Conrad Wenzel with the horses he traded for his tact of land.
Before I began my research, I was hoping to discover that I was related to someone significant like George Washington, or at the very least, that one of my ancestors made a mark in history. However, I found the story of my ancestors to be very average. After tracing my family history back nearly three centuries, I learned that I come form a long line of German farmers. At first I was disappointed, but now I realize how special and unique my ancestry is; even though farming was common centuries ago, it is rare now. Farming was the foundation that my family was built on, and I am proud to say that, not only do I come from a family of farmers, but farming is still prevalent in my family to this day.
Ottmar Wenzel
Before digging into the story of my great grandfather Ottmar Wenzel, it is important to go back further into my ancestry in order to understand my family’s strong farming roots. My great, great, great, great grandparents were Conrad and Catherine Wenzel. Conrad came over from Germany, after Prince Solms enticed him with the promise of a free tract of land. Once Conrad arrived in America in 1842, he traded his tract of land for two riding horses, and enlisted in the Civil War. The picture on the right shows Conrad with his two horses that he traded for the tact of land. After the war ended, Conrad walked 1000 miles to find land to farm. He settled in Bulverde, and later moved himself and his wife to a farm in Solms. Many generations of my ancestors lived on this farm. My great, great grandfather, Ottmar Wenzel also grew up on this farm, but when he came of age, he did not choose to stay. He started his own farm on Judson Road, an area between Nacogdoches and Austin Highway. Ottmar was an average sized man for the time, around 5-foot-8, and had black hair, as seen in the picture on the left. He was always very quiet and reserved.
While keeping up with his farm, Ottmar was also a handyman. In the rural area where he lived, there were telephone lines that Ottmar would repair for $2.50 a day. He would also repair the actual telephone boxes. Southerwestern Bell bought the rural phone system later on, and wanted to hire Ottmar. The new job the company offered him would allow him to work inside, an outstanding offer considering the heat during the summers in Texas, but Ottmar declined. He argued he did not have the education and was not talented enough to work for the company. As a last ditch effort, in addition to their previous offer, the phone company also offered him a retirement plan, and offered to credit him for all the years he had worked on the rural line, but again, he declined. Instead, he decided to go into finished carpentry. Ottmar built homes, mostly doing the finish work.
The home built by my great grandfather, Ottmar Wenzel.
Eventually, he worked his way up and became one of the head contractors in his company. In fact, Ottmar was the head contractor of the house in which his daughter Lillian, my great grandmother, currently lives. The photograph below showcases one of the homes Ottmar built; it is the home that Ottmar and his family lived in. It was a small house, especially for a family of nine, but it was special because Ottmar built it. Even though Ottmar had great success in his carpentry profession, he continued to work on the farm. Through his continuing to work on the farm, he kept our ancestors history alive.
Currently, all of my family (on both sides) lives in Texas. Even though my family did not move far from where our ancestors originally lived, my family has pursued lots of careers outside of farming. I have several cousins in the air force and navy, my father is a CEO of a company that researches cures for cancer, one of my aunts works for NASA and another is a school teacher. Farming was the foundation that my family was built on, and even though life has taken my relatives in many different directions, we still celebrate our roots. In Bandera, Texas, our family owns a ranch where there is a farmhouse with animals and fields that need to be tended to. The farm has been in our family for generations, and even though going to the ranch is now thought of as a fun day trip, it is comforting to know that my ancestors still play a role in my life today.