Brunetta Dell, daughter of Charles Frost and Mary Jane McCarty, was born in March 1883 on the family ranch on Cottle Road in Edenvale, Santa Clara County, California.

On 14 March 1904, Brunetta (age about 21) married William Dabel (age 24), son of Frederick Dabel and Sophia Hauerkin (sp?), at the Immanuel Lutheran Evangelical Church in San Jose, Santa Clara County, California. Witnesses to the wedding were William's brother, Henry Dabel, and Brunetta's sister, Phoebe. (California, County Marriages, 1850-1952) Brunetta and William had three children – Ione Phoebe, Edwin Charles and Marion Claudina.

Brunetta and William lived in Oakland, Alameda County, California for a time. By 1911, the family had moved and was living in Berryessa (near San Jose), Santa Clara County, California. William was an orchardist on McKee Road near Capitol Avenue at this time. William and Brunetta eventually made their home on Penitencia Creek Road in Berryessa. About 1914, William leased some property from J. W. Dixon on Penitencia Creek Road in Berryessa. On 22 May 1916, while running the pumping plant to irrigate the adjoining property, William descended into the well for some reason. His clothing apparently got caught on the pump shaft and he was thrown to the bottom of the well. William subsequently died from the injuries he sustained.

A contemporaneous newspaper article provides information from the coroner's inquest: "Mrs. Dabel, wife of the deceased, testified that her husband who had leased the premises on which the well was situated had promised to be home at 7 o'clock for breakfast. Failing to appear at the appointed time she became alarmed and sent her young son to the well to look for his father. The boy rushed back to the house crying 'Papa is in the well. I heard him moaning.' Mrs. Dabel hurried to the well and confirmed the statement of her boy. She summoned assistance at once. A Japanese [man] came over and stopped the motor: in the meantime, help had arrived from Berryessa, and men at once descended into the pit where they found the man firmly fastened to a projecting timber at the bottom of the well, the lower portion of his body submerged in water. His body was held tightly against the shafting by his clothes. He had apparently realized the terrible position he was in as he had taken a belt from his person and lashed himself to the shafting. That he was conscious just prior to the rescuers reaching him was evident from the fact that he was heard by those at the surface to exclaim twice: 'Start the pump; keep her going.' Upon being brought to the surface the seriousness of his condition was apparent, an ambulance was sent for and he was removed to the sanitarium passing away yesterday morning." (San Jose Mercury Herald, 25 May 1916, page 7)

After her husband's tragic death, Brunetta remained living in the house on Penitencia Creek Road in Berryessa. In 1917, Brunetta rearranged the house into two apartments and her brother, Clyde, and his wife, Cleo, moved into one of the apartments. In 1920, Brunetta's occupation was listed as a "fruit farmer." Her brothers, Clyde and Harold, and their wives who were engaged in the same business in Berryessa.

On 23 February 1920, Brunetta (age 36) died during the Spanish flu epidemic. Her obituary, in part, reads: "WELL-KNOWN WOMAN VICTIM OF INFLUENZA. Death of Mrs. Brunetta Dell Dabel Great Shock to Wide Circle of Friends. The death at the home on the Penitencia Creek Road near Berryessa early yesterday morning of Mrs. Brunetta Dell Dabel was a shock to a very large circle of friends and brought deep grief to children, parents, brothers and sisters. Mrs. Dabel was a native of this county, being born and brought up at the Frost home near Edenvale and was educated in the schools of this city and county. As a girl Mrs. Dabel made many friends by her kindly interest in all with whom she came in contact and since her marriage to William Dabel, who passed away nearly four years ago, this circle of friends has widened by her many acts of kindness and her great interest in whatever cause for the betterment of her neighborhood or the upbuilding and general improvement of the district in which she lived. The deceased passed away after a short illness of influenza-pneumonia in spite of every possible care and attention on the part of relatives and physicians." San Jose Mercury Herald, 24 February 1920)

On 25 February 1920, Brunetta was buried alongside her husband at Oak Hill Memorial Park in San Jose. Brunetta's three children (ages 11 to 14) were raised by her brother, Harold, and his wife, Ethel.
Bio by K. O'Brien
Revised 20 November 2021