William Bader Biography


	This biography appears on pages 773-774 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" 	by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and 
	was scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				WILLIAM BADER. 

	William Bader is a well known and popular grocer of Yankton, 
conducting business at No. 307 Broadway, and his success has come as 
the direct result of close application, thoroughly reliable business 
methods and enterprise. He was born in Wabasha, Minnesota, November 12, 
1862. His father, Joseph Bader, was a native of Germany and in 1852 
bade adieu to friends and native hand and sailed for the new world, 
settling in Galena, Illinois. He was a shoemaker by trade and followed 
that pursuit in Galena until 1854, when he removed to Wabasha, 
Minnesota. There he took up land and began farming, devoting his 
attention to general agricultural pursuits and his spare time to his 
trade until he finally made good upon his property and secured title 
thereto. He afterward traded it, however, although he remained a 
resident of that district until 1870, in which year he removed to St. 
Paul, Minnesota, where he engaged in the confectionery and ice cream 
business. He built up a good trade there but in November, 1874, sold 
out and came to the territory of Dakota, settling in Yankton. Here he 
began business as a dealer in confectionery, fruits and similar 
merchandise. but in the spring of 1875 he turned his attention to the 
hotel business, becoming proprietor of the Minnesota Hotel on Broadway, 
between Second and Third streets. He did a thriving business, his 
hostelry being liberally patronized, but in the early '80s he sold out 
and for a period of two years lived retired. He then again engaged in 
the hotel business, conducting the old Dakota House until 1889. At that 
time he began dealing in toys and notions and continued in the business 
successfully until the death of his wife, which occurred in 1906. At 
that time, he retired from active business life. 

	Mr. Bader was a member of the city council of Yankton at one time 
and ever took the deepest interest in the welfare and upbuilding of the 
community, cooperating in all the movements and measures for the public 
good. His fraternal relations were with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. He married Katharine Altfillisch, a native of Germany, and 
they became the parents of eight children, only two of whom survive: 
Amelia, the wife of F. Pfotenhauer, of Yankton; and William, of this 
review. Josephine, who became the wife of B. B. Moss, of Yankton, died 
in 1896. In 1906 the mother passed away and in 1909 the father was 
called to his final rest. 

	William Bader acquired his early education in the schools of 
Minnesota and of Yankton, pursuing his studies to the age of fifteen 
years, when, wishing to make his start in business life and provide for 
his own support, he secured a clerkship in the grocery store of William 
Blatt of Yankton, there remaining for two years. He was afterward 
variously employed for a time. He became a clerk for Harry Katz of 
Yankton, with whom he remained from 1880 until 1881, after which he 
took charge of a furniture business for his father, managing that 
undertaking until 1885. On account of ill health he retired for one 
summer and then joined his brother-in-law, who had government contracts 
for furnishing wood, hay and grain. Mr. Bader spent several years ill 
assisting him, incidentally benefiting by the outdoor life, which soon 
restored him to health. In 1889 he embarked in the grocery business at 
his present location at No. 307 Broadway and there for a quarter of a 
century has conducted his store, developing a high chess trade. He 
carries a large and well selected line of staple and fancy groceries 
and is today the oldest merchant in his line in the city. He puts forth 
every effort to please his patrons, his prices are reasonable and his 
dealing thoroughly reliable. Thus it is that he has gained the enviable 
position which he occupies today among the merchants of Yankton. He is 
likewise president of the Yankton Building & Loan Association. 

	In 1889 Mr. Bader was married to Miss Christina Sprey, a native 
of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and they have two daughters: Loretta, a 
graduate of the Yankton high school; and Aline, who is still in school. 
Mr. Bader is a stalwart republican and in 1900 was elected city 
treasurer of Yankton, in which position he proved so capable and 
faithful that he was reelected for the years 1901-2. His worth is well 
known in public office, as in business affairs and private life. He has 
always assisted in all public movements that would tend to better the 
social, moral and civic conditions of Yankton and the state. He is a 
director of the Commercial Association of Yankton and he belongs to the 
Elks lodge, No. 994, but he is essentially a home man, preferring to 
spend his leisure at his own fireside. His worth is widely recognized 
and most of all by those who know him best.