Biographies
John Frederick Vogg
John
Frederick Vogg was born 29 Jun 1824 in Gochsen, Wurttemberg, Germany, and
died 20 Jul 1901 in Matagorda, Texas. He married Mary Hagerty on 11
August 1855 in Matagorda. She was born May of 1834 in Cobh, Cork County,
Ireland, and died 06 Jan 1908 in Matagorda.
According
to the 1900 census, Fred Vogg’s wife, Mary Hagerty, came to the United
States from Ireland in 1844 when she was about 10 years old. Given her age
at the time, it seems probable that she arrived with her parents but I have
been unable to locate them. We do know that she had a brother, John Hagerty,
who lived in Fort Worth. She may also have had a sister, Ann.
In
a conversation with Madelene Shelby Simons Beckenbach in 1935, Fred and
Mary’s daughter, Hanna Ogden, explained that Mary was born near the small
seaport town of Cobh, in County Cork, Ireland. From Cobh hundreds of
thousands Irish men and women left to build a new life, especially in the
Famine years of 1844-48.
The Famine was
due to the appearance of "the Blight" that almost instantly destroyed potato
crops, the primary food source for the majority of Ireland’s population.
Much is unrecorded but various estimates suggest that between 500,000 and
one million people died as a result of hunger or disease. Some two million
refugees emigrated to Great Britain, the United States, Canada, and
Australia. It would seem that among these immigrants were Mary and her
family.
As discussed previously, Fred Vogg entered Texas with his parents and siblings through the town of Indianola, on Matagorda Bay. He then settled on Matagorda Peninsula between Spring Bayou and Boller Bayou. On March 7, 1854 he bought 133 acres of land from John Brady and on March 18 of the same year he purchased an additional 614 acres from a J. McDonald. I am guessing that he may have gotten the money for these purchases from the sale of his parent’s land patent certificates in Coke County. According to the county records, John Frederick Vogg swore allegiance to the United States and became a citizen on 16 January 1854. He married Mary Hagerty on 11 August 1855 in Matagorda.
During the Civil War, Matagorda and Indianola were two of eight Texas ports that blockade runners used for taking out tons of cotton while delivering to the Confederacy guns, munitions, clothing and other vital goods. To protect these vital Confederate links to the outside world, Fort Esperanza was built in late December 1861 to guard the entry to Matagorda Bay. On October 25, 1862, less than a month after capturing Galveston, the Union forces seized Indianola. In early November the Union fleet withdrew from Matagorda Bay, and since they had no ground forces to leave behind to secure their gains, the Eighth Texas Infantry battalion reoccupied Indianola and Fort Esperanza. Fred Vogg was a member of this battalion, having joined Company A in 1862. However, on the night of November 29, 1863 another battle ensued and the Confederates, outnumbered and outflanked, again evacuated the fort and it was occupied by the Union forces. In the spring of 1864 the Union troops were withdrawn from Matagorda Bay to participate in the proposed invasion of Texas from northeast Louisiana. After the last of the federals left Matagorda Island on June 15, 1864 Fort Esperanza was reoccupied by the Confederates and held until the end of the war.
Before
and after the Civil War, the Vogg family found the land on the Peninsula
quite productive and raised many varieties of crops and garden vegetables.
It was also a good range for sheep and cattle. Fresh water could be found
on the Gulf side and the area was considered healthy. By the time of the
1870 Federal Census of Matagorda County, John Frederick Vogg is listed as a
46 year old farmer with real estate valued at $500 and personal property
valued at $680. The family lived on the Peninsula until the hurricane of
1875.
On 16 September, 1875 the family boarded their sloop to leave for the mainland for safety from the storm. Suddenly, the sloop was caught in a wave and flipped on its side, leaving the mast connected to the sloop and touching the bank. Hannah, holding her sister Mary Ann's hand, started walking across the mast when the sloop uprighted itself and threw Mary Ann into the water. Hannah grabbed the mast and held on. The family searched but could not find Mary Ann and was finally forced to seek shelter. John and Mary continued to search for her after the storm. They finally met some people who had found the body of a little girl and buried her. The dress Mary Ann had on fitted the description the description the people gave, so the family accepted that they had lost Mary Ann. Shortly after this time, the family left the peninsula and moved to the mainland where they purchased a section of land east of Matagorda and lived for the remainder of their lives.
John Frederick Vogg died from cancer on 20 July 1901 and is buried in the old cemetery in Matagorda. His wife, Mary Hagerty Vogg followed him in death on 6 January 1908 and is also buried in the old cemetery.
Children of John Vogg and Mary Hagerty were:
1. Margaret M. Vogg was born in 1856 in Matagorda, Texas and died in 1878 also in Matagorda. She is the subject of the next generation.
2. Johanna Elizabeth Vogg was born 09 Aug 1859 in Matagorda, Matagorda County, Texas and died 26 Aug 1946 in Bay City, Matagorda County, Texas. She married Hugh Korey Ogden on 05 Jan 1888.
3. John Frederick W. Vogg was born 03 Jan 1862 in Matagorda, Texas and died in 1910. He married Cyrene A. Culver 12 Apr 1883 in Matagorda, Texas. She was born 25 Mar 1853 in Matagorda and died in 1901 also in Matagorda. They raised five children, Margaret, Frederick, Charles, Nellie and John.
4. Mary Ann Vogg was born in 1864 in Matagorda, Texas and drowned 16 Sep 1875 in Matagorda Bay.
5. Elizabeth Vogg was born 06 Mar 1869 in Matagorda, Texas, and died 28 Aug 1953 in Matagorda. She married John Moran Schmerber 13 Oct 1884 in Matagorda. He was born 11 Sep 1854 in Matagorda, Texas and died 07 Sep 1932 in Matagorda. Elizabeth and John had nine children: Annie Elizabeth, Beulah Pearl, a baby that died at birth, Bertha Mae, Nora Lee, John Edward, Georgia Lorena, Joe Russell and Clarence Weldon.
6. Nora Ellen Vogg, born Aug 1872 in Matagorda, Texas; died 01 Feb 1956 in Montague, Texas. She first married Oscar L. Cook 16 Jun 1897 in Matagorda and she married second, Dewey Watkins on 25 Apr 1909. She raised at least one son, Alfred, her son by Oscar Cook.
Beckenbach
Simons
Duffy
Peake
Bradley
Shelby
Vogg
Coachman
