I will write about the Wagner families this week.
Francis Herman Wagner was born in December 1840 in Germany. When he came to America, he enlisted in the Union Army. His regiment captured the man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln.
He married Eliza Statler in January 1872. He came to Colorado in 1879 and ended up being a shoemaker in Mancos. He passed away in August 1923. Eliza Statler was born in 1843 and married Francis Wagner in 1872. Se passed away January 1926. George Wagner was born in November 1874 and was a son of Francis and Eliza Wagner. He came to Mancos in 1894 and passed away in May 1908. He was the father of Albert, Emery and Flora Wagner Roessler.
Emery Wagner was born in 1878 and came to Mancos in 1894. He married Louisa Roessler in July 1905. He operated sawmills for years before working for the State Highway Department. He passed away in December 1961. Louisa was born in 1876 and passed away in April 1966. Fred Wagner was born in September 1907 and was the first child borne to Emery and Louisa Wagner. He followed the electrical trade for several years before working on freighters shipping between Seattle and Alaska. He later worked for the State Highway Dept. in road maintenance ending a varied career in the Mancos District. A heart attack clipped short a life he was enjoying at the age of 80. He passed away in January 1987.
John Francis Wagner was born in August 1906. He was born in and lived most of his life in Mancos. He married Mabel Dunning. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Later, he was a maintenance man for Montezuma County for many years. He served with the Mancos Volunteer Fire Dept. for 20 years. He passed away in July 1974 and was survived by his wife and three daughters, Flora, Charline and Helen. Mabel Dunning was born in September 1910. She worked for her father in the County Assessor's office for many years. She married John Wagner in 1931. She passed away in October 1996.
Albert Clarence Wagner was born in February 1877 and came to Mancos in 1895 as a miner. For several years he was the district road overseer. He married Ruth Alice Perkins in 1900. They had two sons, John Francis and George Herman who married Abbie Jane Exon. Both sons were in the military in World War II and were unable to return to their father's funeral. Hannah Ellis Perkins was born in December 1878. She married John Perkins. They had one daughter, Ruth Alice Perkins Wagner. Herman Wagner was born in 1915 and passed away in 2008. Abbie Jane was born in 1914 and passed away in 2001. Abbie Jane was the daughter of George and Grace Exonx, who married in 1913.
Darrel Ellis is a longtime historian of the Mancos Valley. Email him at dnrls@q.com.