Schrader, George Frederich Christoph

The following data is extracted from A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans.

George Frederich Christoph Schrader has been a resident of Saline County, Kansas, thirty years. Measured by the practical results that have proceeded from his intelligence and energy, he is without question one of the foremost farmers of the state. It is not merely a matter of possessing large bodies of land, but the method in which they are improved and farmed, which constitute his achievements as a resident of Kansas.

Mr. Schrader came to America when about in middle age. Some of his children were born in the old country, and he is a veteran of the Franco-Prussian war. He was born at Anderten, near the City of Hanover, Germany, November 14, 1847, a son of Henry and Caroline (Weber) Schrader. Both parents were also natives of Germany. His father, Henry Schrader was born April 20, 1812, and when he died at Bavaria, Kansas, January 21, 1910, he was the oldest resident of Saline County, being ninety-eight years old. His wife was born February 1, 1818, and died in Germany, March 9, 1879. The parents had only two children, a daughter, Caroline, born in 1859 and died in 1872, and Georg Frederich Christoph.

The birth of Mr. Schrader occured on a farm, he grew up and became familiar with German agricultural conditions, and his education was acquired in the common schools. When fourteen years of age he began learning the trade of locksmith. At twenty he was called into the service of his country as a member of the Saxon army, and was on duty more or less continuously for twelve years. This included the two years of the Franco-Prussian war. He was in many of the battles of that brief and glorious campaign, fought at Sedan, and was at the siege of Paris.

While he enjoyed considerable prosperity in the old country, there grew within him a stronger and stronger desire to participate in the opportunities and freedom of America, and in 1887 he came to this country with his father. He brought with him his wife and three children. Locating in Saline County, Kansas, he bought land three miles east of Brookville. His first purchase was 160 acres. Before going further he improved this and brought it under the methodical and systematic tillage which he had learned in Germany, and the prosperity of his earlier years enabled him to continue buying more land until at the present time Mr. Schrader is owner of a total of 2,320 acres in one body, located near Bavaria in Saline County. A large part of it is under cultivation. It is managed with system and efficiency and there is no question of impairment of the resources of the soil on any land which Mr. Schrader owned. He had also erected many substantial buildings, had a grain elevator to handle his immense grain crop, and had numerous silos. Only a comparatively small part of the grain raised in his fields is ever sent away to market. He keeps a number of cattle and horses, and converts the fertility of the soil into livestock.

Mr. Schrader is also interested in the State Bank of Brookville. Since coming to America he and his wife have visited Germany twice, the first time in 1903 and again in 1909. They toured Germany and various parts of Europe. The family are active members of the Lutheran Church.

Mr. Schrader was married August 7, 1873, to Miss Caroline Meinneicka, a native of Germany, where she was born July 22, 1848, a daughter of Frederick and Helen (Konerding) Meinneicka. Mrs. Schrader was the only child of her parents. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Schrader, two sons and two daughters. The older son is George Henry, who was born May 18, 1874. He was married March 16, 1905, to Miss Olga Laas, who was born in Germany May 8, 1889. Their three children are Melvina, born January 9, 1907; Margaret, born June 5, 1909; and Gertrude, born April 7, 1910. Henry George, the second son, was born February 17, 1879, in Germany, and on July 20, 1909, married Anna Claus, who was born in Germany January 1, 1885. Their two children are: Henry Lewis, born August 10, 1911; and Raymond, born November 22, 1912. The older daughter and the third child of Mr. and Mrs. Schrader is Lena, who was born in Germany May 14, 1883, and is still living at home with her parents. Anna Augusta, the youngest, was born in Saline County, Kansas, August 20, 1889, and was married August 9, 1911, to Albert E. Johnson. Mr. Johnson was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1888, of Swedish parentage and is now an active farmer in Saline County.

Source: A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans

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