Alfred Abraham Wagner
Values Codes I – E – L
Alfred Wagner was born in Bielitz, Austria, in 1886.
In 1901, at the age of 15, he ran away from home because of a strict father, and came to the United States to stay with his uncle.
Along the way . . . .
A few years later Alfred Wagner moved to Chicago and then to Denver, Colorado, where he met and married American-born, Jeanette Posner.
Alfred Wagner worked in a clothing store in Miles City, Montana.
Alfred and Jeanette Wagner, with their 4 children
As his family grew, he moved to Broadview, Montana, where he opened his own store.
Billings, Montana
After World War I, Alfred Wagner moved to Billings, where he opened a new clothing store — Wagner’s Men’s Wear — on the corner of Montana and North 27th Streets.
His son, Jerome (Jerry), worked with him until he opened his own store in Billings, Jerry’s Wagner’s Men’s Wear, on Montana Avenue.
Community
Alfred Wagner was an active member of Temple Beth Aaron, being one of the first donors to contribute to the building of the synagogue in Billings.
Fraternal
Wagner was an active member of B’nai B’rith Lodge #815 of Billings, and was one of the men who kept the lodge together.
He was also a member of Billings Mason Lodge #113, A.F. & A.M.
Family
Alfred Wagner married Jeanette Posner, in 1911.
Jeanette Wagner of Montana
They had 4 children: Bernice, Phyllis, Jacob Jerome, and Marian.
In 1939, Alfred and Jeanette Posner traveled to Austria to attempt to get other family members out, but succeeded with only child, Herta Miller, who married and became Herta Shapiro.
The rest of their extended family was lost in the Holocaust.
Jacob Jerome Wagner’s Birth Certificate
Alfred Wagner died in 1948, and is buried at the Beth Aaron Cemetery in Billings, along with Jeanette and most of their family members who have since passed. Jeanette Wagner died in 1959.
Sources
- Julie L. Coleman, Golden Opportunities: A Biographical History of Montana’s Jewish Communities (Helena, MT: SkyHouse Publishers, 1994).
- Moses Morris papers, 1894-1932, Montana Historical Society Research Center – Archives and Photographs Archives. http://184.168.105.185/archivegrid/collection/data/420247227
- Montana Women’s History, http://montanawomenshistory.org/using-quilts-as-a-window-into-montana-womens-history/#more-2082
- Correspondence with grandson Jerry Wagner and “Cousin Elaine.”
Samantha Silver is curator for this Alfred Wagner exhibit.