Need help with correct place of birth and short translation

+4 votes
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He stated that he was born in 1810 in Walsburg, Prussia in a document related to his Oath of Allegiance in Texas. What we be the correct place of birth to add to his profile?  Also, I added a photo of a snippet from a newspaper article to his profile, that was written in German. I believe it might be related to his death, but I'm not sure because I can't read it. If someone could please help me with a translation I would greatly appreciate it. All I can make out is possibly "accident" and it says something about the Union and Confederates. (He was part of group that refused the draft into the confederate army during the Civil War and was imprisoned.)
WikiTree profile: Reinhard Hillebrand
in Genealogy Help by Amanda Blaker G2G1 (1.9k points)
edited by Amanda Blaker

1 Answer

+7 votes
 
Best answer

Hey Amanda,

As for the Translation, it says:

In La-Grange, Fayette-County, Reinhard Hillebrand had an accident during a ride and he died of his injuries a few hours later. He was a participant in the '48 revolution and a resident of Texas since the 1850s, where he asserted his Union allegiance within the Confederacy with great self-sacrifice during the Civil War. He had to atone for this sentiment with years of incarceration in southern jails. The deceased reached an age of 77 years.

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In 1848/49 there was a revolution in several German territories during and after which many people choose or were forced to emigrated to America.

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The place of birth is not so easy. There is only a village named Walsburg in former Saxony (parish of Liebschütz), that became part of the Prussian Province of Saxony in 1815. That would mean that in 1810 it was still Saxony. The churchbooks are online on Archion.de but I was not able to find a family Hillebrand there.

Maybe it is a reading mistake for Waldburg ?? Then there would be a lot of different places, most of them in several parts of former Prussia. You would have to check for more clues to find the right one.

by Danny Gutknecht G2G6 Pilot (111k points)
selected by Melanie Paul
This is incredible! Thank you so much. I just went back and looked at the primary source, it actually says Waldenburg, Prussia. (That will teach me to copy what is on family search without looking at my own sources and tree!)
Ok. this makes it much easier :)

Waldenburg was a city in Silesia, that belonged to Prussia, and it also was one of the starting regions and most involved parts of the '48 revolution. It startet there already in 1844 because the homeworking weaver of Silesia became very poor during the industrial development and the invention of weaving machines. Therefore they rebelled for better living conditions. This "rebellion" later (1848) spread across other states of the German Federation.
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So, for the time of birth 1810 the place would be:

Waldenburg, Schlesien, Königreich Preußen

since 1815 it would be :

Waldenburg, Provinz Schlesien, Königreich Preußen, Deutscher Bund

Thank you for teaching me this history. It appears that the same convictions followed with him to Texas. Martial law was declared in the county because the citizens of their settlement came together and refused to fight.  He was one of the three signers of the declaration sent to the Confederate General, which led to his incarceration. " Besides the duty of defending one's country there is a higher and more sacred one—the duty of maintaining the families. What benefit is there in preserving the country while the families and inhabitants of the same, nay, even the Army, are bound to perish in misery and starvation?"  I added links to the Texas history of this on his profile. I will update with the info about the rebellion as well. I appreciate your help with this. 

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