Witajcže K’nam
It’s been quite a while since I’ve had time to think about our Wendish preoccupation with our heritage, our history and our specialness. In a previous column, I decided it had to be the noodles, because we are so proud of our yellow, egg-rich Wendish noodles (you can...
In December of 1854, an English sailing vessel, the Ben Nevis, docked in Galveston harbor loaded with some 500 immigrants from Lusatia, an area in Germany comprising parts of Saxony and Prussia. These immigrants were not the typical lot of Germans, Swedes, Czechs, and Poles who flocked to...
In the region of Schleife, which consists of the villages of Schleife (Slepo), Rohne (Rowno), Mulkwitz (Mulkecy), Mühlrose (Miloraz), Trebendorf (Trjebin), Halbendorf (Brězowka), and Groß Düben (Dźewin), the Advent season tradition of the gift-giving Christkind (dźěćetko) is kept alive. According to the tradition, a young woman who will...
The early names for the Fedor community were Bluff Creek, Moab, and West Yegua (YEHwah). Yegua is the Spanish name for mare and became the name for a creek. The name change to Fedor began when August Polnick, an early Wendish settler, decided to move to Thorndale, and...
Following is the text of Rev. Johann Kilian’s Call to serve as pastor for the group of Wends that emigrated on the Ben Nevis in 1854. The original document is located in the archives of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Serbin, Texas and a typed copy is included with...
The Wendish road to Thorndale first led to Hochkirch, or Noack, as it is called today. The distance separating the two communities is about 9 miles. On September 21, 1871, 7 years before Thorndale even existed, Peter Zieschang purchased 440 acres of land on Brushy Creek in southern...
The early Wendish Lutherans in Texas have left an interesting history of Lutheranism in North America. One can discern the classic factors which may effect the outward unity of a church, though in a microcosm, even among these faithful Lutherans. Religious identity, national identity, pastoral leadership, language, personality,...
The beginnings of Holy Cross lie in the dissensions within the Serbin congregation. After Ernst Leuber, teacher at St. Paul’s, Serbin, and his party left to organize St. Peter’s Church, it did not take long for Karl Teinert, one of the other dissenters, to air his grievances against Pastor Kilian. He used his influence to persuade a number of farmers near the Rabbs Creek section that their interests would be best served if they should separate from the two Serbin congregations and organize their own parish.
During the late sixties of the past century a number of Wends and Germans settled about twenty miles north of Serbin along the Yegua creeks, particularly near the West Yegua. At first these settlers, especially the Wends, traveled the long distance to Serbin for their spiritual needs. As the number increased, it became evident that a separate congregation with its own pastor and school would be more practical. Gradually the sentiment became strong enough to make an attempt to obtain a minister who might teach and preach to the settlements scattered in the vicinity.
More
Wendish living history demonstration on April 27
April 4, 2024
Museum Closed from March 26-31 for Easter
March 24, 2024
Coffee Cake Baking Class at the Museum
March 15, 2024
Membership Meeting Presentation – October 2023
October 24, 2023
October 24, 2023
October 5, 2023