THE TEXIANS
AND THE TEXANS
THE UNIVERSITY
OF TEXAS
INSTITUTE OF
TEXAN CULTURES
AT SAN ANTONIO
THE
BELGIAN
TEXANS
THE BELGIAN TEXANS
The University of Texas
Institute of Texan Cultures
at San Antonio
1994
THE TEXIANS AND THE TEXANS
A series dealing with the many peoples who have contributed to the history
and heritage of Texas. Now in print:
Pamphlets - The Afro-American Texans, The Anglo-American Texans, The Belgian
Texans, The Chinese Texans, The Czech Texans, The French Texans,
The German Texans, The Greek Texans, The Indian Texans, The Italian
Texans, The Jewish Texans, The Lebanese Texans and the Syrian Texans,
The Mexican Texans, Los T~janos Mexicanos (in Spanish), The Nor­wegian
Texans, The Spanish Texans, and The Swiss Texans.
Books - The Danish Texans, The English Texans, The German Texans, The
Hungarian Texans, The Irish Texans, The Japanese Texans, The Polish
Texans, The Swedish Texans, and The Wendish Texans.
The Belgian Texans
Principal Researcher: Samuel P. Nesmith
©1975: The University of Texas
Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio
801 S. Bowie St.
San Antonio, Texas 78205-3296
Rex H . Ball, Executive Director
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 76-356238
International Standard Book Number 0-86701-063-0
Second edition revised; second printing, 1994
This publication was made possible in part by a grant from
the Houston Endowment, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
THE BELGIAN TEXANS
Belgians first set foot on Texas
soil with La Salle in 1685.
Even prior to that time,
natives of this small, north European
country had influenced exploration of
the New World. Gerard Mercator, the
father of modern cartography, was a
Belgian, as was Peter of Ghent, a lay
brother whose educational techniques,
pioneered among Mexican Indians,
were later adopted in Texas. Even the
king of Spain during much of the explo­ration
period was a Belgian, Charles V
of Ghent. It was he who launched the
epoch-making expedition of Hernan
Cortes against Mexico, which led to
Spanish conquest in a large part of the
Western hemisphere.
Three Franciscan priests from the
province of Hainaut arrived with La
Salle - Maximus Le Clerq, Zenobius
Membre and Anastasius Douay.
Membre and Le Clerq were killed in
the massacre at Fort Saint Louis by
Fr. Douay and the death oj La. Salle
hostile Indians, but Douay survived to
return to France and tell the story of
La Salle's death.
Belgium, and especially the prov­ince
of Flanders, furnished many nota­ble
pioneers. Most were farmers who
came to enjoy the blessings of freedom,
the chance to acquire wealth and the
promise of good land. The Belgians did
not arrive in large numbers at first; the
greatest inflow occurred late in the 19th
century. By that time these immigrants
had come to represent widely divergent
backgrounds and occupations. Each
brought his own valuable contribution
to his new homeland.
JUAN BANUL
1719
One of the earliest Belgians in Texas
was Juan Banul, a master blacksmith
born in Brussels. Belgium was under
Spanish rule then, so Banul was con­sidered
a Spanish subject. While still a
young man he traveled to New Spain
seeking a new life with better oppor­tunity.
By 1719 he was at the presidio
of San Antonio, possibly having arrived
the year before with the founding
Alarc6n Expedition. In 1721 the young
blacksmith was recruited by the
Marques de Aguayo to accompany an
east Texas expedition. Given the rank
of corporal, Banul helped build six mis­sions
and two presidios in eastern Texas
and Louisiana.
Two years later he returned to the
presidio of San Antonio. In addition to
shoeing horses and mules, he also made
most of the iron hardware and did
much of the woodwork at the missions
San Antonio de Valero and San Jose.
During this period Banul married
Marfa Adriana Garcia, a Flemish
widow, and in 1730 they were living in
Mission San Antonio de Valero, where,
1
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Juan Banul, by Michael Waters
in addition to operating the blacksmith
forge , he was also master of the saw­mill.
In 1737 he was the only black­smith
operating in the Province of
Texas. He had land in the Villa de San
Fernando, and in 1741 he was granted
additional land in recognition of more
than 20 years of loyal service to the
Spanish crown.
BELGIAN INTEREST
IN TEXAS
1840
Following its war for independence, the
young Texas republic was deeply in
debt. Solution to this problem seemed
to lie in European recognition and the
negotiation of substantial loans with the
governments of Europe. Under the
administration of President Mirabeau
Lamar, General James Hamilton was
appointed commissioner of loans and
began his official rounds. In London he
met the Belgian minister, Sylvian Van
de Weyer. Belgium itself was a new
nation, having gained its independence
from the Netherlands in 1830, but
already it controlled much capital and
produced large quantities of export
2
" goods. Van de Weyer indicated that
King Leopold I of Belgium might be
willing to discuss trade concessions.
When next in Brussels Hamilton met
with the foreign minister, but nothing
was agreed upon. While keenly inter­ested
in Texas as a foreign market and
possible site for colonization, the
Belgians were afraid that official recog­nition
might jeopardize trade with
Mexico, which still claimed Texas.
Before returning home in 1841
Hamilton contacted Van de Weyer
once more and proposed that, in ex­change
for a Belgian loan of 37 million
francs (over $7 million), Texas would
allow certain Belgian products favored
status over imports from other nations
and allow Belgian vessels the privileges
of coastal trade. Since the Belgian gov­ernment
wanted an American colony
there is some indication that Hamilton
agreed to do what he could to make a
site available in Texas, though it was
not written into the treaty. The
Belgians were still reluctant to advance
so large a sum against the revenue of
a country about which they had so little
information; therefore, Hamilton pro­posed
that the king send a reliable
representative to Texas to observe
firsthand the nature of the land and its
people. The representative would
report to the king and the Belgian
Chambers. They could determine then
the value of a treaty with Texas. At last
Belgium agreed to send a commissioner
to Texas, and a young artillery captain,
Victor Pirson, was chosen.
VICTOR PIRSON
1842
At 32 Victor Pirson was already well
known in Belgium. He had played an
active role in its war for independence
and had served as attache to the
Belgian legation in Constantinople.
When appointed as agent to accom­pany
Hamilton to Texas, Pirson was
cautioned by the government that he
was being sent only as an observer and
that he was in no way empowered to
make treaties. With this stipulation
Pirson was to meet Hamilton in
England for their departure on Novem­ber
19. When they met Hamilton
informed Pirson that he would be
unable to leave England until Decem­ber
4. During this delay Hamilton
requested Pirson to transmit two added
clauses for the treaty. One stated that
Belgian arms and munitions sent to
Texas would enter duty free and the
others extended the loan to 20 years.
On the day of departure Hamilton
decided to remain behind , sending
Pirson to Boston, where he would be
General James Hamilton
Victor Pirson
met by Hamilton's oldest son. Docking
in late December, Pirson hurried to
Washington, D.C., where he visited
President John Tyler on New Year's
Day 1842. On learning ofPirson's mis­sion
to Texas Tyler became concerned
at the prospect of a Belgian colony in
a republic the United States had talked
of annexing. The next day Pirson con­tinued
his journey by packet to
Charleston and then on to New
Orleans. During this voyage he met
Henri Castro also bound for Texas.
Castro had recently completed negotia­tions
for a colony in Texas, and he gave
Pirson a copy of his contract to use as
a model in his negotiations.
Hamilton joined Pirson in New
Orleans, and the two took a steamer to
Galveston, arrivingJanuary 25. From
there they proceeded to Austin via
Houston. While Hamilton had been in
Europe President Lamar had been
replaced by Sam Houston, who was
determined to take a closer look at
financial matters. When Pirson and
Hamilton arrived in Austin on Febru­ary
1, Hamilton immediately called on
President Houston to discuss his
negotiations for the Belgian loan. The
matter was submitted to the Senate,
but no decision was reached.
Meanwhile, Pirson was recording
his impressions of Texas, including
some very favorable ones about the
quality of the land and the prospects for
colonization. He was surprised to find
Austin so primitive, compared with
European capitals. He was even more
dismayed when three members of a
nearby family were killed and scalped
by Comanches.
At last Pirson was presented to
Houston and was given permission to
examine all registers and archives of the
Republic. From this research Pirson
could determine population, revenue,
public debts and other sources of
income and expenditures by which he
could better report the advantages of a
Belgian loan.
PIRSON'S TRAVELS
Upon congressional adjournment in
early February Pirson was convinced
that little else could be accomplished in
Austin; he decided, therefore, to see
more Gf the republic and set out in the
company of about a dozen congress­men
returning to their western homes.
On arnvlllg III San Antonio
Pirson visited the missions and histori­cal
sites, as most tourists do. His
attention then turned to the subject of
commerce, which he knew would be of
interest to Belgian merchants
considering a trade agreement. Assisted
by Andre Antoine Mellaerts, a local
businessman and fellow Belgian, Pirson
gathered information on the volume of
goods traded in San Antonio and even
purchased samples to take back with
him. Instead of exploring the region
between the Nueces River and the Rio
Grande as he had intended, Pirson
decided to leave for Galveston. This
was due in part to news of an impend­ing
invasion from Mexico. Pirson
reached Galveston in early March and
submitted a report on harbor condi­tions
there.
President Houston and Anson
Jones were also in town, and Pirson
had a last visit with them. They
expressed a desire to draw Belgium and
Texas into closer diplomatic ties;
Houston suggested replacing Hamilton
Victor Pirson meets Andre Mellaerts, by Michael Waters
.3
with Ashbel Smith to continue negotia­tions.
Secretary of State Jones brought
up the subject that had been foremost
in everyone's mind, but had not been
officially mentioned - Belgian coloniza­tion.
Houston was prepared to grant
the Belgian government two extensive
tracts of land along the Rio Grande,
between the Castro and Kennedy
grants, in exchange for the introduction
of 600 to 1,000 families of high charac­ter.
This land was to be held for the
colonization project until December 1,
1842, after which time, ifno action was
taken, the President could dispose of it.
FURTHER BELGIAN
NEGOTIATIONS
As Pirson was preparing to sail news
came that a Mexican army under
General Rafael Vasquez had captured
San Antonio, Goliad and Refugio.
Pirson's report, submitted on August 9,
1842, dealt favorably with the Republic
of Texas in general, but expressed
concern over unstable political and
military conditions. The Belgian
government did not wish to endanger
its relations with either Mexico or the
United States.
As Houston had promised Ashbel
Smith was sent as the new charge
d'affaires to Europe. Smith asked
Pirson to arrange a meeting with Count
de Briey, the Belgian foreign minister.
This was done, but nothing fruitful was
accomplished, because Belgium did not
wish to imperil its new treaty of com­merce
with Mexico. As the colonization
deadline of December 1 drew near
Pirson urged the government to act. A
contract was prepared on November 18
calling for the immigration of at least
350 families during the first year. De
Briey not only questioned whether the
colonists would remain loyal to
Belgium, but voiced concern for their
safety, since they would exist in a buffer
zone on the Mexican border of Texas.
He also doubted the need for coloniza­tion
in Texas, since Belgium was
already backing a similar scheme in
Guatemala. Pirson was unable to
contribute further; so, with the Texas
colonization plan ended, he withdrew
4
from the project and went on to other
important roles in Belgian life.
The continued hope for a Belgian
loan and recognition prompted Texas
to send yet another charge d'affaires to
Belgium, William Henry Daingerfield.
Waiting until May 1844, Daingerfield
tried again. This time he was advised
by the Belgian government that not
only did it wish to preserve Mexican
commercial ties, but it was certain that
the United States planned to annex
Texas anyway. This ended the matter
of Belgian recognition and the loan.
Though four years oflabor had yielded
nothing substantive, the threat of
European interest did prompt the
United States to move in the annexa­tion
of Texas.
PETER SHINER
Peter Shiner, a native of Luxembourg,
Belgium, settled in 1842 at Victoria,
Texas, where he became a prominent
merchant, land speculator and stock­raiser.
In 1858 he delivered 1,300
"'horses purchased in Mexico to a buyer
in Illinois. This was one o( the first
major trail drives north.
About 1860 Shiner sold his
holdings in Victoria and moved to San
Antonio, where he opened a store on
Military Plaza. He also opened a
rendering works near the stockyards,
buying large numbers of cattle and
killing them for the hides and tallow.
During the Civil War he was an
outspoken Union man. In 1865 and
1866 he served on the San Antonio City
Council under the provisional govern­ment.
Later he was a Bexar County
Commissioner for two terms before
resuming duties as a city alderman.
After the war he purchased
ranches in Frio and Lavaca Counties
and in 1869 established a candle and
soap factory at San Antonio. Operating
under the name of P Shiner & Sons,
this was one of the first major manu­facturing
industries in the Southwest.
After his death in 1881 Shiner's
sons carried on his business. One of
them, Henry B., became a great cattle­man
in his own right. After early
experience managing his father's herds
the son began acquiring land in Lavaca
Henry B. Shiner
County about 1875. A dozen years
later he donated land for the townsite
of Shiner, which was named in his
honor. Another son, William B., was
a noted San Antonio real estate man.
After graduating from college he briefly
joined his brother in management of
their father's ranch near Victoria, but
sold his interest in order to live and
work in San Antonio, where he was a
noted civic worker until his death in
1919. His brother Henry died two
years later.
BELGIAN BRICKS FOR
ST. MARY'S
1845
During the spring of 1845 Bishop John
M. Odin visited Europe in an attempt
to recruit new priests for his Texas
diocese and collect additional funds for
his churches. His quest took him to
Belgium, where he was approached by
relatives of Father J. M. Paquin. Father
Paquin, a Vincentian priest and vicar­general
of Texas, had perished in the
yellow fever epidemic at Galveston in
1844. Bishop Odin had long dreamed
of building a new church in the coastal
city, and Father Paquin's relatives now
assisted by donating a half-million
bricks for the construction of a
cathedral there. Since Paquin had been
pastor of old St. Mary's it seemed an
appropriate tribute.
Throughout 1846 the bricks were
loaded in the ships of Antwerp bound
for Galveston and were sent freight-free
as ballast. By early 1847 the transfer
was complete, and construction on St.
Mary's Cathedral began in March.
The massive Gothic structure was the
largest church in east Texas. In
November Father Paquin's remains
were reinterred within the new building
by his friend, Father John Brands. One
year later the church was completed
and stood as a proper monument to a
man who had faithfully served his
church and the people of Galveston.
ANTON DIEDRICK
(Dutchover)
1846
In 1842 young Anton Diedrick was
walking the streets of his native
Antwerp when he unwittingly wit­nessed
a murder. The killers, fearing
exposure, had Anton shanghaied onto
the first outgoing vessel. For several
years he was kept a virtual prisoner
aboard ship until in Galveston he got
his chance to go ashore. The task of
finding food and a job was complicated
because he spoke only Flemish. A pair
of soldiers recruiting for Mexican War
St. Mary's Cathedral at Galveston
servic~ attempted to convince Diedrick
that he only had to make his mark and
he would be fed and cared for. When
~ked his name he responded blankly.
At last one said in exasperation, "Aw,
he's Dutch all over. We'll call him that."
Thus he was listed on the roll as
Diedrick Dutchallover. The name was
still too cumbersome, so the "all" was
dropped, leaving Dutchover.
After the Mexican War Diedrick
Dutchover lived in San Antonio for a
time. He gained experience as a fron­tier
scout and in 1850 was approached
by Big Foot Wallace to serve as shot­gun
guard on the first stage run from
San Antonio to EI Paso. He continued
working for the stage line and married
Refugia Salcedo. When not serving as
guard he operated a small sheep ranch
in Limpia Canyon. Later he acquired
cattle, and after Fort Davis was estab­lished
in 1854 he frequently sold milk
at the post. Indian attack was a con­stant
threat, and when the 8th Infantry
left in 1861 Dutchover took refuge in
the fort to await the expected Confed­erate
troops. There were not enough
soldiers to man the post permanently;
so, when the Confederates evacuated,
they left Dutchover in charge.
Soon after the troops departed
Chief Nicolas and 250 Apaches
swooped down on Fort Davis, intent on
ransacking the place. Dutchover, with
his family and four Americans, had no
time to escape, but hid fearfully on a
rooftop. After 48 hours the Indians
grew tired oflooting and had begun to
scatter. One of the Americans was
dying and could not be moved, so on
the third night he was left in hiding,
and Dutchover led the others toward
Presidio 92 miles away. Four days later
the exhausted party reached safety.
When Federal troops returned in
1867, Dutchover was employed as an
army contractor to haul timber from
Diedrick Dutcfwver and Family
5
Sawmill Canyon for use in rebuilding
the fort. Even with a heavy guard he
would frequently lose oxen at night to
the Apaches. Dutchover spent the rest
of his days near Fort Davis and was still
there when the last soldiers left in 1891.
The Dutchover name remains promi­nent
in far west Texas, where numer­ous
descendants live today.
JOSEPH AND THEODORE
VANDER STRATEN
joseph Vander Straten, a veteran of
Napoleon's army, left Antwerp in 1846
with four sons and a daughter to join
Henri Castro's colony in Texas .
Landing at Port Lavaca, they
journeyed by oxcart to their land at
Castroville. joseph's wife and one
daughter had remained in Belgium
until a home was prepared for them.
Tragedy occurred when the wife died
and was compounded when the two
youngest sons died of malaria. Vander
Straten decided that the land at
Castroville was too barren and condi­tions
too unstable, so he moved to San
Antonio, where he found employment
as a cook. In 1850 he built a home
behind the present Menger Hotel.
joseph's son Theodore worked as
a stonemason. One of his first jobs was
to repair the walls of the Alamo in
preparation for its occupancy by the
United States Army. Later he became
Theodore Vander Straten
6
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"La Sociite de Colonisation au Texas" Contract
a ge~neral contractor and built many of
the city's early stone buildings,
including the Menger Hotel, begun in
__ 1858. A close friendship developed
between the Vander Stratens and the
. Menger family. joseph lived at the
hotel until his death in 1873.
In 1854 Theodore had married
Miss Franceska Leznick, who had
immigrated with Father Leopold
Moczygemba's Polish colonists. During
the Civil War Theodore moved his
family to Boerne, where he led a
detachment of scouts on patrol against
marauding Indians. Descendants of the
family still live in the area today.
D'HANIS
1847
Henri Castro was beset with troubles
in the summer of 1845. Having
successfully defended himself on
charges of fraud, he found his Texas
colony was still faced with serious
financial problems. While in Belgium
Castro transferred the entire
colonization project to a group of
Antwerp bankers. Among these was
Guillaume D'Hanis, who became the
principal administrative agent for the
"Societe de Colonisation au Texas."
After 1846 D'Hanis was the principal
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fIOt.irt J. HANEGIUEFF,
European representative who signed all
colonists' contracts. While under his
direction the colonists established the
town of Vandenberg (named for the
consul general of Texas at Antwerp)
and, in 1847, the town of D'Hanis.
Although the town was named in his
honor there is no indication that
D'Hanis himself ever visited the place.
Laid out by Theodore Gentilz, the
townsite grew. Two years later its
Alsatian families were given protection
from roving Indians when Fort Lincoln
was established nearby. In 1881 the
town moved one mile west to join the
railroad, leaving old D'Hanis to join the
list of Texas ghost towns.
JOHN PHILIP GOETSEL
AND THE FOUNDING
OF LOUVAIN
1856
In 1854 the first of Victor Considerant's
colonists arrived at La Reunion near
Dallas. Many Belgians were included.
Occupational backgrounds were
diverse: poets, engineers, architects and
workers, but no farmers. Since La
Reunion was intended to be an agri­cultural
colony, this obviously could
present difficulties . Among the first to
arrive was john B. Louckx of Louvain,
who was with the advance party.
Because of his architectural training he
was appointed supervisor of construc­tion.
He was joined by John Philip
Goetsel, also of Louvain, who was in
charge of building the rock houses for
the settlers. They were assisted by
Ferdinand Michel, another Belgian,
who made lime for the mortar.
After a year of labor and many
natural disasters it became clear that
this was not the utopian colony that had
been hoped for. In 1856 Goetsel pur­chased
17 sections of land on Mountain
Creek, just south of present Grand
Prairie, with the intention of establish­ing
a separate colony for the Belgians.
He named the town Louvain after his
home in Belgium. Many La Reunion
colonists joined Goetsel; houses and
other improvements were built as the
nucleus of his proposed city.
Unfortunately their location was too
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near the creek and was subject to the
overflow after heavy rains. Goetsel
recognized that the land was unsuitable
for farming, so he attempted to estab­lish
a ranching economy. But the
colonists were no better cowboys than
they were farmers.
Goetsel had invested 30,000 francs
in La Reunion, which he hoped he
could withdraw from that project to
help his own. The directors refused to
return his money, arguing that Louvain
was established in opposition to La
Reunion and that it might draw away
their trade. By late 1857 most of the
families at Louvain had decided that
they were not suited for the rustic life
and were beginning to move to Dallas
and Fort Worth. Eventually Goetsel
himself closed his store and post office
and moved to Dallas.
DR. CHARLES A.
OTTERBEIN
Charles A. Otterbein, a well-known
dentist and investor of Weatherford,
Texas, was compelled by his political
activities to leave his native Tervuren,
Belgium. As a young man he edited a
newspaper, L'Abeille, in which he
advocated that the French-speaking
portion of Belgium should be annexed
to France. He soon found it expedient
to voice such opinions from the oppo­site
side of the Atlantic. In 1856 he
established a less controversial dental
practice at Weatherford.
In the 1870's the Memphis, El
Paso and Pacific Railroad went bank­rupt.
Its bondholders, mostly French,
formed the Franco-Texan Land
Company to take over and dispose of
the railroad lands that secured the
bonds. Many of the investors, rather
The building of La Reunion, by Michael Waters
7
Residence of Dr. C.A. Otterbein at Weatherford
than sell their bonds at a loss, decided
to move to Texas and occupy the land.
Dr. Otterbein ultimately became a
shareholder and a director in the
Franco-Texan Land Company. His
stepdaughter had married George P.
Levy, the company's last president.
Otterbein resigned his post not long
before this company's charter expired
in August 1896. He died at Weather­ford
in 1905. His wife, who was an
artist and sculptress, returned to France
to live out her life.
JEAN-CHARLES
HOUZEAU
1858
Jean -Charles Houzeau, one of
Belgium's most famous astronomers
and naturalists, found himself dis­missed
from the staff of the Royal
Observatory because of his outspoken
political views. In October 1857 he
landed at New Orleans, stayed briefly,
then pushed on to Texas. Seven months
later he was living in San Antonio,
where he surveyed for irrigation
ditches. Opening up some of the old
Spanish acequias and cutting new
channels, he was able to help local
farmers with their water needs . He
soon moved to Uvalde, where he
planned various geological and
scientific expeditions into different parts
of the state.
On one of these expeditions in
1861 Houzeau explored the upper
Brazos River and descended it, crossing
8
. . .
then to the Colorado watershed. His
abolitionist views quickly surfaced in
the course of his travels. He found little
evidence of slavery on the upper
Brazos, in marked contrast to the lower
reaches of the Colorado. Near Smith­ville
his abolitionist sympathies were
expr~ssed when he assisted the escape
of some Negro slaves. In turn he had
to save his companion, who was cap­,
J:ured by the planters. Houzeau
returned to San Antonio and in August
.attempted another geological expedi­tion,
this time to the Pecos River
country. Conditions were so unsettled
and the threat of Indian depredations
so prevalent that he was compelled to
Houzeau helps Anderson escape, by Bruce Marshall
return first to Uvalde and then to San
Antonio. He continued on to Austin,
where he violently refused service in the
Confederate army. He hurried back to
San Antonio and sought a way out of
his dilemma. He wrote the Belgian
consul in New Orleans that he was in
danger of being pressed into the local
militia, but the consul replied that
conditions in New Orleans were the
same, and it was useless for him to try
to intervene.
At this point Houzeau decided to
render all possible aid to the Union
cause. The most prominent Unionist in
San Antonio was Charles Anderson,
brother of the Union commander at
Fort Sumter. Anderson had been
arrested because he had freed his
slaves, an act that was interpreted as
aiding the enemy. Houzeau and his
friends decided to help Anderson
escape. On October 22 he waited for
Anderson with provisions and a mount
and accompanied him far enough to
ensure that he was beyond danger.
Back in San Antonio attempts were
made to discover who had helped
Anderson escape. Houzeau feared that
he might be exposed at any time and
planned his own escape.
In February 1862 Houzeau, dis­guised
as a Mexican laborer accom­panying
a wagon train to Brownsville,
left San Antonio carrying secret
documents from local Unionists. Two
days out of Brownsville they were
challenged by a party of Confederates.
Houzeau's dark complexion and fluent
Spanish supported his disguise, and a
search failed to locate the messages
secreted within his shotgun. The
wagons were passed without incident,
and on March 20 Houzeau crossed into
neutral Mexico. There his message was
given to the United States consul. After
a while he continued to New Orleans,
which was then in Union hands, and
became political editor of a Negro
newspaper. From 1868 until 1876 he
lived on a plantation in Jamaica. He
then became director of the Royal
Observatory in Brussels. In December
of 1882 he returned to San Antonio
under happier circumstances than those
of his departure - as chief of the Belgian
Astronomical Commission to observe
the transit of Venus.
FRANK VAN DER
STUCKEN
1862
Frank Van Der Stucken and his
brother, Felix, immigrated to Texas
from Antwerp with Henri Castro in
1846. They left Castro's colony, how­ever,
and moved to Fredericksburg,
where Frank assisted in the construc­tion
of Fort Martin Scott. In the early
1850's in Fredericksburg he opened a
store and soon became a prominent
citizen; he was twice elected county
commissioner. He and a partner also
secured government freighting con­tracts
to supply west Texas military
posts. In 1862 Van Der Stucken
opened the Reliance Flour Mill in
partnership with his brother, but this
activity was cut short by the Civil War.
Most Gillespie County residents
held Unionist sympathies, but there
was fear that the Confederacy might
begin conscripting in the area. As a
token gesture Frank Van Der Stucken
was authorized to raise a company of
75 state rangers, presumably to serve
as a home guard unit for Indian
defense. These rangers were under
state, rather than Confederate, jurisdic-tion,
the objective being to free regular
Confederate troops for war service.
Shortly after their organization
they were detailed to guard federal
prisoners at nearby Fort Mason. Some
members of the company objected to
guarding prisoners whose political
bel~fs were similar to their own; there
wa~ talk of a mutiny. When word .of an
escape plan reached Captain Van Der
Stucken, he quickly ended it. As long
as Texas was part of the Confederacy
and he was in its service, he would
follow orders.
In July 1862 the company was
ordered to transport the prisoners from
Fort Mason to Vicksburg, Mississippi,
to be exchanged for Confederate pris­oners
in Union hands. In January 1863
the outfit escorted another group of
prisoners to Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
then served briefly on the Rio Grande
and elsewhere in Texas. In December
Captain Van Der Stucken's unit was
taken into the Confederate army as
Company E, First Texas Cavalry, and
given the responsibility of rounding up
Union sympathizers and bringing them
to trial. Naturally the company was
ineffective in this role, and in February
1864 it was disbanded.
While he was in service Frank
Van Der Stucken's business had been
conducted for him by his partners, and
he had become wealthy. In 1864 he was
elected chief justice of Gillespie County,
but a year later he resigned and
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Van Der Stucken
returned to Belgium. He deeded his
house, store and stables to his father­in-
law, and the mill to his brother. He
then dug up his money from its hiding
place beneath the floor of his house and
returned with his family to Antwerp,
where he established another mill. His
son, Frank Jr. , born in Fredericksburg
in 1858, became a noted symphony
conductor in both Europe and the
United States.
FELIX VAN DER STUCKEN
In 1862 Felix Van Der Stucken and his
brother Frank opened the Reliance
Flour Mill at Fredericksburg. The
operation was left to Felix, while Frank
served in the army. In 1865 Frank
assigned his share of the ownership to
his brother and returned to Antwerp.
Felix remained in Fredericksburg to
become one of its outstanding citizens.
In 1869 he was appointed a county
commissioner by the military govern­ment.
In 1889 his son Alfred joined his
father in the milling business. At this
time the mill was remodeled, and the
burr millstones were discarded in favor
of a more modern roller system. The
Gold and Red Star Flour, produced by
the F. Van Der Stucken & Sons Mills,
were favorites in central Texas for
many years. In 1904 Felix was an
organizer of the Citizens Bank of
9
(
Reliance Flour Mill, Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg and served as president
until his death in 1913.
BELGIANS IN
SOUTH TEXAS
1867
In 1864 the Archduke Maximilian
accepted the imperial throne of Mexico
under the sponsorship of Napoleon III.
When he and his Belgian-born wife,
Carlota, went to Mexico, they were
accompanied by Belgian army vol un-
The Empress Car/ola
10
...
teers and Belgian settlers. As conditions
grew progressively worse French sup­port
dwindled. When Maximilian was
executed by Juarista troops in 1867
Belgians were no longer welcome in
Mexico. Some went north across the
RIO" Grande, and at one time Belgian
immigrants lived in most of the river
towns from Laredo to Brownsville.
MICHEL SCHODTS
1869
Michel Schodts's assassination on the
streets of Brownsville in 1896 stunned
south Texas. The Belgian-born mer­chant
was a highly regarded business­man
with no known enemies. The
assassin, believed to be a hired killer
from Mexico, was never brought to
justice. Schodts was given one of the
largest funerals ever seen in Brownsville
to that time.
A native of Antwerp, he immi­grated
at age 25 to New Orleans, where
he worked as an accountant. The Civil
War was already under way; so in 1862
he moved beyond harm to Matamoros,
then a thriving export center for Texas
cotton as well as a Confederate supply
base. Schodts became first a clerk, then
a partner, in a prosperous import
house. In 1866 he married Susan Diaz.
At her untimely death three years later
he and his small daughter moved across
the river to Brownsville, where he built
a highly successful trade in lumber and
building materials.
On a February night in 1896 he
and a friend were walking home in the
moonlight after a game of cards in
J agons's saloon. Within moments after
the friend entered his own front gate,
Schodts was gunned down at the corner
of Eleventh and Washington Streets.
His daughter and two grandchildren
were his only survivors .
PIERRE VAN HOLLEBEKE
1879
Pierre Van Hollebeke owned and oper­ated
several large west Texas ranches
before his death in the saddle at age 74.
As a young man in his native Antwerp,
Belgium, he operated one of the small
skiffs that plied Antwerp canals,
carrying people and merchandise.
Imbued with a spirit of adventure, he
came to the wide expanse of west Texas
in 1879, settling on a small ranch south
of Colorado City. His wife and children
joined him the following year, and for
a few months they lived in a dug-out
like so many other plains pioneers .
At first Hollebeke tried raising
sheep, but subsequently found cattle
ranching more to his liking and his
profit. He gained his American citizen­ship
in 1888. In the 1890's he operated
a small freight line, delivering equip­ment
and supplies to the XIT and other
west Texas ranches. In 1900 he began
operating a general store at Midland,
but three years later he settled on an
Michel Schodts
Andrews County ranch and became
the county's first postmaster at
"Hollebeke." From 1907 to 1909 he
lived at Knowles, New Mexico, then
purchased a large spread in Culberson
County. He was one of the area's
biggest landowners at the time of his
death in 1928.
E.D. WELTENS
1881
At an early age Edward Weltens
decided that he was a better cook than
farmer; so, leaving his home near
Brussels, he obtained a job as chef on
a passenger vessel out of Antwerp. He
acquired a reputation as an excellent
bake r. Once, while visiting in
Galveston, he traveled to San Antonio,
where he had heard there were other
Belgian families. He liked the appear­ance
of the town and decided it would
be a good place to establish a bakery.
About 1881 Weltens moved to San
Antonio, but did not have enough capi­tal
to build his bakery right away. For
several years he worked as the pastry
.,
Hollebeke Ranch, Sterling City, c. 1890
chef at the Menger Hotel, where his
knowledge of five languages quickly
established him as unofficial interpreter
for the community. Then he worked at
Richter's Bakery for nearly a dozen
years before his dream came true.
Shortly b efore the Spanish
American War he established Weltens's
Bakery. In 1898 it was Weltens who
delivered the bread and pastries to
Teddy Roosevelt's "Rough Riders," in
training at the Old Fairgrounds. Sev­eral
years later the bakery moved to an
expanded location at Prospect Hill.
Bread from its ovens was famous on
San Antonio's west side for many years.
HERMAN VAN DAELE
1884
In middle age Herman Van Daele was
stirred by a call of adventure that had
been stimulated by letters from a friend
in the American West. Finally Herman
decided to experience the excitement
firsthand. Van Daele arrived in San
Antonio on New Year's Day 1884, his
50th birthday. He acquired land on the
old Frio City Road. His wife and chil­dren
came as soon as he had prepared
a home for them.
Van Daele, born in Liedekerke,
Belgium, had always lived close to the
soil; his father had been a truck farmer.
After a year at the Frio City Road site
he found good rich earth at a reason­able
price near the intersection of South
Brazos and Laredo Streets. This
20-acre truck farm at first suffered a
Weltens' delivery service, by Bruce Marshall
11
Herman Van Daele
lack of irrigation. Water had to be
hauled from Apache Creek; or, in the
dry season, purchased from property
owners along San Pedro Creek. It
became apparent that another source
must be found; so, in 1894 Van Daele
and the Baeten family cooperated in
drilling their own well . The result was
one of the first artesian supplies devel­oped
in Bexar County. Not only could
the Van Daele and Baeten land be irri­gated,
but there was now enough water
to sell for a penny per barrel.
Van Daele also operated a dairy
in conjunction with his highly success­ful
truck farm. About 1922 a baseball
stadium was built on a portion of his
property and was named Van Daele
Field in his honor. He died the
following year at 89. A half century
later his descendants are still living on
the property.
THE GODDESS OF
LIBERTY
1888
When the old Texas Capitol burned in
1881 designs were already afoot to
build a new capitol. Work began a year
later on the same site. The first plans
called for a limestone structure with a
brick-supported dome, but technical
problems caused a change to pink
granite. To hold the dome in place, it
was decided to use lightweight steel
girders imported from Belgium. This
was natural, as Belgian steel was
12
already world-famous for its high
quality. It was further decided to
complete the edifice with a zinc statue
of the Goddess of Liberty. The sculptor
is unknown, but there is some evidence
that he was a Belgian (among other
guesses). The figure was cast in
sections, and the pieces assembled on
the capitol grounds in February 1888.
It was then hoisted into place and
finished in time for the May opening.
Although her features appear
exaggerated when seen at close range,
they mellow to proper proportions
when viewed from the ground,
testifying to her maker's skill.
ADOLPH BAETEN
Adolph Baeten worked on his father's
farm in Belgium until he was almost
30. Then in 1888 he moved to San
Antonio, where he worked at odd jobs
until ~ 1892, when he leased land on
Probandt Street. It was necessary,
however, to buy irrigation water from
t,.he San Pedro Creek - at the rate of $2
per acre; so, in 1894 Adolph Baeten
The Goddess oj Liberty
, \
Adolph Baeten
joined Herman Van Daele in digging
one of the first artesian wells in Bexar
County. It was dug on the Van Daele
property, but Baeten paid the drilling
expenses. Both men agreed to share the
water. After the well came in Adolph
got married, built a house on his prop­erty
leased from Van Daele and began
farming. Eight years later he moved to
a larger place and finally, in 1907, to
a 32-acre site on Zarzamora Street.
Here the Baeten Truck Farm became
one of the show properties of San
Antonio, where many new vegetables
and fruits were introduced in the area.
CHARLES PERSYN
1891
During the winter of 1812 two Persjn
brothers accompanied Napoleon's ill­fated
retreat from Moscow. Able to go
no further, they stopped in the Belgian
town of Lokeren, which they made
their home. One of the brothers, who
changed the spelling of his name to
Persyn, was the grandfather of Charles
Persyn. Filled with the spirit of adven­ture,
16-year-old Charley ran away
from home in 1886 and worked passage
aboard an America-bound ship. For
five years he held a variety of jobs, from
miner to zookeeper. About 1891 he
passed through San Antonio while
working for the Southern Pacific Rail­road.
It struck him as a nice place to
The Hooge Family in 1896 (Peter second from left, Philemon standing by him)
settle when the time came. He contin­ued
on to Del Rio, where he worked
as assistant foreman for the Southern
Pacific Railroad on construction of the
high bridge over the Pecos River.
When this project was completed
in 189~ Persyn moved to San Antonio.
He wrote his brothers, Pete and
Casmire, urging them to emigrate.
T!,J.ey did so later that year. Charley,
meanwhile, was employed at Alamo
Irpn Works, where he finally . saved
enough money to buy his own farm. In
1896 he married Augusta Verstuyft.
The Persyn Family (Charles at left, Pete holding grey hat)
They lived happily on this farm until
her death in 1901. Charley later
remarried and continued raising
produce for many years. Pete Persyn,
a farmer himself, was very successful
at growing radishes. He is also credited
with introducing cauliflower to the San
Antonio market, clearing over $3,000
on his first crop. About 1905 Casmire
returned to Belgium, but other relatives
soon replaced him. Today numerous
Persyn descendants still play an active
role in the agricultural economy of
Bexar County.
THE HOOGE FAMILY
1892
In 1892 Peter Hooge left the family
farm near Ghent, Belgium, and moved
to San Antonio. For two years he
worked on the railroad and in 1894 was
joined by his brother Philemon. To­gether
they rented 25 acres of irrigated
land on Probandt Street and began
growing vegetables. They were able to
send enough money home for their
father and five brothers and sisters to
emigrate in 1896. The Prohandt Street
land was fertile, but the rent was expen­sive,
and there was talk of closing the
San Pedro canal. Shortly after 1900
Peter and Philemon moved to other
property on Brady Street. There they
drilled a water well in joint effort with
their neighbors, the Wauters family.
The venture was unsuccessful; the
Wauters sold their land to Philemon
and moved.
13
In 1903 Peter married Elizabeth
Chavagneux. For six years the couple
lived near Espada Mission, where they
repaired many of the buildings, assisted
the priest and operated the store. In
1909 they moved back to the city limits.
In 1916 Philemon and his family
homesteaded a small ranch near
Columbus, New Mexico. He had no
more than settled when Pancho Villa
raided and ran off his stock. Discour­aged,
he returned to Texas and started
a ranch near Campbellton.
That same year Peter Hooge and
his family moved again, this time to
Valley Wells. He remained until 1925,
when he became a soft drink distributor
at Pearsall. In 1931 he joined Philemon
at Campbellton, where they owned a
fruit orchard. Peter's family subse­quently
returned to San Antonio and
became an important part of the
Belgian community.
STEPHANIE HOOGE
1903
When her mother died in Beirvelde,
Belgium, Stephanie Hooge assumed
the care of her five younger brothers
and sisters. She had wanted to enter a
convent, as her younger sister had
done, but felt a sense of responsibility
to her family. When the Hooges moved
to San Antonio in 1896 it was Steph­anie
who educated the younger chil-
Stephanie Hooge
14
dren while her father and two older
brothers worked in the fields. In 1903
they decided to drill a water well on
their Brady Street property. A vow was
made that, if the well was productive,
a chapel would be built. Although the
result was disappointing it was decided
to build a chapel anyway. The one­room
structure was quickly completed,
and Stephanie gathered the children of
the Belgian colony to teach them the
catechism and to broaden their educa­tion.
The small chapel was also used
by the adults whenever Father
Heuchemer from Sacred Heart Parish
could come to say mass.
When Stephanie felt that her
duties to her family had been fulfilled ,
she made plans to satisfY her lifelong
dream of becoming a nun. In 1906 she
bade goodbye to her kinsmen and
friends, and returned to Belgium,
where she joined her sister Camilla
Hooge (Sister Mary Leocadia) in the
convc;,nt at Beirvelde. There she took
the name Mary Lutgardis and became
a teacher. She was prevented by failing
qealth from returning to San Antonio
and starting a school for the Belgian
children. In 1911 she died of pneu­monia
at her convent in Beirvelde. In
San Antonio her chapel continued
under the name of St. John Berch­mans,
as she had wished. St. Stephen's
Church, which now occupies the site,
is dedicated to her memory.
OCTAVE VAN DE WALLE
1905
In 1905 Octave Van de Walle left his
father's farm near Lokeren, Belgium,
to start a life of his own in San Antonio.
A year later he married Marie Leonie
Hooge and began farming a small plot
of ground at Zarzamora and Brady
Streets. In 1910 Octave, his wife and
her brother Peter Hooge donated land
for the new St. John Berchmans
Church. Because of crop failure the
Van de Walles moved in 1914 to Valley
Wells in Dimmit County. The situation
did not improve; one year there would
be drought, the next year flood. While
the farmers who remained in San
Antonio during World War I pros­pered,
those in Valley Wells became
Mr. and Mrs. Octave Van de Walle
poorer. After seven years of hard times
in Valley Wells the Van de Walles
moved back to San Antonio.
They farmed first at St. Peter's
Orphanage on Mission Road, and later
on Castroville Road and Morey Road.
In 1929 Octave visited his father in
Belgium. When he returned to Hous­ton
he was met by his wife and son,
who had brought a truckload of vege­tables
with them. The vegetables were
quickly sold at the market and since
that time the Van de Walles have had
a wholesale outlet at the Houston
Produce Terminal. The family survived
the depression years and began buying
land around Kelly Field. At the start
of World War II they had the largest
truck farm in the San Antonio area,
with more than 800 acres under cultiva­tion.
In 1937 Octave brought his four
sons into the business, and it became
Van de Walle & Sons. Later three
grandsons became partners. In 1942
Van de Walle & Sons were granted
large government contracts to supply
vegetables to nearby military bases.
This led to the introduction of some
new crops, in addition to the inevitable
potatoes. In 1945 the firm was given a
special certificate for meritorious service
by the Quartermaster General. Octave
Van de Walle retired from business
after suffering a stroke, but continued
to assist from the sidelines until his
death in 1952 . Later that year Mrs.
Van de Walle rebuilt St. Stephen's
Church as a memorial to her husband.
"COMPAGNIE DES EAUX
DE SAN ANTONIO"
1909
In 1906 the San Antonio Water Supply
Company was organized to supply the
city of San Antonio. The organization
experienced financial difficulty, and
after three years 90 percent of the stock
was sold to a group of Belgian investors
in Antwerp. Under a new name,
"Compagnie des Eaux de San
Antonio," they not only continued the
waterworks, but expanded it. From
1910 to 1920 the city's population
almost doubled. In 1914 Germany
invaded Belgium, and all communica­tions
between the stockholders in
Antwerp and the company in San
Antonio were cut off. Throughout
World War I the interest and dividends
that ordinarily would have been sent to
the investors were put back into the
company for expansion. When the
armistice was signed in 1918 the
Belgian owners badly needed money to
rebuild their devastated land. The
Belgian franc had fallen to its lowest
point; so, by selling their stock, they
would be getting a comparatively
greater number of francs for use at
home. In 1920 a syndicate of San
Antonio businessmen purchased the
stock from the Belgian investors . Since
the company's net worth had increased
considerably there was a substantial
profit for both parties.
ST. JOHN BERCHMANS
CHURCH
1910
Named in honor of a 17th century
Belgian saint, St. John Berchmans
Church can trace its origins to the one­room
chapel erected by Stephanie
Hooge in 1903. Use of the chapel
declined after Stephanie returned to
Belgium. Interest revived in 1910 with
the appearance of Father Richard
Verschaffelt. While lying ill in Santa
Rosa ~Hospital he heard a nurse
speaking Flemish. They talked of the
Belgian colony in San Antonio, and as
hi!; health improved the priest visited
the colony. He envisioned the chapel as
tne site of a new Belgian chur~h. In
1910 it was decided to enlarge the origi­nal
chapel. Additional land was
donated by Peter Hooge and Mr. and
Mrs. Octave Van de Walle. Work
began in July and was completed two
months later at a cost of $1300. The
simple structure did not even have a
bell until 1912, when an old fire bell
was donated by Mayor Bryan Cal­laghan.
Even then, it was about six
months before a tower could be erected.
Until 1947 St. John Berchmans
was the Belgian national parish, with
all services conducted in Flemish. Then
there was a revision of parish boun­daries
which greatly diminished the
Belgian influence. In 1948 new land
was purchased and St. John Berch­mans
relocated. The original Brady
Street chapel was remodeled by Mrs.
Octave Van de Walle in 1952 and
renamed St. Stephen's. In 1965 St.
John Berchmans moved to its present
site on Cupples Road. A rectory and
a school stand nearby. Throughout the
history of St. John Berchmans Church,
most of its priests have been Belgian.
St. John Berchmans Church, c. 1910
REVEREND RICHARD
VERSCHAFFELT
Richard Verschaffelt was responsible
for the rebuilding of St. John Berch­mans
Church and was its first pastor.
In addition to regular parish duties, he
was also an educator, sometimes a
physician and an advisor in business
matters. Born at Ghent, Belgium, in
1879, he had expressed an interest in
the Church from his earliest years. He
was ordained a priest in 1898. After
serving churches in Belgium and in
Paris he sought to fulfill a long-time
dream of becoming a missionary. In
1904 he had his chance when he went
to Tulancingo, Mexico, to minister to
the Indian tribes there. During this
period he visited San Antonio on
annual trips north. Father Richard
remained in Mexico until forced out by
the Revolution of 1910. After getting
acquainted with the Belgian colony of
San Antonio he recognized the need for
a Belgian national church, which he
promptly set about to organize.
In 1912 he was asked by the
bishop to go to Marfa, Texas, and to
work with the Mexican missions.
Although life there was difficult he
cheerfully carried out his duties until
World War I began. He felt then that
his homeland needed him more, and he
15
Reverend Richard Verschaifelt at the Grothues home, 1910
asked to be relieved of his position.
Verschaffelt tried unsuccessfully to
return to Belgium. In 1917 he joined
the Canadian Expeditionary Force and
was sent overseas. While in occupied
Belgium he was captured by the
Germans and sentenced to be executed.
With the aid of Resistance forces he was
able to escape from prison on the night
before his impending execution.
After the war the priest returned
to the United States and was pastor at
Thibodeaux, Louisiana, until 1932.
Father Vervaeke of St. John Berch­mans
died, and Father Richard
returned to San Antonio for his second
term as pastor. He labored for ten more
years, but age and illness were his
companions until his death in 1942 .
JULIEN PAUL BLITZ
1912
In his 66 years Belgian-bomJulien Paul
Blitz led two major Texas symphony
orchestras-one at Houston, which he
founded, and another at San Antonio.
These two organizations laid important
foundations for later cultural develop­ment
in the state. The man responsible
was born at Ghent of a Belgian father
and an American mother. Both were
musicians, so it was not surprising that
Julien should have an early love of
music. He graduated from the Royal
16
Conservatory of Ghent in 1905, after
completing an eight-year course in four.
Young Blitz sailed from Antwerp
to New York that same year, but soon
foun"'d the northern winters too harsh .
His father contacted an old friend,
...Herman Bal, who was chairman of the
music department at Baylor Female
.College in Belton, Texas, and secured
employment for Julien. The young
man soon moved on to San Antonio,
Houston and back to Europe for post­graduate
work. In 1912 he returned to
Julien Blitz and the San Antonio Symphony
Houston as director of the Treble Clef
Club. A year later he saw possibilities
for starting a symphony orchestra and
turned to Miss Ima Hogg for help . A
trial concert was given at the Majestic
Theater with a group of 35 musicians
selected and led by Blitz. The trial
concert was a success, and the Houston
Symphony Association was formed
soon after. Blitz was appointed the first
conductor. For the next three years he
conducted both the Houston Symphony
Orchestra and the Treble Clef Club.
He then left the orchestra and moved
to a monastery in Arkansas to further
develop his techniques.
In 1917 Blitz became conductor of
the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra,
which had been sponsored by Mrs.
Anna Hertzberg. About 1923 he left
the orchestra, and for two years he and
his wife taught music, gave concerts
and frequently accompanied Josephine
Lucchese on her tours of Texas. In 1930
the couple moved to Sherman, where
he headed the stringed instrument
department at Kidd-Key College. After
five years he became chairman of the
music department at Texas Technolog­ical
College in Lubbock, where he
spent another 15 years. In 1950 he
retired and moved to Dallas, where he
and his wife taught music and
conducted a workshop for the staff of
the Dallas public schools. In 1951
Julien Paul Blitz died, after having
contributed more than 40 years to
music education in Texas.
AVIEL "TIP" VANDER
POORTEN
1917
At his death in 1936 "Tip" Vander
Poorten was a highly respected leader
of San Antonio's Belgian community.
His nickname derived from World War
I service when he learned his first song
in English, the ever-popular "It's a
Long Way to Tipperary." He was
excessively generous with his rendition
of the melody. Tip was assigned to the
Quartermaster Corps and was fre­quently
chosen to drive General
Pershing's staff car. He and the general
enjoyed a long and enduring friend­ship.
In 1927 he bought the 3-Points
service station and a small cafe at
Quintana and Frio City Roads. He
expanded the diner into a tavern called
"Tip» Vander Poorten
Tip's Place. There patrons could relax
and enjoy a game of bolls or shoot pool.
Tip also dispensed advice to local
farmers on the type of seeds to buy,
how to cultivate their land, and even
gave counsel in simple legal matters.
He always urged expansion of the
Belgian colony and was influential in
bringing additional emigrants from the
Old Country.
CAMILLE DE WINNE
1920
A center of Belgian culture in San
Antonio is the Belgium Inn, owned and
operated by the De Winne family. The
founder, Camille De Winne, arrived in
San Antonio from Overmeer, Belgium,
about 1920. At first he worked on Peet
Calle's farm, but soon obtained a job
at Ed Weltens's Prospect Hill Bakery.
In 1923 Camille, by then a foreman,
felt secure enough to get married. The
following year he opened a small gro­cery
store on West Commerce, which
was operated by his wife while Camille
worked at the bakery. In 1925 he
opened his own bakery next to the gro­cery
store and called it the Daylight
Bakery. Soon he had a thriving bread
route among the Belgian farmers .
De Winne began selling sand­wiches
in the grocery store, and soon
Camille De Winne
it evolved into a small restaurant.
When Prohibition was lifted in 1933 he
opened a package store and tavern
called the Belgium Inn. This became
the most popular of the Belgian gath­ering
spots, offering card games, darts
and Belgian bolling. During World
War II the bakery was closed because
of a shortage of raw ingredients. After
the war the restaurant was enlarged,
Camille De Winne (right) and Rudolph De Winne
17
Belgian social gathering, showing bolls and dart boMd
and tourist courts were added next
door. This gave the De Winnes a block­long
complex which is still in use today.
SOCIAL LIFE
The Belgian "Kermess," or outdoor
festival, was traditionally held in mid­August
and again on November 17,
depending on the condition of the
harvest. Another festive event was June
21, the Belgian national holiday. In
reality, however, the Belgians of San
Antonio required no special reason to
celebrate, and each evening generally
found some of the colony in the
Belgium Inn, Belgian Village, Flanders
Inn or one of the other local spots.
There, over a cool drink, they could
discuss the crops. In earlier days
wooden shoes were worn, and these
were sometimes the source of free
drinks from non-Belgians who would
buy a round for the privilege of trying
on the wooden footwear. These shoes
also had another practical side; in addi­tion
to being economical, they were
18
~asier to clean, which was important in
an agricultural society.
One of the most popular Belgian
pastimes was the sport ofbolling. The
game was played with round wooden
bolls, which resembled flat cheeses, the
object being to roll the disk in an arc
to a peg at the opposite end of the alley.
The player whose boll came closest to
the peg and survived the bombardment
of the opposing team was declared the
winner. The women enjoyed a similar
game, but it involved rolling the boll
into a narrow box. Dancing was also
popular, and sometimes the dancers
wore native costumes. Today these tra­ditional
games have disappeared,
except for special occasions, such as the
Texas Folklife Festival.
BELGIAN ACHIEVEMENTS
IN AGRICULTURE
Thanks to their ingenuity and dili­gence,
the Belgian vegetable growers of
San Antonio have made it possible for
Texas housewives to prepare fresh
vegetables all year long. No segment of
the agricultural economy is so fickle as
the growing and marketing of highly
perishable truck crops. Too much or
too little rain, labor problems, insects,
blight and other diseases cast a shadow
over every crop year. Another threat is
even worse-no market!
Through the Bexar County Truck
Growers Association, these farmers
have encouraged their own members
and others to assume the risk of raising
vegetables on a year-round basis. More
importantly, they have tried to create
a stable market. At first vegetables were
brought from the fields by wagons and
sold in stalls at the old market in
Military Plaza. Today vegetables are
processed and packaged, then speeded
by truck to their destination. In 1952
Henry Van de Walle was influential in
starting the first annual South Texas
Vegetable Day show to acquaint con­sumers
with locally grown crops and to
encourage quality improvement.
Belgian farmers have also pio­neered
new roles in irrigation. The
siphon technique which they intro-
duced into this area is a far cry from
the days when water had to be carried
to the ditches by hand. A series of
siphon tubes are placed in the ditches
at right angles to the water source, and
the gravity flow system diverts the
water to the individual furrows.
In addition to growing vegetables,
many San Antonio Belgians produce a
flower crop in the fall. A major market
for these flowers has been the Mexican
population of south Texas, who use
them to decorate cemeteries on All
Souls Day. Through modern technol­ogy
and untiring labor these Belgian
farmers have contributed impressively
to the San Antonio economy.
ANDRE A. CRISPIN
1949
Typical of many Texas success stories
is that of Andre A. Crispin. Born in
Brussels, young Andre served with the
Belgian army during the dark days of
1940. After Belgium's defeat by the
Germans he continued his education at
the University of Louvain and gradu­ated
with an engineering degree in
1943. Wishing to aid his occupied
country, he served for a time with the
Aviel Bauwens with vegetable wagon
Belgian underground, then after the
war, with the American Military
C;overnment in Europe. Here he
decided that he would like som~day to
g~ to America. In 1947 he got his
chance. Early that year Crispin arrived
in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with
$30 in his pocket. He worked for a
while with a wholesale grocer and kept
hoping to have his own company.
In 1949 he moved to Houston,
where he opened a small import-export
business with money borrowed from
friends . This was the start of the
Crispin Company, which primarily
imports iron and steel products and oil
field tubular goods. Today the Crispin
Company is a multimillion-dollar con­cern,
with affiliates throughout the
United States, and offices in Europe,
Latin America and South Africa.
In addition to his business enter­prise,
Andre Crispin has many other
activities . In 1953 he was named one
of five outstanding young Texans by a
committee of Texas businessmen for his
work in the steel industry from 1950 to
1953. He was president of the World
Trade Association of Houston and is
the founder and past president of the
World Trade Club. Prominent III
Houston society, Crispin belongs to
more than a score of civic organiza­tions,
and at one point led efforts to
build the World Trade Center.
ANDRE GRAINDORGE
1966
Brussels-born Andre Graindorge ran
away to sea at 16 and worked as a deck
boy on a Belgian freighter. Among his
duties was helping the ship's cook, who
recognized Andres potential and
recommended that he attend cooking
school. Graduating from the Ecole
Hotelier in Brussels, he began working
as a baker on a cargo liner operating
between Antwerp and North America.
H e soon became head chef and
achieved recognition for his many
Belgian and French dishes. In 1965 he
married Loelleta Carpenter of Austin
and decided to settle there. In 1966 he
became the chef at the Polonaise, where
many Texans enjoyed his culinary
talents . After two years he became chef
at the Swiss Chalet and a year later
assumed management of the cafeteria
for the local IBM plant.
Andre A. Crispin
19
Andre Graindorge
Ever since arriving III Austin
Graindorge had wanted to open his
own restaurant. In March 1970 he
leased the old Courthouse Cafe and
remodeled it as Andre's. It was a family
operation, and each member pitched
in. While conditions were cramped
business was good, and Andre's
reputation grew. In 1972 the enterprise
moved to a new location on Highway
71. Here his Belgian-style game dishes
have earned him a reputation as one of
-- the finest chefs in Texas.
The Bauwens Family's Belgian farm band, San Antonio
20
CONCLUSION
The 1850 Texas census revealed only
eight Belgians living in the state, seven
of those in San Antonio . More than a
century later most Belgian Texans
remain concentrated in the Alamo
City. While many diverse occupations
are represented, agriculture heads the
list. Belgian Texans have experimented
widely in the introduction of new crops
and have improved irrigation tech­niques
. There have been countless
individual success stories in other fields
of endeavor. Today it is difficult to
distinguish Belgians from other ethnic
groups, since many of their distinctive
folkways are no longer observed. They
have blended into the local culture until
they survive more as Texans than as
Belgians. They retain a proper pride,
however, in their contribution to the
growth of their adopted land.
Aguayo, Marques de, 1
Alamo, 6
Alamo Iron Works, 13
Alarcon Expedition, 1
Anderson, Charles, 8
Andre's (restaurant), Austin, Texas, 20
Andrews County, Texas, 11
Antwerp, Belgium,S, 6, 9, 10, 11 , 15,
16, 19
Apache Indians, S, 6
Austin, Texas, 3, 8, 19, 20
Baeten, Adolph, 12-13
Baeten Truck Farm, San Antonio,
Texas, 13
Bal, Herman, 16
Banul, Juan, 1-2
Banul, Maria Adriana (Garcia),
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 9
Bauwens, Aviel, 19
Bauwens family, 20
Baylor Female College,
Belton, Texas, 16
Beirvelde, Belgium, 14
Belgian Astronomical Commission, 9
Belgium Inn, San Antonio, Texas 17-18
Bexar County Truck Growers
Association, 18
Blitz, Julien Paul, 16-17
Boerne, Texas, 6
bolling (game), 17, 18
Bonaparte, Napoleon, 6, 13
Bosto'n, Massachusetts, 3
Brands, Fr. John, S
Brazos River, 8
Brownsville, 8, 9, 10
Brussels, Belgium, 1,2, 11, 19
Callaghan, Bryan, 15
Calle, Peet, 17
Campbellton, Texas, 14
Capitol Building, Austin, Texas, 12
Carlota, empress of Mexico, 10
Carpenter, Loelleta
see Graindorge, Loelleta (Carpenter)
Castro, Henri, 3, 4, 6, 9
Castroville, Texas, 6
Charles V of Ghent, 1
Charleston, South Carolina, 3
Chavagneux, Elizabeth
see Hooge, Elizabeth (Chavagneux)
Citizens Bank of Fredericksburg, 9, 10
Civil War, U.S., 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10
Colorado City, Texas, 10
Comanche Indians, 3
"Compagnie des Eaux de
San Antonio," 15
Considerant, Victor, 6
Cortes, Hernan, 1
Crispin, Andre A , 19
Crispin Company, The, 19
Culberson County, Texas, 11
Daingerfield, William Henry, 4
Dallas, Texas, 6, 7, 16
De Briey, Count, 4
Del Rio, Texas, 13
De Winne, Camille, 17-18
INDEX
D'Hanis, Guillaume, 6
D'Hanis, Texas, 6
Diaz, Susan
see Schodts, Susan (Diaz)
Diedrick, Anton, 5-6
Diedrick, Refugia Salcedo, 5
Douay, Anastasius, 1
Dutchover, Anton Diedrick
see Diedrick, Anton
El Paso, Texas, 5
England,2
Flanders, 1
Fort Davis, Texas,S, 6
Fort Lincoln, Texas, 6
Fort Martin Scott, Texas, 9
Fort Mason, Texas, 9
Fort Saint Louis, Massacre of,
Fort Worth, Texas, 7
Franco-Texan Land Company, 7-8
Fredericksburg, Texas, 9
Frio County, Texas, 4
Galveston, Texas, 3, 4, 5, 11
Garcia, Marfa Adriana
see Banul, Maria Adriana (Garcia)
Gentilz, Theodore, 6
Ghent\. Belgium, 13, 15, 16
Gillespie County, Texas, 9
Goddess of Liberty statue, 12
Goetsel, John Philip, 6-7
Obliad, Texas, 4
Graindorge, Andre, 19-20
Graindorge, Loelleta (Carpenter); 19
Grand Prairie, Texas, 7 .
Guatemala, 4
Hainaut, Belgium, 1
Hamilton, Gen. James, 2, 3, 4
Hertzberg, Anna, 16
Heuchemer, Fr. , 14
Hogg, Ima, 16
Hooge, Elizabeth (Chavagneux), 14
Hooge, Marie Leonie
see Van de Walle,
Marie Leonie (Hooge)
Hooge, Peter, 13-14, 15
Hooge, Philemon, 13-14
Hooge, Stephanie, 14, 15
Houston, Sam, 3-4
Houston Symphony Association, 16
Houston, Texas, 3, 14, 16, 19
Houzeau, Jean-Charles, 8-9
Jones, Anson, 3-4
Kennedy land grant, 4
"Kermess," 18
Lamar, Mirabeau, 2, 3
Laredo, Texas, 10
La Reunion colony, 6, 7
La Salle, Sieur de, 1
Lavaca County, Texas, 4
Le Clerq, Maximus, 1
Leopold I of Belgium, 2
Levy, George P. , 8
Leznick, Franceska, 6
Liedekerke, Belgium, 11
Limpia Canyon, Texas,S
Lokeren, Belgium, 13, 14
Louckx, John B., 6-7
Louvain, Belgium, 6, 7, 19
Louvain colony, 7
Lubbock, Texas, 16
Lucchese, Josephine, 16
Luxembourg, Belgium, 4
Marfa, Texas, 15
Matamoros, Mexico, 10
Maximilian, emperor of Mexico, 10
Mellaerts, Andre Antoine, 3
Membre, Zenobius, 1
Memphis, El Paso and Pacific
Railroad , 7
Menger Hotel, San Antonio,
Texas, 6, 11
Mercator, Gerard, 1
Mexican War, 4, 5
Mexico, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 15
Michel, Ferdinand, 7
Midland, Texas, 10
Military Plaza, San Antonio,
Texas, 4, 18
Mission Espada, 14
Mission San Antonio de Valero, 1, 2
Mission San Jose, 1
Moczygemba, Fr. Leopold, 6
Mountain Creek, 7
Napoleon I
see Bonaparte, Napoleon
Netherlands, The, 2
New Orleans, Louisiana, 3, 8, 9, 10
Nicolas, Chief,S
Nueces River, 3
Odin, Bp. John M., 4
Otterbein, Charles A., 7-8
Overmeer, Belgium, 17
Paquin, Fr. j.M., 4, 5
Pearsall, Texas, 14
Pecos River, 8, 13
Pershing, Gen. John, 17
Persyn, Augusta (Verstuyft), 13
Persyn, Casmire, 13
Persyn, Charles, 13
Persyn, Pete, 13
Peter of Ghent, 1
Pirson, Victor, 2-4
Port Lavaca, Texas, 6
Presidio, Texas,S
Refugio, Texas, 4
Reliance Flour Mill, 9
Richter's Bakery, San Antonio,
Texas, 11
Rio Grande River, 3, 4, 9, 10
Roosevelt, Theodore, 11
"Rough Riders," 11
Royal Observatory, Brussels, Belgium,
8,9
St. John Berchmans Church,
San Antonio, Texas, 14, 15, 16
St. Mary's Cathedral, Galveston,
Texas, 4-5
St. Stephen's Church, San Antonio,
Texas, 14, 15
Salcedo, Refugia
see Diedrick, Refugia (Salcedo)
San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, 16
San Antonio, Texas, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8,
9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,
Texas Technological College,
Lubbock, Texas, 16
Tyler, Pres. John, 3
19, 20 Uvalde, Texas, 8
San Antonio Water Supply Valley Wells, Texas, 14
Company, 15 Van Daele, Herman, 11-12
Schodts, Michel, 10 Van Daele Field, San Antonio,
Schodts, Susan (Diaz), 10
Sherman, Texas, 16
Shiner, Henry B., 4
Shiner, Peter, 4
Texas, 12
Vandenberg, Texas, 6
Vander Poorten, Aviel "Tip," 17
Vander Straten, Joseph, 6
Vander Straten, Theodore, 6
Van Der Stucken, Alfred, 9
Van Der Stucken, Felix, 9-10
Van Der Stucken, Frank, 9
Van Der Stucken, Frank, Jr., 9
Van de Walle, Henry, 18
Shiner, Texas, 4
Shiner, William B., 4
Smith, Ashbel, 4
"Societe de Colonisation au Texas," 6
Southern Pacific Railroad, 13
Tervuren, Belgium, 7
Texas Capitol Van de Walle, Marie Leonie (Hooge),
see Capitol Building, Austin, Texas 14, 15
Texas Folklife Festival, 18 Van de Walle, Octave, 14-15
PHOTO CREDITS
All prints are from the collections of The University of Texas Institute of Texan
Cultures - San Antonio, courtesy ofthe following lenders. Credits from left to right
are separated by semicolons and from top to bottom by dashes.
Cover Mary Persyn, San Antonio.
Page 1 Jules Verne, The Exploration of the World (London, 1882), page 429.
Page 2 The Institute of Texan Cultures-Dudley G . Wooten, A Comprehensive
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Back cover
History oj Texas (Dallas: Wm. G. Scarff, 1898), vol. I, page 313.
Belgian Institute for Information and Documentation, Brussels,
Belgium - The Institute of Texan Cultures.
Edwin Wolters Memorial Museum, Shiner.
Library of the Daughters ofthe Republic of Texas at the Alamo, San
Antonio-David Andrew Simmons Collection, The University of
Texas Barker Texas History Center, Austin.
Library of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas at the Alamo, San
Antonio-Mrs. Clara Christians, San Antonio .
The Institute of Texan Cultures.
Virginia H. Taylor, Austin - The Institute of Texan Cultures.
Pioneer Memorial Museum, Fredericksburg.
Van Der Stucken Family, San Antonio-Harper's Week?y, May 29,
1858, page 341; John Henry Brown, Indian Wars and Pioneers oj Texas
(Austin: L.E. Daniell, n.d.), page 723.
Rosa Belle Cooksey, Pecos - The Institute of Texan Cultures.
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Ripps, San Antonio; Ellis A. Davis and Edwin
H. Grobe, The New Encyclopedia of Texas (Dallas: Texas Development
Bureau, n.d.), vol. III, page 2356-Archives Division, Texas State
Library, Austin.
Mary Persyn, San Antonio-Mrs. Leo Persyn, San Antonio.
Mary Persyn, San Antonio-Mary Persyn.
Mary Persyn, San Antonio.
Mary Persyn, San Antonio - San Antonio Symphony Association.
The San Antonio Light Collection, The Institute of Texan Cultures­Mr.
and Mrs. Louis Vander Poorten, San Antonio; Mrs. Camille
De Winne, San Antonio.
Mrs. Cyril Persyn, San Antonio.
Mrs. Homer Verstuyft, San Antonio-Crispin Company, Houston.
Bill Records, Austin-Mrs. Homer Verstuyft, San Antonio.
Mrs. Homer Verstuyft, San Antonio.
Van de Weyer, Sylvian, 2
Van Hollebeke, Pierre, 10-11
Vasquez, Gen. Rafael, 4
Verschaffelt, Rev. Richard, 15-16
Verstuyft, Augusta
see Persyn, Augusta (Verstuyft)
Vervaeke, Fr., 16
Vicksburg, Mississippi, 9
Victoria, Texas, 4
Villa, Francisco (Pancho), 14
Wallace, Big Foot, 5
Washington, D.C., 3
Wauters family, 13
Weatherford, Texas, 7, 8
Weltens, Edward, 11, 17
Weltens's Bakery, San Antonio,
Texas, 11, 17
World Trade Association of Houston, 19
World War I, 16, 17
World War II, 19
XIT Ranch, 10
One of a series
prepared by the staff of
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES
AT SAN ANTONIO