I have researched the noun Oufa, and the following is what I
found.
I find it very easy, now, to understand where the name Oufa came
from as
certainly animals were butchered there. When I visited William R.
old homesite,
nearby was a very large pit with many boulders; perhaps that
pit was the original "Oufa."
Pronunciation: 'o-f&l, 'ä-
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from of off + fall
Date: 14th century
1 : the waste or by-product of a process: as a : trimmings of a
hide
b : the by-products of milling used especially for stock feeds c :
the
viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal removed in dressing
2 : RUBBISH
The following info came from Steuben County Library:
Otsego is one of many vanished towns; sometimes called Oufa. There was an Oufa Post Office from 1880-1895 at Otsego on State Rd 1. The Steuben Republican, Nov 16 lists teachers at Oufa School as William E. Ingalls, Viola Durham, E.A. Griffith, and Lillian Ingalls.
In the 1855 History of Steuben Co., the Otsego Center cemetery lists families of Zeller, Teegarden, and Ingalls with many others, including some soldiers.
Otsego school was built in 1890 and was still standing as of 1995.
Submitted By: Barbara
E-mail: pokagon@webtv.net