The Swiss are only a small cultural representation in Texas, but, as the ethnic-studies cliché goes, they made “a contribution far greater than their actual numbers.”

Generally, the Swiss had little reason for leaving their homeland or coming to Texas. Most Swiss taking leave of Europe in the 19th century simply sought greater opportunity or were moved by a spirit of adventure. They were also quick to assimilate into the culture of a new home, wherever they went.

They heard about possibilities in the Americas through the usual channels: newspapers, letters from wanderers, commercial advertising, and emigrant organizations.

A few schemes existed for mass emigration—one in 1819 with the goal of moving 10,000 Swiss to Texas was approved by the Spanish government—but all were failures.

The Swiss came as individuals and families, and they entered an astonishingly diverse number of occupations.

Henry and Louis Rueg were in Nacogdoches by 1823 as horse traders; Jean Louis Berlandier came as a professional botanist in 1828 at the invitation of the Mexican government and stayed to complete the first ethnographic description of Texas Indians; and Peter Fullinwider and his wife entered Mexican Texas, illegally, as the first Presbyterian missionaries.

Charles and Mary Amsler settled in Cat Spring, German country, in 1834, and both participated in the revolution two years later. They, and various family members, operated a farm, started a cotton gin, managed a stagecoach stop, and opened a lumber business. Andrew Baldinger was a Galveston banker. John Hermann, a veteran of Waterloo on the losing side, came to Houston with a wife, three children, and five dollars. Helped by the sale of his wife's jewelry, Hermann prospered as a baker. His son, George, bought land on which oil was fortuitously found and became a Houston philanthropist.

John Jacob Rahm, a Texas Ranger, advised the German Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels to buy the land on which New Braunfels was established; Henry Rosenberg of Galveston was a mercantile-business owner and banker; and Johann U. Anderegg produced Swiss cheese in Texas's Hill Country. Getulius Kellersberger, chief engineer for confederate forces in Texas, became project director of a rocket battalion stationed in San Antonio, an effort which ended in spectacular, explosive failure.

Gustave Duerler turned pecan shelling into a Texas industry; Edward Walter Eberle, born in Denton of Swiss parentage, became admiral of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations; Karl Hoblitzelle organized the Interstate Amusement Company and literally developed the commercial theater in contemporary Texas; and Peter Mansbendel was one of the most original and creative woodcarvers of the 20th century. Godfred Fleury, a mural and fresco painter, also constructed parade floats and founded an advertising company. He was still going strong when, at the age of 68, he entered the University of Texas at Austin as a freshman engineering student. Of maternal Swiss descent, Dwight David Eisenhower was born in Texas and, with much military service in the state, often referred to Texas as home.

Swiss-Texan history reads like a breathless roster of accomplishment. It is.