Posted: May 28, 2025 9:18 am
By Amy Regan, Heritage Johnstown curator
At the time of the 1889 flood, Johnstown’s population was about 30,000 people, and 2,209 died in the disaster. Whether you survived or not was largely determined by where you were at the time the flood hit, and sometimes sheer luck. But every family had a story. As the flood anniversary approaches, Amy Regan of Heritage Johnstown is sharing stories from our new exhibition, “Relic Tales of the Johnstown Floods.” Here, she shares the story of the Wagoner family, which included the Rev. George Wagoner, his wife, Mary, and eight children ranging in age from late teens through late 20s, and the flood relic from their family that’s part of the exhibition.
George Wagnoner III was born on April 19, 1826, in Westmoreland County. He was noted as “a man of very enlightened, progressive views, and an ardent Abolitionist” (1). His father, George Wagoner II, was an integral part of his son’s life and education. Before George Wagoner III was born, his father immigrated from Germany to Philadelphia, where he lived with Quakers for a time (2). Eventually, he moved to Westmorland County, where he worked as a potter and a schoolteacher and eventually had a family (3). As a schoolteacher, he gave lessons to his son beyond what was offered at the public school, educating his son further.
In 1846, at age 20, George Wagoner III was licensed to preach for the United Brethren Church. Rev. George Wagoner moved from Westmoreland County to Johnstown in 1850, working as a preacher. He traveled around the area for his vocation more often than not. Rev. George Wagoner married Mary L. Henrie in December of 1852. Finally, he settled at 146 Market Street in 1869 at age 43.
Preaching and traveling took a toll on his health, leading him to change professions. Eventually, 146 Market Street also became his place of business after he completed his studies in dentistry. However, he continued his religious vocation at a mission in Kernville and worked with the United Brethren Mutual Aid Society of Pennsylvania. 
In family tradition, Rev. George Wagoner III’s son was named George Washington Wagoner IV. The rest of Rev. Wagoner and Mary’s children were all girls: Clara, Mary, Emma, Jessie, Cora, Elizabeth “Lizzie”, and Frances “Frankie”. All of his children were educated in Johnstown.
Rev. Wagoner’s only son was educated in Johnstown’s public schools like his sisters, but eventually started work as a printer. He studied under Dr. A. N. Wakefield in Johnstown. Eventually, after attending and graduating from Western Reservoir University in Ohio in 1878, Dr. George Wagoner IV opened his practice in Johnstown. He became well-known in town as a trusted doctor for the people.
In 1888, Jessie Wagoner married William H. Miller. Her sister, Cora, painted her a wall hanging as a wedding gift. Wall hangings were used as decorative elements for the house, but also, as in many cases, as a means of cleanliness and insulation. Wall hangings were generally quite large to cover an entire wall.
On May 31, 1889, Rev. Wagoner, Mary, Cora, Lizzie, and Frankie were in their house at 146 Market Street singing and playing the piano as it rained and began to flood. As the wall of water reached their house, it collapsed, and all five perished. Rev. Wagoner was 63, Mary was 60, Cora was 23, Lizzie was 20, and Frankie was 18.
Another daughter, Emma, age 28, was married to Frank Bowman, with whom she had two small children, Jessie and Francis. They lived at 161 Maple Avenue in Woodvale. Jessie was 4 and Francis was 2 in 1889. All four were swept up by the water and debris. Emma and Frank are buried at Grandview Cemetery, while Jessie and Francis were never located. Rev. George Wagoner III, Mary, Cora, Lizzie, and Frankie are all buried in Grandview Cemetery.
The rest of the family survived. Dr. George Wagoner broke his leg in the 1889 Johnstown Flood, but that did not stop him from caring for the citizens of Johnstown. He and two doctors with the last name of Wakefield ran a clinic on the corner of South and Napoleon Streets. As part of the medical care in Johnstown he was selected for several committees in Johnstown after the flood — he was “a member of the Medical Society soon after its final reorganization, was secretary in 1887-89, and president in 1890-91; of the Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania, of which he has been treasurer since 1903; of the American Medical Association; was secretary of the U. S. Pension Examining Board, 1881-89; deputy medical inspector for the Pennsylvania State Board of Health after the Great Flood of 1889” (4).
Along with the clinic, Dr. Wagoner was also in charge of sanitation in the Fifth and Sixth wards after the flood. These wards are the area of Kernville. After the flood, thanks to his diligent work as a doctor, Dr. George Wagoner became the first Secretary of Memorial Hospital.
The other surviving family members were Clara, wife of Dr. A. N. Wakefield, Dr. George Wagoner, Mary, wife of Chalmers L. Dick, esq., and Jessie, wife of Mr. William H. Miller.
After the flood, Jessie returned to her home. The silk wall hanging Cora painted for her sat submerged in water for two weeks. Jessie cut a part of the large wall hanging and kept it as a relic of the 1889 Johnstown Flood. This framed silk painting is currently on display at the Heritage Discovery Center as part of the exhibition, “Relic Tales of the Johnstown Floods”.
Footnotes
1 George W. Wagoner III, Memories. Family Search. January 2, 2025. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
4 Storey, Henry Wilson. History of Cambria County Pennsylvania Vol 1 (New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1907), 523.
Bibliography
Beale, David J., Through the Johnstown Flood. Edgewood Publishing Company, 1890.
Benshoff, Harry M. The World’s Charity to Conemaugh Valley Sufferers and Who Received It. Johnstown Pa: Harry M. Benshoff, 1890.
Clark, Charles B., C. B. Clark’s Johnstown Directory and Citizens Register. Altoona, Pa: N.C. Barclay & Sons, 1889.
George W. Wagoner III, Memories. Family Search. January 2, 2025. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
McLaurin, J. J., The Story of Johnstown. Harrisburg Pa: James M. Place, 1890.
Sanborn Map Company. Johnstown, Cambria, Johnstown, February 1886. New York: Sanborn Map & Publishing Co., 1886. “Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps“.
Slattery, Gertrude Quinn. Johnstown and its Flood. Philadelphia: The Dorrance Press, 1936.
Storey, Henry Wilson. History of Cambria County Pennsylvania Vol 1. New York: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1907.
