Pocahontas County, IA USGenWeb Project

Lincoln Township

In March of 1859, Lincoln township was attached to Lizard township. It was attached to Clinton township in 1861. In December of 1862 the south row of sections were attached again to Lizard township. By June 6, 1870 the balance of the township was again attached to Lizard township.

On June 4, 1872, it was removed from Lizard township and was established as Carter township. On July 8, 1873, the name was once again changed, this time to Lincoln township.

The name Carter was suggested by Henry C Carter, a weathly sugar refiner from New York City. He was the largest land owner in the township, with over 4000 acres and asked the township be named either Carter, Grace or Henrietta in honor of himself or one of his daughters. The settlers were not for this at all, even after Henry Carter offered $100 for the purchase of libraries for the public schools. Due to much patriotic ferver, every man who voted at the school election of 1873 voted to change the name to Lincoln, in honor of Abraham Lincoln.

All the odd numbered sections of the township were granted to the Dubuque & Pacific Rail Road Co. Nearly all the even numbered sections were sold in 1858.

Those noted as being homesteaders were:

• Boog, William - arrived in 1871 with his sons Frank W and Charles G.
• Dean, Thomas L - arrived in 1870
• Dooley, John - family arrived in 1870 settling in section 30. John was born in Ireland in 1827. He came to America in 1853 and located in Maryland. He later moved to Ohio, which is where he married Ellen Riley. They homesteaded in section 30 in the spring of 1870. They lived there until about 1880 when they moved to section 36 Dover township. After 1887 they moved to Fonda. He was active in the organization of the township and held several offices. They had nine children:
  1. Bernard F - who homesteaded in Day county, South Dakota
  2. Catherine - who married James Bell in 1889. They lived in Warren county. She died in 1895 leaving 4 children
  3. Michael J - who becamse the most prominent raiser of pure bred Poland Chinda hogs in the vicinity. His hogs won many prizes and were sought after by farmers who paid top dollar for them. In 1895 he was the democratic nominee for sheriff
  4. John W - who lived in Sioux City
  5. Mary A - who lived in Sioux City
  6. James - who lived in Minnesota
  7. Ellen E - a teacher, lives at home
  8. Patrick - who owned a farm in Dover township
  9. Bridget A - who married Daniel Burns and lives in Sioux City
  10. Joseph J - nominated for clerk of the district court in 1900. Now clerks in Fonda
• Harrold, John (brother of Thomas) - arrived on section 34 in 1870.
• Harrold, Thomas (brother of John)
• Hoover, Abram
• Kreul, John - arrived on June 12, 1869 with Bernard Stegge and Peter Niemand and their families, coming together in wagons from Highland, Iowa county, Wisconsin. These men homsteaded on section 32. They erected the first shanties in the township and were the only residents during the winter of 1869-1870.
  John Kreul was born in 1827, a native of Weseke, Germany. While in Germany, he married Helena Rosing in 1852. They came to America in 1862, settling in Highland, Iowa county, Wisconsin. His wife died at age 67 in 1897. Their seven children were:
  1. Baby - died in infancy
  2. Johanna - was born in Germany in 1857. In 1872 she married Henry Lampe
  3. Mary Catherine - was born in Germany in 1857. In 1880 she married Joseph E Pattee
  4. Bernard E - was born in Germany in 1859. In 1892 he married Maria McAlpin. Their children were Mami, Edward, Rosa and Florence and they lived in Pocahontas
  5. Gertrude - who married Frank Shuster in 1880. Their children are William, Andrew, John, Thomas, Lena, Anna, Mary, Gertrude, Joseph and Edward and they lived in Minnesota.
  6. Rosa - who married Thomas Lehoutz. They lived in Nebraska
  7. Annie - who married Nicholas Dozycimski in 1888. He was a native of Poland. Their children were Helen, Mary, Angie, Joseph and Fronica.
• Niemand, Peter H - arrived on June 12, 1869 with Bernard Stegge and John Kreul and their families, coming together in wagons from Highland, Iowa county, Wisconsin. These men homsteaded on section 32. They erected the first shanties in the township and were the only residents during the winter of 1869-1870.
  Peter was born in Germany. While in Germany he married and fathered two children. His wife (not named) died in 1892 "at a good old age". Their children are:
  1. John H - who was born in Germany in 1852. He came with his parents to America. He married Mary Klingbeil. He was active in public affairs of the township. They had five children, three of which lived. Ida, John and William.
  2. Augusta - who maried Diederick Beneke in 1873. They had two children, John and Henry, when Augusta died in 1881.
• Olson, Gustave - family arrived in 1872. He was a native of Sweden. They lived on his homestead in section 32 until about 1884, when he sold it to his brother John Olson. He also had a brother named Andrew Olson who lived in Grant township. He then moved to Colfax township, where he died in 1895. In 1883 he and his wife had five girls. They had also taken in his sisters son to raise. Four of the girls and the boy died of diptheria within a few weeks of each other. He had a son who lived, and two daughters who lived. One of the daughters married Theodore Lindstrum and lived in Bellville. The wife, son and other daughter lived in Colfax.
• Saylor, Christian M - noted as arriving in May, 1869, along with Abram Hoover and his brother. In 1870 C M Saylor built a story and a half house which served as part of his house until 1898. His wife and sons, Calvin B and Sanford, arrived in April after the house was completed.
  Christian M was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania in 1844, the son of John A and Sarah (nee Miller) Saylor. He had four older brothers, Jacob, Peter, Samuel and Edward. He also had two younger half brothers, Uriah and Mahlon. His father died when Christian was fourteen months old and his mother married his uncle, Joseph Saylor. He left the home of his uncle and his mother when he was 14 years old and sought his own education and employment. In 1865 he married Sarah Bitner. She was also a native of Somerset county, Pennsylvania. In 1869 he secured his homestead in section 32. The family moved onto the homestead in April, 1870. They raised dairy coes, and in 1897 they were the first to introduce cream separators to the township. They also had quite an orchard on the homestead. Their children were:
  1. Calvin B - who married Jennie V Lucas in 1887. She was a teacher.
  2. Sanford - second child, died at age four in 1873
  3. William J - who married Ida Crummer in 1897.
  4. Herbert B - attended Morning Side College to study medicine. He had been sick for 15 months when, in 1893, his appendix was removed in Chicago, saving his life.
• Springstube, William - his family arrived in 1871.
• Stegge, Bernard - arrived on June 12, 1869 with John Kreul and Peter Niemand and their families, coming together in wagons from Highland, Iowa county, Wisconsin. These men homsteaded on section 32. They erected the first shanties in the township and were the only residents during the winter of 1869-1870.

Those who arrived in 1871

• Loats, A A - and family.

Those who arrived in 1872

• Cain, Elisha K

Those who arrived 1873 - 1880

• Barger, William - and family
• Bartok, John - and family
• Beneke, Diederic - and family. Diederick was born in Germany in 1842, the son of Henry and Mary Beneke, and the brother of Rudolph. They came to Iowa in 1868. By 1880 Diederic was living in Lincoln township, on section 255. In 1873, while living in Bellville township he married Augusta Niemand, daughter of Peter Niemand. After their two children were born, John in 1876 and Henry in 1878 his wife died in 1881 at age 26. In 1882 Diederick married Amelia Julius. She was born in Germany in 1855. Their children were Mary, William, Bertha, Diederic, Gerrett, Arthur and Annie.
• Enfield, Mr
• Eral, Martin - and family
• Hronek, Frank - and family
• Olson, John - and family. John is the brother of Gustave, noted above. He was born in Sweden in 1851 and when he came to America he located in Webster county. In 1875 he located on 40 acres in section 31 of this township. His wife is not named, their children were Matilda, Edwin and Arthur. They also had a brother named Andrew Olson who lived in section 36, Grant township.
• Schmaing, Bernard - and family
• Tobin, William - and family. William was born in Germany to William and Anna Margaretta Tobin in 1844. In 1866 he married Catharina Wilms, who was born in Germany in 1845. In 1868 they came to Webster county, Iowa. By 1878 they were the first to move onto section 25 in Lincoln township. Their six children were:
  1. Mary Henrietta - who married George Schnug in 1890. The resided in Lake township.
  2. Bernhard William - was born in 1871. In 1895 he married Ettie Habben. They lived on Ettie's fathers farm in Lake township.
  3. Anna Eliza - who married Gerd Beneke, a resident of the township since 1890.
  4. Minnie C - at home
  5. Henry F - at home
  6. Catharina R - at home

Those who arrived in the early 1880's were;

• Embree, Asa F
• Fitzgerald, F F
• Miller, Theo
• Paddock, W D
• Pattee, John Frank - was born November 10, 1883 in Smithville, Maine. In 1850 he moved to Ohio and engaged in railroad building as he was a contractor. He married Mary F Ady in 1852. In the fall of 1856 they moved to Farrington, Illinois. Mary died here in 1867, leaving three children - Joseph Edward, William D and Charles F. In 1868 John Pattee married Lucinda Taylor and they removed to a farm in Boone county, Iowa. In March of 1878 they located in section 23 of Lincoln township. He served three years in the civil war. He was also deputy sherriff in the towns where they lived. He was sherriff of Pocahontas county at the time of his death. His second wife died in November of 1888. They had no children, other than the three by his fist wife Mary F Ady. The children were:
  1. Joseph Edward - who was born in 1855. He was a teacher. In 1880 he married Catherine Kreul and became proprietor of the Nemick hotel at Pocahontas. Their children were Mary, William, Rosella, Joseph, Adaline, Agnes and Frank L
  2. William D - was born in 1857. In 1884 he married Ella M Dean, daughter of Thomas L Dean. In 1889 they moved to Pocahontas where he engaged in the blacksmith trade. They had four children, Mary, George, Minnie and Nellie M when his wife died in 1899.
  3. Charles F - who married Fredericka Winegarten in 1895. Their children were Emma and Zeda. He engaged in the coal business.
• Pulley, Joseph S
• Reimer, John W
• Reinholtz, S E
• Russell, Patrick