THE BADER 8

Two more sons were born to the Rev. Carl and Edna (Maudie) Bader, bringing the total number of the family unit to eight—the infamous Bader 8!

Carl George Bader Jr. was born Feb 3, 1924 (two years after Jeannie) in David City, NE. I've never found any snapshots of Baby Carl, let alone studio portraits. But when Carl Jr. was born, Maudie's eldest child was not quite eight years old, and her youngest not quite two. No wonder there was no time or energy (or probably money) for formal baby portraits!

Eight years later—almost to the day—Philip Arthur Bader made his appearance, born Feb. 11, 1932, in Falls City, NE. The photos of Baby Philip and Maudie, above, were taken August 11, 1932 ("6 mo. old that day," papa Carl has written on the back, "Wt: 19 lb 9 ounces.")

On the back of this photo (left), Carl writes drily, "A very good, sober one," and adds, "Our house in the background."


 By the time Philip came along, the dust must have settled a bit (his eldest brother, Bobby, was 16 already, his nearest sibling, Carl Jr., was 8), so these two studio portraits were taken.


 They are undated, of course. But the photographer's imprint is "Severson, Scottsbluff, Nebr," and Barbara reports that the family lived in Scottsbluff from 1933-1935, so I guess late '33 or '34.

Here's a rare, candid photo of some of the young Bader kids together. Judging from the apparent age of Baby Philip in the middle (probably not more than two, if that?), I date this photo ca. 1933 or '34. That's Ernie, 14 or 15, on the left, Philip, Jeannie, 12, and Carl Jr., 10. 

The bunnies suggest it was probably Easter. (Although Barbara always said that Ernie was a friend to all stray animals, so for all we know, these were his pets.)

Here's a more wintery shot of big brother Ernie and toddler Philip, probably taken in the same year.




As I said, photos of the Bader kids are rare, but once they get into their teens, there are a lot more to choose from. I'll post some of those next time.

McAFEE UPDATE

This just in: our founding McAfee ancestor was named George (not Harold) McAfee. This is the same person featured back in my very first blog, "Ancestors," and the rest of the info I posted about him is correct—including his marriage to Frances Elizabeth Cowell, and the births of their children. It's just the name I got wrong!

My bad—sorry, Team!

In the family history questionnaire that Barbara filled out a few years ago, she said her grandfather's name was "Harold." But in the letter/memoir, "My Mother," that I found among her things after she died—which was written around 1988—she refers to her grandfather as "George McAfee." I didn't know which name was correct until I was directed to info posted on genealogy.com, back on 2001, by Karen French, which I just discovered. (Thanks again, Daniel!)

Karen is a descendant of Edna McAfee's younger sister, Mary Ellen ("Minnie") McAfee and James Love. She also provides the dates of birth for all four children of George and Frances McAfee (which I have added to my "Ancestors" blog).  She says that George McAfee was born February 14, 1865, and that his parents were  John and Mary McAfee.

She doesn't say where George McAfee was born, but a U. S. Census document on FamilySearch.org, dated 1900, lists the birthplace of both George and Frances McAfee as "Canada Eng." Barbara was pretty convinced they met and married on Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, so it may be that they were both born there as well. I'm not sure now which generation of McAfee ancestors left Scotland for North America. But the plot thickens!

THE DOYLES

Thanks to Daniel Bader, here's a photo of Clara Bader Doyle, founder of  the other branch of California Baders.

Clara Barton Bader, born in Fremont, NE, 1898, was the youngest daughter of Jacob R. and Emma Bader, and Carl George's youngest sister. In 1921, she was studying at the Art Institute of Chicago. This portrait is dated 1923, when she was 25 years old.

In 1925, Clara married Thomas F. Doyle in Omaha, NE. Their first two children, Thomas (Tommy) and Sheila, were both born in Omaha, in 1925 and 1927, respectively. But by 1929, when daughter Sally was born, the family had moved west to Oakland, CA. Two more children., Millicent (born 1931) and Jerome (born 1932) were born in Oakland. Another daughter, Carlotta Ann, died in infancy.

Clara Bader Doyle was an artist, and a member of several Bay Area art and watercolor associations. Here's a link to a watercolor portrait of a friend that she painted in 1940.

This is the only image of her work I've been able to find on the web so far, but I did find this wonderful childhood photo that her granddaughter, Catherine Doyle Sullivan, posted to the Ask/Art website.

Catherine Doyle Sullivan, of Arcata, CA, is the daughter of Tommy Doyle and La Verne Heisen. Catherine is also an artist.

Sheila Doyle married Arthur J. Tormey in Oakland in 1947. Their daughter, Carlotta Ann Tormey, of Placerville, CA, is also a commercial artist. Here's her website

(Big thanks to Carlotta for sending Daniel the photo of Clara, above, which he sent to me.) 

Here are some photos of the Doyles out of Barbara's collection. That's Thomas Doyle in the center, with daughters Sally (left) and Sheila (holding the cat, right). They are flanked by Manley Christensen (extreme left), his wife, Alma Bader Christensen (Carl George's sister, right of Sheila) and Emma Elsner Bader (extreme right), who was Alma's mother, Thomas' mother-in-law, and grandmother to the Doyle children.

And here again is Alma, her nephew, Tommy Doyle, and matriarch Emma Elsner Bader. Judging from the age of the Doyle kids, I date these photos around 1940-1942-ish.


Absent from these photos is Clara Doyle. Maybe she wasn't on this trip back east to visit the relatives, or maybe she was holding the camera? But the fact is, I've never seen any pictures of Clara before now.

Thanks, Daniel!

STILL MORE BADERS

I hope everybody saw the great Comment that Philip posted, sharing info he dug up on the J. R. Bader family in Fremont, Nebraska.

Since then, Philip has made contact with Daniel Bader, formerly of Hugsweier, Germany (he and his family now live in Kaiserslautern, Germany), who  sent some wonderful photos of various Bader relations in America and Germany. Like the postcard above of the Bader Bros. furniture store in Fremont, Nebraska, owned by J. R. Bader and his brother, Fred Bader.

 In the last few hours, Daniel has added an incredible amount of information on the Old World Baders dating back to 1645 (!) in Hugsweier, Germany. This thread is taking on a life of its own, so click here to catch up with it!

 Here's another photo I love. This is a formal portrait of the children of Jacob R. and Emma Bader,

taken in 1901. That’s Carl George (our grandfather) and his brother, Ernest Frederick, in back. In front, there is Eleanor Olga (next eldest) in the middle, Alma Christina on the left, and Clara (the youngest) on the right.  (Youngest brother, Jean Richard, was not born until 1904.)

Daniel Bader promises us "still more Baders (noch mehr Baders),"  and I'll be posting more of the pics and text that he provides as we go along.


In the meantime—way to go, Philip!

And many, many thanks to Daniel! Thanks for joining the conversation.