Feller Family

Johann Philipp Feller was born in Dillenburg, Germany on 24 August 1775 in the family of Johann Heinrich Feller (b. 1740/d. 1794) who was a master tanner, and Friedericke Blum (b. 1751/d. 1787).
Johann Philipp - when he grew up - worked as a tanner, probably with his father. In 1795 he joined his brother Karl who had emigrated to England earlier. Karl lived and worked in London. Johann became a shoemaker and also a brewer.

In 1812, the man married Miss Maria Badland, the daughter of Thomas Badland. Maria was younger than her spouse, she was born about 1790/95 in Preston, England. Three of the couple's children were born in England as well:
Marie (b. 5 May 1812, Preston, England),d. 24 March 1848
Philipp (b. 12 March 1816, London),
Heinrich (b. 1 June 1818, London).

In 1819, the family came back to Dillenburg. Johann worked as a tanner again, later he was a miner in Nanzebach.

On 22 August 1821, the fourth child was born to the family. The son's name was August Valentin Heinrich Philipp Martin. In the same year, on 31 October, little Heinrich, who was about 3, died.

1823
Karl Heinrich, the fourth son of Johann and Marie's, was born on 4 Dec.

1826
Wilhelm Philipp was born on 5 Feb.

1831
Christian Karl, the seventh child and the youngest son was born on 4 March.

1835 

Tragedy struck - Johann Philipp, the father of the family passed on 23 Oct. Was his death related to the job he was doing? Very likely. The miner's work was very dangerous, however, a bit better paid than a day-laborer's.

1836
5 June - the Fellers celebrate the marriage of Marie, 24-year-old bride. Her broom was Jost Heinrich Stahl, a tanner of Mademühlen. He was born in 1803 (d. 1875).

1843
Philipp who worked as a joiner and day laborer passed away on 15 April.

The economic situation of the people in the Dillenburg area worsened with the potato famine, trade downfall, skilled labor market collapsed, and skyrocketing prices of food with the lowering labor pays.
Mrs. Maria Feller and her children must have struggled as well. 

1844

Another family tragedy - Christian Karl - the youngest son - died on 22 June.

 

Maria and her two youngest sons Karl Heinrich and Wilhelm Philipp decided to emigrate to Texas. They traveled on the ship Arminius in 1845.

Later in the same year, on 2 November, August who worked as a gentleman's tailor in the town of Dillenburg, married Miss Auguste Lepper (b. 19 April 1822). She was the daughter of Herr Friedrich Lepper (b. 1779/d. 1845) and Frau Marie Johannette Klauer (b. 1787/d. 1855).

The belongings and land of the widow of Mr. Heinrich Feller and his grown-up children were sold at an auction held in Dillenburg, Germany on Thursday, 19 March 1846.

In Texas, Karl Heinrich became Charles Henry and Wilhelm became William.

According to one source (1) Charles got married on 20 Jan. 1850 to Miss Sophia Jung (b. 1825) of Niederossbach, Westerwald, the daughter of Mr. Johann Martin Jung and Maria Betz.

In 1850, the family of Charles and Sophia Feller was registered during the census. They lived in the Pedernales settlement in Gillespie county together with their children Lora (b.1848), Charles (b. 1850), brother William, and Miss Susana Rump, age 16, who was a laborer (2).

 

The death certificate of (3) Charles Feller, the son of Chas and Sophie's, shows that he was born on 20 Jan. 1850. If the information regarding Karl and Sophie's marriage is correct, the two got married on the very same day.

Sophie and Karl had at least three more children (4) Mathilda (b. 6 August 1861), (5) Thomas (b. 9 May 1857), and (6) Franziska (b. 24 August 1863).

On 1 January 1851 Maria Feller, the mother, remarried. Her second husband was James S King. Maria passed in about 1853.

Charles remarried after Sophie's death (which came on 29 August 1865). The family lived on Bear Creek then. The second wife was Maria Magdalene Markwordt nee Hoffmann. She had been widowed by Mr. Heinrich Markwordt. The marriage of Charles and Maria's took place on 19 August 1867 (7).

Children born to the couple were (8) Oswald C (b. 15 April 1872), (9) Alice (b. 12 March 1874), (10) Cornelia (b. 27 January 1878) and (11) Olfen A (b. 1870).

Charles was Justice of the Peace and a Tax-collector, and Gillespie county commissioner from 1872-1874 (12). The man died on 18 Feb 1899 on Bear Creek.

Before his emigration to Texas, William Feller was a brewer and innkeeper in Dillenburg. In Texas -William became a farmer. He was also Justice of the Peace (county commissioner). At first, the man lived in the Fredericksburg area, later, around 1860, moved to Cave Creek.

Wilhelm Philipp married Miss Clara Ressemann from Heiligenroth in 1851. Clara was born 12 Dec. 1832/d. 27 Feb. 1930 in Fredericksburg. I wrote about them more in the article dedicated to the Wahrmund family - to whom Wilhelm and Clara were related.

The 1860 census data (13) informs that William, Clara, and their children Mary (b. 10 August 1851), Auguste (b. 1 August 1853), Clara (b. 6 August 1855), Emma (b. 1 April 1857), and Rosa (b. 1859) lived in Precinct #4, Gillespie County, Texas. August Hoffman, a wagoner, age 17 (born in Prussia) lived with the family (13, 14, 15).

 William and Clara Feller had also twins - a girl (Louise) and a boy (Herman) - born on 3 August 1861.

During the Civil War William and some of his neighbors were killed by the mob, so-called "Hängerbande" (16).

 

Wilhelm Feller met death on 9 March 1864. He was 38 years old. The man's body was buried at the city cemetery in Fredericksburg, TX.

The Feller family was related (among others) to the Wahrmunds, Meckels and Luckenbachs. The Luckenbach line leads in the family tree to Mr. Rufus Monroe Angel, our 3rd cousin once removed.

UPDATE:

Karl and Sophie had ten children (one died young): Charles, Thomas, Willie, Lora, Emelia, Francisca, Carlena (married Louis Herbort), Sophie (married Mr. Jenschke), Mathilda (married August Herbort).

Maria Markwordt, the second wife of Karl's, had five children from her first marriage (to Heinrich Markwordt). They were Berthold, Sarah, Ottilie, Amanda, and Angelia.

Karl and Maria's children were Emil, Hugo, Oswald, Alice (married John Warterbach), Cornelia (married John Warterbach), and Martina.

Karl had seventeen children and five step children.

Doing the tax assessor and collector's duties, Karl rode from one farm to another on a white horse. He carried documents and the money in two saddlebags. The man had to deliver the money to the bank in Austin as there was no bank in Fredericksburg where he lived and worked. Karl most often traveled to Austin accompanied by his friend Mr. Haman Klein. For safety reasons they first rode to a certain point and checked the area. If everything seemed to be alright, they rode fast  ahead. Such a trip always took a few days. The men spent the nights then, sleeping hidden in a dense thicket (17).

---

More about that family line in

Konrad Meckel and Henriette Luckenbach

Wahrmund Family - part 2 

Resources: 

Many thanks to Ms. Ursula Hatzfeld for her book "From Dillenburg to Texas."

1. "From Dillenburg to Texas. Emigration in the District of Dillenburg from 1845 to 1846" Ursula Hatzfeld, translated by Henry Salzhandler, El Gritodel Lobo Press, 2015.

2. "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXLK-GSJ : 4 April 2020), Charles Feller, Gillespie county, part of, Gillespie, Texas, United States; citing family 34, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

3. "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3WK-SSV : 13 March 2018), Chas Feller, 10 Jul 1911; citing certificate number 15672, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,050,487.

4. "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3MV-PWD : 13 March 2018), Carl Feller in entry for Mathilda Herbort, 01 Jan 1940; citing certificate number 2320, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,118,469.

5. "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3Z7-TKZ : 13 March 2018), Chas Feller in entry for Thomas Feller, 13 Jan 1924; citing certificate number 1568, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,075,023.

6."Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K363-VQX : 13 March 2018), Carl Feller in entry for Franziska Herbort, 12 Jul 1949; citing certificate number 41105, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,223,522.

7. "Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VXGC-V5Y : 22 December 2016), Charles Feller and Marge Magdalene Markwords, 19 Aug 1867; citing Gillespie, Texas, United States, county courthouses, Texas; FHL microfilm 982,801.8. 

8. "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3XD-1YX : 13 March 2018), Charles Feller in entry for Oswald C Feller, 27 Jul 1962; citing certificate number 40372, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,117,022.

9. "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3XD-886 : 13 March 2018), Charles Feller in entry for Alice Wartenbach, 26 Feb 1962; citing certificate number 18164, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,116,967.10. 

10. "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3Q1-74W : 13 March 2018), Charles Feller in entry for Cornelia Wartenbach, 27 Mar 1953; citing certificate number 15342, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,113,849.

11. findagrave.com

12. Biggers, Don Hampton, 1869-1957. German Pioneers in Texas; A Brief History of Their Hardships, Struggles and Achievements, book, 1925; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth29394/: accessed October 5, 2020), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Texas at Arlington Library.

13. "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXFX-GZ2 : 18 March 2020), William Feller, 1860.

14. "Texas Deaths and Burials, 1903-1973", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6TD-S2X : 13 February 2020), William Feller in entry for Mrs. Auguste Wahrmund, 1944. 

15. findagrave.com

16. The Weekly State Gazette. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 32, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 23, 1864, newspaper, March 23, 1864; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth181540/: accessed October 7, 2020), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.  

17. "PIONEERS IN GOD'S HILLS : a History of Fredericksburg and Gillespie County People and Events", Part 1, Gillespie County Historical Society, 1960.

My own MyHeritage research

Wahrmund Family - Part 2

The Wahrmunds were recorded on a passenger list of the vessel Talisman. The head of the family Johann Christian with children Louis, Susan, and Charles. Johann's wife Wilhelmine is not listed there. Charles was Karl August mentioned above. 

Three of Christian's sons were listed separately

• Emil Wahrmund (b. 1828) single.

• Wilhelm Wahrmund (b. 1827) and wife Amalie Schildknecht + son Ludwig. Wilhelm's profession on the passenger list was given as stonemason.

• Then there is Louis again - a single man of Wiesbaden. That was probably Philip Ludwig Wahrmund (b.1822), the oldest son of Johann's.

What were the full names of Louis and Susana recorded with their father? Most probably they were minors as their brother Karl (Charles). However, I have not found any information about them and what happened to them later. Maybe they died?

WILHELM Daniel Ferdinand WAHRMUND, originally a stonemason, later ran a store (1). He also served as county judge. On 24 Nov. 1885, the judge was assaulted by an angry local teacher who fired two shots aiming at William Wahrmund but did not manage to wound the man. It was all about a case related to voucher approval. The teacher was caught by the sheriff. However, the assailant died shortly after the shooting. Supposedly he took some sort of poison and killed himself (2).

The house of William Wahrmund's still stands in Fredericksburg.

William's wife was Amalie Schildknecht*.

Their children
1. Son Otto married Miss Sophie Nimitz
2. Son Henry married Miss Meta Nimitz
3. Daughter Klara married Mr. Eugene Staffel
4. William Jr. married Miss Elise M. Hopf
5. Christian

 William died suddenly on 20 June 1890. The eulogy placed in a local newspaper, issued in German, describes him as one of the best-known citizens of Fredericksburg, a very popular and generally regarded man. William and his parents were co-founders of Fredericksburg.

Clipping source: Hanschke, Robert. Freie Presse für Texas. (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 2484, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 26, 1890, newspaper, June 26, 1890; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1083032/: accessed April 25, 2020), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; . 

* Adolphus Schildknecht (b. 1810) of Wiesbaden, his wife Caroline (b. 1805) and children Augustus (b. 1826) and Augusta (b. 1837) came to Texas on Bohemia in 1846 (3,4). Were they Amalie's parents and siblings? 

CARL Heinrich WAHRMUND known as "Emil"

He married Miss Auguste Sander born 20 Sept. 1827 in Braunschweig, Germany. Their marriage took place on 26 Nov. 1847 in Bexar County, Texas (5).  At the time of the marriage, Emil was listed in the records as "Principal".

In 1860, Emil was a farmer and butcher (6), later he was engaged in merchandising (7).
The couple had 3 sons and 4 daughters:

• Adolph married Miss Elise Schildknecht,
• Emil Jr. m. Miss Auguste Feller, daughter of Clara and Wilhelm Feller,
• Louise m. Mr. William Basse,
• Emma m. Mr. Albert Lee Patton,
• Mathilde m. Mr. Henry Meckel,
• Lena m. Mr. Alfred Basse (3).

Emil Sr. was a brother-in-law of Mrs. Clara Keller* whom he helped when the lady was in a critical moment of her life.

Clara was married to Mr. Wilhelm Feller when she was eighteen. The couple bought 200 acres of land from a Mr. Ingram, they paid the man $400, 2 dollars per acre. The land was situated on Dry Creek, 15 miles from Fredericksburg. In 1853, the Feller family moved in. They built a house and cultivated their acres. After 13 years of Clara and William's marriage, William was hanged by the mob for the man's alleged anti-slavery and anti-Nueces massacre attitude. William's wife and children continued their fieldwork although without Mr. Feller's help they obviously had to work much harder. However, they managed to collect a good crop.

At that point, a certain man appeared in the area. He claimed the land the Fellers bought was bought/sold unlawfully as he was its real owner. Mr. Ingram had already moved Texas and nothing else was known about him. The newly come out owner wanted Mrs. Feller to pay him 300 dollars for the property. The lady was not able to pay that so the man took everything - the land, the house, even the crops. Whether he was the real legal owner of the property, it is not known.

Anyhow, Clara and her children were aided by Mr. Emil Sr. who gave her $100 for the past due debt note - the only thing she had had not counting some household items. The note was for less than $100. Mrs. Feller used the money to buy a house in Fredericksburg. The house had a dirt floor only but another brother-in-law, Mr. Louis Wahrmund, helped as well. He gave Clara wooden logs to make a proper floor in the house (2).

Louis Wahrmund mentioned above was Emil's brother Philip Ludwig Friedrich. He was a husband of Clara's sister Susanne.

* Clara Feller nee Ressemann (Ressmann/Roessmann) was born on 12 December 1832 in Heiligenrroth, Amt Montebaur, Nassau, Germany. She traveled from Europe to Indianola on the vessel Strabo together with her parents Johann Peter (age 53), Margarite (55), and siblings Susanne (17), a brother Christian (10), and a half-brother Caspar Ressemann (20).

Emil passed at the age of 74 on Monday, 4 March 1901. The obituary published by Freie Presse für Texas informs that he was born in Wiesbaden and came to Gillespie County, Texas through Galveston and then New Braunfels in 1845. The passenger list of the ship Talisman on which the Wahrmunds traveled to Texas gives 1846 as the year of their arrival in the New World.  Emil was a brother of an ex-judge (William Wahrmund) and an uncle of Otto Wahrmund (who was William's son), the vice president of a brewery in San Antonio.

Hanschke, Robert. Freie Presse für Texas. (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 5730, Ed. 1 Tuesday, March 5, 1901, newspaper, March 5, 1901; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1085824/: accessed April 25, 2020), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .

Emil's wife Amalie lived 83 years. The lady died on 10 February 1910. The obituary which was published in a local German-language newspaper mentions that Amalie came to Texas in 1846, together with her parents. They got to Fredericksburg area through New Braunfels.

Clipping source: Hanschke, Robert. Freie Presse für Texas. (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 8464, Ed. 1 Saturday, February 12, 1910, newspaper, February 12, 1910; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1086526/: accessed April 25, 2020), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .

Both Emil and his wife were survived by a son (Emil), and three daughters (Emma, Louis, and Lena).

The Family branch which leads us to Emil and William Wahrmund

William/Wilhelm Daniel Ferdinand Wahrmund
⇒ his brother Emil Wahrmund (b. 3 June 1828, Wiesbaden, Germany/d. 4 March 1901, Texas)
⇒ his daughter Mathilde (Wahrmnud) Meckel (b. 20 Feb. 1859/d. 17 Sept. 1913)
⇒ her husband of Heinrich Bernard Meckel (b. 16 May 1854, Fredericksburg, Gillespie, TX/d. 16 March 1909, Fredericksburg, TX)
⇒ his mother Henriette (Luckenbach) Meckel
⇒ her brother Friedrich Wilhelm Luckenbach
⇒ his son Louis Carl Luckenbach
⇒ his wife Jeannie Katherine Hart
⇒ her sister Elizabeth (Hart) Angel
⇒ her husband Rufus Monroe Angel - our 3rd cousin once removed
⇒ his father James Monroe Angel
⇒ his mother Elizabeth Sarah (Gant) Angel
⇒ her father Benjamin Thomas Gant
⇒ his brother Jacob Rippy Gant - our great-great-grandfather

UPDATE: 

Additional info regarding Mr. Emil Wahrmund

When the Wahrmund family moved to Fredericksburg, Emil, and William Wahrmund stayed in New Braunfels - the brothers worked for the Verein (German emigration company) for 18 months.

Emil was a tall and well-built man. He had dark hair and wore a mustache. Emil's wife Auguste was a good-hearted lady, very good at cooking, sewing and managing the household.

In 1849, Emil + his immediate family moved to the Pedernales area, then to Bear Creek.

At the end of the Civil War, they moved to Fredericksburg. Emil Wahrmund built a store on the town lot which had belonged to his father Johann Christian (he passed in 1868). The porch of the store was next to the house porch. Behind the house, there was also a barn made of rock and a stable.

Emil had freight wagons which were drawn by three pairs of horses. The cargo included lumber, farm utensils, dry goods, groceries, hides, cotton, and grain as well. The farmers, Emil's customers, could buy at his store on credit until the harvest came. Then, the due payment was brought by them to the store in produce. Later, Emil was a contracted freighter for Fort Cosco too. He also ranched and raised Holstein dairy cattle.

The man was an active community member. he participated in various social events organized by the Hermann Sons, Turnverein (gymnastic club), and the Casino (including Sylvester dance/ New Year's Eve with dinner served at midnight). At Easter, he held the family gathering and BBQ at his ranch.

Fifty years after the Wahrmunds arrival in Texas, Emil and his wife went back to the old country for a visit. They brought souvenirs for their grandchildren - girls got garnet jewelry and boys were presented with watches (9).

Emil and Auguste's grave site in the Old Fredericksburg City Cemetery.

Sources:
1. "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFN8-GP5 : 15 July 2017), William Warhmund, Fredericksburg, Gillespie, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district ED 61, sheet 257D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,255,305. 

2. "German Pioneers in Texas", Don H. Biggers, Gillespie County Edition, Press of the Fredericksburg Publishing Co., 1925.

3."Pioneer in God's Hills. A History of Texas and Gillespie County People and Events." Gillespie County Historical Society. Printed by Boeckman-Jons, Austin, Texas, 1960.

4. "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXLK-G96 : 4 April 2020), Adolphus Schildknecht, Gillespie county, part of, Gillespie, Texas, United States; citing family 27, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). 

5. "Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XL83-X66 : 4 November 2017), Emil Wharmund and Augusta Sander, 26 Nov 1847; citing Bexar, Texas, United States, county courthouses, Texas; FHL microfilm 24,917.

6. )"United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXFX-BFT : 18 March 2020), Adolph Wahrmund in entry for Emil Wahrmund, 1860.

7. "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFN8-2KG : 15 July 2017), Emily Wahrmund, Fredericksburg, Gillespie, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district ED 61, sheet 257D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,255,305.

8. Findagrave.com.

9. "PIONEERS IN GOD'S HILLS" : a History of Fredericksburg and Gillespie County People and Events", Part 1, Gillespie County Historical Society, 1960.