The Gabel Family
from the 1829 Immigration of Jacob Gabel
to the Present

JACOB GABEL ⁽¹⁾ born c. 1770 - 1790, perhaps Alsace Region (then part of France). Married c. 1800 - 1808, ___________. Their children, in order of birth, were:

Joseph ⁽²⁾,
Michael ⁽²⁾,
Katherine ⁽²⁾ (m. ________ Schiets),
Elizabeth ⁽²⁾ (m. ___________ Rinmelspach),
Magdlen [Magdalen?] ⁽²⁾ (m. ___________ Binsack), and
Jacob ⁽²⁾.

The entire family immigrated to America about 29 Sep. 1829, arriving at Buffalo, N.Y. The entire family moved again in 1835, traveling along Lake Erie to the town of Lower Sandusky (now Fremont), Sandusky County, Ohio. They resided on what is now known as the Greenspike Pike, Southwest of Fremont. Jacob ⁽¹⁾, his wife, and most of their children apparently remained in the Fremont area. He died ________. [source: monograph by Mrs. Hedwig Gabel Hasinger, June 14, 1954]

• Jacob ⁽¹⁾ may have had a brother, Peter. VoL XV of "Ohio Records and Pioneer Families," pg. 184 (No. 4, Oct-Dec. 1974) mentions a Nicholas Gabel (2), b. in Germany on 23 Aug. 1820, son of Peter Gabel (1) and wife Mary ________, who went to Buffalo, NY ca. 1828, where they died. Nicholas (2) went to Portsmouth, Clay Twp., Scioto County, Ohio ca. 1833. In 1845 he married Mary DeGear and had 10 children, including Mary, Catherine, George, Frank, Nicholas, and others.
• One of Jacob's ⁽¹⁾ male children may have married a Magdalena _______, whose death is recorded in the Sandusky County Probate Court Records. A Magdalena Gabel, b. ca. 1812, died at age 65 of old age, on 13 Feb. 1876 in Jackson, Sandusky County. She was a farmer's wife. She was born in Germany. Vol. 1, # 71.

JOSEPH GABEL ⁽²⁾ born 20 March 1809, at Dussenhehn [Dunzenheim?], Alsace, France. Drafted into the French Army, reportedly at age 19, perhaps as early as age 16. This was only about 40 years after the start of the 1789 French Revolution, and there was still great turmoil in France. As soon as he was discharged after three years' service, his parents and his immediate family emigrated to America.

While in Buffalo, N.Y. he met and courted BARBARA GOHN ⁽²⁾, born Feb. 1810 in Baden, Germany. Their marriage ceremony took place in the St. Louis Church, North Bush, New York, in 1833. Two years later they moved to Ohio with his parents, continuing past Fremont south to the Seneca County line. A few years later they moved near Ballville, Sandusky County, Ohio, in the vicinity of Tindle Bridge. Joseph ⁽²⁾ was instrumental in the creation of the St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Ballville in 1857, donating all the lumber for the building and the pews. George ⁽³⁾, their unmarried son, contributed toward purchase of the three steeple bells in the old St. Joseph's Church.

Shortly thereafter Joseph ⁽²⁾ and Barbara ⁽²⁾ retired to Fremont, living at 1012 Court Street. They celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in the old St Joseph's Church in 1884. Joseph ⁽²⁾ died in Sep. 1891, and she followed him in the Spring of 1898. Both rest in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Ballville Township.

Their children were:

John ⁽³⁾ (see below),
Joseph ⁽³⁾,
Elizabeth ⁽³⁾ (m. _______ Miller),
Magdalen ⁽³⁾ (m. _______ Giebel),
George ⁽³⁾,
Jacob ⁽³⁾,
Katherine ⁽³⁾ (m. _______ Oberhouser),
Michael ⁽³⁾, and
Anna ⁽³⁾ (m. _________ Reinholt).

All were baptized either by a Missionary Priest or at the old St. Ann's and St. Joseph's churches, where the children also made their first Communions and Confirmations.

• Note - the Probate Court Records of Sandusky County, Ohio show that Joseph Gable, a farmer, died of paralysis on 11 Sep. 1892 in Clyde, Sandusky County, Ohio. He was born in France, and last lived in Fremont. Vol. 1, # 98 [L D. S. Film 511731]. Likewise, these records show a Barbara Gabel, who died of old age at the age of 89 on 28 March 1900, in Fremont. She was born in Germany. Vol. 1, # 60.

JOHN GABEL ⁽³⁾ born 1832, at Buffalo, N.Y. Moved with his parents in 1835 to Ohio. Married EVA WILHELM ⁽³⁾ in Fremont, Ohio, 28 Nov. 1862.

Eva ⁽³⁾ was the second youngest child of BARTHLEMOW WILHELM ⁽²⁾ and _____________, and was born c. 1841 in Leitenhime (sp?), Alsace, France. Her brothers and sisters were:

Franciska ⁽³⁾ (Frances) (b. 22 Oct 1832, d. ______, m. 3 June 1856 Peter Yeager),
Louis A. ⁽³⁾ (b. 21 Aug. 1837, d. 15 Dec. 1932, m. Catherine Toeppe),
Joseph ⁽³⁾ (b. 19 Mar. 1839, d. c. 1914, unmarried.),
Magdalena ⁽³⁾ (m. __________ Young),
Mary ⁽³⁾ (m. 22 Feb. 1854 Benedict Groff),
Lawrence ⁽³⁾ (elsewhere spelled "Lorence") (b. 9 Aug. 1843, d. c. 1915, m. 21 May 1867 Elizabeth Shiets),
two children ⁽³⁾ who remained in Germany, one married and one a nun (who passed away shortly after the rest of the family sailed to America).

This accounts for nine of the ten children reportedly in the family. Eva's ⁽³⁾ mother died in about 1845. The family came to America in about 1 May 1852, settling in Sandusky County, Ohio. The sailing ship they came to America in took six weeks at sea, because (as Eva ⁽³⁾, then 11 years old, later recalled for her family) it was lodged in an ice jam. All the children who immigrated are buried in the St. Joseph Cemetery at Fremont, Ohio, except Eva ⁽³⁾ and Magdalena ⁽³⁾ (Lena) (who lived at Millersville, Ohio.)

• Note that there is a "Francis Wilhelm" listed in the 1860 Mortality Schedule for Sandusky County, Ohio, who died in April 1860 at the age of 20, 12 days after contracting typhoid fever. He was born in France, and was married at the time. He lived in Woodville Twp. XVII Ohio Records and Pioneer Families, pg. 41 (No. 1, Jan.-Mar. 1976).
• Note also that the 10th child of Barthlemow Wilhelm ⁽²⁾ may have been a son of the same name. The Probate Court Records of Sandusky County, Births, show a male child (no name) born on 25 Nov. 1872, to Bartholamew Wilhelm and his wife, Dorotha, of Jackson Township, Sandusky County. Vol. 1, # 600. While it is possible the Barthlemow ⁽²⁾ could have been the father, he would have been 60 or older at the birth. At about the same time Lorence Wilhelm and wife Elizabeth are shown to have had a female child (no name) on 27 October 1871, in Fremont. Vol. 1, # 602. [LDS film, 0511730]

Before moving to Kansas in 1879, John ⁽³⁾ and Eva ⁽³⁾ Gabel had eight of their ten children. They were:

Charles ⁽⁴⁾ (b. c. 15 Nov. 1864, d. 20 May 1842 Wichita, Kansas, m. Ida __________,
Albert L. ⁽⁴⁾ (b. 18 June 1865, d. 8 Dec. 1948 Riley, Kansas, m. Margaret _________,
Joseph John ⁽⁴⁾ (b. 1 Sep. 1867, d. 4 Feb. 1947 Beloit, Kansas, unmarried),
William Seraphim ⁽⁴⁾ (see below),
Andrew P. ⁽⁴⁾ (b. 1 Aug. 1872, d. 20 Mar. 1948 Los Angeles, Cal., m. Ann Geibel),
Mary Frances ⁽⁴⁾ (b. 21 .Aug. 1874, d. 1 Aug. 1952 Beloit, Kansas, m. 20 Oct. 1896 Anthony Graff),
Anna Barbara ⁽⁴⁾ (b. 7 Aug. 1876. d. 5 Dec. 1964, m. 26 Oct. 1897 Michael Henke), and
Frank Ernest ⁽⁴⁾ (b. 29 Oct. 1879, d. 20 Apr. 1941, m. 16 Oct. 1907 Anna Schwerman).

After moving to a farm near Plum Creek Township, Mitchell County, Kansas, John ⁽³⁾ and Eva ⁽³⁾ had two other children:

Catherine (Katie) Rose ⁽⁴⁾ (b. 18 Oct. 1880, d. 7 Dec. 1974 Beloit, Kansas, unmarried), and
Clara Cecilia ⁽⁴⁾ (b. 6 June 1885, d. 23 Feb. 1974 Beloit, Kansas, m. 25 Apr. 1917 Peter Henry Pauly).

John ⁽³⁾ died of lockjaw on 15 July 1898 in Beloit, Kansas. He and Eva ⁽³⁾ had prepared a home outside of Beloit to retire to, just the previous Fall. Eva ⁽³⁾ moved to 606 East Court Street in Beloit, where she lived with her two youngest daughters until her death on 7 Feb. 1923. Katie ⁽⁴⁾ thereafter resided in the house.

WILLIAM SERAPHIM GABEL ⁽⁴⁾ born 11 May 1870, Fremont, Ohio. He moved with his parents and family to Plum Creek township in 1879. There he later met and married ANNA ERESCH ⁽⁴⁾.

She was born Dec. 1871, probably in Aurora, Kane County, Illinois, to JOHANN PETER ERESCH ⁽³⁾ (b. 22 Sep. 1827, Ririnish, Neurenburg, Germany, d. 13 June 1896 Beloit, Kansas) and ANNA CATHERINE STEFFEN ⁽³⁾ (b. 30 June 1830, Neurenburg, Germany, d. 29 Jan. 1912 Beloit, Kansas).

[sources: Ernest A. Gabel; Sara Muffin Baldwin and Robert Mortin Baldwin, Illustriana Kansas, 370-371 (Hebron, Neb. 1933); North Central Kansas Genealogical Society, Mitchell County Cemeteries, Vol. III, 101-102 (Cawker City, Kansas, no date)]. Her brothers were:

William S. Gabel ⁽⁴⁾ achieved a small bit of fame when, in 1911, he set a record (which stood until at least 1945) of transforming standing wheat from his fields into a freshly baked biscuit in 30 minutes. The feat was widely reported, including a Ripley's "Believe It or Not" column in the Topeka State Journal, on September 24, 1945.

In 1913, he bought land in Beloit and built the Grand Theatre, which opened about the first of August, 1914. It was large enough to seat 750, and with a gallery addition could have accommodated 1,000 patrons. "Moving Pictures" were added in 1924, and the first "Talkies" were shown in 1929. The Gabels owned it until mid-1929, when it was sold to the Dickinson Theatres, then of Kansas City. [source: Bobby Petterson, "History of the Grand Theatre, Beloit, Kansas, 1913 - 1964", in Mitchell County Historical Essays, 94 - 96 (Beloit, 1967).]

In 1925 or 1926 William S. ⁽⁴⁾ and Anna Gabel ⁽⁴⁾ sued John E. Riley, Josie H. Riley and Mrs. Mary Riley on two promissory notes involved in the sale of land near Beloit. The Gabels were represented by Francis J. Gabel and R. M. Anderson, both of Beloit. The appeal of the decision against the Gabels is reported at 123 Kan. 174 (March 12,1927).

Pop Gabel ⁽⁴⁾ passed away in 1957, having survived Anna⁽⁴⁾ who died in 1942. Both are buried in Beloit. [source: Mitchell County Cemeteries, supra.]

WILLIAM JOHN GABEL ⁽⁵⁾ b. 27 Nov. 1895, Mitchell County, Kansas. On ______ he married LILLIAN MARTINET ROBISON ⁽⁵⁾ (b. 15 May 1895, d. 1976, Carbondale, Osage County, Kansas).

She was the daughter of PLEASANT WILLIAM ROBISON ⁽⁴⁾ (b. 14 Oct. 1856 (58?), Coles County, Illinois, d. 1 Aug. 1942 Carbondale, Kansas) and EVA LAVILLA (VILLA) McDONALD ⁽⁴⁾ (b. c. 1863 Henderson County, Illinois, d. 3 July 1936 Carbondale, Kansas).

Catherine Allace (Getchell) Gabel ⁽⁶⁾ is the daughter of FRANCIS BENJAMIN GETCHELL ⁽⁵⁾ (b. 19 Aug. 1899 Superior, Wis., d. 20 Feb. 1974 Minneapolis, Minn., m. 5 Nov. 1924) and ALLACE MIRIAM COWEN ⁽⁵⁾ (b. 26 Nov. 1898 Ely, Minn., d. 14 Apr. 1997). The Getchell family has been traced back another nine generations to the immigrant, Samuel Gatchell, born c. 1615. The Cowin family has been traced past the immigrant, William Edward (b. 1817/18) into the Cowin family of the Isle of Man near Scotland, which family has been traced generally as far back as 1266. [source: Allace M. Getchell.]

The information about Jacob and Joseph Gabel is drawn from a typed history produced by Mrs. Hedwig Gabel Haslinger, dated June 14,1954. The information about Eva Wilhelm Gabel is from an undated and unsigned history, perhaps also by Mrs. Haslinger. The sources of the further information are (generally) noted in the text.

This monograph ended with a summary of the then-surviving descendents of Joseph Gabel (2) and Barbara Gohn (2). That is quoted below.

... All children are deceased, with only one nephew surviving, he being Albert Gabel of West State St., Fremont, Ohio. Sixteen grandchildren survive, five still residing in Fremont, Ohio, and active members of St. Joseph's Parrish [sic], they being Mary Oberhouse Rectenwald, Hedwig Gabel Haslinger, Peter Gabel, Matilda Gabel Miller, and Loretta Gabel Miller. Other surviving grandchildren are Catherine Giebel Geyman, of Burgoon, Ohio, Barbara Gabel Vilebrand of Fostoria, Ohio, Herman Gabel of Akron, Ohio, Louise Gabel Schmitz of Adrian, Michigan, Frank Gabel of Toledo, Ohio, Raymond Gabel of New Bem, N.C., John Gabel of Wisconsin, and William Gabel, Anna Barbara Gabel Henke, Catherine Rose Gabel, Clara Cecelia Gabel Pauley, all of Beloit, Kans. Many descendants, too numerous to mention now residing in Fremont and are active members of the present St. Joseph's Parish.

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