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The Life StoryOf John Martin Lehman Written by Martin LehmanEdited by Vanessa Kierce Burzynski Presented to the Rockne Historical Association June 14, 2003
Chapter 1First my mother died when I was so young, I don�t even remember her. Those days we didn't have any church cemeteries, so they buried my mother on the Meuth Place on Sandy Creek in Bastrop County, Texas and my father and my first beloved wife are both buried at the Catholic church at what they now call Rockne in Bastrop County, Texas. My father John T. Lehman was born December 12, 1832, and my mother Maria Anna Eichhorn was born 19th of September in 1834, and they were married in 1858 on the 10th of June. I don't remember what year or date my mother died. My father died July 14, 1892. My father and mother are asleep with Jesus.Chapter 2As I was a small boy, I don't know exactly how old I was, but I was kicked by a sorrell mule. His name was Jack and the consequences were a broken collar bone and how come that mule to kick me, it was in the morning and we boys had to change about to keep the chickens from eating the mule's corn, so it was my turn that morning and I walked up to Jack and I hit him on his hip. I said, "Whoa Jack," and I reckon Jack did not know I was around, anyway he put it to me and he must have undoubtedly hit me with the first lick and I fell to the ground and the folks heard the noise, so there I lay. They picked me up and what did papa do, he took me to the doctor, that was Dr. Panell. He lived close to us on the farm (we lived on the farm too) and he told [me] it was really a broken collar one. I remember it as if it was today. He put my arm in a sling and he put a big wad under my arm until I got all right.Chapter 3When I was about 14 years old (I think around that age) my two oldest brothers they had to go to chop wood in the pasture, nothing else would but I wanted to chop wood too. My father said, "No, you better stay at home, you might cut your foot." Anyway father gave me an ax too. I then went with my brothers to cut wood, and I cut about an hour and sure enough, bang! It went into my right foot so I split my little toe from my other toe, and I bled like a little pig, so I went home. So you might know what my father said, "Didn't I tell you that was going to happen," and I was kind of scared I was going to get a spanking from father, but he did not spank me but my father doctored it and it did heal up nice, but you can believe it or not. I can show you that big scar right today on that foot of mine.Chapter 4And I can remember when I had my first hollow tooth, that I had to have pulled. I don't know exactly how old I was, I told father that I can�t stand it no longer it hurts me so bad so what next. Father said I better go over to the doctor and have it pulled and that was Dr. Panell too. I went to the house and he was not there, but his wife was there and I told her what I wanted. She says the doctor was down in the field at Cedar Hollow that was on his farm and she said, "you just take the pinchers along and go down there where he is so he will not have to come to the house." Well I found him all right, and I told the doctor what I wanted and he looked in my mouth and what then? He said, "Give me those pinchers," and we was standing close to a cedar stump and he said, "Martin," (he always called me Martin) "sit down on that stump and I will see if I can get him out," and Oh! My he got him out, but he almost knocked some of my upper teeth out with that one. I took the pinchers to the house and I went home again, and I got all right. Anyway, that tooth was out and you may believe it or not but I have got that tooth right today and I can show it to you anytime.Chapter 5I was riding a horse from my place to my grandpa's place, but [we] were living on grandpa's place then and I was leading a mule by a rope and I had one end of the rope tied around the mule's neck and the other end of the same rope around the horse's nose I was riding, and anyway while I was riding there came up a shower and tell me big drops fell and that mule I was leading got scared of that shower and he jumped to the side and jerked my horse around and I fell off under the horse and he stepped on me. I did not have no saddle on that horse I was riding and I almost was out of breath for awhile and you know, I walked the rest of the way with the horse and mule afoot, and I had pains in that side and in about two days after, my brother John, he was going to Bastrop and he says, "Martin, you better go with me and go to see the doctor," which I did. I went to Dr. Combos in Bastrop County, Texas and he examined me and what did he say? "Why Mr. Lehman you have a broken rib." And what then? He bandaged me up and what then? I went back home with brother John and I got all right again. I was single then, I was not married. I was 20 years old.Chapter 6I got married to Emma Caldwell on the 12th of April, 1896. We were married at the Catholic Church what they now call Rockne in Bastrop County, Texas. Rev. Father Metzinger officiated at the ceremony and I was married to my beloved wife Emma Caldwell 9 years and 2 months and 3 weeks and God blessed us with 5 beloved children which is:
Chapter 7The first year when I was married we had two pet squirrels in a cage. My wife and I went to my mother-in-law's after supper, and the cage with the two squirrels was standing on the porch. It a cage you could move around if you liked and the next morning we noticed one looked kind of sick and we noticed the cage had been moved from where we left it so I told my wife I am going to reach in the cage and get him out and when I took hold of him he whipped around and bit me in one of my little fingers and oh my how did that crack and hurt and in fifteen minutes that squirrel was dead and now I don't know whether I was that poisonous, anyway it did look suspicious, the squirrel dying that quick and I did not do anything for my finger. I didn't pay any attention to it and three days later my finger turned black and blue and what could I do. I had to go to a doctor at once. I went to Dr. Harris at Red Rock and tell me, I thought I'd have to have my arm amputated, but it got all right, but what bit that squirrel we never did find out.Chapter 8In 1901 when I was living three miles north of Red Rock in Bastrop County, Texas I was running a little store and also a post office and they called it Lehmanville. That was on the road that was then called the old Port Lavaca Road that goes through there from Flatonia to Austin and my father gave 10 acres of land from that place that I was living on, that was our home place, to build a new Catholic Church on which we did build. That was in 1892 and now they built a new church in 1940. Now they have a real little village there. They call it Rockne at that place, now their new church in Bastrop County, Texas.Chapter 90, my first beloved wife took sick in November 1904. She started having fever, and we doctored with our home doctor. I don't know exactly how long, anyway I had to get another doctor, but I don't remember his name, but that doctor did not help her any. I had to ride a horse almost every other day to see him, for Lord knows how many days, and what did I do then, I took her to Austin to Dr. Wooten in a wagon and that was thirty miles and what do you think he told me? "I am sorry to tell you, she has tuberculosis (TB)." Now tell me, there I was, and he told me there was no cure at all, so I took her back home and some people advised me to take her up in the mountains that it would help her. Well I took that foolish advise so I borrowed brother Julius's team and wagon, and I headed for the mountains. I went through San Marcos. I was headed for what they called Fischer's store, that is north of San Marcos, but we did not get there. Poor sweet darling. She was getting to feel so bad on account of the rough roads, and what could I do. We turned back home. We were gone three weeks, we had one of our boys with us which was Louis. What could I do but to take it and tough it through. Then I had to take care of her and my five poor children. But oh, thank God some of my wife's folks and my folks did help me and on the 5th of July 1905 the good Lord took her away from us. She was then asleep with Jesus, but God knows best. There I was left all alone with my poor sweet children, but there was an old grandma, her name was Mrs. Backer. Everybody called her Grandma Backer. She was my oldest brother's mother-in-law. She did help me until further on, and bless her heart, I will never forget her as long as I live and bless God, what could I do. Poor old Grandma and me and five poor children, and so it went on and on, so what should I do.Chapter 10And the following year I found me another beloved girl. She lived at Seguin, Texas. Her name was Miss Anna Pankau, and what do you think, she could not read nor write English and I could not write nor read German. So there I was, and me going to see her on the train all the time cost me more than I could afford. It cost me $.50 from Red Rock to Lockhart and from Lockhart to Luling $.45 and from Luling to Seguin it cost me $.60. So for round trip it always cost me about $3.10 and that was a lot of money those days. But anyway my oldest daughter Edna Lehman, she was far enough in school she could read and write German, so I got her to write my love letters and read her letters for me and you may know we did not have much to write but anyway we always sent thousands and thousands of kisses to one another. Ha! Ha! On the 24th day of April, Miss Anna Pankau and I got married at Seguin in Guadalupe County, Texas with Father Schendeller officiating. Now wasn't that a blessing for me to get a beloved wife again to help me to take care of those poor children and after the wedding my wife and I went back to Red Rock to the five children. And so we made one crop there and my wife did not like it in that country so we sold out. It was a 50 acre farm we sold to my brother-in-law Paul Koening and on the 6th of November 1906 we moved to Seguin in Guadalupe County, Texas. We moved in wagons. Our first crop in Guadalupe County, Texas was north of Seguin out at what they call Cordova on the Alvin Brewstedt place. That was in 1907 and in 1908 we moved on John Baer's place that was three miles south of Seguin on the Gonzales Road and that was our first crop in 1909.Chapter 11And in that year on the 25th of December, Christmas Day the stork brought us a little baby girl, and you don't know how proud we were for God to send us such a nice Christmas present and we named her Mary.Chapter 12When we were living on that place, I had four ribs bent in. That was the 9th of August. What year I don't exactly remember, if it was the year 1910 or 1911. Well anyway, I was moving my old corn that I had left in the crib moving it into an old log crib so I could put my new corn in the other crib and I had to drive under a shed to get to this crib and I was sitting on top of the wagon bed. I had skittish mules hitched to the wagon. Those mules did not want to go under that shed, so you know I got a little angry and whipped them to get them under there. So finally they went under, but how they went through, they mashed me between the wagon bed and the gable of the shed and when they got through I was able to holler "Whoa". As my luck was, they stopped and I fell on the double tree of the wagon and you can imagine I was out of breath and the folks heard the excitement and my two youngest boys William and Matthew and my oldest daughter Edna pulled me out at once. It at first did not hurt so bad, but that afternoon they took me to the doctor at Seguin to Dr. Knolle, and I got over all that all right.Chapter 13We made five crops on this place. The land was not so good, so in the fall 1913 we moved on the John Vetters place, that was northeast of Seguin on the Geronimo Creek, 6 miles from Seguin and we made seven crops on that place and in the fall of 1920 we moved two miles north of Seguin on what they called the old Baxter Place. That place belonged to my wife's uncle and aunt. It was just him and his wife and they wanted us to buy their little farm. It was only 30 acres and we took the chances on that place. We paid them $200.00 an acre for it and we made 7 crops on that place and in 1923 we had a hail storm. Our cotton had grown boils on it so we didn't make much that year and in 1924 my cotton was up nice as you ever saw and we had another hail storm and it knocked all my cotton in the ground. I had to plant it all over.Chapter 14And the 10th of October, 1924 I went through an operation in Seguin but it was not a serious one, and I got through it all right again. The doctor that took care of me on this operation was Dr. Williams.Chapter 15And in 1925 we did not make any crops at all. It was so dry that was some dry year. And in 1926 we made a very good crop. I took one of my fine bales of cotton to the county fair at Seguin, Texas. That was in the month of October and what do you know I got the blue ribbon. The first prize was $20.00 cash. That was some of Cash�s cotton seed from San Marcos and in that same year we took the selling out fever and sure enough we did get a buy at once. I had it published in the Guadalupe Gazette Bulletin in Seguin, Texas and that party bought us out. His name was Eugene Schwartzloze. He lived out a York's Creek. He paid us $250.00 an acre for it, but that meant everything on the place which included all outdoor equipment, cows, and work animals. We had four of our children living and working in San Antonio, then one was married. That was our oldest daughter Mrs. Newt Mitchell and they kept on begging us to move up near her in San Antonio and which we did. We moved December 11, 1926 to San Antonio. We moved here in three big trucks and they cost us $35.00 so we rented a house on 221 Hansford Street. I did yard work, cut lawns, and spaded flower beds and so forth and in 1927 the 15th of August we bought us a little home on 811 Florida Street. The lot is 50 by 200 ft. and we paid $35.00 for it. We bought it from a man by the name of Martin Bauml and on the 15th of October 1927 we moved on this place and that same year in November and December my next door neighbor Mr. Enck and I painted two houses two stories high for a lady by the name of Mrs. A. B. Spencer living over on the Fredricksburg Road. It was 8 miles from here. I made about $200.00 on that job. And then on March 15th 1928 I got on City work in the Brackenridge Park. I worked 2 years with the bunch. John Deres, he was our foreman and the following day March 16, 1928 between 11 and 12 o'clock it was so cold that day it sleeted some that morning [and] I got hurt. There was a big hackberry tree fell across the street in the park and I can't help but notice that place yet today. So I thought I was a new man there, so I took a saw and got up on the butt of this tree, and got to sawing limbs off and I sawed one off that went OK and then I started on another one and the foreman said "Mr. Lehman, we will hand you a rope and you tie that rope up as high as you can on that next limb and we men will pull it as you saw it" and which I did and when I had it pretty near off one of the men by the name of Albert Beck [said] to me "Mr. Lehman you had better get down it looks kind of dangerous." and the last words I said was "I would like to get that saw out, it is going to break that saw." That limb made a twist and clinched that saw. Those men made another pull and down came that limb, and there was a pecan tree right beside this tree, and one limb from this pecan tree came down too and it fell on me, and down I came on that paved street and it bumped me up and I could see I was bleeding bad from nose, ears and mouth, one tooth knocked out and my throat and jaw bone was torn open bad. It took 21 stitches to sew it up. I had a fractured skull and a broken jaw bone. That is what they found so I lay there till Mr. Henry Steingruber came with his car. They took me to the Robert B. Green Hospital and they phoned my folks at home. I had two good doctors that took care of me that was Dr. J. W. Nixon and Dr. Allen and my folks and a good friend of mine, a nurse Miss Gertrude Kelly did not want me to stay in that hospital, so they moved me to the Santa Rosa Hospital. So there they took x-rays and every once in a while I could hear the nurses say "Mr. Lehman hold still." There I was 13 days and nights in a bad condition. I tell you people you all don't know how I suffered. The third night the nurses phoned for my folks, they thought I was passing away, but thank God, I got over it OK, but I was laid up for 7 months before I could go to work, but I started to work again in October 15, 1928. I went back to [the] same old job for the City in Brackenridge Park.Chapter 16And so on the 14th of October 1933 I took sick. I had a dizzy spell in my head. I just fell over and could not get up. My wife had to help me up and the following Tuesday 17th of October I had the doctor out to see me. I was so [bad] I couldn't stand on my feet, I would just fall over. You have no idea how I did feel, so Dr. William Wolf gave me medicine for that trouble and it went on and on and I did not get any better and the doctor claimed it was my bad teeth that caused that dizzy feeling. At times it was some better, but it finally didn't relieve my head and medicine did not give me any relief and the 30th of October 1933, I went to Dr. J. W. Nixon and he says that trouble you have may come from your bad teeth or your eyes. I went to the eye doctor and he examined my eyes and glasses I got and he said my eyes and my glasses were O.K. There I was, what could I do. I went to the dentist and he pulled all of my teeth except 5 he left in my mouth, so I had false teeth made and they cost me $60.00 and so all included doctor medicines and laboratory and so forth cost me $79.75 and if I shall tell you the truth it didn't entirely cure me although I could work again. I was working in Mancke Park at the Golf Course in Brackenridge Park. I always could feel that dizziness in my head and there was a good friend of mine, he was watchman at the golf course, Mr. John Ricketer. He stopped and talked to me, he says "Mr. Lehman how do you feel now?" I told him not so good and I told him what I had done for my trouble, and he told me "I had that same trouble once". He said "Mr. Lehman will you take my advice, if you do you will get well". First thing he asked me what I ate, and if I ate a full meal for supper and I told him yes, and he says there you are. He said some things you have to cut out, it goes against your stomach and don't eat a full meal for supper. He says some things that I eat form gas on my stomach and so I took his advice and don't you know, I got well and I am still taking his advice, and you know I am feeling so much better.Chapter 17The 5th of August 1934 I and my wife and oldest son Louis Lehman and my one daughter Laura Lehman went to see my brother Phillip in Austin. He was in the hospital. He went through a serious operation. We went up in the morning and came back that same evening. Louis took us in his car, we came back about 7 o'clock and my wife fixed supper for us all, and at 9 o'clock my wife, she made the remark "I am tired, I am going to bed," and I said "I am going to do the same, I am tired too," and so we both went to bed and were lying down about 15 minutes and my wife she got up, and sat in the rocking chair and I asked her "Mama (I always called her mama) What is the matter? Why did you get up?" She says, "Oh, I do feel so bad" and I jumped up and went to her and asked her "mama, where does it hurt?" "Oh," she says "my chest and up under my chin." Both my youngest daughters were here, that was Laura and Mary Lehman and we three took hold of her and put her in bed and then what do you think she said, "Girls take good care of papa, I will have to die." Oh, bless God you may know how we all did feel and so we called for a priest which was Father Schnetzer and the doctor was Dr. Bush and they both thought it was not so serious and that she will probably get over it. Well she did feel some better in the morning. I was still working in Brackenridge Park I asked her "Mama what about me going to work?" and she says "Papa you just go on to work, one of the girls will stay with me," and Laura stayed at home, so I worked all day. But when I came home she was still in bed and I asked her "Well mama how do you feel" and she says "Not much better" and about 1 o'clock that night I was getting worried about her. She was not breathing right to suit me and about 1:30 she got up and went to the kitchen to get her false teeth, which she always kept in a water glass at night, and she came back in a few minutes and laid down again. Then in a few minutes she raised up and sat on the bed and I asked her in German "Mama where are you going now?" and she answered me back "I am not going anywhere," and just as she said those words, you see I was lying right by her side, she fell back on the bed on me and I called Laura and Mary. "Come quick, I believe mama is dying" and when we got her straightened out she was dead, so we phoned for the doctor and the priest. They both came at once but she was gone. They were both kind of worried about her and when she was at the undertaker I got my daughter Laura to see if her teeth were in the glass of water, and she looked and she says "Papa they are gone." So Laura phoned the undertaker to see if she had them in her mouth, and they said yes, she has got them in her mouth, and there we were. Poor Mama also asleep with Jesus, so you know how we must have felt and that was August the 7th, 1934.Chapter 18So in the month of October 1936 I ought to have stayed at home in place of working but what can a poor man do, so I worked until October 26, 1936. I felt so bad so I went to see Dr. William Wolf and he examined me thoroughly and he says "I have found your trouble," he said I had a tumor on my bladder. So there I was you may know how, I felt, so he says "Mr. Lehman you will have to come to the Santa Rosa Hospital and go through another operation," so the 1st of November at 6 P.M. I had to be at the hospital so my oldest son Louis took me to the hospital in his car. So on the 4th of November 1936 A.M. Dr. William Wolf operated on me so there I was until 14th of November. Dr. William Wolf took the tube out and put it in again and on the 18th of November 1936 he took the tube out again and on that day at 5 P.M. I came home and on the 21st of November the tube hole closed at night and on the 27th of November 1936 I started to sit up in a chair and on the 2nd of January I started back to work in Mancke Park, the same place where I was working when I took sick in Brackenridge Park.Chapter 19And so in July 27, 1938 boils started under my right arm, first it was a boil and then it was boils under my arm and it went on with boils under my arm. On August the 11th I had one boil in my throat but it got better without lancing. I had as many as seven at one time under my arm and August 16, 1938 I just could not stand it any longer. I had to go to Dr. William Wolf and when he looked at them he says "Well Mr. Lehman four of them are ripe." So he got out his knife and says "Hold up your arm" and he when to cutting them open, so you might know I suffered. I had to cry whether I was young or old, I had to cry it hurt so bad and the next day August 17,1938 I went back and he cut one more and the next day August the 18th, 1938 he took his tweezers and pulled all the cores out of the ones left, but still I would get new ones under my arms until August 25, 1938 then I began to feel better and I was relieved of those boils.Chapter 20So I have five children from my first wife and one from my second wife so that is six in all living at this writing and all living in this town of San Antonio, Texas and they are all married. I have 11 grandchildren up to this writing. Ha! Ha!Chapter 21I will have to say my oldest son Louis Lehman, he was married to Loretta Sharp and they have one sweet little baby girl, she is 10 months when I'm writing this and on the 11th of September A.M. 1940 he got killed. He worked for the City Brewery. He was driving one of the long haul trucks and he took a load to Giddings and on his way back 3 miles east of Bastrop, Texas he turned over with his truck and he fell under his truck and was killed instantly and now he's asleep with Jesus too.Chapter 22And soon December 31, 1938 I did not feel well and on January 2, 1939 I did not go to work. I took sick, I thought I had the flu and we doctored with home medicine and it seemed like it did not do me any good and it went on and on the 14th of January 1939 we had Dr. William Wolf here and what do you think he said "Mr. Lehman you will have to come to the Santa Rosa Hospital. We will have to take your gall bladder out, and I had a rupture, and we will have to take care of it right away." He took my appendix out too, and there I still was in the hospital all that time the operation was 15th of January 1939, and I came home and oh, how bad did I feel. I always had high fever day and night and Dr. Wolf came out to see me twice and the last time he came he examined me again and he said, "Mr. Lehman I believe I found your trouble", well he said, "I'm sorry you will have to come to the hospital again, you will have to go through another operation," so what could I do. I went back to the Hospital again on the 7th of February and on the 10th of February he cut me open in the back right below the ribs and took out 1/2 quart of puss and he put a tube in me again and on the 11th of February 1939 I came home and I had that tube in me 14 days and that was the 24th of February when my daughter Mary, Mrs. Kierce, took the tube out and help the Lord you all have no idea how I did suffer in all my living days and I sure do thank my daughter Laura, Mrs. Raymond Driskill and especially my youngest daughter Mary, Mrs. Kierce, to take care of me through those operations. Another time thanks to both of them, and here I am with another rupture again, but I can't do any hard work in my last days but thank God that I am able to get around like I do, but God knows best for all of us and this is my life time record and up to this writing today my age up to the 14th of November 1940 I will be 69 years old. Now everyone who reads this will realize what I did go through in all my life time.[Martin Lehman died on May 9, 1954 at the age of 82. Martin and his wife Anna are buried in St. Joseph Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.] Martin Lehman Editor�s Note: All spellings and grammar are the author�s original words. Only a few words were changed for clerical content. |
Martin Lehman standing next to the home he lived in on Florida Street in San Antonio. (circa 1940)