New Braunfels Led by Prince Solms, the 228 immigrants from the
Johann Dethard proceeded overland from Indianola to the site chosen to be the first German settlement in Texas,
New Braunfels. (
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels later was found to have purposely chose the more remote and difficult route from Indianola, instead of from Galveston, to isolate the colonists from the local Texans.) Upon reaching the
Guadalupe River, the pioneers found the river too high to cross due to the winter rains. Prince Solms, perhaps wishing to impress the others with his bravado, plunged into the raging waters and crossed the swollen river on horseback. Not to be outdone by anyone, Betty Holekamp immediately followed and successfully crossed the river to the astonishment of her fellow colonists and perhaps to the chagrin of the prince.
Fredericksburg After about two years in New Braunfels, the Holekamps moved and were among the first residents of
Fredericksburg. On January 18, 1847, Fritz Holekamp received of land just outside Fredericksburg from the
Fisher–Miller Land Grant colonization. He added his signature to the December 15, 1847 List of Petitioners to Create Gillespie County.
Sisterdale After two years outside Fredericksburg, the Holekamps purchased in
Sisterdale from
Nicolaus Zink and became the third family to settle in the new German colony. There, Betty Holekamp gave birth to her second son, Julius, who was born on June 10, 1849, making him the first white child born in
Kendall County. The Holekamps built the first house in the town (Fritz and his son George started construction before Comfort was officially founded) and Fritz was in charge of Comfort's cannon. When the
American Civil War started, Fritz Holekamp joined
the Confederacy at the rank of captain working as a surgeon because he had some medical training in Germany. Fritz Holekamp may have joined the army in exchange for sparing his teenaged sons from the draft. In seeming contrast to the Holekamps, most German immigrants from the Texas Hill Country were supporters of the
Union. (Many Comfort area residents were victims of the
Nueces Massacre and the
Treue der Union Monument is located in Comfort.) Fritz Holekamp was killed in battle in 1862. Widowed, Betty Holekamp took in boarders and opened a sewing and washing business to provide for her seven children (her son, Ernest, later became the first mayor of
Junction, Texas). Remaining in Comfort, she never remarried and outlived her husband by 40 years. ==See also==