The Waggoner Family Connection (Part 1)

Recently I found, downloaded, and read a very interesting book, interesting to anyone curious of genealogy, the history of Moultrie County and Sullivan, Illinois, or just history of life reaching back to the Revolutionary War era. Entitled The Waggoner Family, A History of the  Emigrant Hans Waggoner and His Descendants, the book was written by John Garland Waggoner (the nephew of my 3rd great-grandmother Matilda Waggoner, making him our first cousin a few times removed) and Clem Morton Boling in 1922. The revised version of which I am speaking was published in 1929 with updated information of descendants not included in the previous version. (If you would interested, the book is a free download at this web address: http://edenmartin.com/newsite2/books/Waggoner_History-1929-with-Additions.pdf)

I was so excited when I read a very familiar name on page 33 ... Don Cicero Bragg! I already knew that Johann Jacob Waggoner/Wagner, known to his family as Hans, was my 6th great-grandfather, it was just really neat to see Dad's name in print like that. Here is the line of descent from ...

Johann Jacob Waggoner/Wagner (1717-1799) [born in Germany]
Isaac Waggoner (1761-1838) [migrated to Shelby Co., IL (now Moultrie Co., IL) in 1827]
John Garland Waggoner (1790-1844)
Matilda Waggoner Phillips (1829-1876)
Louisa Jane Phillips Munson (1848-1913)
Elvira Belle Munson Gilbreath (1871-1939)
Gladys Gilbreath Bragg (1898-1977)
Don Cicero Bragg (1920-2013)

Then I discovered through the Find-A-Grave website that the original immigrant Jacob Waggoner/Wagner's grave is not only in North Carolina, but only a short 20 minute drive from where I live. So on September 15, 2016 Ann and I made a quick trip to Midway, NC where we visited the Bethany United Church of Christ Cemetery and my 6th great-grandfather's grave.

Through reading this book you will get a clearer idea of the hardships endured as the Waggoner family migrated from South Carolina to (then) Shelby County, IL. They played a key role in the formation and naming of both Moultrie County and the city of Sullivan (both named in honor of their homeland near Charleston, SC).