Herff and Duerler Families

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 http://69.63.217.28/elibsql08_D92004_Documents/00045gen.pdf .

From the guide to the Herff and Duerler Families Papers Col 10441., 1853-1995, (Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library at the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas)