Johann Machemehl

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Johann Machemehl (1816 - 1880) was a notable early German Texan settler of Austin County, Texas.

Machemehl was a resident of the Kingdom of Saxony during the early 19th century and was a young university-educated forester for the city of Annaberg. His wife Henrietta, born in Switzerland, was a French Huguenot and a governess for the family of a Russian prince of Courland.^[1] After the Revolutions of 1848, Machemehl became one of the Forty-Eighters and emigrated from the German Confederation. On September 16, 1849, he and his family sailed from Bremen towards New York City; they settled in the Bellville area of Austin County.^{[2] [3]}

Henrietta died in 1850, Johann married two more times, had four more children, and died in 1880.^[4] Johann and Henrietta are buried at the Machemehl Cemetery near Bellville.^[5] Johann's son Paul Machemehl, was a German Texan leader during the American Civil War.^[6][7] Johann's grandson Louis A. Machemehl, also a leader among the German Texans in Bellville, having built the L. A. and Adelheid Machemehl House.^[8] Other notable descendants include Charles W. Machemehl, and Chuck Machemehl, a former Cleveland Indians pitcher.^[9]

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