Mary Elizabeth Hammel Bucklin
Mary Elizabeth Hammel Bucklin
Key Facts
- Full Name
- Mary Elizabeth Hammel Bucklin
- Born
- October 25, 1852 — Evansville, Rock County, Wisconsin
- Died
- April 12, 1927 — Bancroft, Cuming County, Nebraska (age 74)
- Parents
- Owen Hammel (c. 1817–1858) & Ann King (c. 1809–1887)
- Spouse
- Edwin Leonard Bucklin (1856–1924); married March 3, 1878
- Children
- 8 (4 sons, 4 daughters)
- DNA Status
- Validated — matches through 3 children
Mary Elizabeth Hammel was the second child of Owen and Ann Hammel to survive to adulthood. Born in Wisconsin just six years before her father's death, she would live to see her family's journey from an isolated 18-acre farm to prosperous Nebraska homesteads, from the trauma of orphanhood to the joy of raising eight children of her own.
Her 1927 obituary, published in The Pilot of Blair, Nebraska, provides an unusually detailed account of her life—and her sudden death while reading the newspaper to her daughter. This document, combined with eight decades of census records and vital records from three states, allows us to trace her complete life story.
Part I: A Wisconsin Childhood (1852–1875)
Mary Elizabeth was born on October 25, 1852, in Evansville, Rock County, Wisconsin. Her parents, Owen and Ann Hammel, had emigrated from County Monaghan, Ireland during the Famine years and established themselves on a small farm in the Town of Center.
She was approximately five years old when her father died on June 11, 1858, leaving her mother Ann with four young children: James (age 9), Mary (age 5), Henry Patrick (nearly 2), and infant Mary Anna (8 months). The family's struggle is documented in the 1865 guardianship records, where Ann petitioned to sell the 18-acre farm—described as having "no road to it" and producing "very small" income.
"She came to Nebraska with her mother in 1875 and settled at Tekamah."
The 1870 census shows Mary, age 17, still living with her mother Ann and siblings James, Henry, and Anna in Brooklyn Township, Green County, Wisconsin. By this time, the family had relocated from Rock County, possibly using the proceeds from the 1865 farm sale.
In 1875, when Mary was 22 years old, she accompanied her mother and younger siblings on the move to Nebraska. They settled first in Tekamah, Burt County—part of the great westward migration that drew thousands of settlers to the Nebraska prairies in the years following the Civil War.
Part II: Marriage and Family (1878–1924)
Edwin Leonard Bucklin
On March 3, 1878, Mary Elizabeth married Edwin Leonard Bucklin at West Point, Cuming County, Nebraska. Edwin had been born on August 26, 1856, in Brooklyn Township, Green County, Wisconsin—the same region where Mary's family lived in 1870. Their paths may have crossed in Wisconsin before both families migrated to Nebraska.
Edwin was the son of parents who had come to Wisconsin from New York. During his lifetime, he worked both as a barber and as a house carpenter—skills that would serve him well in the growing Nebraska communities.
Eight Children
Mary and Edwin were blessed with eight children—four sons and four daughters—all born in Nebraska between 1879 and 1895. The 1900 census recorded that Mary had given birth to eight children, and all eight were still living, a remarkable survival rate for the era.
Children of Mary Elizabeth Hammel & Edwin Leonard Bucklin
Several children's records provide crucial documentation of Mary's maiden name. The 1905 marriage record of Anna Gertrude Bucklin to Daniel A. Sage explicitly states the bride's mother was "Mary E. Hammel." Leslie Bucklin's 1944 death certificate and Eva Turner's 1956 death certificate both confirm "Mary Hammel" as their mother.
Life in Bancroft
The Bucklin family settled in Bancroft, Cuming County, Nebraska, where Edwin operated a barber shop and later worked as a house carpenter. The 1900 census captures the complete family: Edwin (43), Mary (47), and their eight children ranging from Volney (21, already a barber like his father and newly married) to Alice (5).
By 1920, the children had grown and moved away. The census shows only Edwin (63) and Mary (67) living in their Bancroft home, with Edwin still working as a house carpenter at nearly 64 years old.
Edwin Leonard Bucklin died on May 5, 1924, at age 67. He was buried at Bancroft Cemetery, Cuming County, Nebraska. Mary would survive him by nearly three years.
Part III: "Life's Spark Had Suddenly Gone Out" (1927)
Mary Elizabeth Hammel Bucklin died suddenly on April 12, 1927, at the home of her youngest daughter, Alice (Mrs. Charles Byrne), in Bancroft. She was 74 years old.
Obituary — Mrs. Mary E. Bucklin
Mrs. Mary E. Bucklin passed away very suddenly at the home of her youngest daughter, Mrs. Chas. Byrne, of this city, at about 4:30 yesterday afternoon of heart failure.
She seemed to be in her usual good health, had been eating and sleeping as usual. She was reading the daily paper to Mrs. Byrne while Mrs. Byrne was ironing, when she suddenly fell from her chair and death resulted almost instantly. A physician was sent for but he found her heart was still and life's spark had suddenly gone out.
The funeral service will be held at her old home at Bancroft Friday afternoon, Father Quinn officiating, and burial will be by the side of her husband, whose death occurred May 5th, 1924.
Mary Elizabeth Hammel was born at Evansville, Wis., October 25th, 1852, so was 74 years of age last October. She came to Nebraska with her mother in 1875 and settled at Tekamah. On March 3rd, 1878 she was united in marriage to Edwin L. Bucklin at West Point, Neb.
Eight children were born to them, four boys and four girls, two grown sons, Jas. V. and Owen L., and one daughter, Gertrude, Mrs. D. A. Sage, preceded her in death. Those living are Leon, of Santa Barbara, Calif., Mrs. C. W. Turner, of Crofton, Neb., Mrs. G. B. Ferguson, of Decatur, Nebr., Leslie H. and Mrs. Chas. Byrne, of this city.
The scene described in the obituary is poignant: a 74-year-old woman, seemingly in good health, reading the newspaper aloud to her daughter while the daughter ironed. Then, without warning, she fell from her chair. The physician who arrived found "her heart was still and life's spark had suddenly gone out."
Mary was buried beside her husband Edwin at Bancroft Cemetery in Cuming County, Nebraska, with Father Quinn officiating at the Catholic funeral service.
DNA Validation
Mary Elizabeth Hammel Bucklin's descendants have been DNA tested and validated as part of the Donaghmoyne Network research. Matches have been confirmed through four of her eight children:
These DNA matches connect Mary's descendants to the broader network of Donaghmoyne families, supporting the hypothesis that the Wisconsin Hammel family (Owen and Ann King) shared common ancestry with the Chicago Hamall family (Henry and Mary McMahon).
The naming pattern is also significant: Mary named one son "Owen" (after her father) and another "Henry" (possibly after her brother Henry Patrick Hammel, or connecting to the Chicago Henry Hamall).
Timeline
October 25: Born at Evansville, Rock County, Wisconsin to Owen Hammel and Ann King
June 11: Father Owen Hammel dies; Mary is 5 years old
October–December: Mother Ann petitions for guardianship; family farm sold to John Loudon for $350
Census: Living with mother and siblings in Brooklyn Township, Green County, Wisconsin; age 17
Emigrates to Nebraska with mother Ann and siblings; settles at Tekamah, Burt County
March 3: Marries Edwin Leonard Bucklin at West Point, Cuming County, Nebraska
Eight children born: Volney (1879), Genevieve (1880), Owen (1881), Anna Gertrude (1883), Eva (1887), Leon (1889), Henry Leslie (1893), Alice (1895)
Mother Ann (Nancy) King Hammel dies in Nebraska; buried Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
Census: Family in Bancroft; Edwin (barber), Mary, and 8 children; Mary reports 8 births, 8 living
Son Volney dies at approximately age 35
Census: Edwin and Mary living alone in Bancroft; Edwin still working as carpenter at age 63
August 13: Daughter Anna Gertrude Bucklin Sage dies at Aberdeen, Washington, age 39
May 5: Husband Edwin Leonard Bucklin dies at Bancroft, age 67
April 12: Dies suddenly of heart failure at daughter Alice's home in Bancroft while reading newspaper; buried beside Edwin at Bancroft Cemetery
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