Our Founder, Anna Hertzberg

The founder of our Club, Anna Hertzberg, was a remarkable woman of immense energy, talent, and drive, as you will see from the list of her many accomplishments given below. She was born Anna Goodman in New York City in 1862. She was a talented pianist from an early age and eventually studied at the New York Conservatory of Music.

In 1882, Eli Hertzberg, a San Antonio merchant and jeweler, was traveling to New York on business. While there, he met Anna and it must have been love at first sight, because they were married two weeks later! Moving to the frontier town of San Antonio with her new husband, Anna became homesick for the rich cultural and musical life of the big city. But rather than simply sit and sigh about the situation, she set about remedying it.

In 1901, she and a few friends began meeting in her home and performing music for each other. This was the genesis of the Tuesday Musical Club. You can read more details about our history and early days here.

Her influence on the musical landscape of San Antonio was not limited to her gatherings with friends, however. She was involved in the foundation of the first San Antonio Symphony, which performed until World War I. She also founded the San Antonio Women’s Symphony Association, and both led and participated in national musical festivals and commemorations.

In addition to supporting young musicians, she was deeply committed to the welfare and general education of all students. She served as President of the Texas Free Kindergarten Association and started a night school that was eventually taken over by the local school board. And, amazingly, eleven years before she was able to vote herself, she was elected to the San Antonio School Board in 1909. This made her one of the first women in Texas to hold elective office.

Anna’s list of other club memberships and leadership positions is extensive:

• From 1911-13 she served as president of the Texas Federation of Women’s Clubs, an organization prioritizing libraries and public education
• She was the first president of the San Antonio chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women, another group deeply interested in public education; she later became vice-president of the national NCJW
• In 1915, she was appointed by the Governor to chair the Texas contribution to the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco
• Also in 1915, she was the secretary of the Palestine Welfare Society, which raised funds for the medical education of women in what is now Israel
• She was treasurer of the Battle of Flowers Association and an honorary or auxiliary member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and the United Daughters of the Confederacy
• The many other clubs and organizations that benefited from her energy and expertise included the Woman’s Club of San Antonio, History Club, Carnegie Library Board, Humane Society, Pan-American Roundtable, Army-Civilian Club, Art League, Conservation Society, Hadassah Society, Texas Pioneers Association, American Association of University Women, Texas Landmarks Association, Business and Professional Women’s Club, and the YMCA

Eli Hertzberg died in 1908. The couple had one son, Harry Hertzberg, who grew up to become a lawyer, civic leader, and two-term State Senator. While in the Senate, he worked for women’s suffrage. And he later donated his large collection of circus memorabilia to the San Antonio Public Library. The collection is now at the Witte Museum. He also was very supportive of the Tuesday Musical Club, and left a sizeable bequest to the club upon his death in 1940.

Anna Hertzberg died in 1937, at the age of 75. Her memorial service, held at the home where the Tuesday Musical Club had met for many years, was attended by hundreds of mourners. The crowd spilled over into the “Hall of Music” next door and into the yard in front of the houses. Loudspeakers let everyone hear the service, which, of course, included some beautiful music.

We in the Club are very proud to claim Mrs. Hertzberg as our founder, and to use her energy and dedication to the improvement of the life of our city as an inspiration for our own efforts.