When Michael Rader was born on 12 June 1798, in Greene, Tennessee, United States, his father, Peter Hillikus Röder, was 37 and his mother, Elizabeth Froschauer, was 33. He married Catherine Shelley on 2 September 1819, in Wayne, Indiana, United States. They were the parents of at least 7 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Eden Township, Decatur, Iowa, United States in 1860 and Gilroy Judicial Township, Santa Clara, California, United States in 1870. He died on 28 May 1873, in Hollister, San Benito, California, United States, at the age of 74.