House 1859-60 (District 17); Senate 1870-71 (District 19); Senate 1872 (District 37)
Party when first elected: Republican
Counties Served:
Brown, Davis (defunct), Lac Qui Parle, Lyon, Nicollet, Pierce (defunct), Pope, Redwood, Renville, Sibley, Yellow Medicine
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth:
7/6/1826
Birth Place:
Heilbronn, Wuerttemberg
Birth County:
Birth Country:
Germany
Date of Death:
8/11/1905
Gender:
Male
Religion:
Reported Minority: None Reported
Other Names:
Wm., Jacob Wilhelm
City of Residence (when first elected):
New Ulm
Occupation (when first elected):
Farmer
EDUCATION
Common Schools, Germany; Elementary School; Until He Was 14 Years Old
OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE
Judge:
New Ulm, Minnesota (Justice of the Peace);
18?? to 1???
Postmaster:
New Ulm, Minnesota;
18?? to 1861
Municipal Council/Aldermen:
New Ulm, Minnesota (City Council, Member, after 1880);
18?? to 1???
School Board/Administration:
New Ulm, Minnesota (Board of School Trustees, Director);
18?? to 1???
Municipal Council/Aldermen:
New Ulm, Minnesota (Town Council, President);
1857 to 18??
County Government:
Brown County, Minnesota (Register of Deeds);
186? to 18??
Military:
Union Army, 1st Minnesota Battery; 1st Regiment Minnesota Mounted Rangers; and 2nd Regiment Minnesota Cavalry (United States Civil War, Battle of Shiloh; Minnesota Frontier; Private, 1st Lieutenant, Quartermaster, Commissary, Lieutenant Colonel);
09/1861 to 12/07/1865
Municipal Mayor:
New Ulm, Minnesota (City Mayor);
1873 to 1873
State Treasurer/Office:
Minnesota State Treasurer;
01/07/1876 to 01/10/1881
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Spouse:
Catherine or Katherine Pfau (married on December 7, 1851; she died on September 21, 1892)
Children:
Fifteen children: William Jr., Frederick, Herman, and Albert (sons); Kate, Louise, Josephine, Amelia, Emma, and Minnie (daughters)
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
GENERAL NOTES
"His affiliations were with the Republican party..." (Progressive Men of MN, 1897, p. 43 and his great great granddaughter)
He came to New York in the spring of 1848. He moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1849. He came to the New Ulm area of Minnesota in the spring of 1856. He moved to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1876. He returned to New Ulm, Minnesota in 1880.
He was the first President of the Minnesota German Land Association.
He was a founder of New Ulm, Minnesota.
"William Pfaender's birth name was Jacob Wilhelm Pfaender, but according to the custom at the time, he went by his middle name Wilhelm, which became William in English-speaking countries." (His great great granddaughter)
He was a member of the Turnverein movement. The Turners were liberal freethinkers who believed in a healthy mind in a healthy body. They promoted gymnastics.
He died in New Ulm, Brown County, Minnesota.
Other name, death date, and spouse's death date provided by his great great granddaughter.