William was born at Rutki, Germany, the son of Caspari (Casper) Bogus and Catherina Bysiak. He was the brother of Adream (Andrew) Bogus and Anton (Anthony) Bogus.
He married Maria (Mary) Najdala Feb 14, 1885 at Tarnow, Poland.
Together they had 12 children;
Helen (Bogus) Mitera
Benjamin John Bogus
Victoria Margaret Bogus
Florence (Flossie) (Bogus) Reid
Joseph Benjamin Bogus
Kathryn (Katie) (Bogus) Hart
John Charles Bogus
Thomas Francis Bogus
Leo Joseph Bogus
Cecelia Rita Ethel (Bogus) Foreman
Edward John Bogus
Alexander Bogus

William was called "Valek" by his brother,Andrew. He was called "Valenti" by his cousins. American friends called him "Bill".

William was a German National soldier born in Rutki. A search for the town of Rutki turns up nothing. There is a town due East of Tarnow near the Polish border in the Ukraine which is called Rudki. All the young men at that time had to serve in the army. Mary Neidowa would come to town with some of the others in her family to sell the produce they raised. She and William met in Tarnow, Poland and romance blossomed. Mary taught him to speak Polish. He was called Valek by his brother, Andrew, and cousins called him Valenti. He was later called "Bill" by his American friends in Platte Center, Nebraska. William, age 24, and Mary, age 19, were married in Poland on February 14, 1885. Poland was under the rule of Austria at this time. Their first child, Helen, was born January 11, 1886. The second child, Ben, was born March 6, 1888. Two more children were born - Victoria who died soon after her birth and is buried in Tarnow, Poland, and then Florence, born August 18, 1891. William decided to leave Poland and immigrate to the USA to avoid serving in the Prussian Army and start a new life for his wife and three young children. He first went to Buffalo, New York, and stopped in Chicago. He went West with a group of Polish immigrants who answered an urgent call by the Union Pacific Railroad. This brought him and friends to Platte Center, Nebraska. He worked for a farmer near Platte Center and saved enough money to send for his family in 1893. Grandpa used to tease Grandma about waiting patiently for his little family to arrive. When he saw the lady with the three small children and a feather bed over her shoulder, he knew his family had arrived. They stayed on the farm in a sod house on a hill that first summer. Later they found a two room cottage west of town and went into Columbus to take out a loan. As more children were added to the family, they added more rooms and it remained the family home. On the fifth of May, 1895, Mary had their fifth child, Joseph, the first to be born in America. Seven more children were born to them. The last child in 1912 was Alexander. He died at 10 months of age of pneumonia in his mother's arms. He was buried in St, Patricks cemetery in Platte Center. William had one brother, Andrew, who also came to Platte Center. He stayed for awhile with William and Mary. Later he married and moved to Ashton where he farmed. They had many relatives and friends who lived close and they would attend Polish weddings and have a wonderful time together. William worked for Harworth Lumber Company for a number of years. His hands became very sore from working with the cement. Mary would use the drippings from making cottage cheese to soak Grandpa's sore hands. During the First World War he went to work for the Railroad. When he worked for the lumber yard he would sometimes get two cars of sand and a load of bricks and coal and perhaps a load of cement to unload in one day. All the children and Mary would help. About 3 p. m. he would go into town and take lunch and buy a bucket of beer and then go back and finish his work. William and Mary got along very well and they worked very hard together to raise their large, happy family. There was no Catholic Church in Platte Center and Tarnov was a Polish community near by with Polish Church services. The children were baptized there. Platte Center was an Irish community and St. Patrick's was about 5 miles S.E. of town. As more immigrants came, the Franciscan Fathers came also, and St. Joseph's parish was started. Mary was very active in all the church activities and was a member of St. Ann's Sodality. The children had Catholic school education at St. Joseph's. William died at age 74 of asthma which developed into pneumonia on August 2, 1935 at 4:30 p.m. in his home with his wife and family close by. The headstone at St. Patrick's cemetary give a dob as February 14, 1862 and a dod as August 2, 1935. Mary lived in the same home until her death 13 years later at the age of 82 on November 22, 1948. She had carcenoma of the abdominal area and pneumonia. Mary's father died when she was a young girl. Her mother, Catherine, re-married. Bartholoma Lizucha and she had Magdelena, born 2/8/74, Antonetta (Antonella ?) and Amelia - all half sisters then of Mary. Magdelena came to the USA in the 1900's with one of her sisters. She married Jacob Terressal (?). They lived in Ashton. Antonella married Joe Oland (?).

[Most of the above comes from letters written to William and Mary by their children and relatives.