In November 1854, the ship "Franziska" landed in Galveston,
Texas. Among the immigrants on board was 26 year old Conrad Adam and his
brother, Carl, whose destination was the Boerne area.
Conrad was born 30
December, 1828 in Tiefenbach, Prussia. Nothing is known about his life prior
to coming to this country. In this country while farming was his usual
occupation Conrad would often help his brother Carl with his meat business.
They would load a wagon with meat they had slaughtered and sell it to
persons in the community. Conrad also raised and sold horses. It was not
unusual for him to have 120 horses at one time.
On February 16, 1856, he married Adelbertha Bergmann in San Antonio. She was the daughter of Joseph and Theresia Ohnesorge Bergmann from Reichenberg, Boehem. She was born October 30, 1836, and came to Texas with her parents in 1853. Conrad and Adelbertha had six children: Kathinka, Theresa, Emilie, Julius, Bertha and Emma.
Conrad supported and served is new home whenever the need arose. He
was one of the signers to form Blanco County in 1855 and in 1859 he signed
the petition to establish Kendall County. After the formation of the County,
he periodically served on the County jury for a salary of $2.00 a day. When
the Civil War erupted, Conrad volunteered to serve in the Confederate County
Militia, commanded by Captain W. E. Jones, and completed 43 days of active
duty for which he received $46.00 in pay. In 1867, he was one of 33 men who
formed the Boerne Cemetery. He swore allegiance to the United States and
officially became a citizen in 1869. He was a charter member of the Knights
of Honor and member of the Boerne Gesangverein.
In 1873, he purchased
land near the Balcones Creek. He contracted William Schoenert to build his
home. It took one
year to build and he paid the builder $1.00 a day plus board. It was a two
story structure with a widow's walk and often times the stagecoaches would
stop to scan the area for signs of Indians. They suffered many Indian
depredations. In 1900, his widow, Adelbertha, filed for compensation for
damages amounting to $875.00
At the age of 66, Conrad was fatally injured
by a wagon running over him. He died November 25, 1914, at the age of 77. -
submitted by Kathryn Adam Hurst.
Source: Boerne Public Library files.- July 24, 2001