Otisco, Minnesota

Samuel Leslie, one of the leading farmers of this town, is a native of Essex County, N. Y., born September 9, 1837. He came to Minnesota in November, 1866, and helped plat the city of Waseca in the spring and summer of 1867, and lived in that beautiful city until about 1870, when he moved to Otisco Township, on section 4, where he now resides, and where he has 240 acres of ver}^ fine land. His buildings are first class, and are surrounded with a fine grove and orchard. All this jjrosperity is the result of his own industry, he having settled here on the wild prairie, and by labor and perseverance he has made a beautiful home. He was married September 23, 1860, to Mar}' E. Sisson, and the}' have been the parents of ten children, seven of whom are living : Jennie M., born December 6, 1861, married to C. G. Mosher, February 10, 1886, and has one child, Ruth F., born in December, 1886 ; Frank J., born October 6, 1863; Herbert J.. February 7, 1866; Ptalph B., Apnl 7, 1869; Mark P., June 6, 1871, and Ella, July 12, 1S75.

Passage source: History of Steele and Waseca Counties, Minnesota : an Album of History and Biography, Embracing Sketches of the Villages, Cities, and Townships : Educational, Civil, Military, and Political History : Portraits of Prominent Citizens, and Biographies of Old Settlers and Representative Men, published 1887.

Joseph T. Dunn, who resides on his highly cultivated farm on section 4 in this township, is a native of Park County, Ind., born November 21, 1855. He is the son of William and Mary J. (Baird) Dunn, both natives of Ireland, the former born March 31, 1823, and died March 20, 1884; the latter born in 1819, and died in September, 1871. When Joseph was but one year old the family came to this county, settling on section 35, Woodville Township, where they were among the earliest settlers. In this county he was reared, and he remained at home with his parents until after the death of his mother, when he commenced life for himself. March 21, 1877, he and Lena Beck were united in marriage, at Owatonna. The following summer he rented a farm in Wilton Township, where he raised one crop, and then bought eighty acres of land in Woodville Township, where he lived until the spring of 1881. He then purchased 120 acres on section 24, Otisco, but five years later he bought the place where he now lives, selling the farm on section 24 to James M. Dunn. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn are the parents of three children : Joseph II.. born January 9, 1878; Anna, December 31, 1879, and Martha, November 2, 1SS3. Mr. Dunn does a general farming and stock-raising business, and owns a fine horse of the Norman Percheron breed.

Passage source: History of Steele and Waseca Counties, Minnesota : an Album of History and Biography, Embracing Sketches of the Villages, Cities, and Townships : Educational, Civil, Military, and Political History : Portraits of Prominent Citizens, and Biographies of Old Settlers and Representative Men, published 1887.

Gustaf Johnson was born in Sweden, November 25, 1831, and lived in that country until coming to the United States. He was united in marriage with Johanna Johnson, a native of Sweden, born in 1831. They came direct from their native land to Otisco Township, where Mr. Johnson purchased eighty acres of land on section 2, where he now lives. They are the parents of six children : Christina, born July 6, 1859; Charles, born April 24, 1861; Oscar, born January 28, 1864 ; Hilda, born August 21, 1866; John, born February 5, 1871, and Edwin, born December 15, 1872. All are living in this township except Oscar, who is in Idaho. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Lutheran Church, and a Republican in politics.

Passage source: History of Steele and Waseca Counties, Minnesota : an Album of History and Biography, Embracing Sketches of the Villages, Cities, and Townships : Educational, Civil, Military, and Political History : Portraits of Prominent Citizens, and Biographies of Old Settlers and Representative Men, published 1887.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Otisco Township - it names this place 5 more 5 times.