THE MACKEL FAMILY
Compiled and
written by: Robert R. Hughes (1915-2012)
Sources for the following information about the Mackel family are provided when available. However much of what I have written is repeated from what my mother has remembered. My and my younger brother Tom’s direct connection into the Mackel family is perhaps the best that exists at date December 2011. Susan Thompson is developing more information and genealogy concerning the Mackel family. Susan is resurrecting the genealogy, which was lost from her mother’s computer and hopefully she will be able to add to the Mackel history and genealogy.
The Mackel family is from Essen, Germany. The name was originally Mickel, but had a change somehow, Source: Mackel Memoirs
Great-great grandfather Henry Mackel married Bertha Krupp and had a very large family. Your great grandfather was one of the sons, Henry, or Hank. He and several of the cousins went to live with friends in Ada, Minnesota, Source: Mackel Memoirs
Our side started when our great grandfather, Ignatious, married Mary Buss from Iowa. Who also had her background in Essen, Germany. They also had a large family, Source: Mackel Memoirs
Sixteen births were recorded to the union of Mary Buss and Ignatious Mackel. Only eleven survived to adulthood. The eleven who survived to grow up and have normal adult lives are shown in the picture found in the following pages of this document.
Identification of the people in the photo appears on the back of the photo. Written on the back of my copy of this picture, in my mother’s hand writing appears this identification: Back row, left to right, Fred, Bertha, and Henry. Second row: Minnie, Joe, holding Florence, Mom (Mary), and Alex, holding Emily. Front row: Lou, Francis, and Tony
THE MOTHER, MARY (BUSS) MACKEL.
It was her family who had the Buss company, who later made Buss electric fuses. She appears in the picture with her eleven children who grew to adulthood. The Buss Fuse became popular in America in electrical systems of all types. I remember my brother and I installing Buss fuses when Montana Power came to our place about 1930.
THE FATHER, IGNATIOUS MACKEL
Ignatious was born in 1882
Dorothy Helgeson, a third generation granddaughter from the Florence Mackel branch, visited the Ada cemetary and did considerable research into Mackel history. Dorothy notes that Ignatious Mackel, the father, reportedly came from Paderborn, Germany, to Cook County, Illinois, in l858. He filed for naturalization in Cook County, but the great Chicago fire (Mrs. O'Leary's cow) destroyed the courthouse and all records, so the status of Ignatious's citizenship is not clear. Legend has it that he was Catholic, was University educated, and was a cousin to the Krupp family. (The Krupps owned a German steel empire and provided canons, known as "Big Bertha's", for World War One.)
His daughter, Bertha, said that Ignatious could speak Latin fluently, drunk or sober.
As far as I know, there are no photos of Ignatious.
Dorothy's research shows Ignatious living in Goodhue County, Minnesota, in l870, with his wife Mary and family. My mother born in1887, said she was one year old when her father died. This fixes his death at about 1886.
The adjoining photo was taken about 1882 according to my mother’s memory.
These names were written (my mother’s handwriting) at the top, bottom and sides of the photo.
In the picture: Back row, left to right, Fred, Bertha, and Henry.
Second row: Minnie, Joe, holding Florence, Mom (Mary), and Alex, holding
Emily. Front row: Lou, Francis, and Tony
Note: There were 16 recorded births to this family. Only eleven survived to adulthood\See photo.
My mother, Emily, was the youngest of the
Mackel group shown in the photo.
This photo has become historical verification that the Mackel family
existed and exactly who was in it.
LIFE STORIES FOR THE GROUP OF ELEVEN
#1) Henry born 10/2/1864, died 5/8/1931
Henry inherited the responsibility as father figure to his younger siblings. My mother was only one year old when her father died, so Henry was the only father she ever knew. She remembered his presence of authority in the family.
#2) Frederick Hanz [Fritz] born 10/5/1865, died 5/5/1904 5/5/1903][cancer]
Fred lived as a family mainstay after Ignatious died. Fritz died shortly after returning to Ada after helping Joe and Tony move into their new ranch in Montana. Dorothy reports that the court house records show that he had cancer.
#3) Joseph Ignatius born 12/21/1866 or 12/24/1867 [his grave marker says 1867-1940]
Joe and Tony Mackel owned the Meadow Creek ranch. The ranch eventually was inherited by Joe's only son, young Joe Mackel. The last I heard, young Joe had sold out and was living in Anaconda, Montana.
#4) Alexander born
12/12/1869, Gooodhoe County, Minn.
(notes also say 12/12/1871)and his death as 11/28/1929 at Centralia, Washington. He is buried in the
Greenwood Memorial Cemetery, Chehalis, Washington (see more below)
Alex attended Minnesota public school and State Normal School, Started Law School in 1892 at Minnesota State University. Graduated from Law School in 1894 and was immediately admitted to practice in the courts of Minnesota. Was elected to be county attorney for Norman County, Minn. fall of 1904. Served two years and then went to Texas for one and a half years. Returned to short visit in Minn. and he then went to Butte, Montana. Arriving in Butte on Dec 15, 1898, Source. The biography from “Montana’s Progressive Men” and Dorothy Helgeson’s research notes.
Appointed Chief Deputy County Attorney (Silver Bow County) in 1901. Quote from “Montana’s Progressive Men”: “During his tenure of the office, he was engaged in many notable trials for murder and other great crimes, in which he was pitted against some of the most prominent lawyers of the state. But he did not lose a single case of the kind and by his professional learning, skill as a tactician, earnestness in prosecution, and ready marshaling of all his forces in court, he soon established himself firmly in the public estimation as one of the bars most resourceful and successful members”. Unquote
Research developed by Dotie Helgeson, is that Alex was born in Hay Creek, Minnesota
#5) Mina Francisco [Minnie] born. 4/28/1871, died. 1933
Minerva (Minnie) Betcher –married Roy Betcher and they raised a family of several kids, but I have no information further than both my mother and father liked and spoke favorably of the Betchers.
#6) Bertha Katherine [Bertie] born. 5/12/1874
She got a medical degree from the University of Minnesota and set up practice at Butte Montana. Legend has it that she was the first woman doctor in Montana. She married Judge Mclernan. They raised a family of three kids. Henry who became an attorney in Glendale, California; John, who served several terms as a judge in Butte, Montana; and Minnie Alice, married to a mining engineer for the Anaconda. Copper Company Source: Mackel Memoirs
#7) Francisca
Clara (Francis) born. 2/24/1876
died...............? No information
#8) Louis Carolus born 7/11/1881, died 1957
My brother Lewis was named after this brother to my mother. Uncle Lewis had a degree in mining engineering which I think was from the Butte School of Mines as he was attending that school during the time that my mother was secretary in the office of Alex Mackel and Buton K Wheeler. Uncle Lou eventually settled and made his home in the Albuquerque area. He raised a family there. His descendants have grown and now have families of their own.
#9) Anthony born 6/25/1883, died 1/19/1951] [his grave marker says 6/26/1883-1/19/1951]
Tony lived with brother Joe and Aunt Dell at the ranch and never married .He was very shy and never joined the family when we’d go up and visit. When I was little my mother used to take me with her when she went up to the Mackel ranch to visit her brothers. Lewis said Tony lived in the barn and that may be true as he always disappeared after a brief hello. Inside the house, mother and Aunt Dell would visit. The brothers would just sit and rock, and there wasn't much talking.
#10) Florence Wilhelmina born 1/13/1885, died 8/15/1972
Aunt Fodie and her Husband Guy Gibson were not only closely related to my parents, Emily and Thomas S. Hughes, but they were close friends as well. There was much visiting back and forth between these two families until the Gibson’s moved to Clyde Park in the Livingston area. Both families had 5 kids that remained in close touch until the kids grew up and went their separate ways.
#11) Emily Emilia born 3/19/1887, died 11/5/1971
EMILY'S STORY, covering the years, 1903, 1908.
Emily was born March 19,
1887, at Pleasant View, Norman County, Minnesota. She was l6 years old when she
came by train from Ada, Minn., to Butte, Montana. Both her
The picture EMILY MACKEL, Age sixteen
mother and older brother Frederick (Fritz) had died the same year, l903, at Ada. Fritz had been one of the mainstays of family support since their father died (kicked by a horse) in l888. (Emily was only one year old when her father died.) In 1903 the Ada portion of the Mackel family was tragically depleted. Her sister, Florence, also came to Montana in l903, but apparently at a different time as one of Emily's memories was of arriving in Butte alone and, due to a misunderstanding, nobody was there to meet her. Other members of her family had already migrated to Montana. Bertha and Alex were in Butte. Joe and Tony had a ranch out in the Madison Valley. Fritz had been there, helping his brother’s move in the Madison. He went back to Ada, Minnesota, and died there. His widow, Della, later married his brother, Joe, in Montana. Dorothy Helgeson, a fourth generation granddaughter, visited the Ada cemetery and did considerable research into Mackel history. Her research revealed that Fritz's death certificate listed cause of death as cancer.
We do not have much information about Emily from the time of her arrival in Butte, Montana, to the date of her marriage in l908. We know she worked for her brother Alex and his law office partner, Burton K. Wheeler, who later became the U. S. Senator from Montana. Ed thought that she lived with the Brinton family, at least part of the time, because sister Bertha moved to a small apartment (called a "flat"). Marjorie wrote in an article that Emily lived with Bertha (Mrs. McClernan), but she doesn't say for how long. It was inevitable when Emily went to the Madison to visit her brothers that she met the fiddle playing cowboy, Thomas Hughes. who lived and worked just across the road from the Mackel ranch. They were married in 1908 and Emily became a housewife.
About 1920, Emily moved with her family onto a barren piece of desert land just one mile south of McAllister on the Ennis/Norris road. Tom and Emily devoted the next 48 years of their lives to making the desert into a productive cattle ranch and raising a family of five kids. At retirement time they moved down to the old fish hatchery property on South Meadow Creek and turned the ranch operation over to their youngest son, Thomas and his wife, the former Darlene Harris, of McAllister, MT.
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ALEX MACKEL by RR Hughes in 2011
Born Dec 12th, 1871 Goodhoe County, Min BAD LINK http//forms.lib.umt.edu#45AE81n. Link to Biography
The only time I remember seeing Uncle Alex was one time when he came to see his sister Emily (my Mother). I remember his car better than I do him
He was a big guy. 6’7” I think. He was driving an air cooled Franklin which was distinctive because the engine hood was slanted back where a radiator would be on water cooled models. To accommodate his long legs, Alex had removed the normal driver’s seat and sat on the back seat to drive. I sat in it and my legs were about a foot short.
Dorothy Helgeson visited Alex’s grave and reported it to be in moderately good condition.
That was in 1990 something and considerable weathering has caused it to deteriorate as the pictures show that Tracy (Hughes) Morris and I took on Wednesday (8/24/11) it was not possible to read the dates but what we thought was a birth date of 1867 was incorrect as the correct date appears to be Dec. 12, 1871.
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Alexander Mackel,
Born Dec. 12th,, 1871, Gooodhoe County, Minn.
Attended public school and State Normal School
Started Law School in 1892 at Minnesota State University.
Graduated from Law School in 1894 and was immediately admitted to practice in the courts of Minnesota.
Was elected to be county attorney for Norman County, Minn. fall of 1904. Age 23.
Served two years and then went to Texas for one and a half years,
Short visit in Minn. and he then went to Butte, Montana. Arriving Butte on his birthday, Dec 15 1898,
Appointed Chief Deputy County Attorney (Silver Bow County) in 1901.Quote from (BAD LINK) http://forms.lib.umt.edu/gsdl/cgi-bin/library. During his tenure of the office, he was engaged in many notable trials for murder and other great crimes, in which he was pitted against some of the most prominent lawyers of the state. But he did not lose a single case of the kind and by his professional learning, skill as a tactician, earnestness in prosecution, and ready marshaling of all his forces in court, he soon established himself firmly in the public estimation as one of the bars most resourceful and successful members
Research developed by Dotie Helgeson, is that Alex was born 12 December 1869 in Hay Creek, Minnesota, and his death as 28 November 1929 at Centralia, Washington
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MACKEL MEMOIRS By Mary Francis Mackel
Mackel,
Since this is a first effort at this type of recording - hope it is what you'd like to know - since I'm now the "old one" of the family.
As with most families, it's often the father's side of the family we know the least about. Ours also had the added problem of distance - and perhaps interest, as our brief encounters during summer visits had very little common ground of interest, except "relationship."
Papa’s family, being German, was started as many in the late 1800’s because of the Prussian Revolt. The young men immigrated to America to escape conscription, or, as we know it, "the draft". The information as this is written, is as I remember hearing it. At least it will give you some background and names to use if any of you are going to pursue it in more detail.
The Mackel family are from Essen, Germany. The name was originally Mickel, but had a change somehow, someway. This was learned, also, besides hearsay, from Dean Nanning a at UMN in the 1930s. He had been to Germany to see some of his relatives and got some facts about his family. He called me to his office upon his return to tell me his grandfather had been chess partner of Henry Mickel (Mackel), and had met some of the Mackel family still living in Essen.
The family-owned thread and linen factories for several generations. No pun intended, but here the thread of the story starts.
Great-grandfather Henry Mackel married Bertha Krupp and had a very large family. Your great grandfather was one of the sons, Henry, or Hank. He and several of the cousins went to live with friends in Ada, Minnesota, a German community of large families, mainly wheat and grain. As the young man grew up and married, they were given land and started their own businesses. Our side started when your great grandfather married Mary Buss from Iowa. Who also had her background in Essen, Germany. It was her family who had the Buss company, who later made a Buss electric fuses. She is the one for whom I was named the Mary in my name. They also had a large family - and as I remember, these were their names:
(1) Henry (Hank) who was killed in World War I.
(2) Alex (whom I knew when he came to New Mexico to visit one winter) was 6’ 7" and a judge. He had always been very good to your grandfather. He went to Butte, Montana at the beginning of the mining boom as an attorney for the IWW (unions). His fees were often paid in land, and one fee (in Aransas (? Arkansas?) Pass and Corpus Christy, Texas) he gave to your grandfather and grandmother as a wedding present. Seeing the opportunities for young people in Butte he sent for his sister
(3) Bertha who was the first woman to receive a medical degree from the University of Minnesota. She was an anesthesiologist. She brought with her your grandfather, Lewis, who had just finished college with a degree in engineering (mining). This was to help relieve the family financially as the father had been killed by a bull he was helping a neighbor move. Meanwhile, back at the farm in Minnesota, and (unintelligible)
(4) Minerva (Minnie) Boetcher - husband, Roy - it was their family (sons, I think,) who came to visit us in Albuquerque, when we were at the Isleta Road house in Pajarito. I was in Taos working, (unintelligible) must've been quite a visit! They arrived in "all over" overalls, (unintelligible) . We left a virtual light in a nicho in the hall, and every time they’d go by they’d blow it out - it was a "fire hazard", etc. Bro was unintelligible remember more. They were on their way to California to visit some relatives, because they still had the grain farms, etc.
(5) Florence (Fodie) Gibson - husband, Guy - ( unintelligible) remember - Burke, Gretchen and more). They had a (unintelligible) Park out of Livingston, Montana. Bert and his wife sold some of the ranch property and bought a motel at Black Canyon City, Arizona, and spent winters there, and summers in Montana.
(6) Joe had a ranch at Ennis, Montana, one of the entrances to the Yellowstone Park.
(7) Francis (can't remember her married name) and her family lived in Ennis too. As I remember, there were a lot of chickens.
(8) Fritz was killed in World War I.
(9) Lewis Carolus - your grandfather
(10) Tony lived with brother Joe at the ranch in Ennis and never married. As I remember, he was very shy and never joined the family when we’d go through and visit in the summer. The brothers would just "set and rock", and there wasn't much talking.
Back to the parable of the parents: In Butte, Bertha had married Henry McClernand , a judge, and now had their own home. Alex and Lewis moved to an apartment, or "flat", as they call them, and your grandfather Lou became a professor at Montana School of Mines. He had no car (it had belonged to Uncle Alex - the first Buick in Butte - guess Don has the old pictures of it) so, he moved across the street from St. James Hospital, where your grandmother Eliza was a nurse. (You can pick up the story in the McDonald part.)
Uncle Alex became a judge of the Superior Court and moved to Yakima, Washington. Don't know the rest.
Bertha McLernan had three children whom I met: Henry who was an attorney in Glendale, California; John, who is now a judge in Butte, Montana; and Minnie Alice, married to a mining engineer for Anaconda. The last time I saw her was in Tucson, and her husband ? Mulcahy, was in charge of the mine at Cananea, Mexico, but they had their home in Tucson, near the University.
_______________________________________________________
From: Robert Hughes [mailto:hugh875@comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2011
7:20 PM
To: Mary Westfall
Cc: Bob V. Hughes
Subject: Mackel memoirs
westfallroma@comcast.net
Mary,
My family lived withn a half dozen miles of the Montana Mackels.and I can report on most of Mackel activity including the family of Florence Mackel Gibson. In going through the Mackel memoirs I find numerous errors and things that need correction. To start with: The two items copied below are confusing and in error.
quote (6) Joe had a ranch at Ennis, Montana, one of the entrances to the Yellowstone Park. unquote
Wrong. There was only one Mackel ranch and it was on South Meadow Creek in southwestern Montana The post office address was originally Meadow Creek, but with the passage of time became McAllister. Ennis is another community about 8 miles up the road towards the Yellowstone Park.
Joe and Tony Mackel owned the Meadow Creek ranch - they may have got it by homesteading in the late 1800s. The ranch eventually was inherited by Joe's only son, young Joe Mackel. The last I heard, young Joe had sold out and was living in Anaconda, Montana.
The following quote is really confusing;
Quote(7) Francis (can't remember her married name) and her, I think, family lived in Ennis too. As I remember, there were a lot of chickens .unquote.
I think that it is this information that confuses my mother with her sister Francis. My mother and her family (including myself) lived on a ranch which was on the road to Ennis. However our address was always McAllister, or at first was Meadow Creek. Ennis was 6 miles away while McAllister was only one mile.
The idea that Francis was involved in a ranch in the Madison is wrong. Francis never kranched in Montana to my knowledge. My mother fits the description and location that swas given for Francis amd I think the composer of the memoirs made a simple mistake and meant to say Emily instead of Francis. This explains why we could not find Emily.
What rings the bell is about the chickens - I was the keeper of those chickens. I had to feed them, put them in the coop at night and prepare them for the table when they got big. The rest of the chicken story is that baby chicks came by parcel post. We ordered from Montgomery Ward and then go to rthe post office and pick them up when they came. They arrived in cardboard boxes with little holes cut in the top.