WILLIAM SCHRADER.
It is unquestioned that the example set by thrifty German citizens has been very beneficial not only to our native Americans but to the citizens of all other countries as well. Iowa was fortunate in the days before the war, and even after the war, in attracting many thousands of good Germans to her borders, and among the many German families soming to this state is that of the Schraders, of whom William Schrader is one.
William Schrader, a retired farmer now living at Audubon, Iowa, was born on February 18, 1847, in the village of Rosnow, in Pommern, Germany, the son of August and Phillopena (Karl) Schrader. August Schrader died in 1864 and the mother brought her family of five boys to America. They settled in Wichter, Poweshiek county, Iowa, on August 9, 1869, and there they lived for some time. These five sons were August, who lives in Audubon; Wilhelm, also of Audubon; Albert, of Poweshiek county; Herman, also of Poweshiek county, and Henry, who was killed by lightning. The mother of these sons died on March 23, 1875, at the age of fifty years, seven months and thirty days.
William Schrader was twenty-three years old when he came to America and for three years following his arrival in this country he worked for his uncle, Frederick Karl, who died in the spring of 1914. After his marriage, in 1871, he moved to a rented farm which was owned by his uncle, and after renting land for eight years, purchased one hundred and six and two-tenths acres of land in Poweshiek county, this state, on which he resided until 1895, in which year he sold out and came to Audubon county, where he purchased two hundred and forty acres in Viola township, at a cost of nine thousand one hundred dollars, to which he later added forty acres, now owning two hundred and eighty acres, besides which he has six acres in Audubon, including six lots on which he has lived since 1908, his home being one of the finest in the town.
On October 14, 1871, William Schrader was married to Rosa Stepler, who was born in Iowa and who died on January 4, 1884, leaving five children, Albert, now deceased, who married Augusta Horning; Emma, now deceased; Mary, who is the wife of Fred Tessman, of Viola township, and has five children, Lydia, William, Archie, Inez and Clarence; Wilhelm, now deceased, who married May Ballou and had one child, Albert; Henry, deceased.
On December 17, 1884, Mr. Schrader married, secondly, Emma Possehn, who was born in Germany and who came to America with her parents, and to this union five children were born, as follow: Edward, who lives in Colorado, married Alice Green and has two children, Marvin and Winston; Ludwich, who died in infancy; Otto, who lives in Colorado; Arthur, who operates an automobile garage in Audubon, and Eva, who is at home.
Mr. Schrader has never been especially active in politics, although he has been identified with the Republican party and has served as a member of the school board. The Schrader family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and William Schrader is prominent in the affairs of that church. There are no better citizens to be found in Audubon county than William Schrader and few who have done more to convert a dreary prairie into fertile and productive farming lands. He is a worthy citizen and is recognized as such by his neighbors and fellow townsmen.
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Transcribed from History of Audubon County, Iowa Its People, Industries and Institutions With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families, by H. F. Andrews, editor, Indianapolis: B. F. Bowen & Company, 1915, pp. 490-491.
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