WM L WELLER & SONS
Louisville, KY.
1869-1919
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The following is taken from OASG:
"W. L. Weller & Sons (DSP 16 KY, Louisville). In 1849 William Larue Weller began a wholesale liquor business as W. L. Weller & Sons. After the Civil War, two salesmen, Julian P. Van Winkle and Alex T. Farnsley joined the firm, and they purchased the business when Mr. Weller died. The main brands were Old W. L. Weller, Mammoth Cave and Cabin Still bourbons and Stone Root & Gin. They purchased whiskey on the open market and later contracted for large lots from distillers, among which were Stitzel Bros. in Lousville and Old Joe in Anderson county. After Old Joe burned in 1912 and was rebuilt by the Hawkins Bros., most of the output of that plant was controlled by W. L. Weller & Sons.
During prohibition A. Ph. Stitzel produced medicinal whiskey for Weller, among others. During this period Weller obtained the Old Fitzgerald brand from S. C. Herbst and used it as a leading brand. After repeal, the Stitzel plant operated as the The Stitzel-Weller Distillery under control of the younger members of the Van Winkle and Farnsley families. In 1933 work began on a large new Stitzel-Weller plant near Shively. This produced Old Fitzgerald, W. L. Weller, Cabin Still and a private brand, Rebel Yell for Alex Farnsley which he distributed free to state legislators at Frankfort as a function of the Whiskey lobby. It was later bottled and sold 'south of the Mason-Dixon line.' Since repeal Stitzel-Weller claimed to be the nation's oldest family distillery and claimed to stick to Phil Stitzel's assertion 'this is a DISTILLERY, not a whiskey factory,' claiming that the process was carried out by the old methods, not by chemists. In 1972 the company was sold to the Norton Simon group of New York, reorganized as The Old Fitzgerald Distillery and operated by Somerset Importers, a subsidiary (Coyte Papers)."

Business name timeline:
W L Weller (1869), Wm L Weller & Son (1870-1886), Wm L Weller & Sons (1887-1919)

Business category timeline (abbreviations decoded below):
W D (1870)

Years that company appeared in directories
Years directories were consulted
Louisville directory notes

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Appearance in directories:
1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1897, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919

Directories consulted:
1866, 1867, 1869, 1870, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1897, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919

Louisville directory notes:
W = Wines & Liquors, I = Importers, D = Distillers, R = Rectifiers, DA = Distiller's Agents, B = Brokers (1892), S = Saloons (1905), M = Mail Order House (1915). Listings for wholesalers from 1866 to 1869 and for distillers 1866 through to 1906 were compiled from a typescript prepared by Norma Snyder. 1887 and 1889 wholesaler listings are partial, missing last names in the alphabet, 1890, 1895 missing their entirety. No copies of listings in any category for 1896, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901. 1888 has a partial list of Importers (not found in copies for other years). 1905 copies include Saloons (not incorporated). 1906 is incomplete for distillers, missing wholesalers.

1881 witnessed a major city-wide street reorganization so all addresses change. In 1909, there is a second renumbering and this year shows both old and the new number in brackets.

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