September 2009 - Kossuth County Genealogical Society

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A Publication of the
Kossuth County Genealogical Society
c/o Algona Public Library
210 North Phillips Street, Algona, IA 50511
Email: kossgensoc@hotmail.com
Website: www.kossuthcountygenealogicalsociety.com
Volume III, Fall Issue
September, 2009
The Final Installment of the
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF EFFIE ROBINSON
We pick up the story of the Rickard family in approximately 1878
During the following summer Grandfather passes on and mother inherited some money. She
bought 108 acres to the west of us (the Jensen place) and 60 acres to the east from Mart Preice, this was
formerly part of the Haynes farm. The old house was enlarged and remodeled. Father had long since
disposed of Tom and Jerry. A span of heavy work horses had taken over but as these were needed for
the regular farm work he purchased two yoke of oxen and began blasting and hauling rock with which
to wall up the cellar. There were many large boulders on the west quarter. Stone masons, carpenters,
and hired men made a big family and it was a very busy summer.
Among the new settlers was a young man from Minnesota who bought 100 acres which lay
south of us just across the railroad. The next season father rented some of this land and broke new sod
sowing it to flax. I think father rented this a couple of seasons when the young man decided to farm it
himself. For awhile he boarded with a Scotch couple just east (the Dingley farm) and later built a small
frame house and a straw shed and kept batch at his own house. A cousin of mine, Byron Anderson,
batched with him. This young man began making
frequent calls at our home while Byron proceeded to
call at the Witham home. The winter of 1881-82 was
extremely cold and with heavy snow-drifts which
were twenty feet high in many groves. The houses
were often hidden from sight. Stairs were out in the
drifts to reach the top of them and in some cases
tunnels through the drifts connected house and
stables. Among the new families were quite a number
of young folks, and in spite of the cold and snow we
attended singing school, literary society, sleighing
parties, revival meetings at Algona and so forth.
Sidney Hallowell was at our place and he had quite a
case on the school-ma’am, Josie Carlon, from down
Irvington way. March 28 th , 1883, there was a double
wedding at the Witham’s: Byron and Jennie, Edna and
Frank Lull. In June Nathan and I were married at the
Chester Rickard
home. There were around sixty guests. The wedding dinner was served at two long tables in the north
room upstairs. Later we went to our home crossing the railroad track (there was no made crossing)
almost opposite the house. Our conveyance was the old stand-by, the farm wagon. We had a spring
seat which was a luxury at the time as most people had only a board laid across the wagon box

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cushioned with an old tattered quilt or maybe a sack filled with hay. In the back of the box were six
cane seat chairs, gift from the Potters, and other wedding gifts, dishes, silverware, etc. At that time
Nathan was milking nine cows that he rented for $9.00 each per year, he keeping the calves. This was
big interest on a small investment for at that time a good cow could be bought for $25.00 or $30.
Having finished the usual round of chores we returned to the old home. In the meantime the tables had
been taken down, the room cleared, violins brought forth, and we danced till three in the morning.
About a year earlier Dr. Potter had purchased a farm two miles south and built what was then
considered a nice home. He retired from his practice at Gillan (in southeast Iowa). His wife was a
cousin of father’s and we called her Aunt Thankful. The Dr. had a brother, Sherman, and two married
sons, Orance and Laurance living on the flats known as Crawfish Bottoms. The Dr. was not permitted
to rest for long and soon had a large practice all over the country side, which continued up to his last
illness brought on by long hours of work and exposure to cold winter winds.
Now settlers from Illinois were arriving almost daily. Another cross country railroad had been
built and the towns of Rodman, West Bend, Ottosen, Bode, etc. had sprang forth. Mostly German
Catholics were settling near West Bend and Whittemore and also Emmetsburg. The country was fast
passing by the pioneer stage. Algona was becoming a town of pretty homes. Country homes and farm
barns were being built all about us. A fine brick court house now occupied the “square,”
Congregational and Methodist churches were outstanding in size and beauty and the population was
now 2,500 to 3,000.
The Indians still tracked by both spring and fall. Their winters were spent in the big woods of
Wisconsin, but in the spring they went to the Dakotas where they hunted elk, deer and buffalo. These
were now friendly and we were no longer afraid.
Father and Mother tired of so much work. The added acreage necessitated keeping help most,
if not all, the year. Threshing the grain often took a week. This was a time when the men changed
work coming with teams, wagons and bundle racks. The women also helped each other going from
place to place all through the threshing season preparing meals for 25 or 30 men. This meant a lot of
work and those were the days when women baked their bread, churned their butter; pies, cakes and
cookies were made at home also. Chickens were dressed and fried or maybe chicken pie was on the
menu one day or two. Ice cream was often made in the afternoon by a hand-turned freezer and with
cakes found its place on the supper table. Extra beds were to be made as the three men who owned the
machine spent the night where ever they were threshing. Corn picking meant a month or six weeks of
help also. So the folks sold the west farm of 108 acres to a Mr. Murtha.
Sometime around 1902 a colony moved from around Hobart to Minor, N. Dak. Father, Mother
and Hardy joined the colony and took homesteads three miles south of Berthold, N. Dak. They were
here about two years when they sold their homestead rights and came back to the old place. Later
Hardy was married and father and mother were alone on the farm. Old age was creeping up on them
and mother was no longer able to keep up the home. In 1912 they came to Spencer, Iowa, to make their
homes with Nathan and I. Hardy rented the farm for two years then bought one of his own between
Algona and Sexton. Roy Bjustrom lived there a year then Chester and family moved from Arnold’s
Park on to the farm and at this writing, around twenty years later, are still in possession. Mother passed
away December 7 th , 1916, at the age of 84, Father, November 20 th , 1824 (sic), being past his 94 th
birthday. Years of privation and hardship lay back of their lives, but they lived to see results from their
labors and were happiest when they lived them again in memory.
Most of their neighbors and early friends passed on before they did and they were often lonely
for them. These are a few high lights in the history of the Rickard family as I remember them. Looking
back over these 78 years of life recorded here (as I have passed my 80 th birthday) there were rich
experiences mingled with joy and sorrow, discouraging times, many blue days but I am sure the bright
ones out-numbered them all. It’s been a great privilege to live again the by-gone days to recall the
happenings of the years, only a few of which are recorded here. There are so many experiences rich in
memory which can never be expressed either by word of mouth or by pen and ink. Most of the old

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friends have crossed the “Great Divide.” Why wait I here: I cannot tell. Someday I too shall sail into
the harbor of the “Eternal City” and shall understand.
(Signed) Effie I. Robinson
December 1944
← From the 12-13-1916
edition of the
Algona Upper Des Moines
From the 11-27-1924
edition of the
Kossuth County Advance →
Barry Rickard would be most interested in hearing from any
family members or anyone with knowledge of the Rickard family.
He can be contacted at b_rickard@hotmail.com

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Many people have used the summer
months to do some traveling to collect
genealogy information. We hope you
have been lucky to find some new info
that you have been searching for. As
fall settles into winter, take some time
to catalog your new finds.
We are pleased to welcome Connie
Hume O’Kane as a speaker at our
meeting scheduled for October 12 th .
Connie is the author of several family
history books including The
Raduege/Radig/Radick Family of
Wisconsin, Iowa and California and The
Family of Michael August Krause 1823-
1898, copies of which she has
generously donated to the KCGS
library. Her presentation is entitled
“Publish or Perish” and its topic will
center on leaving your research in a
written form so that information won’t
“perish” with you. Connie will also
share a couple of true stories of
experiences she had while researching.
The evening should be both entertaining
and informative. Again, our October
meeting is on the 12 th and will take
place in Room D at the Algona Public
Library at 7 p.m. Hope you can join us
and be sure to bring a friend.
Joan Leaneagh Wright recently
presented KCGS with a series of farm
directories from the late 1940’s and
early 1950’s to copy and sell as a
fundraiser for the society. These books
were originally published by the
Directory Service Company of Algona.
We are currently in the process of
copying them and preparing them for
sale. It is our hope that they will be
available sometime next year. In
addition to the information provided
regarding citizens who lived in the
country, we have enjoyed seeing all of
the ads for businesses, the majority of
which are no longer in existence. To
whet your appetite, we have included
two pages of the 1951 Kossuth County
Farm Directory in this newsletter. The
first page is a directory of the
individuals who worked at the
courthouse and the second is an ad ran
by the Kossuth County Farm Bureau
listing the officers and directors for
1951.
As mentioned in the last newsletter,
we have been unable to find anyone
who is willing to fill vacant offices. In
addition, no one has stepped up to serve
on a program planning committee.
Unfortunately, that means that after our
November meeting this year the society
will no longer conduct monthly
meetings. KCGS will continue to
function through the board of directors.
Quarterly newsletters will still be
published and we hope to continue to
gather reference materials of all kind for
our library. Our faithful research
secretary, Nancy Yeoman, will continue
to provide assistance to anyone needing
help in finding obituaries or other
information on an elusive relative.

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From the 1951 Kossuth County Farm Directory
FrFr

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This month we look at German Township. This is an excerpt taken from Chapter XXXIII of the
History of Kossuth County published in 1913 and written by Benjamin F. Reed:
GERMAN TOWNSHIP
German township never had any larger territory than 98-27, its present size, although
that territory belonged in turn to Algona, Collar and Wesley townships, and one-fourth of it to
Buffalo before it became a township of its present name. While the territory belonged to
Algona in September, 1870, it was made a part of Collar, which contained 103 sections. Then
in June, 1872, the board made it a part of Wesley, which extended up range 27 to Minnesota.
Then in June, 1879, the board made the north half and the southwest quarter of 98-27 a part of
Ramsey, leaving the southeast quarter to remain with Wesley. When Buffalo was created in
September, 1884, this southeast fourth went to that township. It remained with Buffalo until
German was set off in September 1887, to comprise 98-27. Thus Ramsey lost three-fourths of
this territory and Buffalo the other fourth.
Case Wiltse has the credit for having been the first settler on the soil of German, though
at the time it belonged to Algona township. He came in the spring of 1871 and selected for his
homestead the extreme southwest quarter section in the township on 31. He had Joseph
Cunningham and J.P. Gray break up twenty acres for him at once, and then returned to Black
Hawk county where he had left his family. During the following fall he arrived with this
family, but having no house in which to live, staid that winter in the sod cabin with the
Hartshorn family, 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 happened March 1,
1874, when the daughter Effie was born.
Soon after the Wiltse family located others made their appearance, some staying 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 frequent delegate to the county conventions.
Others who came about the time that Meyer did were E. Dressman, 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

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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.
(From the Dorothy Climer news clippings collection)

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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 1896, 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 ‘80s or early
‘90s 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 used now and is
rotting down. The principal organizers were John Helmers, John Bruns and Herman Frnaze,
who lived in the vicinity.
The German Reformed church was incorporated in the fall of 1897 by John Rippentrop,
John Isebrands, H.U. Boekelmann 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 trustees; Henry
Sonnenberg, clerk; and H.U. Ubben, the assessor. The school officers 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 L. Wise, Alta Clement, Jeannette Klugkist and
Ollie Meyer.
WEBSITES OF INTEREST
http://buffalocenter.newspaperarchive.com –Buffalo Center, Iowa newspapers online. No
user name or password is necessary.
http://titonkapubliclibrary.newspaperarchive.com – Titonka, Iowa, newspapers online.
User name is titonka and the password is archive.
Be sure to check them out!
Do you have favorite genealogy websites?
Please send them to us so we can share the sites with our members.

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Recent Additions to the
Genealogy Room:
Clippings:
Kossuth County Obits – 1993
Titonka Topic Clippings – 1995-1996
Titonka Topic Clippings – 1997-1999
Family Stories:
The Forgotten Generation of WWII
Cemetery Books:
Apostolic Christian Cemetery
Blakjer Lutheran Cemetery
Buffalo Township Cemetery
Dammann Cemetery
Fenton Township Cemetery
Fenton Methodist Cemetery
Garfield Township Cemetery
German Lutheran Cemetery
German Township Cemetery
Good Hope Lutheran Cemetery
Laurel Hill Cemetery
Lotts Creek Lutheran Cemetery
Lutheran Cemetery-Swea City Cemetery
LuVerne Township Cemetery
Olena Mound Cemetery, Buffalo Center
Plainview Cemetery
Plum Creek Cemetery
Portland Township Cemetery
Ramsey Reformed Cemetery
Ramsey Township Cemetery
Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
St. Benedict Catholic Cemetery
St. Joseph’s Cath. Cemetery (St. Joe)
St. Matthew’s Cemetery
St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery
St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery
Swea Township Cemetery
Union Township Cemetery
These books contain information about
the cemeteries and also obits of some of
the deceased buried there.
Do you have items to donate to
KCGS?
Please consider KCGS if you have any
of the following:
High school yearbooks from any high
school located in Kossuth County
Community centennial/anniversary
books
Church centennial/anniversary books
Family histories
Plat Books
Biographies of Kossuth County
residents
FOR SALE
KOSSUTH COUNTY, IOWA
Death Record #1 - 1880-1897
KOSSUTH COUNTY, IOWA
Death Record #2 – 1897-1919
Transcribed from notes taken from
original record
1896 KOSSUTH COUNTY
PLAT BOOK
Printed in black & white
with index
Each $25 + tax and P&H
To order your copies,
contact Jean Kramer at
jkramer1976@hotmail.com
or KCGS by mail
October is Family History Month

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KOSSUTH COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
The Kossuth County Genealogical Society was incorporated in June of 2007 and is a chapter of the
Iowa Genealogical Society. The goal of our members is to archive the family records of Kossuth
County, Iowa, and make them available to the general public. We collect and maintain genealogy
material which is stored in the genealogy room at the Algona Public Library. We do research and
answer queries regarding Kossuth County and its residents. We hold regular monthly meetings with a
variety of programs and guest speakers and hold workshops. The society also publishes a newsletter
several times throughout the year. To submit items for publication in newsletter, please e-mail to
kossgensoc@hotmail.com including “newsletter” in the subject line or mail items to KCGS, c/o
Algona Public Library, 210 North Phillips Street, Algona, IA 50511.
MEMBERSHIP:
Dues are $10 per year individual/$15 couple and run from March 1 to the last day of February.
Membership includes subscription to the newsletter (one per membership). In addition to
membership dues, KCGS welcomes donations, both of money and/or genealogical materials.
MEETINGS:
The Society meets in Room D of the Algona Public Library at 7:00 p.m. the second Monday of each
month except December unless otherwise notified. The annual meeting is held each March.
RESEARCH CHARGES:
The Society charges a minimum of $5 for one-half hour of research and $10 per
hour thereafter, plus copying costs and postage. Your research requests can be
mailed to KCGS at the address listed on the front of the newsletter or can be
submitted via email to Nancy Yeoman at ncyeoman3@hotmail.com. When the
materials requested have been located, a bill will be sent to you and upon
payment receipt, the materials will be mailed to you. As a member of KCGS,
you are entitled to submit queries for publication in the newsletter free of
charge. If you are not a member of KCGS, there is a $5 charge per query. (See the section “How to
Submit a Query” in this newsletter).
________________________________________________________________________________
Application for Membership:
Send this application and the annual dues to Kossuth County Genealogical Society, c/o Letty
Henriksen, P.O. Box 16, Lone Rock, IA 50559. Donations are also welcome.
Name: __________________________________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________________________________
City: __________________________________ State ________ Zip Code ____________
Phone: _______________________ Email: ____________________________________
Surnames Researching: _____________________________________________________
Amount $_________
Year: ____________
Check #: __________
Date Received: _____
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