Mrs. R. E. Hamer died Saturday at the home of Mrs. J. W. Ballard and was taken to Calhoun for burial Sunday. She was a sister of Mrs. Lou Vauhn of this city and Hirman and Al Craig of Calhoun.

Five children are now living. Eugene and William of Decatur, Geo. Campell of Oakland, Ed Campell, of Omaha and Mrs. Calbert of What Cheer, Iowa. Mrs. Hamer was of unsound mind having been sent to Norfolk some time ago and was sent back as an incurable. She was being supported by the county at the time of her death.

Blair Courier 22 April 1897

Mrs. Rachel Hamer, who died at the home of Mrs. J. W. Ballard, in this city last Saturday, was a sister of Hiram and Al Craig, and an aunt of Lou Vaughn of Blair. Her mind had been unbalanced for some time. She had four sons and one married daughter but could not be content to make her home with any of them for any length of time. Rev. Talbot officiated at the funeral at the residence of Mr. Ballard on Sunday, and relatives attended to her burial in the family lot at Ft. Calhoun.

Notes:

Mrs. R. E. Hamer died Saturday at the home of Mrs. J. W. Ballard and was taken to Calhoun for burial Sunday. She was a sister of Mrs. Lou Vauhn of this city and Hirman and Al Craig of Calhoun. Five children are now living. Eugene and William of Decatur, Geo. Campell of Oakland, Ed Campell, of Omaha and Mrs. Calbert of What Cheer, Iowa. Mrs. Hamer was of unsound mind having been sent to Norfolk some time ago and was sent back as an incurable. She was being supported by the county at the time of her death.

Obituary printed in the Thursday, April 22, 1897 Blair Courier, Blair, Nebraska, and courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Association. Newspaper clippings on file in the Public Library, Blair, Nebraska; Note: the Norfolk referred to in the obituary would have been the Norfolk, Nebraska hospital for the insane.

"The Norfolk Regional Center was established in 1885 as an insane asylum under the name Norfolk Hospital for the Incurably Insane on 320 acres of land provided by the city of Norfolk."-- Norfolk State Hospital - Asylum Projects; Note: the town known as "Calhoun" in 1897 is today known as "Fort Calhoun" in Washington County, Nebraska. Note: because she was being supported by the county at the time of death, it is unlikely that any marker erected in 1897 would still be visible today.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~

FindaGrave # 189024455