Town: Milford

The Bawel Family of Hall and Seward County, Nebraska

Downtown Wood River Nebraska

John Edward Bawel, born in Pennsylvania in 1869, was part of the early twentieth-century Mennonite migration to Nebraska and Iowa. After settling in Milford and later Hall County, he married Katie Gascho in 1902. They had eight children, facing hardships, including the early deaths of two daughters. After Katie’s passing in 1929, John continued farming until moving to Iowa in 1940. He remained active in Mennonite communities, witnessing significant agricultural changes throughout his life, passing away in 1960 at 90.

Biography of W. B. Graul

Pioneer Stories of the Pioneers of Fillmore and adjoining Counties title page

W. B. Graul came from Pennsylvania to Nebraska with his father; Levi Joseph Graul arrived at Milford, April 1, 1871. They settled on a farm one and a half miles north west of Goehner, in Seward County, where the mother still lives; the father was killed by lightning on May 19, 1897. Their first night in Nebraska was spent in visiting with William Bivens, the wind that evening was so strong that it upset their wagon. When the father commenced farming he had only a team of horses and five dollars, so he rented a small house; which was guaranteed … Read more