Strentzel, Louisian Erwin, 1821-1897

Born to Samuel Augustus and Sallie Rogers (Crisp) Erwin in Tennessee, Louisiana Erwin (1821-1897) moved with her family to Fannin County, Texas, in 1839, settling in Honey Grove three years later. In 1843, Louisiana married John Theophile Strentzel (1813-1890), who had immigrated to Lamar County, Texas, after obtaining his medical degree in Poland. The couple bore a daughter, Louisa Wanda Louie in 1847 and a son, John Erwin, in 1848. The next year, the family left Texas on a wagon train to California, where they operated an inn and farm in San Diego. In 1852, the Strentzels moved to Alhambra Valley, where John began the Alhambra Grange of local farmers and horticulturalists. In 1880, their daughter Louie married John Muir, a Scottish naturalist and founder of the Sierra Club.

Sources:

Muir History. Martinez Historical Society. Accessed February 28, 2011. http://www.martinezhistory.org/html/muir_history.htm .

Pauly, Steve, and Patty Pauly. Louie Strentzel Muir. Sierra Club – The John Muir Exhibit. Accessed February 28, 2011. http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/people/louie_muir_bio.aspx .

Thurman, Mary Anne. Louisiana Erwin Strentzel. Hall-Voyer Foundation. Last modified February 2008. http://honeygrove.fatcow.com/BVML%20Web%20Pages/ Honey%20Grove%20Web%20Pages/Louisiana_Erwin_Strentzel.htm .

From the guide to the Strentzel, Louisiana Erwin, memoir 71-008., 1849, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)