Minor Court Troubles for Louis Wollenweber

Ludwig Wilhelm Wollenweber (1822-1873), my husband’s 2x-great-grandfather, had interactions with the courts while living in Louisville, Kentucky. It mostly had to do with his occupation of selling liquor. Newspaper articles give us some clues. Court record minutes give us the proceedings, but not the details.

In the 1860s, Louis ran a saloon at 90 West Market Street, between Third and Fourth Street. Here is a map showing the Market Street between Pearl & Fourth Street. Not sure why Third was called Pearl here.[1]

His saloon was often the place for meetings. The Second Ward Democratic Club held their meeting at Wollenweber’s.[2]

He was an inventor and manufacturer of cures. An ad for his “Celebrated Stomach Bitters,” is here:[3]

He received patent no. 132,424 for a “Medical compound” made up of “angelica root, calamus root, gentian, herb absinthe, Peruvian bark, orange peel, nutmegs, cloves, laurel leaves, and anise seed, all added to a one-fourth barrel of soft water, previously boiled.” This was his stomach bitters, to be used for dyspepsia, chills and fever, bilious remittent and intermittent fevers, jaundice, and other diseases.[4]

He appeared in court several times.

1867
He was summoned to City Court on 8 October 1867 in Commonwealth vs. A. O. Baker and Louis Wollenweber, where his attorney moved to “quash the bond.” The court overruled and gave them time to consider the response against him. The next day, the attorney again moved to quash the bond, but the court ordered that the Commonwealth recover $100 in damages, together with court costs, from Wollenweber. Wollenweber appealed, and it was granted.[5]

In almost the same wording, he was included in the case Commonwealth vs. Wm. Smith, and the court ordered that they recover $100 in damages, together with court costs, from Wollenweber. He also appealed that.[6]

The minutes were not clear as to what the indictment was, but a newspaper article sheds some light. Smith and Baker were charged on four warrants for doing business without a license. The judgment of $100 in each case for forfeited bond was rendered against their security, Louis Wollenweber.”[7] What I don’t know is what bonds Louis was being a surety for.

1868
In police court on 14 October 1868, he was indicted, and he asked for a jury trial. After the jury was selected and the evidence given, the jury returned with “we, the jury, find the defendant not guilty as charged in the indictment.” L. W. Wollenweber was discharged, and the case was then dismissed.[8]

The Louisville Daily Journal had this piece in the 27 October 1868 issue. "Court Matters: Commissioners' Court. Louis Wollenweber was yesterday arrested, charged with unlawfully carrying on the business of a retail liquor and tobacco dealer, and brought before the Commissioner.  Upon examination, he proved to the satisfaction of the court that he had not willfully violated the law, as he had been away from town and could not pay his special tax sooner for that reason.  He was accordingly discharged."[9]

This might be a different case altogether, as the article mentions the case happened the previous day. However, the reporter could have gotten the dates mixed up.

Louis Wollenweber was on a list of bankrupts in Kentucky in the 25 July 1868 newspaper.[10] This is something to investigate further. He put an ad in the paper on 12 January 1868 to sell the Wollenweber’s Wine House at an auction on the 18th of January. He included the fixtures, household, and kitchen furniture. The house and lease could be sold separately.[11]

He later owned another restaurant and saloon on Spring Street and sold it to A. A. Fouts in August of 1872.[12] Perhaps he was not feeling well, as he died on 16 May 1873.[13]

Conclusion
I still have more court research to do. The records are locked from home, so they must be viewed at the FamilySearch Center. Now, I have found the list of bankruptcies, I need to investigate that further, too.

#52Ancestors-Week 33: Legal Troubles

This is my eighth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

---

[1] Richard Swainson Fisher, Colton's General Atlas, Containing One Hundred And Eighty Steel Plate Maps And Plans, On One Hundred And Eight Imperial Folio Sheets, Drawn By G. Woolworth Colton. Letter-Press Descriptions, Geographical, Statistical, And Historical, (New York: J.H. Colton, 1865), No. 51, “City of Louisville,” imaged, David Rumsey Map Collection (https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~208674~5003428:Louisville,-Kentucky--New-Orleans,- : accessed 14 Aug 2025).

[2] “Meetings,” The Louisville Courier Journal, 6 Feb 1868, p. 2, col. 7.

[3] “Wollenweber’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters,” ad, The Louisville Daily Courier, 15 Jan 1858, p. 2.

[4] “United States Patent Office, patent no. 132,424, Improvement in Medical compounds, Louis W. Wollenweber, imaged, Google Patents (https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/d6/cd/30/2f5f49c2d97abb/US132424.pdf).

[5] Louisville, Kentucky, City Court, v. 50, p. 157, Commonwealth vs. A.O. Baker & Louis Wollenweber.

[6] Louisville, Kentucky, City Court, v. 50, p. 158, Commonwealth vs. Wm Smith & Louis Wollenweber.

[7] “Monthly Docket,” The Louisville Daily Democrat, 10 Oct 1867, p. 2, col. 2.

[8] Louisville, Kentucky, Police Court, v. 53, p. 447, Commonwealth vs. L. W. Wollenweber.

[9] “Court Matters: Commissioners’ Court,” The Louisville Daily Journal, 27 Oct 1868, p. 4.

[10] “Bankrupts in Kentucky: Full and Complete List a Valuable Document,” Louisville Daily Courier, 25 July 1868, p 1.

[11] “Auction Sale,” Daily Courier, 12 Jan 1868, p. 3.

[12] “Sale of Wollenweber’s Restaurant and Saloon,” Jeffersonville National Democrat, 15 Aug 1872, p. 4.

[13] “From the Evening News: Friday,” The National Democrat, 22 May 1873, p. 5, col. 2

Copyright © 2011-2025 by Lisa S. Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.