H and H Coffee

Dedicated to the history of the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co. founded 1899 in San Antonio, Texas.

Dr. Rudolph A. Menger (April 21, 1851 – March 16, 1921) — San Antonio physician; patriarch of the H&H Menger generation. Father of Minnie Menger Hoffmann (who married H&H co-founder William R. Hoffmann), Gus P. Menger (long-serving H&H president), and the other Menger siblings (R. W., T. J., L. B.) who staffed the company through the 1920s–1960.

Buried: Mission Burial Park South, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas.

Family background

Parents: Johann and Augusta Menger — native Germans who arrived in Texas in 1846. Rudolph was born in San Antonio the following decade, one of the early German-Texan families. The two San Antonio Menger lines — Dr. Rudolph’s family and the Menger Hotel Mengers — were separate German immigrant families, united only by Rudolph’s marriage to William L. Menger’s daughter.

Wife: Barbara C. Menger (also called “Babette” / “Catherine Barbara” / “Katarina Babette”) — native San Antonian; daughter of William L. Menger (Menger Hotel founder). The marriage made the H&H Menger siblings (Minnie, Gus P., R. W., T. J., L. B.) William L. Menger’s grandchildren. Married 1879.

Children (8): Minnie · Edward · August · Louis B. · Gustave (Gus P.) · Rudolph Jr. (R. W.) · Theodore (T. J.) · Margaret

The 1909 marriage notice identifies Minnie Menger’s parents as “Dr. and Mrs. R. Menger,” residing on East Commerce Street. The 1912 SA Light death notice for William R. Hoffmann refers to Minnie as “daughter of Dr. R. Menger.”

Education and career

  • Attended German-English School, San Antonio (established 1858)
  • Studied medicine at University of Leipzig (Leipsic), Saxony, Germany; graduated November 1874
  • Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army — one year after graduation
  • City Physician of San Antonio, 1875–1881 — first appointment
  • City Physician of San Antonio, 1892 — reappointed
  • Active member, West Texas Medical Society
  • Published articles in medical journals
  • Maintained private medical practice throughout career

Publications

Texas Nature Observations and Reminiscences (1913) — photo-micrographs and natural-history observations. Full text digitized on the Portal to Texas History.

Open questions

  • Cause of death — not found in any web source consulted June 2026. SA newspaper obituary (Light / Express, c. March 17–18, 1921) not yet retrieved — paywalled on Newspapers.com; Portal to Texas History bot-blocked during June 2026 session.
  • Middle initial “A” — Ancestry cites “Rudolph A. Menger”; source of the initial not confirmed.
  • Role at Hoffmann-Hayman — the 1934 anniversary copy doesn’t list him as an officer; he died in 1921 before the 601 Delaware era. Any direct H&H involvement would have been in the early years.

See also