Rummel, Edgar A.

Postmaster and stamp collector, Edgar Albert Rummel (d. 1972) was a deaf mute, born to German immigrants Louis C. and Ottilie (Bauer) Rummel, who married in Round Top, Texas, in 1874. In Ledbetter, Edgar managed a post office in his house, which his father had previously maintained. Additionally, he helped establish the Ledbetter Volunteer Fire Department in 1947. Edgar had several siblings, including Helen, wife of Dan Hoffman; Leonie; Herbert; Jim C.; Arthur E.; L. J.; Reinhard, and Jerry H. Around 1907, Leonie married Henry Weyand and moved to Carmina. Henry died in 1918 during the flu epidemic, and afterwards she became interested in the history of Texas and earned an M.A. in History from the University of Texas at Austin in 1932.

Ottilie was the daughter of Karl Seagusmund Bauer. Her siblings include Annie, John, Albert J., Karl Traugott and Karl Ergott Bauer. Traugott and Ergott fought in the Civil War, and during the Siege at Vicksburg, Ergott was shot in the ear. Traugott and his wife Lena had a son, a grandson, and two granddaughters, Lena and Lona.

Sources:

Edgar A. Rummel Family Papers, 1855-1955, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

Matthijez, Roger, Kermit Blume, H. Margaret Eaves, and Jane Matthijetz. History of the Ledbetter Volunteer Fire Department. Ledbetter Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. http://www.freewebs.com/ledbettervfd/lvfdhistory.pdf (accessed July 28, 2010).

From the guide to the Rummel, Edgar A. Family Papers 92-134; 92-170; 94-043., 1855-1955, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)