August Ludwig Karl Georg Friedrich Freiherr von Bibra (30 January 1808,

Romrod Romrod is a small town in the Vogelsbergkreis in central Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Through the town flows the river Antrift. Neighbouring communities Romrod borders in the north on the town of Alsfeld, in the east on the community of S ...

– 1894) was director of the business affairs of Hermann, prince of Wied. He became general manager of the

Adelsverein The ''Mainzer Adelsverein at Biebrich am Rhein'' (''Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas'', "Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas"), better known as the ''Mainzer Adelsverein'' (, "Nobility Society of Mainz"), orga ...

, or ''Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas'' ("Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas").

Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas

The ''Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas'' was an emigration enterprise first organized by a group of German noblemen in 1842 that resulted in the founding of

New Braunfels New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal County, Texas, Comal and Guadalupe County, Texas, Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the county seat, seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a popula ...

, Fredericksburg, and other German communities in Texas. August, as the director of the business affairs of

Hermann, Prince of Wied , house =Wied-Neuwied , father =Johann August Karl, Prince of Wied , mother = Princess Sophie Auguste of Solms-Braunfels , birth_date = , birth_place =Neuwied, Duchy of Nassau , death_date = , death_place =Neuwied, Duchy o ...

, was privy from its inception to the development of the Verein. Hermann, Prince of Wied purchased a share in the society as he was engaged to the sister of

Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau Wilhelm (Given names: ''Georg Wilhelm August Heinrich Belgicus''; 14 June 1792, Kirchheimbolanden – 20/30 August 1839, Bad Kissingen) was joint sovereign Duke of Nassau, along with his father's cousin Frederick Augustus, reigning from 1816 unt ...

, the protector of the society. He took no active part in the society until 1847, when it became apparent because of debts and dissension, that a new more business like approach must be taken in order to save the reputations and investments of the noblemen. From 1847 on Bibra was actively involved in the affairs of the Verein; and, when the prince was elected president in 1851, Bibra took over complete management of the enterprise. Bibra struggled to repay the Verein debts and to revitalize the emigration program for more than ten years. He died in Germany in 1894.

Family

August was from the older line of the

Irmelshausen Irmelshausen is a village in the municipality of Höchheim in the district of Rhön-Grabfeld in Bavaria in Germany. Castle Irmelshausen is best known for its castle and related church. Irmelshausen, on the old border between East and Wes ...

branch of the

von Bibra The House of Bibra () was one of the leading ''Uradel'' (ancient noble) families in Franconia (northern part of Bavaria) and present day Thuringia from the mid-15th century to about 1600. Later on the family rose from ''Reichsrit ...

family. Born in

, he was the child of Christian Ernst Heinrich von Bibra (1772–1844) and Luise Charlotte Amalia

Riedesel Riedesel is a German noble family that began to appear in legal documents in the early 13th century. They were of the knightly class, though not all had the official status of ''Ritter'' or knight. Its exact geographical and temporal origins are ...

zu Eisenbach (1781–1855). August was married to Agnes Freiin von Stoltzenberg (1823–1866). They had five children: Berthold, Marie, Maximilian, Luise Therese and Anna Carolina. At least some of the children were close friends of the future queen of Romania,

Elisabeth of Wied Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise of Wied (29 December 18432 March 1916) was the first queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I from 15 March 1881 to 27 September 1914. She had been the princess consort of Romania since her marriage to then- ...

. Writing under her pen name, Carmen Sylva, she wrote about powerful effect of their premature death on her.

External links

Carmen Sylva book
*

*
Collection (3) of Adelsverein Documents, 1845-1864. Three documents related to August von Bibra, digitized at SMU.

Additional References

*Gothaisches Genealogisches Taschenbuch der Freiherrlichen Häuser. 1894 Justus Perthes Publisher * Carmen Sylva (Elizabeth of Wied, Queen Elizabeth of Romania), ''Songs of Toil'' * Carmen Sylva (Elizabeth of Wied, Queen Elizabeth of Romania), ''From Memory's Shrine: The Reminiscences of Carmen Sylva'' J. B. Lippincott Company, Date Published: 1911, p. 238. *MARTIN STINGL, ''REICHFREIHEIT UND FÜRSTENDIENST DIE DIENSTBEZIEHUNGEN DER BIBRA 1500 BIS 1806'', Verlag Degener & Co, 1994, 341 pages, ; *WILHELM FRHR. VON BIBRA, ''Geschicte der Familie der Freiherrn von Bibra'', 1870, p. 180; {{DEFAULTSORT:Bibra, August von 1808 births 1894 deaths People from Vogelsbergkreis German-American history German-American culture in Texas Barons of Germany

August von Bibra August Ludwig Karl Georg Friedrich Freiherr von Bibra (30 January 1808, Romrod – 1894) was director of the business affairs of Hermann, prince of Wied. He became general manager of the Adelsverein, or ''Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwand ...