Part of the mid-nineteenth century wave of German-speaking immigrants to Texas, members of the Herff and Duerler families have remained prominent in the professional and business life of San Antonio for generations.
Born into an aristocratic family in Darmstadt, Germany, Ferdinand Ludwig von Herff was trained as a physician before joining a group of Germans who immigrated to Texas in 1847 to form the Bettina commune on the Llano River. After the failure of that venture, Herff returned to Germany where he married Mathilde Klingelhoefer in 1849. Returning to Texas, the couple settled in San Antonio where Herff began a long and distinguished medical practice. His accomplishments were numerous, including the introduction of new medical techniques and the organization of local and state medical societies. He continued to practice into his eighties and was honored by medical schools at home and in his native Germany.
Two of Dr. Herff’s sons, John and Adolph Herff, followed their father into the medical field, as did three grandsons. Another son, Ferdinand Herff, attended school in France and Germany, returning to San Antonio and a career at the First National Bank, retiring as president of the institution. His marriage to another native of San Antonio, Zulema LaCoste, produced four daughters, including Ellen Herff, who married Alfred Duerler, and Zulime Herff Simpson.
Closely tied to the Herff family by marriage, the Duerler family established itself in San Antonio in 1849 when John Jacob Dürler and his family emigrated from Switzerland. His son, Gustav A. Duerler, attended local schools and apprenticed in the printing trade before the Civil War and his Confederate service interrupted his career. After the war, he built a small shop into a candy manufacturing and pecan shelling business that remained in the family until the 1930s. Two of the children of Gustav and Magdalena Werner Duerler married into the Herff family: daughter Minnie Duerler married August A. Herff, a son of Ferdinand Herff, and son Alfred Duerler married Ellen Herff, daughter of Ferdinand Herff, Jr.
Another allied family branch that had a significant impact on succeeding generations blended European and native Texan roots. In 1847 Jean Batiste LaCoste came to Texas from France and married Manuela Menchaca, daughter of a family prominent in the early settlement of San Antonio. Their daughter Zulema LaCoste became the wife of Ferdinand Herff, Jr.
Several members of the Herff, Duerler, and LaCoste families were musically accomplished, and some were frequent public performers. Zulime Herff Simpson in particular pursued a career as a vocalist, performing locally and nationally and in broadcast productions. Another family member, Albert Herff-Beze, was a well-known music educator, long associated with Trinity University in San Antonio, and Evelyn Duerler, a niece of Zulime Simpson, enjoyed a national career as a singer.
Additional genealogical information about the Herff and Duerler families is available as a PDF document, accessible through the DRT Library's online catalog at
Documents, printed material, biographical material, and photographs are part of the Herff and Duerler Families Papers, gathering items related to some of the significant events and places in the lives of family members. The papers are grouped by family or individual name and arranged by document type within those series.
This collection is organized into six series.
No restrictions. The collection is open for research.
Please be advised that the library does not hold the copyright to most of the material in its archival collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure those rights when needed. Permission to reproduce does not constitute permission to publish. The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming to the laws of copyright, literary property rights, and libel.
Charles Adelbert Herff Reminiscences, circa 1860-1879, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Leonard B. Plummer Collection, circa 1910-1961, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
[Identification of item], Herff and Duerler Families Papers, 1853-1995, Col 10441, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.
Gift of Eleanor Hill Lamb, 1998 November.
Processed by Warren Stricker, 1998 December.
Finding aid edited and encoded by Caitlin Donnelly, 2010 November.
Material associated with the Duerler family includes a few family documents, such as Alfred Duerler’s report card from the German-English School of San Antonio and stock certificates for the G. A. Duerler Manufacturing Co. Photographs are more extensive and depict several family members and the family ranch home near Leon Springs. Much of the material is associated with Gustav A. and Magdalena Duerler and Alfred and Ellen Herff Duerler.
Includes Alfred Duerler, Gustav A. Duerler, Jr., Ferdinand Herff, Jr. and Zulema Herff, and Minnie Duerler Herff.
Includes Duerler Candy truck and Gustav A. Duerler in the San Antonio fire company, 1869.
Includes Dorothy Duerler, Ellen Herff Duerler, Evelyn Duerler, and Zulime Herff.
Documents related to the Herff family include a military record regarding medical services provided by Ferdinand Herff, a letter from Ferdinand Herff, Jr. to his father, a marriage certificate, passport, and miscellaneous correspondence. Biographical sketches, published material, and newspaper clippings provide information on several family members, particularly Ferdinand Herff, Ferdinand Herff, Jr., and Adolph Herff. Printed material includes programs which commemorate family members or which feature performances by the family. Photographs are related to several family members.
Includes Alice Herff, Ellen Herff, Mattie Herff, and Zulema LaCoste Herff.
Includes Adolph Herff, August A. Herff and Minnie Duerler Herff, Juanita and Carolyn Herff, Augie Herff, Charles Herff, Ferdinand Herff, Jr., John Herff, Will Herff, Alice Herff Beze Heady, Max and John Krueger, Charlotte “Lottie” Herff Krueger and Max Krueger, and Mattie Herff Rees.
Includes Alice Herff, Ellen Herff, Mattie Herff, Zulema LaCoste Herff, and Zulime Herff.
A small group of printed items, clippings, and a photograph are related to Albert Herff-Beze and document his career as a music educator and events held in his honor at Trinity University in San Antonio.
This small selection of documents, clippings, and photographs is related to the LaCoste family. Notable are two letters from Zulema LaCoste and a copy of the citizenship record of Jean B. LaCoste. Also represented is Manuela Menchaca LaCoste.
Includes Jean Batiste LaCoste, Manuela Menchaca LaCoste, Nita LaCoste, and Zulema LaCoste Herff.
Much of the material of Zulime Herff Simpson reflects her musical activities and includes letters, programs, and photographs. Some personal letters, report cards, clippings, and items related to her membership in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas are also included.
A few isolated items representing other family members or individuals are grouped together as miscellaneous family papers. Most notable is a scrapbook apparently created by Celeste Rees Huffington which gathers documents, clippings, and printed items associated with the Herff, Duerler, LaCoste, and Menchaca families. Special events - particularly musical performances, marriages, and deaths - are noted. Individuals documented in the scrapbook include Ferdinand Herff, Ferdinand Herff, Jr., Albert Herff-Beze, Evelyn Duerler, Jean Batiste LaCoste, Zulema LaCoste Herff, Zulime Herff Simpson, Alfred Duerler, and Antonio Menchaca. Loose items from the scrapbook and items removed for preservation purposes have been placed in the appropriate family series.
Photocopies made by the donor of pages from the scrapbook and other documents are housed here for reference use.