Joseph von Boos zu Waldeck

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Ludwig Joseph Count von Boos zu Waldeck and Montfort , also known as Boos-Waldeck for short (born November 26, 1798 in Koblenz , Rhineland , † October 1, 1880 in Aschaffenburg , Bavaria ) was a ducal-Nassau lieutenant colonel and stable master as well as a co-founder of the “ Mainz nobility association ".

family

He came from the old Rhenish noble family Boos zu Waldeck , originally resident at the Ganerbe - Waldeck Castle in Baybachtal ( Hunsrück ), and was the son of the Elector Trier treasurer Clemens Graf von Boos zu Waldeck (1773-1842) and Johanna Freiin von Bibra (1774) –1856) and a cousin of the British Queen Victoria .

Boos-Waldeck married Henriette Freiin von Wessenberg-Ampringen (1807-1856), the daughter of Johann Freiherr von Wessenberg-Ampringen (1773-1858) , around 1827 .

He was the uncle of the composer and patron Victor Graf von Boos zu Waldeck and Montfort (1840-1916).

Life

Boos-Waldeck began his military career as an officer in the First Carlist War in the army of Carlos María Isidro de Borbón . He then switched to the Prussian army and was a lieutenant in the 5th Uhlan Regiment . In 1832, however, he moved to the later (1839) Duke Adolf von Nassau as Major à la suite and adjutant wing . On March 17, 1837 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the Ducal Nassau Army . On April 20, 1844 he was appointed head stable master.

From 1831 to 1832 he was a member of the first chamber of the estates of the Duchy of Nassau as the representative of Prince zu Wied .

In April 1842 he and 20 other nobles founded the “Mainzer Adelsverein” in Biebrich to promote and support German emigration to Texas ( USA ). On May 19 of the same year he was officially appointed authorized representative in Mainz and was commissioned to go to Texas with Viktor Graf zu Leiningen-Westerburg-Altleiningen and buy land there on behalf of the aristocratic association.

Soon after their arrival in Galveston (Texas) at the end of August 1842 , both of them visited the Texas President Sam Houston in his city of Houston and told him about their plans and the goals of the noble society. In October both traveled to Columbia, San Felipe de Austin , to the German settlement "Rödersmühl" (today Shelby ), to Mill Creek in Austin County and finally came in November to Washington-on-the-Brazos , where the Congress of the Republic of Texas was at that time met.

In what was then the capital, they met again with President Houston to negotiate the purchase of land to settle German settlers. However, they turned down Houston's concrete offer when they learned that it was a border area and also a settlement area for hostile Indians west of Austin (Texas) . Instead, Boos-Waldeck acquired 1,780 hectares of land in Fayette County near the settlement of Industry (Texas) for 70,000 guilders , where the immigrant Friedrich Ernst had already settled with his family (see: Caroline Ernst ) and other Germans. Boos-Waldeck named the country "Nassau-Farm" in honor of his friend, employer and chairman of the "Mainzer Adelsverein". The settlement was later named Waldeck (Texas) after its founder . Leiningen left Texas for Germany in January 1843 , while Boos-Waldeck stayed a full year to further develop and prepare the country for future settlers. He had slaves build huts, a bigger house for the overseer, had the land cultivated, and had corn, cotton, sugar beet, potatoes and tobacco grown. He also had a larger, two-story log house built as the future seat of the aristocratic association. Two years later, in May 1845 , the German geologist Ferdinand von Roemer reported that this log cabin was one of the best-built and most comfortable that he had ever seen in Texas, the land was fenced and cultivated and the farm employed 19 slaves, including a slave family as House staff serve.

In contrast to Leiningen's report , Boos-Waldeck recommended in his subsequent reports to the aristocratic association to first create the necessary conditions and only then to gradually settle, but his recommendation was ignored and a true "Texas boom" began. With the dangers of such a thoughtless and unprepared settlement in mind, Boos-Waldeck and his brother Anton resigned from the “Mainzer Adelsverein” in April 1844.

In 1843, while Boos-Waldeck was once again in Texas, the Duke appointed him his stable master and adjutant. He remained in this position until he resigned from military service at his own request in 1846. His successor was Carl Graf zu Castell-Castell . In 1850, the Duke granted Count Boos an annual pension of 4,000 guilders in recognition of his special services. Boos-Waldeck spent his retirement in Pielenhofen near Regensburg in Bavaria , but was in constant correspondence with his friend and former employer until his death.

literature

  • Jochen Lengemann : MdL Hessen. 1808-1996. Biographical index (= political and parliamentary history of the state of Hesse. Vol. 14 = publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse. Vol. 48, 7). Elwert, Marburg 1996, ISBN 3-7708-1071-6 , p. 83.
  • Nassau parliamentarians. Part 1: Cornelia Rösner: The Landtag of the Duchy of Nassau 1818–1866 (= publications of the Historical Commission for Nassau. Vol. 59 = Prehistory and history of parliamentarism in Hesse. Vol. 16). Historical Commission for Nassau, Wiesbaden 1997, ISBN 3-930221-00-4 , No. 23.
  • Walter Rosenwald : The secret mission of the ducal Nassau wing adjutant Count Joseph von Boos-Waldeck in the 1st Carlist War in Spain 1835/36. In: Nassau Annals . Volume 108. Association for Nassau Antiquities and Historical Research, Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Wiesbaden 1997.
  • Peter Wacker: The ducal-Nassau military 1813–1866. Volume 2, 1998, ISBN 3-922027-85-7 , p. 441.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Boos zu Waldeck, Joseph von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Boos-Waldeck, Joseph Graf von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Nassau lieutenant colonel and adjutant wing
DATE OF BIRTH November 26, 1798
PLACE OF BIRTH Koblenz
DATE OF DEATH October 1, 1880
Place of death Aschaffenburg