Description

of the
Land Grant and Other
Real Estate
The copies of the original 1845 land grant and the certificate #69 of 1850 are on record as being located in the Bernardo Prairie Court House, Colorado County, TX, 11 1/2 miles N. 82 deg. E from Columbus, Colorado County, Texas.

This 640 acres is still shown today as the J. J. Mueller Survey, on the official copyrighted map of Colorado County which hangs in the courthouse in Columbus, Texas.

Highway 90 passes through the N. W. corner of this land now.

Recently I visited a Mr. and Mrs. Schindler that now own and live on part of this land. It is beautiful prairie land, and very rich in its production.

Standing on this land of which our grandparents were the first private owners, and later their sons, gave me a great pride and respect for them.

They sold their land, left a well-established home in Europe, and braved to cross the ocean with four small sons to start a new life in a new land, America, with all its dangers and hardships of a pioneer life before them. Nevertheless their coming to America was successful. A fifth son was born shortly after their arrival in Galveston, Texas.

We cannot establish this as a fact, but we assume that after they had lived on this land for the required three years, and fulfilled all the requirements stipulated in the land grant, and had gotten their certificate of possession, that they bought land at New Ulm, Texas and moved there.

However, they kept the original land at Columbus, Texas, some of it until 1895.

As early as 1853 the deed records in Austin County Courthouse, Bellville, Texas, show that Joseph and Barbara Mueller sold 100 acres at New Ulm, Texas.

They lived on a 160 acre farm and operated a gin at New Ulm, Texas. When Johann Joseph passed away in 1861 he was survived by his widow and ten sons.

The following is from the records in the Courthouse in Austin County, Bellville, Texas and Barbara Elisabeth filed an application for administratorship of the estate.

“Joseph Mueller died on January 23, 1861, survived by wife, Barbara Elizabeth and ten sons.”

On August 30, 1861, filed to become administrator of the estate, by Barbara Elisabeth, as she said the estate was too large to handle without this authority. It was estimated at Ten Thousand ($10,000) dollars real and moveable. I (Barbara) had to finish the steam mill which had been started, and I (Barbara) incurred many debts. No cash was on hand to manage such a large estate.

This file was granted to her on September 2, 1861, and signed by her. She managed the estate well, while small in stature; she had the bravery of any pioneer. This proved itself when she had to file a law suit to regain 320 acres of her land.

The land involved was the 320 acres of patented land which she received May 18, 1874 as provided by the laws of the state in conjunction with the original 1845 land grant. This was signed by Richard Coke Stevenson, Governor of Texas. Was recorded and filed in the records of the Colorado County Courthouse, Columbus, Texas.

Yet when in 1879, a Two dollar and Seventy-five cent ($2.75) delinquent tax was due; the Tax Collector put it on auction sale as “landowners unknown.”

The land offered for sale was bought by L. J. Johnson, wife of J. W., bid Seven dollars and Seventy-five cents ($7.75) for said land, which amount was sufficient to pay the taxes, and which was the highest bid. So the 320 acres was given to L. J. Johnson for $7.75.

On June 10, 1882 the deed was filed in the Tax Office under the title: "Landowners unknown to L. J. Johnson."

Then Barbara Elisabeth Mueller filed suit: B. E. Mueller et al Vs. J. W. Johnson

Barbara Elisabeth and heirs won the case on the strength that she had not been notified of the delinquent taxes although it was properly recorded in her name. This case appeared on the minutes of the court on the 8th day of March 1884, and she recovered her land on May 3, 1884.

I have often marveled at the bravery and fortitude of our grandmother Barbara, who never remarried, rearing her ten sons alone. I've heard it said that she demanded and received respect from her sons, yet always was protective and great with her mother love.

It is said that she never let anyone of her sons work in the gin that she owned for fear that they would get hurt in the machinery. She had colored help for this work, leaving the farm work for her sons to do.

Naturally she must have had some problems, but can we even dare to visualize the problems of a widowed mother with ten sons today!

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