History of Kossuth County, Iowa, Part 88

Author: Reed, Benjamin F
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 879

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house in which to live, staid that winter in the sod cabin with the Hartshorn fam- ily, a short distance south of his claim. The next year he built the first frame house ever erected in the township. Wiltse was an outspoken advocate for the cause of temperance, freedom of the slaves and republican principles. He was the first justice of the peace and held the position for several years.

It was at the Wiltse home where the first birth occurred. That event hap- pened March 1, 1874, when the daughter Effie was born.

Soon after the Wiltse family located others made their appearance, some stay- ing and others going away about as soon as they came. Bernard Meyer was among the earliest to arrive. He settled his family on the northwest quarter of 32 and was one of the best known of any in the township at that period and for years afterward. He was influential in politics after a few years, and was a fre- quent delegate to the county conventions.

Others who came about the time that Meyer did were E. Dreesman, who selected his home on the southeast quarter of 30; and B. Amelsberg on the east half of the northeast quarter of 33. About that time there came also William Smith on the northwest quarter of 10; T. H. Albers on the southwest quarter of 1 ; H. A. Wagner on the northeast quarter of 34; John Isebrands, on the west half of the northeast quarter of 33 ; and J. E. Ukena on the southwest quarter of 17.

B. H. Meyer and Peter Johnston on 21, Soren Mortenson on 22, Hejko and Onno Bruns on 27, H. U. Boekelmann and Anton Pankuk on 28, B. S. Pankuk on 26, Dierk Spier on 17, John Rippentrop on 33, and W. W. Clements on 9 were among those who located during the early '80s.

Many of the old settlers have passed on before and others have removed from the township whose sons remain and are prospering. Among the latter may be cited Henry and Benjamin Meyer on 21, S. Pankuk on 20, G. D. Welhousen on the northeast quarter of 20, and his brother William on the old home place on the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of 19. The father of these two, John Welhousen, has moved to Titonka, where he and Mrs. Welhousen are spending their remaining years. The father of the two Meyers, B. Meyer, died in 1900, and Anton Pankuk, the father of S. Pankuk, is also numbered with the dead.

On the northeast corner of 33 near the banks of the Little Buffalo there existed for several years a creamery that did a flourishing business. The German Valley Co-operative Creamery Company was organized and incorporated in the spring of 1806, the first board of directors being Kobes Tjaden, John Cain, R. L. Lamoreux, J. K. Rippentrop and P. E. Johnston. The creamery has not been in operation for some time.

Just across the road, east from the creamery site, Adam Fisher in the latter '&os or early 'gos put up a building and started a store. He sold out to F. A. Patterson after a few months, and the latter sometime later disposed of the store to Levi Good. In the meantime Louis Krause and Herman Tjarks had started a rival store. After a few months Good sold his stock to the new firm. Later Krause purchased his partner's interest and is still doing business at the old stand alone.

B. S. Pankuk was the first postmaster of the German Valley office. Later the merchants held the position. The office has been suspended for several years.

On the southwest corner of 26, about twenty years ago, the German Lutheran church edifice was erected and services were held there for many years. It is not

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used now and is rotting down. The principal organizers were John Helmers, John Bruns and Herman Franzen, who lived in the vicinity.

The German Reformed church was incorporated in the fall of 1897 by John Rippentrop, John Isebrands, H. U. Bockelmann and others. The pastor at that time was Rev. Daniel Schaefer. During the year 1912 a new parsonage and new church edifice were erected and paid for immediately. The present pastor is Rev. Geo. Haken, and the trustees are B. S. Pankuk, Henry Benken and Ube Ubben.

Henry Meyer, Henry Franzen and John Spear are the present township trus- tees; Henry Sonnenberg, clerk ; and H. U. Ubben, the assessor. The school offi- cers are Henry Meyers, president ; J. Sleeper, Dick Meyer, Bert Janssen, John Spear, Ben Meyer, Dick Baada, Herman Gonlow and Herman Tjarks. G. D. Welhousen is the secretary and Kobes Tjaden the treasurer. The teachers at present in the schools are Mae Christensen, Pearl Meyer, Mary Schneider, Gertie Welhousen, Florence Clement, Zella I .. Wise, Alta Clement, Jeannette Klugkist and Ollie Meyer.

RAMSEY TOW NS111P

Congressional township 98-28 became the civil township of Ramsey after those thirty-six square miles had belonged to other civil townships. Like all the ter- ritory north of the county seat, what is now Ramsey belonged to old Algona town- ship until the board of supervisors set it off to form a part of some other township.

The first change came when 98-28 became a part of Portland in October, 1869, a township that was twenty-nine miles long and six wide, and extended from Min- nesota south to include the present Plum Creek. In September, 1870, the east row of sections of 98-28 became a part of Collar township, but that order was soon rescinded. When Ramsey was first created in June, 1879, its size was very dif- ferent from what it is at present. It comprised the cast third of the present Ram- sey, Ledyard and Springfield, the west half of the present Lincoln and all of the present German except the southeast fourth. This arrangement, of course, left the west two-thirds of the present Ramsey and the territory north of it still be- longing to Portland.

The next change came in April, 1882, when Ramsey was enlarged by the addi- tion of the east half of the present Lincoln and all of Hebron. It was further en- larged in January, 1884, by the addition of the west two-thirds of the present Ramsey, Ledyard and Springfield. By this change 98-28 for the first time be- came wholly a part of Ramsey.

Ramsey was reduced to its present size as other townships from time to time were formed from portions of its large territory-German in 1887, Hebron in 1889, Springfield and Ledyard in 1891, and Lincoln in 1893. The name of the township was adopted in honor of Wayne Ramsey, a banker at Madison, Wiscon- sin, who owned a large tract of land in the large township when it was created.

There will never be any dispute as to who was the first settler in Ramsey town- ship. Norman Collar was not only the first to locate in Ramsey, but the first in all that region of territory. July 13, 1867, he arrived with his family from Illi- nois and settled upon his homestead on the southeast quarter of 24. With the family also came a nephew and niece of Mrs. Collar's.

These settlers were compelled to camp in the wagon until August 25th, by which time their sod house was completed. Sods were turned over by the break- ing plow and then cut into pieces small enough to handle and place in position for

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the crude sod structure. This was the kind of a home the first family locating in Ramsey had for several years. The Collar "sod tavern" was not only a conspicu- ous place of abode on the prairie, but was a place where travelers, claim seekers and others frequently took lodging. There they met with a cordial welcome and were royally entertained. Mrs. Collar was a good cook and made a fine hostess.

Norman Collar was reliable and practiced the principles of the Golden Rule. He became identified with the growth and progress of that portion of the county and was regarded as a leader in the affairs of the township. He frequently headed the local delegations to conventions, where he made friends, of all with whom he came in contact. He was chosen a member of the board of supervisors and served with satisfaction to his constituents.

Settlements formed at a very slow rate for several years after the first family located. Claim takers came and went, and some of them remained hardly long enough to make the acquaintance of any one. In fact it was ten years before there were groups of settlers in the township large enough to justify building a school- house. The little colony that clustered on section 13 in 1877, east of the Union slough and about a mile and a half north of the Collar place, was the first group that attracted attention.

Rev. J. Liesveld was the head of this colony that located in 1877. He was a Presbyterian minister and began at once to found a church. The influence he wielded was strong and his judgment was relied upon in business and political matters as well as in religious affairs. A little country village called Ramsey was started and its prosperity at that time seemed assured.

W. L. Green that year put up the first house in the village, one that for many years was pointed out as a landmark.

Peter G. Schneider, one of the colony, built a shop and commenced blacksmith- ing. He was the most active in the affairs of the township of any of that num- ber. He was an inveterate worker at the polls for a cause he espoused, and was fre- quently employed by those desiring to effect some measure to "carry the town- ship" on election day. T. W. Tinker and D. A. Duitman were also early settlers in the vicinity.

The Ramsey postoffice was established in 1877 and Schneider became the first postmaster. After three years the office was turned over to F. Esebrandt, who held the position for a couple of years and was then succeeded by John Meinburg, a well remembered settler who later spent several years at Bancroft conducting the Phoenix livery barn. B. F. Smith was the next to hold the office. After him came Adam Fisher and then the last one, A. G. Wortman, who also started a store.

B. F. Smith was as popular a citizen as the township ever claimed. He was jovial and companionable and at ease in any company. He too was a power in polit- ical campaigns that had to be considered by his opponents. He was elected a member of the board of supervisors and made a good official.

James L. Paine, of Algona, was the first to carry the mail between that place and Ramsey when the office was established. He made his trips twice each week by stage or hack and frequently had passengers along.

After three years Rev. Leisveld was succeeded as pastor of the church by Rev. A. Krebs, who remained only one year, until Rev. F. Schmidt arrived to take his place. The church went down after Germania was started.

The first schoolhouse in the township was built in the village in 1877, and was

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largely intended to be used as a town hall. The initial school was taught that sum- mer by Silas Scheneck.

The Kleist family were residents of the village for a while, but they soon moved away and others followed. A few old buildings and the grove are about all that can now be seen of the Leisveld-Schneider enterprise. The village went to decay according to Pete Schneider's opinion, because the general sentiment of the county was opposed to the presence of saloons.

It was Leisveld, Green and Schneider who agitated the matter of having Ram- sey township established. They went before the board in 1878 with a petition asking to have Ramsey set off, but they met with defeat. The next year they were more successful. When the township organized in 1879 Schneider was elected assessor and Case Wiltse one of the justices. Later when the township was di- vided, Wiltse became a resident of German.

Dr. G. H. Peters on 33 was chosen one of the county supervisors and thus had the same honor conferred upon him as was upon Norman Collar and B. F. Smith.

When referring to the old settlers the residents of Ramsey include those who came at any time before the middle eighties. John Loctu on 32 was one of the very carly homesteaders to locate. Herman Bruhns, who settled on the same section with Collar, is ranked also in that class. Henry Merrifield on 19 was making things lively in politics as early as 1880. Michael Winter on 23 was also among early comers to that section.

When Mike Sandt located on 28 he became the democratic leader of Ram- sey. He was also one of the carlier settlers. On the northwest corner of II the noted author and poet, Ole O. Bracke, selected his home farm.

J. B. Mousel, after living eight years on his farm, moved to Bancroft where he is an officer of the board of directors of the First National bank. He came in the spring of 1885. Dr. E. A. Howe was a prominent citizen in Ramsey before moving to Bancroft.

Several of the farmers are stockholders in town enterprises. For instance, Jacob Rahe on 6 is a stockholder in the Bancroft Creamery and in an elevator, while Andrew Bratland on 5 and J. Freark on 11 are stockholders in the cream- ery and elevator at Germania.

For enjoying life as one goes along Nicholas Scholtes on 17 ranks number one, and he has neighbors who make a close second.

The officers of the township are Henry Recker, clerk; Frank Froehle, as- sessor ; Joseph Rahe, Joe Rake and John Haupert, trustees. The school of- ficers consist of J. S. Freark, president; James Johnson, Joseph Rahe, Peter Erich. Henry Fox, Geo. Lester, John Tjaden, Nick Goche and James Vaske. The secretary is Henry Recker and the treasurer, James Recker.

The teachers doing service in the schools at the present time are Gertrude Putzier, Eva Sundstrom, Mary Sanftner, Caroline Seger, Alta Clement, Bar- bara Droessler, Anna Gaul and Mabel Saunders.

A short distance east of the Collar place, in the fall of 1854, the first stack of hay in the county made its appearance. It was put up by a government sur- veying crew of which D. A. Haggard, who for many years has been a resident of Algona, was a boy member.

The best known of all the marshy places in the county is Union slough, which passes through the eastern portion of the township and forms the head

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or source of a branch of the Blue Earth river. While its waters flow north- ward there are evidences that once the water went in the opposite direction. This is the opinion of the state geologists who have examined the direction in which the sloughs and ravines run into Union slough. It is their opinion, fur- thermore, that the slough was once an expansion of the river and was a quarter of a mile wide and more in places. During the lapse of centuries the expan- sion became filled with a vast accumulation of peat. In the early days that slough made the basis for fixing the boundary lines of townships, and affected the location of settlements. The wet lands along its borders also caused much contention with the swamp land company who claimed them because they were wet and unfit for cultivation.

GREEN WOOD TOWNSHIP AND BANCROFT

The thirty-six square miles of territory included in 98-29 have belonged in the past to Bancroft county and to Crocker county as well as to Kossuth. How the present north three tiers of townships were created into Bancroft county in 1851 ; how they became a part of Kossuth in 1855; how they were included in Crocker county in 1870; and how the supreme court on the test case blotted out the latter county and caused it again to become a part of Kossuth has been told in Chapter XIV.

The entire war history of the county had been made before settlements began to form in this northern territory. Early settlement history had been made along the river in Cresco, Irvington, Riverdale, Union, Portland and Plum Creek ten years before a single settler piled up the sod for his abiding place is what is now Greenwood township.

The year 1865 was an eventful one for this region of the county, and espe- cially for 98-29. It was that year when the first settlements began to cluster and make history for the future Greenwood. It was at that period when the land could be homesteaded and possessed by simply living upon it for five years and paying a small entry fee. The war had to be practically ended before set- tlers could be induced to locate at such a remote distance from the county seat and the river settlements.

In March, 1865, Captain D. D. Wadsworth and Lieutenant Pier came to the county, after being released from the army, and began prospecting for some large enterprise. The latter soon left for some other place. The captain, however, homesteaded the south half of the southwest quarter of 22, and the north half of the northwest quarter of 27.

L. K. Garfield also came in March, 1865, and homesteaded the northwest quarter of 21, and a little later Mrs. Garfield secured the quarter adjoining on the south.

In April, 1865, A. P. Buker arrived and chose the northeast quarter of 20 for his home, but his family did not come until in September.

John Hawkes, who came with Buker, homesteaded the southwest of 20. In the Garfield sod house the owner, Buker, and Hawkes all lived together until the Buker family came.

In May, 1865, the Geo. O. Austin family came and located upon the south-

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east quarter of 21. Several members of the family later became proficient teachers in the public schools.

Wm. Gibbon in July, 1865, chose for the home of his family the northeast quarter of 27, and his son, Joe, entered the south half of the northwest and the north half of the southwest quarter of 26.

When Nathan Hawkes came in September, 1865, he located upon the north half of the southeast quarter of 19 and Vesta Hawkes upon the north half of the southwest quarter of the same section. Cyrus Hawkes, who located upon the northwest quarter of 20, did not come until the following spring.

Samuel Sands arrived with his family during that year, 1865, and home- steaded the south half of the northeast and the north half of the southeast quar- ter of 35.

Thorn Connell in the fall of 1865 entered the east half of section 24 and located on that tract which now has upon it the eastern portion of Bancroft. The grove just east of the Phoenix hotel was planted by Mr. Connell.

During the winter of 1865-66, A. P. Buker taught the first school in the township. The school house was half cave and half sod on the hillside, on the west side of the river on Captain Wadsworth's land. Cyrus Buker of Swea City is the only person now in the county who attended that early-day school. .

Numerous other settlers came to the northern part of the county in 1865, but these parties are all that can now be recalled who settled in what is now Greenwood.

Nearly all of these 1865 settlers have crossed over the silent river. Mr. Austin is yet living and has his home in Bancroft. . Dr. Garfield and wife after leaving their farm lived a long time in Algona where he practiced medicine. Both now are gone as have also Buker, Sands, Searle, Gibbon and Connell.

The fate of Captain Wadsworth is not known to anyone in the county so far as the writer can determine. He used to come to Algona in the latter sixties to clean clocks and watches, but he left the county for Nebraska early in the seventies.

In November, 1867, Abner, a son of the Buker family, died. So far as known this was the first death in the township.

Daughters in the new countries, as well as in the old, occasionally get mar- ried. The first event of that nature in 98-29 was when Jane Gibbon became the wife of John Dundas, April 7, 1868. The well-remembered circuit rider, Sey- mour Snyder, officiated:

The next year after this event, Dr. Garfield departed from the usual custom of living in a sod house, and erected the first frame residence in the township of any pretensions.

These first settlers were in the prime of life when the year 1870 came. When they combined to promote a measure they were a power that was hard to resist. They were men of ability and fine intelligence, and had a much better education than most of the pioneers who settled the county.

In those days all the county north of the county seat belonged to Algona township. Such a condition did not suit these settlers. They asked the board of supervisors for a township of their own and kept at it until the board set off one for them twelve miles wide and seventeen miles long, comprising the present Greenwood, Seneca, Swea, Harrison, Eagle and Grant. This territory was set Vol. 1-43

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off in January, 1869, and was called Greenwood township. In September, 1870, Greenwood was assigned new boundaries and made to constitute all of the present Harrison, Springfield, Ledyard, the west row of Hebron sections, and the present Greenwood, except the east row of sections; but these east sections were added later to the township.

This large township lost much of its territory when Ramsey was estab- lished to include also a large territory. It was not until June, 1890, when Har- rison was created to include 99 and 100-29, that Greenwood was reduced to its present form and size.

It was during the period when Greenwood comprised its present territory, the present Seneca and all the territory north of them to the Minnesota line. that the agitators succeeded in having Crocker county established in 1870. I .. K. Garfield, Captain Wadsworth, R. I. Brayton and G. V. Davis constituted the quartet who engineered the project; and they had able and willing supporters for the measure.

Following the settlements made in 1865 there came during the next few years several men with their families who figured prominently in the affairs of the township in later years. Geo. V. Davis came to the township in June, 1869, and lived for a couple of years near the Samuel Sands homestead. The next year he became one of the boosters for the establishment of Crocker county. In the spring of 1872 he moved into what is now Swea township on his homestead, and in 1876 went to Algona and ran a hotel until 1877, when he moved back to his farm where he lived until he came to Bancroft in the fall of 1881.

O. A. Searle located upon the northwest quarter of 28 and Emerson Searle upon the eighty just south of him.

E. F. Clarke came in 1868 and secured the old Captain Wadsworth farm for a home, and soon became the Greenwood Center postmaster, a position that he held until ordered to move the office to Bancroft when the town started.

William Hunt, father of our well known citizens, Alva and Roswell Hunt, came with his family to the county in the latter 60's, but did not locate in Green- wood for several years after coming. They at first lived on the old Garfield homestead, and then later moved to the old Gibbon place which was later known as the Vaughn-Totten farm.

The Evergreen Preacher was the name applied to Rev. William Spell who was an early settler on the northwest quarter of 2. On his farm he had several hundred evergreen trees and used to sell them to his neighbors when they located years later.

Dan Neeling, on the southeast quarter of 36, and Shorty ( Albert) Hudson, on the southeast corner of 35, were long-ago settlers in the township.

The Greenwood Center schoolhouse, that stood near the residence of George O. Austin, was the most popular meeting place for public gatherings in the north end of the county for several years. It was in fact the township hall where live issues of the day were discussed. Even after Bancroft started, meetings were held there of such interest that the town's people attended.

The early schools in that region were usually taught by men of mature years and experience, and as a result they were well conducted. Few, if any, of the sub-directors took more pride in having a good school and having an up-to-date

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equipment than did Samuel Sands. It was a frequent remark of his that he would rather be sub-director than president of the United States.

Men were not the only ones in those days who had the courage to make things happen lively when necessary. Mrs. Sands was one of these. During a stormy night in 1868, while her husband was absent, she saw in front of the window a deer taking shelter from the storm. She went out, hissed two dogs on the shivering deer, and when they had it down she ran up and cut its throat. This killing was done at a fortunate time, when she had no meat in the house, and when her cupboard was bare.

Among the children of the early settlers who later became prominent in edu- cational circles and did effective teaching were Louise and Audell Austin, Cyrus Buker and Mattie Warner. The teachers doing service in the township in 1886 when the writer first visited the schools as county superintendent, were Ida Moulton, Anna Warner, Ida Davison, and Mrs. M. J. Hawkes. The directors were respectively D. W. Hunt, John Warner, John Peterson and Samuel Sands.

Greenwood has at times had residents with unusual names. Ole Olson New- house on section 12, in the early 80's, was one of them. On one occasion when he told his name to Dr. L. A. Sheetz, he also stated that his father's name was Ole Olson Oldhouse. Sheetz replied, "I suppose your grandfather's name was Ole Olson Hoghouse and your grandmother's Mrs. Ole Olson Smokehouse."

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History of Kossuth County, Iowa, Part 88

Author: Reed, Benjamin F Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 879

Author: Reed, Benjamin F
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 879