Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1889

Source: Portrait and Biographical Album, Muscatine County, Iowa, 1889, page 200
H. C. WAGNER, a farmer residing on section 13, Montpelier Township, and the owner of 280 acres of land, was born June 17, 1832 in Holstein, Germany, and is a son of John and Lena Wagner, who were the parents of eight children, only two of whom are now living : H. C, of this sketch, and Debrick. When a young man our subject bade good-by to his friends and native land, and in June, 1857, crossed the broad Atlantic to America, landing in the city of New Oeleans. He had no friends in this country to assist him in getting employment, but after considerable search he engaged with a farmer by the month, receiving only $16 a month. After working two months he was taken sick, and did not sufficiently regain his health that season so that he might go to work again. In the fall of 1858 he secured employment with a man by the name of James Robinson, with whom he worked for four years, when he was employed on the farm of Mary Delaney for two years. In 1864 he became a resident of Scott County, Iowa, where he engaged in farming for four years, after which he removed to Muscatine County, locating on section 13, Montpelier Township, where he has since continued to reside. He is now engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and is the owner of 280 acres of land, which is under a high state of cultivation, and comprises one of the best farms of the township, everything about the place denoting the thrift and enterprise of the owner.

On the 19th day of November, 1863, Mr. Wagner led to the marriage altar Miss Hannah Delaney, a daughter of Michael and Mary ( Nugent ) Delaney. She was the fourth in order of birth in a family of eleven children, only three of whom are now living: John, a resident of Nebraska, married Eliza Bacon, and to them were born nine children, six of whom are living; and Sarah, widow of George Ringlesby, who died in 1888, resides in Nebraska.

Two children grace the union of Mr. and Mrs. Wagner: John Leslie, born May 5, 1867; and Willie, born April 19, 1872; and two were stillborn. Poltically, Mr. Wagner has always been a stanch supporter of the Republican party, and has been honored by several local offices of trust. He served as Trustee for one year, and for seven years was a member of the School Board, during which time he labored faithfully to advance the cause of education. He is one of the self-made men of the county. He had no capital with which to begin life, but that perseverance which characterizes all his actions, combined with industry and economy, has gained for him a comfortable competence, until he can now pass the declining years of his life in peace, resting from his arduous labors of former years.

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