Stories by author "Mary Ann Wegmann": 24
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Battle of New Orleans: Old Ursuline Convent
Almost 300 years ago, in 1727, the Ursuline nuns arrived in New Orleans at the invitation of Governor Bienville. While awaiting the completion of their convent in 1734, the Ursuline nuns established…
The Final Will of Presiding Judge Francois-Xavier Martin
In June 1847, the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the olographic, or hand written, will of its deceased member Presiding Judge Francois-Xavier Martin, who served on the Court for 31 years until March…
The Presbytère: Home of the Louisiana Supreme Court, 1822-1853
The Presbytère, originally named the Casa Curial (Ecclesiastical House), was designed to be the presbytery, or residence, of the priests serving St. Louis Cathedral next door. Located at 751 Chartres…
Batture Cases
The Louisiana Supreme Court decided one of the famous “Batture Cases” while located in the Government House. In Morgan v. Livingston, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that the owner of “rural” land…
Government House: First Louisiana Supreme Court Location, 1813-1818
Government House, where the Louisiana Supreme Court met for approximately five years from March 1, 1813 until 1818, was located on the northeast corner of Levee (now Decatur) and Toulouse…
Former Home the Morphys: a Louisiana Supreme Court Judge and his World Chess Champion Son
Directly across the street from the Louisiana Supreme Court building is 417 Royal Street, best known as the former home of Brennan’s Restaurant. In the mid-1800s, this building was the residence of…
The Myra Clark Gaines Cases: “The Most Remarkable in the Records of its Courts”
While located in the Cabildo, the Louisiana Supreme Court decided several cases in the Myra Clark Gaines litigation. Lasting for more than fifty years, the Myra Clark Gaines litigation is known as the…
Former Home of Judge Francois-Xavier Martin
Judge Francois-Xavier Martin, a Louisiana Supreme Court judge for thirty-one years, from 1815 until his death in 1846, first acquired 915 Royal Street in 1818 for $7,500. At that time, a two-story…
From Fort St. Charles to the U.S. Mint
The United States Mint was once the site of Fort St. Charles, one of the defenses built in 1792 during the Spanish period. Fort St. Charles was the largest of five fortifications surrounding the city.…
The Cabildo: Home of the Louisiana Supreme Court, 1853-1910
Regarded as Louisiana’s most important historical building, the Cabildo is located at 701 Chartres Street, the corner of Chartres and St. Peter Streets. Viewed from Jackson Square across Chartres…
Jackson Square during the Battle of New Orleans
Formerly the Place d'Armes around which New Orleans was built, Jackson Square, a National Historical Landmark, is the most prominent location in the “Vieux Carre” or Old Quarter.
On December 18,…
The Old Federal Courthouse: Present Day Andrew Jackson Hotel
The Andrew Jackson French Quarter Hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located at 919 Royal Street, the former site of the old United States courthouse where Major General…
Maspero's Coffee House and the Battle of New Orleans
Maspero’s Exchange, also known as Maspero’s Coffee House and now called the “Original Pierre Maspero’s,” is located at 440 Chartres Street, on the corner of St. Louis and Chartres Streets, nearest the…
Old Absinthe House and the Battle of New Orleans
The Old Absinthe House, a stucco building at the corner of Bourbon and Bienville Streets, is one of the oldest structures in New Orleans, dating to approximately 1806.
In the nineteenth century,…
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop and the Battle of New Orleans
For many years, a bar called “Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop” has occupied this building at the corner of Bourbon Street and St. Philip Street. Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1970, Lafitte’s…
Reviving the Vieux Carre: Home of the Louisiana Supreme Court, 1910-1958 & 2004-present
The Louisiana State Legislature established the Courthouse Commission in 1902 in response to the persistent need for a new courthouse for the Louisiana Supreme Court and the New Orleans Civil District…
Battle of New Orleans: Pirate's Alley, The Arsenal, Creole House & Jackson House
Walking out of Jackson Square toward St. Louis Cathedral, Pirate’s Alley appears on the left, between the Cathedral and the Cabildo. Formerly known as “Orleans Alley,” the passage is one block long,…
Battle of New Orleans: St. Louis Cathedral
Facing Jackson Square and the Mississippi River, the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, is the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States. With its three steeples,…
Battle of New Orleans: Introduction
Almost 200 years ago, on January 8, 1815, Major General Andrew Jackson and his outnumbered American defenders overwhelmed veteran British troops at the Battle of New Orleans. The battle took place…
Joseph Tom v. The Slave Ernest
Could an enslaved child be seized and sold to pay for the expenses of raising him? No, the Louisiana Supreme Court (onced housed in Carrollton Courthouse) ruled in 1860, in a case originally decided…
Carrollton Courthouse
The Carrollton Court House, built more than 150 years ago, has a fascinating legal history. Carrollton was incorporated as a city on March 10, 1845. In 1852, the neighboring town of Lafayette,…
Dying Declaration of a Ten-Year-Old Carrollton Girl
Could the dying declaration of a 10-Year-old girl be admitted as evidence in a trial for murder? Yes, held the Louisiana Supreme Court, affirming the Jefferson Parish Second Judicial District Court…
Election Intimidation in Carrollton 1858
Was an election for Mayor of Carrollton upheld even though voters were threatened and intimidated from voting? Yes, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in 1858, reversing District Judge Victor…
Plessy v. Ferguson
On June 7, 1892, a 30-year-old African-American man named Homer Plessy attempted to board a segregated East Louisiana Railroad passenger train car at Press and Royal Streets in New Orleans.…