There are about 50 pages of information on the trial of Gustav Ehlers in the District Clerk's office in Kerr County. All the notes are handwritten, and in many cases mostly illegible, but the gist of the case seems to be that Gustav Ehlers came to Hugo Schladoer while Hugo was shearing sheep in a small pen on the Schladoer ranch.
Mr. Ehlers allegedly came to "make a peace" with Hugo, who, according to court records, had been "saying things" about Ehlers. Why Ehlers brought a Winchester with him to "make a peace" seems open to debate. During the meeting an argument broke out. Ehlers alleges that Hugo attacked him with a pair of sheep shears. The only witness statement in the court records, that of Hugo's daughter Adelheid (Adeline) says that Ehlers struck Hugo with the butt of his Winchester. Hugo dropped the shears and Ehlers dropped his gun, then struck Hugo with his fist. Hugo went down, whereupon Ehlers picked up the Winchester and shot him.
The daughter who signs herself as Adeline is shown on the 1880 census and on her tombstone as Adelheid. The "sister" she refers to in her testimony would probably be Bertha, since Bertha is also summoned as a witness. The following is an excerpt from Adelheid's testimony, with the original spelling:
"I was in the house sowing on the machine. I heard somebody hallowing very
loud. It was Gus Ehlers. I ran over to the sheep pen and when I came in the gate Gus Ehlers
struck my pa over his head.
Defendant then throws his gun out of the small pen into the large pen. When I went into the little
pen and he throwed my pa down and hit him with his fist. I then went into the pen and he hit me
twice on the head with his fist and then he choked me till I could hardly breathe. My father couldn't
interfere, he was hurt so bad. Then he pulled my hair, then he throwed me down, then he went back on
pa again and throwed pa down. Then he went out of the shearing pen into the large pen. When he shot,
and when he shot he left the pen and went out. He shot one shot which struck pa, my father ....
...my father died on Saturday night at ½ past 10 o'clock.
Ques. How far is the house from the pen?
Ans About 800 yds.
Ques Are the pens of which you speak joined together?
Ans The small pen is inside of the large one.
The small pen was to hold the sheep they were shearing.
The fence which enclosed the small pen is ? feet made of boards.
There is not very much ground in the small pen. It is about 10 ft. long and 15 wide.
I did not see defendant when he came to the pen. I do not know what was first said.
I don't know which one spoke first when defendant first came.
When I heard this man hallow, my sister came running up to the house and told me defendant
was down there.
She was in the little pen, my father and Mr. Ehlers ? to him.
The sheep shears fell out of my fathers hand when Mr. Ehlers struck him with his gun.
My father had been shearing sheep the sheep shears were about a foot long.
The shears were open. The shears were sharp pointed, the blades about 5 in. long.
I was about 5 steps from my father when I saw the shears fall. The fell when this man struck him.
My father was holding his hand down.
My father dropped the shears first then this man threw his gun over the fence into the large pen.
They were standing close to the fence ? this man dropped his gun over the fence.
This man had the barrel of the gun in this hand and struck my pa with the butt.
I was in the large pen about 3 or 4 steps from the little pen when he dropped the gun.
I got over the fence in a hurry and went to where they were.
When the gun and shears were dropped the defendant struck my father with his fist, and
this man caught my father and they fell.
I went up by my father and defendant struck me. I couldn't speak,
I couldn't say nothing I was so excited.
My father was trying to get up and couldn't.
My father didn't get up at all he was lying on the ground when he was shot.
He was lying on his back.
The defendant was about 6 or 7 steps off when he shot him. Defendant was in the large pen
when he shot him.
My father didn't say anything, he did not speak at all from the time I first went there.
The sheep shears were dropped close to the fence.
My father was lying on his back with his feet towards the defendant when the def. Shot.
My father was lying on his back ? threw down his gun and shot.
Three men carried my father to the house.
My father was about 5 ½ feet high would weigh about 150 lbs was a larger man than the defendant.
I couldn't do anything, defendant throwed me off then went to my father.
After def struck my father with his fist he never got up again.
He throwed me off after that.
I don't know whether there was a ? on his neck or not.
I went and told my neighbor John St? (probably John R. Strickland) about
the matter, didn't tell no one else.
My father never spoke after he was shot, could not speak.
The large pen was used to pen the sheep at night. The small pen to keep the sheep in for shearing.
There were sheep in the small pen and my pa was shearing. These pens were on my fathers place
in Kerr Co., Texas.
? in on about 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon on 10th day of May 1891.
The points of the sheep shears were down.
The def. never struck father any more after the shears fell out of his hand."
Signed by ADELINE SCHLADOER
The doctor (Dr. Hendricks) was summoned and found Hugo had been carried to his house. Upon examination he found a head wound consistent with Hugo's being struck with a blunt instrument, and a gunshot wound in his chest. The doctor's statement seems quite clear that, based on the angle of the bullet's path through the body, Hugo was shot while the defendant was standing above him.
There were many, many potential jurors summoned to try this case, and many witnesses subpoenaed, mainly in the capacity of character witnesses for both men. In fact, one of the witness subpoenas indicated that the witness is being subpoenaed to give testimony that "Schladoer was a man of very high temper and very violent and dangerous character". Adelheid's testimony is the only one contained in the court records. Astonishingly, Gustav Ehlers was found not guilty...I assume the jury was convinced he was acting in self-defense, even though he was indicted for killing Hugo "with malice aforethought". Ehlers must have had a terrific defense attorney...
The probate records for Hugo Schladoer show that John R. Strickland, Hugo's "closest neighbor and friend" was appointed temporary administrator for the estate. His application for appointment cites that Hugo leaves four children, "all minors and all females". Later on in the application, there is a phrase that seems to indicate that Agnes was a half-sister, the daughter of Catherine by a first marriage. Agnes signs herself "Agnes Mardorf" on all the probate documents, and in some documents her signature is joined by that of "George Mardorf", who evidence suggests was her husband. I found, at Familysearch.org, a marriage record for "George Mardorf to Agnes Nietze" in Bexar county, Texas on November 23, 1891. The assumption, therefore, is that Catherine was previously married to a man named Nietze, and that Agnes was their child. This would also, in some measure, account for the age difference between Agnes and Adelheid. I am still following up on this information.
I infer, from one of the probate papers, that George and Agnes Mardorf may have purchased the "house and premises", along with various livestock and equipment, from the estate on May 2, 1893.
There is a single marker in the community cemetery of Quihi, Medina County, Texas for Catherine and Hugo Schladoer. Close by is the burial place of Adelheid and her husband Albert Reitzer. Near them is the grave of their son Hugo Reitzer. Recent information indicates that Hugo and Catherine Schladoer were originally buried on their place in Kerr county, which I'm told is now the Faltin ranch. Their graves were moved to Quihi, presumably at Adelheid's request, by Ben and Ernest Schladoer, sometime between 1920 - 1955, when Adelheid died.
Still unresolved is how Hugo fit into the Schladoer family in the area. He is of an age to be one of Diderich and Christiane Lotheisen Schladoer's children, but this has not been established. Hugo also owned property in Bandera County, and, at the time, the only Schladoer's in Bandera county would have been the family of F. H. Schladoer, so he could have equally belonged to one of them. No shipping lists that I have studied carry the name Hugo Schladoer, but Germans are notorious for calling people by nicknames, so it may be that one of the Fritz or Hermann Schladoers may be Hugo. Study on the matter of Hugo's parentage is ongoing.