Robert Justus Kleberg (September 10, 1803 – October 30, 1888), christened Johan Christian Justus Robert Kleberg, was a German Texan from Herstelle, Westphalia, then part of the Kingdom of Prussia. He was a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto[1] and the brother of Louis Kleberg. He arrived in Texas in 1836 with his wife Philippine Sophie Rosalie "Rosa" von Roeder, who was a child of the at one-time aristocratic von Roeder family, which was allied with the wealthy and aristocratic Sack family of Nordrhein Westphalia. Robert and Rosa had eleven children, seven of whom lived to adulthood; Clara, Johanna, Caroline, Rudolph, Marcellus, and Robert, Jr.
He is the namesake of Kleberg County, Texas.[2] His sons also achieved success. Rudolph Kleberg (1847-1924) became a United States congressman, Marcellus Kleberg (1849-1913) studied law and served as city attorney for Galveston, Texas, and the youngest Kleberg son, Robert Justus Kleberg, Jr. (1853-1932) managed the King Ranch and later married Alice Gertrudis King, the youngest daughter of cattle baron, Captain Richard King.
Sources
- John Henry Brown, Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas, 1880
- Kleberg, Rosa (April 1898). "Some of My Earlier Experiences in Texas". The Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 1 (4): 297–303. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
External links
- Kleberg, Robert Justus at Handbook of Texas Online
- KLEBERG, LOUIS at Handbook of Texas Online
- The First German Settlement in Texas at Handbook of Texas Online
- Robert J. Kleberg at Find a Grave