Early Influencers

On March 25, 1875, the Texas Legislature passed a law allowing incorporated Texas cities the ability to create Public School Districts.  At that time Bellville was an unincorporated town which meant that the current private schools in the area could not join together as a public school district.  A committee of local Bellville citizens joined to draft a bill for the consideration by the Texas Legislature to grant unincorporated Texas towns the ability to incorporate for free public school purposes.  Bellville native, Alvah Chesley was a Texas State Senator at this time and presented this Bill to the Texas House, Texas Senate and Texas Governor. The law was passed.  The Bellville Public School District elected Alvah Chesley, E.R. Thomas, W.E. Luhn, F.F. Hellmuth, and C.T. Sanders as the first elected board of trustees for the district. 1

Born in Gatesville, Texas in 1862 Judge David Paulus went through private school in Fayette County Texas.  After graduating from Sam Houston Normal College the Bellville Public School District Board hired Mr. Paulus as Principal for the Bellville Public School District.  He married Annie Wilson, the daughter of E. B. Wilson of Bellville.  In 1883 he went on to organize the public school system at Terrell.  He remained in Terrell as Superintendent for two years. Paulus went on to become the Superintendent at Cleburne.  Eventually Paulus left education to pursue Law studying under Bell & Shelburne in Bellville where he tried his first case.  Eventually moving to Lavaca county becoming a county judge then onto the Senate. 2

Ernest Gustav Maetze (1817-1891) who taught German in the Bellville Public School until 1888 was a highly esteemed educator in Millheim, Texas whose reputation was known throughout Texas. Ernst Gustav Maetze, teacher and legislator, was born in Glogau, Silesia, on September 20, 1817. He graduated from the University of Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) with a degree in Protestant theology. He participated in the German revolutionary movement of 1848 and in the early 1850s immigrated toTexas, where he first taught at a private school at Millheim, Austin County for twenty-seven years before his employment as German Teacher in 1881 for the Bellville Public School. In the election of 1888, Maetze won election to the Texas Senate from District Twelve. He served as a member of twelve committees in the Twenty-first and Twenty-second legislatures and chaired the Committee on Rules. He was president pro tem of the Senate when he died at his home in Millheim on October 12, 1891.3

William Trenckmann was born to German Immigrants in Millheim, Austin County,  Texas. He was a student of Ernst Maetze at the Millheim School.  Trenckmann went on to join the first class of Texas A&M, becoming the very first Valedictorian of the university in 1879.  He returned to begin his teaching career in Frelsburg,  then to Shelby before serving as principle of the Bellville school. He married Malthilde Miller in 1886, together they had four children.   In 1891 he began publishing a weekly German language newspaper, called Das Wachenblatt.  He and his wife published the newspaper for more than forty years. During this time he represented Austin County in the Thirteenth and Thirty First Texas legislatures from 1907 to 1909. Trenckmann successfully served member and chairman of the board of directors of Texas A&M University and was asked to become the University's President, which he declined.  He sold the paper in 1933, however, he continued contributing his writings to the paper until he died in 1935. 1

Charles Nagel was born in 1849  in Bernardo, Texas.  His parents were both from Prussia.  His father was a graduate in medicine from the University of Berlin. After settling in Colorado County the family moved to Millheim, Texas in 1855 where Charles attended the Millheim school as a student of E.G. Maetze.  During the Civil War Dr. Nagel left Millheim with Charles and headed to Mexico.  Eventually traveling by ship to New York, then to St. Louis in 1863 where they joined his mother.  Charles graduated from St. Louis Law School in 1872.  He was appointed to serve on President William Howard Taft's Cabinet as the Secretary of Commerce and Labor in 1909. This opportunity made Charles Nagel the first native-born Texan to become a member of a president's cabinet.  Charles was a founder of the United States Chamber of Commerce.  After his time in Washington D.C. he continued with his law practice in St. Louis. Prior to his death in 1940 he wrote a book about his boyhood years in Millheim, Texas, A Boy's Civil War Story. 1

In October of 1822  Jesse O'Bryant was born in Kentucky to Thomas and Ann O'Bryant. Jesse and his wife Miscyrene came to Texas where Jesse was a school teacher.  For a time, Jesse had been teaching in Industry as mentioned in the Bellville Times, "E. M. Knolle received his education from a Mr. O'Bryant, a live-in tutor."  According to the 1860 census, Jesse O'Bryant was 37 and his wife Miscyrene was 40.  At this time Miscyrene's children from a previous marriage lived in their home.  The children, W.T Wilson eighteen years of age,   E.B. Wilson sixteen years of age, J.P. Wilson fourteen years of age, and Susan B. Wilson twelve years of age, were all students.  The 1870 census recorded Jesse O'Bryant's occupation as a 'retired from the dry goods and grocery business'.

Miscyrene passed away in 1882.  In 1883 Jesse O'Bryant married Margaret E. Hammett on August 15, 1883.  Only a few years later Jesse's second wife, Margaret passed away.  Jesse married Emma Rock on August 4, 1891.  Shortly, seven years later, Jesse O'Bryant passed way on May 30, 1898.

In Jesse O'Bryant's will, along with a codicil dated April 5, 1898, Jesse had no children of his own so he left almost half of his estate of $20,000 for his widow and three step-children for their lifetime benefit only.  At the end of each of the life time interests, the remainder of the bequest was to go to the trustees of the public free schools of Bellville for the betterment of the educational facilities.

The initial bequest was a lifetime interest in almost 200 acres of a 350 acre tract, then valued at $7,000, in the Burleigh Plantation on the Brazos River went to Emma, O'Bryant's widow.  At Emma's death this land passed to her daughter Eva Crump, who was the wife of Judge William Crump, for her lifetime benefit.  A lifetime interest of about 150 acres out of this tract of land was left to Maggie Frayard, who was the daughter of O'Bryant's second wife.  The Bellville Times, on February 13, 1941,  printed the announcement of Eva Crump's death in New York City.  With the death of Eva Crump approximately 200 acres in the Burleigh Community was to revert to the Bellville schools.

In a codicil, a lifetime interest in about 320 acres of O'Bryant's 'old original homestead' went to E.B. Wilson who was the son of Miscyrene, Jesse's first wife.  This property was valued at $3200.  As in the previous bequests, Jesse O'Bryant directed that the property was to go to the schools upon the termination of the life estates of the family members.

A final bequest to the school was an undivided interest in approximately 800 acres in Burelson County shared with Oliver J. Frayard, and inherited from Jesse's second wife, Margaret.  At a value of $800, this bequest was left to Bellville school trustees 'to be disposed at their discretion.'  Each bequest  was generous, however, the provisions of the latter bequest differ from the first in that Jesse O'Bryant specified only the income from the Austin County property was to be used annually, with no authorization to dispose of the property, as in the case of the Burleson County land. 4

Hayes Spicer was born on November 7, 1876 in Verona, Mississippi. His parents were Nat and Cynthis Spicer.  Hayes was the 10th of 14 children, he attend public school in the village of Verona and learned all that the little school had to offer.

Hayes Spicer moved to Austin County in 1910 to begin his teaching career in the Stephenson Community.  In 1918, the Stephenson and Richard Grove Schools were united and Mr. Spicer became the principal of this combined school which was named the Union Center School.  He served there for a period of eleven years.

In 1921, Mr. Spicer became the principal of the Bellville Colored School which was in the Old Charity Hall across from the Louisville Baptist Church.  Mr. Spicer’s assistant at that time was Miss Mattie Locket.  In 1925, a new school was provided for the Negro children on the site where the Spicer School is located today.  The first graduates under Mr. Spicer’s supervision were J. Locket, Annie Williams, and Mrs. I.M. Reese. Mr. Spicer composed songs, plays, and speeches for this school and for the community.

The following persons graduated from Spicer School in the following years:

1926.   Lucy Hill

1927. Alice Hilliard, Mary Hilliard, and T. C. Dotson

1928. Cloretta Boson, Leola Kenneer, Della May Wyatt, Jessie Lee Diggs, and David Ryles

In October, 1930, school began with the 9th grade class composed of Alma Hill, Mrs. Lula Hodges, and Miss Minerva Warner. 

 In the fall of 1931, a new assistant teacher, Miss Thelma Diggs, was added to the staff.  The following persons were members of the 10th grade class during the following years:

1936.          Mildred Lily, Cecil Carter, Ruby Cochram, Rubelia Jones, Walter Nichols, Jr., and Charles Mathis

1934.         Two members belonged to this class.

1936.         Julia Warner Thompson, and Chester Garnett

1936-37 Irene Bonner, Ethel Lee Sanford, Lillian Jones, and Prince Albert Warner.

1937-38 Charlie Thompson, Johnnie Mack Jones, Bernice Carter, Ruby D. Jackson, Henrietta Johnson, Alice Garnett, Anna Lucille Obey, and Gladys Cochrane

Through the years that Mr. Spicer served as principal, additional teachers were added to the school.  The members of the graduating class the last year Mr. Spicer served as principal were Almer Jean Dotson Bass, Betty Jean Spicer, Ethel Lee McDade, Dorothy Lee Hill, and Darlene Wilson.

Information Resources:

1 - Elick, J. J. (2022, June 14). Bellville - 1st Texas Public School for Unincorporated Towns (1881).

2 - Lavaca County Biographies. Lavaca County, Texas Biographies. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2023, from http://www.lavacacountyhistory.org/biographies3.htm

3 Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/maetze-ernst-gustav 

4 - Frizzell, Isabel.  Bellville The Founders and their Legacy. New Ulm, Texas: Enterprise Printing c.1992 revised Second Printing pp179-180