The Act established the boundaries of the new county and appointed Adam Vogt as its commissioner, tasked with organizing the election of officers and certifying their election. If Vogt failed to act promptly, the Chief Justice of Blanco was authorized to complete these tasks. Vogt moved quickly and by March 8, 1862, the newly elected officers of Kendall County held their initial organizational meeting.
Adam Vogt’s journey to Texas was unique. His father earned a fortune as manager of a large coffee plantation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Adam was actually born at sea when the family was returning to Germany. Asked later where he was born, Adam answered variously Hesse-Darmstadt and South America.
Adam graduated from the gymnasium at Giessen and then studied forestry for 2 1/2 years at the University of Darmstadt. He was one of the “Forty” — idealistic young students who wanted to go to Texas and start model communities. He arrived in New Orleans on July 4, 1847, and made his way to Texas.
The model communities quickly failed and in 1850, Adam, like many of the “Forty,” acquired land near the future town of Boerne. He did not go into general farming but raised cattle. He became a naturalized citizen in Bexar County on May 13, 1853.
Obviously, when he was picked to play a leading role in the creation of Kendall County, he was a man of some importance.
In 1864 he served in the 3rd Frontier Company of J.D. McAdoo. Many Hill Country citizens chose to serve in the Frontier forces to avoid service in the Confederate Army. In the 1867 Voter Registration List, Adam wrote that he never voluntarily served the Rebel Army or government.
In 1867, Adam sold an acre of ground to the Boerne Graveyard Board for $ 1 to serve as a cemetery. In the initial offering, 33 people subscribed to obtain a plot. The price of a standard 9-foot x 4.5-foot plot was $2.
Residents of Boerne said that they could set their clocks based on the portly Adam’s punctual appearance on the town plaza at noon on his way to the Staffel Tavern. There he would spend the afternoon reading and conversing with friends.
In 1871 he sold his farm and moved to San Antonio to go into the mercantile business with his old friend and University companion, Theodore Schleuning.
But he soon tired of the business and moved back to Boerne where he rented rooms and led the life of a gentleman. Adam never married.
Vogt died at Boerne on April 13, 1882, and is buried in Boerne Cemetery. His obituary says that he was “a truly good, upright and generous man.” A newspaper account noted, “Kindness was a leading trait in his character. He always helped those who came to him and claimed to be needy.”
Comment
Comments