| When I started finding information for
this project, I wasn't finding a lot. My dad knew very little about
where our ancestors came from except for the fact that they came from
Germany. He wasn't exactly sure where in Germany but he did know that
the Haglers were a rich family and when they moved to America they had
to leave all their money behind because the government wouldn't let
them take it with them. He also was able to tell me that they wanted to
come to America in search of a better life just as many other
immigrants did. I relied heavily on my father in order to find out any
information about his side of the family because my paternal
grandparents are deceased and I do not keep in close contact with my
aunt and uncle. I used a few websites like ancestory.com and
myheritage.com in order to gather up a family tree, but ancestory.com
proved insufficient. I also tried using a different website but I
cannot remember the name, and it too was not helpful. I eventually ran into some luck when I talked to my maternal grandmother on the phone. She had a ton of information about the Zobrist family and where they came from. I eventually found out that the first person to immigrate to America in the Zobrist family was Jakob Zobrist. He came from Rupperswill, Switzerland from the district of Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau in 1842. My grandmother informed me that he came to America in order to figure out whether or not America was really the land of the free. Eventually, he established himself within Madison County, Illinois and sent for his family members. He brought his father, mother and 10 brothers and sisters to America. She also informed me of the fact that many of the Zobrists settled in Madison County, Illinois specifically in Highland. Overall, these small tidbits of information are the only things I could find out about my family's immigration history. I was able to form a small family tree and I posted it on this site for everyone to look at. The rest of this site focuses mainly on my immediate family and some of my extended family. I was also able to find some interesting artifacts, and I put pictures of those on here as well as stories about them. So stick around and read about some interesting stuff. Thank you. |
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My Mom and Dad
 My father's name is Edward Hagler. He was born October 4, 1953 in Highland, Illinois to John and Ada Hagler. He has an older brother named Robert. He grew up in the town of Millersburg, Illinois more commonly known as East Pierron, Illinois (Hagler). He attended Pocahontas, Illinois at the Pocahontas Elementary and Middle school. Then he went to Greenville High School in Greenville, Illinois, and he graduated in 1971 (Hagler). Growing up, he enjoyed playing baseball, hunting, fishing, and riding bikes. He is especially fond of baseball and when he was ten he got to watch the St. Louis Cardinals at the original Sportsman Park, which was the first of the Busch Stadiums in 1963 (Hagler). He also enjoyed riding in his brother Robert's 1957 Chevy as a kid. He called it a "real treat" when he was allowed do that (Hagler). He has held various jobs over the years, and he currently works at UTI in Pontoon Beach, Illinois (Hagler). My mother's name is Judy Hagler, and her maiden name was Zobrist. She was born May 24, 1960 in Highland, Illinois to Melvin and Frances Zobrist. She has an older sister named Connie. She grew up in Pocahontas, Illinois on a dairy farm (Hagler). She also attended Pocahontas Elementary and was transfered to Greenville Elementary School for speech therapy because she lost her hearing as a child due to spinal meningitis (Hagler). She also went to another school in order to get more speech therapy when she was eight and nine (Hagler). She then went on to Greenville Junior High School and then to Greenville High School to finish her education, and she graduated in 1980 (Hagler). As a child, she helped her parents work on their dairy farm (Hagler). As a kid, she enjoyed swimming, growing pumpkins, and going rollerskating on Saturday nights (Hagler). She also had several jobs in her life, but she currently works for DeMoulin Brothers Company in Greenville, Illinois (Hagler). My mother and father met in July 1984 at a church softball game (Hagler). They dated for a year and two months before the married in September 28, 1985 (Hagler). They are still married today. |
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Grandma
and Grandpa Zobrist
  My grandmother's name is Frances
Zobrist. She was born October 19, 1938 to James and Norma McEvers in
Granite City, Illinois (Zobrist). She went to school in Granite City
for one year
and then she and her family moved to Maryville and lived there for
three years (Zobrist). They eventually moved to California and lived
there for
nine months and then they moved to Sorento, Illinois (Zobrist). She
went to
Smith's school in Sorento, Illinois and then went to Pocahontas Middle
school and then went to Pocahontas High school (Zobrist). She quit high
school
half way through her junior year because she got married (Zobrist). As
a child,
she enjoyed dressing up her cats with doll clothes (Zobrist). Growing
up, she had
to help clean the dishes, plant gardens, raise turkeys, and can
vegetables (Zobrist). She enjoyed playing with her younger brother
Richard, who
helped her make mischief and she idolized her older half-brother
Thomas (Zobrist). Her first job was at Cricket Hill Orchard located in
Pocahontas, Illinois (Zobrist). She then worked for Nuby's Steakhouse
also
located in Pocahontas, Illinois. Eventually, she worked for Greenville
College in Greenville, Illinois (Zobrist).
My grandfather's name is Melvin Zobrist. He was born September 6, 1934 to Delmar and Fern Zobrist in Pocahontas, Illinois in the family home (Zobrist). He went to Shawnee school located in Pocahontas, Illinois up until eighth grade and then quit school in order to help on the farm (Zobrist). He rode a Shetland pony to school everyday. He had to help milk cows, and he also used to show cattle in different counties (Zobrist). His favorite thing to do as a kid was working on the farm. He would rather work than go anywhere (Zobrist). He enlisted in the Army in 1955, and he had his basic training in Fort Leonard, Missouri (Zobrist). Then he was transferred to Atlanta, Georgia to Fort Benning, and he took welding classes (Zobrist). He eventually ended up in Fort Eustis in Virginia (Zobrist). He got out of the Army in March 1957 (Zobrist). He got a job running a bulldozer in 1967 until 1970 (Zobrist). In 1973, he started working for Hulchers which is located Sauget, Illinois and he is presently working there (Zobrist). My grandparents met in 1955 while my grandmother watched her friend practice for a play and my grandfather was there (Zobrist). My grandfather mentioned something about going out and then they started dating (Zobrist). They dated for four months and then got married the following year (Zobrist). They had two daughters named Judy and Connie. They were married January 25, 1956 and are still married today (Zobrist). According to my grandmother, the first ancestor to come over was in 1842 from Rupperswil canton Aargau in the district of Switzerland (Zobrist). The first ancestor wanted to come to America in order to find out whether America was really the land of the free (Zobrist). After establishing himself, he sent for his other family members and they eventually settled in Madison County, Illinois (Zobrist). Many of them settled in Highland, Illinois (Zobrist). |
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Grandma and Grandpa Hagler
My grandmother's name is Ada
Hagler, and her maiden name was Sugg. She
was born November 18, 1924 to Arsene and Delia Sugg at their home north
of Pocahontas, Illinois (Hagler). She also had one brother named Gerald
and four
sisters named Lily, Helen, Betty and Louise (Hagler). Her sister Lily
died of
pneumonia when she was one, and her sister Louise died in a motorcycle
accident in her twenties (Hagler). My grandmother grew up north of
Pocahontas,
Illinois and then she and her family moved to Millersburg, Illinois (Hagler).
She attended Pocahontas Elementary school, Pocahontas Middle school and
Pocahontas High school (Hagler). She was unable to finish because she
got
married at the age of 16 (Hagler). She did not hold any jobs except for
working
at an egg company for a limited time (Hagler). She also never learned
to drive
because she had trouble judging distance (Hagler). Most of her life,
she was
plagued by Diabetes and she died from it and kidney failure on
September 25, 1999 (Hagler). My grandfather's name is John Hagler, but many people referred to him as "Ferdy" because of his middle name Ferdinand (Hagler). He was born July, 28, 1916 to Louis and Clara Hagler (Hagler). He had two brothers Howard and Emmett and three sisters Mildred, Nelli and Lettie (Hagler). Howard died in a car accident when he was older (Hagler). He grew up on a farm east of Millersburg, Illinois (Hagler). He attended Pott's school until the eighth grade, but he didn't carry on his education because his help was needed on the farm and there wasn't a strong emphasis on education back then (Hagler). As a child, he enjoyed playing baseball and playing pranks on others (Hagler). He worked for a company called Boxboard in Highland, Illinois for a good portion of his life, and he also helped haul milk into town (Hagler). He also tried to get into the Army during World War II, but he didn't get in because he had flat feet and a bad back (Hagler). He died on November 15, 1993 from a heart attack (Hagler). My grandparents met because Ada's family's vehicle was having some problems, and John came to help (Hagler). They dated for a while and got married on May 24, 1941 (Hagler). Her parents didn't like him because they thought that he wasn't good enough for her (Hagler). They were happily married for fifty-two and a half years (Hagler). According to my father, John's grandparents came from Germany but he wasn't sure when. He also said that they left because they thought they could find a better life here in America, which is a common theme that we've studied this semester. They were a rich family until they wanted to leave and the German government wouldn't allow them to bring any of their money with them. |
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My Sister
My
sister's name is Kayla Holguin.
She was born March 1, 1990 to Edward and Judy Hagler in Breese,
Illinois at St. Joseph's Hospital. She grew up in various places that
range from Pocahontas, Illinois, Aurora, Colorado and Greenville,
Illinois. She attended Greenville Elementary school, Iowa Elementary
School in Aurora, Colorado, Greenville Junior High school, and
Greenville High school (Holguin). She graduated in May 2008. After
graduating
high school, she received a full ride scholarship to Kaskaskia College
in Centralia, Illinois and she is studying to be an Agricultural
teacher (Holguin). As a child, she enjoyed playing outdoors, collecting
horse
figurines and swimming. She loved horses when she was growing up and
she does still (Holguin). When she was six, our mother and father
finally bought
her a pony named Rosie (Holguin). She helped train her so that she
could ride
her. Eventually, she got real horses when she was a sophomore in high
school, which she enjoyed thoroughly (Holguin). She has had a few jobs
since she
turned 16. She worked for Dairy Queen in Highland, Illinois for a year
and then transfered to the Dairy Queen in Greenville, Illinois
(Holguin).
She met Hipolito Holguin in March 2008 (Holguin). They dated up until they got married in December 2008. |
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Grandma
Hagler's Wedding Ring
My dad was given my grandmother's wedding ring when she passed on (Hagler). This is one of the family heirlooms that I was able to find. The picture is unclear but there is a small diamond in the middle of the square. |
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Grandpa Hagler's Baby Ring
This
is another heirloom I was able to
find (Hagler). I tried to find information about the significance of a
baby
ring. I found a website that talks about it. Here is the link to that
website: http://jewelry.lovetoknow.com/14K_Gold_Baby_Rings (14 K Gold
Baby Rings). My dad was
unable to tell me anymore about the ring (Hagler).
|
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My Great-grandmother's Bible stories book
in German
My great-grandmother gave me this book a
month ago. Its a children's Bible story book. It is written in the
typeface of Fraktur. Fraktur is one way of typing and/or writing in
German. The cover of the book says "Bibliche Geschichten für
Unterklassen", which means "Bible Stories for Underclass" (Concordia
Publishing House, 1890). The word
"underclass" in this case would be used in the context of school
because the children who used these books to study were considered
"underclass".
The second picture is the first printed page on the inside of the book. It has the title and the name of publishing company which is Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, Missouri (Concordia Publishing House, 1890). It was published in 1890. The third picture is of one of the pages in the book. The rest of the book looks much like this page because there are several pictures in order to help demonstrate what is going on in each scene (Concordia Publishing House, 1890). |
| I made a family tree on myheritage.com and I'm posting a link to it so that others can view my tree. Just copy and paste the link into your web browser and it will come up as a pdf document (Myheritage). http://www.myheritageimages.com/R/storage/site62122341/files/y7/ox/17/y7ox17_50725847a26f94slyjwx17.pdf |
|
Works
Cited "14K Gold Baby Rings -
LoveToKnow Jewelry." Jewelry Stores | Body Jewelry And Accessories
and
more... 27 Apr. 2009
<http://jewelry.lovetoknow.com/14K_Gold_Baby_Rings>. Bibliche
Geschichten für Unterklassen. Hagler, Edward A.
"Interview
with Edward Hagler." Personal interview. 26 Apr. 2009. MyHeritage - Free Family
Tree -
Genealogy - Family Photos. 27 Apr. 2009
<http://www.myheritage.com>. Zobrist, Frances A. "Interview with Frances Zobrist." Telephone interview. 27 Apr. 2009. |