Wiltz, Louis Alfred, 1843-1881

<p>Louis Alfred Wiltz (January 21, 1843 – October 16, 1881) was an American politician from the state of Louisiana. He served as 29th Governor of Louisiana from 1880 to 1881 and before that time was mayor of New Orleans, lieutenant governor of Louisiana, and a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.</p>

<p>Wiltz was born on January 21, 1843 in New Orleans to J.B. Theophile Wiltz and the former Louise Irene Villanueva. His paternal family were among the first German settlers in Louisiana and his mother came from a noble Spanish family, her father coming to Louisiana with the Spanish Army. He attended public school until the age of 15, when he began work with Plauche and Company. After the company failed, Wiltz became the clerk for the Second District Court of Louisiana. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, Wiltz joined the Confederate States Army as a private but quickly rose to the rank of captain. In 1863, Wiltz married Miss Bienvinue of St. Martinville, the seat of St. Martin Parish. They had four daughters and one son.</p>

<p>In 1868, Wiltz was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives and the New Orleans School Board. In 1872, he was elected mayor but could not take office until January 1873 because of the refusal of the Republican mayor to vacate the office. In addition to serving two years as mayor, Wiltz was once again elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives and served as lieutenant governor. He was succeeded by E.D. Estilette.</p>

LOUIS A. WILTZ was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on January 21, 1843. His education was attained in the public schools of his native state. During the Civil War, he served as a private in the New Orleans Artillery, rising to the rank of captain. He later was captured, and then released in a prisoner exchange. Wiltz entered politics in 1868, serving as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, a position to which he was reelected in 1874. He also served as speaker of the house in 1875, was mayor of New Orleans from 1872 to 1874, and was the Louisiana lieutenant governor from 1877 to 1880. Wiltz won the 1879 Democratic gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by popular vote on December 2, 1879. He was sworn into office on January 13, 1880. During his tenure, bureaus of agriculture and immigration were created, public health programs were advanced, and railroad construction progressed. Also, a new constitution was ratified that changed legislative sessions from annual to biennial. While still in office, Governor Louis A. Wiltz, who suffered from tuberculosis, passed away on October 16, 1881. He was buried at the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, in New Orleans.

<p>Democrat Louis Wiltz served as governor of Louisiana from 1880 until his death in 1881, dying less than half way through his term. Before becoming governor he served as mayor of New Orleans, lieutenant governor of Louisiana, and a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.</p>

<p>Louis Alfred Wiltz was born in New Orleans’s Third District on January 12, 1843, the son of J. B. Theophile Wiltz and Louise Irene Villanueva Wiltz. After attending public and private schools in New Orleans, Wiltz began a career in the mercantile industry. When the Civil War (1861-1865) began Wiltz joined the Confederate Army, rising to the rank of captain in Company E of the Chalmette Regiment. By the time of Louisiana’s surrender, he commanded a post in Franklin. During the war, he married Marie Michaella Guerinière Bienvenu in 1862, with whom he had seven children.</p>

<p>After the war, Wiltz took an active role in the Democratic Party. In 1868, voters elected him to the Louisiana House of Representatives, where he rose to the rank of speaker. Four years later, he was elected mayor of New Orleans. As lieutenant governor in the Francis T. Nicholls administration, Wiltz served as president of the Constitutional Convention of 1879, during which Democrats struggled to regain power from the Radical Republicans.</p>