Scott Knerr has once again shared a wonderful human interest story about a pioneer family who lived in Auglaize County, Ohio.
Thanking Scott for his permission to re-share his three-part story about the Phillip Nagel Family.
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“The Nagel Family” – Scott Knerr – February 19, 2018
PART I:
“Hello all: It’s been awhile
since I have written about any of our Civil War vets. I have been researching
for several weeks now two brothers and their family history. I was surprised
that not much has been written about them or their family other than some
newspaper articles here and there. The Nagel family has been a big part of our
county since the very beginning. History shows they were nearly wiped out by
death as you will learn in my story below. But now it’s time for all of us to
learn about this awesome family. Welcome to the Nagel family.
In the Spring of 1834 a young man
named Phillip Nagel boarded a boat named “L. Eveline” to make the journey to a
new life in America from Germany. From what I could find it appears Phillip
arrived in Baltimore June 16th 1834 alone at the age of 23. Records are
conflicting as to whether he married back in Germany or he married here. But I
do know he married a lady named Margaretha Hoffman and that their first child
George was born in Germany in 1834.
As soon as he arrived here he
headed for York County Pennsylvania. Phillip was an expert craftsman at his
trade of being a weaver. I’m thinking he may have gotten a job weaving in York
County and started saving up some money. Margaretha and baby George arrived a
year or so later and joined Phillip in Penn.
Phillip continued to weave and
became well known for his skill as one of the best weavers in America of his
time. He was known for his beautiful extant coverlets ( better known today as
bedspreads). His skill must have made him some decent money because on August
21st 1837 he bought 160 acres of land in Pusheta Township in then Allen County.
The 1840 census has his
occupation as a farmer. He now has two sons, George 6 and Henry just over a
year old. I believe he is both farming and continuing to weave. I found an
article that said that 6 of his coverlets still survive today, two of them are
in the Columbus Museum of Art.
Two of the other coverlets are
still in the Nagel family today. Phillip was so good at his weaving that he
even weaved “ P Nagel, Wapakoneta, Ohio” into these two coverlets. Phillip
owned a mortar & pestle and would grind up the roots of the madder plant to
get the red dye he would use in many of his weavings.
He would also use the indigo
plant which would produce beautiful blue and purple dyes. Luckily the mortar
& pestle also survived the test of time and has been passed down through
the family. Although a farmer I think his true passion was in his weaving.
By the 1850 census his occupation had now changed to being a weaver. It looks
like his oldest son George now 16 is being a huge help on the farm as a
laborer. Through the 1840s Phillip and Margaretha had five more children and were
living the pioneer dream.
In the year 1849 a big cholera
epidemic hit our county hard. Many died but the Nagel family was one of the few
families that survived through it with not a single death( there is one mention
of an oldest daughter dying during this time but nothing more I could find to
prove it).Phillip and Margaretha went on and had one more child named Johann on
August 21st 1850.
In the fall of 1851 our county
was hit again with another outbreak, this time it was a influenza epidemic. The
Nagel family suffered a huge loss during this sickness. The whole family came
down with the flu. The only drug they had to fight it was called Quinine and it
was of little to no help for the flu. The Nagels fought hard to overcome
their sickness. But the drugs of their time was no match for the flu. Phillip
age 41 along with four of his children perished during the epidemic. The only
survivors were Phillip’s wife Margaretha age 43, John Henry age 12, Philip Jr.
age 8, and Anna age 2.
If not for the two sons surviving
the Nagel name would be a long lost memory forgotten by time today. I couldn’t
find anything about the family after all of this happened. The next time the
sons pop up is in the 1870 census after the Civil War.
Margaretha never remarried after losing
Phillip. He was truly the love of her life. Both of her sons would go on and
fight in the Civil War and become great men in our community which I will focus
on in part two. Anna grew up and married James Miller. Margaretha lived a long
life and died in Anna’s home on Dec. 26th 1892 at the ripe old age of 81.
What a terrible event this family
survived. Margaretha must have been an amazing woman to survive all she did,
from watching half her family die, to watching her only two sons march off to
war, not knowing if she would ever see them again. The tears this poor woman
must have shed over her life I can't even imagine.
Well that’s all I have for now.
But plenty more will be coming soon. Hope you are all enjoying learning about
another one of our great pioneer families. Until next time…
P.S. There are no pics of Phillip
since he died before photography was invented. But I did find three of
Margaretha I thought you may enjoy.
“The Nagel Family” – Scott Knerr – February 21, 2018
PART II:
“Hello all: I’m back with the
next part of the Nagel family history. This time I’m going to introduce you to
one of Phillip and Margaretha sons that survived the flu epidemic. Below you
will meet and learn about John Henry Nagel.
John Heinrich Nagel was born on February
2nd 1839. Through my research I found that he preferred to be called “Henry”.
Henry was the 1st Nagel to be born here in Auglaize county in the wilderness of
Pusheta Township on the newly purchased Nagel farm.
I read in a family tree that as a young boy he loved to help his father Phillip
grind the dyes he used in his weavings. Although there is no information on the
family after the flu outbreak of 1851 I’m sure life must have been very hard
for little Henry. He was just 12 years old and now the oldest male of the
family. A lot of responsibility fell on his shoulders to help keep the farm
going.
At the age of 24 Henry married
Jane Leslie sometime in 1863. I found in one family tree that a son was born
the same year named Charles. There is very little information on Charles. He is
mentioned in the 1870 census as 7 years old but by the 1880 census he has
disappeared.
Henry was one of the lucky ones
during the Civil War. He mustered in on May7th 1864 for a 100 day enlistment.
Henry joined the 156th Regiment Ohio Infantry as a Corporal. This regiment was
composed of the 34th Battalion of Preble County, 80th Battalion of Mercer
County, and the 81st Battalion of Auglaize County. As hard as I searched I
couldn’t find him mentioned in the war before this date but I think he may have
been since he mustered in as a Corporal and not a private.
The 156th was actually known as
the National Guard and I believe I have written about them in a previous Civil
war vet story. They were only in one minor skirmish at Faulk’s Mill on August
1st 1864. Their main duty was to guard prisoners caught from the Confederacy
side. On Sept 1st 1864 Henry mustered out as a Corporal Henry returned home
afterwards to his wife and son. By the 1870 census Henry and Jane now live in
Wapakoneta with real estate worth $1800. The family has also grown they have
now added George age 5, Jeanette age 3,and 4 month old Frank. His occupation is
a harness maker.
The 1880 census shows the family
doing very well. Henry is the owner of a saddler shop in Wapak. The family has
even grown more. Since the 1870 census they have now added Harry age 5 and a 2
month old newborn named Carolina. They also have a boarder living with them
named Howard James age 21. Howard is working in Henry’s saddle shop and is an
apprentice learning the craft of making saddles and harnesses.
Since there is no 1890 census we move next to the 1900 census. Henry is now 61
years old and has retired from the merchant business. They are living on
Auglaize street and have been married for 37 years. All of the children have
moved out now other then Harry who is now 24 years old. Harry is in a fairly
new occupation for his time as an electrician.
The 1910 census not much has changed. Harry has since long moved out on his own
and Henry and Jane have now moved up onto Defiance street and now 71 years old.
Just a year later on June 8th 1911 Jane passed away. The two had 48 years a
marriage together.
But then something unique happened. Henry met another lady named Christina
Nuss. She was 35 years younger than Henry and had never been married. But the
age difference didn’t stop them and they married on Halloween day of 1916.
Henry was 77 years old and Christina was just 42. The two moved into 303
Jackson St. after getting married.
The last census Henry appears in is in 1930. He is now 91 years old and
Christina 56. I also learned in the 1930 census that Henry never attended
school. I’d say he did very well in life for not having any schooling. But I
also believe since he was born here in 1839 that there was probably no schools
even built before he reached adulthood.
I’d like to backtrack here and
tell of a story about Henry that was printed in The Lima News on Dec. 23rd
1921. At this time Henry was 82 years old. Old Henry was still very fond of
riding horses. The story states that Henry was out for a ride on his horse on a
highway near Wapakoneta.
When a auto passed to close to
Henry and the horse kicked the car. The auto stopped at a farm up the road a
short distance. But the driver started up when he saw Henry coming. One of the
men in the car said “ Let’s go here’s that horse again”
Henry was a member of the Kyle
post G.A.R. At its height they had well over 100 members. By 1931 Henry was one
of the last 3 remaining members of the Kyle post. But still these three men
would continue the post until the last surviving member passed.
Henry lived a very long and
fulfilling life. What he must have seen in his life had to be amazing to him.
He literally saw our county go from a wilderness to automobiles on the road and
electricity in the homes in Wapakoneta.
He lived through a lot of
heartache watching his father and siblings die at a young age. But he had a
wonderful marriage that gave him, children, grandchildren, and great
grandchildren. After the death of Jane he still found love in a younger woman
who helped keep his spark for life.
Henry died on Nov 11th 1931 at the age of 92. He died peacefully while holding
Christina’s hand. What a great guy he must have been. But since this part has
run so long I’m going to end here and will continue with Philip Jr. in part
three. Until next time…”
“The Nagel Family” – Scott Knerr – February 19, 2018
PART III:
Hello readers: I’m back with part
3 of the Nagel family. Hasn’t it been great learning and having a glimpse into
this great family? I sure have enjoyed researching them. Up next I’d like for
you to meet and learn about Philip Nagel Jr.
Phillip and Margaretha had a very
special Christmas holiday in the winter of 1842. In their warm cabin on
Christmas eve Margaretha gave birth to their third son. They named him Philip
Nagel Jr.
I’m sure little Philip as a boy
loved to play and explore the wilderness that surrounded the Nagel farm. But he
too like his brother would have to grow up fast. After losing half of his
family after the flu outbreak of 1851 including his father the farm became
Henry and his responsibility being the only male survivors.
There is one article that has
surfaced about Philip after the flu outbreak. In a 1907 article in The Auglaize
County Democrat they talk of an old building being moved to Hoopengarner St.
from its place on Auglaize St. just west of the Steinburg Hotel.
Several years before 1848 it had
been a hotel. The property sold in 1857 to John H. Maisen. A furniture store
was then opened by Mr. Maisen then 31 years old together with young Philip. It
was Mr. Maisen who took 15 year old Philip under his wing and taught him the
trade of a cabinet maker. I fear the family must have been having a hard time
making ends meet and the boys needed to find work.
At the age of nineteen Philip
joined Company I 99th Regiment Ohio Infantry. He enlisted into service Aug.
26th 1862 as a private. 1,700 men were recruited in but 700 were later moved to
the 118th.
The 99th saw a lot of battles but
the Battle of Lookout Mountain was the one mentioned in his obituary. This
battle was to take over a confederate held area that was preventing the moving
of ammunition and supplies.
The battle has been well
documented and a great read. The Union side did end up winning but lost 408
men. The confederate side lost 1,251. But that night after the battle men on
both sides talked and wrote of a total lunar eclipse that the confederate side
used to their advantage to retreat from the mountain.
On August 27th 1864 Philip was
one of many moved to Company K 1st U.S. Veterans Volunteers Engineer Corps.
Here he remained until being mustered out on June 20th 1865. I searched his
military record and he was one of the lucky ones to get out uninjured.
Philip came back to Auglaize
County and just a little over a year after being back home married Hermina
Menges on Sept. 15th 1866. The two began a family together and had their first
child a daughter who they named Carolina on May 24th 1867. Emma came next in
Sept of 1868.
In the 1870 census Philip is now
27 years old. He has moved off the Nagel farm and is living in Wapakoneta. He
is now a seasoned cabinet maker along with other pieces of furniture. Hermina
is staying at home taking care of the house and her two daughters. According to
his obituary Philip opened his own furniture store sometime around 1874. He
also added another daughter Louisa and his first son William by 1874. They also
had one more child a son named Fernando who was born just after Christmas in
1875 but died an infant.
Sadly Hermina had a short life.
On August 12th 1876 on a hot summer day Hermina died at the young age of just
26 years old leaving Philip to raise their four children. This must have been a
very hard time for the family.
But Philip met another lady named
Louisa Shafer. She was 8 years younger than Philip. She came to Philip’s home
and helped take care of the children while Philip was at work. The two fell in
love and married on June 12th 1878.
The 1880 census shows Philip
running his new business as a furniture dealer. The new building is located on
Auglaize St. in the business district. Philip and Louisa have their first child
together in February of 1880 a daughter who they name Gertrude.
There is very little information
about the family until the 1900 census. But I do know they had two more
children together. A son Albert who was born in 1882 and another daughter Edna.
I don’t know any more on Edna other then she was born after Albert and died a
young girl in 1899.
The 1900 census shows the family
doing well. Philip is now 57 years old and still owns the Nagel Furniture and
Undertaking business. Albert is 18 years old and working as a clerk in the
family store. Three of his daughters and Albert are all still living at home
and all are single.
In the year 1908 Philip started
to get ill. His obituary doesn’t say how he died but says he was sick for over
a year. But whatever his illness he couldn’t get over it and died on August 8th
1909 at the age of 66 years. He was a well known businessman and loved by all
that knew him.
Philip was a kind, gentle man who
would help anyone he could. His obituary says “ His worth as a citizen was
exemplified by his Christian character and life of modesty, bestowing good
deeds and avoiding notoriety.” He was a Mason for over thirty years and held
many important positions while a member. He was also a member of the Royal
Arcanum.
Well that’s about all I have on
Philip Jr. Sadly there just wasn't any information to be found on a personal
level about him. He sounds like he was a great guy to know. He may not have had
much of a childhood but he sure made up for it as a man. Until next time…"
John Heinrich Nagel was born on February 2nd 1839. Through my research I found that he preferred to be called “Henry”.
Margaretha Hoffman Nagel
Margaretha Hoffman Nagel
Margaretha Hoffman Nagel
Phillip Nagel who died in 1909
