William Bauder
William Bauder, who died in Circleville, May 10, 1892, was one of the early settlers of Pickaway County, and was born three miles east of Schenectady, N. Y., in the year 1813. His grandfather was a farmer, descended from a high German family. His father, Peter Bauder, was a native of Herkimer County, and was a self-made man. He served as a teamster in the War of 1812. He engaged in farming until 1818, and then removed to Albany, where he remained until 1826, when he removed to West Troy. He afterward kept hotel in Albany and died in Jefferson County, N. Y., at about the age of seventy-four. For some time he was a member of the Methodist Church but afterward joined the Evangelical Association. He married Eliza Grace, who was born on the Isle of Man, and was a daughter of William Grace, a native of Ireland. On coming to America, he located in Albany, N. Y., where he spent the remainder of his life. After her husband's death, Mrs. Bauder went to Illinois and made her home with some of her children. She died in Naperville, that State, but was buried in Montgomery.
In the parental family were fourteen children, twelve of whom grew to mature years. Those still living are Peter, a retired merchant of Clinton, Iowa; Hon. Cyrenus, who served his district in the State Legislature and resides in Lee County, Iowa, near Ft. Madison; James, a farmer of Madison County N. Y.; Gerald of Nashua, Iowa; and Jane and Allen, both of whom also reside in Nashua.
The subject of this sketch began his education in Albany, where the Lancasterian system of education was taught, there being four hundred scholars in one room. He there remained until thirteen years of age. He then began earning his own livelihood. When seventeen years of age, he was apprenticed to a carriage manufacturer under Amos Kendall, serving a term of three years. His employer was a skilled mechanic, and, under his instruction, Mr. Bauder advanced rapidly in the line of his work. He afterward bought out his employer and carried on a successful business for some time. In connection with his brother, he afterward engaged in the manufacture of wheelbarrows and again prospered in this line of work. In 1838, he came to Ohio, and built a shop in Dresden, but business did not pay in that place, and he removed to Circleville. He afterward engaged in business as a manufacturer of carriages and wagons and built up an excellent trade. The first buggy he made was for ex-Sheriff Wolfley. He had many hardships and difficulties to overcome, but by his enterprise and skill worked his way upward, acquiring, an excellent patronage.
In 1839, in Zanesville, Ohio, Mr. Bauder was united in marriage with Miss Ann Fleming, who was born in New Jersey, and is a daughter of Abner Fleming, a farmer of Zanesville. Nine children were born of their union: Alex died at the age of seventeen years; the four next younger died in early life; Edson B. graduated from the High School and from Ann Arbor University of Michigan, has received the degrees of A. B., A. M. and LL. D., and is now a practicing attorney of Cleveland; George W. is engaged in business in Circleville; Mary is the wife of Dr. C. A. Foster, a prominent physician of Washington Court House; and William H. is Superintendent of the Edison Electric business in the Rocky Mountain district, and makes his home in Denver, Col.
Mr. Bauder returned to the East in 1843 and, with a capital of $3,000, embarked in the hotel business in Pine Wood, Madison County, N. Y. A year later, he estalilished a carriage factory, which he carried on until 1846, when he returned to Circleville with only $2,000. He again worked at his trade in Circleville, and afterward bought a lot and built a carriage factoiy at the corner of Watt and Court Streets. For a number of years he engaged in the manufacture of fine carriages and other vehicles and built up a most excellent trade, meeting with signal success. He invented two patents. In 1874, he took his son, George W., into partnership and ten years later sold out to him, since which time he has lived a retired life, devoting his attention to the care of his property. His carriages were sent all over the country. He employed from ten to twenty hands and did an extensive business. He built a great many residences, a number of which he still owns, including two dwellings on Pinkney Street. He also was interested in real estate in Iowa. He started out in life empty-handed, but by his own industrious efforts and perseverance he had acquired a handsome competence.
In politics, Mr. Bauder was a Democrat until tlie election of Lincoln, after which time he was a stanch Republican. He served as Township Treasurer, School Director and School Treasurer. Socially, he was an Odd Fellow and for years had been Treasurer of his lodge. He belonged to the Methodist Church, of which he was Trustee. Mr. Bauder was one of the oldest settlers in the city, and was a genial, jovial man and one who was held in high regard hy his many friends throughout the community.
From PORTRAIT & BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF FAYETTE, PICKAWAY AND MADISON COUNTIES, OHIO - Chapman Bros. [Chicago, 1892]