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The Implacable Wends of Lee County

by Robin Montgomery
 
It was largely to Lee County that what is routinely called “Texas’s most unique immigrant group” came to establish the town of Serbin.  These were the Wends. There were amazingly resilient, defying tremendous odds to make their way to Texas.

The Wends came from an area in Germany called Lusatia near Berlin. Though they have never been an independent nation, they retain to a degree a common language called Sorbian (Serbian).  Coming to later Lee County by way of Galveston in the middle eighteen fifties, they retained to an extent their traditional customs for a great while. Even now, into the 21stcentury, there is a Wendish Museum in Serbin and in September of each year is held a “Wendish Fest” under the sponsorship of the Wendish Heritage Society.

The Wends of Serbin are closely associated with St. Paul’s Church, the first Missouri Synod Lutheran Church founded in Texas. This is the mother church of all conservative Lutherans in Texas. Certainly, the Wends have added a colorful and exemplary chapter in the history of ethnicity and culture in Lee County.

Thank you.


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