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Biography
For the family of Mabelle Angeline Deal and
JOHN VAN HAGAN (known as Jack) was born on 04 Aug 1875 in Lawrence, Wyandotte County, Kansas, son of JOHN A. HAGAN and HANNAH MARIA VAN FRANK. After his mother died in 1881 and his father died in 1884, he lived with the family of C.P. VAN FRANK, his uncle, in Bristol, Elkhart County, Indiana. Sometime after that he was sent to Three Rivers, St. Joseph County, Michigan to live with B.F. WHIPPLE. (I believe this is Benjamin F. Whipple, brother to his grandmother Harriet Whipple). MABELLE ANGELINE DEAL (often spelled Mabel) graduated from Three Rivers High School in 1898. She was the daughter of CLARENCE GERALD DEAL and CORA BELLE HAMMOND. She was listed in the graduation program as salutatorian, listed on the class roll as being in the “English course” and was also the senior class secretary and treasurer. Mabel and her parents seemed to have been quite the socialites in Three Rivers. They had parties all the time and seemed to have had many friends. She played piano for the silent movies. His occupation was that of draughtsman, which is the same profession as his father, John A. Hagan was in. A draughtsman is the profession of mechanical drawing. According to the website http://www.draughtsman.co.uk/ a draughtsman is “one who draws plans and sketches of machinery, structures, ships, buildings, planes, etc.” Generally, this was someone who would produce engineering drawings from ideas and specifications. It would seem that John Van was involved in the drawing as it related to trains, velocipedes, and other kinds of equipment related to the train profession. After John’s graduation from Three Rivers High School in 1895, he worked in the draughting department of the Sheffield Car works in Three Rivers. In April 1899, he took a similar job with a company in Chicago. His address there in Chicago was 853 S. Kedzie Avenue. A letter from Mabel Deal to Jack Hagan talks about this change of jobs. He was making $ 10 ½ per week at Sheffield and his new position in Chicago was paying $15 per week. (Quite a salary increase – almost 50%). Mabel wrote, “Papa (Clarence Deal) and I were talking about your going that evening after you left and Papa seemed entirely in favor of your going. He said you were worthy of something better than you had here and he was glad you were out from under John Matthews thumb. “Only, he says, it won’t be six months after John gets to work before he will be drawing $20 per week.” Now you have some idea of what he thinks you capable of.” In a letter dated 07 May 1899 from Jack Hagan to C.G. Deal, Jack asks permission for him to marry Mr. Deal’s daughter, Mabel. “…… Still, I feel just a little homesick at times and as Mabel and I have known each other for a number of years, we think it might be well to know each other still better. And if you are of the same mind, would like to have a little event take place say sometime next fall…….. Trusting to receive an early and favorable reply I remain, Yours Respectfully John V. Hagan. On 25 October 1899, John married Mabelle in Three Rivers at her parents’ house at 309 East Street. She moved to Chicago with John, and after their marriage lived at 735 S. Kedzie Avenue. She must have missed her parents & social life in Three Rivers terribly, judging by the number of trips & extended stays that she made at her parents house after her marriage (as documented by numerous newspaper articles). Within 4 months of their first child, John Gerald, being born, they moved back to Three Rivers. John took a position again as draughtsman with the Sheffield Car Company there. Sometime before 1905, they had moved to 215 Portage Avenue in Three Rivers. By 1908 they were living at 143 Portage Avenue. By 1910, they were living at 142 Portage Avenue and his position was listed as foreman of car company in the drafting department. They had three children:
John Van Hagan died on 30 Mar 1911 in Three Rivers at the age of 36 from pleuro pneumonia. He is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Three Rivers. John died 4 months before his last child was born. It is extremely difficult to imagine how Mabel must have felt to lose her husband, have 2 small children to take care of and be 5 months pregnant. Sometime after John’s death, she and the children went and moved in with her parents at 503 Portage Avenue. Mabel married (2) ELWOOD P. DIEHL (Known as Chub) on 12 Jan 1923 in Elkhart, Elkhart County, Indiana. An interesting thing can be noted about Mabel & Chub’s courtship and marriage. They had apparently known each other since at least 1915 as I have a letter from Chub to Mabel dated 17 April 1915. That was a courtship of at least 7 years. It is very interesting to note that as long as they knew each other, they never married until her father passed away in November of 1922. Then they married in January 1923. Is this a coincidence? Or perhaps she realized that she would have no way of supporting herself and her children unless she married. Chub worked for the railroad. He worked for the New York Central Railroad Company. He entered service on 03 July 1909 and was promoted to conductor on 15 December 1924. At the time of their marriage in 1923, his occupation was listed as “railroad brakeman”. After their marriage, he went to live in Three Rivers and took a job with the Eddy Paper Corporation plan. It appears that they lived at 503 Portage Avenue in Three Rivers for a few years. On 29 May 1926, that house and its contents were auctioned off. After that, Chub & Mabel went to live in Elkhart. While they lived in Elkhart, Chub had a heart attack. He never did go back to work after that heart attack, with always an excuse about not being ready. With a smaller income, they couldn’t make the payments at their current home, and purchased a different home at 1624 S. Main Street in Elkhart. This was a smaller brick bungalow on the south side of the tracks. Mabel had limited finances. During the depression (1930’s) she worked for Miles Labs, makers of Alka Seltzer, at night. When she went to get her social security, she was advised that she’d get more if she worked more quarters. So then she went to work as a clerk in the dime store in Elkhart. After Chub’s first heart attack, he turned in his retirement papers to the railroad, but never told anyone. He then had another heart attack and dropped dead. He died on 03 Feb 1955 in Elkhart at age 69. Mabel was a member of the Starlight Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, the First Presbyterian Church in Elkhart and was a past chief of the Pythian Sisters temple in Three Rivers. Mabel died on 21 Aug 1965 in Elkhart of a myocardial infarction at age 85. Both Mabel & Chub are buried in Grace Lawn Cemetery in Elkhart.
Copyright 2003
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Jan MonninThis web site was last updated on September 11, 2008 |
