Sharing the past:
Sueltenfuss’ deep roots in county history
Sometimes it takes a village, sometimes a county!
Just off of Hwy. 3351 in eastern Kendall County, Edge Falls Road is the starting point of a favorite route north for Hill Country cyclists to Kendalia and beyond.
It was on the beginning stretch of this old county backroad that the Kendall County Historical Commission recently unveiled a new Texas Historical Commission marker for early settler Casper Heinrich Sueltenfuss.
The genesis of the Sueltenfuss marker includes a back story.
Kendall County was saddened in November 2020 when long-time Kendall County Historical Commission Chair Theda Sueltenfuss passed away.
Theda was a fixture in the county, serving for 36 years as a KCHC member and 22 years as our KCHC chair. Usually the smallest adult in the room, she was a bundle of energy.
In her honor, KCHC initiated a fund drive and dedicated a bench, memorialized with “In memory of Theda Ann Sueltenfuss, descended from Kendall County German Pioneers, Kendall County Historical Commission,” and sited between the old historic county jail and courthouse.
At the event, current KCHC Chair Robin Stauber observed, “One of the smallest honorees has the largest bench pad in Kendall County, Theda has earned it. Theda has touched many over the years from the county to communities to organizations to friends.”
As a descendant of Prussian immigrant Casper Sueltenfuss, Theda was proud of her heritage; she had made it known that she wanted to honor the family’s patriarch with a future THC marker.
In addition to a marker topic having historical significance, two major requirements to obtaining a THC marker are preparation of a detailed research paper and funding.
Current markers cost $2,300, yet generous contributions continued to come in after Theda’s bench dedication. And former Kendall County Historical Commission member and Sueltenfuss descendant Marilyn Vogt crafted a well foot-noted manuscript.
As it turned out, with the community gifting and Marilyn’s research, we were able to both honor Theda Sueltenfuss and her wishes.
Which leads us to our THC roadside marker dedication for Casper Sueltenfuss on April 6.
Nestled in the southeastern Kendall County Guadalupe River valley region, within a few miles of both early postal enclaves, Guadalupe and Schiller, the marker was dedicated on a 640-acre plot of land Casper acquired in 1878; part of his collection of Hill Country real estate that he had assembled.
But his landholdings were only one dimension. From three of Sueltenfuss’ descendants — Marilyn Vogt, Annette Bourgeois, and Lillie Vogt — as well as Stauber and Kathryn Adam-Hurst, we learned that he was committed to the Union, his family, his community and his faith.
Casper’s involvement in community roles surged, starting in the 1870s as trustee of the local Panther Creek School (‘72). He is the presiding officer of elections for his precinct there (‘73 and ‘75).
In 1875 Casper became a charter member of the Germania Farmers Verein, serving as its first Treasurer (‘75-‘77) and then vice president for 16 years. Kendall County assignments of grand juror (‘72 and ‘74) and petit juror (‘75) came his way and he was elected precinct #2 Kendall County Justice of the Peace (‘80-‘81) as well as County Commissioner (‘80-‘84).
In this window Casper started his career as the postmaster of the fledging Guadalupe Post Office (‘83) and renamed it Schiller Post Office in 1890, closing it down in 1907. HISTORICAL SOCIETY
BRYDEN MOON
KENDALL COUNTY
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