|
Texas
| People
Texas Family
Photos
The Altgelts
of Comfort,
San Antonio
(and Argentina)
|
| Editor’s
Note:One
of the delights in writing about Texas
towns is hearing from descendants of town founders. The Internet
has become a conduit of history and to date we have heard from thirty
or more families involved in the formation of towns small and large.
In this particular case, it is the man who built the first residence
in San Antonio’s famed
King William District as well as the town of Comfort.
Our thanks to James Ernest (Ernie) Altgelt for sharing these rare
photos with our readers. - Ed. |
Ernest
Hermann Altgelt, founder of Comfort,
Texas
Photo courtesy James Ernest Altgelt |
Mr.
Altgelt writes:
“Attached are a few photos of my great-great grandfather Ernest Hermann
Altgelt (some family members spell the name Altgeld but he didn't).
I've also attached a picture of his wife Emma Merck Altgelt. She was
a strong one.
Ernst was a young "Freethinking"
German who came to Texas in 1854. He was "hired" to "found" a community
which became Comfort,
Texas.
After living there ten years, he moved to San
Antonio where the Altgelts still live. Ernst established the city's
first "suburb." He named the first street in it "King William" (for
German King Wilhelm), which is what this historic, South San
Antonio neighborhood is still called today. He built the first
house on that street and, it's still occupied.
While the German immigrants were all pro-union during the Civil War,
Ernst (for his health as Emma attests) went back to Germany when the
hostilities began. For some reason he returned after a few years and
soon found himself wearing a Confederate uniform during the war's
latter years. I'm sure he wasn't happy about this but he probably
didn't have any choice.
He died fairly young but left Emma and a lot of children. He and Emma
are buried together in Boerne,
Texas. One of his sons, Ernest Junior Altgelt, was my great grandfather.
Thanks to Ernst, there have been lots of other "Ernest Altgelts" throughout
the years.
It's a small family with members still in Germany, Texas
and South America (Argentina). All Altgelts are related!”
- James Ernest (Ernie) Altgelt, August 23, 2014 |
Ernest Hermann Altgelt
Photo courtesy James Ernest Altgelt |
Emma
Merck Altgelt
Photo courtesy James Ernest Altgelt |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and vintage or recent photos, please contact
us. |
|
|
HOME
