Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery
Frelsburg, Colorado County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1857, community founder and German native, Capt. Wilhelm Frels, donated 3.9 acres at this site for the establishment of a Lutheran Church and cemetery. Members of the Frels, Becker and Fehrenkamp families, as well as other early settlers, are interred in this original section of the cemetery. The earliest known burial at the site is that of Louise Frels, who died in 1859. The cemetery was expanded in 1869 when the congregation bought an additional seven acres from Frels. Gravestone materials include marble, iron, sandstone, limestone and wood. Today, the Trinity Lutheran Church council oversees the operations of the cemetery, which continues as a reminder of colorado county’s earliest German settlement.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1857 the German-born community founder Capt. Wilhelm Frels donated land at Frelsburg for a Lutheran church and cemetery, and the congregation expanded the grounds a decade later. The Frels, Becker, Fehrenkamp, and other early German families are buried here beneath markers of marble, iron, sandstone, limestone, and even wood. The earliest known burial dates to 1859.
Why it matters
This cemetery is a lasting reminder of Colorado County's earliest German settlement, part of the great mid-nineteenth-century wave of German immigration that shaped the culture of central Texas.
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Related people
- · Wilhelm Frels
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Trinity Lutheran Church of Frelsburg
Frelsburg, TX
German immigrant William Frels reached Texas in 1834 and settled among fellow pioneers whose spiritual needs were met by circuit-riding frontier pastors. In 1855 he gave land for a church and cemetery, and the Rev. C. Roehm organized the congregation, whose ministers long doubled as day-school teachers. The congregation later helped found the American Lutheran Church and shifted to English-language services in 1932.
Frelsburg
Frelsburg, TX
Frelsburg was the first German settlement in Colorado County, founded in 1837 by William Frels, who had come to Texas in 1834 and fought in its war for independence. The little colony was chosen as the proposed home of Hermann University, the first German-sponsored institution of higher learning in Texas, chartered by the Republic in 1844 though never actually built. Frelsburg endures as a landmark of early German settlement on the Texas frontier.
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Mary Theresa Juergens
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