A Journey Home
The Local History room is slowly taking shape as more and more archival items are coming from the J. E. Reeves Home to the Library. As we process these items, some research is done to confirm the connection to Dover and Tuscarawas County. The “Local Families” box of items proved to be a treasure trove of photos and stories. We will share an interesting one with you involving the Wagner family.
Dr. P. M Wagner was a local physician who lived with his wife, Henrietta, in the Reeves Heights area of Dover. He was born on a farm between Zoar and Sandyville on August 20, 1868. In his early years he taught school at Zoar and the surrounding area. He then graduated from the Ohio Medical University at Columbus and became Dover’s “foremost eye, ear, throat, and nose specialist.” He was on the school board and served one term in the Ohio Legislature. He came from a large family including two brothers who were also doctors—Dr. Ezra Wagner, a dentist in Dover, and Dr. J. E. Wagner of Mineral City. His other siblings were Fred, Christian, Adolph, Theophilus, and Regina.
On Thursday, July 23, 1914, Dr. Wagner’s wife received a cablegram that her husband had died while in Berlin, Germany, taking a special medical course. The newspaper article regarding the news states, “Every letter received by relatives in Dover stated that he was progressing nicely with his studies and enjoying his trip. His serious illness which terminated in his death was a shock” (The Daily Times, July 24, 1914).
Dr. Wagner had left for New York on May 30 and set sail on June 2. He went to Germany to take a six week course with a noted specialist and while there decided to extend it to twelve weeks. He died during an operation for gallstones when he did not recover from the anaesthetic.
This is where the story gets interesting. Dr. Wagner died on July 23. World War I was declared in Germany on July 31. Dr. Wagner’s body was given to the American consulate to be shipped home. It was sent to Bremen, Germany, where it was to be shipped on the Hamburg-American liner Koenigin Luise. When Germany declared war, this ship was ordered out as a mine layer and a British cruiser sunk her. No other ships were leaving Germany. Dr. Wagner’s brother made an appeal to the U. S. government for help to retrieve his brother’s body.
Through the diligent work of his brother, Dr. Wagner’s body was eventually located in Bremen by a United States Express Company employee. It was finally shipped home through Holland and arrived in Dover on the C&P train from Pittsburgh on October 3—over 2 months after his death in July. The family reported, “the body is in a wonderful state of preservation” and a funeral would be held at Grace Lutheran Church.
The final part of the story does not take place until 1920. Dr. E. S. Wagner had written to a cousin, Gustave Wagner, who lived in Stuttgart, Germany in 1914, for assistance when he was attempting to locate his brother’s body. Gustave was killed in France in 1917, but his father had held on to a letter he had written to his American cousin and only sent it along in 1920.
-Kim Jurkovic, Local History Librarian
Sources: The Daily Times July 24, 1914; August 6, 1914; October 5, 1914; February 9, 1920
Photo from the Dover Historical Society Archives collection. Dr. P. M. Wagner is #6.
