Reinhard Hillebrand

Reinhard Hillebrand was born on March 10, 1810, in Germany. While living in Germany, Hillebrand participated in the 1848 revolutions. In the 1850s, he immigrated to the United States, settling in Fayette County, Texas. During the Civil War, Hillebrand organized the Rutersville German Company, which was a company of volunteer infantry soldiers. Such companies had been supported by the Texas legislature during the time. Despite organizing troops, in 1863, Hillebrand was involved in anti-conscription efforts that led to his arrest and imprisonment for treason by the Confederate military.

Hillebrand was elected to be county judge of Fayette County in 1869; he served for one year before leaving to run for the Texas Senate after E.L. Alford had been banished from the Texas Senate and the Republican Party. Hillebrand won his seat in a special election to represent Texas Senate, District 26. He was a Radical Republican who opposed business subsidies and was scandalously associated with black voters.[2][3][1]

The 1880 United States Census labeled Hillebrand as a widowed farmer who lived in Fayette County. Hillebrand died on September 13, 1887[4] after being thrown from his horse-drawn buggy in Fayette County; the La Grange Journal reported he succumbed to his injuries roughly 24-hours after the accident while The Dallas Morning News reported his death to be instant.[1] Hillebrand's had already left his will to his two sons; he was buried at Hillebrand Family Cemetery located near Park, Texas.[1]