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Note: Andreas and Anna are listed as Andrew and Anna Binger in the 1850 Census for Austin Co., Texas. They are included in the household of John Ruske (Anna's father). Andreas's occupation is listed as "Wheelwright".
The area known as Brunswick, Prussia (birthplace of Andreas) in 1824 is now near the city of Braunschweig in Lower Saxony, Germany. Braunschweig is between Hanover and Berlin.
Application for Citizenship - Austin Co. Civil Minutes - Vol D-2, pg. 210, dated Nov. 6, 1854:
"This day personally came and appeared in open court Andrew Buenger, formally a citizen of Germany, and took the oaths and complied with the requirements of the Constitution and laws of the United States, entitling him to all the rights and privileges of a citizen of said United States and of this State. Therefore, he is fully admitted and hereafter to be fully recognized as such citizen."
The following is from "Scissortails Still Return to Schoenau" by Geraldine Mittanck Luetge, copyright 1985, page11:
The first Buenger to come to America was Andreas Buenger from Brunswick, Prussia in 1846. He met his future wife on the thirteen week journey by sailboat, and worked in Schoenau for Charles Fordtran who came here in 1831. The young couple married soon after they arrived in Texas and they had seven children. They were William, Hermann, Carl (Charles), Emilie, Adolph, Emil and Ida. Listed in the 1870 census along with these names was Sophia, a domestic servant and an infant, Heinrich.
The following is from "A History of Texas and Texans", by Frank W. Johnson, published in 1916, page 1440:
Andrew (Andreas) Buenger came to the United States and to Texas in 1846, with the Bock family, some of whose descendants are now residing in the vicinity of Weimar, Texas. Mr. Buenger was born in Prussia, April 15, 1824, and there received a good education and learned the trades of wagon maker and millwright. When he located in Texas, he secured work as a mechanic, building grist and saw mills and cotton gins; erected the first sawmill in this part of the country, an ox-tread mill for the pioneer, Charles Fordtran, and also constructed numerous gins and sawmills for the old-time plantation owners of that day, the excellence of his work bringing him all the business he could handle. He finally settled down to farming, when his sons came to an age to be of service to him and, long before the outbreak of the Civil War, purchased the farm in the Pettes League on which his son, William A. Buenger, now resides. The house he erected here was of split and hewed logs, weatherboarded and ceiled. His children were born in this home, where the greatest happiness of Mr. Buenger's life was achieved. He passed his active career as a modest farmer, having no office or public responsibilities, except in his church relations in the Lutheran, and later the Methodist, church. During the great Civil War, Mr. Buenger was a prison guard for the Confederacy for a time, when he was not assigned to duty as a wagon maker and repairer for the government. He voted the democratic ticket in political affairs. Mr. Buenger was noted for his great industry, and energy, as well as for his thrift and economy; demonstrated to his sons the value of these homely virtues, sent his children to the community schools, and saw to it that they were properly trained along useful lines, so that in after life they might take their place in the activities of life as useful and well-trained citizens.
Andrew Buenger married Miss Annie Rosky, born April 12, 1833, a daughter of a German emigrant and farmer of Texas, and she died February 3, 1899. Mr. Buenger followed her to the grave on October 31, 1904. They were the parents of the following children: William A. of Industry; Herman, a resident of Halsted, Texas; Charles, who died at Yoakum, Texas, leaving a family; Miss Emily, who resides at Industry; Adolph, a farmer near this place; Emil, of Grayson County, Texas; Ida, who married Rudolph Franke of Industry; and Lena, who is the wife of Eddie Rinn of Yoakum.
From "The Handbook of Texas Online", available at www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook:
INDUSTRY, TEXAS - Industry, on State Highway 159 in northwest Austin County, was the first permanent German settlement in Texas. It's first residents were Johann Freidrich Ernst and his family, who had come from Germany, briefly resided in New York, and enroute to Missouri, learned about free land available in Texas. The Mexican government granted Ernst a league of land on April 16, 1831 and Charles Fortran, who had accompanied the family to Texas, received a quarter of it as payment for surveying the entire tract. Ernst established his home on the eastern part of his league near the main road from San Felipe to Bastrop. "Ernst's Place" established a reputation as a resting place for immigrants and travelers. Ernst planted fruit trees and began to grow crops, including tobacco, which he made into cigars and sold in San Felipe, Houston, and Galveston. Early residents were described as very industrious, and the cigar industry is purported to be the source of the name of the town. In December 1837, the Republic of Texas authorized a post office. In 1838, Ernst laid out lots on his land for the town of Industry and advertised them for sale. Between 1846 and 1850, Ernst, F.G. Knolle, and his brother Frederick, purchased 3,000 acres of the John F. Pettus league, adjacent to and southeast of the Ernst league. By the time Freidrich Ernst died in 1848, Industry was experiencing modest growth.
By the 1850's, cotton was the area's major crop. In 1857, Knolle, aided by Andreas Buenger, built the town's first cotton gin, and by the 1890's, twelve gins were in operation in the vicinity. Germans, Czechs, and African Americans steadily settled the Industry area from the 1850's until the 1890's, although growth slowed briefly during the Civil War. Between the late 1920's and the 1960's, the population declined. Farming and cotton production were the major sources of income in the Industry area until the 1950's. After that, ranching dominated the economy. In 1985 churches, clubs, and civic organizations remained active. The town had a school, a post office, a bank, a public park, twenty-seven business, and a population of 600. A substantial number of residents commuted to jobs outside the town. In 1990, the population was 475.
The following excerpts are from "Historical Accounts of Industry, Texas, 1831 - 1986" , by the Industry-West End Historical Society, copyright 1986:
"The first cotton gin in Industry was built in 1857 by Ernst Knolle. Andreas Buenger and Charles Fordtran were some of the people who helped construct the gin. The framework of this gin was made of hand-hewn logs which were still in good condition after the gin had stood for some 120 years. The building was razed in 1976. Some of the gins in the area from about 1890 forward were: (Adolph) Buenger Gin, 2 miles east of Industry (gin was built in the early 1890's by Robert Voigt and Koch, then was purchased by (Adolph) Buenger in 1894); Fordtran Gin, 2 miles west of Industry; Zettel Gin, 4 miles east of Industry, Dahse Gin at Nelsonville; Wehring Gin at Bleiblerville; Krueger at Post Oak Point; Krueger Gin at Rockhouse; Kretzschmer Gin at New Ulm; Ehrigson Gin at Shelby; Wienke Gin at New Bremen; Melcher Gin, 4 miles west of Industry, and Hugh Fischer Gin at Oak Hill."
"The (Adolph) Buenger Gin in 1898 ginned 528 bales of cotton compared to the average in prior years of 300-350 bales. It took 50 minutes to gin a bale. The cost to gin a bale of cotton around 1900 was 35 cents per hundred for ginning and bagging. Ties were 75 cents to one dollar. The total cost to gin was $2.50 to $2.75 a bale."
"Some early records of the price of cotton were: in 1888, 9 cents a pound or $45 for a 500 pound bale of cotton; in 1899, Andreas Buenger took four bales of cotton to New Ulm and came home with $98; in 1901, 1902, and 1903 prices were very bad due to surplus of cotton; by 1908, the price had increased to 16-1/2 cents a pound."
"Industry, Texas had wheelwrights and wagon makers in residence in the very early days. Some of them were Christian Gollmer (1815-1889), Charles Gollmer (son of Christian), Andreas (Andrew) Buenger (1824 - 1904) and Theodor Daum (1812 - 1881)."
"Andreas (Andrew) Buenger (1824-1904) was born in Germany and trained as a millwright and wagon maker. Buenger came to Texas in 1846 and settled in Industry in 1848. He was able to get work as a mechanic, and built a gristmill, sawmills, and cotton gins in the area. He built the first sawmill in this part of the country, and for pioneer Charles Fordtran, he created an ox tread mill. Many of the old-time plantation owners of this period had Buenger construct cotton gins for them. In 1857 he built a gin for Ernst Knolle which would later be sold to the Schramm family. Because of his reputation for excellence, Buenger always had more work than he could handle. It was during Buenger's conscription into service in the Confederacy and while off duty as a prison guard in Columbus that he was assigned as wagon maker and repairer for the government. Buenger also had a reputation for being good with a broad ax and helped hand hew many logs for building construction in the area."
From Austin Co. Deed Book 24, pages 381 thru 384:
On Oct. 28, 1899, Andreas, " by reason of age and infirmities" sold all of his land to his son Emil Buenger for $4545. This was done "with the consent of his children, they being also the children of his deceased wife Anna Buenger". Children named in the deed are: 1) William A Buenger of Austin Co.; 2) Hermann Buenger of Colorado Co., 3) Carl (Charles) Buenger of Colorado Co.; 4) Emilie Buenger of Austin Co.; 5) Ida Franke nee Buenger, joined by her husband Rudolph Franke, Jr. of Austin Co.; 6) Lena Rinn nee Buenger, joined by her husband Edward Rinn of DeWitt Co., and 7) Adolph Buenger of Austin Co.
There were four tracts of land conveyed, all in Austin Co. on the west side of the West prong of Mill Creek. The four tracts were:
1) 138 acres, which was conveyed to Andreas by T.A. York by deed dated Jan. 6, 1851, being a tract in the J. Pettus league and situated in Industry on the east bank of Post Oak Point Creek,
2) 11 2/3 acres, which was conveyed to Andreas by Ernst Knolls by deed dated Nov. 21, 1859, being a tract in the J. Pettus league and joining the above tract on the north side.,
3) 12 acres, which was conveyed to Andreas by Edward Daughtrey by deed dated Aug. 26, 1857, being a tract in the Bryant Daughtrey league and situated on the west side of the west prong of Mill Creek., and
4) 75 acres, which was conveyed to Andreas by Thomas Hill by deed dated Jan. 29, 1867, being a tract in the Thomas Hill league and situated on the west side of West Mill Creek.
The deed is signed by A. Buenger, Emily Buenger, W.A. Buenger, R. Franke, Ida Franke, Ad(olph) Buenger, E.A. Rinn, Lena Rinn, C. Buenger and H. Buenger.
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