The information below has been compiled from a variety of sources. If the reader has access to information that can be documented and that will correct or add to this woman’s biographical information, please contact the Nevada Women’s History Project.
Added by Loose Moose.
At A Glance:
Born: November 1851, Czarnikau, Posen, Prussia
Died: August 6, 1923, Grass Valley, California
Burial: Lone Mountain Cemetery, Carson City, Nevada
Maiden name: Zadow
Race/Nationality/Ethnic Background: German, Caucasian
Married: Reinhold Sadler, May 26,1874 in Hamilton, Nev.
Children: Wilhelmina “Minnie” Ottilie, Edgar Alexander, George William, Arthur William, Alfred Reinhold, Bertha L., Clarence Theodore
Primary City and County of Residence and Work:
Eureka and Carson City counties, Nevada
Major Fields of Work: First Lady of Nevada
Other Roles: wife, mother
Ninth Nevada First Lady immigrated to the United States
Louisa A. Zadow Sadler, Nevada’s ninth First Lady and the first born outside of the United States, assumed the position in 1896 after the death of Governor John Jones, who died while in office.
Louisa was born in 1851 in Czarnikau, Posen, Prussia to Wilhelm and Wilhelmina Zadow. The name Louise was also used frequently in place of Louisa, not only in newspaper articles but listed as such in census schedules.
In June 1873 at the age of 19, she immigrated to Hamilton, Nevada with her new sister-in-law, Emma. Louisa’s brother, Lewis, who was now settled in Hamilton as a butcher, had returned to Czarnikau to marry Emma several months earlier, and brought both his new bride and his sister back to the bustling mining community. Although no record exists, Louisa probably resided with this couple until she met and married Reinhold Sadler, who owned a grocery store in Hamilton. Their marriage took place on May 26,1874. The 1875 state census showed the couple living in Hamilton with their 3-month-old daughter, Minnie, and local newspapers referred to Reinhold as a successful and community-minded merchant.
By 1880 the Sadlers with their two surviving children, Minnie (born in 1875), and Edgar (1876), were residents of Eureka, Nevada. Louisa, before their move from Hamilton, had lost her sons George and Arthur in infancy. Three more children, Alfred (1881), Bertha (1882) and Clarence (1891) completed the family unit.
Reinhold was elected Eureka County Treasurer in 1880 and continued his business as a retail merchant who also dealt in mining properties. With an interest in continuing a political career, Reinhold ran unsuccessfully for several state offices. In 1895 he was elected lieutenant governor, which necessitated the family move to Carson City, the state capital.
Louisa was busy raising their younger children but found time to be active in the Rebecca fraternal organization, transferring membership from the Eureka chapter. She also participated as the wife of Lt. Governor Sadler, and then Governor Sadler, in some of the exclusive Carson City Sagebrush Men’s Club activities. Lt. Governor Reinhold Sadler became governor upon the death of Governor John Jones in 1896. He ran successfully for the next full-term governorship. Louisa held the First Lady position from 1896 through 1903. Reinhold decided not to run for a second term. He considered running for a U.S. Senate seat, but the opportunity never materialized.
Their daughter, Minnie Plummer, while living in Carson City, died unexpectedly in 1903, after less than two years of marriage. In late January of 1906, Reinhold became ill on a business trip to Ely and died at their Eureka home before he could return to Carson City. Louisa chose to remain in their Carson City home with Bertha and Clarence rather than moving back to Eureka. Alfred Sadler lived in Reno.
Added by Loose Moose.
Bertha, still living with Louisa, died unexpectedly in 1921. Devastated, and in ill health, Louisa chose to travel to Grass Valley, California for an extended stay with relatives. She died at age 72 shortly after arriving there in August 1923. Louisa’s body was returned to Carson City and was buried in the Lone Mountain Cemetery.
Her tenure as First Lady was typical of the time when she lived. There was no Governor’s Mansion as the residence was not built until 1908 and became the official Nevada governor’s residence in January 1909 when Governor Denver Dickerson took office. Governor Sadler and his family lived in a personal residence and Louisa’s official duties were probably limited to attending few official functions other than teas and dinners.
Researched and written by Patti Bernard. Posted February 2025.
Sources of Information
Ancestry.com. Barghouti, Kim, comp. Nevada State Census, 1875 [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. [Louise A. Sadler]
Ancestry.com. Year: 1880; Census Place: Eureka, Eureka, Nevada; Roll: 758; Page: 127a; Enumeration District: 016. [Louise Sadler]
Ancestry.com. Year: 1900; Census Place: Carson City, Ormsby, Nevada; Roll: 943; Page 17; Enumeration District: 0036. [Louise A. Sadler]
“Born: October 26-Wife of R. Sadler, a son.” Eureka Daily Sentinel (Eureka, Nevada), 27 Oct 1878, Vol. 1, Image 2. Sec: “Births.”
“Carson City Social Doings: Mrs. Sadler gradually failing…” Reno Evening Gazette 23 April 1923:6. Print.
Carson City. “The Rich, Poor, Famous, and Forgotten.”
https://www.carson.org/government/departments-g-z/parks-recreation-open-space/cemeteries/lone-mountain-cemetery/the-rich-poor-famous-and-forgotten. [Reinhold Sadler] As seen on 24 October 2024.
“Death of Louis Zadow.” The Eureka Sentinel (Eureka, Nevada) 11 Jan 1913, p. 5.
Germans to America Passenger Data File [database on-line]. [Louise Zadow, June 17, 1873, Emma Zadow, June 17, 1873, Louis Zadow, June 17, 1873.]
“Governor Sadler’s widow dies in Grass Valley.” Reno Evening Gazette (Reno, Nevada), 6 Aug 1923, p.3.
“In Hamilton, May 19. Reinhold Sadler to Miss Louis Zadow.” Eureka Daily Sentinel (Eureka, Nevada), 28 May 1874. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. As seen on 2 Dec 2024.
“Miss Bertha Sadler Died Last Night In Carson.” Reno Evening Gazette (Reno, Nevada), 30 April 1921, p2.
“Mr. R. Sadler….” Eureka Daily Sentinel (Eureka, Nevada), 27 Jan. 1906, Vol. 15, p.3.
“Mrs. Louisa Sadler Fails to Survive Stroke.” The Morning Union (Grass Valley, California), 6 Aug 1923.
“Mrs. Louise Sadler, wife of former Gov. Sadler…,” Reno Evening Gazette (Reno, Nevada), 23 April 1923, p. 6, Sec: “Carson City’s Social Doings.”
“Mrs. Sadler dead.” Sparks Tribune 10 Aug 1923:3. Print.
Myles, Myrtle T. “Fortune for a Governor: Nevada Governors Part IV.” Las Vegas Review Journal 24 May 1964, sec. The Nevadan: 24-25. Print.
Myles, Myrtle Tate. “Reinhold Sadler.” Nevada’s Governors: From Territorial Days to the Present, 1861-1971. Sparks, NV: Western Printing & Publishing Company, 1972. 62—64. Print.
Nevada Department of Health; Carson City, Nevada; Nevada Death Records. [Sophie (Zadow) Birth, January 6,1920]
“Nevada Governor’s Mansion: ‘The People’s House’.” Nevada Appeal (Carson City, Nevada), 8 Feb 2018. https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2018/feb/08/nevadas-governors-mansion-the-peoples-house/ As seen November 13, 2024.
Nylen, Robert A., and Guy Louis Rocha. “Louise (Zadow) Sadler.” State of Nevada: The Historical Governor’s Mansion. Carson City, Nevada: Dema Guinn, the Nevada Commission on Tourism, Nevada Magazine, and the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs, 2005: 30. Print.
Parkin, Mona. Eureka County. Church Records, St. James Church Records Index, Eureka, Nevada Index, vol. 2, copied by Nona Parkin.
“R. Sadler, one of Hamilton’s oldest residents, left…,” White Pine News (Ely, Nevada), 5 June 1875, Vol. II Issue:38 p4.
“Reinhold Sadler.” The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, vol. XI. New York, New York: James S. White & Company, 1901. 202. Print.
“Reinhold Sadler is Dead.” Eureka Sentinel (Eureka, Nevada), 3 Feb. 1906, p3.
Sawyer, Bette. “Nevada’s 100 Years of First Ladies.” Nevada Centennial Magazine. 1964: p. 126. Print.