More newspaper accounts of the activities
of Ferdinand A. Brader
Click to enlarge
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| August 3, 1880 The Reading Eagle Reading, Pennsylvania |
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| January 19, 1880 The Reading Eagle Reading, Pennsylvania |
And here is a picture of the Bechtel drawing which you will see at the exhibit,
The Legacy of Ferdinand A. Brader, at the Canton (OH) Museum of Art
December 4, 2014 - March 15, 2015.
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| The Property of Fred R. & Esther Bechtel image courtesy of the Historical Society of Berks County |
HAPPY NEWS FROM SWITZERLAND
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February 29, 1896
The Repository
Canton Ohio
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March 18, 1896
The Repository
Canton Ohio
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| Use of these books by courtesy of the State Archives in Saint Gallen, Switzerland 13 June 2013 |
Recent research in Switzerland at the State Archives offices in Saint Gallen using these old ledgers and journals enable us to answer some questions frequently asked.
What happened to Ferdinand Brader?
If you have read "The Rest of the Story", as described in the 1896 newspaper articles at the bottom of this page, you know that Brader inherited a fortune from his brother in Switzerland. Then sometime in February 1896 he mysteriously disappeared.
Eventually in 1901, by a Swiss protocol Ferdinand Brader is declared
"Lost and missing without a trace".
"Lost and missing without a trace".
But what happened to the fortune Ferdinand Brader inherited from his brother?
The fortune would have passed to his son Karl Ferdinand Brader who was born 1864.
However, in 1911, the son Karl is also declared "Lost and missing without a trace".
What did finally happen to the money?
The documents in the State Archive indicate that the remaining funds of the inheritance from Alois Brader to his brother Ferdinand were sent to the Orphanage Office in Kaltbrunn in 1919.
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| We are grateful for the generosity of Dr. Wolf Seelentag in providing his expertise to find answers about questions the life of Ferdinand Brader and his family. |
What might have influenced Brader to make these drawings?
One of the most interesting discoveries from Switzerland has been the realization of the tradition of the painters from Appenzell, the regions adjacent to Brader's home canton of St Gallen. The work of Johann-Jakob Heuscher ( Swiss, 1843-1901) and other Appenzell artists brings to mind intriguing questions about Swiss influences on Ferdinand Brader’s drawings in America. (Thank you, Trudi and Eric, for this insight.)These three links provide more information about the Appenzell painters. Bauernmalerie, A Primer on Naive Swiss Art from Appenzell, Swiss Institute for Art Research.
Where was Ferdinand Brader born?
Ferdinand Arnold Brader was born the 7th of December 1833 in Kaltbrunn, Canton St. Gallen, Switzerland. Read more about Kaltbrunn and the Canton of St. Gallen. Careful detailed research led by Wolf Seelentag has revealed the precise location of the home of Brader's birth in Kaltbrunn.
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| Kaltbrunn 1860 This image courtesy of Peter Brunner, director of the Regional Museum in Kaltbrunn |
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| Kaltbrunn today |
What about his family?
Swiss genealogist Wolf Seelentag has found records of the Brader family in Kaltbrunn. You can read the names of his parents and other family members on the Swiss Genealogy Forum.
Was Ferdinand Brader related to Blessed Mother Charitas Brader?
Yes, she was Ferdinand Brader's niece, the daughter of Ferdinand's brother Josef Sebastian Brader. You can read here about the amazing life of his niece, Maria Josepha Karolina "Charitas" Brader.
Where did he live in America?
Brader was in Berks County Pennsylvania before 1879 and had migrated to northeastern Ohio by 1884. He traveled around the countryside drawing farms and homes, and traded his drawings for room and board. Families have passed down stories that he slept in the barn or other outbuildings.
But where did he live in the winter when he wasn't traveling practicing his art?
Of the twenty-some winters that Ferdinand Brader passed in America, we only know about the last five winters. One winter was spent at the Portage County Infirmary in Ravenna, Ohio and four winters at the Stark County Infirmary.
How do you know this is true?
This knowledge comes to us from the careful records kept by the staffs of the two Infirmaries.
Here are copies of the actual entries documenting the presence of Ferdinand Brader.
Below is a copy of the Register of the Portage County Infirmary showing that Ferdinand A. Brader was received on December 12, 1891 and dismissed on April 19, 1892.
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| 12 December 1891 through 19 April 1892 |
Below are copies of listings from 1892 through 1895 for Ferdinand Brader's time at the Stark County Infirmary, which was later called the County Home.
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| 14 November 1892 through 25 May 1893 |
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| 25 November 1893 through 5 June 1894 |
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| 11 August 1894 registration, no date for departure until December 1895 |
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| "absconded" 31 December 1895 |
Here is an old photo showing the Stark County Infirmary much as it would have looked while Brader was there.
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| STARK COUNTY INFIRMARY as pictured in the 1896 Stark County Atlas. |
The Rest of the Story
Recently
discovered articles shed new light on Brader's mysterious
disappearance in February1896. These articles, published November 6, 1895, the first
in The Repository, Canton, Ohio page 3, and the second in the Salem
Daily News on the same day, inform us of the fortune Brader has
inherited from his brother. Later articles published in February 1896
tell us that Brader went to collect a small advance on the fortune, and
suddenly disappeared. Several Ohio newspapers reported his
disappearance, and assumptions were made that he had returned to his
home in St. Gallen, Switzerland. But apparently he did not collect his
inheritance, and eventually in 1901 Swiss officials declare that Brader
is "lost, missing without a trace."
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| November 6, 1895 The Repository Canton Ohio (courtesy of the Stark County Library Genealogy Department, and thanks to the helpful staff!) |
November 6, 1895 The Salem Daily News (retrieved from Ancestry.com) 
February 21, 1896 Louisville Herald (courtesy of the Louisville Public Library, and thanks to Mark for finding this clipping for us last November!) 
February 16, 1896 The Repository, pg 2 (courtesy of the Stark County Library Genealogy Department, and thanks to the helpful staff!)
Below article is from the The Salem Daily News, page one, February 13, 1896
(retrieved from Ancestry.com and transcribed here for easier reading)
A FORTUNE
Arrives But Its Recipient Is Now Missing
About
four weeks ago Ferdinand Brader who at that time was an inmate of the
Stark County Infirmary, received word form Switzerland that he had
fallen heir to $4,000. About the same time, he got a check on a New
York bank for $150 and a post office money order for S40. He was
informed that this $200 was the interest due hom on the $4,000, but that
it would be some time before he got the fortune.
A few days before
receiving the money, he learned of the death of William Tanner who
resided in Alliance and who for many years had been his most intimate
friend. He had a strong desire to attend the funeral of his friend
Tanner, and went to Mr. Anton Turajski who was going to attend the
funeral, and told him he would like to go with him but he had no money.
Mt. Turajski gave him money to pay his transportation to Alliance and
return When he went home from Alliance he got the check and the money
order. He then went to the home of a Mr. Lenke, near the old fair
grounds and engaged a room and boarding instead of going to the
infirmary. After getting his check and money order cashed, he told
several persons that he going up town to pay Mt. Turajski some money he
owed him. This was the last time he was seen by anyone in or about
Canton.
Mr.
Turajski was seen by a reporter in regard to whether the man had called
to pay him. He said he had not, but that he had been told by several
parties that Brader told them he was going to pay him the first thing
when he got to town. Brader’s sudden disappearance is quite a mystery
and it is thought that he was murdered and robbed or has wandered away.
Mr. Turajski said that Brader was afflicted with asthma and might be
possible that in his wanderings he may have been overcome and died in
some out of the way place. Mr. Turajski says he is certain that some
misfortune has overcome Brader or he would have called and paid him.
© 2017 Center for the Study of Art in Rural America, Inc. All rights reserved.