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Victor Township lies in the northeast corner of the
county, west of the Sisseton reservation and north of the military reservation
and at present includes a strip three miles wide lying between it and the
military "reservation. The western part is quite level, while the eastern part extends up into the Coteaus. The principal part of the land in the hills is good farming land, free of stones and nearly all settled. There are five coulees emerging from the hills, four of which contain timber. Chas. Bailey, mentioned elsewhere, was the first settler on section 12. Peter Sirai, a native of France, immigrated to America in 1871, selected his present home, section 21, in February, 1882, and in May the next spring took possession with his family, having built a log hut. Jno. Sirai, a brother to Peter, settled on section 27. Albert Dechan and Geo. Cloughy came the same time and settled on sections 14 and 15. Henry Storck, from Missouri, settled on section 14, May, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Cloughy both died in 1884. A Mr. Shorey located, as near as we can learn, on section 11, sometime in 1882. New Year's day, 1883 he took poison, then stabbed himself, and finally to end his life shot himself. He was an old bachelor, and was found dead in his shanty, and from the appearance of things in his room he tried all of above mentioned ways to end his life. The writer was unable to learn anything more concerning Mr. Shorey, as those now living in the neighborhood did not settle there until the following spring. Mrs. Cloughy being of Indian blood her family of children were admitted and taken care of on the Indian reservation. In 1884 Dechan sold out to Storck and moved to the Standing Rock country. D. B. Marble settled on section 22, July 1, 1882. He was born in Shirly, Me., near Moorehead Lake. This we believe constituted the settlement in 1882. A large number located their claims that summer but did not move here until the spring of '83. The first settlers all located in the timbered coulees where they had spring water and plenty of fuel. These locations are romantic and appear much more pioneer-like than the prairie homes. All of the settlers here came in from the north, Lisbon and Milnor being their nearest railroad points. In the summer of '83 all of the valley land in the township was taken, while the hills were settled the last two years, principally by Scandinavians. Henry Swart, from River Falls, Wis., section 22 Fred Ketchum and David Davis, from Minnesota, section 15. David Dobell, from Litchfield, Minn., section 11. L. Archer, from Green Co., Iowa, section 3. Samuel Ellsworth, from Minn., section 3. Wm. T. Jackman, from Pierce Co., Wis., section 4. Fred Jackman, section 10. Uzell Leffingwell, from Kans., section 4. E. A. Bacon, from Wisconsin, section 5. Alfred E. Johnson, from Montreal, Canada, section 17. Archie Darrow, from Wright Co., Minn., section 5. Mrs. H. Dean, from Wright Co., Minn, section 6. C. N. Cooper, originally from Ashtabula, Ohio, came here with his sons, E. A. and A. E., from Wright Co., Minn., located in '82 on sections 6 and 7, but did not settle here until '83. John Hanson, from Stevens Co., Minn., section 7. Albert S. Masters and brother, G. N., from Prince Edwards Island, settled on sections 21 and 29. Albert Meach, O. R. Hildreth and A. B, Stewart, all from Hume Co., N. Y.,
settled on sections 6 and 7 in fractional township. Other Townships Victor | White | Newark | Dayton | Stena | Britton | Miller | Pleasant Valley | Waverly | Lowell | Newport | Hickman | Langford-Hickman |Sisseton |Fractional |
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