Titusville has had many celebrities in its time. Edwin Drake struck oil here in 1859, John Heisman started figuring out the game of football on Titusville soil, and Ida Tarbell cut her teeth here in journalism. But the fame did not end in the nineteenth century. Two Titusville men went on to marry and have daughters that have names most everyone will recognize: Priscilla Presley and Sally Field.
Priscilla Ann Wagner was born May 24, 1945 in New York, the daughter of James Frederick Wagner and Anna Iversen. James Wagner grew up in Titusville, the son of Harold and Kathryn Wagner. He graduated from Colestock High School in 1940.
After moving to Titusville with his family from Carnegie, Pennsylvania when he was a boy, James became involved in Titusville town life. He played varsity volleyball, was in choir, played intramural sports, and often appeared in the Titusville Herald for his work as the president of the Sportsman Club. He also worked as a theater usher in one of the theaters in town.
On December 19, 1940, James joined the U.S. Navy. Unbeknownst to him, his service would soon include overseas duty. On December 7, 1941, in the hours immediately after Pearl Harbor, James was sent overseas and served there until May 8, 1942. He continued his service and was deployed again from May 25, 1942 to March 27, 1943. After coming home, he met Anna Iversen in Florida and the couple was married on August 10, 1944. James was deployed overseas one last time from June 10, 1945 to October 21, 1945. After surviving so much war, tragedy struck stateside.
Toward the later part of his service, James was required to learn to fly by the U.S. Navy. On November 3, 1945, he and another pilot were flying from Chincoteague, Virginia to Groton, Connecticut to visit his wife and five-month-old daughter. Just as they were approaching the New York/Connecticut line, the pilots were disoriented by thick fog and the plane crashed, killing both men. Soon after, Wagner was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Titusville.
Unfortunately, Priscilla never got to know her dad or her Titusville roots. In 1948, her mother was remarried to Air Force officer Paul Beaulieu and he was the only father she ever knew. In her autobiography, Priscilla explained that she did not even know about her biological father’s existence until she uncovered a box of family keepsakes years later. Her mother encouraged her to keep the secret so as not to alienate her half siblings.
Eventually, due to the family moving many times for the Air Force, the Beaulieus ended up in Germany where Priscilla first met Elvis Presley when she was fourteen years old. The two had a tumultuous relationship that produced a daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, in 1968 before their divorce in 1973.
James Frederick Wagner never got to know the woman his daughter would become, but another celebrity’s father was afforded that chance.
Richard Dryden Field was born in Titusville on December 26, 1914 to Jane Fox and Fleet Folsom Field. His father was a superintendent at Prudential Insurance Company and he was the third born of four children. He was delivered by Dr. Barr, one of Titusville’s most prominent and trusted doctors.
When Richard was still a child, the Field family moved a few miles up the road to Warren. They lived there for years and Richard Field attended Warren High School. He was the class president, participated in sports, and was named the most popular boy in his senior year. After high school, he joined the U.S. Army and served in World War II. He was deployed overseas from December 24, 1943 until November 14, 1945.
His time in the service took him to California where he met Margaret Joy Morlan. The two were married and had a daughter, Sally Margaret Field, in 1946. His parents moved from Warren to California to be with their son’s new family. Unfortunately, the couple divorced and Sally was mostly raised by her mother and her mother’s new husband. Richard Field married a few more times and eventually worked as a pharmacist in California. Richard Dryden Field died on April 30, 1993 in Pasadena, California.
Titusville has always been an interesting place full of even more interesting people. Who’s to say who the next celebrity will be that can trace their roots to oil country. Maybe it’s you, reader. If so, remember us when you make it and stop by for a visit!
Sources: Warren Times Mirror 4/21/1942; Dr. Barr Titusville Birth Records 1882-1917; Wikimedia Commons; FindAGrave; TogetherWeServed
NWPA Stories 
Another really interesting Titusville story!!! Keep ‘em coming!
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Thanks, Tricia!
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Milton Hershey’s family lived in Titusville for a couple of years when Milton was a child. His dad had moved to Titusville for work, but then they moved back down towards Herhsey area. Milton’s parents got a divorce and Milton was then raised by his mother.
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If you hadn’t become a “Historian/Librarian, Jess, you could have very well been a Detective!! You have ways of finding out the coolest stuff!! Thanks again for another great piece on local history!
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Thanks, Shawnice!
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How do I stay on this blog of Titusvillr and NWestern Pa. Stories’@?? I was raised in Titusville grad THS 62 and both parents dies there. I visited Kathryn Wagner( Priscilla’ s Grandmother many times after discovering where she was plus after Priscilla had visited her. Also met Gene at an Alumni Reunion years ago, so I always have been interested. Mrs. Wagner was a very sweet lady; her home was lovely. I do remember Holly Sharp Mattthews( my best friend) told me she later interviewed her for the Titusville Herald. Please tell me if I have done or applied correctly to follow?? Thank you Jessica very much.
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Not sure about this but i’ve Heard Sharron Tate had roots in this Crawford co somewhere. Any body know if this is true.
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I don’t know about Sharon Tate, but Sharon Stone is originally from Meadville!
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Actually, I think she’s from Sagertown. And she went to school with one of our neighbors who graduated from Sagertown high school.
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Did you know that Priscilla came to visit Titusville? My mother knew her grandmother. Every once in a while we would stop to visit her. One time she told us that Priscilla had been there to visit the previous week. It was very hush, hush. There was no warning or fanfare. She was so very thrilled because she hadn’t seen her granddaughter since she was a baby.
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What a great memory! Thanks for sharing, Linda.
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Sharon Stone is from Meadville.
Never heard Sharon Tate had ties.
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Wasn’t Jeffrey Michael Lloyd (singer) live in Titusville back in the late 1980’s ?
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To Jessica Hilburn: Sorry I already sent request but should have said how I met Mrs. Kathryn Wagner( Priscilla ‘ Grandmother). My parents and I lived on South Franklin St. Hill( old Route 8) after I grad. In 1962 and my Mom had a beauty salon in our home..Well Mrs Wagner was getting her hair done and looked at magazine( I think Photoplay) and read article on “Girl Elvis was dating in Germany” and said to me, I think this is my Granddaughter and I was shocked but she said Beaulieu( sp) was the name of the Serviceman her daughter in law had married after her son was killed in airplane crash..I was all ears by then. She told me what had happened to her son, James and that she hadn’t seen her Granddaughter since she was little. She said her remaining son, Gene was a schoolteacher in Germany and she was going to reach out to him..I knew some of her neighbors and Mrs. Wagner was telling me right. Over the years, I would stop to visit her and learned Gene had visited his sister in law Beaulieu and they acknowledged him as her brother in law, but don’t think Priscilla had found out yet. Anyways Mrs. Wagner was such a delightful lady and showed me all of Priscilla’s pics she had as a young child. Priscilla was born in May 1945 about 7 mos after I was. Unless I’m mistaken Mrs Wsgner said she was baptized at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Titusville. So if I would buy a magazine with Elvis and Priscilla’s pic I would buy 2.-One for Mrs. Wagner, too ( When I met Gene at the reunion, he said now I know where all those papers and magazines came from that I found! I told him I also took some pics of Mrs. Wagner and that I would round them up in case Pris. wanted them. Sorry to say but before I got them together I read where he had passed too. – Anyways Kathryn would tell me that when Gene’s job was done in Germany that he was going to take her to see Priscilla. Kathryn would be out riding on her riding mower mowing that big yard. Her home was so lovely with things Gene had sent home from all over the world. We would talk and all you could hear was her large Grandfather’s clock going tick tick. O thought it was so sad that she had been alone for all those years but she wanted to do things the right way. I remember her telling me about first time Priscilla coming to see her; of course Kathryn thought she was so tiny and too thin. I always called before I went and she would tell me not to stop if I saw car since they would fly into Franklin but if her driver or bodyguards saw another car there, they wouldn’t come..I was just so happy for her to finally getting to know her only Grandchild. It sure made her happy to finally have her in her life again. It was so sad to me but I knew I couldn’t write letter to anyone that would sound like a scam!! I was just happy for her. Okay just thought I would explain how I knew Kathryn Wagner. Priscilla’s Dad was so handsome in the picture Kathryn showed me and Oris. Had the same little part in her hair that her Dad did.( none of pics shown here show it but Kathryn pointed it out to me and it was there on both of their foreheads) like I said we talked quite a bit. I am glad I knew her. I do remember one time I asked her about she must really miss her Granddaughter(before Gene had visited them in Germany) and Kathryn said ” How can you miss what you’ve never had?” I never forgot her saying that. It had been so very many years she had never heard and it really was so sad to me. Just so glad I got to know this special.. I wanted to explain a bit. I respected her privacy but feel I can speak now as to why I was so interested..Thank you, Jessica. Pardon any errors; sometimes spellchecker corrects my words and changes them around but I do make errors, too. I do want to visit the Library one of these days; my favorite place after our teacher introduced us to Benson Memorial Library. It opened my world for me..Your articles are interesting. Thank you for printing this. Mona Simpson Murray 8-21-23.
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Thank you for sharing, Mona!!
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Thanks for sharing!
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Trivia I didn’t know.
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My aunt was a very close friend of Priscilla’s grandmother — therefore, when Priscilla made one of her private visits to Titusville, my aunt got to meet Priscilla.
Priscilla’s uncle still resides in Titusville.
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That’s so cool! Thanks for sharing.
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Isn’t Jeannie Seeley from Titusville also?
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Jeannie was born in Titusville, but was raised in Townville. Such talent is born and raised in NEPA. Proud to be from this srea.
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Very interesting information.
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Thanks for all the interesting information. I graduated from Titusville, Colestock High School, in 1963. I currently live in York, Pa.
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