Special Agent Wild

Azariah Faxon Wilde was born in 1835 in West Fairlee, Vermont, as the third of six children to Azariah Wilde Sr. and Lucy Eudoxia Badger. At the time of his birth, his mother was 23 years old, and his father was 40. Azariah Faxon Wilde married Eliza Fredericka “Freda” Gottschalck, with whom he fathered eight children. By 1870, the family knocked the “e” off their last name  and resided in Police Jury Ward 1, St. Bernard, Louisiana, and by 1910, they had settled in New Orleans, Louisiana. Wilde registered for military service in 1861, enlisting in the Union’s 8th Vermont Army Infantry in November of that year and mustering out on March 15, 1862. He also served as Regimental Quartermaster in the Louisiana Native Guards from March 1864 to January 1866. Furthermore, Mr. Wilde held pivotal roles in government, notably with the United States Secret Service, where he made significant contributions to counterfeiting investigations in New Mexico, interacting with historical figures such as Billy the Kid and Jesse James. Additionally, he served in the United States Coast Guard. Wilde passed away on June 10, 1920, in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, at the age of 85, and was interred at Masonic Cemetery number 1 located at 4900 Bienville Ave, New Orleans, 70119.