William Gaede, born November 28, 1861, in Germany, is the cashier of the Nemaha County Bank in Auburn, Nebraska. His parents, Dietrich and Elizabeth (Pagels) Gaede, emigrated from near Berlin, Germany, to Nebraska in 1870, settling in Peru, Nemaha County. The family invested in property in Nebraska and Kansas. William, who attended the State Normal School at Peru, managed his brother-in-law H. M. Mears’ business in Peru before entering banking in 1892. In 1901, he co-founded the Nemaha County Bank, where he has served as cashier since its opening in 1902. William and his sister, Lena Mears, reside together in Auburn.
William Gaede, cashier of the Nemaha County Bank at Auburn, Nebraska, is one of the prosperous and able businessmen of the county and is a member of a well-known family in southeastern Nebraska. All the family were natives of Germany, and the name has been known in certain parts of Germany for many generations. William Gaede, the grandfather of the Auburn banker, was a well-to-do man, and wrote his name Gade, with a character over the letter a, as did also the parents of William.
Dietrich and Elizabeth (Pagels) Gaede, the parents of William Gaede, were born near Berlin, Germany, where also all their children were born, and in 1870 they crossed the Atlantic on the good ship Harmonia, which was making her third trip, in the then short period of ten days. They brought with them their five children, as follows: Lena, the wife of H. M. Mears (and their history is further detailed in this sketch); Louise, widow of William Hewekerl; Fredericka, wife of H. H. Bartling, who is now serving his fourth term as mayor of Nebraska City; August, who went to the Black Hills in 1876, where he died a few years later; and William. The parents both inherited property and were well-to-do when they came to America. They located in Peru in Nemaha county, Nebraska, and invested in farm and city property in this state and Kansas. Dietrich Gaede was a modest, retiring man, and, being unacquainted with business conditions in this country, he was unsuccessful in some of his ventures. He and his wife were worthy and refined people and gave their children higher advantages in the fatherland, as well as in America. August was in the Episcopal Boys’ College in Nebraska City, and William was in the State Normal at Peru. The family all have musical talent, both instrumental and vocal, and are charming and delightful people in every relation of life. The parents were Lutherans, and their children were all reared in that faith. Dietrich Gaede was a Republican, as is also his son William. The former died in Nebraska City at the home of his daughter, April 17, 1899, at the age of seventy-six years, and his wife followed him six months later, on October 18, and they both sleep in the beautiful Mount Vernon cemetery, in Peru, Nebraska. An imported Olitic granite monument marks their grave, and, as a family monument, the names of Gaede and Mears are both carved upon it.
Mr. William Gaede was born in Germany, November 28, 1861, and in common with the other children, enjoyed good educational advantages and parental instruction, especially from the mother, who was exceptionally devoted to “Willie,” as she loved to call him. As is common in Germany, he had three names, Herman Frederick William. He has been in the banking business since 1892. Previous to this he was manager of the business of his brother-in-law, H. M. Mears, in Peru. The latter was the leading businessman of the place for twenty-five years, a man who had made his own way to prosperity and a high position in the business affairs of his county. He had a department store of general merchandise, besides handling lumber, coal, and brick. Mr. Gaede was in the responsible position of manager of this concern, and while attending school kept the books of the establishment and the private banking concern connected with it. He left Peru on August 1, 1892, and became one of the stockholders and the first cashier of the bank at Johnson, Nemaha county, where he remained for seven years. He returned to Peru on the death of Mr. Mears, and took charge of the latter’s estate. Affairs were complicated and required all his business ability to settle satisfactorily, but he gave a most careful administration, and after the entire matter was straightened out, in 1901 he organized the Nemaha County Bank, together with A. M. Engles, William Tynon, and others, with a capital stock of forty thousand dollars. Mr. Engles is president, Fred Lampe, vice president, and Mr. Gaede is cashier. The bank was opened for business in January, 1902, in the fine brick building with stone front, one of the substantial business buildings in Auburn, and since that time the institution has increased its patronage rapidly and is one of the solid banks of the county.
Mr. Gaede and his sister, Mrs. Lena M. Mears, live together in their pleasant home in Auburn. Mrs. Mears was married to Mr. H. M. Mears on November 5, 1872. The latter was born in Germany, near the borders of Holland, and his parents spoke both the Dutch and German languages. He was brought to this country when a baby, and his father, an early settler in western Missouri, at a time when the principal market was St. Louis, died in that city from the plague, leaving his widow and three sons and one daughter with a good estate. Mrs. Mears has a foster daughter, named Louise Wilhelmina Mears; she is a daughter of Mrs. Mears’ sister, Mrs. Louise Hewekerl, and has been the joy and comfort of the Mears home since she was three years old. Louise, or “Lulu” as she is familiarly known to her loved ones and friends, is a most worthy young lady, possessing a pleasing personality and a lovely character, having received careful training in early life, followed by a college education, supplemented by delightful travels in America and Europe. At present she has the chair of geography in the State Normal school at Moorhead, Minnesota, and likes the “Northland” very much. Miss Mears is the pride of her “Uncle Will” and “Mamma Mears.”
Source: Lewis Publishing Company, A Biographical and Genealogical History of Southeastern Nebraska, 2 volumes, Lewis Publishing Company, 1904.