The Bawel Family of Hall and Seward County, Nebraska

Among the Mennonite families whose quiet industry and steadfast faith helped shape the agricultural life of both Nebraska and Iowa in the early twentieth century was that of John Edward Bawel, son of Heinrich and Catherine (Calpetzer) Bawel. John Edward was born at Belleville, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, on 4 September 1869, in a region long settled by German-speaking Amish and Mennonite farmers whose traditions of thrift and faithfulness to the land would mark his own life’s course. ¹“Bawel, John Edward,” Gospel Herald 53, no. 6 (9 Feb. 1960): 133–35.

As a young man, John Edward joined the steady westward migration of Mennonite families seeking larger tracts of farmland on the prairie. He first settled in Iowa, where he is found in 1900 in Lincoln Township, Calhoun County, Iowa, where he worked as a day laborer and was residing with the family of Chris S. and Phebe Zehr as a boarder. He soon removed to Nebraska, becoming part of the thriving Mennonite congregations near Milford and Wood River, where Swiss and German Mennonites from the East had established churches and schools in the late nineteenth century. It was within this setting that John met Katie (Kate) Gascho, daughter of Preacher Joseph and Mary Gascho, respected members of the Milford congregation. ²“Bawel, Kate (Gascho),” Gospel Herald 22, no. 14 (4 July 1929): 287.

On 27 February 1902, John and Katie were united in marriage by Bishop Joseph Schlegel, a leading minister among the Amish Mennonites of Nebraska. ³Ibid.; Bishop Joseph Schlegel officiated at the marriage, 27 Feb. 1902, Milford, Nebraska. Their marriage joined two families deeply rooted in Anabaptist faith and tradition, marking the beginning of nearly three decades of shared labor and family life. The couple began their married years on a farm near Milford, later moving to Hall County, near Wood River, where they continued to farm and participate in the life of the Wood River Mennonite Church. ⁴“Bawel, John Edward,” Gospel Herald 53, no. 6 (9 Feb. 1960): 133–35.

In 1910, John and Katie were residing in Jackson Township, Hall County, Nebraska where they were enumerated along with their daughters, Emma, Nellie, and Velma. ⁵“United States, Census, 1910”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ML4X-YZX : Wed Aug 13 16:42:11 UTC 2025), Entry for John E Bawell and Katie Bawell, 1910.

Eight children were born to John and Katie: Emma Grace (1903–1969), Nellie Gray (1905–1981), Velma Fern (1909–1985), Henry Joseph (1911–1995), Viola Doris (1922–2000), and Bessie Betty (1924–1981), along with two who died young—Edna Marie (1915–1928) and an unnamed infant daughter born and deceased in 1920. ⁶“Bawel, Edna Marie,” Gospel Herald 20, no. 50 (15 Mar. 1928): 1086–87. The early deaths of Edna Marie, who died at the age of thirteen following complications of infantile paralysis, and of the unnamed infant, brought deep sorrow, yet the family’s faith remained strong within the supportive Mennonite fellowship.

Katie (Gascho) Bawel’s own life was cut short by illness when she died on 26 February 1929 at St. Francis Hospital, Grand Island, Nebraska, following surgery for appendicitis, at the age of forty-six years, six months, and eleven days. Her funeral was conducted by Brothers A. E. Stoltzfus and D. G. Lapp, with burial in the Wood River Mennonite Church Cemetery. ⁷“Bawel, Kate (Gascho),” Gospel Herald 22, no. 14 (4 July 1929): 287.

“All is over, hands are folded
On a quiet, peaceful breast;
All is over, toils are ended,
Now dear mother is at rest.”

In 1930, John is found renting a farm in Harrison Township, Hall County residing with his children: Emma, Nellie, Henry, Viola, and Bessy. ⁸“United States, Census, 1930”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XQKL-D3Y : Sun Mar 10 20:53:08 UTC 2024), Entry for John E Bowell and Ema Bowell, 1930.

After his wife’s death, John Edward continued to farm in Wood River until 1940, when he and his family moved east to Oxford, Johnson County, Iowa, joining the Mennonite communities of eastern Iowa that had flourished around Wellman, Kalona, and Parnell. ⁹“Bawel, John Edward,” Gospel Herald 53, no. 6 (9 Feb. 1960): 133–35. Over his life he would transfer his church membership first from East Fairview Church in Milford to the Wood River Church, where he fellowshipped for 31 years, and later to the Wellman Mennonite Church, where he remained a faithful member until his death.

In 1950, John, age 80, can be found enumerated at Hardin Township, Johnson County, Iowa along with his daughter, Emma and son Henry. ¹⁰“United States, Census, 1950”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6FQ2-7HR4 : Sun Jan 14 23:45:07 UTC 2024), Entry for John E Bawel, April 7, 1950.

John Edward lived to see nearly a century of change—from horse-drawn implements to the mechanized agriculture of the mid-twentieth century. He died at his home near Oxford on 18 January 1960, aged ninety years, three months, and fourteen days. His funeral was held at the Wellman Mennonite Church on 21 January 1960, conducted by Max Yoder and George S. Miller; interment followed in the church cemetery. ¹¹“Bawel, John Edward,” Gospel Herald 53, no. 6 (9 Feb. 1960): 133–35.

Of their adult children, most remained within the Mennonite communities of eastern Iowa:

1. Emma Grace Bawel, born 26 February 1903 in Seward County, Nebraska, remained unmarried and devoted her life to her parents family; she died at Iowa City on 15 December 1969. ¹²“Bawel, Emma G.,” Gospel Herald 63, no. 2 (13 Jan. 1970): 47–48.
2. Nellie Gray Bawel, born 30 August 1905 in Seward County, Nebraska, also unmarried, died of cancer in Iowa City on 17 May 1981. ¹³“Bawel, Nellie G.,” Gospel Herald 74, no. 25 (23 June 1981): 510. We find her living in 1950 with her younger sister, Bessie, at Iowa City, Iowa, age 43. At the time she was employed as a sales lady for Scotts’ Stores.
3. Velma Fern Bawel, born 10 February 1909, married Perry Beckler on 25 October 1928; she died 15 April 1985 at Iowa City and was buried at East Union Mennonite Cemetery, near Sharon Center. ¹⁴“Beckler, Velma Fern,” Gospel Herald 78, no. 17 (1985): n.p.; burial at East Union Mennonite Cemetery, Sharon Center, Johnson County, Iowa.
4. Henry Joseph “Hank” Bawel, born 4 April 1911 in Hall County, Nebraska, farmed near Oxford and later worked for the University of Iowa Hospitals; he died on 16 July 1995 and was buried at Wellman Mennonite Cemetery. ¹⁵“Bawel, Henry J.,” Gospel Herald 88, no. 43 (31 Oct. 1995): n.p.; and Iowa City Press Citizen, obituary, July 1995.
5. Edna Marie Bawel, born 15 May 1915 in Hall County, Nebraska, died 9 February 1928 at her parents home in Wood River and was buried at the Wood River Mennonite Church Cemetery. Edna suffered from infantile paralysis in her right arm and shoulder and was taken to a specialist in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1926. There she was outfitted with a cast for 6 weeks, and then a brace, which she wore around her arm and shoulder until her death by bronchial pneumonia.
6. _____ Bawel, infant daughter born and died in 1920 in Wood River. She was buried at the Wood River Mennonite Church Cemetery.
7. Viola Doris Bawel, born 21 October 1922 in Hall County, Nebraska, married Harold Burkholder on 27 September 1942; she died in Iowa City on 4 May 2000 and was buried at Wellman Mennonite Cemetery. ¹⁶“Burkholder, Viola (Bawel),” The Mennonite 3, no. 23 (20 June 2000): 13; and “Burkholder, Harold,” Gospel Herald 64, no. 3 (19 Jan. 1971).
8. Bessie Betty Bawel, born 7 October 1924 in Hall County, Nebraska, married Maynard G. Widmer on 29 June 1958; she died 12 December 1981 and was buried at Bethel Mennonite Church Cemetery, Washington County. ¹⁷“Widmer, Bessie B. (Bawel),” burial record, Bethel Mennonite Church Cemetery, Washington County, Iowa; and “Widmer, Maynard G.,” The Mennonite (July 1988): obituary notice. We find her living in 1950 with her older sister, Nellie, at Iowa City, Iowa, age 25. At the time she was employed as a registered nurse for Mercy Hospital.

The Bawel family’s migration—from Pennsylvania to Nebraska and finally to Iowa—trace the broader path of Amish-Mennonite settlement across the American frontier.