In 1914, Britain declared war against Germany. Halifax sent portions of The Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment. Recall the Duke of Wellington Chapel in St. John’s Parish Church, Halifax. Some time during the war, James Jagger visited relatives and friends in England. He must have visited his cousin Hannah Hardyman in Halifax, and the Smith family at 11 Whitelea Rd. in Batley (James’ home in 1861). It is not known if his siblings John Jagger Jr. and Martha Ann Jagger were alive then. James Jagger’s grandson Arthur Stanley “Dick” McCreary was drafted on June 5, 1917. The Knox County Honor Roll listed Dick’s mother May Jagger McCreary as a Red Cross worker. Dick’s father Silas McCreary was in the book for a job in advertising.

The war ended in 1918. That year there was a large Weidenhamer reunion in Galesburg. Refer to the group photo at my Picasa album “Jagger-Weidenhamer Ancestry”. Each person is numbered, starting at the left in the closest row. Persons of particular interest: # 1 = James Jagger (my great-grandfather); #2 = Albert Muffley (my grandfather); #5 = Roy Weidenhamer (helped Lee Jagger get the railroad job in McCook); #7 = Robert Muffley (my father); #13 = Louise Muffley (sister of Robert Muffley); #23 = May Jagger McCreary (wife of Silas McCreary); #34 = Frances Weidenhamer Jagger (my great-grandmother); #44 = Silas McCreary (brother of Emma Jane McCreary & brother-in-law of Edna Jagger Muffley, who was the daughter-in-law of Emma); #48 = Edna Jagger Muffley (my grandmother); # 55 = Edna Glaze Jagger (wife of Lee Jagger); #66 = Allie Jagger Schneider (Edna’s sister who recorded family history; I recall Allie); & # 69 = Lee Jagger (my great-uncle, whom I recall). My grandmother wrote, “Some of the children not in picture were down by the lake or using the swing”. That probably included my Uncle Ken Muffley.

A couple of Hannah Hardyman’s letters of 1920 to James Jagger survive. She told of deaths in the family, leaving her the last alive of 12 siblings. Hannah had been on holiday to Blackpool and refers to people there; it is not known if these people might be related to John Jagger Jr., reported in family history as a manager of a Blackpool hotel. Hannah said, “…with care I might live to be very old like Grandfather Hardyman. I never knew him…” I have a copy of Hannah’s will. She died in 1938 at the age of 91, outliving James Jagger, who died in 1930 at age 87. Frances Weidenhamer Jagger also died in 1938.

Allie Jagger Schneider in 1970 compiled a list of all Jagger-Weidenhamer-Muffley-etc. kin known to be working for the railroad. Shortly before his death in 1975, Lee Jagger wrote to a Burlington Northern publication about a tally of Weidenhamer-Jagger-and more kin railroading years. Named persons times years worked per person. This list was updated in Sept. 1976, after my father’s retirement: 1612 years was the total at that point.

This link
galesburgrailroadmuseum covers the work of the brakeman and conductor. My father, Robert Pierce Muffley, started as a brakeman and retired as a conductor. I fondly recall his descriptions of his work, and have been in his waycars (cabooses).

The
Muffley Blog will carry further the story of descendants of my grandmother Edna Jagger Muffley. She lived to be over 100 years of age, and died in 1987. Thus, she got to know her great-grandchildren Lara and Kirk Muffley (my daughter and son). Her letters to them continued her practice of relating tidbits of family history. When she visited us one time, Lara and Kirk were dressed as Indians and tied her up to a chair. My first wife Anne (deceased in 2002) was horrified, but Grandma Muffley said to let them be. Grandma was easy-going, kindly, and had a good sense of humor.

Dr. Gary Muffley

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