Mary Menger (Maria Clara Baumschlüeter Menger)

Co-founder of the Menger Hotel and the original Menger business dynasty in San Antonio. Grandmother of the H&H Coffee generation of Mengers (Minnie, Gus P., R. W., T. J., L. B., A. G.) through her daughter Catherine Barbara (Katarina Babette) Menger (b. 1860, d. 1947), who married Dr. Rudolph Menger.

Born September 14, 1816, in Gesmold, Kingdom of Hanover (present-day Germany). Died July 3, 1887, San Antonio.

Immigration and Early Life

Arrived in San Antonio June 2, 1846 with her mother. Her mother died that same summer, leaving Mary homeless and unemployed. She operated a boarding house on Commerce Street from 1848 onward.

First marriage

Married Charles Emil Guenther, a German-immigrant butcher, in 1848. They operated the boarding house together. Guenther died 1850; Mary continued independently.

Second marriage

Married William A. Menger in 1851 — he had been her handyman and boarder. Together they had four children; three survived to adulthood: Louis William, Peter Gustav, and Katarina Babette (Catherine Barbara).

The Menger Hotel

In 1854, Mary opened a new boarding house at Blum and Bonham streets, one block east of Alamo Plaza. That year William established the Western Brewery, considered the first commercial brewery in Texas, adjacent to the boarding house. Using brewery profits, the Mengers purchased surrounding land and began hotel construction in summer 1858 — a $50,000 investment including furnishings, equipment, and stock.

The Menger Hotel opened February 1, 1859. Notable features at opening: imposing stone architecture, a “Cuban-styled” courtyard, ladies’ parlor and separate entrance. Prominent early guests included Richard King, General Robert E. Lee, and Governor Sam Houston.

Mary’s Leadership as Sole Proprietor

When William died in 1871, Mary immediately notified customers and suppliers that she would carry on as sole proprietor. Under her management:

The Western Brewery became the state’s largest producer, serving customers from Fort Concho to Galveston. She closed it in December 1878 as Schlitz and Busch entered the local market. (The Draves family today holds the trademark on “MENGER BEER,” a lager, and would license the naming rights — per the 12 June 2026 Draves session; see Menger Hotel § Brewery, beer trademark, and the acequia.)
She purchased adjacent land in 1874 anticipating the GH&SA Railway completion.
By January 1878, the hotel accommodated 165 guests nightly — the largest workforce of any San Antonio business.
Her 1876 property valuation reached $106,410, among the highest in the city.

Hotel services expanded to include the largest sample rooms in the state, a railroad ticket office, livery with veterinary surgeon, barbershop, bar, billiard parlor, and stagecoach offices.

In 1880, she hosted President Ulysses S. Grant and First Lady for four days, including a citywide ceremonial dinner in the Colonial Dining Room.

Sale and Later Life

In fall 1881, Mary sold the hotel to John Herman Kampmann for $132,500. Successive owners maintained the Menger Hotel name — testament to her reputation. She died July 3, 1887, and was buried at the city cemetery.

Mary Menger’s piano

A rococo piano (cost $550) once stood in the Menger Hotel’s ladies’ parlor. Its later provenance, recounted by the Draves family (12 June 2026 Draves session), notably crosses the two unrelated San Antonio Menger families — from the hotel side (William and Mary Menger) to the coffee side (the Dr. Rudolph Menger / H&H line):

The piano passed to August Menger (coffee side).
August gave it to Rudolph W. Menger (coffee side) for Nancy’s mother to play; Nancy’s children “plunked on it” at her grandfather’s house.
It is now back at the Menger Hotel, in the front parlor (on the left, facing the street).

This object is a rare physical link between the two Menger families, which share only the surname; the chain does not indicate any common ancestry or merger of the families. See Menger Hotel § Mary Menger’s piano.

Children and Lineage

Child	Notes
Louis William Menger	Published (did not found) the Catholic newspaper Southern Messenger — took it over after ~2 years of operation
Peter Gustav Menger	—
Katarina Babette (Catherine Barbara) Menger	Mother of the H&H coffee Mengers (Minnie, Gus P., R. W., T. J., L. B., A. G.); see [[catherine-menger]]

Resolved (Tim Draves, 1 Jun 2026 corrections): Catherine Menger (wife of Dr. Rudolph Menger) is the daughter — not granddaughter — of William A. and Mary Menger. The KB’s earlier “granddaughter” designation was incorrect; the H&H Menger siblings are therefore William A.’s grandchildren (he is their grandfather, not great-grandfather). Source: raw-archives/correspondence/2026-06-01_tim-draves-william-menger-page.eml (attachment W. A. Menger page for Brett.docx); corroborated by the TSHA Handbook of Texas Women article on Mary Menger. See [[catherine-menger]] and [[william-a-menger]].

Published account by Tim Draves (2009)

Tim Draves’s article “Mary Menger” in the UIW Journal of the Life and Culture of San Antonio (Jan 2009) is now ingested — see the source record. It corroborates this page throughout and cites the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word Menger Family Papers (the archive lead below). Two minor discrepancies, not overwritten here: Draves gives William Menger’s death as age 44 (this KB has age 45, from a 15 Mar 1827 birth) and the hotel sale as $132,000 (this KB: $132,500).

Archive Lead

The Menger Family Collection is held at the Archives of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas. This is a primary archive for Menger family documentation and has not yet been consulted for the H&H project.

Parallel with Minnie Menger

The parallel between Mary and her granddaughter Minnie Menger Hoffmann is striking: both women stepped in as sole operator of a major San Antonio business after their husbands died young. Mary ran the Menger Hotel from 1871; Minnie ran Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee from 1912.

Open Questions

Is Katarina Babette (Catherine Barbara) Menger the same person as the [[catherine-menger]] in this project’s lineage?
What is the exact route from Mary/William’s children to the H&H Menger generation (Gus P., Minnie, R. W., etc.)?
What does the Menger Family Collection at the Archives of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word contain? Is it accessible for research?