WILLIAM MAGERS

William Magers was born in Hanover, Germany on October 28 1847, the son of Henry Magers I. In the fall of 1855 he arrived at the port of Galveston, Texas along with his brother, Henry. Their parents and siblings followed a short time later. They then settled in the Blanco area. William arrived in Texas in time to join the cattle drives up the Chisholm Trail to Abilene, Kansas. During this period he also did ranch work west of Kerrville. There were no stock pens and very few fences so any stock caught had to be roped. He could rope both right and left handed. On February 3, 1878 he married Hermina von Donop in Sisterdale, Texas. She had been born in Hanover, Germany in 1858. They settled down to house keeping on Wasp Creek in a rock house which had one room downstairs with a porch across the front and a loft upstairs that was reached by an outside stairway. In this house they had five children. When the youngest was two years old, Hermina died on March 31, 1889. She was buried on a hill behind the house. Her father, Louis von Donop, had been killed by Indians in 1862 near Bergheim. After the death of his wife, Hermine, William bought a farm and ranch at Welfare, Texas. He and his five children moved into a two story rock house. The Magers family lived there while growing up. All of the children married and left home with the exception of Walter who lived with his father. In 1908 Walter married Agnes Nelson. They remained in the William Magers home, having three children in the next six years. Walter became ill and died on Christmas Eve, 1914 leaving Agnes and the three children. They continued living in the Magers home for a couple of years. At one time William ran a saw mill on Curryþs Creek. While living in Welfare he owned and operated the Spanish Pass Ranch. He never allowed a gun in his home after a child was accidently shot on his place on Wasp Creek, but he always carried a black-snake whip. William died October 1, 1930 and is buried in the Boerne Cemetery. -excerpted from articles by Mollie and Cliff Whitworth, and Louis Magers

Source: "Kendall County Historical Commission, "Rivers, Ranches, Railroads, and Recreation; A History of Kendall County, Texas", Dallas, TX., Taylor Publishing Co., 1984; and Boerne Public Library files.- August 16, 2001