Betsy Ross of Texas Betty Wilhelmine Holekamp

Betty Holekamp

Born Betty Wilhelmine Abbenthern
1826
Kingdom of Hannover, German Confederation
Died 1902
Comfort, Texas
Spouse Georg Friedrich "Fritz" Holekamp (1812–1862)
​(m. 1844⁠–⁠1862)​

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Abbenthern-4
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/83132065/betty_wilhelmine-holekamp

Husband was Georg Friedrich "Fritz" Holekamp, and their children were George, Julius, Daniel, Dora, Johanna, Ernst, and Bettie.

From the book "A Hundred Years of Comfort in Texas":
Mr. and Mrs. Holekamp came to Texas on the Johann Dethard, arriving in Galveston on 24 November 1844, and proceeded overland in the company of Prince Solms to the site chosen for the first German settlement, New Braunfels.
Arriving at the site, they found the Guadalupe River in one of its periodic rises; Prince Solms wishing to impress his companions with his daring and courage, plunged into the raging waters riding a magnificent white horse. Not to be outdone, Mrs. Holekamp rode into the swollen waters and successfully crossed over, to the astonishment of the colonists who had preceded this group and had already been established.
When Texas was admitted into the Union, she gathered suitable colored bits of cloth and made them into a United States flag, probably the first such flag unfurled and flown at New Braunfels. The flag was six feet by three feet.

Fritz Holekamp served in the Confederate army as a member of Captain Kampmann's company. He was critically wounded in battle and died of wounds received in September 1862. His body was interred near the field of battle; however, the exact spot never became known.

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HOLEKAMP, FREDERICK
Came to Texas in 1845 as a passenger aboard the "Johann Dethard" on her first voyage to this country, with one of the first party of German colonists who settled in Texas. The ship was laden with two-hundred and twenty-eight passengers, gathered from the kingdom of Hanover, and other portions of Germany, by the German Emigration Company, which was then under the direction of Prince Solms, who accompanied the voyagers to their new homes. Frederick Holekamp was born in Hanover, January 22,.1812. After completing his education at the University, he engaged in the manufacture of brick, and farming, in his native land. His father, Daniell Holekamp, a builder and contractor, never came to America. Frederick Holekamp, subject of this notice, married, March 17, 1844, Miss Betty Wilhelimena Abbethern, a daughter of Henry Christian Abbethern, who was a member of the household of King Ernest August, then King of Hanover, holding the position of Ministerial Accountant, which he filled until the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Holekamp set sail for America in the full glow of youth and hope to make for themselves a home in the new world. They landed at Galveston, November 24, 1844, and proceeded overland to New Braunfels, where Mr. Holekamp was among the first to have a head-right allotted to him by the colony. Here he remained for about two years and then went to Fredericksburg, where he also lived for two years. He later lived for three years at Sister, dale and still later for a time near San Antonio on a farm. In 1854 he located with his family at Comfort, which has since been his home. During the late Civil War Mr. Holekamp served the Confederacy as a member of Capt. Kampman's Company and died in September 1862, of wounds received in the service. His remains were interred near the campground where he expired. The exact spot is now unknown. He left a widow and seven children: George, Justice, Daniell, Dora, Ernest, Johanna, and Bettie. George now lives at Comfort and is one of Kendall County's most prosperous and influential farmers. He was born at New Braunfels, Comal County, August 7, 1846; married Miss Fannie, daughter of Oscar Von Roggenbuske in Kerr County, in 1871, and has eight children: Ida, Dora, Fritz, Moritz, Elsie, Oscar, Kurt, and Richard. Mr. Von Roggenbuske was an early Texas pioneer and died in 1887.
Julius, the second oldest of the family, was born at Sister Dale, June 10, 1849. He married Miss Susan Fricke at Roundtop, Fayetteville, in 1876, and has eight children: Paul, Bodo, Norman, Louis, Ella, Alma, Erna, and an infant. He is a farmer and lives at Comfort.
Daniell, a well-known and influential businessman at Comfort, was born at San Antonio, April 13, 1851. He married Miss Frames, a daughter of Theodore Wiedenfeld, of Comfort, in 1884. They have five children: Otto, Edgar, Clara, Agnes, and Daniell, Jr.
Dora was born August 9, 1864, in New Braunfels. She married Paul Karger, a farmer living near Comfort, and they have five children: Otto, Elizabeth, Alfred, Bettie, and George.
Johanna, born at Comfort, August 21, 1856, is now the widow of the late F. G. Harner, and lives at Comfort. She has three children: Alex, Minnie, and Chester.
Ernest is a merchant of Johnson City, Texas. He was born at Comfort, March 2, 1859, and married Miss Dora Muegge at San Antonio, in 1835. They have four sons: Julius, Edwin, Walter, and Conrad.
Bettie was born at Comfort, February 14, 1862, and is now the widow of the late Henry Sehmelter. She lives at Comfort and has two children: Matilda and Martha.
To Mrs. Frederick Holekamp belongs the distinction of having made the first American flag that floated to the breezes at the old colonial town of New Braunfels. It was made from the cloth of various old garments of suitable colors, gathered from settlers. It bore the lone star in the blue field and was about two yards long and of proportionate width. Its unfurling on the public square gave offense to Prince Solms, the then governor and dictator of the colony, indicating as it did the appreciation of the fact by the immigrants that they had found a home in a free and independent country.
Mrs. Holekamp still survives, a quiet old lady whose life has been devoted to the welfare of her children and grandchildren and crowned with their love and veneration.
Her home is in the peaceful and romantic little town of Comfort, where she has passed so many years of a busy life. (Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas, by John Henry Brown, Published by L. E. Daniell, Austin, Texas, 1880 -

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/holekamp-betty-wilhelmi...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Holekamp
https://sophienburg.com/what-a-woman/
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Betty_Holekamp

Betty Holekamp (1826–1902) was a German colonist and pioneer in Texas. She is recognized for several "firsts" as a Texas pioneer, such as being the first to sew an American flag upon Texas's acceptance into the Union, and thus is known as the Betsy Ross of Texas.[1] She was also among the first residents in four Texas Hill Country communities: New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, Sister Dale, and Comfort.

Life in Germany[edit]
Betty Holekamp was born Betty Wilhelmine Abbenthern in the Kingdom of Hannover. She was the daughter of Henry Christian Abbethern who was the ministerial accountant to King Ernest Augustus of Hannover, and she grew up in the household of the king. She was schooled with the king's daughter and was being trained to be a governess. [2]

While playing music together at court gatherings, she met Georg Friedrich "Fritz" Holekamp (1812–1862), the son of a wealthy Hannover builder and an educated royal architect and musician. Once engaged, the couple learned of opportunities in Texas from Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels. They wed in March 1844. On September 16, 1844, Fritz Holekamp entered into a contract with the German Immigration Company,[3] and soon thereafter the couple boarded the ship Johann Dethard, arriving at Galveston and then at Indianola in November 1844 Husband was Georg Friedrich "Fritz" Holekamp and their children were: George, Julius, Daniel, Dora, Johanna, Ernst, and Bettie.

From the book "A Hundred Years of Comfort in Texas": Mr. and Mrs. Holekamp came to Texas on the Johann Dethard, arriving in Galveston on 24 November 1844, and proceeded overland in the company of Prince Solms to the site chosen for the first German settlement, New Braunfels. Arriving at the site, they found the Guadalupe River in one of its periodic rises; Prince Solms wishing to impress his companions with his daring and courage, plunged into the raging waters riding a magnificent white horse. Not to be outdone, Mrs. Holekamp rode into the swollen waters and successfully crossed over, to the astonishment of the colonists who had preceded this group and had already been established. When Texas was admitted into the Union, she gathered suitable colored bits of cloth and made them into a United States flag, probably the first such flag unfurled and flown at New Braunfels. The flag was six feet by three feet.

Fritz Holekamp served in the Confederate army as a member of Captain Kampmann's company. He was critically wounded in battle and died of wounds received in September 1862. His body was interred near the field of battle; however, the exact spot never became known.