Looking back at:

Ciano Val Verde Marschall
Sheepherder

While paying my respects to John Meusebach at the cemetery near Cherry Spring, I came across another tombstone not far away that caught my attention. It turns out that Ciano Val Verde Marschall has an interesting story to tell.

The story began in 1848 when Baron Wilhelm Marschall von Bieberstein arrived in the Texas Hill Country. The Baron had grown disillusioned with the heavy-handed autocratic rule in 19th century Germany. He wanted a taste of freedom and democracy even though he understood that freedom and democracy can sometimes be messy and inefficient.

Another reason Wilhelm came to Texas may have been that he fell in love with a shoemaker's daughter—a woman far below the social class of the von Biebersteins. The marriage of Wilhelm Marschall von Bieberstein and Louise Weiss created tension in the family.

So, rather than take his new bride to the family estate at Schloss Rosa (pink castle) in Hahnstätten in the wooded hills of the Taunus Forest, Wilhelm brought Louise to the wild Texas frontier where titles had no meaning and where talent, courage, persistence and character meant everything.

Wilhelm and Louise Marschall (they eventually stopped using their title) raised 7 children on a cattle ranch northwest of Fredericksburg in the sparsely settled country near House Mountain.


One day Wilhelm came to town on business. While walking down the street in Fredericksburg he saw a boy tied to a horse—the captive of a roving band of Native Americans.

The Natives captured Juan Prudenciano "Ciano" Val Verde in a raid on the Val Verde family ranch in Webb County near Laredo. That day in Fredericksburg Wilhelm Marschall bought Ciano's freedom with a barrel of sugar cane molasses.

After his rescue, Ciano could have gone back to his family in Webb County but chose to remain with the Marschalls in the Texas Hill Country. Wilhelm and Louise took Ciano into their home and treated him like family.

Ciano worked hard on the ranch and soon saved enough money to make a deposit on a saddle horse owned by a horse trader who lived near Prairie Mountain. The owner of the horse accepted a cash down payment and had Ciano sign a note for the balance to be paid in several future installments.

A few days before the first payment came due the horse trader sent a letter to Wilhelm Marschall reminding him that "a payment will be due shortly concerning your Mexican's note for the purchase of the horse."

Not happy at all with the tone of the letter, Wilhelm Marschall wrote back stating "I hope you do not think that in my old age my mind has become so impaired that I cannot remember my obligations. You should not worry. The Mexican you refer to is Ciano Val Verde Marschall and you WILL be paid on time."

When Ciano's Webb County parents died, Wilhelm Marschall inquired whether Ciano might come into an inheritance. Sometime later the reply came back that the Webb County ranch had sold and that Ciano would soon receive an inheritance of $500 - a considerable sum of money at the time.

With his inheritance Ciano bought property near Doss. He married Maria Degel on December 23, 1893, and settled with his bride on their homestead. The couple had at least 3 children although the records are incomplete.

Even after Ciano had a place and a family of his own, he faithfully cared for Wilhelm and Louise Marschall in their old age just as they had taken care of him.

As his interesting name suggests, Ciano Val Verde Marschall spanned two cultures. The simple epitaph on his tombstone tells us he spent his life as a sheepherder.

Ciano Val Verde Marschall -
died on February 23, 1923, at the age of 83. The Marschall family buried him in the family cemetery near Cherry Spring, not far from the graves of Wilhelm and Louise Marschall and just a few steps away from John O. Meusebach, the founder of Fredericksburg.