Annie Elizabeth von Blucher
Sister
Annie
Elisabeth
born in
Corpus Christi
Aug 26, 1864
died
Oct 1, 1865
------ foot stone: A.E.
Photo Credit: Rosa G. Gonzales
Annie Elizabeth von Blucher
This small infant was the daughter of Felix and Maria von Blucher, early settlers of Corpus Christi who came from Germany to seek a new life on the frontier. Felix was active in surveying much of south Texas, served as an officer of the Confederate forces, and designed defensive works in both Texas and Mexico. In the book of Maria von Blucher’s letters, edited and annotated by Mr. Bruce Cheeseman, there are letters with reference to little Anna Elizabeth. In a letter to her parents dated November 2, 1864 Maria tells of the birth and christening of their new little daughter whom she describes as amazingly big, weighing eleven and a half pounds at birth. She tells her parents that little Anna Elizabeth is a “charming little dollâ€. But the joys of that letter were soon overshadowed by tragedy as many in south Texas faced difficult times in the period immediately following the Civil War. By 1866 Maria was lamenting the lost of her little girl and the heartaches of others in similar circumstances as she reported the deaths of Dr. Edward Britton (son of Forbes and Rebecca Britton) and his young son. She notes that for a long time she had felt that maybe better doctors and medicine could have saved Anna, but then she admits that many have had to give up loved ones. She tells how Dr. Britton had cared for little Anna and then himself soon followed her to the grave at the young age of only 28 years old. Moreover, the good doctor had a small son and with the close of the Civil War, his wife had decided to take their son to visit with her family in Virginia. On the way, the little boy fell ill at the same time as his father. He also died on the same day as his father and was buried on the same day, but one in Corpus Christi and the other in Virginia (letter from Corpus Christi dated January 2, 1866). Many others would face similar tragedy, especially as yellow fever epidemics threatened the coastal areas in 1867. In some cases all the children of a family or both parents would be lost to disease.
(Please refer to “Maria von Blucher’s Corpus Christi: Letters from the South Texas Frontier, 1849-1879†edited and annotated by Bruce S. Cheeseman. Texas A & M Press: College Station. 2002, especially pages 147 and 155)
Research and transcription: Michael A. Howell