Archives for Wagner
John Wagner and the Texas Widow
My 2x great uncle John Wagner served alongside his two brothers, Henry and my 2x great grandfather William Wagner, in the Civil War. After the war he moved to Texas, and all I knew was that he had "married a Texas widow." I finally found his obituary, and it lead…
Old Bill Wagner
Jacob William (later dubbed "Old Bill") was born in 1840 in Elleringhausen, Germany. At the age of 6, he and his family joined the waves of German immigrants after their friends in Quincy, Illinois, kept writing for them to come. Six-year-old William took his little sister Henrietta by the hand…
Wagner Treasure Trove of Photos
Recently my cousin Ben Wagner sent me scans of over a hundred photos that were in boxes from his parent’s estate. I was thrilled to discover a photo of my great great grandfather William Wagner in his Civil War uniform. I had written an extensive chapter about him and his…
Are we related to John Philip Sousa?
Yes! We ARE related to the famous American conductor and composer John Philip Sousa (1854-1932). Sousa is best known for composing the marches "The Stars and Stripes Forever" (National March of the USA) and "Semper Fidelis" (official march of the United States Marine Corps). John Philip Sousa was born in…
Staryn Wagner Home Movies
This is a 15-minute compilation of some of the home movies of Staryn Wagner taken by his dad Will Wagner. I've pieced together multiple clips and stills. It's so wonderful that he took and kept these videos. I couldn't include all the footage (then again, how many minutes of crawling…
Bill Russell and Noel Rockmore
Bill Russell was one of Rockmore's favorite subjects from the early 60s until Bill's death in 1992. He was also a friend, mentor, musical companion and fellow documenter of the French Quarter. Bill Russell was always game for an adventure and this time it is with his friend Noel Rockmore to…
Hanning Freyhofer Story
One cannot tell the story of the Hannings without the Freyhofers. With scenes that could be straight out of a movie or an episode of Little House on the Prairie, our ancestors came looking for the American Dream and they found it in Indiana and Kansas, along with a few…
Quirky coincidences
Interesting but meaningless (or not???) coincidences discovered in the records on both sides of my family. Do you know of any interesting stories or coincidences? Please email me so I can add them here. The Vespers (on my mother's side) came to America on a ship called the Diana. The…
Wagner Boys’ road trip of 1931
This is a fun journal by Russell Wagner (Bill Russell) about the road trip he and his parents and brothers took to Pittsburgh, Akron, Washington DC and Niagra Falls in the summer of 1931. DOWNLOAD "Wagner Boys 1931 Trip" PDF
Bill Russell
Born Russell William Wagner in 1905, William (Bill) Russell was a violinist; an avant-garde composer deeply interested in percussion; accompanist to a touring puppet troupe; a meticulous musical-instrument repairman; a jazz-record producer; an archivist; a writer; and, above all, a New Orleans jazz collector of extraordinary breadth. More than anything…