The Dougherty Township History by Thomas McManus in 1919 mentions two large imigrations of families into Dougherty township.
"In 1875 a number of families came here from near Madison, Wisconsin, and about the same time a colony came from the mining district of Pennsylvania and settled on farms in different parts of the township."
Several of the family histories of Dougherty, Iowa mention a migration of families from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, that occurred after a violent strike by the Molly Maguires, a labor oranization run by immigrant Irishmen. And many of the Dougherty Iowa families in the 1900 census have birthplaces in Pennsylvania. The migration from Pennsylvania apparently took place in about 1876 - the date when many of these Dougherty families first purchased land in Cerro Gordo County.
The County Histories also mention another large migration of Irish families from Wisconsin at about the same time, some from the area near Madison; but other families, including my own, came from Fond Du Lac County. It is unknown at the present what promoted the migrations from Wisconsin.
Dan Dougherty, after whom the town of Dougherty was named, is described in the memoirs of John F. McLaughlin Sr. as a real estate man who filed on government homesteading claims in Cerro Gordo and Franklin counties. He later sold off the land to newly arriving settlers from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
The great majority of the families migrating to Dougherty were first or second generation Irish immigrants, although some German or Bohemian names appear in their midst and a few English and Scottish names as well.
A number of families in the censuses followed a different migration pattern, coming to Iowa from Illinois after stops across the eastern part of the country. The county histories state a number of such families first came to Iowa from the area around Rockford, Illinois.
To Dougherty from Wisconsin
Becker, Jacob (Wisconsin)
Broderick, John (Dane County, Deerfield twp, Wisc.)
Cahill, John (Dane County, Deerfield twp. Wisc.)
Conners, Patrick (Wisconsin)
Conway, John (Wisconsin)
Donnelly, Patrick (Wisconsin)
Dorr, David (Wisconsin)
Gallagher, Manus (Wisconsin)
Hogan, John (Wisconsin)
Jessmore, James (Oshkosh, Wisc.)
Keenan, William (Washington County, Wisc.)
Kirk, Joseph (Oconowas, Wisc.)
McConlogue, Charles (Wisconsin)
McGerrity, Patrick (Wisconsin)
McLaughlin, Daniel (Fond du Lac County, Wisc.)
McLaughlin, Patrick (Dane County, Deerfield twp., Wisc.)
Monahan, Dominich (Greene County, Adams twp., Wisc.)
Moran, Patrick (Wisconsin)
Murphy, Owen (Wisconsin)
O'Brien, Henry (Wisconsin)
Solberg, Olin (Wisconsin)
To Dougherty from Pennsylania
Boyle, Neil (Pennsylvania)
Campbell, Daniel [recte David] (Hazleton, Luzerne County, PA)
Campbell, Neice (Hazleton, Luzerne County, PA)
Dougherty, Dan (Norristown, PA.) near Philadelphia
Kelly, John (Pennsylvania)
McCarron, James (Pennsylvania)
McGee, Daniel (Pennsylvania)
McMenimen, John (Hazleton, Luzerne County, PA)
Mulligan, John (Pennsylvania)
To Dougherty from Illinois
Connaughton, R. (Illinois)
Massee, George A. (Kane County, Ill.)
McConlogue, Charles (Illinois)
McCullagh, Isaac (Illinois)
Merrick, George B. (Rockford, Ill.)
Shaw, Wilson (Illinois)
Birthplaces in Ireland
Beecher, Patrick (Cork, Ireland)
Boyle, Neil (Dungloe, Templecrone parish, Donegal, Ireland)
Broderick, John (Galway, Ireland)
Campbell, Daniel Dungloe, Templecrone parish, Donegal, Ireland)
Campbell, Neice (Caghrey, Templecrone parish, Donegal, Ireland)
Conners, Patrick (Galway, Ireland)
Coyle, Daniel (Donegal, Ireland)
Cunningham, Nicholas (Donegal, Ireland)
Dougherty, Daniel (Cloncarney, Conwal parish, Donegal, Ireland)
Kelsh, Michael (County Meath, Ireland)
Kelsh, Catherine (McGovern) (Swanlinbar, Cavan, Ireland)
McCarron, Bridget (Leckbeg, Templecrone Parish, Donegal, Ireland)
McConlogue, Charles (Donegal, Ireland)
McDonnell, Dan (Donegal, Ireland)
McGee, Daniel (Donegal, Ireland)
McGee, Ellen (Mayo, Ireland)
McGovern, James (Swanlinbar, Cavan, Ireland)
Mclaughlin, Daniel (Rathdonnell, Kilmacrenan parish, Donegal, Ireland)
McLaughlin, Patrick (Armagh, Ireland)
McManus, John (near Enniskillen, Fermanagh, Ireland)
McMenimen, John (Meenadoan, Inishkeel parish, Donegal, Ireland)
Monahan, Dominich (Co. Mayo, Ireland)
Moran, Patrick (Dublin, Ireland)
Mulligan, John (Longford, Ireland)
Murphy, Owen (Connoth Town, Sligo, Ireland)
Toner, Michael (Barnes, Tyrone, Ireland)
Birthplaces in Germany
Capesius, Anna M. (Sandweiler, Luxembourg, Germany)
Forrette, Dominick (Luxembourg, Germany)
Kirk, Joseph (Bohemia, Germany)
Noss, Carl (Bettingen, Saarlouis, Germany)
Ottele, Jean B. (Obermerzig, Luxembourg, German)
Zweck, John (Prussia, Germany)