A shout-out to anyone who is going to throw away or doesn't know what to do with old Manning connected/family pictures and albums!!!
On September 28, 2023, a family from Kansas brought this amazing old family album to city hall. They wanted it to be preserved here in Manning so I grabbed it
and scanned the pictures.
I'm in the process of trying to connect a few of the pictures to this Wegner/Nagel family.
Fortunately but unusual is that most of the
pictures are identified.
I want to show this family album to get the word out to anyone who has old Manning connected pictures, history, memorabilia, documents,
certificates, military related items, uniforms, anything Manning related/connected that individuals/families have - and no longer want them.
I will digitize and archive the information and also make sure
the actual items will get preserved here in Manning.
Here is the wonderful cover - front & back of this album and down below are pictures scanned from that album.
I'll also add a few other family connected pictures and information I already had in my database to further show the family/Manning connections...if you see any errors, please let me know ASAP.
If anyone has pictures and information for this or any other Manning family, please contact me.
IF you no longer want those things - PLEASE DO NOT throw them away, but contact Dave Kusel so we can work out a way to get them to Manning for preservation.
I wish my mother, Dorothy (Ehrichs) Kusel was still living, as she would have been able to help me with this family - she would have known quite a few of them and probably been able to help connect some of the other names I haven't figured out yet.
William Wegner, son of Henry and Margaretha (Hilbert) Wegner, was born in Clinton County July 16, 1871. He married Emma Louise Nagel June 30, 1899. She was born July 29, 1879, in Luetjenburg, Germany, the daughter of Henry and Dora Nagel. The Nagels emigrated to this country when Emma was four years old. She died in 1949. Her parents, Henry and Dora, lived in Aspinwall at one time in a house next to where the Roy Soll family is now living.
Bill, as he was better known, was one of the most popular cattle feeders in the community and was a hog buyer in Aspinwall for many years. He also owned a threshing machine and did custom work for the area farmers. He and his family lived many years on the farm southwest of Aspinwall (now owned by Louis Vennink and farmed by his son Allen), where he died in 1937.
Seven children were born to them. Five have passed away, Elsie (Mrs. Gus Schrum) in 1966, Louie "Toots" in 1969, Mamie (Mrs. Gerd Janssen) in 1980, Eddie "Slim" in 1953, and Henry "Mike" in 1929. The two still living, Milda (Mrs. George Peters) and Helen (Mrs. William Petersen), live in Manning. Helen was a teacher in the Aspinwall School for a number of years.
Elsie Wegner married Gustav Schrum
This picture came from the Derner collection and I can now confirm who is who in the Oval/Emma picture.
Oval Wegner & Herman Sinow wedding 1894
Oval (left) & Emma Wegner
The lady on the right above has a similar hairstyle and look to Emma below.
Oval married Herman
Sinow & Emma married William Sander as stated below.
Emma Wegner married William Sander
William Wegner
Bill Sander married Emma Wegner
George Wegner, Sr., married Bertha Kuhl
I'm glad my mother had this picture of George Wegner, Jr., to confirm the picture above is of his dad.
George Wegner, Jr., married Lois Weems
George, Jr., and my mother were good friends and 1941 MHS classmates.
Below are several pictures that I don't know if/how they are connected to the Wegner or Nagel families.
The name is spelled Emma Kei on the picture but I'm sure it should be Kai and there was an Emma Kai.
She was the daughter of Henry & Siena (Jensen) Kai...she married Claus Thomssen
Lena Hilbert on right - taken in De Witt, Iowa - younger sister on left
Lena was the oldest of 5 sisters. Lena’s father, Claus Hilbert was the older brother of Margaretha Hilbert who married Henry Wegner.
On back Bloom was written and this is a Lyden Studio photo so it was taken in Manning.
The only similar sounding name for
the area is Blum.
I'm sure there weren't any Blum families in Manning when this picture was taken.
This type of damage to pictures from this era is very common and unfortunately takes a lot of tedious digital work to repair it...
On back Joe Steen was written.
There was a Joe Steen (WWI), son of Fred & Catherine (Mohr) Steen but he wouldn't
be this old in the above era photo.
So I'm going to assume this is Joachem & Wilhelmina (Horning) Steen, and I would guess all are related without more research.
Wade Cochran - unknown connections
There was a Thomas Cochran who served in the Civil War and lived in Manning.
Nissen brothers
I have a lot of old Nissen photos but none this old above.
This can't be Johannes & Christian Nissen since they were born in Germany.
So it must be two of Johannes' boys.
Johannes & Christian Nissen
Johannes Nissen and Louise Kruse were married on June 3, 1887, at Denison. They farmed south of Aspinwall for thirteen years and then moved near Irwin in Shelby County. They lived there 7 years. They returned to the Aspinwall area around 1907 and lived on a farm one-mile south and 1/2 mile west of Aspinwall. Johannes lived there until his death on January 24, 1919 at the age of 53. Louise remained on the farm until 1929 and then moved to a home on Third Street in Manning. She remained there until her death at age 68 on January 18, 1935.
Johannes and Louise were the parents of nine children. The oldest child, Emma, died in infancy. All of the children, with the exception of two daughters, remained in the Manning area throughout their lifetimes and raised their families here.
Alma Pauline (Nissen) Schroeder was born on January 30, 1889, in Crawford County. She married Alfred Schroeder on May 21, 1913. Alfred was born in Iowa Township on August 14, 1882, the son of Jurgen and Katrina Schroeder. He lived all of his life in the Aspinwall vicinity. Alfred and Alma fanned in the Aspinwall and Manning area until they moved to Manning in 1943. They moved to Aspinwall in 1948. Alfred passed away June 18, 1956, at the age of 73. Alma continued to live at her home in Aspinwall until August of 1979 when she moved to the Manning Plaza. She passed away February 14, 1985, at the age of 96. Alma and George had four sons: George, Alfred, Merle and Roy Schroeder.
Kai family story published in the 1981 Manning Centennial book
Siena Jensen was born in Schleswig Holstein, Germany in 1857, and came to the U.S. in 1872. She worked as a maid until she married Henry Kai in 1880. Henry Kai also had emigrated from Deutschland to this country.
In Germany hard times prevailed; it was impossible to start with nothing or even fine jobs. On approaching this wonderful land of ours, the welcoming statue in N.Y. Harbor seemed to say, "Welcome. Everything is possible here." And so they found it.
Henry Kai was a good farmer and in 1910, Henry and Siena with daughter Henrietta (Hattie) retired to Aspinwall. They eventually bought the home at 121 Second St. in Manning, near the Zion Lutheran Church. Grandma Kai was a devout and faithful member of the church, attending regularly German services by Rev. J.M. Ansorge.
Thirty grandchildren were born into the Kai family. Ten are now deceased. Living in this area are: Malinda Walter Vinke, Manning; Alva Schacht Fuss, Manning; Phyllis Pfoltner Callender, Manning; Lorene Pfoltner Pfannkuch, Manning; Edna Lamaack Meggers, Aspinwall; Harry Lamaack, Botna; Anna Lamaack Saunders, California; Merle Thomssen, Manilla; Estella Thomssen Schrum, Manilla; Donna Schacht Mahnke, Manilla; Virgene Schacht Kuns, Templeton; Joan Hageman Schreader, Clark, South Dakota; Henry Wenzel, Vail; Emma Wenzel Saunders, Walnut; Arlene Walter Elwell, Charter Oak; Cecil Walter Sievertsen, Harlan; Louis Walters, Council Bluffs; Ivan Walter, Worthington, Minn.; and Harold Pfoltner, Lincoln, Nebraska.
The Kai farm was sold to Charles McCone, Manilla, in 1943. In 1969 it was resold to Donald Hinners, Manning.