ALTHAUS, Johann Christian Anton, Dr. ³⁸⁰

  Allgemeine Notizen:

Born in Erndtebruck, Westphalia, Germany, February 11, 1821, Dr. Christian Althaus came on the ship " YORK" to Indianola in the autumn of 1846 and hence to Fredericksburg, Texas.

Just out of the Prussian Army Medical Corps, he was well trained in medicine and brought with him many medical journals and treatises which he studied diligently. Although he had not obtained a medical degree in Germany, Dr. Althaus was recognized as a doctor by the United States Government and received his license to practice medicine in Texas. His medical knowledge was greatly welcomed in Fredericksburg and surrounding areas where diphtheria, cholera, and other diseases were taking the lives of countless pioneers. The greatest handicap the pioneer doctor faced was the unavailability of drugs and anesthetics. Undaunted, he made his own medicines of herbs, seeds, roots, plants, and tree bark. These he gathered, dried, and then pounded into powder with mortar and pestle. Honey and juices of fruits and vegetables were used to make tonics, and animal tallow to prepare ointments. His treatment of diphtheria with a mixture of blackjack tree bark, honey, and almond juice was so effective that he was sent by the U. S. Government to Bandera and surrounding areas to stop the disease there.

A man of many talents, he is listed as a carpenter in the 1850 census. As carpenter and stone mason, he helped build the Vereins-Kirche and many early homes in Fredericksburg. He also worked at Fort Martin Scott; he probably helped build the fort. As a government agent, he distributed food to the Indians from this fort. Nearby he had a workshop, making saddles and riding gear; business was brisk when gold miners stopped on their way to California. He also freighted goods between Fort Martin Scott and Fort Concho.

During the Civil War he was instrumental in the organization and training of the home guard, as he was one of the few who had had military training. His father had been a Prussian Army military officer. In 1861 Dr. Althaus was appointed to fill a vacancy in the County Commissioners Court and was elected for a two-year term in 1862 and again in 1866. In 1864 he served on a committee to distribute food and clothing to county citizens who needed help during this critical Civil War period.

Dr. Althaus was married to Anna Marie Elizabeth Behrens October 5, 1847. She too was a native of Germany, born March 20, 1823. In the 1850's they moved to the rich farm land community of Cave Creek east of Fredericksburg. Here near the head springs of North Grape Creek amidst the rolling limestone hills and huge oak trees was the ideal place to settle and rear a family. Seven children were born to them: John, who died in infancy; William (m. Dorothea Wahrmund); Charley (m. Attie Key); Ernst (m. Pauline Jentsch); Louis (m. Dorothea Quintel); Martha (m. Louis Gardner); and Marie Magdalena (m. John Young).

The ingenuity of Dr. Althaus is shown again in the home that he built for his family. The outside was the typical two-story German home built of rock. The inside, however, was unique. The house was built directly over a spring, thereby providing running water in the house. He lined the walls of the spring with shelves, used for storing his prepared medicines as well as milk, butter, fresh meat, and his favorite beverage, buttermilk. From the attic a door opened onto the roof of the porch,where the plants and herbs were hung to dry in the summer months.

Another spring, around which he dug a large fish pond, served for irrigation. Dr. Althaus took great pride in his orchards. Whenever a fruit was in season, he would carry some of it around in his buggy and give it to everyone he met. Children for miles around knew and loved him for that reason. When they spotted his approaching buggy, they would leave their field work and scramble for the apples that he would toss to them.

Mrs. Althaus too was a magnanimous person, for Dr. Althaus used their home as a hospital for the ill, a refuge for the discouraged and jobless, and an orphanage for homeless children. She was a brave, hard-working, quick-witted woman. Although she was a strict disciplinarian, her grandson, Christian C. Althaus, said, "We always had a lot of fun with her. "

No man on the frontier was a greater friend of the Indians than Dr. Althaus. He spoke the languages of several Indian tribes. On his medical journeys throughout the sparsely settled country, he would spend the nights in the Indian villages, often rendering medical aid to them. They trusted and respected this quiet, liberal man. Dr. Althaus credited his good Indian friend, Chief John Carner, for having given him excellent advice on how to get along with the Indians: "Always be friendly and never pull a gun."

Dr. Althaus practiced medicine until he was seventy years of age. He continued, however, to care for his family until the age of ninety. He would spend hours building toy windmills with dancing puppets for his grandchildren, and he would tell stories as long as anyone would listen. Up until the time of his death, he was active, his hearing and eyesight good, his mind clear and alert, and he still carried himself as erect as the soldier he once had been.

Mrs. Althaus died November 10, 1910, at the age of 87 years. Dr. Althaus died August 10, 1915, at the age of 94 years, and was buried alongside his wife near St. Paul Lutheran Church, Cave Creek, of which he was a founder and supporter. There he was laid to rest but he was not forgotten, for here in the hills and vales of the adopted land he had learned to love, Dr. Christian Althaus served his fellowmen so faithfully, so compassionately, that is name and memory have lived on through generations as a great and beloved pioneer.

The above chapter was taken from the book Pioneers in GOD's Hills about Fredericksburg and Gillespie County, Texas. This particular chapter was written by Ella Mae Ottmers Herber and Esther Richter Weaver.

  Bekannte Ereignisse in seinem Leben waren:

• Auswanderung, 1846, USA.

• Einbürgerung, 29. Apr. 1852.

Johann heiratete Anna Elisabeth BEHRENS, Tochter von Johann BEHRENS und Anna KRING, am 5. Okt. 1847 in Fredericksburg, Gilliespie Co., Texas, USA. (Anna Elisabeth BEHRENS wurde geboren am 20. März 1823 und starb am 10. Nov. 1910.)