Christian Drager - Shoemaker

Christian Drager, my father's great grandfather, was born in Angermünde, a town in the province of Brandenburg in Germany. It is in the far east of the country being about 10 miles from the Polish border and about 45 miles from Berlin. When Christian was about 7 years old, he immigrated to the United States in 1867 with his parents, Charles Friederich Drager and Dorothea Louisa Streble, and five siblings: John, Charles, Marie Louise, August and Ferdinand.

By the 1870 U.S. Federal Census, the Drager family had settled in Casco, St. Clair County, Michigan, a small farming community about 40 miles northeast of Detroit. At this time, Christian was about 10 years old and was listed as "At School" under his occupation, but he and his siblings most certainly helped on the family farm.

By 1880, Christian was living in Armada, Macomb County, Michigan, a town about 16 miles to the northwest of Casco. He was a boarder with the James R. Dryer family. Mr. Dryer owned a boot and shoe store and Christian was working in the shoe store. Whether he was an apprentice at that point is not clear. Because he was nearly 20, he had probably either ended or was coming close to ending his apprenticeship.



1880 U.S. Federal Census showing Christian Drager working as a
shoemaker in Armada, Michigan.

Around 1883, Christian married Emma Amelia Hourtienne of Macomb County, Michigan. He and Emma had three children: Albert, Edward and Elsie. Christian and his family eventually moved to Detroit and by 1890, Christian was working for L.N. Valpey & Co., a prominent shoemaker in Detroit (Family lore tells that he made shoes specifically for handicapped people, but I haven't located any information at this point verifying this information).



1894 Advertisement for L.N. Valpey & Co. in Detroit, Michigan.
Note that the company does not extend credit in order to offer
customers better prices.

In May 1895, Christian married Mary Jasper and they had one child, Hildegard Clara Drager. He and his family made their home at 782 St. Aubin Street, where they shared their home with Herman and Helen Hamel. The Hamels made confections. In the 1896 Detroit Directory, Christian is listed as making confections, as well as being a shoemaker. It is possible that the Hamels learned confection-making from Christian and then took over the confection-making business as their own, because by the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, the Hamels are listed as confection makers, while Christian is listed as a shoemaker.

Success eventually came to Christian and by 1910, he and Mary had moved to 1585 Medbury Avenue, a home which they owned free, without mortgage. During this time, Christian also improved his standing in the community, becoming proprietor of a shoe shop.

By the time Christian reached age 60, he and Mary had moved back to Macomb County, Michigan and purchased a farm, again which they owned free, without mortgage. After retiring from shoemaking, Christian sold produce to the local market. Christian and Mary lived on the farm for a little over 10 years and Christian died of kidney complications on 10 Feb 1928.



William Rogers - Union Soldier

William Rogers, my great-great-great grandfather on my mother's side, served in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. He enlisted as a Private on 24 Aug 1861 and was place in Company K of the 11th Michigan Infantry.

During William's enlistment, the main duty of the 11th Michigan Infantry consisted of guard duty along the Louisville & Nashville Railroad (also referred to as the L&N; the L&N spanned the Union and Confederate lines and served both sides as the war fronts changed). The soldiers were marched to Bardstown, Kentucky, about 50 miles southeast of Louisville.

William received a disability discharge on 03 Jun 1862, having served a total of less than 10 months. According to the Record of service of Michigan volunteers in the Civil War, 1861-1865, of the 1,323 men enlisted in the 11th Infantry, 265 (or 20%) were discharged due to disabilty or disease.

All of the documentation available during a cursory search on Ancestry.com, indicated that William's only service was with the 11th Michigan Infantry. However, when reviewing his record in the Civil War Pension Index available on Footnote.com, I discovered that he had additional service under Company H of the 28th Michigan Infantry.

William re-enlisted as a private on 08 Aug 1864 and was promoted to Second Lieutenant on 26 Aug 1864. As a Second Lieutenant, William would have been third in command of a company and may have had his own platoon to command, as well. During his second stint with the Union Army, he saw much action, including the Battle of Nashville, fighting the Confederate forces of Gen. John Bell Hood. It was one of the largest Union victories of the war.

The Civil War officially ended on 09 Apr 1865 when Lee surrendered to Grant and William Rogers resigned his post soon thereafter on 08 Jun 1865.