Jacob Frederick Elsasser
Sanger, Denton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born in Germany in 1834, Jacob Frederick Elsasser migrated to this country with his father and brothers. They operated a cigar factory in Chicago until it was destroyed in the great Chicago fire of 1871. Elsasser moved to Texas with his Swiss-born wife, Catharine (1832-1903), and built a 2-story farm house east of Sanger. After it burned, they erected this residence in 1901. One of Elsasser's daughters, Mrs. J. M. Peery, and her family occupied the house until 1939. It was purchased in 1952 by Mr. and Mrs. Willard Bounds. (1976)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Germany in 1834, Jacob Frederick Elsasser immigrated to America and ran a cigar factory in Chicago with his father and brothers until the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed it. He then resettled in Texas with his Swiss-born wife Catharine, farming east of Sanger, and after their first house burned they built this residence in 1901. A daughter's family lived in the home into 1939.
Why it matters
Elsasser's journey — German immigrant, Chicago manufacturer burned out by a national disaster, then Texas farmer — captures the mobility and reinvention of immigrant families in 19th-century America.
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Related people
- · Jacob Frederick Elsasser
- · Catharine Elsasser
Related events
- · Great Chicago Fire (1871)
Themes & tags
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