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Nathaniel 'Nathan'
Miner |
Nathaniel
"Nathan" Miner was born on Dec. 15, 1819 in Perry County, OH, near Zanesville, the
son of Frederick and
Elizabeth (Sechman) Miner Sr.
He and his wife were pioneer settlers of Iowa.
According to the Fort Madison Weekly, when Nathan was age 25, he "came to Iowa in the year 1844, coming down the Ohio river and up the Mississippi as far as Keokuk on a flatboat, then traveled from Keokuk to Burlington with oxen."
Shortly after arriving, when he was age 27, Nathan met his future wife, 19-year-old Susan Abbott (Oct. 18, 1827-1901). They were married on Sept. 20, 1846, in the Abbott home in Burlington, Des Moines County, IA. The couple was eight years apart in age.
Susan was a native of Muskingum County, OH and the daughter of Hayes Abbott. Said her obituary in the Fort Madison Weekly Democrat, "She moved to Iowa with her parents in 1842, settling near Burlington." She was said to have been "a loving wife and mother and kind neighbor…."
The Miners together produced a brood of 10 children -- Laura Jane Troxel, Clara Tucker, Elizabeth Davis, John Miner, Lorenzo Miner, Minerva Canaday, Charles Miner, Sarah "Birdie" Pickard, Florence Harriett [Treva] Cline Craig and William H. Miner.
When the federal census was taken in 1870, the family lived in Middletown, Des Moines County, IA. By that time, nine of their children had been born.
Ballou's Pictorial, 1856
Nathan apparently was close with his nephew, Henry Bush, son of Nathan's sister Elizabeth (Miner) Bush. In the winter of 1877-1878, Henry came from Winfield, KS to work on Nathan's farm, before moving on to Greenfield, IN. In turn, in 1908, after receiving the news of Nathan's death, Henry Bush and his wife traveled from Missouri to Iowa to attend the funeral.
Nathan is not to be confused with a distant cousin, Nathan Minder, son of Johannes "John" Minder, who also settled in Fort Madison in about 1850.
When the federal census enumeration again was made in 1880, the Miners made their dwelling-place on a farm in Union Township, Des Moines County. At that time, 16-year-old son Charles helped on the farm, while daughters Sarah (age 14) and Flora (12) were school students, and son William (9) was not in school.
In 1881, Nathan and Susan moved to a farm near West Point, Pleasant Ridge Township, Lee County, "where he lived till all his children, with the exception of one, were married and had homes of their own…. In the spring of 1898, he and his good wife and son moved to Fort Madison and retired from active life."
The Miners in total owned 130 acres in three locations -- 10 acres in Pleasant Ridge Township (Section 18, Township 69, Range 5) -- 80 acres in Section 17, Township 69, Range 5 -- and 30 acres in Section 8, Township 69, Range 5.
Their final home address was at 1528 Fifth Street in Fort Madison, and remained there for the balance of their years together.
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Front Street looking west, Fort Madison |
A rare old postcard image of Fort Madison seen here probably was taken a half-century after Nathan arrived. Note the river at far left, the railroad engine belching smoke on tracks adjacent to the river, and then, across Front Street, the town buildings at far right.
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Obituary, 1901 |
The United States Census of 1900 lists Nathan at age 80 and Susan at age 72 by themselves in their Fifth Street residence. At that time, they had been married for 55 years.
Susan died on Feb. 26, 1901 at Fort Madison. Rev. S.W. Pool, of the Sante Fe Methodist Episcopal Church, presided over the funeral rites. Musical selections were performed by Charles Grier, Minnie Stein and Lula Hill. Said a newspaper, "The flowers were very beautiful consisting of wreathes of smilette around the casket, lilies, roses and a pillow of pinks and roses on which were the words 'Our Mother'." Pallbearers included John Putker, B.B. Hesse, John Mitchell, Robert Peoples, H. Janse and George Storms.
Nathan outlived her by six years. He received medical care during that time from Dr. A.C. Richmond and Dr. D.N. Coon.
Sadly, Nathan passed away on April 17, 1908, at the age of 89. A local newspaper obituary said the cause of his death was "old age." He and Susan are buried at the Atlee Cemetery (formerly known as Elmwood Cemetery) in Fort Madison. Undertaker and embalmer F.E. Steinberg provided funeral arrangements, which were held in the family home.
Another of Nathan's newspaper obituaries said "He will be
remembered by many of the old citizens of Des Moines and Lee county, as he was
regarded by all as being one of the most highly respected and honorable
citizens."
Pallbearers at Nathan's funeral all were grandsons -- Charles C. Tucker, John Tucker, Nate Tucker, Millard Troxel, Sherman Miner and Ralph Stoner. The funeral was conducted by Rev. B.L. Kline of the local Christian Church.
Among the possessions in Nathan's estate -- administered by son William -- were a team of brown and black horses valued at $125, a buggy and harness valued at $25 and other household items. The team was sold for $115. He also held an IOU from his son William for $300 in back rent.
In the several years after his death, Nathan's homeplace was repaired including such issues as the cellar wall, wallpapering, window glass until such time as the house could be sold. William made a number of trips to Fort Madison using his own team of horses to haul lumber. Among the hardware items purchased for the work included chain links, nails, pumps, hinges, shingles, staples, fence and spools of barbed wire as well as contracted carpentry for a new barn built by William Brockman.
The town of Fort Madison grew and prospered during the 20th century. It reached national fame in 2000 when profiled as "thriving" in the July 10 issue of Time Magazine. Fort Madison was praised for its ability to "keep a sense of place" and "hold on to something special" despite the national trend for towns to be "ringed by cake-box superstores with aircraft-carrier parking lots and terrific discounts on six-packs of socks."
| Copyright © 2000, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2017, 2022, 2024 Mark A. Miner |
| Karen Kester generously has contributed valuable content for this biography. |