Talk:Ottomar von Behr

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Naming

Various sources give Behr's first name as Ottomar and Ottmar. For consistency, I used the German sister Wikipedia site's spelling of Ottmar. Although no resting place is found for Behr, his namesake descendants have it spelled Ottmar on their tombstones. Ottmar Erich Behr at Find a Grave, Ottmar Behr at Find a Grave

-Maile66 (talk) 14:34, 28 January 2011 (UTC)

Ottmar von Behr was the son of Ottomar von Behr. Their Sisterdale homesteads were close to each other. Ottomar's was north of the Guadalupe River; Ottmar's was to the south and is still standing. It is occupied by Charles Kohls, a son of Lottie Behr Kohls and a great-great-grandson of Ottomar. Googling around will show you that the cited Behr book, Guter Rath fuer Auswanderer nach den Vereinigten..., is authored by Ottomar, not Ottmar. The Texas Historical Commission, via the Kendall County Historical Commission, has recently placed a marker for Ottomar along the road in front of Ottmar's homestead (seemingly an odd choice, but Ottomar's is not as close to the road and the building no longer exists). Other relevant books and records confirm the Ottomar/Ottmar distinction. I am the author of" Promised Land: Solms, Castro and Sam Houston's Colonization Contracts" (Univ. Texas 2008) and "The German Settlement of the Texas Hill Country" (Mockingbird Books 2007). I am friends with Charles Kohls, who is exact about the distinction between the names of his great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, and I purchased my first Texas Hill Country home from the heirs of Lottie Behr. Local historians in Kendall County, Texas, know the distinction between the two old Freethinkers.

Ottomar >> Ottmar >> Oscar >> Lottie >> Charles

I plan to correct this entry to "Ottomar" in a few days, but because it may seem a radical change to some I will make this post first and see whether anyone objects.

gjmokcb 23:03, 18 February 2016 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gjmokcb (talk • contribs)

@Nv8200pa: Your opinion on this would be greatly appreciated. I created the article, but don't really know the answer to this, because I realize in that place and time names weren't always pronounced like they were spelled. Maybe even today. @Gjmokcb: Can you please hold off until we have feedback from Nv8200pa? He's an admin and familiar with the area. You know, everything at Wikipedia wants verification links. Thanks. — Maile (talk) 23:20, 18 February 2016 (UTC)

• Different sources (even the same source) use the different names. This entry in the Handbook of Texas Online lists him as Ottomar, whereas this entry in the Handbook uses Ottmar. I have found an anecdote that suggested his name was Ottomar, but he may have used Ottmar (like his descendants) in the United States for some reason. I believe the more reliable and relevant sources are using Ottomar, and I would move it to that name with a REDIRECT from Ottmar von Behr to Ottomar von Behr, and maybe the alternative spelling listed in the first line, e.g., "Ottomar von Behr (alternatively spelled as Ottmar, 1810–1856) was a meteorologist and naturalist..." Best regards, Nv8200p talk 01:54, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

Agree, with suggestions. Please note that Ottomar von Behr is usually referred to as having died in 1856 in Germany, four years before establishment of the Boerne Village Band. The band member was Ottmar, the son. There was no Boerne before 1852, and no noticeable Boerne for a few years after that. While I am loath to go back and do the same research I did a decade ago (and I have disposed of most of my Texana library since then), I think it's worth nailing this one. I'll pull together some definitive info, such as the original county records of the land transfer to Ottomar. My recollection is that even the county records can be contradictory (you should see all the ways of spelling "Nicolaus" Zink), but I think it shouldn't be too hard to get this settled. See, for instance, Irene Marschall King, "John O. Meusebach, German Colonizer in Texas," (Univ. Texas Press, 1968), at 96; Rudolph Biesele, "The History of the German Settlements in Texas 1831-1861," (Von Boeckmann-Jones, 1930, reprint Eakin Press, 1987), at 171. Come to think of it, those two classic references should be enough, but I'll probably go down to the county courthouse for a look-see. In the end, I think an unqualified cross-reference of Ottmar to Ottomar would perpetuate the confusion; the distinction should be stated. gjmokcb 03:05, 19 February 2016 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gjmokcb (talk • contribs)

@Nv8200pa and Gjmokcb:, I have moved the article according to this discussion. Please feel free to make any other edits necessary in the article. Thanks for the discussion here. Gjmokcb, here's hoping you start signing your talk page posts with four little tildes. — Maile (talk) 14:00, 19 February 2016 (UTC)