Tengg, Julius, 1867-1966

Born in San Antonio, Tex.; eldest son of German-Austrian immigrants; managed Nic Tengg, the family-owned book and stationery store in San Antonio named after his father, the original owner; active in several local fraternal and social organizations.

Born into the thriving German-American community of San Antonio, Texas, Julius Tengg was an active member of the city’s business and social circles throughout his long life. His parents were Nicolas Tengg, a native of Austria who immigrated to Texas with his family as a child, and Louise Plumeyer Tengg, member of a German-immigrant family. The elder Tengg was employed in the book and stationery store established in 1854 by family friend Julius Berends, purchasing the business when Berends returned to his native Germany in 1874. Nic Tengg’s bookstore became an institution in downtown San Antonio and remained a family enterprise throughout its ninety-year existence, eventually involving several of Nic Tengg’s sons.

The eldest of nine children, Julius Tengg was born in San Antonio in 1867. He attended San Antonio schools, including the German-English School established by Berends and other members of the immigrant community. In 1891 he married Anna Deussen (1870-1955), also born in San Antonio to German-immigrant parents. The couple had four children: Louis, Lorine, Else, and Carl.

Julius Tengg was a member of a number of organizations and was particularly active in the Sons of Hermann and the Knights of Pythias. His entire working life was devoted to the family business, and he remained active into his nineties, a few years before Nic Tengg’s was closed by the family in 1964. In his later years Julius Tengg lived with his daughter Lorine Shepherd. He died after a short illness in 1966, shortly before his 99th birthday, and was buried in the family plot in City Cemetery No. 1.

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Julius Tengg was the eldest son of German-Austrian immigrants.

He attended the German-English School in San Antonio and joined the book and stationery store owned by his father, Nic Tengg, remaining with the family business his entire life. He was also active in several fraternal and social organizations in San Antonio.