{{Short description|German-American politician (1826–1905)}} {{Use American English|date=August 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = William Pfaender, 1870.jpg | order1 = 6th | office1 = Minnesota State Treasurer | governor1 = John S. Pillsbury | term_start1 = January 7, 1876 | term_end1 = January 10, 1880 | predecessor1 = Edwin W. Dyke | successor1 = Charles Kittleson | state_senate2 = Minnesota | birth_name = Jakob Wilhelm Pfänder | birth_date = {{Birth date|1826|7|26}} | birth_place = Heilbronn, Kingdom of Württemberg<!-- DO NOT LINK, see MOS:GEOLINK --> | death_date = {{death date and age|1905|8|11|1826|7|26}} | death_place = New Ulm, Minnesota, U.S. | party = Republican | branch = Union Army | service_years = 1862-1866 | rank = Lieutenant Colonel | unit = 1st Minnesota Cavalry Regiment *2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment | honorific_prefix = Colonel }}
'''William Pfaender Sr.''' (born '''Jakob Wilhelm Pfänder''', July 6, 1826 – August 11, 1905) was a German-American politician and businessman. His son was Albert Pfaender.
==Biography== Pfaender was born in Heilbronn, Kingdom of Württemberg<!-- DO NOT LINK, see MOS:GEOLINK -->. His father was a craftsman who made barrels so the family called the younger Pfaender by his middle name. Growing up in Heilbronn and Ulm, Pfaender was influenced by the Turner movement which encouraged gymnastics and exercise while promoting nationalism, political and religious freedom, education, and equality.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Anderegg |first=Jeanne |title=Pfaender, Jacob Wilhelm (1826–1905) {{!}} MNopedia |url=https://www.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/person/pfaender-wilhelm-1826-1905 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260104044630/https://www.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/person/pfaender-wilhelm-1826-1905 |archive-date=2026-01-04 |access-date=2026-02-13 |website=www.mnhs.org |language=en}}</ref>
Pfaender emigrated to the United States in 1848 amid the turmoil of the 1848 revolution. He first travelled to England, where he met Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.<ref name=":0" /> He then went to New York. In 1848, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio.<ref name=":1" /> In Cincinnati, he founded a Turner Society for which he served as its first president. He married Catherine Pfau, who was from a Turner family, in 1851.<ref name=":0" /> They went on to have fifteen children together.<ref name=":2" />
In 1855, Pfaender wrote a letter for the national Turner newspaper ''Die Turnzeitung'' on "Practical Turnerism", in which he called for creating a German American colony to free Germans from harassment by nativists and practice German customs. This led to the creation of the Settlement Association of the Socialist Turner Society.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Tyler |first=Alice Felt |date=1949 |title=William Pfaender and the Founding of New Ulm |url=https://storage.googleapis.com/mnhs-org-support/mn_history_articles/30/v30i01p024-035.pdf?_gl=1*13kfh9r*_gcl_au*MzA0ODYzOTE2LjE3NzAzMDk4MzA. |journal=Minnesota History |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=24–35}}</ref>
The Chicago Land Association had already started to build a new town for German Americans in 1854 on the banks of the Minnesota River. Turner and the Cincinnati group joined and helped to purchase more land.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Gimmestad |first=Dennis |date=1999 |title=Territorial space: platting New Ulm |url=https://storage.googleapis.com/mnhs-org-support/mn_history_articles/56/v56i06p345-350.pdf?_gl=1*13kfh9r*_gcl_au*MzA0ODYzOTE2LjE3NzAzMDk4MzA. |journal=Minnesota History |volume=56 |issue=6 |pages=345–350}}</ref> He moved in 1856 as being due to an attack by Know Nothings on Pfaender's family and other German immigrant families at a picnic. Because of this, Pfaender organized a move to New Ulm, Minnesota Territory.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} Pfaender was in the real estate and insurance business; he was also in the lumber business.<ref name=":1" />
Pfaender helped to form the New Ulm Turner Society in 1856. The town of New Ulm was incorporated in 1857, and the German Land Association set up a mill and a store. However, individuals soon took ownership and the association dissolved in 1859.<ref name=":0" /> Pfaender served as president of the new town's city council and as its postmaster.<ref name=":3" /> He performed the first marriage held in New Ulm on March 17, 1857. He also served as a member of the Electoral College and voted for Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 election.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
During the American Civil War, Pfaender first served in the 1st Minnesota Cavalry Regiment from 1862-1863, followed by the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment from 1863-1866 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Minnesota. Adjutant General's Office |url=http://archive.org/details/annualreport01minn |title=Annual report |date=1862 |publisher=Saint Paul |others=The Library of Congress}}</ref> He was in charge of Fort Ridgely until 1865.<ref name=":0" />
After the Civil War, Pfaender served as mayor of New Ulm and on the New Ulm school board. He also served as register for Brown County, Minnesota and as postmaster. In 1859 and 1860, Pfaender served in the Minnesota House of Representatives and was a Republican. Then, from 1869 to 1873, Pfaender served in the Minnesota State Senate. From 1876 to 1880, Pfaender served as the Minnesota State Treasurer.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5" />
Pfaender died at his home in New Ulm, Minnesota.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Pfaender, Sr., William "Wm., Jacob Wilhelm" |url=https://www.lrl.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?ID=14356 |access-date=2026-02-13 |website=Legislator Record}}</ref><ref name=":5">'Col. Pfaender Passes Away,' '''Albert Lea Enterprise,''' August 16, 1906, pg. 6</ref>
==Family== British entertainer and fashion designer Victoria Beckham is Pfaender's great-great-great-grandniece.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bild.de/news/bild-english/has-german-roots-5369646,view=amp.bild.html |title=Posh Spice family tree: Victoria Beckham has German roots |website=www.bild.de |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013225509/http://www.bild.de/news/bild-english/has-german-roots-5369646,view=amp.bild.html |archive-date=13 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Pfaender's son, Fred Pfaender, was the Brown County register of deeds in 1896.<ref name=":4" /> His youngest son Herman inherited his farm and grew corn, wheat, and Hereford cattle, as well as serving as the Milford Township Town Clerk and on a number of local boards. Pfaender's great-great grandchild Willis Runck owns the farm that Pfaender lived on.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Busch |first=Fritz |date=2023-10-28 |title=A barn full of history |url=https://www.nujournal.com/life/lifestyle-feature/2023/10/28/a-barn-full-of-history/ |access-date=2026-02-13 |website=nujournal.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=Edwin W. Dyke}} {{s-ttl|title=Treasurer of Minnesota|years=1876–1880}} {{s-aft|after=Charles Kittleson}} {{s-end}} {{MNTreasurers}} {{authority control}}
{{MNopedia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pfaender, William}} Category:1826 births Category:1905 deaths Category:Emigrants from Württemberg to the United States Category:People from New Ulm, Minnesota Category:People of Minnesota in the American Civil War Category:Businesspeople from Minnesota Category:Minnesota city council members Category:School board members in Minnesota Category:County officials in Minnesota Category:State treasurers of Minnesota Category:Republican Party Minnesota state senators Category:Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Category:Minnesota postmasters Category:19th-century American businesspeople Category:19th-century mayors of places in Minnesota Category:People from Heilbronn Category:19th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature