Re: John Pankratz settler in kerr or kendall co. Texas 1850s
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In reply to:
Re: John Pankratz settler in kerr or kendall co. Texas 1850s
Mark D Pankratz 4/04/08
There was a large group of German settlers who came to the area northwest of San Antonio starting in the 1850's. John Pankratz was one of them. He wsa born in 1814 in Bayenn and lived until 1883 in Kendall county (or Kerr County before Kendall was created. He is strongly connected withthe little town of Comfort, Tx. (A great place to visit - German is widely spoken, my second cousins at Alamo meat Market make traditional wurst). He married his wife Gertrude Heinan August 28, 1859 in Kerr County and they had at least seven children: Max - 1861, Marie 1863, Otto 1864, Charles 1857, Bertha 1868, August 1870 and Ida 1873. As far as I can tell, they all stayed in the Kendall Co. area until after 1900. I do not have any other Pankratz in these older generations, so I assume he came alone. His children married into several lines of my relatives including Spenrath and Haufler.
If there is a connection to Ohio, it is probable that they were siblings who chose the more settled life in Ohio for a home on the Texas Hill country which was still under threat from indian raids up into the 1870's.
Let me know if there are other things I can help you with.
Tom Fannin