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Gust J. Hamel, of the firm of Hamel & Cunningham, hardware dealers, De Soto, was born in Jefferson County, Mo., in 1862 and is a son of George and Rosanna (Tribolet) Hamel, who were the parents of eight children, seven of whom are still living, Gust J. being the eldest. George Hamel, a native of Hamburg, Germany, was born in 1835, and in the year 1850 immigrated to the United States, locating in De Soto, Mo., where he followed his trade, that of a harness maker. For the past eighteen years he has been engaged in raising small fruits and vegtables. His wife is a native of Ohio, and was born in 1845. Gust J. Hamel was educated in the public schools of De Soto, and after leaving school assisted his father until 1880, when he was employed as a clerk in the hardware store of R. Burroughs, whose business, in partnership with Mr. Ward Cunningham, he purchased in 1884, which they have since successfully conducted. December 31, 1883, Mr. Hamel married Miss Bell Watters, a native of Missouri, who was born in 1868. They have one child, Ward Albert. Mr. Hamel votes the Republican ticket. In religion he is an Episcopalian.