August Siemering was a notable German Texan

German Texan

German Texan is an ethnic category that includes residents of the state of Texas with German ancestry who identify with the term. This identification may include cultural agreements—German language, German cuisine, feasts, music, hard work, frugality, and close family ties. From their first...

 educator, writer, publisher and political leader.

Forty-Eighters and Freethinkers

A liberal in politics, Siemering emigrated from Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 in 1851, and was among the first Forty-Eighters

Forty-Eighters

The Forty-Eighters were Europeans who participated in or supported the revolutions of 1848 that swept Europe. In Germany, the Forty-Eighters favored unification of the German people, a more democratic government, and guarantees of human rights...

 to settle in Sisterdale, Texas

Sisterdale, Texas

Sisterdale, Texas, is an unincorporated farming and ranching community, established in 1847 and located north of Boerne in Kendall County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The community is located in the valley of Sister Creek. The current 2010 population is 25...

, a Free Thinker

Freethought

Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas...

 Latin Settlement

Latin Settlement

Latin settlement is a term that refers to a handful of communities founded by German immigrants to the United States in the 1840s. Most of these were in Texas, but there were "Latin Settlements" in other states as well...

  resulting from the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states

Revolutions of 1848 in the German states

The Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, also called the March Revolution – part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many countries of Europe – were a series of loosely coordinated protests and rebellions in the states of the German Confederation, including the Austrian Empire...

.

The Forty-Eighters were intellectual liberal abolitionists who enjoyed conversing in Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 and believed in utopian ideals that guaranteed basic human rights to all. They reveled in passionate conversations about literature, music and philosophy.

In 1853, Siemering was elected Secretary, and Ernest Kapp the President, of the Freethinker abolitionist organization Die Freie Verein (The Free Society), which called for a meeting of abolitionist German Texans
in conjunction with the May 14, 1854 Staats-Saengerfest

Saengerfest

Saengerfest, also Sängerbund-Fest, Sängerfeste, or Sängerfest, meaning singer festival, is a competition of Sängerbunds, or singer groups, with prizes for the best group or groups. Participants number in the hundreds and thousands, and the fest is usually accompanied by a parade and other...

 (State Singing Festival) in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

. The convention adopted a political, social and religious platform, including:

1) Equal pay for equal work; 2) Direct election of the President of the United States; 3) Abolition of capital punishment; 4) Slavery is an evil, the abolition of which is a requirement of democratic principles...; 5) Free schools – including universities - supported by the state, without religious influence; and 6) Total separation of church and state.

Teaching

In 1856, Siemering became a teacher at the first public school in Fredericksburg, Texas

Fredericksburg, Texas

Fredericksburg is the seat of Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 Census estimate, the city had a population of 10, 530...

 a Catholic school.

Military service

Abolitionist Siemering was drafted into the Confederate States Army

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

in 1861, serving three years before resigning his commission as a Lieutenant. He referred to that war as "...a nightmare."

Publisher

The San Antonio Express News was first published by Siemering in 1865, along with co-publisher H. Palmer. Siemering and Palmer also published the German language newspaper Die Freie Presse für Texas.

Public service

In 1866, Siemering was appointed Chief Justice of Bexar County, but only served until August of that year, when an act of the legislature changed the office to an elected office of County Judge. He chose not to run for election for the position. He was, however, the Republican Party's candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1880, losing to Democrat J.D. Sayers.

Personal life and death

During his tenure as a teacher in Fredericksburg, Siemering met his future wife Clara Schütze, daughter of another teacher. They married in 1859.

Siemering died September 9, 1883, and is buried in the City Cemetery in San Antonio.