California Biographies Transcribed by Peggy Hooper This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm Source: History of the state of California and biographical record of the San Joaquin Valley, California. An historical story of the state's marvelous growth from its earliest settlement to the present time. Prof. James Miller Guinn , A. M. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago 1905 Notes: Missing Page: 865-866,983-984,1175-1176 JAMES DANIEL WAGNER, M. D., furnishes a striking example of one who has made a success of his life work from a professional and a business point of view, and during the twenty-three years of his residence in the vicinity of Selma, Cal., he has been largely instru- mental in the upbuilding of this section in addition to fulfilling his many obligations as a gen- eral practitioner. A native of Savannah, Hardin county, Tenn., where his birth took place November 30, 1844, Dr. Wagner is the fourth child in a family of thirteen children born to his parents, being the eldest son of this family, of which seven were sons and six were daughters. On the paternal side, his great-grandfather left his home in Alsace-Lorraine, Germany, immigrating to the United States at an early age, and became a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He settled in Virginia, which was also the home of his maternal ancestors. The maternal great-grand- father was also a soldier, and served as captain on General Washington's staff. While serving as such, he was presented with a watch by the general, and this watch is now a much valued relic in the possession of Dr. Wagner. In tracing the lineage down one generation farther, we find the paternal grandfather, Daniel Wagner, to have been a native of Virginia and a farmer by occupation. He left that state for a home in the south, locating in Hardin county, Tenn., a pioneer settler of that county, and it was there he died. His son, Matthias, also a Virginian by birth, was the father of Dr. Wagner, and he also settled in Tennessee, leaving Hardin county about 1870, and locating near Montague, Tex., and it was in that vicinity that he followed farm pursuits and stock raising until his death, which took place at the age of seventy-three years. He was united in marriage with Miss Mary Graham, a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of James Graham, who although born in Virginia passed his last days in Hardin county, Tenn. The mother of Dr. Wagner died in Texas when about sixty years old. Completing the course in the common schools of Tennessee, James D. Wagner became a stu- dent at the University of Nashville, Tenn., in 1869, graduating from the medical department of that institution in 1873. Soon afterward he engaged as a general practitioner at his old home in Tennessee, and continued to live there for several years. In 1881 he sought a new loca- tion in California, locating at that time on the present site of Selma, which was then known as Selma Switch. Here he also began the practice of his profession, which has occupied the greater part of his time during the intervening years, and he enjoys today a practice second to none in his locality. He has certainly aided materially in the upbuilding of Selma, and in making it what it is today. Although the population is but two thousand, it has all the con- veniences of a city many times that size, and this is due largely to the influence of such men as Dr. Wagner. He was one of a company who erected the Masonic Temple, and it was due largely to his efforts that the edifice of the Methodist Episcopal Church South was built in Selma in 1887. In May, 1861, Dr. Wagner enlisted in the Confederate army, being then but sixteen years old, and served under Gen. Joseph Johnston in the Army of the Tennessee, and in General Wheeler's cavalry, in Company G, First Confederate Regiment. At the battle of New Hope Church a shell struck a tree behind which he was standing, and the shock rendered him sense- less for several hours. He was rolled up in a blanket for burial, which was deferred owing to the necessary retreat, and in the meantime he recovered consciousness. By his marriage in Tennessee, Dr. Wagner was united with Miss Elizabeth Gray, a native of Hickman county, that state. Nine children .blessed this union, namely: William and Wal- ter are deceased ; Dr. J. H. is a graduate of the Vanderbilt University of Tennessee; Mary is also deceased; Alice is attending the State Normal at Los Angeles; John H. is deceased; Ella is also attending the State Normal, as is also Lillian ; the youngest child died in infancy. Mrs. Wagner died in Selma March n, 1888. Fraternally Dr. Wagner is allied with Selma Lodge No. 277, F. & A. M., Trigo Chapter No. 69, R. A. M., of Fresno. In politics he is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, hav- ing served many times as a delegate to county conventions, and as a member of the state cen- tral committee. In religious circles he is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Such men as Dr. Wagner are a valuable acquisition to any community.