Werlein, Philip, Sr.

Submitted by Mike Miller

Werlein, Philip, Sr., prominent business man and active church worker, was born at Vicksburg, Miss., Feb. 22, 1847; son of Philip P. and Margaret (Halsey) Werlein, the former of whom was a native of Germany, and the latter of Long Island, New York. By ancestry through his mother, who was the daughter of Shepard Halsey and Jerusha Conklin, Philip Werlein is a lineal descendant of both these families, several of the earlier members of which participated in the Revolutionary war. The grandfather, Thomas Halsey, landed at Lynn, Mass., in 1647. The father of the subject of this sketch is elsewhere referred to in this work. Philip Werlein, in this sketch designated as ''senior," was a little over 13 years of age at the beginning of the Civil war, but before the close of hostilities he became identified with the operations of the war department of the Confederacy. He did service at Shreveport in the tax bureau office under the Hon. Robert M. Lusher, and remained in service until after the surrender, when he returned to New Orleans and some time later reëstablished the piano and musical merchandise business previously inaugurated by his father, Philip P. Werlein. He affiliated with the democratic party and took an active part in the historic operations of the ''White League'' at New Orleans. In the course of his education he attended the public schools of New Orleans, where he graduated from the Boys' high school, and later from Louisiana State university. Aside from becoming a prominent business man, Philip Werlein, Sr., was also a devout Christian and active worker in the church and in the Young Men's Christian association. He actively identified himself with every movement that tended toward the betterment of the city or the uplift and advancement of the community or individual members thereof. He believed thoroughly in the reformatory power of the Christian religion, and was always to do his full part in any religious or civic work that was really good and meritorious. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. Jan. 9, 1877, Philip Werlein, Sr., was married to Miss Betty Frances Parham, daughter of John Greenway and Mary Elminor (Blunt) Parham, of New Orleans. Six children, as follows, were born to their union: Philip, Jr., now executive head of the Philip Werlein, limited, music business at New Orleans; Mary, who died in infancy; Ethel May, now Mrs. P. S. Felder, of New Orleans; Betty Parham, now Mrs. W. E. Huger, of Houston, Tex.; Miss Fred. Parham and John Parham, now actively connected with Philip Werlein, Ltd.

Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form (volume 3), pp. 460-461. Edited by Alcée Fortier, Lit.D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association.