Born in Germany on April 5, 1801, Nicholas Adolphus Sterne was the oldest son of Emmanuel Sterne, who was an Orthodox Jew, and his wife, Helen, who was a Lutheran. At age 16, Adolphus was working in a passport office when he learned he was going to be conscripted into German military service. He forged his own passport and emigrated to America through New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1817. He found employment in a mercantile and studied law.
Having become a businessman with interests from New Orleans to Nashville, Tennessee, Adolphus made Nacogdoches, Texas, his home around 1824, and upon joining the New Orleans Masonic Lodge in 1826, he became one of the first Masons in Texas. He became friends with Sam Houston through business interests. Despite having taken the required Mexican government’s loyalty pledges, Sterne assisted in Nacogdoches’1826 Fredonian Rebellion by smuggling weapons for the War Dog rebels, a local militia group that was attempting to establish their own republic due to the political and cultural differences between the Anglo-Americans and the Mexicans.
Adolphus was tried for treason by the Mexicans and ordered shot. While his case was reviewed, he was incarcerated in the Stone House, now the Old Stone Fort in Nacogdoches. The New Orleans Masonic Lodge interceded, arranging his parole. He was released, agreeing to never take up arms again against the Mexican government.
He helped in the Battle of Nacogdoches in 1832 but did not take up arms. In violation of the Texas Constitution of 1824, Mexican Colonel José de las Piedras ordered townspeople to surrender all firearms to his 300-plus troops. Instead, residents of Nacogdoches and surrounding towns formed a National Militia. The militia marched to the square where the Mexican army opened fire and hand-to-hand combat began. Sterne instructed the San Augustine Red-Landers how to outflank the Mexicans trying to flee. A peace treaty was signed, and Mexican troops were never again garrisoned in East Texas.
Attempting to raise funds and recruit fighters for the New Orleans Greys, who fought in several battles, including the Alamo, during the Texas Revolution, Adolphus spoke at their first rally. Volunteers filled the Grey’s first two companies, and thousands of dollars were donated to support the cause for religious freedom and the establishment of the Republic.
Adolphus supported most of Houston’s policies during the Republic’s early days, except his Indian policy. Sterne commanded a militia company at the Battle of the Neches in 1839, expelling the Cherokees from East Texas.
Between 1840 and 1847, Adolphus became the Nacogdoches postmaster and a land agent. He served Nacogdoches County as court deputy clerk, associate justice, justice of the peace, the board of land commissioners’ clerk and the commissioner of roads and revenues clerk. In 1847, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and served a second term. In 1851, he served in the Texas Senate.
He and his wife, Eva Catherine Rosine Ruff, had seven children. Adolphus enjoyed dancing, occasional drinking and playing games of that era. His published diary, with entries from 1840-1851, chronicles early life in Texas. He owned 16,000-plus acres of land worked by slaves. Self-educated, Adolphus was an interpreter in English, French, Spanish, German, Yiddish, Portuguese and Latin.
After passing away on March 27, 1852, in New Orleans while on a business trip, Adolphus was buried there but was later interred in Nacogdoches’ Oak Grove Cemetery. His home, built in 1830 at 211 S. Lanana Street in Nacogdoches, is now the Sterne-Hoya House Museum. Sterne, an early colonist, businessman and politician, hosted prominent guests, including Davy Crockett and Sam Houston. Sold to the Hoya family in 1866, the home was donated to the city of Nacogdoches in 1958. The museum and library hold the history of the early days of Texas, including Sam Houston’s sword and Adolphus’ published diary.
Bibliography:
1. Duel of Eagles: The Mexican and U.S. Fight for the Alamo by Jeff Long. William Morrow & Co., Inc. New York. 1990 pg. 65.
2. Texas Almanac. The Dallas Morning News. Mike Kingston, Editor. Dallas, 1987. pgs. 21-22, 366.
3. Texas State Markers app. Nicholas Adolphus Sterne.
4. Texas State Markers app. Battle of Nacogdoches.
5. Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas, Archie P. McDonald, online.
6. www.easttexashistory.org, Briana Weaver.
Photos, unless otherwise noted, courtesy of Nacogdoches Historic Sites Department.
Written by Virginia Riddle
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