Osceola Township-"Franklin County It’s Past & Present"-1869

ALDRED, MCCORMICK, BLAKE, DYER, BUTTERFIELD, SIFFERMAN, MCCANN, KAPPAS, WHITESIDE, FAHEY, RICHARDSON, WATERS

Posted By: cheryl Locher moonen (email)
Date: 2/3/2020 at 11:09:52

Dubuque Daily Times. Sunday, Apr 11, 1869. Dubuque, IA. Page: 2

Franklin County
It’s Past & Present

OCEOLA TOWNSHIP

This township was organized at the same time as Geneva Township, and was, like it, set off from Reeve Township. It includes one congressional township and a half-all of township 90, range 19, and south half of Tp. 90.20. The first settlement, as has been stated above, was made by one Dr. Aldred in 1853, at what was afterwards known as Down’s Grove, adjoining where the village of Ackley now stands in Hardin Co. The same reason a man named McCormick made a claim at what has since been known as McCormick’s or Blake’s Grove, a mile northwest of where Ackley is now is. Mr. C. sold his claim to one Wm. Dyer from Dyersville, in 1854, who soon after sold out his claim to Richard Blake, from Cook Co., Illinois, who moved out from the county in that year, together with Luther Butterfield and Patrick McCann, from the same place. Nicholas Sifferman and John Kappas came out about the same time from Freeport, Ill., and settled on the north side of McCormick’s or Blake’s Grove. Neither of the two latter now resides in the county. Mr. Butterfields died during the winter of 55 or’56, and Messrs. Blake and McCann yet reside at the grove. Mr. Blake has one of the finest farms in northern Iowa. His farm took the first premium of the Franklin County Agricultural Society in 1868. Some of the other large farmers in the township are James Whiteside, John Fahey, William Richardson, (one of the earliest settlers and just deceased), Alden Pattee, Truman Pattee and Mr. Waters.

Osceola Tp. Is advantageously situated, being adjoining Ackley-the north side of one of the streets in Ackely being in Osceola Tp. Farming lands bear a higher price in Franklin County, and it probably has less poor land in it than any other township in the county.