Several posts have been written on this blog about the establishment that once existed in Altenburg called the Wagner Hotel. That building is pictured below.

One of the previous posts about this hotel was titled, Just What Went on at the Wagner Hotel? That post posed several questions about events that took place there. Today, I hope to shed a bit of light on a few of those events, although I cannot supply all the answers at this point in time. I am going to begin today’s post by looking at a Wagner baby that may have been born in the hotel.

Theodore Albert Bernhard Wagner was born on February 1, 1858, the firstborn child of Gustav and Theresia (Palisch) Wagner. This Wagner family would eventually have 7 children. The first 5 of these children, including Theodore, were baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Altenburg. The last 2 were baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Theodore’s baptism record from Immnauel’s books is pictured here.

Before I move on, let me add that Theodore’s parents were married in 1856 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg by Rev. Georg Schieferdecker. They were married on December 27th. So, I think they were another couple that was married shortly after Christmas Day because they could not be married during Advent. Christmas was on a Thursday that year, and maybe this couple (and the pastor as well) decided to have this wedding on a Saturday.

Immanuel Lutheran Church was established in late 1857 with Rev. Georg Schieferdecker as their pastor after he was ousted as the pastor of Trinity. A few Palisch men are listed as charter members of that congregation, but Gustav Wagner was not. However, it appears that these Wagner newlyweds also joined that congregation. Theodore’s baptism record was just the 6th one to be recorded in the books of Immanuel.

Theodore is found in the 1860 census at the age of 2. Another brother, Samuel, was just a baby at that time. Theodore’s father was a blacksmith in Altenburg. A young man named William Baldermann was included in this entry. He was called a blacksmith apprentice.

Theodore’s father spent some time serving in the Union Army during the Civil War. Then, after that war was over, we find the Wagner’s with 6 children. The last child in this entry was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. I do not know why this family transferred back to the church in which they were married. Perhaps they were impressed with the new church that was built in 1867 at Trinity, and perhaps they decided that church was closer to where they lived in Altenburg. In 1870, Theodore was 12 years old, and his father was called a butcher.

The last census in which we find Theodore unmarried is the one taken in 1880. Theodore was 22 years old. Both his parents were said to be keeping a hotel, and Theodore was called a butcher. One more son, Joseph, had been added to the family during the previous decade.

When I wrote the previous post about the Wagner Hotel, I stated that I could not tell much about what happened between 1880 and 1900 because we cannot view the 1890 census. Now, I think I can answer some questions about some events that took place in that interim. First of all, during 1880, a tragic event involving Theodore took place. Let me set the scene. Very near the Wagner Hotel, was an establishment run by Gabriel Lottes called the Angel Saloon. On the night of July 5th, Theodore’s brother, Samuel Wagner, entered the tavern and proceeded to have an argument with a Groh boy. Another man, William O’Donnell, entered the bar and ordered a beer. The bartender (likely Gabriel) told Samuel to be quiet, and when Samuel approached the bartender, Mr. O’Donnell struck him. These two were kicked out of the bar. Samuel was told to leave by the back door, and O’Donnell was told to leave by the west door. In the photo below, which shows the tavern at a later time when it was called Pete’s Place, you see a door on the west side of the building. That must have been the door used by O’Donnell.

I am now going to do some speculation without proof. I think O’Donnell may have been a guest at the Wagner Hotel. He certainly did not have a typical Altenburg name. Perhaps he was a traveling salesman who occasionally did business in town. And perhaps he and the Wagner boys had developed some sort of animosity there.

This is where Theodore enters the story. After O’Donnell left the saloon, he went around the building and saw not only Samuel Wagner, but also his older brother, Theodore. O’Donnell ran away, but was pursued by the Wagner boys. A fight ensued, and O’Donnell received injuries which led to his death on April 7th. The Wagner’s had a hearing before Judge Adolph Schmidt in Altenburg. The legal proceedings moved along slowly until in April of 1882 the Wagner brothers were officially charged with murder as recorded in this short notice found in the Perryville Weekly Union.

A trial was to begin in July of 1882. An article about this trial was printed in the Weekly Union. It gives plenty of other details about the event and includes the names of the jury members and witnesses for both the state and the defendants. I have to display this article in several images. You will have to click the thumbnails to read the article in parts.

I was not able to locate a newspaper article that gave the results of the trial. However, I did find this short notice that was placed in the Weekly Union in October of that year. It states that Samuel and Theodore were released from jail after being held for 3 months. I have to figure that the brothers were not found guilty of murder and were able to return to their lives in Altenburg.

Now, I have to add another tragic event that occurred in 1882. In April of that year, at about the time that the Wagner brothers were charged, their father died. Sadly, not only did he die, but he committed suicide. There is no record of his death in either the books of Trinity or Immanuel. What we do know is that Gustav is buried in the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery. Suicide is never a pleasant thing to deal with, and people and churches have dealt with it differently over the years. In Gustav’s case, I believe that when he died, he was a member of Trinity, but that congregation is not where we find a death record, and he was not buried in their cemetery. As far as Immanuel is concerned, they also included no death record in their books, but it was in their cemetery that Gustav was buried. Below is an image of his gravestone.

You may be able to determine this from the photo above that Gustav’s grave site was outside the perimeter of the other gravestones in that cemetery. I have also been informed that for a lot of years, a small fence was placed around this stone, probably to give additional evidence that he was not to be included with the rest of the people buried there because of the way he took his own life. I have to wonder if one of the factors that may have led to Gustav’s suicide might have been the fact that his 2 oldest sons had been dealing with murder charges for several years. It must have been very stressful for that entire family.

Now, I finally get to take a look at the woman who would become Theodore’s wife, and as things turn out, she is the main character for the remainder of this story. Her name was Anna Maria Burkhardt, who was born on August 14, 1856. Anna was the firstborn child of Ernst Edward and Johanne (Schuessler) Burkhardt. There were 6 children in this Burkhardt family, and all 6 of them were girls. All of these girls were baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Anna would be the only Burkhardt girl who would be baptized by Rev. Schieferdecker. Anna’s baptism record is shown here.

Anna is found in the 1860 census at the age of 3. Her father was a carpenter in Altenburg. A young wagon-maker named August Winter was living with the Burkhardt’s.

Next, we find Anna in the 1870 census as a teenager. There were 5 daughters in the family.

Anna would have been in her 20’s when the 1880 census was taken, and she was no longer living with her parents. However, I could not locate her in that year’s census. I did find plenty of Anna Burkhardt’s when I searched, but none of them fit Anna’s profile.

Theodore Wagner married Anna Burkhardt on December 28, 1884. That means today would be their 140th wedding anniversary. They, too, were married shortly after the Advent season was over. They also married not long after Theodore was finished with all his legal battles. They were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Altenburg. Their church marriage record is displayed below.

We are also able to view this couple’s Missouri marriage license.

I am also able to show you this marriage certificate for them.

Theodore and Anna did not have any children. And, as it turns out, we never see them in a census entry together. We are not able to look at the 1890 census, and Theodore died rather early prior to the census taken in 1900. Theodore died in 1893, not long before his 35th birthday. His death record found in the Trinity books says that he died of winter fever. I found a place online that says pneumonia was once called winter fever.

Theodore’s death left Anna as a widow, and she never married again. Anna is found in the 1900 census living by herself in Altenburg. She was called a dress maker.

In the 1910 census, Anna was the head of her household, which consisted of her mother and her sister, Mathilda Burkhardt. Anna was still in the dress-making business.

When the 1915 atlas of plat maps were produced, it included a map of the town of Altenburg. I have highlighted a few locations on the image below. The G. Lottes property is where the Angel Saloon was found. Next to that parcel we find one for Jos. Wagner, Theodore’s younger brother. I have highlighted the place where the Wagner Hotel was found. Finally, just down the street toward Trinity Lutheran Church we find a parcel with the name A. Wagner. That was where Anna was living. We always find her in census entries close to pastors and teachers at Trinity, as well as close to her brother-in-law, Joseph Wagner.

Anna is found in the 1920 census at the age of 63. She was living with Friedericke Wagner, her sister-in-law, who was divorced, and once again we find her single sister, Mathilda Burkhardt.

The last census in which we find Anna is the one taken in 1930. We find just Anna Wagner and her sister, Mathilda Burkhardt in this entry.

Anna Wagner died in 1939 at the age of 83 on the day after Christmas.

An obituary for Anna was published in the Perry County Sun. It says she died while doing some legal business with her next door neighbor, Judge Adolph Schmidt.

Both Theodore Wagner and Anna Wagner are buried in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Altenburg. Theodore’s gravestone says he died in 1892, but that does not correspond with his church death record.

I think I have now answered several questions about things that took place in and around the Wagner Hotel. I still have several questions in my mind that at this time, I cannot answer. Maybe I will have to return to this story again someday if I learn more.