WILLIAM BADER, proprietor of the village of that name, was born in 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 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 has held various-positions of trust and responsibility.