In the years after Texas statehood, two men named Schild — August and Theodor — built lives eight miles apart in Gillespie County: one a merchant in town, the other a farmer on land near Grapetown. Both were born in Saxony. Whether they were kin remains, for now, an open question.
Land Near Grapetown
The earliest record in this story is a land deed. On February 13, 1854, Theodor Schild was granted land near Grapetown, a small German settlement a few miles south of Fredericksburg, marking him as one of the area’s early settlers.
Two Households, One Census
Six years later, the 1860 U.S. Census for Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, records both men. Theodor Schild appears about age 42, a Saxony-born farmer. Immediately adjacent on the same page is August Schild, about 39, a Saxony-born merchant with a household of his own.
Neighboring entries in a mid-19th-century census often, though not always, reflect family or community ties — enumerators typically moved door to door. It is a suggestive detail, not proof of a relationship.
Postmaster of Fredericksburg
By 1868, August Schild’s standing in the community is clearer: he was recorded as postmaster of Fredericksburg, a position tied to his work as a merchant. He continued in the role in 1869. A later biographical source identifies Lena Schild as his daughter.
An Open Question
Were August and Theodor Schild brothers?
They appear beside one another in the 1860 census, were close in age, and were both born in Saxony, but their exact relationship — brothers, cousins, or unrelated neighbors who happened to share a surname — has not yet been proven.
People in This Story
Places in This Story
Documents
Land Record · 1854
Texas Land Deed — Theodor Schild, Gillespie County
Census Record · 1860