Reference Materials (click on images to see full page)
Rathgens Family - Mrs. R.A. Stevenson, Jr.
Alice Ellen Owen Rahtgens Funeral Notice John Henry Rahtgens US Naturalization Papers
Alice Ellen Owen Rahtgens Obituary
Calhoun County Censuses, as compiled by Ann Boyd
John Henry Rahtgens and Alice Ellen Owen(s)
Among the many immigrants to this country in 1845 was Paul John Henry Rahtgens, known as Henry, born in Lübeck, Germany (53°52'N 10°41''E), November 11, 1827, to Paul Nicholas and Anna Johanna Elisabeth Voelckers Rahtgens. While German Census records, Calhoun County tax records and some family accounts show the name spelled as Rathgens, John Henry’s baptismal records and the family monument in Indianola uses the spelling Rahtgens, so latter will be used hence in this summary.
1850 Lubeck Citizenship Register, Bürgerannahme Buch, Lübeck, Innere Stadt, 1802-1853
Confederate Records
1880 Indianola Census
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Rahtgens Family Monument,White Bronze (99% Zinc), at Old Town Cemetery in Indianola (28°32'N 96°31'W)
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1812 Lubeck Census for P.N. Rathgens, living in the Mary-Magdalene Quarter of Lubeck
San Antonio Daily Express April 9, 1909
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Captain Rahtgens was known to sail a regular route from Indianola to Mexico. The Rahtgens home in Indianola was built on high ground and was a refuge for many during the 1875 Hurricane, as recounted here by son Harry.
Alice Ellen Smith remained in contact with her Aunt Friederike back in Lübeck, as indicated by this letter dated February 22, 1903. The letter provides some updates on the extended family in Lübeck, as well as Alice Ellen's health issues in Port Lavaca.
LtoR: Harry, Alice Ellen, Alice Ellen
Henry was a seaman and obtained his U.S. naturalization papers in New York City in 1849. Henry and Alice were married at Brazos Santiago, Brazos Island on June 11, 1852, in Cameron County, Texas, the same year as the construction of the Port Isabel Lighthouse. As there was no established Catholic church in the area at the time, and Henry was baptized in the Lutheran Church, the details of the wedding are as of this time unknown.
Confederate records indicate Henry served in the Eight (Hobby’s) Infantry in 1861 then the 4th Battalion Texas Artillery (Shea’s). His rank was that of a private until his disability discharge in July 1862.
Their first child,Thomas Henry, was born February 20, 1853, at Brazos “St. Yago,” Texas, also known as Brazos Santiago (26°03'N 97°09'W) at the south end of the Laguna Madre near Brownsville, Texas[1]. Later, the family moved to Indianola (28°33'N 96°31'W), where seven other known children were born. Only four children survived the epidemics of Cholera and Yellow Fever. Harry (Thomas Henry), John, Henrietta (Nettie), and Alice Ellen. Alice Ellen was the only one of the children to marry and have a family.
1870 Indianola Census
Handwritten Notes of Catherine Anne [nee Smith] Lukefahr, Great grandaughter of Henry and Alice Rahtgens
Note: H.G. Rahtgens was one of the first three book printers in Lubeck. His son, Johannes Nicolaus Heinrich Rahtgens, made the printing company reknown for graphic arts. A grandson, Karl Ernst, was a member of the July 20 Plot to assasinate Hitler.
Birth Record
1831 Lubeck Census for P.N. Rathgens, 2 adults, 6 children, 3 women for a total occupancy of 11, residing in the Jakobi Quarter of Lubeck
1827 Lubeck Lutheran Baptismal Record
Alice Ellen Owen(s), was born in County Cork (51°54'N 8°29''W) , Ireland, on May 15, 1830. She came to America with a group of other Irish emigrants in 1845, as an orphan girl. The only relative that was mentioned was a cousin, Lady Clara Todd, who was married to a nobleman and lived in London.
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Marriage Record
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Galveston Daily News April 10, 1909
Newspaper Notices of Alice E. Rahtgens Death
All of the members of this family, except Alice Ellen Smith, are buried in the Old Town Cemetery near Indianola. Henry Rahtgens died in Indianola in 1879. John died on a train near El Paso in March 1886 and Nettie died in Indianola in October 1886 (2 months after the hurricane of 1886 and 1 month after Indianola was again flooded by the storm surge of yet another hurricane). Alice Ellen Smith died in Port Lavaca in July 1905. Alice Ellen Rahtgens died in Port Lavaca in 1909 of Spanish Flu and Harry died in Port Lavaca in July 1923.
Children who died before reaching adulthood were James A. Rahtgens (1855 - 1858), Richard Rahtgens (1859 - 1859), James J. Rahtgens (1863 - 1867), and William J. Rahtgens (1866 - 1867).
“The family had great courage and deep faith and is always remembered by their descendants with affection and pride.” Mrs. R.A. Stevenson, Jr. (great grand daughter of John Henry and Alice)
[1] https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rrb10
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SOURCE: Indianola Scrap Book, Page 185, Originally compiled and published by THE VICTORIA ADVOCATE, Victoria, Texas, 1936; Republished: 1974 by Calhoun County Historical Survey Committee, George Fred Rhodes, Chairman, Port Lavaca, Texas. Published by The Jenkins Publishing Company, San Felipe Press, Austin. Reprinted with an index compiled by Leonard Joe McCown