From: "Biographical Review of Cass, Schuyler and
Brown Counties, Illinois 1892", by Biographical Review Publishing Company,
Chicago, Illinois; page 291-292; a reprinted by Stevens Publishing Co., Astoria,
Ill., 1971, is sold by the Schuyler County Historical Society, Rushville,
Illinois.
William Bader, proprietor of the village of that name, was born on
Preble county, Ohio, in 1826. His parents were Jeremiah and Sarah (Thompson)
Bader. The father was a native of Germany, and the mother of Pennsylvania.
They had eleven children, of whom eight are now living, namely: Mary, now
Mrs. Hopkins, residing in Mason county; Sarah A., now Mrs. Gibbs, residing
in Hancock county; Rosanna, now Mrs. Bleeker, of Pasadena, California; Margaretta,
now Mrs. Doane; Jeremiah died when seventeen; John L. now residing in Kansas;
Benjamin F., residing at Vermont, Illinois; Henry O., residing on a farm
near Bader. The family moved from Ohio to Brooming {Browning} township,
Schuyler county, in 1846, and the parents both died on a farm near what is
now known as Baders.
The early life of our subject was passed on the farm, and later he
learned engineering and operated a saw and grist mill for many years.
He then went into the lumber business in Ohio, where he conducted a mill
before he removed to Illinois, he not coming until 1857. Here he continued
his business in the lumber mill, and accumulated a large fortune. He
and his wife have been enjoying some of their money by spending a year in
California, on account of her failing health.
He was married November 9, 1856, in Randolph county, Indiana, to Miss
Mercy A. Hunt, a daughter of Rev. William Hunt, of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, a pioneer of Randolph county, Indiana, although he was a native of
Kentucky.
Mr. and Mrs. Bader have no children of their own, but they have reared
two as their own; the first one died, but the present one is still living,
and is a young lady of seventeen. Mr. Bader is extensively engaged
in the grain business, and owns 160 acres of land, a warehouse, several residences
and two-thirds of a brick building in Baders. His wife is a member
of the Christian Church and he is a member of the Masonic fraternity and
of I. O. O. F. He is a Democrat in politics and has served three terms
as a member of the Board of Supervisors of his county. He has been
School Treasurer for fifteen or sixteen years, and held various positions
of trust and responsibility. 1861 Militia Roll
