O'Day, Patrick

FROST, EADS, FOLEY, ALBRECHT, MCCLURE, ELLSWORTH, MORSE, ROURKE

Posted By: BCGS
Date: 1/8/2010 at 14:11:05

No history of the pioneer settlement of Bremer county would be complete without mention of the career of Patrick O'Day, who was the first settler in LeRoy township and who remained connected with agricultural interests of that locality from 1854 until his death. He was born in County Clare, Ireland, February 15, 1824, in the parish of Parteen, and he is a son of Patrick and Kate (Frost) O'Day. He emigrated to the United States in 1849, landing in New York on July 4th of that year and starting immediately for the west. He remained for about three months in Chicago and then went south, working for Captain J.B. Eads upon a wrecking boat at St. Louis and New Orleans. In June, 1854, he came to Bremer county, locating on section 2, LeRoy township, the first settler within its borders. He purchased land and for many years thereafter farmed this property, carrying forward the work of improvement and cultivation along progressive and modern lines. He accumulated large holdings, owning several hundred acres of land, and he became recognized as one of the substantial and prosperous agriculturists of this locality.

At Chicago, Illinois, in August, 1850, Mr. O'Day was united in marriage to Miss Mary Foley, a native of Ireland and a daughter of Hugh and Bridget Foley, both of whom were born in County Clare. Mr. and Mrs. O'Day became the parents of ten children: Mrs. Albrecht, of Sumner, Iowa; Mrs. McClure, of the same city; Henry, who operates the home farm; Mrs. Ellsworth, Mrs. Morse and Mrs. Rourke, all of Fredericksburg; Robert, a farmer in Chickasaw county; Warren, also engaged in farming in Chickasaw county; Hugh who died at the age of thirty-eight; and William, who lives at Everett, Washington. Mrs. O'Day survives her husband and makes her home in Sumner, where she is well known and highly respected and esteemed.

Patrick O'Day was a devout member of the Roman Catholic church and gave his political allegiance to the democratic party. He held various township offices and was at all times interested and active in public affairs, cooperating heartily in all progressive projects. He was one of the best known pioneer settlers of LeRoy township and he long bore an honorable and worthy part in the work of commuunity upbuilding and growth, so that his death was regarded as a distinct loss to the county in the ranks of its representative and able men.

History of Bremer County, Iowa Vol. II 1914