Letters to Alice: Birth of the Kleberg-King Ranch Dynasty

A Desert Empire

1 Prologue, 1853–1883 O N July 24, 1881, twenty-seven-year-old Robert Justus Kleberg sat down at his desk to write to his parents about a recent trip he had taken, one that would ultimately change his life. Robert was just beginning his law career. He had attended the law course at the University of Virginia the year before, been admitted to the bar inTexas, and started a practice in Cuero before moving to Corpus Christi, where he formed a law partnership with Judge John W. Stayton.1 A Desert Empire roberT eNTered The legal profession on the heels of his father; law had thus come naturally for Robert. Robert Justus Kleberg I, a respected lawyer, also served as chief justice of DeWitt County.2 He and his wife, Philippine Sophie Caroline Luise Rosalie von Roeder (usually known as Rosalie or Rosa), and their extended family had come to Texas from Prussia in 1834. The von Roeders had a familial connection to the Prussian nobleman Simon Heinrich Sack, who had arranged to provide scholarships to male family members and dowries for female members; this provided the von Roeder/Kleberg clans a unique opportunity on the Texas frontier. Robert used his legacy to pay for his law training in Virginia.3 The Kleberg family had distinguished itself almost immediately upon arriving in Texas. The Prussian immigrant, Robert Kleberg I, Robert Justus Kleberg I (1803–1888), a Prussian immigrant with urbane manners and courtly style, became a well-known lawyer in early Texas. Rare Book and Texana Collections, University of North Texas Libraries. Rosalie von Roeder, the mother of Robert J. Kleberg Sr., was an accomplished musician and is credited with bringing the first piano to Texas. Rare Book and Texana Collections, University of North Texas Libraries. 3 1853–1883 fought at San Jacinto and helped to guard the captured Santa Anna. General Sam Houston then appointed Kleberg to be a judge on the land commission.4 Rosalie was an accomplished musician and is credited with bringing the first piano to Texas, in the spring of 1835. When she and part of the family fled during the Runaway Scrape, they had to leave their possessions behind. When Kickapoo Indians burned their house, the piano burned with it.5 The Klebergs moved to DeWitt County, first to Cat Spring in 1847 and then to Meyersville, where they raised their children. There was no school when they arrived in DeWitt County, so Judge Kleberg and other settlers erected a log cabin alongside Coleto Creek and thus established education in the area.6 Rosalie and Robert Kleberg had three sons and four daughters. Being a believer in states’ rights and local self-government as well as a learned man who knew Greek, Latin, and three modern languages, Robert Kleberg I expected much of his children, especially his sons, and they did not disappoint him.7 Rudolph, born in 1847, graduated from college, taught school at Yorktown, studied law in San Antonio, was admitted to the bar, and began his practice in Cuero.While there, he established the Cuero Star and was editor for four years. He also served as county attorney for DeWitt County and in 1882 was elected to the Texas Senate. In 1885, President Grover Cleveland appointed him US attorney for the Western District of Texas, a position he held until 1889. In April 1896, he was elected to fill the vacancy in the US Congress left by the death of his law partner, and he served until 1903.8 The next son, Marcellus, was born in 1849. He graduated from the law school of Washington and Lee University and established his law practice in DeWitt County. He served in the Thirteenth Texas Legislature and later moved his law practice to Galveston, where he served as city attorney, city commissioner, and as a trustee and president of the school board. He was a regent of the University of Texas under Governor S. W. T. Lanham.9 The sons of Robert Justus Kleberg I and Rosalie von Roeder were Marcellus (left), who served in the legislature, was a city official in Galveston, and a University of Texas regent; Robert (seated); and Rudolph (right), who served in the Texas state senate, was US attorney for the Western District of Texas, and served in the US Congress from 1896 to 1903. Rare Book and Texana Collections, University of North Texas Libraries. [18...