Henry F. Wagner

[Wagner Ranch Photos]

1843: He was born in Prussia.

1855: He came to the United States, landing in Boston. [Naturalization records]

1860: The Federal Census show Henry Wagner living in Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.

1862 August 20: He enlisted (as Heinrich Wagner) in Company K of the Wisconsin Twenty-sixth Regiment Infantry. At that time he was living in Wauwatosa. A suburb of Milwaukee. He served as a wagoner and was mustered out on June 13, 1865. The regiment saw action in many of the Civil War battles, including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wauhatchie, Mission Ridge, Atlanta, etc. [Compendium of the War of the Rebellion and Roster of Wisconsin Volunteers, War of the Rebellion]

1866 November 1: He filed a Declaration of Intent (to become a citizen) in Milwaukee. He took the oath of allegiance in Jefferson County, Colorado on March 23, 1903. [Jefferson Co., Colorado Naturalization Records. P. 441 + packet]

1869 June: He was married to Almeda Peabody at Delaware City (Delaware Flats), Summit Co., CO. The marriage was performed by the bride's brother Lelon, who was a Justice of the Peace. [The marriage was reported in the Rocky Mountain News of June 9, 1869, page 4, column 5.]

1870: Their daughter Lucy Maria was born (the first white child born in Gold Run).

1871: Almeda traveled to Michigan to see her father and her brothers James and Daniel and then went on to New York to see her sister Salome Thompson. [Almeda's memoirs]

1872 Jan.: They lived in Georgetown, CO, where their son John Adam was born.

1873 April: They moved to land about seven miles north of Golden which they eventually expanded to include 1240 acres. This was the Wagner Ranch.

1874 February: Their son Lelon P. was born on their ranch.

1878: Their daughter Grace Genevieve was born.

1879 December 20: [from the Saturday, December 20, 1879, issue of THE GLOBE, a Golden newspaper]

As has been announced previously, T. H. Dodd post No. 7, Grand Army of the Republic, are making elaborate preparations for a big time New Year's eve, Dec. 31^st, 1897. They will give a grand military ball on that evening at the opera house, and afford all hands a favorable opportunity to dance the old year out and the new year in to the tune of fine music from Prof. Kleinman's orchestra.

The arrangements for this elegant affair have been perfected by the following committees:

Committee of Arrangements.-Lieut. Jos. T. Boyd, Capt. James Lang, Serg't Thomas Blythe, R. Litchenheld, W. A. Brown, Henry Wagner.

The price of admission has been set at $1.50 for gentlemen with ladies and a splendid repast will be provided by the ladies of the Episcopal church at the same price per couple.

It is understood that to make the affair still more "fioxy" the Knights of Pythias have accepted the kind and special invitation proffered them to attend the ball arrayed in their splendid uniforms. It will be the leading event of the holidays.

1884: Their youngest daughter, Beatrice Lulu, was born on the ranch.

The 1885 CO census abstract for Jefferson Co. showed:

This undoubtedly is Henry Wagner's brother. His daughter, Lucy, married Julius Bawolski, a brother of Grace Wagner's husband, Albert; Julius was a "Brewery Laborer". [1900 census]

The 1885 CO census abstract for Jefferson Co. did not for some reason or other include Henry. It did include a summary of agricultural production for 1884, and the data for Henry Wagner is almost certainly for him.

A note of some interest: the 1900 Census asked whether or not the individual could read or write. Henry answered "no" to both of those, but this was probably due to vision problems rather than illiteracy.

1901: They sold their ranch and moved to Golden.

1905 December 28: Henry was elected Surgeon of the T. H. Dodd Post #3, G.A.R. [Foothills Inquirer, v9, p6]

1906 May 20: Henry died and was buried in the Golden Cemetery.

1925 Dec 31: Almeda died in Los Angeles, CA and was buried there in the Mermaid Cemetery.

For the rest of Almeda's life and her Memoirs, see Almeda.

Also there's more to see in the Wagner Descendants.

[Patricia Wagner told me in 1996 that there was a "Henry Wagner School", a portable building which housed 27 students in 1949-59. The building, TW 45, was moved to the Golden High School where it has since disintegrated.]

The Wagner Ranch in 1996
The ranch house with its owners	The ice house at the back of the main house	The stone house built high on a hill to the west

Henry and Almeda Wagner's ranch was in the Ralston District of Jefferson County. There is a Ralston reservoir about 5 miles north of Golden, a Ralston Geological Survey marker about 2 mile northwest of the reservoir, and Ralston creek running eastish from 3 miles west of the reservoir, through the reservoir, and on to Arvada. This gives a rough location for the Wagner ranch.

The following table shows the Sections which included land on which Henry Wagner paid taxes.

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The 1885 Colorado Census reported the following Productions of Agriculture data for Henry Wagner:

1906: Henry's probate papers (available at the Colorado State Archives, #527 1/306) show that his estate contained: