Waguespack, Wilhelm John

Submitted by Mike Miller

Waguespack, Wilhelm John, successful New Orleans attorney, was born in St. James parish, La., June 24, 1862; son of Felicien and Rosella (Faucheux) Waguespack, both of whom were born in Louisiana, the father in St. James, and mother in St. John the Baptist parish. The grandfather, Joseph Waguespack, was a son of Jean Louis Waguespack, both born in St. Charles parish, and a great-grandson of Joseph Waguespack, born in Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire, who came to America in 1720, the family name, of course, being German. The birthplace of the maternal grandfather, Pierre Faucheux, was the same as that of his daughter Rosetta, his family having come over from France at about the same time the Waguespack family came from Germany. Felicien Waguespack has long been regarded as one of the most successful sugar planters of St. James parish, where he still resides, aged 73 years at this writing, esteemed as one of the state's substantial and useful citizens, who was an ardent supporter of the cause of the Confederacy in the dark hours of its need. He was one among the very first to respond to the call at the beginning of the war between the states, enlisted and went to the front as a member of Crescent City regiment, volunteers, serving with gallantry to the end of that memorable struggle. Wilhelm John Waguespack was reared at the family home on the St. James parish plantation, and after finishing the prescribed course at Jefferson college entered Georgetown university at Washington, D. C., from which institution he graduated with the degree of A. B., in 1882. Following this, he came to New Orleans and entered upon the study of law in the office of the late Edward D. White, chief justice of the United States supreme court and in 1884 graduated from Tulane university with the degree of LL. B., immediately thereafter beginning the practice of law in the city of New Orleans, his clientele soon extending to adjoining parishes and throughout the state. In 1908 he was induced to accept the office of assistant U. S. district attorney for the eastern district of Louisiana and served in that capacity with conspicuous ability, but the growing demand for his advice became such as to cause him to resign the office in 1911 that he might give his undivided attention to the interests of his clients. In national and state politics, Mr. Waguespack aligns himself with the Progressive element of the republican party, and he was his party's candidate for the office of attorney general of the state in the campaign of 1908, but he has sought no other elective office and his political activities have been chiefly limited to the obligations of citizenship. In faith he is a Catholic. On Jan. 9, 1889, Mr. Waguespack was married to Miss Felicie M. Poche, daughter of the late Felix P. Poche, distinguished associate justice of the Louisiana supreme court. They have 6 living children, the family home being at 1717 Peters avenue, New Orleans.

Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), p. 449. Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association.