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Since the Grenz children born after 1821 were
all born in the nearby colony of Friedrichstal, It is
probable that the Grenzes moved from Rohrbach to Friedrichstal
about that time. Yet, by 1830, they seem to have moved again,
for the are noted to be among the founders of the colony of
Gueldendorf. Gueldendorf was settled in 1830 with about
96 families who settled from the combined colonies of
Friedrichstal, Stuttgart and Waterloo due to the lack of
drinkable water in these 3 colonies. The Grenzes are
numbered among the group of only 9 settler families that
originated not in Wuerttemberg or Baden as did most of the
other settlers, but in Prussian Poland, district of Posen.
Gueldendorf was about 60 miles south of the original three
villages. Many of these German settlers were Separatist
(Pietistic) families who had left southern Germany for
religious reasons. They had endured terrible hardships
in 1818 on their journey from the city of Ulm down the Danube
River on flat bottomed barges. Many died along the way
because of the poor facilities on the little ships and
improper nourishment. Their religion, Separatism, was a
movement within Pietism, a religious development within
Protestantism which was strong during the 18th century.
It stressing feeling over intellectual knowledge, strict
morals, prayer fellowship and personal participation in
worship.
The colony of Gueldendorf was allotted 14,400 acres of Crown
land for cultivation and was named in honor of Colonel
Gueldenschanz, the former administrator of the Court dealing
in matters relating to guardianship. After permission to
resettle was granted. the colonists traveled the 60 miles to
the area in 1829 and began to plow up the steppe to prepare it
for the first sowing. In the spring of 1830, they
transported their moveable property to the new location.
After the first sowing, during which they lived in tents, they
began to build new houses and to dig wells. Those who
moved, tore down their old stone houses and re-used the
building material in constructing the new homes in Gueldendorf
for most were hard up and stone was hard to find. In the
summer when the salty mouths of the rivers (estuaries that
flanked the city on the south and west) subsided, damp stone,
suitable for constructing garden walls, was available.
The water in the estuaries contained saltpeter and was not
suitable for drinking, but it was considered healthful to
bathe in during the summer. By 1838 most colonists had
regular houses, and only a few of the original adobe huts were
still in use. The terrain of Gueldendorf was
characterized by small hills and valleys. A valley ran
through the middle of the colony from north to south, and the
houses were build on either side, presenting a fine view.
A school house and a prayer hall was built, but up until 1848,
there was no local pastor. The visiting pastor was from
Rohrbach, the previously mentioned Pastor Bonekemper. He
was a reformed pastor, but he served in the capacity of
Lutheran pastor in Gueldendorf because of the scarcity of
pastors in the area. He held between six and eight
services a year there which was quite good for many villages
only had pastoral visits 1-3 times a year. For his
services Pastor Bonekemper received $88.00 a year. In
addition about thirty cents was paid him for each baptism and
fifty cents for a marriage, confirmation or funeral. In
the last quarter of the 19th century a Baptist congregation
was established in the village. Probably the Grenz's
were part of this congregation, because the younger Samuel was
of the Baptist faith when he came to America.
The soil in the Gueldendorf area was well suited to the growth
of grain and grass. Harvests were usually good when
there was sufficient rain. High winds frequently blew
through the area and the earth dried up easily. Summer
wheat produced good results, but the colonists were chiefly
concerned with
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