The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945 Page: 145

THE SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
VOL. XLVIII OCTOBER, 1944 No. 2
Captain Charles Schre'iner, the
ather of the ill C ou Htr
GENE HOLLON
FEW NAMES in Texas are better known than "Schreiner."
Along with such names as Kleberg, Littlefield, and Good-
night, Schreiner is almost synonymous with a long period of
growth and development in the Lone Star State.
The title "The Father of the Hill Country" has rightfully been
conferred upon the memory of the late Captain Charles Schreiner
of Kerrville, Texas, who like Washington, was born on Feb-
ruary 22. He was a product of his time, soil, and circumstances,
and his history is the history of Kerrville and the surrounding
hill country. He, more than any other individual, was instru-
mental in the civilizing and developing of a beautiful and dis-
tinctive section of the Southwest.
The Schreiners originally migrated to Central Europe from
Sweden. The first was General Schreiner, who came during the
Thirty Years' War. He commanded a large corps of troops under
Gustave Adolph. After the restoration of peace in the year 1648,
General Schreiner settled with part of his command in Alsace,
and, according to family tradition, founded the town of Rigue-
wihr. The grandfather of Charles Schreiner was a physician
who built the Castle of Reichestein in Riguewihr in the Vosgas
Mountains, Alsace, France. This castle (more commonly called
a chateau) was a beautiful building with a great palatial yard
and garden. Dr. Schreiner married Miss Louise von Boux from
Austria and named his estate after her, "Bouxhof." The Castle
of Reichestein was the birthplace of several generations of
1Evidently part of the family history relative to this point is incorrect.
Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Carruth, grandchildren of the late Captain Charles
Schreiner, visited the little town of Riguewihr in 1937 and discovered that
it had been founded several centuries before the time of the Thirty Years'
War. It is more probable that General Schreiner merely settled there after
the town had been established.