Esther Wilhelmina Lehmann Blue eyes sparkling, an infectious smile and laughter ringing through the walls, Esther Lehmann tells yet another story. “Born in a Cow Pen” was a favorite saying she told of her birth on October 5, 1923, at Loyal Valley, Texas, in Mason County. She was born to Willie and Rebecka Rode Lehmann at the Lehmann Ranch Homestead.