John Heinrich Vagedes-Tervort (1832-1876) "52 Ancestors"

Hi again everyone. This is week 15 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. I almost didn't get to this one. I have been travelling a lot with work and closing on a new house but here it is. I decided to go for a real story of intrigue this time and went a little off the main branch of the tree. This story is about my grandmother's sister's husband's uncle, John Heinrich Vagedes-Tervort.

John Heinrich Vagedes-Tervort went by Henry Vagedes in his early years and then changed his name to John Tervort a little later in life in order to hide from the officials. But that is later in the story and we do have to start at the beginning.

Henry was born on 18 September 1832 in Westphalia, Prussia. He was the first child of Franz Anton Vagedes (1805-1863) and Anna Maria Gertrude Tervort (1803-1849). He was christened on 20 September 1832 with Anne Marie Weisman Leufle and Heinrich Vagedes as his god parents. His siblings were Anna Elisabeth (1834-1837), Johan Anton (1837-1837), Franz (1838-1838), Anton Bernard (1839-1881), and Frank Anton (1842-1908). Johan and Franz died at birth or 1 day of age. The family, consisting of his parents and two brothers, Anton and Frank, immigrated to the United States in 1845. They initially settled in Cincinnati, Ohio where Franz found work as a laborer and eventually as a shoemaker to support his family. Their first home was located at the northeast corner of Clinton and Linn Streets (currently the 400 block of Clinton). His mother died on 17 May 1849, just four years after they immigrated.

Soon afterward, on 28 July 1849, Franz remarried to Elizabeth Catherina Sager (1827-1879) at St. Joseph's church. The 1849-1850 Cincinnati City Directory lists the family as living on the south side of Hopkins Street between John and Cutter Streets. This area is near St. Joseph's church and Union Station. The family then moved a little further north to Chickasaw in Mercer County, Ohio. There were four more children born to this marriage. They were Bernard (1850-1879), Maria Elizabeth (1852-1885), John George (1858-1927), and Onna or Anna (1863-1881).

Family stories state that Henry and his step-mother did not get along. Henry was 17 years old when his father remarried and was only 5 years younger than his new step-mother. Henry moved to Indianapolis to attend school but was not enthusiastic about school so on 8 May 1855 he enlisted in the US Army. He served with the 10th Indiana Infantry for five years. During this time President Buchanan sent the unit west to the Utah Territory in order to settle what was expected to be a civilian uprising. On 8 March 1860 he re-enlisted at Camp Floyd in Utah and received a re-enlistment bonus equal to three months pay -  $33. The units stationed at Camp Floyd were a mix of northern and southern regiments. However, the civilian uprising never occurred and Henry found himself stationed at Camp Floyd near Payson, Utah at the beginning of the Civil War. His enrollment was almost up and he was serving under General Johnston who decided to join the Confederate Army. During this time of confusion Henry made the acquaintance of a local merchant, George Washington Hancock. Mr. Hancock helped Henry sneak out of the camp in a wooden packing box and he is listed as deserting on 3 May 1861. In order to avoid arrest, he changed his last name to Tervort, his mother's maiden name and went by John Tervort for the remainder of his life.

John Henry Vagedes-Tervort

On 4 September 1862, John married Sarah Rosina Savage (1844-1920) in Payson, Utah. Sarah Rosina Savage went by Rosina and was born in Middlesex, England to Henry Savage (1810-1884) and Sarah Powers (1821-1881). She immigrated with her family on the ship John M. Wood from Liverpool, England on 12 March 1854 and arrived in New Orleans. Her brother John Ebenezer Savage (1841-1854) died of cholera in New Orleans on 3 May 1854, soon after they arrived. Several other siblings died prior to leaving England. They were Virginia (1843-1843) and her twin Paul (1843-1843), and Hyrum (1846-1849).  Sarah's family migrated westward with 393 Latter Day Saints with the Robert L. Campbell Emigration Company from New Orleans through Nebraska, Wyoming and then to Salt Lake City. They arrived in Salt Lake City on 28 October 1854. During the migration the family consisted of her parents Henry and Sarah, along with her siblings Kizziah (1848-1933), Moroni (1850-1930), and Jemima (1852-1933). Her mother Sarah was pregnant during this migration and gave birth to a daughter, Rachel Savage (1854-1919), at the foot of Little Mountain in the Salt Lake Valley two days before the end of the trek on 26 October. Several additional children were born after their arrival in Utah. They were Ebenezer (1857-1898), Alma (1859-1943), Cornelius (1861-1941), and Nephi Miles (1864-1934). The 1856 Utah Census lists the Savage family as members of the Salt Lake 6th Ward. Her parents were silk weavers and were noted for the fine quality of work they produced. The family moved to Payson, Utah in 1858.

After their marriage in 1862, John and Rosina Tervort had at least eight children. They were Henry Anthony (1863-1904), John Franklin (1864-1839), Sarah Arminnie (1866-1934), Rosina Gertrude (1868-1912), Annie Jemima (1870-1941), Moroni Eben (1871-1958), Rachel Lillian (1873-1874), and Mary Victoria (1875-1959).

The 1870 census for Payson, Utah lists John Tervort as a shoemaker with a personal value of $150 and real estate valued at $100. John Henry Vagedes-Tervort died on 11 October 1876 in Payson, Utah and is buried in the cemetery there. His widow remarried to John Ferrington Manwill (1832-1922) on 15 December 1881 in the Salt Lake Endowment House. Rosina had 5 children by this marriage, William Riley (1882-1959), Daisy (1883-1977), Myrtle (1885-1975), Rosina Savage (1887-1903), and Nephi (1889-1891). This family moved from Payson to Box Creek and then to Greenwich, Utah. Rosina and John divorced in 1895. Rosina died on 4 February 1920 in Payson and is buried in the local cemetery.