Wagner
   The Wagner (also Wägner) surname is German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): an occupational name for a carter or cartwright, from an agent derivative of Middle High German wagen (‘cart’, or ‘wagon’), or the German Wagen. The German surname is also well established in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, eastern Europe, and elsewhere as well as in German-speaking countries.
   The Wagner name was first found in Saxony, where this family became a prominent contributor to the development of the area from ancient times. The German Coat of Arms is or (gold) and vert (green), which signifies hope and loyalty in love. The gold shield armed with a griffin, a greyhound, two fleur-de-lis and a catherine wheel (which stands for someone willing to endure anything for Christian faith). The Crest over the helmet displays another griffin. (The griffin is a mythical creature, with the head, wings and talons of an eagle and the body and hind legs of a lion. It signifies valor, death-defying bravery, strength, vigilance, and perseverance.)

   Some of the first American settlers of this name or some of its variants were: Andreas Wagner, who immigrated to America with his wife and two children in 1709; Abraham Wagner came to Philadelphia in 1737; as did Christoph Wagner in 1747.
   We are related to the Wagner family through two different lines, one through the Grieb family, and one through the Brunner family. Both lines emigrated to the US in the 1800's from Würtemberg (Germany), but it is unclear if they were related.
   Our lineage to this family on the Hause side of the family is through the Brunners, and can be traced back to ERNST L. WAGNER (7/1/1840 - 1/7/1891). Information provided by Ernest Wagner's grandson, Albert G. Brunner, indicates his name was spelled "Ernest." However, the Report Of A Birth record for Emma Wagner, his daughter, indicates his name was "Ernst" Wagner. It is assumed he informally changed his name from the Germanic form of "Ernst" to the American "Ernest" after arriving in this country from Germany. His legal name continued to be "Ernst."

Personal Information
Census Image
Name: Earnst Wagner
Age in 1870: 31
Birth Year: 1839
Birthplace: Prussia
Home in 1870: Cleveland Ward 13, Cuyahoga, Ohio
Occupation: General Laborer
Post Office: Cleveland
Year: 1870
Roll: M593_1192
Page: 154
Image: 309
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Personal Information
Census Image
Name: Earnst WAGNER
Age: 40
Estimated birth year: <1840>
Birthplace: Berlin
Occupation: Laborer
Home in 1880: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio
Marital status: Married
Year: 1880
Father's birthplace: Berlin
Mother's birthplace: Berlin
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SOURCE INFORMATION: Data imaged from National Archives and Records Administration. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration.

   Ernst became the husband of AUGUSTA STOLDT (12/31/1845 - 3/30/1920), daughter of CHARLES STOLDT. She was born December 31, 1845, in Germany. They were German immigrants who moved to Cleveland in the mid-19th Century. A possible record of their crossing lists Ernst Leonhardt & F. Wagner from Loechgau, BesigheimApplication Date March, 1842, to North America, file number 556835, page 212, in The Wuerttemberg Emigration Index, Volume One).
   They had the following children:

CHILDREN OF ERNST WAGNER AND AUGUSTA STOLDT

  • ELIZA WAGNER was born in Prussia in 1870, in the 1870 census, then disappears. No further information
  • GUSTAVE WAGNER was born in 1870, in Germany. Gustave was a Day Laborer and had immigrated to this country from Germany in 1892. He married PAULINA WAGNER. She was born 1870 in Germany. The 1900 Census shows Gustave Wagner and his wife, Paulina, lived with their three children in Cleveland: Raymond (b. 1893); Robert (b. 1895); and Arthur (b. 1896).
  • MARY WAGNER, b. April 03, 1872, Cleveland, Ohio; d. March 09, 1925, Cleveland, Ohio. She married ALBERT A. BRUNNER, and they hd four sons, two of whom lived into adulthood and prospered. Much of the genealogy of this family has been traced through her scrapbook, in possession of the Turner family (a page is reproduced below). Mary died in 1925. The Cleveland Public Library's Necrology File (Reel #011) lists an obituary (source unknown) that reads: "Brunner-Mary (nee Wagner), beloved wife of Albert, mother of Elmer C. and Albert G., age 52 years, suddenly, Monday p.m. Funeral from late residence, 7103 Colgate Avenue, Thursday, March 12, at 2:30 p.m."
  • EMMA H. WAGNER was born February 24, 1874 in Cleveland, Ohio. The midwife attending the birth was F. Mehr. She married THEODORE "PETER" H. SCHUTT (b. 30 Oct 1869 in Germany). The 1900 Census indicates Peter Schutt and Emma, his wife, resided at 318 Everton Street in Cleveland. Their children are shown as: Arthur J. (March 1893 - July 27, 1962, Lockport, New York); and Myrtle (b. March 1894). After Ernst Wagner died, Augusta was living with them at Glenville Village, Cuyahoga, Ohio (1900 census). Peter was a factory foreman, and died 26 Sep 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio. Emma died January 23, 1935.
  • GEORGE WILLIAM WAGNER was born in 1877, according to the 1880 census. On 19 Dec 1901 he married ANNA KVAPIL in Cuyahoga, Ohio (Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. Various Ohio County Courthouses, Film Number 000877935). They had three children: Raymond (b. 1902), George (b. 1905), and Mildred (b. 1907). George died on 20 Nov 1934 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio.
  • HERMANN F WAGNER was born on 10 Feb 1879 in Cleveland to father Ernst L. Wagner and mother Agusta (sic). ("Ohio Births and Christenings, 1821-1962." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2011. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records; FHL Film Number 877902.) He appears in the 1880 Federal Census with the family, then disappears from the record.
  • BERTHA AUGUSTA WAGNER was born on 11 May 1880 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio. She married (1) FREDERICK JOSEPH MYERS (1876-1950) in 1900 and they had the following children: Gladys Olga (Morrison, 1902-1981) and Harry F. Myers (1904-1980). In 1928 she married (2) JOHN MINNICK in Cleveland. She died on 14 Mar 1954 in Aurora, Kane, Illinois, and is buried at Lincoln Memorial Park in Oswego, Kendall County, Illinois.
  • MARTHA WAGNER was born on 08 May 1883; According to Albert G. Brunner's notes she was born April 8, 1883 but the Ohio Certificate Of Death shows a birth date of May 8, 1883. Martha married CHARLES JACOB HOMAN (6 Feb 1880 - 6 Feb 1965) on 19 Nov 1901 in Cleveland, and they had three children, Harry (b. 1904), Annie (b. 1909) and Charles. Marjorie Carlin remembers that Charles and Martha Homan were a handsome couple who had several children, including a son Charles. Martha died on 05 Nov 1946, in Fairview Village, Ohio, from breast cancer. Martha is buried at Lakewood Park Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.
  • OLGA AUGUSTA WAGNER was born on 5 Jun 1885 at 8 Poplar Street; Cleveland, Ohio. On 6 Nov 1906 she married WILLIAM CARL LEWIS MEIER (12 Sep 1879 - April 12, 1974) in Cleveland. Her mother, Augusta, was living with them in 1910, after Ernst Wagner died. According to Marjorie Ann Carlin, William and Olga adopted a daughter, Mildred Martha Meier (Bielfelt, 1907-1974). Olga died in February of 1980 in Cleveland, and is buried with William at Lakewood Park Cemetery in Rocky River, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

  • Mary Wagner

       Cuyahoga County records indicate Ernst L. Wagner died on January 7, 1891 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Cemetery record from January 10, 1891, Cleveland Necrology File, Reel #083) His last residence was 8 Poplar Street (where Olga Wagner Meier was born). He is buried in Lot 22, Section W of the Monroe Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio. Augusta died on March 30, 1920, in Cleveland, Ohio.
       Ernst and Augusta's daughter, MARY WAGNER, was born April 3rd, 1872, in Cleveland, Ohio. The first of our Wagner line to be born in America, she was a sturdy-looking woman with dark hair.
       Mary married ALBERT BRUNNER, son of FREDERICK BRUNNER and CHRISTINE NAFSKER, on October 07, 1890 in Cleveland, Ohio.
       The Brunner/Wagner union produced some extremely talented and industrious children. The caste systems of Europe were nonexistent in America, and Albert's children would take full advantage of all of the opportunities available to them in a free country.
       In fact, the Brunner children were practically the embodiment of the American Dream for poor German immigrants: They were the progeny of the molder son of a poor shoemaker, who would go on to become business owners, auto executives, painters and millionaires, and did it all with style, creativity and flair.
       Mary and Albert had the following children (as written by Mary Wagner-Brunner in her scrapbook):

    CHILDREN OF ALBERT BRUNNER AND MARY WAGNER

  • ALBERT GODFREY BRUNNER, was born on 16 October 1892, in Cleveland, Ohio. He married EMMA LYNCH and they had three daughters, listed below. Not only was Albert a great businessman, he was a great salesman who supported his family by selling sculptures during the Great Depression, and an extremely talented artist. He died on 12 Jan 1972 in Pompano Beach, Broward, Florida, leaving two daughters, a lot of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and countless friends and admirers.
  • ARTHUR ERNST BRUNNER was born on 03 May 1893 in Cleveland. Records from the Cuyahoga County Probate Court also indicate Arthur died from pneumonia on March 21, 1894 at the age of 11 months. Dr W. D. Johnson was his physician. Arthur Erny Brunner is buried in the Monroe Street Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.
  • ELMER CLARENCE BRUNNER was born December 20, 1894 in Cleveland, Ohio. He married FLORENCE NALLY (b. 31 Aug 1894). They had three children: Neal Harlan (29 Mar 1925 - 01 Jul 2001); Jay A. (b. Sep 1923); and Geraldine (b. 1919). Elmer was an early investor in Coca Cola, and became a millionaire. He purchased a large ranch as asummer home in Kerrville, Texas, which the family still owns today. Elmer died on 29 Jun 1976 in Belleair, Pinellas, Florida. Florence followed him on 12 Dec 1977 in Belleair, Pinellas, Florida.
  • FREDERICK HERBERT BRUNNER was born on 22 January 1897 his parent's home at 56 Colgate; Cleveland, Ohio. The midwife present was Fanny Siebert who resided at 1255 Clark Ave; Cleveland, Ohio. He was baptized on September 26, 1897 under the name Friedrich Herbert Brunner. "Freddy" died in an influenza epidemic on 17 Jan 1910, in Cleveland.
  •    Mary died March 09, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio. Her Certificate Of Death indicates she was born in Cleveland, Ohio and that she was a housewife. It also states she died at her residence located at 7103 Colgate Avenue NW and had lived in Cleveland for thirty years. The Cleveland Necrology File lists her date of death as March 12, 1925 when he was 52 years old. The date is in error as it also states she was to be buried the same date. Mary Wagner Brunner is buried in Alger Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.


    GENEALOGY

    Stolte

    EARNST WAGNER (1 Jul 1840 - 7 Jan 1891) married AUGUSTA STOLDT (31 Dec 1845 - 30 Mar 1920) and begat...

    MARY WAGNER (1872 - 1925), who married ALBERT A. BRUNER (1861 - 1927) and begat...

    ALBERT G. BRUNNER (1892 - 1972) who married EMMA LYNCH (1891 - 1951) and begat...

    JEANNE BRUNNER (1918 - 2000) who married CARLETON MARCHANT HAUSE, SR. (1917 - 1983) and begat...

    CARLETON MARCHANT HAUSE, JR. (b. 1939) who married MARTHA WENK (b. 1940) and begat...

    JEFF (who married LORI ANN DOTSON), KATHY (who married HAL LARSEN), ERIC (who married MARY MOONSAMMY), and MICHELE HAUSE (who married JOHN SCOTT HOUSTON).


    TOP PHOTO: Berlin in 1870.

    WAGNER LITERATURE:

  • Wagner family records, by Jim Carlin, great-grandson of Mary Wagner. (.txt file)
  • Palatine Roots: The 1710 German Settlement in New York as Experienced by Johann Peter Wagner, by Nancy Wagoner Dixon. Picton Press, Camden ME, 1994.
  • Wagners Wagons Westward by Thelma Behimer Wagner
  • John Wagner and His Twelve Children of Harrison County, Ohio and Surrounding Counties, 1776-1984 by Audrey L. Wagner
  • The Descendants of Michael Wagoner, ca. 1774-1826 by Margaret M. Wagner.