Henriques, Albert David

Submitted by Mike Miller

Henriques, Albert David, distinguished criminal lawyer and a prominent citizen of New Orleans, was born on the Island of St. Thomas, Jan. 26, 1842. His parents were Jacob and Rachael (Desola) Henriques. His father was a native of England and so was his paternal grandfather, but his paternal great-grandfather was born in Spain, and the name Henriques is of Spanish origin. The mother of Mr. Henriques was born on the Island of St. Thomas and was of Holland parentage. Mr. Henriques was sent to New Orleans to be educated in the year 1852. In 1854 his father removed to this city. In 1853, in order to escape the yellow fever then raging in New Orleans, he was sent to the city of New York where he attended a private school and later New York college. In 1856 he returned to New Orleans and became a law student in the office of Judge J. B. Cotton. In 1860 he graduated in the law from the University of Louisiana, and in March, 1861, he was admitted before the suprenie court of, Louisiana to practice law, but he did not then begin the practice of law, for the Civil war came on, and in April, 1861, he enlisted in the Confederate army as a private in Company A, New Orleans cadets, which was commanded by Capt. Charles D. Dreux. He served in the army for 4 years, 1 month and 1 day. During the first year, Mr. Henriques served in the infantry, and thereafter in the artillery, under Capt. Charles E. Fenner. During the trying days of the reconstruction period following the Civil war, Mr. Henriques was active in regaining control of affairs from the "carpet-baggers," and by reason of his connection with an organized company at that time he has since borne among those who know him the title of captain. Soon after the war, Capt. Henriques actively entered into the practice of law in New Orleans, and for a period of nearly a half-century he has been numbered among the leading lawyers of the New Orleans bar. For more than 20 years he has made a specialty of the criminal law, and during this period has been connected with many of the most important criminal cases in New Orleans and other parts of the state. He has won an enviable reputation as a criminal lawyer, being recognized as one of the ablest criminal lawyers of the South. Mr. Henriques has never sought political preferment, and aside from being for 4 years assistant district attorney and for 2 years attorney for the collector of in heritance taxes, he has held no political position. In politics he has always been an ardent Democrat, and he is a communicant of the Episcopal church. In 1868 Capt. Henriques and Margaretta Elodia Clark were united in marriage. Mrs. Henriques was born in New Orleans, and her father was the late James S. Clark, who came from Kentucky to New Orleans, where he became a merchant. He was a Confederate veteran and served with gallantry in the war of secession. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Henriques were born the following children: James C. Henriques, a lawyer; Nellie Frederica ; Albert D., a lawyer; Margaret B., and Joseph. The last named is deceased.

Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), pp. 199-200. Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association.