From Proud Heritage, Vol. 1 by DCPA, not currently in print.
On November 5, 1877 Herman Gunther, his second wife, Pauline Fritz, and his two daughters, Amanda and Minnie, arrived in Dallas from Chicago. This was to be another fresh start for Herman Gunther. He had left Strasbourg, Germany (or France, whichever it might be at any particular time) with his bride, Maria de Hartlieb, to escape political unrest.
Settling in America in Chicago he practiced his trade of journeyman harness and saddle maker. The Chicago fire of 1871 destroyed his shop and left him with nothing except his home and his debts. Two years later his infant daughter, Bertha, died and shortly afterwards his beautiful wife, Maria, died suddenly.
Herman and Maria had two other children: 1) Amanda married Chris Lingenfelder and had four children; Chris, Freda, Fred and Catherine and 2) Minnie married William H. Dieterich and had four children; Herman, Arthur, Louis and Minnie.
Herman and his second wife, Pauline Fritz, had six children: 1) Clara married George Hill and had one daughter, Pauline; 2) Lanie married August Busch and had three children, George, August and Maurine; 3) Paul had no children; 4) Flora had no children; 5) Emma had no children; 6) Otto had no children.
Herman Gunther came to Texas seven times before he made the move to Dallas. He had looked for indications of prosperity and a place in which he could locate. He was a careful man, and he was educated, also. He bought a home on Bryan and (what was then) Germania Streets. He felt assured of work for there were cattle and cowboys, farmers and plowhorses, delivery wagons and surreys, and buggies and even more horses on every hand! It was Utopia for a harness and Saddle Maker! He carefully planned and executed the move, met and made friends and continued to make his life in Dallas, working for Padgett Bros. and also Schoelkopf. He was a stable and respected mernber of the community, contributing a great deal to this raw, new town on the frontier. The Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, now located at Mockingbird and Skillman, was organized in his home in the 1870s. He was also a loving father and grandfather and was much-loved by his family.
Wilhemina Augustina (Minnie) married William Herman Dieterich, another German who had come to America to escape the same political unrest as Gunther. Herman and Minnie had four children: Herman Frank Dieterich born 1894, died 1947; Arthur Frederick Dieterich born 1900; Louis Gunther Dieterich born 1903, died 1967; and Minnie Freda Dieterich born 1906.
The Dieterichs came from Breman, Germany. The older brother, Louis, a German sailor, “jumped” ship near Galveston Island and swam ashore in 1878. Six years later, in 1884, his younger brother, Herman, came to Galveston with money for passage saved and furnished by Louis. The brothers met near a small town near present A & M University. Louis worked for the I & GN Railroad on a bridge building crew. Herman ended up in Dallas where he married Minnie and remained.
The Dieterichs were originally dairymen. They have been prominent citizens in Dallas and Texas for five generations. They are to be found in the fields of medicine, science, engineering, and computer science. They have produced several fine athletes, also.
Arthur Frederick Dieterich married Louise Caillet, who is from another family of German/French extraction. All of these families left the same general area of Europe at approximately the same time and for the same reasons. They were known as Socialists, Revolutionists, Christian Democrats, even Communists. They really came for the reasons which we take for granted: to speak freely, to meet when and where we choose, to worship as we please and to enjoy the safety in our homes. Dallas has profited a great deal as a result of the migration of these families of skilled artisans and professionals. They were educated far better (on the average) than the immigrants who came from the Eastern United States. They were industrious and realized the need to put down roots and to build from solid foundations. They were a boon to the raw frontier that was Dallas. As of this date, Herman Gunther has 102 known descendants, most of whom live in the Dallas area.
By Arthur Frederick Dieterich, grandson, Denton
