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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, February 20, 2023, marks the 150th anniversary of |
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the death of the Honorable Louis Franke; and |
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WHEREAS, Born Ludwig Carl Ferdinand Francke in 1818, Louis |
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Franke grew up in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which is now |
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part of Germany; he studied music before earning a law degree from |
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the University of Jena; in the mid-1840s, he joined the wave of his |
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countrymen emigrating for the freedom and opportunity of the United |
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States; he arrived at Galveston, and during the Mexican War, he |
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served with the Texas Rangers; in 1853, he became a naturalized |
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citizen and formally adopted an anglicized version of his name; |
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that same year, he wed the former Bernhardine Helene Friederike |
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Dorothea Romberg; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. and Mrs. Franke began their life together on a |
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farm near Cedar but soon bought land from her family in the Black |
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Jack Springs community in Fayette County; for several years, the |
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couple also spent time at Independence, where Mr. Franke taught |
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music, French, and German at the old Baylor College; after 1959, he |
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focused on his farm while practicing law on the side; he served on |
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the local grand jury and as a county commissioner and overseer of |
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roads; becoming active in the local Lutheran community, the Frankes |
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donated land for the establishment of an Evangelical-Lutheran |
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academy; and |
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WHEREAS, At the close of Reconstruction, in 1872, Mr. Franke |
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was elected to the House of Representatives from what was then |
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District 26, covering Bastrop and Fayette Counties; he served as |
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chair of the Immigration Committee and as a member of the committees |
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on Agriculture and Stock Raising, Redistricting, and Public Lands |
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and Land Office; near the end of the session, on February 19, 1873, |
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at seven in the evening, Mr. Franke was leaving the old Capitol |
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Building to head to his committee meeting at the Land Office when he |
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was brutally attacked by two men, who made off with the $260 in pay |
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he had just received; although help came almost immediately, he had |
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sustained a grave head injury and passed away at 3:30 the following |
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morning; and |
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WHEREAS, Stunned legislators in both parties deeply mourned |
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the loss of a widely admired colleague; the expenses of his burial |
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were borne by the government, and as he lay in state in the Hall of |
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Representatives, the entire legislature attended the funeral |
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service; his coffin was conveyed down Congress Avenue to the train |
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station on Pecan Street in a long procession that included the |
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lawmakers, the governor, the Supreme Court, a military escort, |
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heads of departments, city fire companies and other societies, a |
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band, and citizens in carriages, on horseback, and on foot; a |
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deputation of representatives accompanied his remains on the final |
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journey home to his family; and |
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WHEREAS, Widowed at a young age, Mrs. Franke was left to |
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raise eight children, the youngest still an infant; she proved a |
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woman of steely fortitude, and with astute business sense and the |
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help of her industrious offspring, she expanded the land holdings |
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of the family and secured their prosperity; and |
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WHEREAS, Louis Franke exemplified the boldness, resilience, |
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and community spirit of the early Texans, and his tragic and |
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untimely death robbed the state of a born leader and true public |
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servant; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death |
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of State Representative Louis Franke. |