WHERE ARE THEY NOW ?
Howard , Weil , Labouisse , Friedrichs & Co .
Founded in New Orleans in 1950
By Susie J . Pak
The story of Howard , Weil , Labouisse , Friedrichs & Co . begins with the family of Jean Pierre Labouisse , the son a French immigrant and a cotton merchant in New Orleans . Labouisse ’ s wife , Theodora Maria Smith , came from a prominent Revolutionary-era American family . Her paternal grandfather , Samuel Stanhope Smith , had been president of Princeton College . Her paternal grandmother , Ann Witherspoon , was the daughter of John Witherspoon , who had also been a president of Princeton College and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence . Her mother , the former Sarah Henrietta Livingston Duer , was a descendant of William Alexander , a general in the Revolutionary War .
Jean Pierre and Theodora ’ s son , John Witherspoon Labouisse , was one of the founders of a partnership that eventually became Howard , Weil , Labouisse , Friedrichs & Co . He studied at Harvard College , left to join the Confederate Army and , after the Civil War , returned to New Orleans and entered the cotton business .
John W . Labouisse became a member of Labouisse , Sanchez & Watts , and in 1880 he formed a co-partnership with James
Howard , Weil , Labouisse , Friedrichs & Co . CEO John B . Levert in his office .
De Buys , a former member of Samuel H . Buck & Co ., where Labouisse had also been a member . Their cotton brokerage firm was called De Buys & Labouisse .
De Buys & Labouisse ( f . 1880 , New Orleans )
In 1866 , John W . Labouisse married the former Catherine Caroline Richardson , the daughter of H . D . Richardson and the former Catherine Priestly ( also spelled Priestley ), the great-granddaughter of Dr . Joseph Priestly , the philosopher and scientist . Their son , John Peter Labouisse , also became a leading cotton factor . In 1905 , John Peter Labouisse married the former Mary Burton Hayward , the daughter of James D . Hayward , a cotton press proprietor . Their son , John Priestly Labouisse , graduated from Woodberry Forest School ( Virginia ) and then studied at Princeton University and Tulane University . In 1929 , he joined the New York firm of Harris , Forbes & Co . and later Chase-Harris-Forbes , Inc .
Lamar , Kingston & Labouisse ( f . 1933 , New Orleans )
In 1933 , John Priestly Labouisse left Chase- Harris-Forbes Inc . and became a partner in the firm of Lamar Kingston Labouisse . His partner , Lamartine Varnedoe Lamar , was a Georgia native , a graduate of St . Paul ’ s School and Princeton University , and was married to the daughter of Albert Octave Levert , a well-known Louisiana sugar planter . In 1946 , Labouisse joined in a partnership with George S . Friedrichs and Alvin H . Howard to found the firm of Howard , Labouisse , Friedrichs & Co . while Lamar left to create the firm of Lamar & Kingston .
Legend has it that Friedrichs and Labouisse “ tossed a coin ( a nickel ) in 1946 to see whose name would be listed second in the title of the newest investment securities house in New Orleans .” Howard ’ s name came first because “ he put up $ 100,000 of the capital , while Friedrichs and Labouisse scraped up $ 10,000 each .” Because Howard did not have stock brokerage experience , unlike his partners , “ the three founders came in as equal partners .”
Howard , Labouisse , Friedrichs & Co . ( f . 1946 , New Orleans )
All three partners were from New Orleans . George Shelby Friedrichs was a 1933 graduate of the Tulane School of Business . In 1935 , he joined the Securities and Exchange Commission , and in 1936 he joined the firm of Woolfolk , Huggins & Shober , where he became a partner in 1946 . Alvin H . Howard was also a New Orleans native and a graduate of the University of Virginia . His father , Alvin Pike Howard , was a Dyer ’ s Military Academy , St . Paul ’ s School and Yale graduate ,
www . MoAF . org | Fall 2020 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 41