Obituaries for Christina Wagner & Henry Freber and Their Descendants

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• Argo Cemetery, Burt County, NE obituaries.
• Logan Cemetery, Hooper NE obituaries.
• Baptist Cemetery, Uehling, NE obituaries.
• Uehling Cemetery, Uehling, NE obituaries.
• St. John's Cemetery, Hooper, NE obituaries.
• West Admah Cemetery, Washington, County, NE obituaries.
• Family Index an index of additional Dodge county, Nebraska related obituaries.
• Fremont Tribune On line daily newspaper.

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Henry Freber Family Group Sheet
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Husband: HENRY FREBER
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       Birth: Dec 19, 1839                                                          
       Death: Aug 12, 1905                                                          
    Marriage:                CLYMAN, DODGE CO., WI                                  
      Father: CHARLES F. W. FREBER (1801-1873)
      Mother: MARGRET (FREBER) (1819-1894)
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Wife: CHRISTINA BARBARA WAGNER
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       Birth: Sep 27, 1834   MITTELSCHEFFLENZ, BADEN, GERMANY                       
 Immigration: Apr 23, 1852   HAVRE TO NEW YORK ON THE COL. COLTS                    
       Death: Feb 3, 1866    DURING CHILD BIRTH OF HER 3RD CHILD; HOOPER, DODGE CO.,
      Burial:                LOGAN CEMETERY, HOOPER, DODGE CO., NE                  
      Father: JOHAN GEORG "GEORGE" WAGNER (1809-1865)
      Mother: CHRISTIANE BARBARA SEITZ (1814-1875)
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Children
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1 F LENORA L. FREBER
       Birth: Feb 22, 1862   CLYMAN, DODGE CO., WI                                  
       Death: 1930           SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA                        
      Spouse: JOHN G. FAHL (1858-1925)
    Marriage: Nov 18, 1885                                                          
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2 F IDA LOUESA FREBER
       Birth: Nov 24, 1863   CLYMAN, DODGE CO., WI                                  
       Death: 1915           SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA                        
      Spouse: PAUL SOMMERFELD (1864-1944)
    Marriage: Dec 7, 1887    CLYMAN, DODGE CO., WI                                  
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Name on Tombstone = Christina Freber

Dates on Tombstone = d 3 Feb 1866  31 yr 4 mo 7 days

Married Name = Mrs. Henry Freber

Maiden Name = Christina Wagner

Biography

Christina Wagner Freber, 31, was born at Mittelschefflenz, Baden,
Germany on September 27, 1834 and died at her home, near Logan
cemetery, on February 3, 1866.  Hooper, Nebraska was not yet a
town. Her parents were George Wagner and Christiane Seitz Wagner.
Christina died of complications of childbirth, during the birth of
her third daughter. That child also died and is buried with
Christina. They are buried near Christina's father, George Wagner,
who donated the land for Logan cemetery, and is the first person to
be buried there.

Christina emigrated to the USA with her parents and brothers in
1852 on the ship, "Col. Colts", sailing from Harve to New York
City, NY. They arrived in New York on April 23, 1852. They went to
Cleveland, OH and lived there until 1856 when they moved to Dodge
county, Wisconsin. Christina's sister, Rose, was born at Cleveland,
OH on March 19, 1853.

Christina married Henry Freber in Clyman township, Dodge county,
Wisconsin, and they had two daughters born to them there. Lenora L.
was born on February 22, 1862 and Ida Louesa was born on November
24, 1863. Both daughters were born in Clyman township of Dodge
county, Wisconsin.

Christina's parents, with the Henry Schwab Sr. family, moved to
Dodge county, Nebraska in 1861.  It is not known when Christina and
her family moved to Nebraska, but it would be after November, 1863
and before her death in February, 1866.  In 1867 Henry Freber and
his two small daughters returned to Wisconsin and the girls were
raised by Henry's mother, Margaret, and his sister, May Winkelman. 
When they were grown Leonra married John G. Fahl and Ida married
Paul Sommerfeld. Both daughters and their families went to Canada
and most of their descendants live there now.

Christina was survived by her mother, sister, Rose, and brothers,
George, William, and August.
-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 

Christina Wagner Freber

Christina Wagner 1834-1866, born in Wiesbaden(1) Germany, was the
first wife of Henry Freber, Clyman, Dodge Co. Wis., and the mother
of Lenora (Fahl) and Louesa (Sommerfeld).  Her parents, George
Wagner (I) born 4.25.09 and Christina (Seitz) Wagner, born 7.7.14,
and their family all born Wiesbaden(1), except Rosa, the youngest,
emigrated first to the Cleveland area of Ohio, before 1853.

However, the National census for 1860 shows this George Wagner
family farming at Clyman, Dodge Co. Wis. as follows: George Wagner,
age 51 -head of household, Clyman Wis. farmer Christina Wagner -
wife -age 45 Christina, daughter, age 25 George, son, age 24, farm
labourer William, a son, age 19, apprentice blacksmith August, age
14, son at school Rosa, age 7, daughter at school, born Ohio (1853)

The Wagner family history says they were at Madison, Wis., but
Clyman, an agricultural and railway center at the time is more
likely.

The 1860 Census also lists Christina Wagner, age 25 as domestic in
the household of Charles Noyes, Clyman.  This was the first
reference ever found about Christina in this study.

On the 1860 Census for Clyman the George Wagner household was no.
139, the Charles Freber household no. 165, (father of Henry and
where Henry lived) and the household of Charles Noyes was no. 166.
This indicates they were all neighbours, since the Censustaker
usually went down a road from one house to the next.  No need to
ask how Henry and Christina became acquainted.

The household of Charles Noyes was unusual in that area at that
time. It consisted of a widowed mother, Electra, age 60, born in
Vermont, farming with 2 sons, Charles age 22, and Darius age 20, a
daughter, Harriet, age 24, school teacher living at home all born
New York, and Christina Wagner to keep house for them. This was a
down-east American-born family, not common in Wis. at that time.

The next year the George Wagners moved to the Territory of
Nebraska, settling in the new, pioneer community of Logan's Creek,
later called Hooper(2).  They made the long and difficult trip by
ox-drawn covered wagons, leaving April first, and arriving July 4,
1861.  They endured long hard days of slow, bone-shattering travel,
the privations of a diet restricted to the foods they could carry,
excessive heat, and desperate thirst due to shortage of water along
the way, for both people and animals.  Their main bill of fare was
bags of toasted bread, prepared during the previous winter,
probably similar to rusks.  They shared a small, abandoned log
cabin for the first winter with the family(3) with whom they had
travelled west.  The deep snow, intense cold and lack of
necessities were hard on them.

However, this interesting story of their life, written by Rosa
Wagner Stecher, makes no mention at all of her older sister,
Christina. Yet it is fact that Henry and Christina too travelled to
Nebraska not long after, how, why, when or for how long is not
known, and that Christina died there 2.3.1866 giving birth to their
third daughter.  She and the infant are buried beside her father,
George, in Logan's Creek Cemetery, the land for which he donated to
the community, and where his had been the first burial the year
before.

Lenora (Fahl) had been born to Christina and Henry 2.22.1862 and
Louesa (Sommerfeld) 11.23.1863. All official records found so far,
such a Census, marriage and death records, state both were born in
Clyman, Dodge Co., Wis.  In 1867 following Christina's death Henry
returned to his home in Clyman, with his two small daughters, where
they found a second warm and loving home from their grandmother
Margaret Freber, and Aunt May Winkelman. It must have been a long
hard journey for those two tiny tots to make twice before they were
five years old.  It seems they must have gone out, and come back
again.

The whole story leads to more questions and speculation for which
there seem no answers.  How did Henry and Christina travel to
Nebraska with 2 babies when there probably was not yet  a railroad
the whole way. Henry was not yet 24 years old.  Also these were
Civil War years, and young men in the Territories were not subject
to the draft as were those in organized states such as Wisconsin.
One wonders why so little is known about Christina in her own
family, or in the Freber family.  Even her name was not known for
sure. It took a long time before the first chance reference to her
was found, and then in Census returns.

It seems that Lenora and Louesa did keep in touch with their Wagner
relatives in Nebraska during their lifetime, at least to about
1930. After a long interval Rosalie Peuppke Schafersman of Hooper,
granddaughter of George II, with persistence, curiosity, and luck,
managed to re-establish cordial relations around 1980. Now 89 years
old, she remembers, as a small child, that Louesa and Lenora
visited her mother in 1910, and how impressed she was with the
elegant plumes they wore on their large hats.  Howard, Edna
(Lenora's daughter) and their young son, Sylvan, also visited them
in the late 20's.  Rosalie corresponded with Ada, and her mother
with Ada's sister Edna.


Spurred on by these memories, Rosalie took a shot in the dark, and
got an acquaintance to send her the Sommerfeld page in the
Saskatoon phone book.  Luckily she chose Mary (Mrs. H.H.) to write
to, who got her granddaughter, Lynn, to answer, and send her Irma's
address. From there on everything was clear sailing.  It does take
maneuvering.

Whether any more questions will ever be answered remains to be
seen. There is a picture in a Wagner family album thought to be
Christina. Little resemblance is seen to her daughters, who
definitely were Frebers.

Note - The above was typed from the notes printed at the bottom of
Chart VII - Christina Wagner and Henry Freber.  This chart was sent
to me in Dec. 1991 by Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Sommerfeld of Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, Canada.  I copied it just as it was printed. See the
following footnotes for a clarification of some items.

(1) According to the obituary for Carl Ludwig August Wagner, he was
born in Middleschefland (I cannot find a Middleschefland but I did
find a Mittelschefflenz on the map of Germany). The George Wagner
family came to America on the ship "Col. Colts" which sailed from
Havre, France and arrived in New York City on April 23, 1852.
George, Christina and all of their children except Rose were born
at Middelschefflenz, Baden, Germany.

(2) Should be Logan Creek not Logan's Creek. Hooper is a separate
community about 3 to 4 miles southwest of Logan Creek.

(3) The Henry Schwab Sr. family: Henry Sr., Jacob, Adam and Henry
Jr. They also have a daughter, Maria Katharina, who is married to
Theodore Uehling.  Katharina and Theodore moved from Wisconsin to
Nebraska in 1860.
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