Newspapers in New Orleans and other cities carried breathless accounts of Rebecca Kruttschnitt’s (1889-1975) wedding in 1911 to English suitor Henry C. Woodhouse. The reports focused on the glorious venue, the glamorous dresses the bride and maids wore, and the bountiful flowers that adorned the scene. They missed the most exciting event. “The wedding reception,” […]
The Judah P. Benjamin Files: The Treacherous Touch-the-Wig Tour
My self-appointed mission: To drive all the way to New Orleans for a special viewing of clothes belonging to my third grand uncle Judah P. Benjamin. With any luck, the Touch the Wig tour would end with a precious co-mingling of DNA so that genealogists would know I’d made the vital connection many years from […]
Academic Rips Apart Mardi Gras Queen Alma Kruttschnitt’s Dress
She never married. She never had children. She lived most of her adult life in homes owned by her brothers or sisters. Yet Alma Kruttschnitt (1863-1942) had one important claim to fame: She was Queen of the Mardi Gras in 1896, at the age of 32. Now, 100 years later, an academic comes around and spoils Alma’s party, ripping apart […]
Peninah Benjamin Kruttschnitt Died in a Big House in the Garden District
Peninah Benjamin Kruttschnitt died on April 18, 1903, at her son Ernest’s home, according to her obituary in the Times Picayune. Remarkably, the stately residence at 1423 First Street is still standing, and it’s in very good condition. In fact, the eclectic house, with its Classical columns and Palladian windows, is one of the most beautiful […]
Johannes Kruttschnitt Was a 19th-Century Renaissance Man
Born in Brenz, Germany, Johannes Kruttschnitt came to this country in 1837, seeking (what else?) fame and fortune. He achieved both. A successful merchant, a published scientist, a civic leader, and the father of highly accomplished children, Kruttschnitt rose to become one the best-known, most-respected men in New Orleans in the late 19th Century. “Despite his modesty and self-seclusion, few […]