“The Forty” or Die Vierziger

Thank you Charles Daniels for another post.

“The Forty” or Die Vierziger was a fraternity of German students with chapters at the universities of Giessen and Heidelberg and the industrial academy of Darmstadt. The name comes from there being 40 members or because it was founded in the 1840’s. The group was recruited in early 1847 by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels to immigrate to Texas. They started the Bettina Settlement which lasted less than a year, There were two later attempts to establish the communes of Darmstädler Farm and Tusculum near New Braunfels and Sisterdale, respectively, which were equally short-lived, and when these efforts failed, some settlers moved  to Sisterdale, from there some moved to Boerne, and others to Comfort.

The following is a list of names of this group that made the trip to Texas as found in Biesele, History of the German Settlements in Texas, pages 155 and 156 quoting – Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 3, pages 34 and 35 and in Deutsche Pioniere in Texas, page 26– Adolph Paul Weber – [as found in a footnote in Biesele]

Names in Biesele#

1.       Dr. Ferdinand von Herff

2.       Dr. Leopold Schulz.

3.       Gustav Schleicher

4.       Lerch

5.       Philip Zoeller

6.       Wilhelm Zoeller

7.       Wundt

8.       *Fuchs

9.       Theodor Schleuning

10.   Amelung

11.   Christian von Hesse

12.   Julius Wagner

13.   *Herrman

14.   Friedrich Schenk

15.   Jacob Kuechler

16.   Adam Vogt

17.   Strauss

18.   Christian Flach

19.   *Schunk

20.   Neff

21.   Adam Teichert

22.   Adolph Hahn

23.   Fritz Louis

24.   Kappelhoff

25.   Michel

26.   *Ottmer

27.   Peter Bub

28.   *Mertins

29.   Backoften

30.   *Lindheimer

31.   Edward Mueller

32.   *Rock

A.P. Weber list includes: Herman Spiess, Kattmann, Kappel, Zentner, Hoerner’ Louis Reinhardt, and Obert instead of the names marked by a “*” above.