Los
Angeles County
Biographies
JOHN WAGNER
John Wagner, a widely known and
highly respected citizen of Los Angeles, has here resided since the middle ‘80s
and is now living retired in the enjoyment of well-earned ease. He was born on a farm in Ozaukee County,
Wisconsin, April 30, 1862, his parents being Michael and Margaret (Hittinger) Wagner, whose family numbered three sons and two
daughters. One son and one daughter
still survive. In the year 1884 Michael
Wagner came west to California and purchased two tracts of land embracing three
hundred twenty acres each, or six hundred forty acres in all, at that time
outside the limits of Los Angeles. His
wife and children joined him here in 1886 and subsequently he acquired an additional
tract of land comprising two hundred eighty acres. Michael Wagner erected a home on what is now
Manchester Avenue and with the aid of his sons developed and improved his
property, which he devoted to the cultivation of hay, grain and beans. Practically all of the land now lies within
the corporate limits of Los Angeles. Mr.
Wagner departed this life in January, 1893, being for a quarter of a century
survived by his wife, whose death occurred in 1916.
Spending his early years in
Wisconsin, John Wagner was afforded the opportunity of attending school only a
few months in the winter seasons. He was
twenty-four years old when his parents established their home in Los Angeles
County, California, and he assisted in the improvement and cultivation of his
father’s land, which was largely in a wild state. At the time of his marriage his father gave
him ninety acres, to which he added one hundred sixty acres by purchase in
1892, and after the death of his father he acquired still more land. In 1922 he disposed of the greater part of
his holdings, which, together with other of his father’s lands, have been
subdivided, and a region that only a few years ago was the haunt of the jack
rabbit and the ground squirrel is now solidly built with fine homes, business
blocks, schools, churches, etc. Mr.
Wagner was formerly identified with the State Bank but has retired from active
business affairs, enjoying the evening of life in his comfortable California
home at 1100 West Eighty-Fifth Street, Los Angeles, surrounded by his children
and grandchildren.
On November 19, 1889, Mr. Wagner was
united in marriage to Anna Mary Herberger, who was
born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and in 1887 made the journey from Minnesota to
California in company with her parents, both of whom passed away in Los
Angeles. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner are the
parents of twelve children, as follows:
Amanda, who is Mrs. Edward Ronk and the mother
of two children, Mary Ann and Theresa; Margaret Ann, who is Sister Vibiana of the Dominican Order; Otto, who married Margaret
Rupp of Hannibal, Missouri and has three children, John, Richard and Mary Lou;
Irene, who married John Homan; Joseph, who married Eleanor Sher
and has four children, Dorothy, Philip, Donald and Kenneth; Anna, who is the
wife of Clarence Casper and the mother of four children, Clarence, Virginia,
Dolores and Robert; Peter; Martha, who is Mrs. John Funk and has a son, John;
Cecelia, who is Mrs. Grady Gulledge and has two
children, Franklin and Elaine; Leo G.; John A. who married Dorothy Holcomb and
has a daughter, Patricia; and Adelaide.
All are native sons and daughters of the Golden state. The Wagner children, together with others,
first attended the Hyde Park school and afterward went to St. Joseph’s school,
both a long distance away from their homes.
John Wagner, our subject, assisted by his brother Michael, and brother-in-law
Michael Mertens, built the first school house. At the request of Mrs. Michael Wagner the
school was named St. Michael in honor of her husband and Mass was said in it by the Bishop.
Later they also helped to erect St. Michael’s Church at Manchester
Heights. There were then thirty-five
children in the locality. The present
school house and St. Michael’s Church are the result of the pioneering of the
Wagner family, who have been generous donors to all
worthy public projects. The Wagner family are communicants of the Catholic Church and
fraternally John Wagner is affiliated with the Knights of Columbus of the third
degree. He is a loyal Californian,
devoted to the advancement of Los Angeles and its citizens, and his varied
interests keep him refreshingly young in spirit.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: California of the South
Vol. IV, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages 527-529, Clarke Publ.,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis. 1933.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPHIES