- Gustav Schleicher
Infobox_Congressman
name = Gustave Schleicher|
date of birth = November 19, 1823
place of birth =Darmstadt ,Hesse
date of death = January 10, 1879
place of death =Washington, DC
state1 =Texas
district1 = 6th
term1 = 1875-1879
preceded1 =Asa H. Willie
succeeded1 =Christopher C. Upson
party = Democratic
spouse = Elizabeth Tinsley Howard
profession = engineerGustav Schleicher (sometimes spelled Gustave) (
November 19 ,1823 –January 10 ,1879 ) was a German-born DemocraticUnited States Representative fromTexas . He was anengineer and served briefly in the Texas legislature and was a veteran of theConfederate Army . [ [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000129 "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress"] ]Early life
Schleicher was born in
Darmstadt in the German principality ofHessen in 1823. He attended theGiessen University and studied engineering. He assisted in the construction of early railroads inEurope . He and Dr.Ferdinand Herff were among the leaders in a group of intellectuals who immigrated to Texas and founded a commune, named Bettina after the German literary figure and social visionaryBettina von Arnim , on the banks of theLlano River in 1847. [ [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/fsc9.html "Handbook of Texas Online". Texas State Historical Society.] ]According to the "Handbook of Texas Online","The community was intended to prove the truth of
communist ideals and light the way for relief of the troubles in Europe, which had led to sporadic attempts at revolution and were later to lead to the abortive German revolt of 1848." [ [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/fsc9.html "Handbook of Texas Online". Texas State Historical Society.] ]Texas politics and American Civil War
Schleicher became disillusioned with the experiment in Bettina (he is said to have remarked that "the bigger the men, the more they talked, the less they worked and the more they ate.") [ [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/fsc9.html "Handbook of Texas Online". Texas State Historical Society.] ] and moved to San Antonio. In San Antonio, he worked with others to begin the
Guadalupe Bridge Company to build a toll bridge across theGuadalupe River on the main road between San Antonio and New Braunfels. He also was instrumental in forming theSan Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railway and he began to build a railroad from Port Lavaca to San Antonio with Gen.Joseph E. Johnston who was stationed in Texas. [ [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/fsc9.html "Handbook of Texas Online". Texas State Historical Society.] ]In 1852, Schleicher became an American citizen and in was elected to the
Texas House of Representatives , where he served one term in theFifth Texas Legislature . [Faust, Albert Bernhardt. "The German Element in the United States". Boston:Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1909.] From 1854—1861 Schleicher was surveyor of the Bexar Land District, which included most of the area from San Antonio to El Paso. During this time he acquired title to extensive land holdings on theEdwards Plateau . In 1856, Schleicher married Elizabeth Tinsley Howard. [ [http://www.economy-point.org/g/gustav-schleicher.html "Economy Point" article] ] Beginning in 1858, he and his brother-in-law, Heinrich Dresel, published the San Antonio German-language newspaper the "Texas Staats-Zeitung". Schleicher was a cofounder of the San Antonio Water Company in 1858 and ofAlamo College in 1860.He was elected to the
Texas Senate in 1859 representing the 31st District which comprised territory west of San Antonio: Gillespie, Medina, and Uvalde Counties. Like most German immigrants, Schleicher opposed Texas's secession from the Union. [Faust, Albert Bernhardt. "The German Element in the United States". Boston:Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1909.] However, after his adopted state joined the Confederacy, Schleicher became a captain in the Confederate Army, in charge of Gen.John B. Magruder 's Corps of Engineers. [ [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/fsc9.html "Handbook of Texas Online". Texas State Historical Society.] ]After the war and service in Congress
Schleicher practiced law in San Antonio when the Civil War was over and resumed his work in developing railroads. He is listed as one of the incorporators of the
Columbus, San Antonio and Rio Grande Railroad and served as engineer for the construction of theGulf, Western Texas and Pacific Railway , which ran fromIndianola, Texas toCuero, Texas . According to the "Handbook of Texas Online", "He founded the latter town as a way-station and moved to it soon afterward, in 1872." [ [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/fsc9.html "Handbook of Texas Online". Texas State Historical Society.] ]In 1874, he was elected to Congress representing the 6th District when it was drawn for the first time. He was reelected to two additional terms and served as a member of the
Ways and Means Committee , theForeign Affairs Committee and then as Chairman of the HouseCanals and Railroads Committee .His activities in support of the
gold standard gained him a challenger within the Democratic primary in the person ofJohn Ireland , and Schleicher had to wage a bitter campaign before being nominated and reelected in 1878. [ [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/fsc9.html "Handbook of Texas Online". Texas State Historical Society.] ] He died onJanuary 10 ,1879 , a few days into his third term. A memorial address by the Republican floor leaderJames A. Garfield was more than a courtesy for a deceased junior member of the opposition party, and attested to the depth of feeling for Schleicher. [Faust, Albert Bernhardt. "The German Element in the United States". Boston:Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1909.]He was buried in the National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas. [ [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000129 "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress"] ]
Memorials
*
Schleicher County, Texas was named for Gustav Schleicher.References
ources
*CongBio|S000129
* [http://www.economy-point.org/g/gustav-schleicher.html "Economy Point" article]
*Faust, Albert Bernhardt. "The German Element in the United States". Boston:Houghton-Mifflin Co., 1909.
* [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/fsc9.html "Handbook of Texas Online". Texas State Historical Association.]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
