Nicolaus Zink (1812–1887) was the founder of

Sisterdale, Texas Sisterdale is an unincorporated farming and ranching community established in 1847 and located north of Boerne in Kendall County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The community is located in the valley of Sister Creek. The elevation is . Community Si ...

, and builder of the fort Zinkenburg. Under the direction of

Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels Prince Carl (Karl) of Solms-Braunfels (27 July 1812 – 13 November 1875), was a German prince and military officer in both the Austrian army and in the cavalry of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. As Commissioner General of the Adelsverein, he spearhead ...

, Zink led a caravan of new settlers from

Indianola Indianola may refer to: Places in the United States * Indianola, California (disambiguation) ** Indianola (Eureka), California * Indianola, Florida * Indianola, Georgia * Indianola, Illinois * Indianola, Iowa * Indianola, Kansas, a former settleme ...

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 ...

. He laid out the town and divided the original allotted farm acreage. In 1984, the Zink house in Welfare, Texas, was designed a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, marker 3595.

Early life

Nicolaus Zink was born in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

, Bavaria, Germany, on February 4, 1812. He was a career

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

and former Bavarian army officer. In 1844, Zink and his wife Louise von Kheusser emigrated to Texas with other Adelsverein colonists.

Texas

New Braunfels

Mainzer Adelsverein Karte der Stadt Neu Braunfels 1851 UTA

For four months, December 1844 to March 1845, Zink oversaw the settling of the colonists who arrived at Indianola, renamed Carlshafen in honor of Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels. The colonists rode covered wagons, pushcarts, and walked, as Zink led them to New Braunfels, arriving on March 21, 1845. The first structure in their new home was a fort named Zinkenburg, in honor of the man who brought them from Indianola. Zink laid out the townsite and adjoining acreage. Zink Street in New Braunfels is named for him. In return for his labors, Zink was given 25 acres in New Braunfels and 100 acres of farmland. He subdivided the farm acreage and sold it in tracts. By 1846, Zink was bringing new colonists and merchandise from

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Sisterdale

Sisterdale on the banks of Sister Creek was settled in 1847 by Nicolaus Zink. Originally part of Comal County, Sisterdale became part of Kendall County when the latter county was formed in 1862. Zink originally intended to settle in Fredericksburg when he left New Braunfels. Zink was among the 1847 Petitioners to Create Gillespie County, Texas. Instead of Fredericksburg, Zink built a new two-story log home on Sister Creek. Sisterdale was one of the Latin settlements, resulting from the

Revolutions of 1848 in the German states In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

. Those who came were

Forty-Eighters The Forty-Eighters were Europeans who participated in or supported the Revolutions of 1848 that swept Europe. In the German Confederation, the Forty-Eighters favoured unification of Germany, a more democratic government, and guarantees of human r ...

, intellectual liberal abolitionists who enjoyed conversing in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and believed in utopian ideals that guaranteed basic human rights to all. Freethinkers Association of Central Texas They reveled in passionate conversations about literature, music, and philosophy. TexFiles The free thinkers petitioned the Texas Congress in 1853 for a charter to operate a German-English college to be built at Sisterdale, but the petition did not come to fruition. Among the other original settlers in Sisterdale were German pioneers Fritz and

Betty Holekamp Betty Holekamp (1826–1902) was a German colonist and pioneer in Texas. She is recognized for several "firsts" as a Texas pioneer, such as being the first to sew an American flag upon Texas's acceptance into the Union, and thus is known as the Be ...

, geographer Ernst Kapp;

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

Premier progeny journalist Dr. Carl Adolph Douai;

August Siemering August Siemering (1828 – 1883), was a notable German Texan educator, writer, publisher and political leader. Early years August Siemering was born in Brandenburg, Germany, on February 8, 1828. Texas Forty-Eighters and Freethinkers A lib ...

who later founded the ''San Antonio Express News''; author, journalist, and diplomat Dr.

Julius Fröbel Carl Ferdinand Julius Fröbel (16 July 1805 – 7 November 1893) was a German geologist and mineralogist, journalist, and democratic revolutionary already during the ''Vormärz'' era. He was active in Germany, Switzerland, the United States and S ...

; future

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

financial wiz Gustav Theissen;

Edgar von Westphalen Edgar Gerhard Julius Oscar Ludwig von Westphalen (26 March 1819 – 30 September 1890) was a German writer, Communist politician and long time friend and the brother-in-law of Karl Marx. He was the son of Prussian baron Ludwig von Westphalen and ...

, Roe Hampton University-London Roe Hampton University-London brother to

Jenny von Westphalen Johanna Bertha Julie Jenny Edle von Westphalen (12 February 18142 December 1881) was a German theatre critic and political activist. She married the philosopher and political economist Karl Marx in 1843. Background Jenny von Westphalen was bor ...

who was married to

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

; and

Edward Degener Edward Degener (October 20, 1809 – September 11, 1890) was a German-born American politician. He was a Republican U.S. Representative from Texas during the Reconstruction era. Originally from Germany, Degener moved to the United States ...

, future Republican

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Texas during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. In Sisterdale, Zink gained success in farming, and became shrewd in his financial dealings when selling his wheat crop to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

posts.

Personal life and death

In 1847, Zink divorced Louise. By 1850, he was married to Elisabeth Mangold. They sold their Sisterdale home and acreage to Eduard Degener and moved to Barons Creek near Fredericksburg to start a gristmill. On June 4, 1866, Zink married Sara Agnes Williams. In 1853, Zink was living in

Comfort Comfort (or being comfortable'')'' is a sense of physical or psychological ease, often characterized as a lack of hardship. Persons who are lacking in comfort are uncomfortable, or experiencing discomfort. A degree of psychological comfort c ...

, which had opened to German settlements in 1852. Zink acquired land on the Kendall County settlement of

Welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

in 1868 and built a limestone house there. He died in Welfare on November 3, 1887, and is buried in an unmarked grave on the property.

Early life

Texas

New Braunfels

Sisterdale

Personal life and death

References

Further reading