Charles August Burchard, born in Gonzales, Texas, August 8, 1858, was the son of Louis and Augusta Bunte Burchard of Germany who came to the United States in 1852. Charles was one of the first eight students at Texas A. & M. College when it opened in the fall of 1876. He also attended Peabody College in Tennessee and held a degree from the University of Tennessee. After his return to this area, Charles taught in the Austin High School and in the Gonzales schools and later took up the practice of law. On March 27, 1895, in Galveston, he married Anna Margaret Kreutter, born November 13, 1864, in Waterloo, New York, the daughter of William and Anna Kreutter. She graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music in 1890 and came to Texas with her parents. At the time of the marriage, she taught music in Palestine, Texas. After their marriage Anna taught music and voice in their home. They adopted one son, Samuel, who graduated from Texas A. & M. College in 1914. Charles and Anna attended the Gonzales Episcopal Church and, in Anna’s honor, Charles donated the beautiful church organ. Anna was the church organist for many years.
Charles bought the lots for his home in 1896 and the Victorian style structure was completed in 1897. In 1904 he purchased a local abstract company which continues to be operated by his brother’s descendants. He died following surgery October 7, 1922. Anna died November 12, 1946. Both are buried in the Gonzales Masonic Cemetery.
C.A. Burchard was the attorney who started the Burchard Abstract Company, which is still operated by the Burchard family. Burchard built his house in 1897.
