Wendt, John H.

Submitted by Mike Miller

John H. Wendt. If it be true that no commercial or manufacturing enterprise of magnitude can be successfully carried on without the aid of adequate capital, no matter how lavishly it may be furnished, it is valueless unless controlled and directed in its application, by that knowledge acquired by long practical experiments. When the two elements are in combination with an active spirit of enterprise, success is the sure result, and of that kind which reproduces itself in an extended reputation. An interesting example of success in the conduct of an industrial enterprise is afforded in the history of the Orleans Manufacturing company of New Orleans; La., manufacturers of coffins and casket linings, robes, etc. It was commenced on a much smaller scale in 1885, and has steadily increased, until at the present time it is the largest enterprise of its kind anywhere south of the Ohio river, and the manufactory at new Orleans in complete in every detail, the equipment of machinery and trade appliances representing everything calculated to lessen cost and improve production. The work of this establishment will compare most favorably with that of other establishment, of like nature, and this is especially true of their burial robes, for in this line they have become famous. The company manufactures coffins in every variety of wood finish, their white goods being especially noticeable and beautiful in design, the output reaching upward of 100 daily, and a trade has been established that reaches through Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, and many shipments of burial robes are made to the Pacific coast. They expect soon to engage in the manufacture of cloth-covered casket, and enjoy every facility for turning out the belt description of work in their line. Strict attention is given to the details of their work and the immense productive capacity of the factory combined with their facilities for obtaining stock from the best sources of supply enables the company to offer the trade, both at home and abroad, inducements which their competitors can not duplicate. John H. Wendt, the secretary of the company, was born in New Orleans in 1854 a son of Henry and Anna Adelaide Wendt, the former of whom was born in Germany and came to the United States when a young man, working himself up in the commercial and business world to that of a manufacturer of smoking tobacco. The building in which the factory was still stands and is located at the corner of Caliope and Magazine streets, and this was where John H. Wendt was born. The father died about 1855, when about forty years of age, but his widow survives him at the age of seventy-five years and is still well preserved. John H. was educated by his mother in the city schools and after a time graduated at the Soule' Commercial college, paying his tuition through his own exertions. His first occupation was u a clerk in the stationery and fancy good house of W. E. Seebold, where he served faithfully for eight years, and upon leaving this establishment became a bookkeeper and salesman of A. H. Nelson, stationer, for a time, after which he went to Woodville, Miss., and became bookkeeper for L Gunst & Bro., after which he was with the extensive mercantile concern operated by Picard & Well, of Bayou Sara, La., as accountant. After the death of his first wife he returned to the city, became the bookkeeper for F. D. Becker, the wholesale grocer, and was next with the Property Holders' Insurance company, being its first secretary, which was fortunate in securing Mr. Wendt's services. He still retains an interest in the company, being one of its directors and a member of its finance committee. Soon after the organization of the Orleans Manufacturing company he became its secretary, and through his efforts and the efforts of his brother officers, the company do the largest business of the kind in the South. The office is at the works, corner of South Peters and Girod streets, the officers being: F. B. Johnson president; J. H. Wendt, secretary, and 0. J. West, manager. They are all enterprising and liberal men, and it is pleasant to know that they are successful and the demand for their goods steadily increasing. In promoting the industry of New Orleans through the manufacture of goods of uniform quality, the officers are entitled to the esteem in which they are held in the community. Mr. Wendt was married in 1884, to Miss Ida May Chisholm, of Woodville, Miss., and after her death he took for his second wife Mrs. A. T. Estel, daughter of a prominent old merchant of New Orleans, Mr. H. Pohlmann.

Biographical and Historical Memoires of Louisiana, (vol. 2), p. 502. Published by the Goodspeed Publishing Company, Chicago, 1892.