Clara Marie Hageman

Clara Marie Vogt was born in Effingham, IL, the eldest of ten children born to Bernard Vogt and Elizabeth Feldhake Vogt. The VOGT family moved from Illinois to Whitman County WA in 1886 for health reasons, moving three years later to Chewelah, WA where Bernard Vogt established and operated a shoe store on Main Street. The family had small acreage one mile east of the town. About 1888 she met Christian Hagemann and they were married 14 Jan. 1890 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Chewelah, WA, returning to Uniontown where he lived soon after. During the next ten years, six of their twelve children would be born in Uniontown, WA. After some ten years and working at the local hardware store, his doctor advised him to move to the country for health reasons. The Hageman family moved to Chewelah, WA, which was close to Clara's parents. Here they bought a 40 acre plot southwest of town, where they made substantial property improvements. Six additional children were born to them after the move. Cooking and heating was done by wood. Kerosene lamps were the lighting systems of the day. In 1918 Christian anglicized his Germanic surname, removing the extra "n" to show his allegiance to the USA! Although Clara was a city girl at heart, much of her life was spent in the country. She was a seamstress and made all of the clothes for her 12 children, knitted socks for her husband, and crocheted lace for the church altars in Chewelah and Spokane. She was also an excellent piano player and encouraged her children in their musical studies. Christian and Clara had 57 years of married life together. All 12 children survived infancy. Christian lived four more years after the death of his beloved, Clara. They are buried together at Holy Cross.