Sometime around late October or early November 1943, Ellen’s oldest brother Edward ‘Ted’ Wagner was christened. The baptism was conducted by Ted’s great grandfather, the Rev. Louis Henry Wagner.
Among the family photos of the occasion is the photo below showing young Ted being held by Margarette Otilla ‘Alma’ (Bean) Bender. Alma was Rev. Louis Henry Wagner’s sister, well, technically half-sister. They shared the same mother but had different fathers.
Louis’ father was Rev. Jacob Wagner, the partner of Louis Breithaupt in the establishment of the Eagle Tannery in Berlin, Canada West (now Ontario). Jacob died when Louis was just one year old. Louis’ mother, Margaret (Hailer) Wagner re-married, her second husband being Dan Bean (Biehn).
Alma was the youngest of the six children that Daniel and Margaret had together. Alma was also 19 years younger than Louis Wagner, her oldest sibling.
In the photo below, Alma is with her husband Alfred C. Bender and their son Paul Adolph ‘Dolph’ Bender. We’re fortunate that Ellen’s mother Tess wrote the identities of everyone on the back of the photo or we might still be trying to identify everyone.
Alfred, Alma and ‘Dolph’ Bender with young Ted Wagner, about 1943