Category: Wagler

T Is for…Tragedy

Posted on by spuddled

Well, here is a terribly sad story for you. Marjorie Ann Wagler, my third cousin once removed, was born 19 December 1937 in Morton, Illinois, the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Marjorie Julia (Hogate) Wagler. Benjamin’s great-grandfather was Samuel John Slegel, my 3G-grandfather. The younger Marjorie had three older siblings: Betty Jane, Donald, and William, as well as younger siblings David, Judy, Anne, Harry, and Jeane.

Marjorie would never meet her younger siblings, though, as tragedy struck in January 1940. Shortly before noon on the 8th, Mrs. Wagler was preparing lunch and was unaware a fire had started in the home until notified by a passerby who had seen smoke billowing from the house. Both Marjorie and her brother William “Billy” had been asleep in an attic bedroom. Mrs. Wagler was able to rescue Billy but when she returned for Marjorie, she was unable to reach her through the flames. The fire department arrived at 11:50, and about 12:30 a neighbor named Albert Schmidgall retrieved Marjorie’s body. An inquest was held the same day, which stated the fire was of undetermined origin. Damage was mainly confined to the attic room where Marjorie died. She was buried two days later in the Roberts Cemetery near Morton.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67436157/marjorie_ann-wagler: accessed November 15, 2025), memorial page for Marjorie Ann Wagler (19 Dec 1937–8 Jan 1940), Find a Grave Memorial ID 67436157, citing Roberts Cemetery, Morton, Tazewell County, Illinois, USA; Maintained by Alvin Oglesby (contributor 47049777).

Strangely, the fire that killed Marjorie was only one of three that same week in Morton, as noted in the Bloomington, Illinois Pantagraph on 14 January 1940.

Marjorie’s death would not be the only tragedy to befall the Wagler family. The surviving family members were enumerated in Morton in 1940, but by 1950 they had moved to Pleasant Hill, Arkansas. Benjamin and his wife Marjorie were still living in Arkansas (in Deer) in 1961 when he died at the young age of 54, though he did die of natural causes. Marjorie, 49, married 40-year-old Jessie Carmack the following year. Then in 1974, Donald Wagler, son of Benjamin and Marjorie, was killed in a car accident when he lost control of the pickup truck he was driving and it overturned. He was 40 years old.

William Wagler, who had been rescued from the fire that claimed his sister’s life, died at age 52. His wife died the following year, also aged 52. Both Donald and William are buried in Arkansas. The rest of the family appears to have moved to California. Marjorie, Sr., having gone through so much sadness, lived to age 94, dying in Modesto, California, in 2007. Her obituary lists surviving sons David, of Sacramento, and Harry, of Citrus Heights; as well as daughters Betty Bell, Judy Souza, and Ann Hefley, all of Modesto, and Jeane Sutton of Pinole, California. She also left behind 15 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren. Her body was returned to Arkansas, where she was buried in Deer Cemetery.1

  1. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30874080/marjorie_j-carmack: accessed November 15, 2025), memorial page for Marjorie J Hogate Wagler Carmack (6 Mar 1913–1 Jul 2007), Find a Grave Memorial ID 30874080, citing Deer Cemetery, Deer, Newton County, Arkansas, USA; Maintained by Nelda Fastenau (contributor 47031912). ↩︎
C Is for…Carpenter: Samuel C. Wagler

C Is for…Carpenter: Samuel C. Wagler

Posted on by spuddled

Unsurprisingly, the occupation that appears in our family history most frequently is farming. Another occupation that turns up often is carpentry. A quick genealogy database review brought up a list of 298 individuals with some carpentry experience. Some are listed simply as “carpenter,” while other job titles are more specific, including mill carpenter; carpenter, plywood factory; carpenter, oil refinery; carpenter, motion picture grip; carpenter, coal mines; rig carpenter on oil rigs; and others.

One such individual was Samuel C. Wagler, my first cousin three times removed. He was born 24 July 1882 in Gridley, Kansas, to Christian and Magdaline (Slegel) Wagler.1 He was one of 11 children. His mother died in 1899. The following year Christian (“Cris”) Wagler appeared in the U.S. census in Liberty, Kansas. Living with him were daughters Rosa and Mary and sons Samuel, Edward, and Philip.2 Three years after that Christian married his second wife, Gertrude Yackley.3

On 24 May 1905, Samuel married Jennie Morris Carithers in Muscatine, Iowa. The couple was enumerated in Rock Island County, Illinois, in 1910. This is when Samuel noted his occupation of carpenter. The census taker entered a “1” in Jennie’s “mother of how many children” column but made no entry under the “number now living” column. This first child, named Samuel after his father, would eventually be listed on the back of his parents’ gravestone.

By the 1920 census the family was living in Des Moines County, Iowa. Samuel is no longer working as a carpenter but is the owner of his own farm. This census did not include the question about the number of children born to Jennie, but we know (again from Samuel and Jennie’s gravestone) that they had lost another child, Iva; she was born in 1910 and died in 1911. Two sons born after Iva were living with Samuel and Jennie in 1920: Arthur E., 7; and Gal B., 3 9/12. Another son, Oran (or Orin) L., was born in 1922. In February 1925 Jennie died of pneumonia after contracting a severe cold; she was only 43. Six months later Samuel married Matilda Carolina “Tillie” Hendrickson. Like Samuel, she was recently widowed with two young children, Marciele and Edith.4

In 1930 the blended family was enumerated in Des Moines County. Samuel was continuing to farm. In addition to the children each spouse brought to the marriage, they had had a daughter together; Bernice L. was born in March 1927. By 1940 Samuel and Tillie, still living in Des Moines County, had only Samuel’s son Orin living with them.5 6

I haven’t located Samuel and Tillie in 1950 as yet, but the most interesting fact is what I uncovered when investigating who Samuel and Tillie’s children had married. Because the answer is…each other. In August 1932, Tillie’s 16-year-old daughter Marciele married Samuel’s 19-year-old son Arthur. Sadly, Marciele would give birth to a premature baby, Ralph Arthur, who lived only “1 or 2 hours.”7

Tillie lived until 1961, dying on 22 December “after a long illness.” Samuel survived her by a little more than six years. He entered Mercy Hospital in Burlington, Iowa, shortly after Christmas 1967, dying on 15 February 1968. He was buried beside his first wife in Drury-Reynolds Cemetery in Rock Island County, Illinois. Tillie was buried with her first husband in North Walker Cemetery in Des Moines County.

Find a Grave Memorial ID #69470217
  1. The Muscatine (Iowa) Journal, 16 February 1968 ↩︎
  2. Year: 1900; Census Place: Liberty, Coffey, Kansas; Roll: 475; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 0039 ↩︎
  3. Various Illinois County Courthouses; Various Illinois County Courthouses; Marriage Records; Collection Title: Marriage Records ↩︎
  4. Year: 1920; Census Place: Tama, Des Moines, Iowa; Roll: T625_487; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 25 ↩︎
  5. Year: 1930; Census Place: Tama, Des Moines, Iowa; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 0029; FHL microfilm: 2340387 ↩︎
  6. Year: 1940; Census Place: Tama, Des Moines, Iowa; Roll: m-t0627-01156; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 29-32 ↩︎
  7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/101682793/ralph_arthur_wagler ↩︎
Navy Man: the Birth of Ulysses Wagler

Navy Man: the Birth of Ulysses Wagler

Posted on by spuddled

Today we commemorate the birth of my second cousin twice removed, Ulysses Dale Wagler. He was born 110 years ago today in Burlington, Kansas (though some sources list his birthplace as Fort Scott). He was the eighth child of nine born to Christian J. and Mary (Huber) Wagler. His maternal grandmother, Magdaline “Mattie” (Slegel) Wagler, was the daughter of my 3G-grandparents, Samuel John and Mary (Walty) Slegel.

The Christian Wagler family lived in Liberty, Kansas, from 1900-1915 and in Jefferson Township (Louisa County), Kansas, in 1920; by 1925 the family had moved to Burlington, Iowa and remained there. This means that it’s possible Ulysses was born in Burlington, Kansas, in 1914, then 22 years later was in a different Burlington when he married Charlotte Louise Fladt on 20 February 1937 at Messiah Lutheran Church. The marriage return for Ulysses and Charlotte lists his occupation as cabinet maker. The 1942 Burlington, Iowa, City Directory notes Ulysses’s occupation as a driver for IOD. He and Charlotte are listed as residing at 322 S 3rd Street. Alas, this address now appears to be just a vacant lot with a fire hydrant.

I have not been able to locate Ulysses in the 1940 census, but on 16 October 1940 Ulysses registered for the draft. He was then living at either 720 North Street or 1414 Pine Street in Burlington (the former is crossed out and the latter written above it). The house on Pine Street does still exist and has an amazing fireplace. Ulysses is listed as being self-employed at LaVeine Dairy in Burlington. He was 5′ 7 1/2″ tall and weighed 144 pounds, with blue eyes, brown hair, and a ruddy complexion. His wife, “Mrs. Ulysses Wagler,” was listed as being an individual who would always know where he was living.

Ulysses served in the U.S. Navy from 6 October 1943-20 December 1945, and by the time of the 1950 census, there were other changes in his life. He was still living in Burlington, but now at home with his parents and older brother Alvin at 1203 Washington. Ulysses’s marital status was listed as divorced. He was now employed as a guard/fireman, government ordinance.

Things would change again a decade later as Ulysses, 45 years old, married 29-year-old Delores Jane Long. The couple had a daughter, Michelle “Shelly” Wagler, in 1965. Ulysses died on 14 September 1988 in Iowa City; Delores died, also in Iowa City, on 7 February 2006; and Shelly died on 23 September 2020. All three are buried at Burlington Memorial Park in Burlington, Iowa.

Today marks the 43rd consecutive week I’ve posted here, which I find astonishing. Most years I’d manage to post for part of January and then fall spectacularly off the blogging wagon. The “On This Day” trope certainly helped, as it forced me to plan ahead early in the year but then always know what subject I planned to tackle.

The only drawback is that there were often weeks where what I knew about the ancestor or relative in question was fairly limited. I’m undecided whether I’ll keep the “On This Day” theme for 2025 or look for other ways to organize and select my topics. Stay tuned!

There’s No Place Like Home: The Waglers in Kansas

There’s No Place Like Home: The Waglers in Kansas

Posted on by spuddled

One hundred twenty-three years ago today, Louie Theadore Wagler was born in Gridley, Kansas. He was a second cousin twice removed on my maternal side, being the great-grandson of Samuel John and Mary (Walty) Slegel. This surname appears with a variety of spellings; Samuel John and Mary’s son, Samuel Slagel, was my great-great-grandfather who lived and is buried in Fairbury, Illinois.

Samuel Slagel’s sister (and Samuel John Slegel’s daughter), Magdaline “Mattie” Slegel married Christian Wagler in Iowa, but by 1880 the family was living in Liberty, Coffey County, Kansas. Mattie died in Coffey County after giving birth to 11 children. Her widower remarried and eventually moved to Fairbury himself. Christian and Mattie’s third child, Alpheus Wagler married Luella VanArsdale in Coffee County, and on 4 February 1901 their first child, Louie, was born.

Louie first appears in the 1910 census (listed as “Lewie”), though at this time his family is living in Rock Island County, Illinois. The first four Wagler children had been born in Kansas, but the fifth was born in Iowa in 1909. The sixth was not born until 1918, and by then the family was back in Kansas, enumerated in Shell Rock Township, Greenwood County.

Three years later, on 17 May 1923, Louie married Erma Grace Cokeley in Burlington, Coffee County, Kansas. Emma was 2 years and 6 days younger than Louie. There are some mysteries surrounding this family (mysteries to me anyway since I’m piecing things together from online records). Louie’s first cousin, Alpha Wagler, and his wife Vera had several children, including Alvin Van Buren Wagler, born 3 March 1929 in Morton, Illinois; and Doris Eileen Wagler, born 21 March 1931, also in Morton. According to Find a Grave, Doris was adopted by Louie and Erma, though this source lists Louie as Alpha’s brother rather than cousin. In the 1930 census baby Alvin is still living with his birth parents, but in 1940 Louie, Erma, Alvin, and Doris are all enumerated together in Madison, Greenwood County, Kansas. In 1930 Louie’s occupation was listed as “truck driver, oil field,” and in 1940 as “general work, oil field.”

In February 1942 Louie Theadore Wagler appears in the World War II draft records. He indicates his place of residence as Kenbro, Kansas and his employer’s name as “Tyde-Water Oil Co.” of Tulsa, Oklahoma, though his actual place of business is Kenbro. In the description section, Louie is noted as being 5’10”, 163 pounds, with gray eyes, brown hair, and a light brown complexion. Five year’s later Louie’s adopted son Alvin also appears in draft registration records. Alvin is listed as a senior at Madison High School also doing part-time farm work for George Clopton. He is 5’9″, 150 pounds, with hazel eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion.

At this point Louie and Erma’s nest begins to empty. A year later a notice appeared in The Selma (California) Enterprise concerning the wedding of Ruth Faye Anderson to Alvin Wagler at the Westside Christian Church in San Francisco on 18 June 1948. The article goes on to state that Alvin was “attending the Navy school at Treasure Island, where he is specializing in electronics materiel.” In the 1950 census Alvin, Ruth, and their new baby Judith are living with her parents at 31 Loehr Street in San Francisco, a house that was built in 1944 according to real estate websites but still exists.

Meanwhile Louie, Erma, and Doris are still living in Kansas, now in Iuka, Pratt County. Louis is listed as 49 and an oil well pumper for Tidewater Oil. Doris is also employed, as a bookkeeper for Iuka State Bank. Because 19-year-old Doris is one of the 20% of individuals asked to provide additional details to the census enumerator, we know that she had completed the 12th grade, had worked 26 hours the previous week and had earned $650 the previous year (equivalent to roughly $8450 today).

Later that year Doris would marry as well, to Walter Albert Peterson at the First Methodist Church in Pratt, Kansas. The Hutchinson (Kansas) News describes Doris’s white crepe gown and nylon veil, blue rhinestone necklace and earrings, and bouquet of red carnations and fern tied with a yellow satin ribbon. The couple honeymooned at Kirkwood Lodge at Lake of the Ozarks.

Because U.S. census records are only released after 72 years have elapsed, fewer details are available for the Waglers after 1950. The Wichita Eagle of 15 March 1989 includes Erma’s obituary, noting her death the day before and that she was survived by Louie, Alvin, Doris, plus seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Louie would survive a further 7 years, dying on Halloween 1996 at the age of 95. A brief obituary in the Gilroy (California) Dispatch notes Alvin’s death on 29 October 2016, and Find a Grave, as mentioned before, includes a full memorial for Doris, who died in Junction City, Kansas, on 25 April 2019. She was survived by 4 sons, 2 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, 3 great-great-grandchildren, and cats Kif and Spicy. Doris, Louie and Erma are all buried in the Iuka Cemetery. Louie’s Find a Grave memorial includes a photo of him from his work in the Kansas Oil Fields. Happy birthday, cousin.

Photo added to Find a Grave by Bertha Avery-Hood

Influenza Strikes Fairbury

Posted on by agnette

Mary (Wagler) Nicholas was one Fairbury, Illinois, resident who fell victim to the 1918 flu epidemic.  She may also have been my first cousin three times removed; I’m still trying to iron out some confusion over my Slagel line.  Her obituary, as found in Derrick Babbs’s Ninety-One Years of the Fairbury, Illinois Apostolic Christian Church, is particularly sad.

Mary Nicholas

After caring for children through a siege of influenza, Mrs. Mike Nicholas was herself taken ill with the disease last Thursday, pneumonia developed and she grew steadily worse, until she passed away Wednesday morning. The case is a particularly sad one as she leaves a family of teen children, the oldest being under 16 years of age.

Mary Wagler was born in Pulaski, Iowa, forty-one years ago. She was united in marriage to Mike Nicholas in 1902, and has made this city her home ever since.

Besides her immediate family she is survived by her father, Rev. Chris Wagler, of Pulaski, Iowa, and eight brothers and one sister.

The funeral services will be held from the home this afternoon at three o’clock.

I located Mary and her family in Fairbury in the 1910 census, living on Walnut Street. Mike is listed as 37 years old, Mary 32.  They have been married for 8 years and Mary has given birth to 6 children, all of whom are still living:  Ezra, 7; Alvin, 5; Ester, 4; Paul, 3; William, 2; and an as-yet-unnamed son, 7 months. Also living with them is a roomer, Thomas A. Smith.  Mike’s occupation is listed as department store merchant.

 

Nicholas Family 1910