This past Saturday, May 10th, the Tomball Garden Club and Tomball Museum Center teamed up for a rose dedication and plaque installment of the Theis roses in front of the corresponding historical house.
The event saw many members of the garden club and museum in attendance. Representing the Theis/Theiss family included Butch Theis (the oldest descendant still living), Millie Theis Martin (granddaughter of Fritz Theis) and her husband David, and Dee McShane and her husband John (son of Audrey Theis).
These roses originated from a wild Rosa multiflora camea bush that grew in front of the original location of the Henry Theis house in Rosehill. When the house was donated to the museum, L. P. Martin also brought over cuttings of the wild rose bush.
According to the Tomball Garden Club’s research, although some species of the Rosa multiflora family can be considered invasive, this particular species was brought to Texas by European immigrants. It was used as a sort of fence to enclose livestock.
The Theis family’s patriarch, Johann Theis, and his family immigrated from Germany to the area in 1846 and the family has been involved in the community ever since. The Theis house, originally built after the Civil War by Henry Theis (son of Johann), was donated to the Tomball Museum in 1989. Today, the German farmhouse helps to educate visitors of a way of life long passed.
Come visit the museum today to learn more about this beautiful rose bush and the Theis family, as well as the other German immigrants they represent.
