The Contzen Family
May 1, 2008
In considering the German influence on early Arizona history, another pioneer family comes to mind. Fritz Contzen was another of the 1850s settlers in Southern Arizona. Fritz was born in Germany in 1831, into an educated family. His father was the Chief Forester of the principality of Waldeck. (Germany was not yet a united country.) Fritz came with his older brother, Julius, and a group of Germans to help settle Texas in about 1848. The brothers joined the Texas Rangers to fight Comanches. They became separated when Julius met Herman Ehrenburg who was going to Arizona. After the Gadsden Treaty was signed, Fritz joined Major Emory’s boundary survey and served as an assistant to the surveyor, because he had been so educated in Germany. After completing the survey, Fritz met Pete Kitchen somewhere near present-day Nogales and he decided to settle here. On a trip to Hermosillo, Fritz found his brother Julius who was living in Tubutama and they joined up again. Arriving in Tucson, they found the presidio with Mexican troops, but soon the U. S. troops arrived to replace the Mexicans. The Contzens were here, with the very few other Americans, when the U. S. flag went up in Tucson. Just south of the San Xavier Mission, in 1856, Fritz and Julius established a ranch at the Punta de Agua (point of water, where the Santa Cruz River went underground.) On a trip to Hermosillo for supplies, the brothers were attacked by a band of Apaches, near Imuris. Some O’odham who had accompanied them went to Imuris for help. In the meantime, Fritz was shot through the knee and Julius received numerous flesh wounds, but they held out until help arrived. Julius eventually died of the wounds, two years later. This episode didn’t stop Fritz from traveling, however, because he accepted the dangers as just part of living here.
In 1862, Fritz married Margarita Ferrer. She was the daughter of a family that had immigrated to Mexico from Spain. Their Punta de Agua ranch was a way station for travelers and Margarita’s cooking was known far and wide. Fritz also located the San Xavier Mine in the Twin Buttes area, as well as the Young American Mine near Silver Bell. In 1862 Fritz and Margarita had to move to Tucson as the troops had been removed and the Apache threat increased. Unfortunately, Fritz was suspected of being a Confederate sympathizer, and was arrested with many others and sent to Fort Union, near Yuma, as a prisoner of war. He was able to swear allegiance to the United States and returned to Tucson. Subsequently he held government mail contracts (hazardous duty) to Prescott, Tubac and Sasabe (presumably Arivaca also).
Fritz and Margarita became the parents of a son, Philip, in 1868. In 1873, Fritz and Margarita took Philip and went back to Germany for a visit. They were honored to attend the marriage of King William III of Holland and Princess Emma of Waldeck. (These were the ancestors of the current royal family of Holland.) On returning to Tucson, Philip attended Tucson’s first school, but at about the age of 12, Fritz decided he needed the discipline of a German education. Philip was sent to his grandfather’s home. Eventually he graduated from the Royal Polytechnic College in Berlin with degrees in civil and mechanical engineering. After some years in California, Philip returned to Tucson where he worked for the Surveyor General. In 1893 he was appointed as U. S. Land Surveyor and Mineral Surveyor, which profession he practiced for twenty years. On old maps of the Arivaca area, including an official land survey done in the Arivaca area in 1907, you will see the name of Philip Contzen. He surveyed most of the old Mexican land grants, although Arivaca’s had been surveyed by George Roskruge in 1881. In the Santa Cruz valley, Philip surveyed the Baca Float No. 3 and San Ignacio de la Canoa, among others. He completed resurveys of portions of the border, the boundaries of Ft McDowell, Ft Huachuca and Ft Lowell. Philip served as the official City Engineer of Tucson as well as County Surveyor of Pima County. He was a City Councilman in Tucson. At one point he did some ranching in the Santa Ritas near Elephant Butte. He also had a private practice of engineering and land surveying. Philip’s German education stood him in good stead all his life.
Fritz Contzen passed away in 1909 in Tucson and Margarita in 1937. Philip married Frances Conrow in 1899 and had five children. He died in 1954. Their descendents still live in Tucson to this day.
Reference: “The Contzens of Tucson” by Fred Contzen, son of Philip. 1973 document available at the Arizona Historical Society.
Copyright 2008 Mary Kasulaitis
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