"Rudolph Bergfeld (1855-1930) Entrepreneur and property owner Rudolph Bergfeld was a significant figure in the development of the city of Tyler. Bergfeld was born in Wisconsin and as a youth apprenticed at his uncle's jewelry business in Germany. He returned to the U.S. in 1874 and worked as a bookkeeper in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1878, Bergfeld moved to Tyler, where he opened a saloon. In 1880, he married Caroline "Lena" Pabst, moving into a house he built for her. By the 1880s, Bergfeld opened a second saloon and began to work in real estate and railroad ventures. In 1887, he helped to open the Grande Opera House. By the 1890s, Bergfeld had turned his interest to banking, opening Bergfeld Loan & Trust, which merged with City National Bank to create Citizens National Bank in 1900. That same year, the newly created Tyler Chamber of Commerce appointed him Director. In 1901, he opened a second Bergfeld Loan & Trust, which in 1905 consolidated with Farmers & Merchants National Bank. Bergfeld's real estate activities were also notable. He actively developed property throughout the city, including the historic Azalea District. Bergfeld also sold land to the city for use as a park, which was named in his honor. Besides Bergfeld's positions on banking boards, he served as chair or director of several different companies and organizations. He was also a member of the Board of Education of Tyler Public Schools (1906-1924) and of fraternal organizations. Rudolph Bergfeld died in 1930 and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery. Today, he is remembered as a community leader whose business activities contributed growth of Tyler." (#15204 of the Texas Historical Marker series)

 

Rudolph Bergfeld was born August 1, 1855 and died of "contracted liver & kidney" on May 31, 1930. Age 74.
Oddly, the son, Rudolph Louis Bergfeld, claimed that his father was born in Missouri (not Wisconsin) and that he did not know his mother's maiden name nor where she was born.