Ellinger Family Honored at Texas Family Land Heritage Program
About the Texas
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Sid Miller, Texas Agriculture Commissioner, along with Michael and Marilyn Melnar at the Texas Family Land Heritage Program in Austin. -
A picture of a barn on Melnar farm.
Michael and Marilyn Hoelscher Melnar, owners of FHM Ellinger Holdings, were recognized at the 49th Annual Family Land Heritage Program in Austin on October 18. The property has been in the family since 1854. Marilyn is the great-great-great granddaughter of the founder.
It began when Anton Hoelscher, Jr. born in Olfen, Westfalen, Germany (Prussia), traveled with his family from Germany to Texas in 1846. In 1854 he bought his first 50 acres near Live Oak Hill, which became his first homestead. Additional land of 76.75 acres and 104 acres was purchased in October 1871 by Anton.
In June 1893 Anton’s son Wilhelm A.”William” Hoelscher bought the land from his father. William and his wife Maria Niemann Marwald lived on the Hoelscher homestead where they raised six children and farmed corn, cotton, and sugar cane.
William and Maria’s daughter Amalia married Alex Fehmer and they bought the land from the estate in 1945. The Fehmers did not have any children and willed the farm to their niece Minnie Hoelscher Sumbera in 1973. Minnie sold the farm to her two first cousins Albert E. Hoelscher and Henry P. Hoelscher in 1973.
In 1980 the land was partitioned and in 1999 Albert and Gladys Hoelscher deeded it to their nine children.
In 2015 Michael and Marilyn Melnar bought additional acreage from some of the siblings and presently own about 34 acres ¼ miles east of Ellinger and raise cattle.
In June 2022, Marilyn went to visit Olfen, Westfalen, Germany, to see the original homestead farm and relatives with her daughter and two sisters.
Family Land
Heritage Program
Family Land Heritage (FLH) is a recognition program that honors families who have owned and run a continuous agricultural operation for 100 years or more.
Since 1974, the Texas Department of Agriculture has hosted a ceremony at the Texas State Capitol to celebrate the families who pass down their proud Texas legacy from generation to generation and who continue to inspire us with their commitment and endurance.
Applications for inclusion in the 2024 Family Land Heritage registry will be available to download on January 1, 2024.
You can visit the Family Land Heritage website, www. familylandheritage.com, to download the application.
Your farm or ranch qualifies for inclusion if:
• Your family has maintained at least 10 acres of the land in continuous agricultural production for at least 100 years. “Family” can include relatives by blood, marriage, or adoption.
• You are able to trace ownership from the founder to the present generation.
• The land fits the old U.S. Census definition of a farm: 10 acres or more with agricultural sales of $50 or more a year and the owners must be actively managing the everyday operation of the property.