COUPLAND — A family from Germany has traced its ancestors to the early history of Coupland and followed up by meeting some local relations.
In researching his relatives, Reiner Nickel of Germany learned his great-great-grandfather, Gottlieb Nickel, had a brother named Christoph. Along with his wife and children, Christoph moved from Dessau, Germany, around 1895 and settled in Coupland. The Nickel family farmed just east of Coupland, and several Nickels are buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery, overseen by St. Peter’s Church of Coupland.
Reiner was able to find his great-greatuncle and family using the website FindAGrave. com, which lists millions of graves including all the graves in St. Peter’s Cemetery.
After Reiner contacted St. Peter’s Church, resident Ted Wittliff put Reiner in touch with Larry Nickel, who grew up in Coupland and now lives in La Grange.
Larry Nickel is the great-grandson of Christoph Franz “Frank” Nickel Sr. (1842-1912) and his wife, Henrietta, who are buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery.
Larry Nickel is the son of Elton and Ruth (Beyer) Nickel, who are also buried there.
Reiner Nickel lives in Dessau and was especially interested in the Dessau area of Pflugerville. There is a family connection there since Elton and Larry Nickel are direct descendants of Henricus “Henry” Pfluger, who gave his name to Pflugerville.
This branch of the family is also related to Coupland’s Pfluger family.
On May 30, Reiner and his wife, Annett, traveled from Germany and visited Coupland.
They met at St. Peter’s Church with Wittliff, Danny Smith and Mick Lemp, along with Larry Nickel and his family, then went to the cemetery to see the family graves.
Those interested in learning more about their ancestors can get started by going to FindAGrave.com and entering their last name and the location “Williamson County, Texas.”
