Book excerpt: Austin Colony Pioneers is a collection of many families that came to Texas in its earliest days and the German settlers and their influences upon the growth of Texas. The book is filled with many anecdotes, short stories, obituaries and articles gleaned from area newspapers. These early families intermarried and not only filled Austin’s original colony but their descendants went to every corner of America. The book traces many of these early pioneers into the present day and also gives their roots before they came to Texas. Colonel William Barret Travis of the Alamo has been a constant element of Betty’s historical research because her family was connected to him in many ways. There are descriptions of persons of historical note such as that of General George Custer and his command of Hempstead, Waller County, after the Civil War. There are stories of towns that once flourished and today are no more. The pages are packed with accounts such as the Bell-Schaffner feud and Shootout in Sealy, Texas and tales of infamous Six Shooter Junction, of Elizabeth Ney, the famous sculptress, and many other historical places and persons of interest.