Martin Behrman
Martin Behrman, an American Democratic politician, was the longest-serving mayor in New Orleans history. Behrman was born in New York City, he was ethnically Jewish, but "knew little about his faith." His parents brought him to New Orleans as an infant. He lived most of his life on the west bank of the Mississippi River; as a young man he became affiliated with the Regular Democratic Organization, a powerful political faction in New Orleans, during the 1888 campaign of Francis T. Nicholls for governor of Louisiana. Behrman served as a delegate to the Louisiana state constitutional convention in 1898. Behrman served as mayor for just under 17 years, first from 1904 to 1920. After four consecutive terms he was defeated by reform candidate Andrew J. McShane. Behrman ran again in 1925 and won, serving from 1925 to 1926, he died in New Orleans less than a year into his fifth term. Behrman, Martin. Martin Behrman of New Orleans: memoirs of a city boss. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. LCCN 77006781.
Kendall, John Smith. "Chapter XXXV, Sixteen Years of Martin Behrman". History of New Orleans. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company. LCCN 22022725. Reynolds, George M.. Machine politics in New Orleans, 1897-1926: Studies in history and public law, no. 421. New York: AMS Press. LCCN 37016676. "You can make it illegal, but you can't make it unpopular". Behrman Avenue, New Orleans Behrman Highway, New Orleans Behrman Memorial Park, including Behrman Gym & Stadium, 2529 General Meyer Avenue, New Orleans Behrman neighborhood in Algiers Martin Behrman Avenue, Louisiana Martin Behrman Walk, Louisiana Martin Behrman Senior High School, whose faculty included State Senator Olaf Fink known as Martin Behrman Middle School Martin Behrman Elementary School, Martin Behrman Charter School.
Nicholas Girod
Nicolas Girod or Nicholas Girod was the fifth mayor of New Orleans, from late in 1812 to September 4, 1815. Born in Cluses, he presided over the then-Francophone city during the 1814-15 British invasion. Nicolas Girod was the mayor of New Orleans from 1812-1815. Born in French Savoy, he migrated to Spanish Louisiana in the late 1770s with brother Claude François [1752-1813) and brother-in-law Andre Quetand and was joined by brother Jean François, he prospered as a commission merchant and owner of extensive property in New Orleans in the American quarter. The war of 1812 limited his hopes for material growth of the city, he resigned office September 1815 to salvage his waning personal finances. He never had no children. Nicolas Girod was in a predominantly Catholic city, he was the first regularly-elected mayor of New Orleans after Louisiana's admission to the Union. He was elected on September 21, 1812. Girod took office on November 5 of that year and served until September 4, 1814. Girod was a member of a prominent family who owned considerable interests in shipping and mercantile enterprises.
He was one of three brothers with brother-in-law Andre Quetand who conducted commercial enterprises with area planters in what was known as the commission or factorage business. The Girods kept a wholesale and retail store in the vicinity of the levee landing, which in years was transferred to the building at the corner of Chartres and St. Louis streets, he owned a large number of properties in the area of today's Central Business District, in the vicinity of Girod Street. New Orleans was full of excitement in the spring of 1821 when Girod remodeled and furnished the house on Chartres Street, that he inherited from Cluade Francois Girod, in readiness for Napoleon Bonaparte; the ship Seraphine was being outfitted for a secret voyage by Commander Bossier and Dominique You, Nicolas Girod was one of the sponsors of the plan to rescue Napoleon from his exile in Saint Helena. A residence was established for Napoleon at Chartres and St Louis streets by Nicholas Girod, the ship "Seraphine" was built and equipped with the object of rescuing Napoleon from St. Helena.
Under command of Capt. Bossier and Dominique You, the expedition set sail with this purpose, but returned when signalled by a French merchantman that Napoleon had died May 5, 1821. Girod was quite a philanthropist. Among other provisions in his 1837 holographic will, he left a bon of $100,000 to be applied to the construction of a facility in Orleans Parish for the housing and care of Louisiana's French orphans. Other institutions and individuals were recipients under this will, including Charity Hospital, $30,000. Nicolas Girod died on September 1, 1840, at his home located on the corner of Chartres and St. Louis streets, his former residence in the French Quarter is now known as the Napoleon House. Both New Orleans and Mandeville, have a Girod Street, named in Nicolas Girod's honor. Battle of New Orleans Napoleon House Girod Street Cemetery Girod administration at New Orleans Public Library website, transcription from a 1940 WPA compilation Nicolas Girod at Find a Grave
Edward Pilsbury
Edward Pilsbury was the 38th mayor of New Orleans. Administrations of the Mayors of New Orleans - Edward Pilsbury, New Orleans Public Library
New Orleans
New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of the U. S. state of Louisiana. With an estimated population of 393,292 in 2017, it is the most populous city in Louisiana. A major port, New Orleans is considered an economic and commercial hub for the broader Gulf Coast region of the United States. New Orleans is world-renowned for its distinct music, Creole cuisine, unique dialect, its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras; the historic heart of the city is the French Quarter, known for its French and Spanish Creole architecture and vibrant nightlife along Bourbon Street. The city has been described as the "most unique" in the United States, owing in large part to its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. Founded in 1718 by French colonists, New Orleans was once the territorial capital of French Louisiana before being traded to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. New Orleans in 1840 was the third-most populous city in the United States, it was the largest city in the American South from the Antebellum era until after World War II.
The city's location and flat elevation have made it vulnerable to flooding. State and federal authorities have installed a complex system of levees and drainage pumps in an effort to protect the city. New Orleans was affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which resulted in flooding more than 80% of the city, thousands of deaths, so much displacement because of damaged communities and lost housing as to cause a population decline of over 50%. Since Katrina, major redevelopment efforts have led to a rebound in the city's population. Concerns about gentrification, new residents buying property in closely knit communities, displacement of longtime residents have been expressed; the city and Orleans Parish are coterminous. As of 2017, Orleans Parish is the third most-populous parish in Louisiana, behind East Baton Rouge Parish and neighboring Jefferson Parish; the city and parish are bounded by St. Tammany Parish and Lake Pontchartrain to the north, St. Bernard Parish and Lake Borgne to the east, Plaquemines Parish to the south, Jefferson Parish to the south and west.
The city anchors the larger New Orleans metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 1,275,762 in 2017. It is the most populous metropolitan area in Louisiana and the 46th-most populated MSA in the United States; the city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723. It has many illustrative nicknames: Crescent City alludes to the course of the Lower Mississippi River around and through the city; the Big Easy was a reference by musicians in the early 20th century to the relative ease of finding work there. It may have originated in the Prohibition era, when the city was considered one big speakeasy due to the government's inability to control alcohol sales, in open violation of the 18th Amendment; the City that Care Forgot has been used since at least 1938, refers to the outwardly easy-going, carefree nature of the residents. La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded in the Spring of 1718 by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha.
It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time. His title came from the French city of Orléans; the French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris, following France's defeat by Great Britain in the Seven Years' War. During the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Beginning in the 1760s, Filipinos began to settle around New Orleans. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez launched a southern campaign against the British from the city in 1779. Nueva Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted to French rule. Nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré dates from the Spanish period, notably excepting the Old Ursuline Convent. Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Thereafter, the city grew with influxes of Americans, French and Africans.
Immigrants were Irish, Germans and Italians. Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on nearby large plantations. Thousands of refugees from the 1804 Haitian Revolution, both whites and free people of color, arrived in New Orleans. While Governor Claiborne and other officials wanted to keep out additional free black people, the French Creoles wanted to increase the French-speaking population; as more refugees were allowed into the Territory of Orleans, Haitian émigrés who had first gone to Cuba arrived. Many of the white Francophones had been deported by officials in Cuba in retaliation for Bonapartist schemes. Nearly 90 percent of these immigrants settled in New Orleans; the 1809 migration brought 2,731 whites, 3,102 free people of color, 3,226 slaves of African descent, doubling the city's population. The city became a greater proportion than Charleston, South Carolina's 53 percent. During the final campaign of the War of 1812, the British sent a force of 11,000 in a
John T. Monroe
John T. Monroe was an American politician who served as the 19th and 32nd Mayor of New Orleans in 1860–1862 and 1866–1867, he was born in Missouri the son of Daniel Munro. Monroe went to New Orleans in 1837, working as a stevedore, soon becoming a prominent labor leader. In 1858 he was elected Board of Assistant Aldermen; the 1860 campaign for mayor attracted little notice in New Orleans, as all attention was on the Presidential contest. There were three candidates. Monroe, the nominee of the Native American Party, represented the current administration. Grailhe, an independent, was the anti-administration candidate, who he held responsible for the poor condition of the city; the newspapers of the time were filled with complaints about the stagnant gutters, the weeds that grew along the streets, the air of general neglect. However, Monroe was elected with 37,027 votes. Grailhe received a much smaller number, Place hardly any. There is a story about the Civil War that the white leadership of New Orleans was captured, but never surrendered.
This is a letter written by William Preston Johnston:"The capture of New Orleans in April 1862 by Captain David Farragut and General Benjamin Butler brought the name of mayor Monroe before the whole country and the people of the confederate States and the United States. It soon spread to British journalism and into British Parliament."At the approach of the federal fleet, on the morning of April 25, Mayor Monroe, determined to hoist the flag of the State of Louisiana over the City Hall. At his request, his private secretary, Mr. Marion A. Baker, descended to the roof of the building and prepared to execute the mayor’s orders, with the instructions to await the issue of the possible conflict at Chalmette. "When he heard that the defenses had failed Monroe ordered. "Forthwith, two officers of the United States Navy presented Farragut's formal demand for the city's surrender and to lower their flag. Monroe stated that be had no authority to surrender the city and that General Mansfield Lovell was the proper official to receive and to reply to that demand.
He refused to lower the flag. "Monroe sent for Lovell and while awaiting his arrival, conversation went on. Captain Bailey expressed regret at the wanton destruction of property, which he had witnessed and which he regarded as a most unfortunate mistake. To this, Monroe replied that the property was the Confederates' own and that they had a right to do as they pleased with it, that it was done as a patriotic duty. "Subsequently, Lovell refused to surrender the city or his forces and stated that he would retire with his troops and leave the decision to the civil authorities. The question of surrender being thus referred back to him, Monroe said he would submit the matter to the Council and that a formal reply would be sent as soon as their advice could be obtained; the Federal officers withdrew, with an escort furnished by Lovell. "Monroe sent a message to the Council. As civil magistrate, he held that he was incompetent to the performance of a military act.'We yield to physical force alone,' said the Mayor,'and maintain our allegiance to the Government of the Confederate States.
Beyond a due respect for our dignity, our rights and the flag of our country, does not, I think permit us to go.' "The Council, unwilling to act hastily listened to the reading of this message and adjourned until 10:00 A. M. the next day. That evening, Monroe asked Baker and Police Chief McClelland, to go to the USS Hartford as early as possible the next morning and explain to Farragut that the Council would meet that morning and a written answer to his demand would be sent as soon as possible after the meeting. "The Council listened to a second reading of the Mayor's message. Both the Council and the population of the city concurred in the sentiments expressed by Monroe and urged that he be act in the spirit manifested in his message. Anticipating such a result, a letter had been prepared, reiterating the determination neither to lower the State flag nor to raise the United States flag; the Mayor’s secretary read this letter to the assembled Council and from expressions by some of the members, it seemed to be satisfactory, but shortly after Mr. Baker left, a message was brought to Mayor Monroe, asking his presence in the Council Chamber.
"The object of this summons was to obtain his consent to the substitution of a letter written by Soulé and read by one of the members of the Council. Relations between the Mayor and the Council had not been of a most harmonious character and wishing to conciliate them at this unfortunate time, Monroe acceded to their wishes. "Before a copy of this letter could be made and sent to Farragut, two officers, Lieutenant Albert Kautz and Midshipman John H. Read were at the City Hall with a written demand for the'unqualified surrender of the city, the raising of the United States flag over the Mint, Custom-house and City Hall, by noon that day, April 26 and the removal of all other emblems but that of the United States, from all public buildings.' Monroe acknowledged receipt of this last communication and promised a reply before two o'clock, if possible. In the meantime a large and excited crowd had gathered outside the City Hall. Monroe, fearing for the safety of the two Federal officers, had had the heavy doors of the City Hall closed and ordered a carriage to be stationed at the corner of Carondelet and Lafayette streets.
Escorted by two special officers and Baker, the federal officers were conducted to a rear entrance and to the waiting carriage, while Monroe occupied the crowd in the front. As the carriage drove away, so
William J. Behan
William J. Behan was an American Confederate veteran and politician, he served as the 41st mayor of New Orleans. Behan was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on September 25, 1840 to his parents, father John Holland Behan and mother Katherine Behan, he was the eldest of three boys, William J. Frank, Isaac D. With deep family ties to the City, Behan was destined from a young age to live out his days in the area. William attended the Western Military Institute in Tennessee. Behan became Captain of the Mistick Krewe of Comus. Behan joined the Washington Artillery of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War of 1861-1865, he held, at the time, the notoriety of being the youngest officer under that section of General Robert E. Lee's forces, he became a major in the CSA. After the war, Behan headed the implementation of the Crescent City White League; this paramilitary group consisted of Confederate veterans who sought to keep Republicans from taking office. It was described by many to be the "Military arm of the Democratic Party.
Behan's involvement in the formation of this led to his nomination from the Democratic Party for the Mayor of New Orleans. He won in, he became the first Mayor in the new city charter, constructed in the post-war process. In 1884, after two years in office, Behan lost his incumbent position in what is considered to be an travesty to the Democratic selection; the popular vote in the election was thrown out and was deemed inconclusive, the decision was made by a "Ring" of influential politicians. He was ousted by fellow Democrat J. Valsin Guillotte. Outraged by this decision, Behan joined the Republican Party. Behan was defeated in his third attempt at Mayor in 1904, stated that he would never strive to be Mayor of New Orleans for the rest of his life. After leaving politics, Behan found riches as a manufacturer of Sugar, he was a partner in the Zuberbeir and Behan groceries company. Behan died May 4, 1928 on Jackson Avenue at his home in New Orleans
Godfrey Weitzel
Godfrey Weitzel was a German-American major general in the Union army during the American Civil War. He was the acting Mayor of New Orleans during the Union occupation of the city and captured and occupied the Confederate capitol, Virginia. Weitzel is known for his post-war accomplishments with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers in designing and constructing internal improvements along the Ohio River and the Great Lakes region. Gottfreid Weitzel was born in Winzeln, near Pirmasens in the Palatinate, once part of Lorraine but which had returned to German control in 1806, was part of the Kingdom of Bavaria, his father Ludwig, had served in the German military, wanted to emigrate to America like his brother Wilhelm, in search of a better life. When his wife, the former Susanna Krummel, became pregnant with what turned out to be a second son, the family immigrated to the United States, they settled in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1837, where Ludwig changed his name to Lewis and his two-year-old son's to Godfrey to avoid prejudice against German immigrants, or to Americanize the family.
Lewis Weitzel operated a grocery store in the Tenth Ward, which included the "Over the Rhine" neighborhood with many Germanic immigrants, became involved in Democratic party politics. In 1853, Lewis Weitzel became a city commissioner and served on the local school board, whose chairman was lawyer and former U. S. Congressman Bellamy Storer. Educated with his younger brother in the city schools, Godfrey finished at the top of his class. Storer offered to pay for the boy's college tuition, but with the help of publisher Heinrich Roedter contacted congressman David Tiernan Disney and managed to secure an appointment to the United States Military Academy, although the process started when Godfrey was just 14 and the tall youth arrived in West Point, New York months after his 15th birthday. There, Godfrey was nicknamed "Dutch" and continued to excel academically, demonstrating proficiency in mathematics and engineering, his roommates included Cyrus Comstock, Francis Redding Tillou Nicholls of Donaldsonville, Louisiana.
When Weitzel was a sophomore, Captain Henry Brewerton was replaced as superintendent by Colonel Robert E. Lee, who took an interest in the top student, but was reassigned himself in March 1855, shortly before Weitzel's class graduated. Nonetheless, Weitzel graduated 2nd out of 34 cadets in the Class of 1855. Second Lieutenant Weitzel's first assignment was helping improve the defenses of New Orleans under Major P. G. T. Beauregard, who had graduated second in his class, his work on Fort Jackson, Fort St. Philip and the Customs house earned the respect of Major Beauregard and Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, so Weitzel was promoted to First Lieutenant. Knowledge of those defenses would prove crucial in his career. In 1859, Weitzel returned to West Point as Assistant Professor of Civil and Military Engineering, working under professor Dennis Mahan. During home leave in 1858, he had become engaged to Louisa C. Moor of Cincinnati, they married at Cincinnati's German Lutheran Church on November 3, 1859.
However, three weeks her skirts caught fire as she prepared Thanksgiving dinner, despite Godfrey's efforts to douse them, she suffered severe burns and died within hours. Weitzel accompanied her body to Cincinnati; the grief-stricken widower was granted eight months leave, including permission to travel to Germany. While remaining close to the Moor family Weitzel became engaged on another furlough home. On January 6, 1865, he married Louise Bogen, daughter of Peter Bogen, a prominent pork-packer and grower of Catawba grapes for winemaking, they would have only one of whom survived infancy. Their first child was a stillborn son named Godfrey Weitzel, delivered on September 26, 1865, their second child, Blanche Celeste Weitzel, was born on February 16, 1868, but contracted measles and died on April 5. Their third child, Irene Weitzel, born on April 11, 1876, left descendants. Weitzel was promoted to first lieutenant of engineers in 1860. In 1861, he was reassigned to Washington, D. C. in the Corps of Engineers.
His company served as the bodyguard during the inauguration of U. S. President Abraham Lincoln; when the American Civil War began, Weitzel was assigned to construct defenses, including in Cincinnati and Washington, as well as for George McClellan in the Army of the Potomac in late 1861. He was attached to the staff of Major General Benjamin F. Butler as chief engineer of the Department of the Gulf; when Union troops captured New Orleans, Weitzel became assistant military commander and acting mayor. He was promoted to brigadier general in August 1862 and two months routed a large force of the enemy at Labadieville, which earned him a brevet promotion to major in the Regular Army. Weitzel commanded a brigade in the XIX Corps advancing in Major General Nathaniel P. Banks's operations in western Louisiana during April and May 1863, which led to the siege of Port Hudson. Weitzel was brevetted lieutenant colonel in the Regular Army, "for gallant and meritorious services at the siege of Port Hudson," which fell on July 9, 1863, days after Vicksburg, about 120 miles upriver, the last Confederate stronghold on the great Mississippi, had fallen.
Together those successful sieges and the continuing blockage of Southern ports completed the Anaconda Plan. Be
