Vol. 1 of the 1914
Delaware County History pgs. 297-300
CHAPTER XXVI
ONEIDA TOWNSHIP
Congressional township 89,
range 4, was organized September
29, 1855, and named Oneida. It is bounded on the
north by Elk, on the east by Bremen, on the south by Delhi and on the west by Delaware townships and the
beauties of its prairies and richness of soil early attracted the pioneers
seeking homes in this great state. In and near the timber along Plum Creek the
first locations were made, but it was not long before the settlers realized in
full the value of the prairie soil and in the course of a few years the plains
were dotted with the buildings of prosperous and contented farmers.
Plum Creek, the Maquoketa's largest affluent in Delaware County, with its ramifying
branches, extends to the northern part of this township on the east and the
north half. The soil is thin in some parts of the township, rock ledges showing
near the surface. Sands that bear evidence of having been carried by winds in
the glacial period appear near Earlville and pretty generally throughout the
township. On section 7, in a low ridge, there are from four to six feet of sand
resting on an old soil bed. However, Oneida Township has some of the finest
farms in the county; a general air of prosperity is noticeable on every hand.
The first person to take up a residence
in this locality was William Van Order, but upon what section has not been
determined. It is known, however, that a brother-in-law, named Wilson, lived with him. Wilson was, in the words of a
certain strenuous ex-president, "an undesirable citizen," whose bad
reputation led Van Order to remove to another part of the country. Wilson
finally was shot by settlers whose horses had been stolen, presumably by him, and
he was buried, so it is said, in Adams Township,
where he met his death.
Andrew J. Rector came early. He was a
North Carolinian by birth. In 1849 he arrived in Delaware County from his adopted state,
Indiana, and located on a farm in this township,
where he and his bride built a home and lived there many years. It was in this
house the first election was held in Oneida Township
after its creation, the place having been designated for the
purpose by County Judge F. B. Doolittle. Mr. Rector died in 1904.
A. S. Scott and family emigrated from Ohio in 1851 and located in
this township on section 13, near Almoral. A. R.
Scott came in 1853 and some years later settled on section 10.
J. A. G. Cattron was
one of the foremost men in Oneida Township. He removed from Indiana in 1854 and with his
family settled on section 2. He was
prominently identified with township affairs and held several offices. Mr. Cattron was also a great church man and one of the founders
of the Methodist Society in this vicinity. He was trustee and one of the
incorporators of the Earlville Methodist Episcopal Church. A man of good
judgment and industrious habits, he accumulated several hundred acres of land
and all in all, was a good citizen.
William Cattron came
to the township with his brother John in 1852. They first stopped at Delhi and from there walked
across the prairie and chose land on section 2, which they entered. They then
returned to Laporte County, Indiana, from whence they
brought their families to the new home in Oneida Township.
Six months later, William sold his interest in the claim to his brother, and located in Elk Township. John Cattron built a log cabin on the prairie claim, hauling the
lumber from Guttenburg.
The last Government land unclaimed by settlers
was entered by E. B. Conger and James Jones, who came to the township in 1853.
Mr. Conger's father was with the party.
Among others who came this year were James Ball, William Hefner, I. R.
Williams and Joel Seger.
James Ball, still living, as has been mentioned,
came to this township in 1855. He entered a tract of land, part of which
is within the limits, of the Town of Delaware, and built a small
frame residence. He prospered in his undertakings as farmer and live-stock
dealer and is now taking the shady side of life gracefully and happily.
John Cruise and son by the same surname,
settled in Oneida Township in 1853, when the
country was wild and still meandered by bands of Indians, who temporarily
camped in the groves close by their cabin. The elder Cruise lived to be over
eighty years of age. The younger man became prominent in the county government, serving as sheriff
three successive terms, securing his first election to that office in 1861. He
became a large land owner, was an extensive breeder and raiser of live stock,
carried on dairying and was generally an active, wide-awake citizen and is now a
resident of Manchester and at the age of
seventy-seven operates his own automobile.
Jasper S. Hunt settled in this township
in the early '50s and for many years resided on section 32. Mr. Hunt was one of
the most active in organizing the township in 1855.
John P. Fear and D. M. Smith became identified
with Oneida Township in 1852, settling near
the present Village of Delaware.
William Hockaday came
to Delaware County from Dupage County, Illinois, and settled in Oneida Township, married a Miss Rogers
and to them were born eight children, five boys and
three girls. Mr. Hockaday had an old team and a few
dollars in his pocket when he came to Iowa. Now he is one of Delaware County's many retired farmers.
He served in the One Hundred and-Forty-first Illinois Infantry is a member of
the G. A. R. and of the Jones Mill Grange and while his home is now in
Manchester, Iowa, where he spends his summers, for the past three seasons he
has with his wife and a few Delaware County friends spent the winters in
Southern California.
E. A. Seger was
born in the State of New York and came to this county in 1854, with his father,
Joel Seger, L. G. Seger,
another son of Joel, came at the same time.
William E. Wilson settled in the township
in 1854. One Pierce also settled here in the same year and bought eighty acres
of land, for which he paid $700— .a big price for the time.
Walter S. Sanderock,
a native of England, emigrated
to the United States in 1845, and to this
county in 1855, locating in Oneida Township.
W. G. Strickland removed from Massachusetts to this county in 1856
and settled on section 11, this township. At the time of his locating here he
had a wife and two children.
James F. and Electa B.
Enos, with their son, James B. Enos,
settled here in 1856 and entered land, upon which the family resided and
prospered for many years.
In the spring of 1856 several families of the Congregational faith
came in, among whom were Rev. J. A. Kasson, Rev. H. N. Gates, Daniel B. Noble,
L. O. Stevens and F. W. Dunham. They
made a little settlement on and near
section 11. This was called Stafford
Colony, which later became known as Almoral (See Almoral).
Joseph Dunham, father of F. W., J. B., Buel and Abbie Dunham came from
Franklin County, Vermont, and located at Almoral in Oneida Township in 1856.
F. W. Dunham was the first postmaster at Alrnoral, afterward became principal of the Earlville school and later of the Manchester schools. His children,
both of whom are now living, are Judge George W. Dunham, Manchester, and Mrs. Laura Barrett
of Vermilion, South Dakota. Mr. Dunham died many
years ago, but his widow, who several years after became Mrs. Sanborn, still
resides at Manchester and is dearly loved by
all who know her.
J. B. Dunham, usually called
"Bicknell," succeeded his brother, F. W., as postmaster at Almoral and continued to hold that office until his death a
few years since. He was one of Oneida Township's best men. His widow
now resides at Manchester and his two sons at Oneida.
J. B. Taylor came in 1855. George M. Earl, William
Everton and Benjamin F, Kahl came in 1857. Of course
there are many others who located in the township this year and the immediate
years succeeding, but even if their names were at hand, want of space will not
permit mention of them here. However, in the second volume detailed sketches
of most of the prominent pioneers will be found.
VILLAGE OF EARLVILLE
The original Town of Earlville, first known as Nottingham, was laid out on sections 35 and 36, in October, 1857, for the
Iowa Land Company, by its president, R. B. Mason. The plat was filed for record
in the county recorder's office on the 22d day of the month mentioned.
The village was named Nottingham, in honor of one of the
leading officials of the railroad company, then first operating within its circumscribed limits.
The first person to locate on the land
here was a man named Downer, who came in 1857, and remained but a short time.
He disposed of his interests to George M. Earl who, accompanied by Henry
Bentley, arrived in the locality that year. Bentley did not stay long and
before leaving sold his share in the land to Earl, whose name is now dignified
as the appellation for the second largest and important town in Delaware County.
Joel Seger located in
the new town in 1853 and was the first carpenter in the community. He built the
first schoolhouse in the place, a small frame structure.
There is no record or account of anyone
following Seger onto the future townsite
until 1857, when the Dubuque & Sioux City (now Illinois Central)
reached this place. That year the townsite was laid
out on the Earl land and settlements therein
were quite numerous. On December 10, 1857, the first train
arrived in the growing trade center and both the postal authorities and railroad company changed the name to Earlville. The old name
of Nottingham clung to the place and in 1861, Judge Bailey of
the County Court, enforced the name on the place by a judicial order. However,
this was changed to Earlville at the time of the incorporation of the village
as a town later on.
The first mercantile establishment here was
opened by Benjamin Thorpe, Sr., in the spring of 1857. He kept a general line
of goods then in demand by his patrons, and soon after he had established a
good trade. F. Bates began in the same line of business in a building, the
upper story of which was used as a hall, which was the first one in the town.
This hall was used for many purposes, including religious services of the sects
then recently organized.
Earlville soon became a leading trading point
and grain market, the railroad facilitating transportation to a degree
scarcely looked for by the settlers, and in 1858 Benjamin Thorpe built a
warehouse for the storage of grain, which came in from the fertile farms many
miles around. Within a short time two more grain depositories were built. But
so much grain began seeking the markets in the east that they became
inadequate for the purpose and an elevator was built in 1861, by J. S. Harris
and Joseph Deiley. This was one of the three
elevators on the line of the railroad at that period. In 1864, the elevator
passed into the hands of Josiah Tilson and later Hersey & Company became proprietors. The latter firm
built another elevator in 1875, with a capacity of 15,000 bushels, being
erected on the foundations of an elevator built by Plersey
& Company, destroyed by a cyclone in 1869, the year it was put up.
By the year 1877, Earlville was well on the road
towards reaching its ambition to become one of Delaware's important marts and
had dry-goods and general mercantile establishments, groceries, shoe stores,
harness shops, hardware stores, wagon and carriage factories, blacksmith
shops, furniture stores, jewelers, druggists, physicians, milliners, tailors,
coopers, butchers, a livery stable, established by J. B. Taylor, first in the
town and still in operation by a son; and other lines of business, including a
newspaper, an indispensable luxury in a community of intelligent people.
Becky
Teubner, Contributor
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