Hamel Family

Courtesy of William Soderlund
A BRIEF HISTORY OF LANGE CHARLES HAMEL AND FAMILY
by
William Soderlund

Lange Hamel, the eldest of five children of Joseph Hamel and Marie Louise Fontaine, was born June 21, 1812, at Isle Verte, Quebec, Canada.  Upon maturing he became a farmer and in 1837 married Eugenie Moffett, the daughter of the local surveyor, Gabriel Moffett.  

Life at Isle Verte was hard and the soil was rocky.  Lange decided to try his luck elsewhere and moved to the neighboring parish at St. Eloi.  They fared no better there, so after much soul searching and discussion with his wife and father, he decided to move south to Minnesota Territory which was just becoming populated with white men.  

Lange set out to look over the area and probably arrived in the Territory sometime in early 1855.  He may have come with his younger brother, Marcel.  After arriving at St. Anthony and seeing the banks of the Mississippi timbered with oak and ask trees and the swamps on the western shores of the river, he decided to search further.  Hearing of the Big Woods 15-20 miles west of St. Anthony, he traveled on foot over Indian trails to what was later known as Medina and Plymouth Townships.  It was here that he spied his beloved maple trees.

The soil was heavy and black with few rocks.  It would have to be cleared but it would be able to supply his family with food and his stock with adequate hay.   The woods contained mostly sugar maple trees which would provide him with a cash crop.

After building a cabin of logs and clearing an area large enough to support himself and his family, Lange sent for them.  Joseph O. was away at school in Quebec City and came later, in l857, But Eugenie and Marguerite-Eugenie, Lange Jr., William, Narcesse, Anaise, and Angele came form St-Eloi to Minnesota Territory in the fall of 1856.  Their first year in Minnesota was spent fighting a plague of locusts and a financial panic had hit the country causing a shortage of money.

During the Civil War, Lange, who was too old for military service, watched over the families of neighbors who were off fighting in the conflict.  An Indian uprising in 1862 caused Lange to bring his family to Minneapolis for safety.  Adele fell from the wagon and broke her arm during the flight.

Lange and Eugenie continued to have children after arriving in Minnesota.  The first born after ariving was Euphemie, in 1857.  Then came adele, Francis, Mary and Eugene.

Marguerite-Eugenia had been married in 1857 to Romain Pouliot and was the first child to leave home.  She was 14 years old at the time.  Joseph left to study law in Minneapolis in 1859, and in l863 he went to Idaho Territory to prospect for gold.  He returned in 1867 to operate the local general store.  Narcesse and Lange Jr. both went to the Dakotas to homestead, leaving William at home.  Shortly before William was married in 1864, Eugenie passed away.  William agreed to take care of the younger motherless children and together with this brother, Joseph and their father, they did so.

As civilization proceeded in the area, a Church was established and built on the edge of the Hamel Farm.  It was dedicated in July, 1879, along with a cemetery.  The years began to take their toll on Lange.  He had worked hard and now he wanted rest.  He passed his final days at home and died August 26, 1887 from kidney disease.

That same summer of 1887, the Minneapolis and Pacific Railroad, now known as the Soo Line, was expanding its system to the western parts of the state.  A depot was constructed on William Hamel's land and the area was called "Hamel Station".  The agent was kept on duty there more or less continuously for 75 years until 1963, when he was withdrawn permanently.  Today that depot exists as a relic of the past to remind us of the struggle of a courageous family to better themselves on the frontier.


Click here for Descendants of Francois Hamel
REUNION OF THE DESCENDANTS OF THE LANGE CHARLES HAMEL FAMILY
HAMEL, MINNESOTA
August 9, l970

1:00 P.M.REUNION MASS OF THANKSGIVING IN St. Anne's Church, Hamel, Minnesota.  
                         This will be followed by a procession to the cemetery for a brief ceremony of prayer                                 over  the graves of Lange Hamel and his descendants buried there.

2:00 P.M.       REGISTRATION begins at the Medina Ballroom.  (One half mile west on Highway 55.)                         You will receive a copy of the Genealogy of the Hamel Family and a NAME TAG when 
        you register.  We ask that you be sure to sign the GUEST BOOK.

4:00 - 5:30     BUFFET SUPPER will be served.  Prices are: Adults - $2.00.  Children - $1.50.
    P.M.    We ask that you be finished eating by 6:00 o'clock.

6:00 - 7:00     HOUR OF SPECIAL ENTERTAINMENT.  Interesting aspects of the Hamel Family            P.M.          history will be told.  Since music has always been an important part of the Hamel                                      heritage we invite you to sing with us.  JoAnne Pouliot Steinberg and her sister, Jeanne                            Pouliot Peterson will lead us in singing some very SPECIAL SONGS.

7:00 P.M. -    MUSIC FOR DANCING will begin.  Those not dancing may keep on visiting,                                          reminiscing, viewing pictures and exhibits of documents pertaining to the history of the                            Hamel Family; in greeting familiar cousins or making the acquaintance of new ones.

      THANK YOU SO MUCH for coming.  You've made our day worthwhile!  We're just 
      awfully happy you came to be with us on this very JOYOUS occasion!