Mahala Joanna "Mahaly" (Wiser) Gagel was born on Mar. 16, 1831 in Jefferson Co., Kentucky. She was the daughter of John Jacob Wiser (1795-1877) and Luzanna "Lucy" Arnold (1804-1873), the fifth of their nine known children. Mahaly is often referred to as "Jane", an American variant of the German name, Joanna. Her mother is often referred to as Louisiana. Mahaly's father, John, was born in the Kingdom of Prussia (1701-1918). His family immigrated to America in the early 1800s and eventually settled in rural southwestern Jefferson Co., Kentucky. His parents are currently unknown. Mahaly's mother, Lucy, was born in Hagerstown, Washington Co., Maryland. Her family had migrated to Jefferson County, KY between 1804-10. Both parents died in Jefferson Co., however, their burial sites are unknown. In 1848, Mahaly's parents donated a parcel of land (1.3 acres), known as Cardinal Hill, for the building of one of the first rural Catholic churches in Jefferson County. It was named St. Andrew Catholic Church and was located on what is now St. Anthony Church Road. The site of the building was where the current St. Andrew Cemetery pavilion and memorial for aborted children now stands. the stone for the church is thought to have been quarried from the surrounding area. The first service in the new church was held on Jan. 4, 1851. On April 4, 1851 Mahahy married Bavarian immigrant Nicholas "Nick" Gagel (1826-1999). He was 24, she 20. The ceremony was performed in the new church building, three months to the day after the church's first service there. It was one of the first, if not the first, weddings performed in the new building. In the mid-1950s the 100 year old stone church building, unused since the early 1900s, was torn down. Some of the stones from the building were used in the building of the current St. Paul Catholic Church that replaced an old wooden structure. The St. Paul Catholic Church, located on Dixie Highway (Hwy 31) in Pleasure Ridge Park, currently maintains the St. Andrew Catholic Cemetery. The parents of Mahaly's husband had immigrated to America from the Kingdom of Bavaria when he was 12 years of age. They sailed on the ship Barque Washington and landed in New York City on June 22, 1838. They soon settled in rural southwestern Jefferson Co., KY where they lived the rest of their lives. Mahaly and Nicholas were married for 47 years and had eight known children. They were Mary Elizabeth Gagel (1852-1883), Louisa "Louise" Gagel (1852-1932), John Erhardt Gagel (1857-1901), Joseph Riley "Joe" Gagel (1861-1950), William D. Gagel (1863-1923), Agnes Gagel (1868-1893), Leo Nicholas "Lee" Gagel (1871-1951) and Frances M. Gagel (1876-1971). All were born in southwestern Jefferson Co., KY. Nicholas, a lifelong farmer like his father and most of ancestors, died in Jefferson County on Oct. 20 1899 at the age of 73. He is buried in the St. Andrew Catholic Church Cemetery. Mahaly died about two years later, on Dec. 11, 1901 at the age of 70. She too, is buried in the St. Andrew Catholic Cemetery, on land that was once a part of the farm that she grew up on. She is buried next to her husband, Nicholas. Seven of their nine known children are buried in the St. Andrew Catholic Church Cemetery. Mahaly's parents are also buried there, as are numerous relatives and descendants.