WAX, John J., Prussia, GER., then East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by Mike Miller




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John J. Wax, Baton Rouge, La., was born in the kingdom of Prussia, Germany
in 1842, and was brought to America during his childhood by his parents,
Jacob and Susan Anna (Conrad) Wax, natives of Germany.  His father died of
yellow fever in 1847, soon after landing in this country.  He received his
education in the common schools of New Orleans.  In early youth he became
an enthusiastic patriot and ran away from home to join the confederate
army.  He enlisted in Company E, First Louisiana volunteer infantry, April
28, 1861, and before the close of the conflict realized all the horrors of
war.  He was slightly wounded at Malvern Hill, and in the battle of
Gettysburg he lost his leg, after which he was taken prisoner.  For eight
long, weary months he was held captive, and was then exchanged when he went
to Richmond and remained in the hospital there for some time.  At the time
of the surrender he was in Georgia, and he reached his home September 2,
1865.  He was promoted to the position of orderly sergeant after the battle
of Chancellorsville, in recognition of the service he rendered in that
contest.  For two years after the war he was in New Orleans, and then he
came to Baton Rouge and engaged in mercantile business.  In 1877 he was
elected a member of the city council.  He is now mayor pro tem., and has
served in this capacity many times.  In January, 1869, he was united in
marriage to Miss Mary Rhoda Pino, who is descended from Spanish ancestors.
Eleven children were born of this union:  Hubert,  Joseph,  Nicholas,
John,  Sidney,  Mamie,  Bessie,  Frankie,  Anthony,  Eugene, and  Annie
(deceased at the age of nineteen years).  The family are members of the
Roman Catholic church.  Mr. Wax is a Knight of Honor, a Knight of Pythias,
and has held high official positions in both of these orders.  He was
president of the Firemen's Charitable association, and was one of the most
zealous supporters of the organization.  He is a man who fully appreciates
the advantages of thorough mental discipline, and has given his children a
good education.

Biographical and Historical Memoires of Louisiana, (vol. 2), p. 445.
Published by the Goodspeed Publishing Company, Chicago, 1892.

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WAX, Nicholas, Prussia, GER., then East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by Mike Miller

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Nicholas Wax, one of the substantial citizens of Baton Rouge, has resided
in that city since 1852.  He was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1831, and
when a lad of sixteen years bade farewell to the "Fatherland" and sailed
away to America.  It requires no small amount of courage to go out among
strangers in a strange land to meet the responsibilities of life, and
America is greatly indebted to Germany for a large proportion of her most
energetic and substantial population.  Mr. Wax was without any capital with
which to embark in business, and had to begin and work his way to his
present position of independence.  He is proprietor of Wax's hotel, Baton
Rouge, and is a genial and popular landlord.  He is well fitted for the
demands which are always made upon "mine host," and never fails in caring
for the comforts and necessities of his guests.  The hotel is a large,
well-arranged building and is finished and furnished in modern style.
Since coming to America, Mr. Wax has accumulated a considerable amount of
property and has never had cause to regret immigrating to the United
States.  He was married in 1856 to Catherine F-------, and two children
were born of the union.  He is a member of the American Legion of Honor and
of the German association.  He has been president of the latter
organization for years, and has done much to carry out the purposes and
objects of that body.  In addition to the hotel he has some other important
business interests.  He owns some stock in the electric light company, and
has been vice-president of the corporation since its inception.

Biographical and Historical Memoires of Louisiana, (vol. 2), pp. 445-446.
Published by the Goodspeed Publishing Company, Chicago, 1892.