Wagner Lineage

My grandfather.

Homer Henry Wagner was born in 1903 in Canton, Missouri, just steps from the Mississippi River, to William C. Wagner and Lilly Cordelia Giegerich. His father and grandfather were master carpenters who built many homes in town. His ancestors went back several generations in Canton and the area. Homer was the first of 4 boys, followed 2 years later by Russell. His other two brothers, Arnold and William followed 9 years later.  Despite their differences in ages, the four boys remained close throughout their lives. At the age of 6 he contracted malaria. As a teenager, he worked various jobs including at the local planing mill, a clerk at the post office, piano tuner and clothes washer salesman. He was a good student and active in school. All four boys were very musical. Homer was an accomplished organist and flusist, and he and his brother Russell on violin were often featured in local concerts. Homer and his brothers were keen about new technology, and were always tinkering with radios and going for biplane rides when they stopped in Canton.

 After high school, Homer attended Culver Stockton College on the hill above his home in Canton, majoring in mathematics and continuing his music. He immediately went on to get a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois and was quickly snapped up by Westinghouse for their transformer design department. This was the age of innovations, and technology was moving at lightning speed. He moved to Sharon, Pennsylvania for his job just as the great depression was about to hit, but due to his skills and the stability of his field, he excelled. In 1930, at the age of 28, Homer took a new job with Allis-Chalmers in the Transformer Engineering Department doing Electrical Transformer design / electrical engineer. His salary was $5263 ($96,338 in 2023 adjusted for inflation).  Two years later he was hired by Pennsylvania Transformer Company (later McGraw-Edison) where he remained until he retired. They sent him to the University of Pittsburgh to obtain a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering.

 It was during his time in Pittsburgh that he met Louise Weiler, the daughter of a German methodist minister. She also attended college in Pittsburgh. She played piano. She later said that he swept her off her feet by taking her to concerts. They were married in 1933 by her father in the church on the North Side where he preached.

 Homer and Louise lived first in Bellevue near his office. In 1935 he was already promoted to chief electrical design engineer when he designed the transformers for Dam No. 20 being built on the Mississippi River at Canton, Missouri.

 Their first son David was born in 1934, followed by a stillborn baby in 1937, and then daughter Lois in 1938. Tragedy struck the family in 1940 when young David, just 5 years old, was struck down by Leukemia. Louise was never the same after the death of their beautiful son.

 In 1940, during WWII, Homer's brother Russell, a composer and musician who had started American Music records and recorded New Orleans Dixieland Jazz, set up shop in their attic on Means Avenue in Bellevue, while he worked as a chemist for Homer's company. At the age of 36, Homer would have been eligible for the draft, but as a pacifist, he applied for a conscientious objector status. His electrical engineering work likely would have taken precedence.

 Homer and Louise went on to have three more children: Elly, Homer Paul, and Willie. Music remained an important part of their life, and all their children were expected to learn an instrument. He continued to play organ regularly in church, and even had a large organ in his living room, along with Louise’s upright piano.

 In 1946, his company moved their offices to Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh. He bought the house at 310 West Pike Street in nearby Houston that became home base for the family. He continued to work for Pennsylvania Transformer and had a stable and successful career. He was author of several patents related to power transformer design and application, including one that covers a widely used method and instrument for detection of incipient faults in transformers by combustible gas test. His company sent him around the world to consult.

 Before he retired in 1968, Homer began having heart problems. He died of a heart attack in 1976 at the age of 72 on Cheat Lake near Morgantown, West Virginia where they spent a lot of time and had a small speedboat. The transformers he designed were still in use.

William C. Wagner on the side porch of 704 Lewis St., the house he built for his family in 1904 in Canton, Missouri

William Charles Wagner was born in 1877 in Canton, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. He was the middle child and only boy of William Wagner and Elizabeth Vesper. His father had come to America from Germany with his parents at the age of 6 and fought in the Civil war for the Union only 15 years earlier. After the war, his father settled in Canton and became a master carpenter.

Willie, as he was called, graduated high school in the same class as his future wife Lilly. Even though his father certainly taught him everything he knew, at the age of 18, William attended a Commercial course and officially joined his father in his carpenter business. His mother died at the age of 50 in 1902 when he was 24. His father never remarried.

William married Lilly Giegerich in 1902 at the age of 25. In 1904 he built a 2-story frame house at 704 Lewis Street that became the Wagner home place. They had four boys, all of whom attended college and went on to successful careers of their own.

"He was a fine carpenter, frugal and emphasized the importance of saving money for retirement and never spending money for things you didn't need. He never touched liquor or tobacco." Arnold Wagner, son.

After his father retired, William continued the carpentry business which he operated from his shop in the garage behind the house. The Wagners built hundreds of excellent houses throughout Canton.

"He would not tolerate sloppy work. He measured success by doing a job well and receiving financial rewards for it." -son William.

William died of a stroke in 1964, exactly one month after his wife Lilly at the house he built in Canton.

Lilly in the back yard at 704 Lewis Street, Canton, 1934

Lillian "Lilly" Cordelia Giegerich was born in Canton, Missouri in 1879 to William Giegerich and Nora Eckert. Her father and grandfather owned Giegerich Grocery. Lilly was one of only two children. Her brother Henry was born two and a half years after her. A year later in 1883, her father died at the age of 28 from kidney disease when she was only 4. Her mother never remarried, supporting her small family working as a dressmaker in her home. She had numerous Giegerich, Eckert and Barth relatives in town.

When Lilly was 22 she married William C. Wagner, a childhood friend. They graduated high school together.  Her brother Henry married Grace Maude Fergasun, but had no children.

Lilly and William had 4 boys.

She died at the age of 84 on June 23, 1964, exactly 1 month before her husband William who followed her on July 24.

"She was a hardworking woman in the home, cooking, sewing, washing for her family, very strict in raising her children, particularly against the use of alcoholic beverages. She insisted that her boys get a good education and strive for top scholarship and saw to it that we also got an education in music." - Son Arnold Wagner

"She was very bright, strong opinions, somewhat rigid. Loved good (classical) music, devoted to her family, very hard worker, frugal, took pride in accomplishments of her children. Excellent cook and provided 3 good meals a day, gardened and canned volumes of food." William Wagner, son

I, Wm Wagner, born in Germany, March 21, 1840, came to America with my parents in 1847, located and lived in Quincy, Ill. In 1855 we moved to a farm in Adams County, Ill. When 19 years of age I left home and worked on a steamboat between St. Louis and New Orleans until the Civil War, when I enlisted in the Union Army and served 4 years until the end of the war in 1865. I then came to Canton and lived on the Smoot farm for 3 years. I then worked at the carpenter trade until 1916 when I fell and broke my hip, since then I have been unable to perform manual labor.

I was married to Miss Elizabeth Vesper on March 7, 1871. From this union six children were born, 1 boy and 5 girls, namely my son William, my daughters Annie, Mary, the twins Lula and Lilly, and Olivia. The twins died when almost 4 months, Mary died March 6, 1914, was the wife of S.F. Hoerer.

I lost my wife by death April 13, 1902. Since then I have been a widower.

I have been a member of the I.O.O.F. since April 13, 1873, am now past 86 years of age, am waiting for the time to come when I must answer the last roll call.

W.W. [William Wagner] Canton, Mo., Oct. 27, 1926

READ MORE: https://www.family.dianathornton.com/jacob-william-wagner/

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Vesper was born in 1851 on a farm about 4 miles south of Canton, Missouri to German immigrants Frederick Vesper and Mary Wagoner. Her mother died in 1865 at the young age of 39 when Lizzie was 13. As the eldest daughter of six children, Lizzie was expected to fill her mother's shoes caring for the household and the younger children.

In May 1871, at the age of 19, Lizzie found her escape when she married William Wagner, a Union army veteran who was 30 years old. He was already making a reputation as Canton's "fastest & best" carpenter. They lived in town. (William was not believed to be related to her mother).

That December her father remarried Louisa Schluter, a widow with several children of her own.  "Life for the 3 girls left at home with the step mother was rather strenuous and unpleasant and as soon as they were old enough, they left home and went to work as maids in nice homes." - Bessie Brose Miller. Her father and step mother had one more child, Kate, a half sister to Lizzie.

Lizzie and William had six children - one son and five daughters, including twin girls Lula and Lily who both died at the same time 4 months later. William made a good living and was a respected citizen of the town.

Her father and stepmother had a contentious relationship and Louisa divorced him about a year before he died in 1893 at Lizzie's home in Canton.

Lizzie was ill for the last two years of her life. She died in 1902 at the age of 50.

Mary Wagoner was born in 1826 in Germany. We don't know who her parents were, but she was supposed to be cousin/neighbor to her future husband Frederick Vesper.

She apparently left home alone in 1844 at age 22, sailing from Bremen, Germany, two years before her future husband arrived in 1846. She went to Quincy, Illinois, where she might have had some relatives already, and she and Frederick married in 1848, age 22, from Hanover.

They first moved to Canton and then bought 159-acre farm 4 miles south of town where they settled permanently.

In 1865, Mary died at the age of 39, leaving Frederick with 6 children to care for, the youngest girl barely 2. Lizzie, the eldest, had to step in and care for the other children.

She is supposedly no relation to the Wagners her daughter married into.

READ MORE: https://www.family.dianathornton.com/frederick-vesper/

READ MORE: https://www.family.dianathornton.com/jacob-william-wagner/

William Giegerich was born in 1854 in Canton, Missouri, the eldest child of Nicholas Giegerich and Malinda Barth, both German immigrants. His father was a blacksmith.

From the age of three, he suffered from kidney disease. "He was devoted to his family and home and though a cripple, was energetic."

Around 1875, William opened Giegerich Grocery store at the corner of 5th and Lewis in downtown Canton. It quickly became a trusted and well known establishment. His father joined him a few years later.

In 1878 William married his 2nd cousin Nora Eckert, who had moved to Canton from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania four years earlier with her parents. Her father objected to them marrying, but that didn't stop them. [Also, his gg grandmother was an Eitenmiller (Nora's mother's maiden name) AND the Giegerichs and Eitermillers intermarried even earlier.] Four months earlier, his 2nd cousin Minnie had eloped Nora's brother.

William and Nora had 2 children, Lilly and Henry.

"One day his father Nick went in the store and told him "You know somebody shot at me this morning." What William didn't tell him was that he'd been cleaning his gun that morning and it went off and evidently the bullet went in old Nick's window. - Russell William Wagner (Nicholas' grandson)

In 1883, William illness confined him to his bed for 2 months before he died of "chronic stricture" at the age of 28. His children were 1 and 4.

After his death, his father kept the store going until 1898 when he turned the store over to his youngest son George. The store was family owned and operated from the same location for over 50 years.

Lenora Mary Magdalene Eckert (Nora) was born in 1859 in Allegheny City (now North Side of Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania to Adam Eckert and Elizabeth Eidenmuller, both German immigrants.  He was a butcher and came from a long line of butchers.

She moved to Canton when she was about 14 with her parents around 1874. Her father started a butcher shop in town.

1878 was an eventful year. In April her brother George eloped with their 2nd cousin Minnie Giegerich. In June her mother died.

Four months later Nora married another 2nd cousin - William Giegerich, who owned Giegerich grocery in town. Her father objected to them marrying, but that didn't stop them. [They had the same great grandparents Wilhelm Giegerich/Anna Margaretha Goetz, great great grandparents Philipp Arras/Margaretha Elisabeth Daab, and several other intermarriages of Giegerichs, Eckerts, Schnellbechers and Eitermillers through the generations.]

Nora and William had 2 children, Lilly and Henry.

In 1883, William was confined to his bed for 2 months before he died of "chronic stricture" at the age of 28, leaving her with two children ages 1 and 4.

After William's death, his father Nicholas took over the grocery store until 1898 when he turned it over to his youngest son George. The store was family owned and operated from the same location for over 50 years.

Nora never remarried. She supported herself and the two children as a dressmaker until she became ill with dropsy and bedridden for about 7 years. She died in 1914 at her home on 6th Street at the age of 55.

Malinda "Minnie" Barth was born in 1833 in Hanover, Germany. In 1840, when she was seven, her parents, Frederick Herman Barth and Elizabeth, brought her to America. Two of her father's brothers and a sister also immigrated around the same time and they all made their way to Cumberland, Maryland.

Three more of her brothers were born in Maryland, and in 1849 the family moved to Quincy, Illinois for a short time where her father worked as a blacksmith while he looked for land to buy in the area. He bought a house across the river in Canton, Missouri, and then a 50-acre farm 8 miles north of town.

Minnie's mother died soon after they moved, and her father remarried Mary Catherine Pustaf in Canton at some point.

In 1853, Minnie married Nicholas Giegerich, a German immigrant who had recently moved to Canton from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a blacksmith like her father. They had 8 children.

In 1870 her father died. Malinda's husband Nicholas was appointed estate administrator. Her uncles and cousin Mary from Maryland appeared in Canton to collect a share of the inheritance probably from a loan her father had apparently gotten from them when they moved from Maryland.

In 1883, Minnie's eldest son William died at the age of 28. He and her husband Nick owned Giegerich Grocery, a successful store in downtown Canton. Nicholas took over operations until 1898 and then handed it over to their youngest son George.

In 1911, Nicholas died at the age of 80 after being ill with "internal troubles" for over a month.

Two years later, in October 1913, Minnie died in a horrible accident. She was badly burned when her gasoline cook stove exploded. Her daughter Carrie was still living at home and was there when it happened. Minnie lived only a few hours before finally dying. She was 80 years old.

Nicholas "Nick" Giegerich was born in 1831 in Germany. His father Peter Giegerich was an innkeeper and baker. His mother Anna Katharine Schweobel mother died when he was only four, and his father remarried Anna Eva Gropp a few months later.

In 1851, at the age of 19, Nick and his younger brother Valentine sailed from Antwerp, Belgium, arriving in New York City. This was before Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, or even immigration processing as we know it today.

They went first to Pittsburgh, likely to stay with their cousin George Eckert, and Nick worked there for about a year before heading to Canton, Missouri where he opened a blacksmith shop.

The next year his father, stepmother and two brothers Martin and George arrived in Canton from Germany and settled. In 1853, Nick married Malinda "Minnie" Barth, who had recently moved to Canton from Maryland. Sometime before 1860 his brother Valentine "disappeared into the West", apparently losing touch with the family. I found him in a few records in California and Arizona working as a blacksmith and a gold prospecting (see separate chapter about Valentine).

In 1860  Nick was a Republican and voted for Lincoln. He was doing well as a blacksmith, and owned $2000 in real estate. When the Civil War came to Canton, he and his two brothers and father served for a brief stint in the Missouri Home Guard, a local Union regiment. Missouri soon seceded and the Giegeriches found themselves living in enemy territory.

But they made it through the war, and Nick and his brothers became successful and prominent citizens of Canton. In 1870 Nick owned $6,000 in real estate and his blacksmith shop on Lewis and 5th was thriving. However, he had switched to the Democratic Party for some reason.

Nick and Malinda had 8 children together.

In 1877 he joined his son William in Giegerich Grocery and in 1878 William married Nora Eckert, a 2nd cousin. William died in 1883, and eventually Nick retired and handed the store over to George.

Nick died in 1911 at the age of 80 after being bedbound for 5 weeks with "internal troubles." Minnie died 2 years later when she was badly burned lighting her cookstove.

Peter Giegerich was born in 1802 Nieder-Kainsbach, Hessen, Germany to Johann Wilhelm Giegerich and Anna Margaretha Goetz. His father was a master baker and innkeeper and Peter carried on the tradition.

In 1829 he married Anna Katharine Schwoebel and they had 5 sons. Anna died in 1835 at the age of 26, 10 months after the death of their 5^th child who died at the age of 2 weeks. Peter remarried Anna Eva Gropp 5 months later.

In 1850, their two eldest boys, Nicholas and Valentine, sailed to America. Peter and Anna and their other two sons followed a year later and they all settled in Canton, Missouri. Peter worked as a Teamster (wagon driver).

When the Civil War came to Canton, Peter and his 3 sons joined the local Missouri Home Guard. Peter was in poor health and was quickly discharged. He died a year later in July 1862, at the age of 59. He received a headstone provided for deceased Union Civil War Veterans despite his short stint in the Home Guard.

Anna Katharine Schoebel was born in 1808 in Nieder-Kainsbach, Hessen, Germany to Johann Wendel Schwoebel and Anna Maria Arras.

In 1829 she married Peter Giegerich and they had 5 sons. Anna died in 1835 at the age of 26, 10 months after the death of their 5th child who died at the age of 2 weeks. Peter remarried Anna Eva Gropp 5 months later. was born in 1808 in Nieder-Kainsbach, Hessen, Germany to Johann Wendel Schwoebel and Anna Maria Arras.

In 1829 she married Peter Giegerich and they had 5 sons. Anna died in 1835 at the age of 26, 10 months after the death of their 5th child who died at the age of 2 weeks. Peter remarried Anna Eva Gropp 5 months later.