Notes A birth registration was found for Herbert Aggas: Year of Registration: 1896; Quarter of Registration: Jan-Feb-Mar; District: Holbeck; County: Yorkshire - West Riding; Volume: 9b; Page: 319. Parents: John William Aggas and Ada Hanson, married 1878, Leeds, Yorkshire, England.
Ada Hanson Aggas died at the age of 40 on August 30, 1901, at Hunslet Union Workhouse, Hunslet, West Yorkshire, England.
In 1905, Herbert Aggas, 9 (along with his brother, John William Aggas, 10), arrived at Portland, Maine, USA, in a group of 269 Barnardo boys en route to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
His father, John William Aggas died on July 18, 1908 in Holbeck, Leeds Yorkshire, England.
On 26 November 1917, at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Herbert Aggas, 22, was drafted into the Canadian Armed Forces. He declared that his date of birth was January 26, 1896, in Leeds, England; that his next of kin was his friend, William Walter Fry, who resided at Miami, Manitoba; that his military service act letter and number was 525559 JC; that he was a farmer; and that he was single. He was described as 5 foot 4 inches in height; ruddy complexion; hazel eyes; dark brown hair. He was a member of the Methodist faith.
Herbert Aggas married Lillian Mary Compton in 1918 in Manitoba, Canada.
The Oxnard Press-Courier carried a story on Herbert Aggas and his wife on December 12, 1962:
" "Children" plan ceremony on 44th anniversary
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Aggas were surprised by their children and grandchildren who visited their home Saturday to celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary.
Each of the honorees were taken separately into a room and dressed for a mock wedding ceremony. A newspaper tuxedo and boutonniere were designed for Mr. Aggas. Mrs. Aggas wore a headpiece comprised of a veil with a white sheet for a wedding train and romaine lettuce for a bouquet.
Wedding bells were hung around the room for the ceremony. Bonny Aggas was flower girl. Roby Hinz, the ring bearer, carried two paper cigar rings on a pillow. Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Hinz served as best man and matron of honor as George Aggas performed the mock ceremony.
"Here Comes the Bride" was played by Edward Aggas and Darryl and Dwight Stewart. A reception was held following the ceremony.
Attending were Mrs. and Mrs. George Aggas and their children, George and Patricia; Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Aggas and children, Arnie, Paul, Linda, Toni, Glory; Mrs. Dorothy Stewart and sons, Darryl and Dwight; Mr. and Mrs. Ray Hunt and sons, Steven and David; Mr. and Mrs. Edward Aggas and children, Mike and Bonnie, Mr. and Mrs. Wilbert Aggas and children Chris, Lauretta and Billy and Scot. Hinz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Hinz."
The Oxnard Press-Courier from September 6, 1970, ran this story on Herbert Aggas:
"On Giving Gophers the Shaft
While some men dream of building a better mousetrap, Herbert Aggas of Oxnard is just satisfied with keeping the gophers away.
In the extensive workshop alongside his home at 341 DeAnza Way, 75-year-old Aggas forms rough wood into effective devices designed to get rid of gophers.
The windmill contraptions work this way: the wind turns the propeller on top of a shaft, and the propeller activates the motion of a painted wooden bird or a woodchopper. The action of a bird pecking a simulated tree or the chopper hitting a block forces vibrations back down through the wooden shaft and into the ground.
Whether these vibrations cause bad gopher dreams or gives them the colic is not known. At any rate, it is known that they don't like the situation at all and move to more tranquil ground.
English-born Aggas, who moved to Canada at the age of 10, was also one of the early draft protestors besides protesting against toothy creatures that take up residence in his flower bed.
When taken into the Canadian Army in 1918, Aggas insisted he should be exempt because of the Canadian law forbidding the last man on the farm from being drafted. It didn't do any good. When the sergeant asked Aggas who was taking care of the cows, Aggas replied: "Themselves and the good Lord."
Because of the depression in Canada, Aggas moved from Manitoba to Detroit in 1923 where he became a machine operator. Retiring in 1960, Aggas moved to California in 1962 because most of his family was already residing here.
Aggas and his wife, Mary Lillian, who turned 70 last week, have four sons, three daughters, 20 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.
Besides constructing windmills, Aggas also makes small rocking chair pin cushions and baby cradles, which come in handy with a large family.
Says Aggas: "I just like to keep busy." "
Herbert Aggas died September 18, 1970, at the age of 75, in Oxnard, Ventura, California, USA. His obituary was printed in the Oxnard Press-Courier on September 20, 1970:
"Herbert Aggas of 341 De Anza Way, Oxnard, passed away Friday in a local hospital after an extended illness. He was born January 26, 1895 in England. He had been a resident of Ventura County for the past 9 years coming from Darling Ford, Manitoba, Canada. He was a Canadian World War I Veteran. Survivors include his wife, Mary Lillian Aggas of the family home; four sons, Herber [sic], Wilbert, Arnold and Edward Aggas, all of Oxnard; three daughters, Mrs. Dorothy Crider of Camarillo, Mrs. Joy Perry of Ojai, and Mrs. Jean Hinz of Oxnard; twenty grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren. Funeral Services will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Conrad & Comer Funeral Chapel with Rev. A. D. Mc Manama officiating. Pallbearers are Harold Simmons, Clarence Malkey, John Morthole, James Graves, Benjamin McKay and Eugene Arnette. Interment will follow in Ivy Lawn Cemetery."
Lillian Mary Compton Aggas died January 24, 1982, at the age of 81, in Oxnard, Ventura, California, USA.