Herman and Willie Lehmann
Loyal Valley, Mason County, Texas
Marker Inscription
German immigrants Moritz and Auguste Lehmann settled along Squaw Creek (4 mi. W) in the 1850s. After Moritz's death, Auguste married Philip Buchmeier. On May 16, 1870, two of the Lehmann children, Herman (age 10) and Willie (age 8) were captured by Apache Indians. Willie was released after five days and returned home, but Herman remained with the Apache and Comanche Indians for eight years. He was returned to his family by U. S. soldiers in 1878 but maintained his ties to Quanah Parker's Comanche family, into which he had been adopted, for the remainder of his life. (1991)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
German immigrants Moritz and Auguste Lehmann settled along Squaw Creek in the 1850s Hill Country, where in 1870 raiders seized their young sons Herman and Willie. Willie was freed within days, but ten-year-old Herman lived eight years among the Apache and Comanche, adopted into Quanah Parker's family. Returned to his German family by soldiers in 1878, Herman remained torn between two worlds and kept his Comanche ties for the rest of his life.
Why it matters
The Lehmann captivity is one of the most famous 'white Indian' stories of the Texas frontier, a vivid window into the collision — and unexpected intimacy — between immigrant settlers and Plains tribes.
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Related people
- · Herman Lehmann
- · Willie Lehmann
- · Quanah Parker
Related events
- · Lehmann captivity (1870)
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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