Elizabeth and Johann Jacob Arhelger left Rittershausen, Dillenburg County, Duchy of Nassau in August 1845 with their seven living children. They arrived in Galveston, Republic of Texas, October 22, 1845. May 8, 1846, they arrived in Fredericksburg, Texas, on the first wagon train. The nine Arhelgers settled in the heart of Comanche territory at a time when Texas Rangers were leaving Texas to fight in the Mexican American War.