IN GOOD HEALTH AND
WE HOPE YOU ARE ALSO. THE NEWS OF
YOUR FATHER'S DEATH HAS MADE ME VERY SAD, BUT WHEN I MYSELF LOOK AT MY GRAY HAIR
I CAN'T BE VERY SURPRISED. BUT YOU
DO NOT WRITE IF YOUR MOTHER STILL LIVES OR NOT, HOW THINGS LOOK AT SCHNEIDER'S
((SCHNEIDERBAUER?)) AT NAUBRUNER ((MAP SAYS NEUBAUER)) IN SPORTHAL ((MAP SAYS
SCHAFHOF))? IF UNCLE AND AUNT IN
LENGENFELD (( A STUDY OF THIS MAY SHED FURTHER LIGHT ON THE LETTER WHICH
INCLUDES GREETING FROM SOMEBODY'S "SISTER-IN-LAW IN LENGENFELD".)) YET
LIVE OR NOT. [MICHEL] (MICHAEL) HÄRRING
(( FROM 1850 CENSUS, BASTROP COUNTY, #175 “HARRING, MICHAEL” 40 MALE ))
LIVES YET AND SENDS GREETINGS TO YOU ALL AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF HIS FATHER
YET LIVES; HOW HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS ARE AND SO ON.
YOU WRITE THAT YOUR SISTERS ARE MARRIED BUT NOT TO WHOM.
IN GENERAL WE WANT TO HEAR MORE OF OUR RELATIVES AND FRIENDS; WE ARE
ACQUAINTED WITH THE CONDITIONS OF OUR OLD HOMELAND AND UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING
READILY; IT IS DIFFERENT WITH YOU AS TO CONDITIONS HERE.
IF I WRITE YOU ABOUT SOMETHING CAN YOU FORM NO CLEAR IDEA OF IT AS YOU
ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE COUNTRY. IF
YOU WANT TO FIND OUT SOMETHING, ASK ABOUT IT IN YOUR FOLLOWING LETTER AND YOU'LL
FIND ME READY TO GIVE YOU INFORMATION ABOUT IT.
WHEN YOU SEE MY MOTHER-IN-LAW GREET HER FROM US; HER CHILDREN IN AMERICA
ARE YET ALIVE, EXCEPT MICHAEL.
WHEN I SAW JOHANN THE LAST TIME HE TOLD
ME THAT HE DID NOT CARE TO GO EVER BACK TO GERMANY TO SEE AGAIN HIS COUNTRY AS
HE HAD RECEIVED NO ANSWER TO THE SEVERAL LETTERS HE HAD WRITTEN TO HIS FATHER.
OF COURSE HIS FATHER WAS DEAD AND HIS BROTHER EHRHART DID NOT WRITE HIM
ABOUT IT UNTIL 5 YEARS AFTER. THEN
HE WROTE ONE DAY THAT HIS DEAR FATHER HAD NOT MADE A WILL, THAT HE HAD TAKEN
OVER THE ESTATE AND "FOR YOU DEAR BROTHER JOHANN, THERE IS LEFT NOTHING BUT
6 YEARS SERVICE AS SOLDIER AND 2 YEARS IN A FORTRESS.
IF YOU WANT TO HAVE THOSE YOU MUST COME BACK TO GERMANY."
JOHANN KNEW THERE MUST BE SOMETHING LEFT
OVER FOR HIM, AS THE THREE OLDER SISTERS EACH WITH 300FL WERE DISPOSED OF, AND
EVERYONE MUST GIVE A QUIT-CLAIM FOR HIS SHARE, AND THAT BROTHER JOSEPH HAD DIED.
SO HE THINKS THAT ONLY [THEY TWO ( NAMELY HE AND HIS BROTHER ERHARD)] (JOHANN
AND ERHARD) ARE LEFT TO SHARE THE
PATERNAL ESTATE. FURTHER HE WROTE
THAT THEIR FATHER HAD BOUGHT SO MUCH REAL ESTATE AND HAD BUILT A NEW TOWN AND
THAT HE ((ERHARD)) HAD BOUGHT AND BUILT SO MUCH, AND THAT HE HAD MARRIED A GOOD
DEAL OF MONEY AND SO HE WRITES THAT HE IS HAPPIER THAN ANY OF THE OTHERS. YES, TRULY, (HE) WHO HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO INHERIT FROM HIS
BROTHERS AND SISTERS WHILE THEY ARE ALIVE, HE CAN SPEAK OF LUCK.
UNFORTUNATELY HE HAS ENJOYED THIS
HAPPINESS FOR A SHORT TIME ONLY AND SO ONE SEES THAT TOO MUCH HAPPINESS IS NOT
OF MUCH USE. IN CONCLUSION,
REMEMBER ME TO ALL RELATIVES AND FRIENDS AND IF IT IS NOT TOO MUCH TROUBLE WRITE
TO ME AGAIN, WE THINK AND SPEAK OF
YOU DAILY AND I WISH I COULD SEE YOU AGAIN IN PERSON.
IF I AM WELL INFORMED MY WIFE HAS YET A
MEADOW IN GERMANY WHICH SHE HAS
INHERITED FROM HER GRANDMOTHER AND HER HUSBAND. I LIKE VERY MUCH TO GO AGAIN OVER TO GERMANY TO SEE HOW TALL
THE GRASS HAS GROWN ON IT.
YOUR SINCERE FRIEND
ANTON PFEIFFER