DANIEL WAGONER, b 26 Nov 1829

WAGONER, HEINEY, LYNN, ALEXANDER, MOISE, MILLSAP, BURNS, MACLAY, RODOLPH, BROWN

Posted By: Donna Moldt Walker (email)
Date: 2/28/2005 at 07:04:55

There is no finer farm within the limits of Otter Creek Township than that belonging to the subject of this sketch. It comprises 350 acres of choice land, all of which, with the exception of thirty acres of timber, is fenced and in a high state of cultivation. It is embellished with first-class buildings, and is largely devoted to the raising of cattle, horses and swine, the latter especially having been the source of a handsome income. Besides this, Mr. Wagoner has another farm, upon which stands a stone house and a frame barn, and which is also valuable.

In glancing at the parental history of our subject, we find that he is the son of Ernest and Susan (Heiney) Wagoner, natives of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. The paternal grandfather of our subject was born in the Fatherland, and emigrated to America prior to the Revolutionary War. He located in Northamption County, Pa., where he was married, and where his elder children, including the father of our subject, was born. About 1837 the family removed to Mercer County, where the father died, leaving his widow with six children. Of these, the eldest, Tena, became the wife of Daniel Lynn, and lives in Iowa; Sarah married Daniel Heiney, now of Iowa; Reuben and Thomas, deceased; Michael is in Iowa.

The subject of this sketch was born in Northampton County, Pa., Nov. 26, 1829. After the death of his father, the mother, in the spring of 1845, came to this county with her children, and here spent her last days, dying in 1859. Both parents were members of the Presbyterian Church. Daniel, our subject, has since that time been a resident of Otter Creek Township. He was a youth of fifteen years upon his arrival here, and the nearest market was at Dubuque, twenty-two miles distant. Indians still roamed over the country, sometimes in bands of as many as 200, and would frequently camp on the river banks at Maquoketa. Deer, wild turkey and other game were plentiful.

Young Wagoner was at an early age trained to the habits of industry, and after coming to this county worked out by the month for the farmers around, at from $9 to $11 per month, and chopped cord-wood on the Mississippi River bottoms for fifty cents per cord and boarded himself, until reaching his majority. By this time he had saved a little money, which he invested in cattle, an investment that yielded him handsome returns. He also added to his income by breaking the prairie, and in due time secured 160 acres of land, paying $100 in cash for the claim and $1.25 per acre to the Government. He met his obligations promptly, and was soon in possession of a home of his own.

A very important event in the life of our subject was his marriage, which occurred in 1856, his bride being Miss Margaret, daughter of Alex. and Elizabeth (Moise) Alexander. The father of Mrs. Wagoner was a native of Scotland and the mother was born in the East India Islands. The latter afterward went to Scotland, where her marriage took place. They came to the United States about 1826, and lived for a time in Philadelphia. Thence they emigrated to Iowa Territory about 1838, settling in Dubuque, where their daughter Margaret was born, in November of that year, about three weeks after their arrival.

The Alexander family after a few years took up their residence on a claim in Otter Creek Township, and the father, in connection with farming, pursued his trade of a carpenter at Dubuque, where his death took place in September, 1845, from lockjaw, the result of a wound caused by stepping on a nail. Miss Margaret remained upon the farm with her mother until the children were married, with the exception of one son, Charles, who lived with his mother there until 1862. The latter then took up her abode with her son-in-law, Daniel Wagoner, where she died Jan. 22, 1877. She and her husband belonged to the Presbyterian Church.

Miss Marion T. Alexander, the eldest sister of Mrs. Wagoner, was married to Thomas Millsap and lives in California; James is deceased; Elizabeth is the wife of Uriah Burns, who lives in California; Ann is the wife of John Maclay, of Dubuque; William and Charles were the youngest sons; Margaret, Mrs. Wagoner, was the youngest child of the family.

Mr. Wagoner may properly be said to have grown up with the country. From an humble beginning in a new land, he became an important factor among his fellow-men. He served as Justice of the Peace for a period of twelve years, and has filled most of the township offices; he is at present Road Commissioner. In politics he is quite conservative, although inclining to the principles of the Democratic party. Mr. and Mrs. Wagoner and four of their children are members in good standing of the German-Reformed Church. Their family originally included five sons and five daughters, who were named, respectively: Alexander; Susan, now Mrs. John Rodolph, of Maquoketa; Elizabeth, Mrs. Wilson Brown, lives in Marion County, Iowa; Charles H., George F., Dell, Maggie E., Sarah E., Daniel F. and Ernest R. They form a bright and interesting group, in whom the parents take pardonable pride.

("Portrait and Biographical Album of Jackson County, Iowa", originally published in 1889, by the Chapman Brothers, of Chicago, Illinois.)