On October 1, 1845, a baby girl was born in Texas to German immigrants Joseph and Elizabeth Beitel.
What did they name their daughter? Annexation.
Why? Probably to celebrate the annexation of the Republic of Texas by the United States.
In February of 1845 — during the last days of the presidency of John Tyler — the U.S. Congress voted in favor of admitting Texas to the Union. That the summer and fall, Texas assented to the annexation and drew up a new constitution. Finally, in late December, President James K. Polk signed the annexation bill into law, making Texas the 28th state.
Though she’s listed as “Annexation” on both the 1850 and 1860 U.S. Censuses, Annexation Beitel seemed to prefer the nicknames “Anna” and “Annie” during her lifetime, as this is how her name appears in most other places.
Joseph and Elizabeth also had at least eight other children from the 1830s to the 1850s. Here are the names of all nine, from oldest to youngest:
- Charles
- Catherine
- Francis
- Elizabeth
- Henry
- Annexation
- Rudolph
- Louisa
- Josephine
- Albert
Sources: FamilySearch, Find a Grave, Texas annexation – Wikipedia
Image: Clipping of the 1860 U.S. Census