Ferdinand Wilhelm Fertsch came to Texas in June of 1845, arriving first in New Orleans, Louisiana, on a ship called the Oceanus. The Oceanus departed from Rotterdam and arrived in New Orleans on 9 June 1845. On 26 June 1845, Ferdinand Wilhelm Fertsch and W. F. Klump purchased 277-1/2 acres of land together near New Ulm, Austin County, Texas. On 19 August 1846, Ferdinand Wilhelm Fertsch married Rebecca Margaretha Frels (sometimes spelled "Freels") in Austin County, Texas.
Relatives in Germany indicate that Ferdinand and Rebecca had a daughter but no record of such birth has been found. On 16 November 1847, Ferdinand Wilhelm Fertsch married Rebecca's sister, Johanna Elise Frels. Rebecca might have died after a baby was born and Ferdinand may have married Rebecca's sister in part to care for the motherless baby. The baby might then have died, too.
Johanna and Ferdinand had their own children, all born in New Ulm, Austin County, Texas:
- Otto Johann Fertsch born in 1848
- Charles Louis Fertsch born in 1850
- Theodore Fertsch born in 1853
Family legend indicates the Frels family moved to Texas from Oldenburg, Germany, in 1838, but no evidence of this has been found. Family legend also indicates that Johanna Frels sewed hats for the soldiers in the Texas Revolution.
Austin County, Texas, Deed Records, C:28-29, records the first land purchased near New Ulm, Austin County.