My Trails into the Past

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, previo...

Often, we do not know about a family member’s brush with the law until we find a notice about their arrest or report of a court case in the newspaper. Early newspapers are full of articles listing upcoming court cases and the results of court cases. One example in my husband’s line is the case of Ludwig Wilhelm “Louis W.” Wollenweber. He lived in Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana, which was just across the Ohio River from Louisville. [1] He owned a saloon at 90 Market Street in Louisville selling liquor and wines. [2] One way to be on the wrong side of the law with a saloon is to not pay for the business license. In May 1865, L.W. Wollenweber petitioned for a license for his tavern on Market Street between Third and Fourth Streets. [3] When a list of successful petitions for licenses was printed in the newspaper for taverns and groceries of the Western District, L. W. Wollenweber’s name was on the list. [4] So far, so good. Later, in June 1866, Louis appeared i...

Not all people who end up in court commit crimes and experience punishment. Here’s a short tale of my husband’s great-great-grandfather who lived either in Jeffersonville, Indiana, or Louisville, Kentucky, which was just across the Ohio River. Ludwig “Louis” Wollenweber, my husband’s 2x-great-grandfather, was a saloon owner in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1860s and 70s. In 1861, he appeared in the local city directory on four pages, where he was really covering his bases on his cliental: selling wines and liquors on 520 E. Market Street manufacturing bitters at n.s. Market between Jackson and Hancock sirup manufacturer at 520 E. Market and wines and liquors wholesales at 520 E. Market. [1] Four years later his saloon was at 90 Market near 3 rd and lived at the same address. [2] Running an establishment dealing with liquor or tobacco involved regulations. Licenses and special taxes had to be paid. It turns out that if one is late in paying, the court gets involved. This happen...

This is my third year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. I have many ancestors listed in my tree that go back pretty far that I could select one to be the oldest person in my tree. However, many of those “old” people were obtained not from my own research, but from trees in books or on websites. They have not been verified with my own research. Now to select someone that I have personally researched, I could select Matilda “Tillie” Wollenweber’s ancestors, whom I found in Pfalz and Württemburg. Matilda was born in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky on 27 Aug 1859 to Ludwig Wilhelm “Louis” Wollenweber and Philappina Margaretha Voehringer. [1] Both of her parents were not native born, but married in the U.S. Louis and Philappina married on 5 September 1858 in Louisvill...

I am working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow . I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails Into the Past . I’m looking forward to writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways. The first child born to Johan Adam Voehringer and Maria Agnes Reiff was named Philippine Margaretha Voehringer. She was born 18 February 1832 in Unterhausen, Schwarzwald, Württemberg. She lived just over one year, dying on 14 April 1833. [1] Their second child was also named Philippine Margaretha, born 28 May 1834. [2] She was the 3rd great-grandmother of my children and the oldest child who lived to adulthood. She was confirmed when the family was living in Bronnweiler. She then left for America, arriving on the SS Gebhard in New York on 1 September 1857. [3] It is not clear she traveled alone or with other known people. A year later she married Ludwig Wilhelm Wollenweber on 5 September 1858 in Louisvil...

A newspaper account of the marriage of Frederick H. Davey and Matilda Wollenweber was a bit surprising by the title, “More Trouble.” [1] There were two marriages listed under this title and Fred and Tillie’s was first. What was the trouble? ( Jeffersonville, Indiana) Evening News, 26 June 1878, p. 1, col. 1 A transcription in case you can't read the image: “Married, June 25, at the residence of the bride’s mother, on Prison Hill, by the Rev. Dr. Wm. H. Sheets, Mr. Fred Davey to Miss Tillie Wollenweber.” There is not much in this announcement. They were married the previous day. They were married at Tillie’s mother’s home on Prison Hill. They were married by Rev. Dr. Wm. H. Sheets. Each of these statements bring questions I want to answer: Is there a marriage record? Where is Prison Hill? Is it in Jeffersonville? Or is it in Louisville, across the Ohio River? Tillie’s mother was Philippina Wollenweber. Where was she living in 1878? Who was Rev. Sheets? Whic...

I am participating in the DearMyrtle study group called Tracing Immigrant Origins - Passenger Records Study Group. The 1860 census revealed more detail in the place of birth than more recent census records. Here is the census for my husband's family, Ludwig & Philapena Wollenweber in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. [1] 1860 Jefferson Co, Kentucky census, pop. sched., 2nd Ward Louisville, p 563-64, dwelling 1970, fam 3256, L.W. Wollenweber household,  Ancestry.com  (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 28 Jul 2010), citing U.S. National Archives and Records Administration M653, roll 375. What can be seen on this census for the place of birth are the actual countries. At this time, Germany is not yet a country by the name of Germany, but rather, many small countries and principalities, such as Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Saxony, and Hessen. I wondered about the instructions for the census enumerator and found the instructions for recording the place of birth...

Last week I wrote about finding Philippena’s Voehringer family through some newspaper research I had done using the Louisville Courier-Journal on ProQuest.com site. You can read about it here .   In that story, I found a newspaper article where May Agnes Haebe, Philippena’s sister, filed in court contesting the will. [1] What was so nice about the article was that Mary listed all of her living brother and sisters by name in the suit: “ her sisters, Mrs. Barbra Kilgus, Mrs. Rosina Noelling, Mrs. Philipine Woolenweaver, and her brother, Jacob Vohringer. ” Mary Agnes Haebe felt that her mother could not have written the will.   I had written that I should next search for Mary Agnes Voehinger’s will and saw that FamilySearch has Kentucky Probate records online. They are not indexed but are browsable. Luckily they are listed by county. In Jefferson County, there are only will records from 1784 to 1901. Since her will would have been filed sometime after her death in Dec 1898, ...