H and H Coffee

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

Minnie Menger Schlosser

Co-founder and long-serving Vice-President and Director of the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Company. Full name Wilhelmina Menger, known as Minnie. Daughter of Dr. Rudolph Menger and Catherine Menger of San Antonio (East Commerce Street). Catherine was a granddaughter of William L. Menger, owner of the Menger Hotel — the family connection that ties the coffee firm to San Antonio’s landmark hospitality dynasty. Sister of Gus P. Menger, Rudolph W. Menger, T. J. Menger, Louis B. Menger, and A. G. Menger.

Vitals

  • Birth: 4 July 1880, San Antonio
  • Death: 23 April 1956, San Antonio
  • Burial: Mission Burial Park South, Section 4, Restland (interred under the Schlosser name)
  • Find a Grave: memorial 32329829

The _data/events.yml timeline carries her birth (1880) and death (April 23, 1956) as separate entries. Vital dates currently come from Find a Grave; upgrade to Texas vital or church records when available.

Naming for writers

  • Formal: Wilhelmina “Minnie” Menger Hoffmann (after marriage to William Hoffmann); Mrs. William J. Schlosser (née Menger) when the source uses the Schlosser name.
  • Period clippings vary: Mrs. William R. Hoffmann, Mrs. (Dr.) William J. Schlosser — quote the printed form when attributing a specific article.
  • Her standalone Jekyll page is published at /people/wilhelmina-menger-hoffmann/ (matching the source name pattern); this KB entry consolidates the Hoffmann/Schlosser identity under the later married name.

Life and roles

First marriage: William R. Hoffmann (tea and coffee merchant), married June 1, 1909 at her parents’ home on East Commerce Street. Only intimate relatives attended, including the Hoffmann family of New Braunfels. The couple’s first home was a cottage at Nolan and Hackberry Streets. Hoffmann died January 10, 1912.

Founding role: After her husband’s death, she became one of the three original incorporators of the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Company (chartered February 5, 1912), holding the role of Vice-President. The company consolidated her late husband’s business with the Merchants Coffee Company (owned by W. E. Hayman).

Second marriage: Dr. William J. Schlosser, 18 January 1919 (per Find a Grave; corroborate with parish or vital records). By December 1922 she is already referred to as “Mrs. William Schlosser” in the “Little Journeys” article, and by 1923 the full form “Mrs. (Dr.) William J. Schlosser” is used. Dr. Schlosser died in 1963 (1963 timeline entry).

Children (per Find a Grave 32329829): William R. Hoffmann Jr. (1910–1911, with Hoffmann); Helen B. Hoffmann; Mildred Schlosser. The Hoffmann Jr. infant death is documented on the International Women’s Day note. Harmonize the others with parish or vital records when tightening genealogy copy.

Trade press also recorded her death in 1956: Coffee and Tea Industries and the Flavor Field, vol. 79 — Spice Mill Publishing Company.

1923 profile: “Formerly Mrs. William R. Hoffmann, vice president and director, Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Company. Mrs. Schlosser, a well-known San Antonio woman, who, by retaining her position in the Hoffmann-Hayman Coffee Co., demonstrates her belief that San Antonio capital should be used in the promotion of San Antonio’s industries.”

Despite W. E. Hayman’s exit from the company in 1920 (his interests bought out by G. P. Menger), she retained her full interest and position.

Open questions

  • Did she maintain any active operational role beyond the directorship, or was the position honorary by the 1930s?
  • Texas vital / church records to confirm and supplement the genealogy-sourced 1880 birth and 1956 death.
  • Surviving correspondence or business records under either married name.

See also