Nicholas Adolphus Sterne (April 5, 1801 – March 27, 1852) served three terms in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

and one term in the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per con ...

. He immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1817, living in Louisiana for ten years. In 1826, he moved to

Nacogdoches, Texas Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchito ...

, where he operated a mercantile and smuggled weapons for the colonist who wished to rebel against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. His position as a Freemason helped save him from a death sentence, and Sterne went on to finance the two companies of men known as the

New Orleans Greys The New Orleans Greys was a Military volunteer unit of two militia companies that totaled about 120, formed in the city of that name for service in the Texas War of Independence. Its name came from its soldiers' grey military fatigues. Companie ...

, to assist in fighting in the Texas Revolution.

Early years

Adolphus Sterne, the eldest son of Emmanuel Sterne and his second wife, Helen, was born on April 5, 1801, in Cologne, although Alsace is also claimed as his birthplace. The elder Sterne was an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

, and Helen Sterne was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

. Sterne grew up amid turmoil. At sixteen he was working in a passport office when he learned that he was going to be conscripted for military service, forged a passport for himself, and immigrated to the United States. He landed in New Orleans in 1817, found mercantile employment, and studied law.

Moved to Texas

In 1826, Sterne moved to

and established a mercantile business. He was required to swear an oath of loyalty to

, which governed Texas at the time. Despite having given his oath, Sterne soon became involved in the

Fredonian Rebellion The Fredonian Rebellion (December 21, 1826 – January 31, 1827) was the first attempt by Anglo settlers in Texas to secede from Mexico. The settlers, led by Empresario Haden Edwards, declared independence from Mexican Texas and created the Re ...

smuggling guns in coffee barrels. He was arrested and sentenced to death for treason after spies in New Orleans reported his activities. His guards were also Masons and allowed him a great deal of freedom, finally releasing him on the grounds that he never again take up arms against the government.

Personal life

On June 2, 1828, Sterne married Eva Catherine Rosine Ruff, an immigrant from Württemberg, Germany who had also lived in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. The couple lived in Nacogdoches, where they raised their seven children. Sam Houston lived with them for a time, and was baptized as a Roman Catholic in their parlor, with Eva Sterne serving as his godmother. Sterne was asked to be his godfather but refused because the date coincided with

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...

. With the assistance of the requirements of Mexican law, Eva succeeded in converting Sterne officially to the Catholic faith, although unofficially he remained a

deist Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...

. Sterne also worked as an interpreter in English, French, Spanish, German, Yiddish, Portuguese, and Latin.

Public service

A provisional provincial government was created in Texas in 1835, and Sterne traveled to New Orleans as an agent of that government to recruit an army. He personally financed two companies, later known as the New Orleans Grays. Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836, and the Republic of Texas was born. Under the Republic, Sterne served briefly as a commander in the militia during the Cherokee War in 1839. In 1840, he became a postmaster at Nacogdoches, and later served as a deputy clerk and associate justice of the county court. The following year he became a justice of the peace. After Texas was annexed to the United States, Sterne was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he served three terms. In 1851 he was elected to the Texas State Senate. He died in New Orleans on March 27, 1852.

Notes

References

tshaonline.org

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sterne, Adolphus 1801 births 1852 deaths Members of the Texas House of Representatives People of the Texas Revolution Texas state senators German emigrants to the United States 19th-century American politicians People from Nacogdoches, Texas