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