Wagner Family

DRAFT--This page is a draft. It is incomplete, not proof read and may contain research notes

This is a strange complicated story, a murder mystery as it were. It is also a story about a blood feud and that complicates the matter because the story includes rumor and innuendo intertwined with a few facts. Some of the names changed over time, probably by the desire to blend in, so their birth German names were gently Anglisized.

The Wagner Land Around Reardan in the 1890s

First lets set the stage. It appears that Fred Wagner came to Reardan first and homesteaded a quarter north of Reardan (S4 SE/4 T25N R39EWM) in 1888. He was joined a year later by his brothers Adolph who homesteaded the quarter immediate west of Fred's quarter (S4 SW/4 T25N R39EWM and Charles who homesteaded about a mile north (S34 E/2 E/2 T26N R39EWM).

The Core Dispute

Fred and Adolph did not always get along. Adolph accused Fred of putting in a fence line on his land instead of between their two quarters. There is no indication that the fence was ever moved.

Domestic Abuse

In 1896 the brothers were joined by a sister Amelie ("Mollie") and her husband Herman Franke. Amelie and Herman and four children came with around $7,000 that they planned to purchase some land, livestock and equipment. They did buy a quarter of land in the same section as Fred and Adolph which was homesteaded by Moore Gelty (SW/4 SW/4, Lots 2, 3, 4 S4 T25N R39EWM) [This land was farmed by Dick and Lorraine Paul after WWII.][The Oskosh account say Herman had $4000 and Amaile had $1800 and they purchased 480 acres. This means there is another half section somewhere].

The problem with the land purchase is that it was all in Herman's name although Amelie had provided some of the cash given to her by the Wagner's mother. She want on quarter to be in her name, since it was her separate money. They fought over this issue and he beat her. She went down the road to Fred's house and notified the sheriff. In the mean time Herman cut up her clothes into small pieces and tossed them out the door. He was charged with assault and battery and fined $75. He borrowed the money from John Christian from Reardan. About ten days later Mr. Christian went to see Herman presumedly about the land and could not find him. Foul play was suspected. Mrs. Franke had been living with her brother Fred at the time, but now figured it was safe to return to her own home. She wanted to file for divorce and property division, but was told she had to wait a year to establish Washington residency.

The Disappearance of Herman Franke

No one knew where Herman was. It was speculated that either he was murdered or that he left the country to avoid further prosecution. Some felt that it may have been that he thought his land deals were not going as he expected.

1894-11

It appears that Herman got on a train and went to see his family in Oshkosh, WI. He could not find his family or at least sympathy for his plight. He was desperate. He hung himself. Problem was that there was nothing on his person or in his room to identify him. The police held his body for a few days for identification but eventually had him buried in a paupers grave.

The Wagner siblings corresponded with each other and news of the activities in Reardan reach a brother and a sister, Mrs __, in...wait for it...Oshkosh, WI. She reads in the paper a description of a short unidentified man who hung himself and puts that together with her brother in-law Herman. So the police took what little effects the hung man had, a German watch, a handkerchief and a knife) and sent it to the constable in Reardan W. H. Capps who was the next door neighbor of Fred. He presented the effects to Amelie and one of the Wagner brothers who confirmed their owner was her husband.

---I can't find a notice in the paper about the unidentified man. It may be that the Wagners were in contact with the Franke relatives in Oskosh.

1895-03

The Arrest of the Wagner Siblings for Murder

On July 22, 1897, the siblings Amelie Franke, Fred Wagner, and Gotlieb Wagner, who lived one mile north of Reardan, were arrested for the murder of Herman Franke, Amelie's husband, who disappeared around October 25, 1984. Two other Wagner brothers (Adolph and __) living in the area were not arrested. A few days before his disappearance, the Frankes fought and Herman was charged with assault and battery and fined $75. He borrowed the money from John Christian. About 10 days later Mr. Christian went to visit Herman and could not find him. Foul play was suspected. Mrs. Franke went to her brother Fred Wagner's home until it was noticed that Herman had disappeared and she returned home.

Fred came to the Reardan area around 1883. His brothers followed him. The Frankes followed in 1896. They invested $7000 in land, stock, and equipment. It turns out that some of the money that Herman had invested was actually Amelie's separate money, but he put the title to the land purchased with it in his name and not hers. Hence the argument.

She was insisting on her right to the property purchased with her money. He was not going along with that. He beat her and she left their place and went to her brother Fred's place about a half mile away. Meanwhile Herman was cutting up her clothing into smalll pieces and tossing them outdoors.

After Herman's disappearance, Emily tries to get a divorce from Herman. She is told she must wait a year to get a divorce to establish her residency in Washington.

She did get a divorce and got title to the land.

The charges against the Wagners was brought by John Thyne, also of Reardan and an employee of W. H. Childs who ran an elevator in town. Fred Wagner thought he, Emily and Gotlieb were innocent. Mr. Thyne, who was thought to be also employed as a detective to solve the mystery of Mr. Franke's demise. Mr.Thyne may have been motivated by a $500 reward offered by the Lincoln County commissioners for the arrest and conviction of Mr. Franke's killer.

The accused were arraigned and a court date set for the following week. They did raise the $5000 bond, so they did not have to spend all five days in jail, but probably some. [This is probably the same cell as the cell now in the parking lot of Lincoln County Historical Museum.] They hired attorney's and their principle line of defence was they got the wrong Wagner. They should be looking at their brother Adolph. Mr. Thyne was said to be a good friend of Adolphs, so may have be acting as his agent when the accusation was made. At any rate there was not enough evidence for a murder charge and the case was dismissed.

Wagner Land Around Reardan by 1911

Charles sold his land to __ in __.

Adolph sold his homestead quarter to __ and took a lease of the school land for the entire section 36.

The Franke land is a bit more complicated. The quarter in Section 4 is still in the Herman Franke name. This may be because it was held in trust for his four children.

Mrs. Franke has title to an 80 (N/2 SE/4 S32 T26N R39E)

[What I believe should have happened is this: One quarter should be in his wife's name because the quarter was purchased with her separate funds. The other two quarters should have been split between the wife and the children. So the wife should have two quarters and the children would have one quarter.]

Where Did the Wagners Go

Three are obvious, because they stayed in Reardan. Fred stayed on his home place. He and his wife had some kids including Rose (who married Dick "Guy" Flemming) and Herman (who married Martha Knutson). Herman died from pnemonia which was probably brought on the the influenza epidemic. They had a son, Herman Wagner, Jr. Martha remarried William J. Colville and they adopted Herman, Jr.

Adolph married Emma. They had three daughters, Edith (Guyer), Emma (Karle), Elsie (Weyen); and one son Dick who marries Amelia Scharf of Davenport and they had one son George.

Amelia Franke (47) also stayed near Reardan. It appears that she was living off farm income in 1910. Two of her children, Hulda (15) and Bruno (13), were living with her. In 1943 Amelia/Amalie Franke (80) was found dead in a chair in her home. It was decided that no inquest was necessary. Hulda was now married to Mr. Schumer and dies on May 28, 1953. In 1942, Bruno was committed to the Eastern State Hospital in Medical Lake. He was found dead in a shower in 1960, hung by a belt around a fixture in an apparent suicide.

Charles died in 1931 in Petaluma, CA. His obituary says that this brother Fred and sister Mollie Franke live at Reardan. Another brother Godfried is living in Wyoming. Adolph is living in Spokane. No mention of other siblings. Charles married Emma and they had several children.

Side Note

A side note.

1897 was a bumper crop. It was reported that the crop average was 40 to 50 bushels per acre in the Reardan and Davenport area. William Schulz was reporting a 50 bushel per acre crop on a field of 115 acres. This seems high to me. When I asked about the yield in the area before fertilizer, I was told that it ran in the 20s. I found a news article from 1933 about wheat allotment and it was based on 15 bushels per acre. This could be showing that the soil was getting "tired." It would be nice to know "real" numbers.

DRAFT--This page is a draft. It is incomplete, not proof read and may contain research notes