| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, February 20, 2023, marks the 150th anniversary of |
|
|
the death of the Honorable Louis Franke; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Born Ludwig Carl Ferdinand Francke in 1818, Louis |
|
|
Franke grew up in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which is now |
|
|
part of Germany; he studied music before earning a law degree from |
|
|
the University of Jena; in the mid-1840s, he joined the wave of his |
|
|
countrymen emigrating for the freedom and opportunity of the United |
|
|
States; he arrived at Galveston, and during the Mexican War, he |
|
|
served with the Texas Rangers; in 1853, he became a naturalized |
|
|
citizen and formally adopted an anglicized version of his name; |
|
|
that same year, he wed the former Bernhardine Helene Friederike |
|
|
Dorothea Romberg; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. and Mrs. Franke began their life together on a |
|
|
farm near Cedar but soon bought land from her family in the Black |
|
|
Jack Springs community in Fayette County; for several years, the |
|
|
couple also spent time at Independence, where Mr. Franke taught |
|
|
music, French, and German at the old Baylor College; after 1859, he |
|
|
focused on his farm while practicing law on the side; he served on |
|
|
the local grand jury and as a county commissioner and overseer of |
|
|
roads; becoming active in the local Lutheran community, the Frankes |
|
|
donated land for the establishment of an Evangelical-Lutheran |
|
|
academy; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, At the close of Reconstruction, in 1872, Mr. Franke |
|
|
was elected to the House of Representatives from what was then |
|
|
District 26, covering Bastrop and Fayette Counties; he served as |
|
|
chair of the Immigration Committee and as a member of the committees |
|
|
on Agriculture and Stock Raising, Redistricting, and Public Lands |
|
|
and Land Office; near the end of the session, on February 19, 1873, |
|
|
at seven in the evening, Mr. Franke was leaving the old Capitol |
|
|
Building to head to his committee meeting at the Land Office when he |
|
|
was brutally attacked by two men, who made off with the $260 in pay |
|
|
he had just received; although help came almost immediately, he had |
|
|
sustained a grave head injury and passed away at 3:30 the following |
|
|
morning; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Stunned legislators in both parties deeply mourned |
|
|
the loss of a widely admired colleague; the expenses of his burial |
|
|
were borne by the government, and as he lay in state in the Hall of |
|
|
Representatives, the entire legislature attended the funeral |
|
|
service; his coffin was conveyed down Congress Avenue to the train |
|
|
station on Pecan Street in a long procession that included the |
|
|
lawmakers, the governor, the Supreme Court, a military escort, |
|
|
heads of departments, city fire companies and other societies, a |
|
|
band, and citizens in carriages, on horseback, and on foot; a |
|
|
deputation of representatives accompanied his remains on the final |
|
|
journey home to his family; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Widowed at a young age, Mrs. Franke was left to |
|
|
raise eight children, the youngest still an infant; she proved a |
|
|
woman of steely fortitude, and with astute business sense and the |
|
|
help of her industrious offspring, she expanded the land holdings |
|
|
of the family and secured their prosperity; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Louis Franke exemplified the boldness, resilience, |
|
|
and community spirit of the early Texans, and his tragic and |
|
|
untimely death robbed the state of a born leader and true public |
|
|
servant; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death |
|
|
of State Representative Louis Franke. |
| |
|
|
Kitzman |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 890 was adopted by the House on April |
|
|
14, 2023, by a non-record vote. |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |