David was born to James Hagar and Mary Harmon Hagar (nee Shattuck) in late 1842 in Worcester County, Massachusetts. Early in the Civil War he worked as a teamster for the cavalry, but never enlisted.
A great granddaughter best described his move out West. "His father died very young, in 1846 when David was only 4. Her mother remarried shortly thereafter, and then died in 1851. He then lived with his mother's family. His aunt married a doctor and they went west [Kansas] in 1861, and David went with them. He really had nothing to hold him in Massachusetts. They stayed in a hotel along the way run by a [man named] Gish who had all daughters. David fell in love with Laura Matilda, and when he was old enough - they got married. [It was] sort of one of those meant to be family situations. I think it is rather romantic."
On December 24, 1868 David and Laura were married in the Lutheran Church in Monrovia, Atchinson County, Kansas. They made their home in Avoca, Jackson County, Kansas, first living in an older house and then building their own large house in 1890.
They were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters born between 1869 and 1881. They managed a farm and a general store, and David was elected the postmaster in 1874. He also served as the town's trustee for many years. Because of their health David and Laura moved to Holton, Kansas in 1906 leaving their youngest daughter and son-in-law in charge. That same year he briefly returned to Massachusetts to settle the Shattuck Estate as his mother's heir.
In his later years David was wheelchair bound, but newspaper clippings report that he wheeled himself about the streets of Holton to visit friends. He died in 1929, just a few short years after his beloved Laura. They had been married 58 years. He was buried beside her in Holton Cemetery.
A great granddaughter best described his move out West. "His father died very young, in 1846 when David was only 4. Her mother remarried shortly thereafter, and then died in 1851. He then lived with his mother's family. His aunt married a doctor and they went west [Kansas] in 1861, and David went with them. He really had nothing to hold him in Massachusetts. They stayed in a hotel along the way run by a [man named] Gish who had all daughters. David fell in love with Laura Matilda, and when he was old enough - they got married. [It was] sort of one of those meant to be family situations. I think it is rather romantic."
On December 24, 1868 David and Laura were married in the Lutheran Church in Monrovia, Atchinson County, Kansas. They made their home in Avoca, Jackson County, Kansas, first living in an older house and then building their own large house in 1890.
They were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters born between 1869 and 1881. They managed a farm and a general store, and David was elected the postmaster in 1874. He also served as the town's trustee for many years. Because of their health David and Laura moved to Holton, Kansas in 1906 leaving their youngest daughter and son-in-law in charge. That same year he briefly returned to Massachusetts to settle the Shattuck Estate as his mother's heir.
In his later years David was wheelchair bound, but newspaper clippings report that he wheeled himself about the streets of Holton to visit friends. He died in 1929, just a few short years after his beloved Laura. They had been married 58 years. He was buried beside her in Holton Cemetery.
David was born to James Hagar and Mary Harmon Hagar (nee Shattuck) in late 1842 in Worcester County, Massachusetts. Early in the Civil War he worked as a teamster for the cavalry, but never enlisted.
A great granddaughter best described his move out West. "His father died very young, in 1846 when David was only 4. Her mother remarried shortly thereafter, and then died in 1851. He then lived with his mother's family. His aunt married a doctor and they went west [Kansas] in 1861, and David went with them. He really had nothing to hold him in Massachusetts. They stayed in a hotel along the way run by a [man named] Gish who had all daughters. David fell in love with Laura Matilda, and when he was old enough - they got married. [It was] sort of one of those meant to be family situations. I think it is rather romantic."
On December 24, 1868 David and Laura were married in the Lutheran Church in Monrovia, Atchinson County, Kansas. They made their home in Avoca, Jackson County, Kansas, first living in an older house and then building their own large house in 1890.
They were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters born between 1869 and 1881. They managed a farm and a general store, and David was elected the postmaster in 1874. He also served as the town's trustee for many years. Because of their health David and Laura moved to Holton, Kansas in 1906 leaving their youngest daughter and son-in-law in charge. That same year he briefly returned to Massachusetts to settle the Shattuck Estate as his mother's heir.
In his later years David was wheelchair bound, but newspaper clippings report that he wheeled himself about the streets of Holton to visit friends. He died in 1929, just a few short years after his beloved Laura. They had been married 58 years. He was buried beside her in Holton Cemetery.
A great granddaughter best described his move out West. "His father died very young, in 1846 when David was only 4. Her mother remarried shortly thereafter, and then died in 1851. He then lived with his mother's family. His aunt married a doctor and they went west [Kansas] in 1861, and David went with them. He really had nothing to hold him in Massachusetts. They stayed in a hotel along the way run by a [man named] Gish who had all daughters. David fell in love with Laura Matilda, and when he was old enough - they got married. [It was] sort of one of those meant to be family situations. I think it is rather romantic."
On December 24, 1868 David and Laura were married in the Lutheran Church in Monrovia, Atchinson County, Kansas. They made their home in Avoca, Jackson County, Kansas, first living in an older house and then building their own large house in 1890.
They were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters born between 1869 and 1881. They managed a farm and a general store, and David was elected the postmaster in 1874. He also served as the town's trustee for many years. Because of their health David and Laura moved to Holton, Kansas in 1906 leaving their youngest daughter and son-in-law in charge. That same year he briefly returned to Massachusetts to settle the Shattuck Estate as his mother's heir.
In his later years David was wheelchair bound, but newspaper clippings report that he wheeled himself about the streets of Holton to visit friends. He died in 1929, just a few short years after his beloved Laura. They had been married 58 years. He was buried beside her in Holton Cemetery.
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