Nicolaus Zink

Nicolaus zinc ( born February 4, 1812 in Bamberg, † November 3, 1887 in Comfort, Texas, United States) was a German American civil engineer and farmer. He led the beginning of 1845 the first settlers trek the Mainz Adel Association to Texas and built Fort zinc castle, the precursor to the village of New Braunfels in Comal County.

Family

Zinc married nor in Germany his first wife Louise of Kheusser. The marriage was divorced in 1847 in Texas. Soon thereafter (1848/1849) married zinc in Sisterdale (Kendall County) his second wife Elizabeth. Finally, he married his third wife before 1870, the Englishwoman Agnes Williams.

Life

Zinc was first an officer in the Royal Bavarian Army and was involved as a military officer in the planning of the first Greek railway, later he worked as a civil engineer.

End of 1844 emigrated to the " free-thinker " zinc with his wife and the first group of settlers, which was organized by the Mainz Adelsverein, to Texas. In December they reached the landing site in Indianola Matagorda Bay in Calhoun County. Under the command of the then Commissioner-General of the noble association, Carl, Prince of Solms- Braunfels, led zinc the trek from countless carts and wagons more than 3 months on the Guadalupe River upstream about Victoria, McCoy 's Creek and Seguin through the uninhabited Texas. Along the way, Prince of Solms separated from his trek, leaving his deputy of Coll and Nicolaus zinc command. On March 21, 1845, the German emigrants reached that area on the east bank of the Comal Creek, where later the settlement of New Braunfels was founded. There she also met again on their namesake, Prince of Solms- Braunfels.

With light snow storm zinc was as soon as possible a fort to protect the makeshift tent city from the weather, especially in front of Comanche Indians build, which was named after him zinc castle. The fort was equipped even two bastions with cannons. In this fort the Germans lived, could be built up permanent homes. As an engineer, developed the zinc plans under which the subsequent settlement New Braunfels built and adjoining farmland was divided. In his honor, was later named the zinc Street in the city. Already in 1850, New Braunfels was the fourth largest city in the state of Texas.

As a reward zinc received a 25 acre tract of land in the city and 100 acres of farmland outside, which he divided into smaller plots to sell they can. In 1846 he was transporting passengers and merchandise between Houston and New Braunfels.

After the separation from his wife in 1847, zinc wanted to move to Fredericksburg in Gillespie County, but landed at Sister Creek in neighboring Kendall County. There he built a two-story log house, the first building at the exact spot where later created the settlement Sisterdale and will go down as the most famous Latin settlement in the Texas history.

Zinc sat all alone through against the Comanche, was a successful farmer in the next few years and achieved a good price for his wheat, which he sold to the quartermaster of the nearby Army accommodation. During this period, zinc married a second time - Elisabeth.

During this time, around 1850 a group of German Forty- Eighters and freethinkers lived with zinc in Sisterdale, eg the former politician Eduard Degener and educator Adolph Douai. In 1850, zinc sold his house and some land to Eduard Degener and built at the Baron Creek south of Fredericksburg, a mill, he lived as a miller of their earnings. In 1853, the couple lived in the new town of zinc Comfort, a, also founded by German intellectuals Latin settlement.

Twenty years later, in 1870, the 58 -year-old zinc lived as a shingle maker ( shinglemaker ) with his third wife in Kendall County in a two-story farm house on the Spanish pass between Comfort and Boerne - at today's Don Strange Ranch. The house is a listed building since 1984.

Honors

• Zinc castle, name of that fort, on the property after the village of New Braunfels was established.
• Zinc Street, a street name in New Braunfels