Werlein, Philip Peter

Submitted by Mike Miller

Werlein, Philip Peter, educator and later founder of the Werlein music business at New Orleans, was born at Rheinkreiss, Germany, March 30, 1812. The living descendants of Philip Peter Werlein know very little of the family from which their paternal ancestor sprang. However, it is known that his father was a well-known teacher in Germany, and that the son came to America while yet a young man, and in the succeeding years by his own industry and native endowments overcame many discouragements and difficulties and ultimately attained a position of importance and prominence in the South. Though born in Germany, he was an ardent admirer of the United States and became thoroughly identified with the people among whom he lived. As early as the '40s he chose Mississippi as his home state and established a business at Vicksburg, later also at Natchez, and finally he organized and successfully conducted a female academy at Clinton, Hinds county, Miss. From the latter place he removed, in 1853, to the city of New Orleans, and there founded the Werlein music business, of which his grandson, Philip Werlein, is at this time chief. During the Civil war his sympathies were entirely with the South, and while beyond the limit for active field service, he became a member of the New Orleans home guard, and in this capacity rendered service throughout the years of the war. He was affiliated with the democratic party and a member of the Independent Order Odd Fellows. In 1846 Philip Peter Werlein was married to Miss Margaret Halsey, a daughter of Shepard and Jerusha (Conklin) Halsey, of New York. To their union 4 children were born, these being, in order of their birth: Philip Werlein, Feb. 22, 1847; Lilla, 1849; Shepard Halsey, 1851; Mary, 1853. The first-born is elsewhere referred to in this work as Philip Werlein, Sr., and his son, the present head of the Werlein music business, as Philip Werlein, Jr.

Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), p. 461. Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association.