Marshall County KS Archives Biographies.....Wagner, John F. 1877 - 
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Author: Emma E. Forter

JOHN F. WAGNER.

    Among the successful farmers and stockmen of Richland township, Marshall
county, may be included John F. Wagner, the owner of one hundred and sixty acres
of splendid land, and at present operating three hundred and twenty acres, who
was born in Franklin county, Indiana, on May 22, 1877, the son of Jacob and
Eliza (Cruse) Wagner.

    Jacob Wagner was a native of Germany, and there he received his education in
the schools and grew to manhood. His early life was spent on a farm, and as a
young man he decided that he would be a farmer. Fueling that he would have
better opportunities to obtain a home and a farm he came to the United States
and at once proceeded to Indiana, locating in Franklin county. In that state he
was married to Eliza Cruse, who was born in Indiana in 1840. After their
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wagner established their home in Franklin county, where
they resided until 1880, when they came to Kansas. Here Mr. Wagner purchased a
farm of two hundred and forty acres of splendid land, which is now owned by the
son, Louis J. This farm he developed from the unbroken prairie into one of the
model farms of the county. After four years of active life on his new farm he
died in 1884. The widow is now living a retired life at Summerfield. They were
the parents of the following children: Harry, Louis J., Charles P., John F.,
Edward and William C. Harry is deceased; Charles P. is a farmer and stockman in
Richland township; William C. is a jeweler at Sapulpa, Oklahoma, and Edward is a
resident of Summerfield.

    Jacob Wagner was twice married. To the union before he married Eliza Cruse
were born three children as follow: Todd, who is a resident of Des Moines, Iowa:
Katherine Mertes, a resident of California, and Addie Poffinbarger, who lives
near Fairbury, Nebraska.

    John F. Wagner was three years old when his parents left their home in
Indiana and came to Kansas. Here he received his education in the public schools
and remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age. He then rented land
where he engaged in general farming until 1907, when he purchased his present
farm of one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 33, Richland township,
where he has erected the best of modern buildings and today has one of the best
country homes in the county. He is a progressive farmer and an excellent
stockman, and his farm and stock show the results of care and attention.

    John F. Wagner was united in marriage on February 24, 1903, to Lillie M.
Heiserman, who was born in Marshall county on November 16, 1884, the daughter of
Fred and Mary (Hunt) Heiserman. Mr. Heiserman was born in Germany on January 25,
1834, and is the son of Jacob Heiserman and wife, who spent their lives in the
fatherland. Fred Heiserman was reared in Germany and there received his
education in the public schools. At the age of twenty-one years he came to
America. On his arrival in the United States in 1855, he at once proceeded to
Illinois, where he engaged as a farm hand for some years. There he was married
to Mary Hunt, who was born in 1847 and died in 1906. In 1868 Mr. and Mrs.
Heiserman came to Kansas, having made the journey with horses and wagon from the
home in Illinois. They homesteaded eighty acres of land in Richland township,
Marshall county, which they later developed and improved and in time became the
owners of two hundred and forty acres of the best land. They were the parents of
the following children: Henry, of Liberty, Nebraska; William, of Oklahoma:
Jacob, of Norton county, Kansas; George, a well-known farmer of Balderson
township, Marshall county; John, of Oklahoma; Fred, of Smith county, Kansas;
Charles, of Richland township; Albert, on the home farm; Walter, a farmer of
Marshall county; Edward, of Balderson township; Anna, the wife of Ed Ringen, of
Richland township, a prosperous farmer and stockman; Rose, the wife of William
Ringen, a well-known farmer, and Lillie, the wife of John F. Wagner.

    John F. and Lillie Wagner are among the prominent residents of Richland
township and are held in high regard. They are the parents of two children,
Clifford A. and Viola I. They take the keenest pleasure in their beautiful home
with their children, and one of their greatest pleasures is the entertainment of
their neighbors and their friends. Mrs. Wagner has spent her life in the county
where she now lives, where she has ever taken much interest in church work and
the social activities of the community.

    Politically, Mr. Wagner is identified with the Republican party and has
always taken considerable interest in the civic affairs of the township. He is
now serving as township clerk, having been first elected in 1908. He is also a
member of the school board of district No. 136 and is treasurer of the board.
Both he and his wife have always taken much interest in the educational
development of the county, and any movement for better schools always receives
their hearty approval. Mr. Wagner has long been an advocate of good roads and
gives his support to all development in that line. He is an active member of the
Modern Woodmen of America.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

History of Marshall County, Kansas: its people, industries, and institutions
by
Emma E. Forter

Indianapolis, Ind.: B.F. Bowen & Co. (1917)



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