Bastrop and Lee Counties, Texas Wend Colony: 1854
J. McManus
On December 16, 1854, the Ben Nevis arrived in Galveston, Texas with 500 "Wends" aboard. They immediately traveled to Houston, Texas to avoid the yellow fever raging throughout Galveston. The Serbo-Lusatians [or, Wends], were led by Lutheran pastor John Kilian. The Wends are said to have come from Prussian and Saxony and are not considered German in origin but descendants of the Polab Slavs and Veneti of the Middle Ages. The Wends were oppressed by the German government, held down economically, and finally forced by the king to join the union of the Reformed and Lutheran churches. This led to the journey to Texas.
This publication contains a wealth of genealogical information on these hearty, adventuresome people including the village, city, and region where each was born, birth-date, and occupation. As a bonus, the author includes remarks [date of death, where buried, etc.]. If your ancestors were passengers on the Ben Nevis, this item is a 'must-have'.
1985, paper, 15 pp.
101-FI0473
