The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945 Page: 165
617 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Captain Charles Schreiner
The Schreiners have always been proud of their French
ancestry. Although the word "Schreiner" is more Germanic
in origin, any member of the family will inform you im-
mediately that their forefathers came from Alsace-Lorraine,
then a part of France, and not from Germany. Captain Schrei-
ner spoke both French and German; the larger part of his
schooling had been in France, as has already been mentioned,
and there was no doubt of his pro-French attitude. Most of
the other Schreiners in the Old World also received their edu-
cation in Swiss and French schools. The Captain was generally
considered to be German, which probably arose from his name,
manner of speech, and the fact that many German families
settled in the Hill Country. His diction was strongly influenced
by his knowledge of the German language, for he always had
a somewhat broken speech; he was never able to pronounce
the word "sheep," for instance, but always called it "sheeps."
In the early days the settlers of German and French nation-
ality occasionally clashed with one another over their re-
spective origins. The bitter feeling between the two national
groups was sometimes strongly reflected upon the frontier of
Texas. Around 1860 Aime Schreiner, the Captain's brother
who has already been mentioned in connection with the Civil
War, once stood off a whole tavern full of German-Americans
in a regular gang fight. It seems that Aime had a beautiful
voice and would sometimes favor his friends with a song,
especially after a few drinks. On this particular occasion the
crowd in the tavern was feeling rather gay, and everyone insisted
on a song from the swashbuckling young rounder; finally he
acquiesced and selected his favorite "The Marseillaise." The
song was never finished. But Aime enjoyed a good fight as
much as he did a good song.
Long before the partitioning of his estate, Captain Schreiner
began his work of philanthropy. Many of his smaller benefi-
cences were never known. Some were discovered after his
death, such as his sending money to have the little village
church in Riguewihr electrified. Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Carruth
discovered, while on a visit there in 1937, that a bronze plaque
to his memory had been placed on the wall of that church. One
of the Captain's first public philanthropical acts was the granting
of two scholarships to graduates of Tivy High School, Kerr-
ville, Texas. These scholarships entitled the receivers to at-
tend any college of their choice for two years with all expenses165
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 48, July 1944 - April, 1945, periodical, 1945; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146055/m1/183/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.