88R10982 BPG-D
 
  By: Kitzman H.R. No. 142
 
 
 
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 1959, 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.