The Hilpert family
Selma Anna Hilpert
December 23, 1872 – January 5, 1965
Selma Anna Hilpert was born on December 23, 1872, in Centralia, Washington. David was 45 and Magdalena was 30.
- Parents
- David August Hilpert & Magdalena Hilpert
- Spouse
- Carl Pitzer — married November 11, 1890
William J. Wagner — married October 6, 1917 - Children
- Apolonia (Lona) · Leonora · Carl Jr.
She married Carl Pitzer on November 11, 1890, at age 17. Their children were Apolonia (Lona, later called “Big Lona”), Leonora and Carl Jr. By 1895 they lived in El Paso, Texas; by 1910 they had returned to Lewis County. Carl Sr. died in 1915.
On October 6, 1917, Selma married William J. Wagner. They moved to Tacoma. William died in 1941 after 23 years of marriage.
Selma died on January 5, 1965, in Lewis, Washington, at age 92, and was buried in her hometown. Hattie and Helena were her only surviving siblings. Hilpert, Pitzer and Wagner are names used for this same Selma at different times in her life.
Places in a Life
Follow recorded birthplaces and homes through the years. Numbers connect the map to dated records; gold marks a birthplace. Markers show approximate towns or regions, not exact houses. A recorded year does not establish an uninterrupted stay.
Selma Anna Hilpert
Dated entries correspond to the numbered places. Enable JavaScript to select entries and zoom.
Profile explicitly gives Centralia birth. Marker precision: town area; farm sites are not pinpointed.
Source for this placeProfile explicitly says the family lived in El Paso by 1895.
Source for this placeProfile explicitly says the family had returned to Lewis County by 1910. County marker only; exact residence not specified by this statement. Marker precision: county; not a precise residence.
Source for this placeProfile explicitly says Selma and William Wagner moved to Tacoma after their October 1917 marriage. Move year is expressed as after the marriage, not an exact day.
Source for this place
Present-day coastline: Natural Earth. Historical place names are retained in the records. The map and dated list also remain available without JavaScript.
Otto’s sibling
Family connections
Otto · Reinhold Hilpert · Phillip Henrich Hilpert · Elizabeth Hedwig Hilpert · Pauline Magdalena Hilpert · Hannah Hilpert Schaefer · Helena Christina Hilpert
Photographs and memories
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All related album pages (28)
- The Hilpert family outside their log house in 1892
- The Hilpert family, taken July 10, 1892
- About 1897: The Hilpert girls: Pauline, Helen, Hannah, Hattie and Selma.
- Selma Hilpert Pitzer, about 1890.
- Selma Hilpert Pitzer, about 1890.
- Carl Pitzer Sr. and Selma Pitzer.
- Carl Pitzer Sr., Selma’s first husband.
- Probably about 1915. In front of Mother Hilpert’s home. Those identified on porch Hattie Teeter and Selma Wagner and Grandma Hilpert. On steps: probably: Alonzo, Harold & Selma Teeter, Lona Pitzer sitting next to post and Phillip below with Freddie Hilpert.
- In front of the Hilpert farm house in 1912. Back Row (Left to Right): Joe Shirer, Leonora Pitzer, Hattie Teeter, Hannah Schaefer, Pauline Reece, Lona Pitzer, Selma Pitzer Front row (Left to Right): Little Selma Teeter & Grandma Hilpert (Magdalena)
- This was Aunt Selma in the 1950’s
- Selma Hilpert Pitzer Wagner
- Selma Wagner holding Lona Thorlakson, her granddaughter. 1919.
- June 17, 1923: Hoggens Beach: Bill Wagner, Reinhold, Hamlet, Lilla Hilpet<?Milly & Otto, Front row: Lowell Hilpert, Hattie Teeter, Sig Thorlakson, Selma Wagner, Pa Dortzbach, Bob Teeter Shirley Hilpert, Lona Thorlakson and probably Kryl Thorlakson.
- Lona & Sig Thorlakson, Little Lona, Kryl, and Aunt Selma. July, 1924.
- Aug. 1926: Selma, Helena, Reinhold, Hannah, Otto, Pauline, Phillip, Hattie.
- Rec. Xmas 1929: Pauline Reece, Helen Schaefer, Selma Wagner, Hattie Teeter, Hannah Schaefer and Grandma Hilpert.
- Aug. 1930: Phillip, Hattie, Grandma Hilpert, Helen, Otto & Selma.
- About 1933: Herb Schaefer, Kryl Thorlakson, Selma Teeter Thorson, Aunt Pauline, Bill Wagner, Helen Schaefer, Selma Wagner, Lona Thorlakson, Bill & Marjorie Thorson & Dick Thorlakson.
- July 1936 going on ferry from Tacoma to Gig Harbor, WA. Ida Dortzbach, Mary Falkenrath, Selma Wagner, Eileen Hilpert, & Peter Dortzbach.
- 1936: Selma Wagner, Ida Dortzbach, Bill Wagner, Mary Falkenrath, Pete Dortzbach in front of Aunt Selma’s house in Tacoma, WA.
- Selma Wagner and Joe Shirer, Dec. 1937.
- 1937: Aunt Helen Schaefer holding Honey Boy, Catherine Pitzer, Selma Wagner, Pauline Reece, & Hattie Teeter.
- Aug. 1939: Aunt Selma Wagner.
- At Uncle Otto’s--Centralia, WA. Sept. 19, 1947. Rheinhold, Otto, Selma, Pauline and Helen.
- On the farm, afternoon Sept. 19, 1947. Lilla Hilpert, Selma Wagner Otto, Rheinhold & Milly Hilpert, Pauline Reece and Helen Schaefer.
- At Aunt Hattie’s place--Gig Harbor, WAsh. Sept. 16, 1947. Left to right: Selma Wagner, Pauline Reece, Hattie Teeter, Helen Schaefer.
- Dec. 7, 1949, Noon: Aunt Hannah Schaefer and Aunt Selma Wagner.
- 1952: Otto and his dog King, Aunt Selma, Lona Thorlakson Steele and Rusty Steele, Hattie Teeter, Bud Townsend and Aunt Hannah Schaefer.
Stories and captions drawn from Eileen Townsend’s family album.