The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 40, July 1936 - April, 1937 Page: 1

THE
SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
VOL. XL JULY, 1936 No. 1
The publication committee and the editors disclaim responsibility for views ex pressed
by contributors to THE QUARTERLY
PRINCE SOLMS'S TRIP TO TEXAS, 1844-1845
R. L. BIESELE
On April 20, 1842, some twenty German counts and princes met
at Biebrich on the Rhine, near the old city of Mainz, and organ-
ized a society for the purpose of purchasing lands in Texas. Their
plan was to settle German emigrants on these lands. They sent
Prince Victor of Leiningen and Count Joseph of Boos-Waldeck,
two of their members, to Texas in May, 1842, with ample funds
and full power to buy land. When these two men finally arrived
in Texas in September, Prince Leiningen called on President Hous-
ton to secure concessions for the society, while Count Boos-Waldeck
set about the purchase of a tract of land. On January 9, 1843, he
bought the W. H. Jack league on Cummins Creek in the eastern
part of Fayette County and named it Nassau Farm in honor of
the protector of the society, Duke Adolf of Nassau.
When Prince Leiningen returned to Germany in 1843 he re-
ported in favor of colonization on a large scale, although he had
failed to secure any concessions from President Houston and the
Congress of Texas, while Count Boos-Waldeck advised against large-
scale colonization because it would require too large a financial out-
lay. The society accepted Prince Leiningen's suggestions and lost
Count Boos-Waldeck as a member.
Having decided in favor of colonization on a large scale, the
society reorganized itself on March 25, 1844, at a general meeting
of the stockholders. The new society called itself Society for the
Protection of German Immigrants in Texas (Verein zum Schutze
deutscher Einwanderer in Texas) and announced very promptly
that it contemplated neither speculation nor political projects, but