[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Charles Wagner, son of Anton and Thecla

[Cornelia Warner]

thank you, Otto,
these are all basic research actions, and having been at it for 20 years, I
have done these and gone far beyond them, but standard research for Charles
fails me, more often than not.

I've gone so far as to find his work records, such as I can access, (having
only the names of the ships he worked on in 1890 and 1891) and medical
records of the Naval Hospital in Chelsea, and also his Boston city directory
listings. they don't tell me much, at least, not when or where he was born
and died. not a thing about his parents. these records just give me
position, pay, and from medical, name, age, nationality, illness, and when
entered and released from the hospital.

Charles' marriage record (1884) and his son's birth record (1886) state
Charles  was born in Poland, but his medical records (early 1893) state he
was born in Russia.

family stories (unfortunately written by my grandmother very late in her
life, who married Charles' son, Allan Wagner, so the stories are a bit
questionable) are that Anton was a concert master in the Polish symphony and
that he'd fled Germany due to political problems. I find it hard to believe
that a concert master's son would take to the sea, though anything is
possible. if he was indeed an artist, especially in music, then it is
possible he was chased out during the German civil war. many were.

I have Ancestry's full package. if he is in the 1880 or 1881, he is there
under another name, another birthplace or another birth year-or all three.
he isn't in the 1890 (hardly anyone is) and either left or died before the
1900. I've looked for him in England, Canada and America in the census, and
for his parents in the census. nothing comes up. so there apparently are no
census records for them. he's supposed to have siblings but no-one knows
their names.

the form for a death record is an authentic document which is in my first
cousin's possession, and I've seen it, but whether the information on it is
correct I cannot say for certain, except that the death date and place are
incorrect for any Charles Wagner. I've contacted NEHGS and the MA vital
record office and had them check all the Charles Wagner deaths for Boston
and Chelsea for 10 years on either side of 1893 and none of the Charles
Wagner's in the death records is mine. I haven't been able to look at them
to verify that, I'm on the west coast.

I've tried many times to get someone to search the papers for an obit...I've
never succeeded in getting that or a cemetery search. I tracked down the
Naval hospital cemetery, he doesn't appear to be intered there.

I can't remember all the searches I've done over the years, but some of the
other searches I did was to contact the marine museum in Cape Breton, and
Lloyds of London. neither of them found any records for him, so I must
assume he only worked in America. I wrote the music archives in Russia,
again, nothing found.

I did alot of searching for Allan, who spent about 3 years in Canada and
though he apparently never spoke of it appears to have spent some time in
England in his youth, but he, too, eludes me in both places-especially
vexing as it was around the 1900/1901 census period. he is not in the 1900
U.S. census. he is easily traceable in the census from 1910 through 1930,
and I expect to find him easily in every census after that...I've got all of
Allan's records and have looked at his military records which a first cousin
of mine owns. I traced Annie from MA to CA....though some of her records
elude me...perhaps that info. is incorrect as well. she is said to have
moved to Chicago, then remarried in Omaha, NE before finally settling in
Oakland, California. I have been unable to find her in Chicago, I do find
her with her new husband in 1900 in Omaha but haven't found their marriage
record there, though again, not for lack of trying. Annie died of
Consumption in 1907 in Oakland. I have her death record, and Allan's as
well.

Charles just left very little of a primary paper trail.

that about covers what I have, what I've been told, and what I've found. I'm
afraid that at this time I can't say any of it is what I know as almost all
documentation is prone to error.

Cornelia




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Otto" <otto at schienke.com>
To: "Cornelia Warner" <fenenga at connpoint.net>
Cc: "GPV List" <ger-poland-volhynia at eclipse.sggee.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 17, 2007 6:55 PM
Subject: Re: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Charles Wagner, son of Anton and Thecla


> You have his name.
> Use it to exhaust US Census records to the latest decade release of
> such.
> Do not second guess a hearsay location.
> He seems to favor the northeast coast.
> Then search Library necrology records in the last city with Census
> record of his presence.
> A newspaper death notice usually states where buried.
> Cemeteries usually have some family information.
>
> On Jun 17, 2007, at 8:01 PM, Cornelia Warner wrote:
>
> > I am not sure but what I may be working with a lot of erronious
> > clues, since he's proved nearly impossible to research, but here is
> > what I have found about my great grandfather, and what I've been
> > told about him.....
> > Charles J. Wagner son of Anton and Thecla
> > b. abt 1855 Poland or Russia
> > d. said to be Aug 3, 1894 in Chelsea, Massachusetts but there is no
> > record.
> > m. 4 Oct 1883 Boston, Massachusetts
> > Annie McDonald
>
> . . .   Otto
>
>              " The Zen moment..." wk. of April 1, 2007-
>               ________________________________
>               "Like fishing. . . always beyond the surface."
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -- 
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8:23 AM
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