Monday, April 29, 2024
Pierre Francois Pingenot
French Soldier – Farmer – Texas Pioneer
LEGACY COMES TO LIFE
Editor’s Note: The story of Pierre Francois Pingenot is told by his great-
grandson Duwain Pingenot. Duwain is a member of the Thomas Rusk
Chapter of The Sons of the Republic of Texas in Dallas, Texas. He is past
Vice President of the William B. Travis Chapter in San Antonio. Duwain
is a member of the Frontier Brigade Band and plays for the "Buffalo Bill
Wild West Cowboy Band".
Pierre Francois Pingenot is my name. I was one of the early settlers of the town of Castroville, Texas. I was born on October 1, 1810 in Bretten, Haut-Rhin, France. My father and grandfather were farmers in the small village where our family had lived for several generations. Farming is what I knew best and gladly continued our family tradition until I joined the French Army.
Jean Remis and Jeanne Marie Cordonnier Pingenot are my parents. The translation of my birth record in French to English is as follows: "The 1st of October 1810 at 4 in the afternoon in Bretten, Jean Remis Pingenot, 34-year-old from Bretten, presented a male child born at 11 this morning, of him and Jeanne Marie Cordonnier, his wife living in Bretten, and declared wanting to give him the names of Pierre Francois. Declaration made in front of witnesses Jacques Vernette, 77-year-old farmer from Bretten, and Francois Vernette, 34-year-old farmer from Bretten." I was the fourth of five children.
In January, 1833, I enrolled in the French Army. My Honorable Discharge papers described me as having brown hair and eyebrows, gray eyes, low forehead, long nose, medium mouth and pointed chin, 5 feet 4 inches tall, and a farmer by profession. The papers indicate that I enrolled in the army as a substitute (replacement) for a young man of class. I received a Certificate of Good Conduct, and was discharged on December 31, 1840. I brought with me these papers to the new country.
Henry Castro came to Alsace, France in the early 1840’s; he was an Empresario who was recruiting colonists for Texas. Going to Texas sounded exciting to me. Several families were excited, too, and decided to come to Texas. Among them was my cousin, Jean Nicholas Pingenot and his small children Justine, Celestin and August. We made our preparations, and on October 6, 1844, we sailed from Anvers, France on the ship “Probus”. The original passenger list is in the State Archives in Austin along with papers showing the arrival of the ship in Galveston, Texas in February, 1845. We made our way very slowly by oxen and wagons to San Antonio, and then on to Castroville. Since its founding in September 1844 progress had been made in the community but the work was only a beginning.
On November 22, 1846 I married lovely Alexis Pichot. She had come to Texas with her father, Jean Nicholas Pichot, and her brother Jean Nicholas and her sister, Marie Jeanne, before my arrival in Texas. Her father died not long after arriving in Castroville from complications of a rattlesnake bite.
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LEGACY
On April 16, 1850 I received the land grant of 640 acres because of the Colonization Contract. I also had a town lot in Castroville on the corner of Lorenzo and Petersburg Streets. We built a house which is described as being an example of Colonial Alsatian architecture. Our house is plain and simple, without any needless decorative details. It has two rooms with a lean-to in back. It is constructed with thick walls of native rock and wooden beams and has a thatched roof. We raised our family in the house and it served us well. I served as Medina County Commissioner from 1854 to 1856,
Our children are Celest married Emily Gast; he was postmaster from 1898 until his death in 1901. Mary Adele married August Tondre. Emily Marie. Edward married Annie Batot and they have prospered in Eagle Pass. Louis married Regina Rudinger and they live in Del Rio, where he works for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Mary Elizabeth married Jacob Bendele.
Footnote: Unfortunately, Pierre did not live to see all of these happy events. He died on June 28, 1881, at the age of 70 years 8 months. Pierre is buried in the Saint Louis Cemetery in Castroville.
WHO ARE THE SONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS? The Sons of the Republic of Texas
(SRT) consists of members who are direct lineal descendants of those who settled the Republic of Texas from 1836 to February 19, 1846. The purpose of the SRT is to
perpetuate the memory and spirit of the men and women who won Texas’ inde-
pendence. They set the course for Texas to become a nation and eventually the
28th state. LEGACY COMES TO LIFE personifies our ancestors with true stories about real people who changed the course of history! For membership information please visit our website; srttexas.org or email; old300.srt@gmai.com.
