Descendants of Early Fayette Co. Luck Family Receive Life Memberships to Sons of the Republic of Texas
August 15, 2020, during the days of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Texas, marked the day that three generations of the Luck Family collectively applied to become life members of the Sons of the Republic of Texas, and October 16, 2020, was the day each received notice from SRT President General Kenneth W. Pfeiffer of being accepted as Life Members.
Walter W. Luck, retired CPA, met with his two sons, John M. Luck and Stephen W. Luck, and his two grandsons, Colin C. Luck and Noah G. Luck, in Houston, to sign the long worked on Applications for Life Membership in the Sons of the Republic of Texas. Walter indicated that he had wanted to apply for over 30 years and was gratified that his long held desire to apply and become a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas became a reality, not only for himself, but also for his sons and grandsons. Monument Hill Chapter, Sons of the Republic of Texas President, Rodney C. Koenig, who himself has had lifelong connections to the Luck Family of Black Jack Springs, Texas, also attended to sign as one who recommended membership for the five Luck Applicants. Others recommending membership were Rear Admiral Weldon Koenig and JT Koenig.
The ancestor of the Luck Family who came to Texas from Gemunden, Nassau, Germany during the days of the Republic of Texas, was Johann Philipp Luck (1807-1877). He and his family arrived in Texas in 1844 on the ship Ferdinand. He was a Founder of New Braunfels, Texas but came to Fayette County in 1847. His first wife was Maria Catharina Scheideler Luck, who died in New Braunfels in September of 1846, along with a daughter who died in November 1846. Philipp thereafter married his 2nd wife, Phillipine Theiss Luck, also from Gemunden, Nassau, Germany, who had lost her husband to the same epidemic that killed Philipp’s wife and daughter.
Fayette County Texas has had Luck family members living in Black Jack Springs and in West Point, Texas. The Luck’s Country School was located on FM 609, next to Trinity Lutheran Church, at Black Jack Lane, on land donated by an ancestor of the current Lucks, Charles Luck, son in law of Thomas Oeding, the first burial in Black Jack Springs Cemetery.
Many children attended Luck’s School, including SRT Monument Hill Chapter President Rodney Koenig, his brother Rear Admiral Weldon Koenig, and a myriad of others in such community, until it closed in 1948. Long time teacher Eliza Lackey taught there for decades, with families such as Anders, Baumbach, Delgado, Hunger, Koenig, Mach, Naumann, Melcher, Muras, Oeding, Kiesling, Jurica, Luck, Loessin, Meyer, Romberg, Schilab, and others having attended as students over the decades. Eugenia Miller, Founder of the Luck & Loessin Collection Trust which supports the Fayette Heritage Library and Museum, is buried in the Black Jack Springs Cemetery in the Luck section of such Historic Cemetery. Rod Koenig and JT Koenig serve as Trustees of such Luck & Loessin Collection Trust. To see reference to many other Luck family members, see http://www.fayette-countyhistory.org/black_jack_springs_cemetery.htm. Should you qualify and wish to apply for membership in the Sons of the Republic of Texas, see the website at http://www.srttexas.org/membership.html or speak to any SRT Member.