DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, about a thousand feet south of where you're rolling, there's an oak grove. Quiet place.
Shady. The kind of spot that keeps its secrets well. And it has been keeping them since the 1870s.
That grove is a family cemetery, and the story of who lies there starts an ocean away, in the kingdom of Prussia. Two families, the Von Hugos and the Von Clausewitzes, made their way to Texas in the 1850s. They sailed in through the port of Indianola and put down roots here, close to Hochheim Prairie, about three miles to the west.
Now, the man who originally owned this property was Carl Ottomar Gunther Theodor Von Hugo, born in Prussia in 1805, and he holds the distinction of havin the oldest marked grave in that cemetery. He died in 1875. His wife was Albertine Amalie Elise Elenore, Countess Zu Dohna, born 1813, died 1890, also a native of Prussia.
Right next door, on the adjacent land, lived Gustav Adolph Frederick Von Clausewitz. Born in 1802 at Berg, Prussia. His passport for immigration was dated 1858.
He married Elise Elenore Wilhelmine, Countess Zu Dohna, born 1817, died 1870. And here's the detail that ties this place together: Elise was the sister of Albertine Von Hugo. Two Prussian countesses.
Two families. One oak grove. Gustav died in 1874, and both Von Clausewitz graves are now unmarked, though they are recorded in the family cemetery.
The cemetery holds some fourteen known graves, and possibly others from before the turn of the century. Other family names show up in the records too: Barth, Bulwer, Nelson, Petering, and Stablefeld. Then, in 1906, St.
Ann's Church was completed nearby, and a church cemetery was established there. Burials in the oak grove evidently ceased after that. So the grove went quiet.
The marked graves, the unmarked ones, the recorded names, all of it held in the shade of those oaks. Two Prussian families who crossed an ocean, settled a Texas prairie, and left their mark on the land in the most permanent way a family can.
What the marker says
(1,000 feet south) The nearby oak grove served as a family cemetery from the 1870s, originally for two Prussian families immigrating to Texas in the 1850s. They sailed to the port of Indianola and settled here, close to Hochheim Prairie (3 miles west). Carl Ottomar Gunther Theodor Von Hugo (1805-1875) originally owned the property; his is the oldest marked grave in the cemetery. He was born in Prussia and married Albertine Amalie Elise Elenore, Countess Zu Dohna (1813-1890), also a Prussian native. Gustav Adolph Frederick Von Clausewitz (1802-1874) owned the land adjacent to the cemetery. He was born at Berg, Prussia, and his passport for immigration was dated 1858. He married Elise Elenore Wilhelmine, Countess Zu Dohna (1817-1870), sister of Albertine Von Hugo. Both Von Clausewitz graves are now unmarked but are recorded in the family cemetery. The cemetery has some 14 known graves, and possibly others from before the turn of the century. Other family names represented in the cemetery by record are Barth, Bulwer, Nelson, Petering, and Stablefeld. Burials ceased evidently after the completion of nearby St. Ann's Church in 1906 and the location there of a church cemetery. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986