The Family of Adrianus Bader & Johanna van Leeuwen

Biography written using information available as of 15 December 2015.

Adrianus Theodorus (Adrian) Bader was born on 21 July 1874 in Warmond in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. He was the third of four children born to Theodorus (Dirk) Bader and Antonia van Duijn. Adrian’s father had a wooden leg as a result of a wagon accident when he was a child and worked as a tailor. His father trained Adrian to be a tailor as well, be he hated the occupation and eventually became a journalist. 

Adrian married Joanna Maria van Leeuwen on 7 February 1900 in Warmond. Joanna (also shown as Johanna or Joanne) was born in Weesperkarspel also in 1874. She was the oldest of eight children born to Johannes Gerardus van Leeuwen and Maria Cornelia van Staveren. She moved to Oegstgeest in 1899 to work as a domestic with a family called van Geeves, but left them to move to Warmond.

They had their first child, Theodorus (Ted), in 1901. They had 12 more children between then and 1923: Gerardus (Gerald) in 1902, Antonio (Tony) in 1903, Cornelia (Nellie) in 1904, Antonia (Tonia) in 1908, Martinus (Martin or Tinus) in 1907, Adrianus (Ed) in 1910, Bernardus (Bernie) in 1911, Joannes (John or Johnny) in 1912,  Cornelius (Cor) in 1914, Willibrordus (Bill) in 1916, Johanna (Joanne or Jo) in 1919, and Henricus (Henry or Henk) in 1923. 

The family lived in a brick rowhouse (on Dopstraat Street) in Warmond. There were reportedly three rooms upstairs where the family slept — the parents in one room, the three girls in another, and all the boys in the third, sleeping two or three to a bed. Adrian ran a small stationary store, which was on the ground level of their home. He also wrote articles for a newspaper in the nearby city of Leiden, which he delivered once or twice a week on foot or by bicycle. Adrian’s father lived with the family after he was widowed and spent his time in a small room on the ground floor where he operated his tailoring business. 

The stories says that Adrian became one of the town elders of Warmond. He was head of the local water commission and also managed housing for the poor. Stories of his kind-heartedness tell that when collecting rents from the public housing, he often fell for a sad story and advanced part of even all of the rent to the family. But with 13 children of his own, he could hardly afford to do this, and all of his children worked from a young age to contribute to the family’s economic survival. 

With little money for entertainment, the children played sports, and the boys developed their own soccer team. Apparently, there were times when they did not have a soccer ball and used balled-up newspapers instead. 

As a young man, Adrian had dreamed of going to America, but his father forbade it. Family stories say that his son Gerald, who was working as a tulip bulb salesman, proposed to his girlfriend in Holland, but she said he needed him to establish himself before she would marry him (this may have been a requirement of her parents rather than her). It is possible that Adrian, because of his dream of America, encouraged his son to seek his fortune in America. 

A ship passenger register shows Gerald travelling to New York City in 1924 via the S.S. Volendam from Rotterdam arriving on July 2.

The stories then say that Gerald hitchhiked across the country to Washington State where a family friend lived (a young priest sent from Warmond as a Catholic missionary to small Dutch settlement) and that at some point, his younger brother Tony arrived there as well. The stories go on to say that Tony had baking experience from working in the kitchen on a Holland America lines ship and that as a result of this experience, work was found for the boys at a local bakery.

Ellis Island records show that Antonius A. Bader (Tony) arrived from Rotterdam in New York n 6 September 1924. He was listed as an employee/crew member on the manifest of the S.S. Ryndam. This fits the story and a ship's manifest shows that he was working as a baker in May of that year when she ship docked in New Orleans. It is unclear how he got to the west coast and when he arrived there. The ship manifest shows that Tony was not scheduled to leave the ship in New York, so he may have done so without telling the authorities or he may have continued working on the boat and disembarked at another time. A border card from 1930 shows that Tony spent 1924 to 1926 in the USA and that he arrived at New York, but there are currently no documents to indicate how he or his brother Gerald got across the country.

Again, the family stories tell that the young priest found work for the brothers at a small bakery in Lynden or Ferndale, Washington. But without legal status in the USA, they were forced to travel back and forth across the border to Canada (Cloverdale near Vancouver) as they were not initially allowed to be permanent residents of the United States. 

Gerald and Tony must have seen the potential for themselves and their family, because they sent word home telling their parents and siblings, and Gerald's fiancé, to come to North America. It is believed that the initial plan was to settle in Washington State and buy the bakery Gerald and Tony were working in. 

The family began the process of selling up everything to move to North America. However, their immigration application to the United States was turned down. Because the brothers were living and working in Canada, they suggested the family come there instead, with the possibility of applying for U.S. residency later. The family and Gerald's fiancée departed Antwerp, Holland on a ship called the Marburn, arriving in Canada on 23 April 1926. 

On this ship’s manifest were Adrianus and Johanna along with 10 children: Nellie, Tonia, Tinus, Ed, Bernard, Johnny, Cor, Bill, Joanne and Henk.

Missing were Gerald and Tony, who we know from family stories, were already in North America. Also missing, however, was the eldest, Ted. It is possible that Ted arrived earlier or later than the rest of the family. In fact, a ship's manifest shows a 25-year-old Theodore Bader arriving in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, on 4 April 1926, just two weeks before the Bader family left Holland. Interestingly, although it saws that this Theodore was born in Holland, his departure location was listed as Liverpool, England (24 March 1926). So this is likely him, sent early and probably taking enough money to rent a house or make other preparations for the arrival of that large family.

One family story says that they claimed to be farmers and applied as settlers and thus were required to take up residence where the government assigned them and were assigned to Saskatchewan. But the ship's manifest shows the destination of the family as Cloverdale, BC, and the "relative or employer" expecting them (or sponsoring them) was shown as G.J. Bader and Martin Ryan, a farmer. Adrianus was listed on the manifest as a farmer, so at least part of the story appears to be true (which is pretty standard for family stories, which often have some truth but not all). The end of the story says that the family found a way to stay on the train all the way to Vancouver (probably by bribing a conductor), where Gerald, Tony and Ted were waiting. 

Once in Vancouver, the family rented a house and the older boys found work in local bakeries. By 1927, some of the children were already married and living on their own, but most were still living with Adrianus and Joanna.

1927 British Columbia Directory Listing

House the family rented in 1927 at 2734 Glen in Vancouver.
This house was built in 1911 and still stands in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.

Gerald married his fiancée immediately and started a family. In 1927, the directory shows Adrianus working as a paper hanger (I assume this is Adrianus senior and not junior/Ed who would have been around 17 at the time). Tony was a baker at the Grouse Mountain Hotel. Tonia was a maid and Gerald was a baker. 

The 1928 directory shows that Adrianus was a florist, Tony was a baker at the Velvet Bakery, and Bernard was a plumber. Martin was a planerman, Ted was a millworker and Gerald was a baker. Gerald was the only one living away from the family. 

By 1929, baking was becoming the family business. Tony, Tonia and Martin were all working at the Commercial Bakery and Adrianus jr./Ed was a baker at Woman's Bakery. 

By 1930 Gerald had begun a bakery business in Abbotsford with a partner. Also in 1930, Tony was shown in the directory as the proprietor of the Commercial Bakery on Vanness. That same year, Adrianus senior was listed as a carpenter. Adrianus junior/Ed was working at Woman's Bakery.

That same year shows that some of the family members pooled their resources to start their own bakery. This first business was named Bader Bros. Bakery and is was at 1210 Hastings and employed John, Bernard and Martin and probably Tonia. Tony was still at the Commercial Bakery.

By 1931, Adrian senior was retired. Adrian junior, Ed, was shown working at Woman's Bakery, but Tony, Bernard, John and Martin were all at Bader Bros., which was then located at 3642 Commercial.

The bakery was located in the Cedar Cottage neighbourhood of Vancouver, and the parents and unmarried children lived in a large house just around the corner.

1930 British Columbia Directory

1932 British Columbia Directory

It wasn't long before the name of the business was changed to Bader's Dutch Bakeries, and in 1932 it had multiple retail locations around Vancouver: Commercial, Granville, Nanaimo, Fraser, and West 10th. Ted married in 1931 and was still not part of the baking world and had been working as a finisher for a couple of years.

In 1933, Tony was listed as the president of Baker's Dutch Bakeries in Seattle, although his residence was still in Vancouver and under the Vancouver business he was also shown as president. Ed, Bernard, Cor, John and Martin were all shown to be working at Bader's in Vancouver, which still had locations on Commercial, Fraser, Nanaimo and West 10th. By 1934, Ted had finally been pulled into the business.

In the 1935 directory, Tony and Bernard had both disappeared from the Vancouver area and must have moved to Seattle, where we know they ran a successful baking business for many years and were heavily involved in the community. 

Between then and 1936, a decision was made to focus on wholesale and one larger location was established that became a factory. 

1936 British Columbia Directory

In 1927 Nellie had married John Schollen, who became a driver at Bader's in the mid 1930s. But Nellie died in 1941.

Gerald continued at the Abbotsford Bakery until 1946 when he moved his family to Santa Rosa California where he operated several different bakeries throughout his life. 

Joanne married a cook/baker and they ran the Jubilee Bakery in Burnaby for a short time, and Joanne also worked at Bader's for many years. 

Ed moved to Toronto at some point. Tonia and her husband had a bakery in Ontario for a time and then settled in Alberta with a gas station. John owned Circle Bakery on Kingsway in Vancouver for many years. Cor gradually bought out his brothers as they retired or moved on to other things, and eventually sold the Bader's Dutch Bakeries business in 1972.

A Bader's Bakery display at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE)

All of Adrian and Johanna's children married and had children of their own except the youngest, Henry or Henk, who became a Roman Catholic priest in 1947. Adrian and Johanna had dozens of grandchildren. Family reunions have been attended by more than 100 people. The first reunion was held in Burnaby, BC in October 1963. The second family reunion was on June 23, 1979 in Richmond, BC. The third was held in Surrey on July 13, 1991.

Johanna is apparently a near legend for her family back in the Netherlands, probably because she moved to North America and because of the successful business that her children built.

Adrian died in 1938 and Johanna died in 1952. Both are buried in Ocean View Memorial Park in Burnaby, BC along with several of their children. The last of their 13 children died in 1997 (Bernard).

Note that I have much more information on the family that I am happy to share with relatives on request. Please use the contact form or the email link in the left sidebar.