George D. Waggoner (A.K.A. "Hog George"), son of David and Catherine Waggoner, was born on April 16, 1825 in Tuscarawas Township, Coshocton County, Ohio. He married Barbara Morgan on May 5, 1846 in Coshocton County. Barbara was born on March 4, 1828 in Indiana. They settled in Crawford County, Illinois around 1856, and had two children. Barbara died on May 21, 1856. George married second, Laney Ann Cornelius.
They had five children born in Illinois.


Children of George and Barbara:

* Infant Daughter Waggoner, b. January 20, 1855 d. July 1855
* George W. Waggoner, b. May 14, 1856 d. July 1856

Children of George and Laney:

* Jacob Waggoner, b. July 21, 1860, d. January 10, 1953
* Luella Charlotte Waggoner, b. April 24, 1863. d. Feb 17, 1951
* Frances Ann Waggoner, b. June 1868, d. 1953
* David Waggoner, b. August 18, 1871
* Lillie D. Waggoner, b. abt. 1874



(left to right:Laney Cornelius, Jane Waggoner (sister of Laney), Jane's children John and Kate, George D. Waggoner)

The following comes from William Waggoner, great-grandson of George D. Waggoner: "My great-grandfather, George, came from Ohio to Illinois in 1856 with a wife and two little boys. He had intended to go on north but after meeting some of the people in the now-called Cranston area, he decided to stay. He had come alone the first time and found an old farmer MARTIN who lived on the old Omer Paddick place getting ready to thresh. He stayed a few days and helped with the treshing before returning to Ohio for his family. Old man MARTIN told George that he would kill a deer for meat while the threshers were there. He went into the swamp north of his home and told my great-grandfather George, to wait until he heard the gun and then to come and help carry the deer. It wasn't too long until the gun sounded and my great-grandfather found the old man with his foot on the deer while allowing it to bleed.

George returned to Ohio and brought his wife and two little boys back. He built a sod home near the site of my father's house which served as a home until he built a house on the site of my father's home. His wife became ill and died from the dampness of the sod hut and George got an old man and woman to come and stay and care for the boys. They were both very dirty with their cooking, eating, etc, and both boys died.

George met a young lady, Laney Cornelius, also from Ohio who was visiting with the LINTS who lived about 3/4 mile east. They married and were soon moved into their new home. George had purchased his home site for $1.34 per acre and purchased other land for less until he had 1800 acres on Lawrence and Crawford Counties. He divided the land into rent farms and soon had many families living on his land and rent farming. George became very prosperous and may have been imposing upon others. At least, some of the people in the bottoms part of the community did not like him, mostly because of his hogs.


George, getting down on his farm



You see, he had many, many, many hogs that were mostly wild. Near the end of each summer he would start leaving corn in a field and swamp area that he had a rail fence around. By late fall he could slip up and close the gate and have caught most of his hogs. He would then proceed to casterate the males and make sterile the young females, because these hogs would have to be about two years old before they were large enough to market. I could never understand how he would render the guilts sterile without causing lethal infections, perhaps it was something done to the external part of the birth canal. Anyway, my grandfather, David, said it was a simple process if you knew how.

Most of the work was done with the aid of a group of fearless dogs that George had bred up through the years. These dogs would actually go into the knee brush of the old bushy swamp and drive the hogs out. They would then proceed to catch the designated hogs by catching them by the nose and holding them. George would then perform the necessary operation. The rail fence was left in place and the hogs were fed corn a while before being sold."


Laney Waggoner

George D. Waggoner died on January 10, 1910. Reportedly, he dropped a steel wedge on his foot, but this was not what killed him. Appearently, he became constipated from bedrest, and when the doctor came to remove the waste the pain was too much and George begged the doctor to let alone. He did. Laney died in 1923. They are buried in the Waggoner Cemetery, Crawford Co, Illinois.


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