Edward Degener

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Edward Degener
San Antonio City Council
In office
1872–1878
United States Congressman
Texas 4th Congressional District
In office
March 30, 1870 – March 3, 1871
Preceded by District Created
Succeeded by John Hancock
Personal details
Born (1809-10-20)October 20, 1809
Brunswick, Germany
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San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Political party Republican

Edward Degener (October 20, 1809 – September 11, 1890) was a Republican U.S. Representative from Texas during Reconstruction.

Biography

Born in Brunswick, Germany, Degener pursued an academic course in Germany and in England. He was twice a member of the legislative body in Anhalt-Dessau and was a member of the first German National Assembly at Frankfurt-am-Main in 1848.[1]

He immigrated to the United States in 1850 and settled in Sisterdale, Texas, in the Texas Hill Country west of San Antonio, with its burgeoning German immigrant population. Degener engaged in agricultural pursuits.

Civil War

During the Civil War, civilian Degener was arrested by the Confederate States Army and charged with being "a dangerous and seditious person and an enemy to the government."[2] Degener had allegedly criticized the Confederacy, corresponded with alleged enemies of same, and failed to report known Union sympathizers. Degener pled not guilty. His legal counsel challenged the legal authority of the military, and the charge of sedition, which was not a crime legally recognized by the government. Found guilty anyway, he was ordered to post a bond of $5,000 that he would be loyal to the Confederacy.

Degener's sons Hugo and Hilmar died during the Nueces massacre. To honor their memory, Degener along with Eduard Steves and William Heuermann, purchased land for the establishment of the German-language Treue der Union Monument, which became part of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Texas November 29, 1978.[3]

Politics

Degener served as member of the Texas constitutional conventions in 1866 and 1868, and served on the Committee for Immigration along with fellow committee members Julius Scheutze, H.H. Foster, George W. Smith, Erwin Wilson, John Morse and Stephen Curtis (the lone black man on the committee).[4]

Upon the readmission of the State of Texas to representation was elected as a Republican to the Forty-first Congress and served from March 31, 1870, to March 3, 1871. Degener was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1870 to the Forty-second Congress.

He served as member of the city council of San Antonio, Texas from 1872 to 1878.

Death

Edward Degener died in San Antonio on September 11, 1890. He was interred in the San Antonio City Cemetery No. 1.[5]

Sources

References

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  5. Edward Degener at Find a Grave

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
District Created
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 4th congressional district

March 30, 1870–March 3, 1871
Succeeded by
John Hancock

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.