were not worth cultivating. Most of the young English speaking people of the towns have immigrated to the

United States. He says he thinks more of Kossuth now than ever.

--Algona Courier, 3 July 1914, page 12


[Note: His mother Rose, brother Frank and sister Maggie appear on the 1881 Canadian census.]


Barnet Devine not long since bought 120 acres of prairie near the farm of J. Raney, in Irvington

Township, and had one hundred acres broken. He rented the broken land, and from the rental alone realized

almost enough to pay for the 120 acres. That Mr. Devine has faith in this way of doing things, is still further

indicated by the fact that he has this season broken up 300 acres of a tract of 400 acres recently purchased

by him in Irvington Township. No comment seems necessary.

--Spirit Lake Beacon, 2 September 1880, page 2

C.D. Elton of Monmouth, Ill., purchased 200 head of cattle of Barnet Devine yesterday.

--Algona Republican, 8 September 1880, page 4

Barnet Devine drove to town sixty large fat hogs last week to ship, but being a good business man he sold

them to Hanna & Bliss.

--Algona Republican, 7 December 1881, page 1

Farmers' Column

. . . Barnet Devine of Irvington has erected a large horse and hay barn on the home farm. .. .

-- Algona Republican, 14 December 1881, page 4

LUVERNE, January 29, 1882

Editor Republican: Mr. Barnet Devine was here last week buying young cattle.

--Algona Republican, 1 Feb 1882, page 1

OUR DAIRY INTERESTS


Opinion of One Who Knows


What He is Talking About

Some two weeks since, Pitt Cravath once a citizen of this county, and who during that time took great

interest in dairy matters, was a visitor here, and on returning to his home at Whitewater, Wis., published the

following in his paper, the Chronicle:

A recent visit to Kossuth County, Iowa, and information thus derived at headquarters, convinced us that the

reports of the dairy produce of that region, so often seen in the daily papers, do but partial justice to the

wonderful progress of the county in its dairy interests. But a few years since the farmers devoted themselves

to the vain attempt of amassing wealth by the growth and shipment to Milwaukee of the cereals. It has been

tried elsewhere with like results. Some were tempted by the magnificent blue-joint grass growing so

profusely on its prairies to utilize this free and boundless food in growing cattle for market. The general result

is illustrated by one instance. Some fourteen years ago a farmer named Barney Devine came to Kossuth, with

his wealth strapped to his body in the shape of a sound head and a pair of stalwart arms. He worked by the

day, invested his savings in cattle, gave them unlimited range, and when fattened sold them and bought again.

He continued this process for years, and today, he has over two thousand acres of land, cultivated and

improved, and is estimated as worth fully $100,000 [est $2.4 million in 2011]. A few years since Mr. John

Wallace, formerly a resident of our neighboring county of Waukesha, [Wisconsin] conceived the idea of

taking advantage of the unrivaled facilities for making Kossuth a great dairy county. He at once established a

number of cheese factories, of which he had as many as nine at one time in various localities, made a

common curing house, and after years of labor and manifold drawbacks, which would have utterly

discouraged a less enthusiastic and persevering man, he convinced the people of Kossuth that his idea was the

true foundation for the future material wealth of the county. Later he established a creamery, conceived and

successfully carried out the idea of collecting the cream alone from the patrons, leaving them the milk for use

in the growth of calves. This plan is yet in vogue in the county, thus securing to its farmers the two great

sources of wealth, the manufacture and sale of their butter product, yet leaving them the milk as a means for

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Rachel (Scherf) Levine

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