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Celebrating Ohio's Bicentennial

~ 1803-2003 ~

Honoring Generations of Ohio Pioneer-Cousins
on the Buckeye State's 200th Birthday

National award

During Ohio's Bicentennial celebration in 2003, Minerd.com paid tribute with this special page -- honoring more than 100 representative members of our family in more than 30 counties who have made unusual marks in the Buckeye State.

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This page reminds us that it's people of all aspects of life and work who have created the history of Ohio, day by day, over the past two centuries. Telling their stories helps make sure these individuals are never forgotten.

In 1812, the first of our cousins to settle in Ohio were brothers Frederick Miner Sr. and Daniel Miner Sr., followed in 1817 by brother John Minard Sr. Over the next decades and centuries, many other branches planted roots throughout Ohio, making an impact in their own unique ways.

This page is arranged alphabetically by county.

Athens County

	Daniel Harry Knight - Civil War soldier from New Marshfield who served with the 92nd Ohio Infantry; took part in Sherman's famed advance through Georgia called the "March to the Sea."
	James Knight Jr. - farmer of New Marshfield who saw 2 sons and 1 son-in-law serve in the Civil War. Mentioned in Fannie (Knight) Geise's 1969 book, Knights to Remember and in the Coopriders' 1947 book, Harbaugh History.
	Norman D. Knight - Civil War soldier with the 4th West Virginia Infantry and the 2nd West Virginia Veteran Volunteers. At the close of the war, stood honor inspection for President Lincoln in Washington, DC.
	Zalmon Knight - accidentally shot and killed in a freak hunting accident near New Marshfield in 1865.

Clark County

Susan (Baker) Culp - charter member of the Second Lutheran Church of Springfield; son J. Minor Culp later became president of Oertel's Brewing Company of Louisville, KY.

Columbiana County

	Dr. Francis M. and Viola (Miner) Cox - an early physician of New Waterford and East Palestine; Viola died prior to 1888, leaving three young children.
	Jacob and Julianna (Forney) Minor - early farmers of Unity who had 15 children; she died in 1888 after collapsing while washing clothes in her front yard, along the road leading from New Waterford to Unity.

Coshocton County

George Houser – served as US Postmaster in Tiverton from 1847 to 1848, when his successor was named. The book, Indiana and Indianans, states that George also "followed farming and milling. He was also a Free Will Baptist preacher [and] a justice of the peace ..."

Cuyahoga County

1891 edition of the Ohio Farmer newspaper

William Henry Lawrence – co-publisher of The Ohio Farmer newspaper (1872-1894), which is still in publication today. He resided on prominent Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, and his sensational murder made headlines in The Plain Dealer.

Fairfield County

The pioneer Bateson family of near Buckeye Lake

	Frederick Bateson – Was said by a newspaper to have been "one of the early dealers in real estate for summer homes in the locality [of Buckeye Lake]. Bateson Beach was developed from farm land which had been in the Bateson family for several generations and when the addition was plotted, it was sold to a number of Columbus residents." A painting by legendary Ohio artist John J. Barsotti, "Of Wandering Forever and the Earth Again," is based on a view of the Bateson farm. In 1942, the painting won the "Most Meritorious Work" award in the 32nd Annual Exhibition by the Columbus Art League.
	Samuel James Bateson – Newark Daily Advocate said he was "one of the best known residents along Buckeye Lake for many years. He was a successful trapper and fisherman, and was known to hundreds of people who annually visited the lake." A longtime friend -- award-winning Ohio artist John J. Barsotti -- loved to listen to the Batesons talk about local history. In an interview in the Ohio Historical Society's Timeline Magazine, he said: "In most places [I've traveled], I was able to know people native to the land, some of them of pioneer stock.... The important thing to me was the association with a variety of people, interesting and colorful, who were worth knowing. From the old ones I learned much about the past; with the people of my generation and younger, I shared the present."
	William H. Bateson – drowned while duck hunting at Buckeye Lake in 1884. The Newark Advocate said he "had left home early in the morning, and crossed the reservoir to the old wasteway. From there he went to the Lakeside Hotel, ... where he sold some quail.... Not returning home, his friends became alarmed, and made a search for him, which resulted in finding his dead body."
	Matilda (Miner) Culp - with her husband Charles, were early residents of Lancaster who had four daughters who never married but who worked for garment, shoe and printing companies in Lancaster.

Franklin County

A rare cityscape of Columbus from the early 1900s

	Barbara (Boring) Bauer - a great-granddaughter of Allie (Johnston) Cooperider, is an active historical researcher and a volunteer with the Palatines to America Library in Columbus. She was the guest speaker at our 2007 national family reunion.
	Robert "Uke" Hanshaw - raised in Columbus, was said by Variety to have been a "vaudevillian known for his prowess on the ukulele." When he died in 1969, Variety said that for "many years he toured the world, spending between 12 and 15 years in Australia."
	Judge Byron William Langdon – after growing up and attending college in Columbus, became a delegate to the 1880 National Republican Convention. Later, was a judge of the 23rd Circuit Court in Lafayette, Indiana.
	Daniel Minor Jr. – successful Columbus carpenter, trunk and box manufacturer, and prominent carriage maker, who co-founded the Booth & Minor Carriage Factory in 1841. In 1857, was a trustee of the 150-member Wesley Chapel near Columbus. Mentioned in the History of Franklin County. Buried in Columbus' prestigious Greenlawn Cemetery, with the largest monument known in the family, seen here.
	Francis Miner – construction contractor for Wesley Chapel of Columbus, dedicated in September 1847; is mentioned in the 1892 book, History of the City of Columbus.
	Oliver H. Perry – president of the Columbus Board of Trade (seen here) in 1909, forerunner of today's Columbus Chamber of Commerce. Was treasurer of the Broad Street Presbyterian Church and auditor and treasurer of the Columbus Buggy Company, which produced young entrepreneurs Harvey S. Firestone and Eddie Rickenbacker.
	Dick Reynolds - grandson in law of Arnold Overholt - is Director of Athletics at Otterbein College in Westerville and one of the most successful basketball coaches in the history of the Ohio Athletic Conference. He has won more than 500 games, and nationally is in the top 10 for wins among active coaches and 12th all-time in NCAA Division III.

Hamilton County

Frank W. Hanshaw Jr. - headed the Cincinnati office of General Artists Corporation, and "played a role in aiding the early careers of such artists as Nat "King" Cole, the Four Lads, Stan Kenton, Bobby Darin and many others," said the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Hancock County

Findlay College

Dr. G. Richard "Dick" Kern - son-in-law of Dorothy (Stoner) Sheldon, is a former President of the Winebrenner Theological Seminary and retired Professor of History at the University of Findlay. He is the author of several books, including John Winebrenner: 19th Century Reformer (seen here), A History of the Ohio Conference of the Churches of God and Findlay College: The First Hundred Years.

Austin Frederic Van Horn - was "an employe of the City of Findlay department of streets" for many years, said a local newspaper.

Hardin County

Alpheus Minerd - served as a soldier in the Civil War in the 34th Ohio Infantry and was held as a POW at the infamous Pemberton and Belle Island Prisons in Richmond. His sensational, cold-blooded murder near McGuffey in 1903 "landed on page 1 of every newspaper in the state," said A Complete History of The Scioto Marsh. The killer, William Nichols, whose mixed race added to the public's fuor, was among the first prisoners to be executed in the electric chair [seen here] at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus.

Harrison County

John Minard Sr.'s name on an 1817 Ohio land record

	Charles Manbeck – son of Martha Jane (Minard) Manbeck, was a brakeman on the Pittsburgh & Fort Wayne Rail Road, and was "instantly killed" in an accident in 1906 in Alliance when he fell from a freight train.
	Amos Bartholomew Minard – a literate and learned man who organized a literary society near Locust Grove in 1886; was an early attendee of Scio College; is mentioned in Joseph T. Harrison’s 1927 book, The Story of the Dining Fork.
	Daniel Minard – lifetime farmer of Scio. A newspaper said that at his birth in 1820, "The country was then an almost trackless forest. There amid nature’s beauties and grandeur he grew to manhood…. He traveled through the same forests, following the winding streams and trod in the same paths his father did…. [He] died in almost the same spot where he was born." Is mentioned in the History of Carroll and Harrison Counties.
	Ervin M. Minard – profiled in a feature biography in the History of Carroll and Harrison Counties. Sons in law Berlin Law and Everett McClain also are profiled in the book. McClain also was a Master of the Mt. Hope Grange.
	John and Mary (Kohl) Minard Sr. – pioneer settlers of Ohio - in 1817, obtained a license to buy land from the Steubenville Land Office; received a 159-acre tract about a half-mile from the nationally known Scio Pottery headquarters; lived into his 101st year; produced 11 children, at least 79 grandchildren and at least 175 great-grandchildren; as of 1937, their acreage was still owned by a direct descendant. Is mentioned in the History of Carroll and Harrison Counties.
	William Miner – served in the Civil War in the 74th Ohio Infantry; his name appears on an old map of New Rumley on display at the George A. Custer Birthplace Memorial.

Henry County

A farmers elevator in Deshler circa 1924

Austin C. Van Horn – born in Wood County, he served in the Civil War in the 86th Ohio Infantry, becoming ill with the regiment in Kentucky. After the war, he and his brother Eli resided in Deshler, and their sister Rhoda France lived in Grelton.

Knox County

The mourning widower and 5 young children
of Samantha Jane (Minard) Armstrong

	Samantha Jane (Minard) Armstrong – a Mt. Vernon area resident, she made a quilt circa 1896 that today is an artifact preserved in the Ashland Museum. Her death of typhoid fever, at age 27, left her husband with 5 young children to raise.
	Francis D. "Frank" Minard – a farmer who organized 8th annual Minard Reunion in or near Mt. Vernon. Daughter and son in law Hazel and Irvin Mumper owned Frigid Food Storage and Red and White Supermarket in Loudonville, OH.
	Lucina (Bebout) Minard – 58-year member of the First Church of the Nazarene; member of the church board.
	Nathan W. Minard – a resident of Mt. Vernon, served in the Civil War in the 96th Ohio Infantry; saw action at Vicksburg and later was held as a Confederate POW for 6 months.
	Solomon Minard Sr. – skilled carpenter and interior finish woodworker who helped construct the chapel at Kenyon College in Mt. Vernon in about 1854.
	Thomas G. Minard – served in the Civil War in the 142nd Ohio National Guard, Company F; died just 3 years after the war's end, at age 33. Is named in the 1881 book, History of Knox County, Ohio, as an original member of the congregational church at Gambier.

Lawrence County

A number of cousins worked in the wharf
boating industry in the river town of Ironton

	John V.S. Minerd - a coal mine laborer of near Ironton, was a Civil War soldier of the 5th Independent Battery, Ohio Light Artillery; came down with malaria at Vicksburg.
	Charles Edgar Murdock - came to Ironton circa 1873; worked for the Murdock family grocery; called "one of the pioneer residents of Ironton."
	Capt. Israel B. Murdock - Civil War soldier who rose to Captain of the 18th Ohio Volunteer Infantry; worked later in the wharf boating industry in Ironton; son William, a clerk in a steamboat company, was said to have been a close friend of Col. Dick Pritchard, "on account of being raised from boyhood with him and the best part of their careers was devoted to the grand Ohio river…"
	Thomas I. Murdock - Civil War veteran who later moved to Ironton; said the Ironton Evening Tribune, "for many years [he] was associated with the late W.A. Murdock and Drake Murdock in the grocery business..."
	William H. Peters - profiled in a short biography in Hardesty's 1882 Atlas of Lawrence County.

Licking County

Hebron's West Main Street

	Frederick Miner Jr. – Civil War soldier in the 10th Ohio Cavalry - seriously injured in battle at Jonesborough, GA, during 'Sherman's March to the Sea.' After the war, he was a butcher, shingle-maker and produce-seller in Hebron and Etna.
	Oren Bernard Minor – the son of James S. Minor - co-owned the Watch Shop in New Philadelphia for 37 years, from 1910 to 1947.

Madison County

Alexander B. McMurray - resided at La Fayette and served as Trustee of Deer Creek Township. Is profiled in the 1883 book, The History of Madison County, published by W.H. Beers, which said he was "one of the earliest settlers of this county" and was "fully acquainted with the early pioneers and the hardships and trials of those days."

Mahoning County

Thomas Minerd - grandson of Thomas Minerd - Retired steelworker from Republic Steel Corporation in Youngstown.

Miami County

Earl T. Steiner - great grandson of John and Rhoda (Van Horn) France - performed extensive research into the France-Van Horn branch of our family, and was the official photographer for the Miami County (OH) Historical and Genealogical Society, affiliated with the Ohio Genealogical Society. Authored several memoirs on our website.

Montgomery County

Dayton circa 1910, about when Clyde Miner arrived

Clyde Calvin Miner - said by the 1919 Memoirs of the Miami Valley to have been "one of Dayton's substantial and thoroughly capable men of affairs … well known in business circles, and particularly among credit men..." He was an investor and later President of the Lucas Pump Company, renamed Lucas-Miner Pump Company.

Morrow County

Horses and buggies line the intersection
of Main and Marion Streets in Cardington

	Lydia (Miner) Brown – she and her husband James, a school teacher in Cardington and later a a Civil War soldier in the 125th Ohio Infantry; were pioneer settlers of Oklahoma who took part in the "Run of 1889;" memoirs by daughters Laura Barnum and Nellie Jones provide a glimpse into pioneer life in Indian Territory.
	Marshall Maxwell - the Morrow County Independent said "He first came to Marion county, Ohio, in the fall of 1831, but returned to [West] Virginia in the fall of 1832. He again came to Ohio, and in January, 1834, entered the land on which he afterward spent his life." Was a half-century member of Bethel Methodist Church near Cardington.
	Eli B. Miner – a Cardington area native, served as a Civil War soldier in the 96th Ohio Infantry; became violently ill during the siege of Vicksburg; later ran a hotel in Waldo, Marion County.
	Captain Henry Clay Minor – Civil War soldier in the 16th Ohio Infantry who took part in the first land battle of the war (in Philippi, WV) and later was promoted to Captain.
	Lester Sherwood – served in Spanish-American War; later settled in Cardington.
	Jeannette "Blanche" (Clark) Tarter - authored the 1972 book, Ancestral and Chronological History of the Family of Luther White and Mahala (Minor) White. She wrote: "Our forefathers were the pioneers who played such an important part in the founding and establishing of our great country. They were men of courage, brave and fearless, dedicated to God and country, who suffered many hardships and endured many privations. Let us honor and revere their memory."
	Luther and Mahala (Minor) White - Cardington natives; he was class leader of Bethel Methodist Church near Cardington; both later were pioneers of Missouri and Kansas; she tragically died of the rigors of prairie life in the harsh winter of 1885.

Paulding County

John Ball – served in the Civil War in the 132rd Ohio National Guard; afterward, resided in the towns of Cecil, Antwerp and Payne.

Perry County

1813 grave at Hopewell Cemetery
near Sego -- the oldest family grave in Ohio

	Kermit Boring - grandson of Allie (Johnston) Cooperider, and a former farm salesman and grain elevator inspector, is pictured and profiled in the 1984 volume, A Touch of the Past: The People and Places of Perry County. His wife Dorothy taught elementary school in the Thornville area for 31 years.
	Virgil Boring - son-in-law of Allie (Johnston) Cooperider, established the Baker-Boring Funeral Home in Thornville in 1950, which today is the Boring-Sheridan Funeral Home. His son Charles served on the Northern Local School Board and is profiled in the 1980 book, History of Perry County, Ohio, Illustrated, and in the 1977 volume, History of Thornville.
	Jonas Bowman – a buggy-manufacturing entrepreneur at Somerset, beginning to learn the trade at age 18; grandson Willard Bowman later became executive editor of the Newark Star Ledger in New Jersey.
	Alva Cooperrider - formed a sand company with son Rod circa 1910, for shipment to buyers in Zanesville. Son in law and daughter John and Bell (Cooperrider) Ice are memorialized with a stained glass window (seen here) at the historic Good Hope Lutheran Church near Glenford.
	Lewis M. Culp – one of the first coal miners in eastern Ohio to be trained to use electric coal cutting technology; son Charles Culp owned the C.W. Lowery Pottery in Roseville, with sample pieces said to be in the Ohio Ceramic Center in Crooksville.
	Absalom and Rebecca (Miner) Danison – sold part of their Mt. Perry farm to what today is the Mt. Perry Methodist Church and Cemetery. At his death, the New Lexington Tribune eulogized: "Another of the old pioneers of Perry County has been called to his fathers…. The aged men and women whose eyes looked upon Perry county when it was almost an unbroken wilderness, are fading away, passing on to that undiscovered country from which no traveler returns."
	Charles W. Hunt – operated a successful business in Somerset for nearly 37 years and, said the Somerset Press, "has always been held in highest esteem by his fellow townsmen." Served as treasurer and board member of the Somerset Methodist-Episcopal Church. Added the Press, he "will always be remembered as a loving husband and father, a priest in his own household."
	Judge James E. Johnston – early lawyer; county prosecuting attorney for three years; member of the Perry County Election Board and New Lexington Town Council; appointed in 1896 by Governor Bushnell as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.
	Seth Reed Johnston – postmaster at Glenford circa 1871; longtime owner of the S.R. Johnston & Son general store. Wife Isabel tragically was killed in 1874 when thrown from her horse-drawn carriage.
	William Seth Johnston – partner in the S.R. Johnston & Son grocery store; owned the first automobile in Glenford; vice president of the Glenford Manufacturing Co. The Somerset Press said that "Some men live for a while and then when they die they are soon forgotten, people seldom mention their names. But long after he is gone from us people are going to remember William S. Johnston for his sterling qualities."
	Andrew Jackson Miner – a native of Sego, was a Civil War soldier in the 90th Ohio Infantry, serving in the same regiment as his brother Thomas; died of disease at Vining Station near Atlanta while on 'Sherman's March to the Sea.'
	Daniel and Mary Miner Sr. – pioneer settlers of Ohio - he purchased land in 1812 with brother Frederick near Sego and Mt. Perry, from the US Land Office in Zanesville. Mary's 1813 grave at Hopewell Cemetery is the oldest known family marker in Ohio. In 1835, with 2nd wife Margaret 'Peggy' Fluckey, he moved to Morrow County. All told, he produced 17 children, 63 grandchildren and at least 84 great-grandchildren, virtually all born before the year 1900.
	Daniel L. Minor – raised in Somerset and may have known young Philip Sheridan, future Civil War General; was a Civil War soldier with the 10th Ohio Cavalry; was shot in battle in Georgia on Sherman's March to the Sea; later was a coal miner in Shawnee at a time when the town was the site of the formation of the Knights of Labor; is profiled in the 1883 History of Fairfield and Perry Counties and mentioned in the 1881 History of Licking County.
	Frederick and Elizabeth (Sechman) Miner Sr. – pioneer settlers of Ohio - in 1812, with his brother Daniel, purchased farm tracts near Sego from the US Land Office near Zanesville; lived there the rest of his life; produced 13 children, 50 grandchildren and at least 91 great-grandchildren, for a total of 154 lives, virtually all born before the year 1900.
	Thomas M. Miner – resident of McLuney Station who was a Civil War soldier in the 90th Ohio Infantry; later was captured at the battle of Stone River and held as POW at Richmond's notorious Libby Prison.
	Fred Crider Soliday – worked for the Perry County Board of Elections.

Pickaway County

1913 Ashville, home of the Younkin branch, featured
new telephone poles and suspended street lights

	John Minor – early settler of Salem; tragically fell to his death in an icehouse in 1866.
	William Charles Roberts – a plasterer and bricklayer in Tarlton for 50 years.
	Horton H. Younkin – in 1938, gave his copy of the Younkin Family News Bulletin to columnist Clyde Mitchell of the Pickaway County News, who said it was "what I believe to be the only newspaper whose news is devoted entirely to one family and which is written and published as a family newspaper...."
	Fred Younkin – left-handed fiddler who played at the Younkin National Home Coming Reunions of the 1930s in Pennsylvania. His son Floyd was president of Greenlawn Realty Company in Columbus and founded what today is Dycom Industries, Inc. Floyd was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National R.V. Mobile Home and Park Developers Association and is honored with the Younkin Branch Library of the Pickaway County District Public Library and the Younkin Success Center at Ohio State University.

Putnam County

John C. France – husband of Rhoda Van Horn of Continental; served as a drummer in the Civil War in the 180th OH Infantry.

Richland County

"It seems that the early pioneers were so busy making their way in the new state of Ohio ... that no one made any preparations to preserve the history..." --Cousin Mary Jane (Armstrong) Henney, in her 1993 volume, A Pioneer History of Richland County, Ohio, published by the Richland County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society.

Mary Jane (Armstrong) Henney – granddaughter of Samantha Jane (Minard) Armstrong – a pioneer in Ohio genealogy as board director and now Fellow of the Ohio Genealogical Society in Mansfield, where she led efforts to locate each cemetery in Ohio, published in the landmark book, Ohio Cemeteries. During her tenure, OGS planted chapters in every Ohio county. She edited the 1993 book, A Pioneer History of Richland County, Ohio and published the 1997 book From the Annals of Richland County, Ohio. From 1985 to 1987, she authored a weekly column, "Once Upon Another Time," in the Mansfield News Journal.

Ross County

Chillicothe Hospital, where Dr. Oliver L. Iden referred patients

Dr. Oliver L. Iden – husband of Bessie Elnora Holmes - practiced medicine for 50 years, primarily in Chillicothe, and served as president of the Ross County Medical Society.

Stark County

	Jacob Crabtree - son of Agnes (Younkin) Crabtree; served in World War I with the 329th Field Hospital and 308th Sanitary Train. Later, lived in Minerva, working as a conductor for the New York Central Railroad.
	James Howard Crabtree - grandson of Agnes (Younkin) Crabtree; resident of Alliance; seaman first class in the US Navy during World War II; quoted in a November 1942 Reader's Digest article entitled "Convoy to Murmansk."
	John W. Miner - early in his career, the Cadiz (OH) Republican called him "a prominent business man of this place..." Later, he and his wife Mildred moved to Alliance, where he was a conductor on a trolley line.
	Frederick Minor – owned the Fred W. Minor Insurance Agency of North Canton.

Trumbull County

	James A. and Eliza (Miner) Mathany - of Leavittsburg & Warren - as a young woman, she "came to reside in Trumbull county" in about 1870, said the Daily Tribune, and "spent forty-five years on a farm owned by them at Hardscrabble." During the Civil War, he served with the Trumbull Guard and later was a member of the Bell-Harmon Post of the Grand Army of the Republic.
	Albert Miner of Champion - served in the Civil War with the 19th OH Volunteer Infantry; was taken prisoner of war at the Battle of Chickamauga, and died of smallpox in a Confederate hospital in Danville, VA.
	Andrew and Margaret (Forney) Miner of Leavittsburg - born in a two room log cabin built by his father on the hill in what is now known as Meadowbrook," said the Tribune-Chronicle. At his death in 1939, he was said to be the "eldest citizen of this community [Leavittsburg], where close friends and neighbors affectionately knew him as 'Pop'."
	James W. and Lilly (Fordyce) Minerd – residents of Warren, they bore three unspeakable tragedies. In 1929, teenage son Arthur was killed by a moving automobile while riding his bicycle. In 1935, son Lawrence drowned near their home. Grandson James W. Minerd (seen here) was killed in action in Korea.
	Joseph and Elizabeth (Forney) Miner - pioneer settlers of Champion, who built "a two room log cabin … on the hill in what is now known as Meadowbrook," said an article more than a century later in the Warren (OH) Tribune Chronicle.
	Samuel and Hannah (Callahan) Miner of Warren - served with the 19th OH Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. Said the Warren (OH) Tribune, Hannah "was a member of the Rebecca Lodge and of the Women’s Relief Corp ..."

Tuscarawas County

Mineral City, Tuscarawas County

	Dorothy (Minor) Jenkins - granddaughter of James S. Minor. Retired from the accounting department of Greer Steel Corporation in Dover.
	Edward Minor - a veteran coal miner of the town of Tuscarawas, who never married. Tragically, he was burned to death in a housefire in February 1950, and his charred remains were laid to rest in Uhrichsville.
	John Charles "Jack" Minor - a "one-armed sandlot baseball player in his youth," said the Dover Daily Reporter, who played for several Tuscarawas County sandlot teams. In 1946, while working as a coal mine foreman, Jack was crushed to death by falling rock near Tuscarawas.
	James and Estella (Minor) Postel - of New Philadelphia, she won many awards and ribbons at flower shows, and her husband James served as chairman of the board of trustees of the New Philadelphia First United Methodist Church.
	Charles Williams - husband of Sarah Ann Minor. Killed in an accidental fall of rock in a coal mine in 1911 in Mineral City.

Van Wert County

Promotional postcard, 1909 reading: "There Will
Be 'Some Pumpkins' at the Van Wert County Fair"

	Charles W. DeMoss – Civil War soldier in the 139th Ohio and 46th Ohio Infantry; died just 2 years after the war ended; his grave (seen here) was among the first 6 in Van Wert to be covered with flowers on Ohio's inaugural Decoration Day (Memorial Day) in May 1867.
	Andrew Minard – in 1853, migrated from Tuscarawas County to become a pioneer settler of Van Wert, purchasing a 40-acre tract near the farms of 3 of his uncles; later pushed further west to Illinois and Iowa.
	Burget Miner – pioneer settler of Van Wert in 1854; prominent carpenter; trustee of City of Van Wert in 1856; at his death in 1909, the Van Wert Twice-A-Week Bulletin said he was "the oldest member of the local tribe, the oldest member of the order in Ohio..."
	David Nesbit Miner – served in the Civil War in the 15th Ohio Infantry. Afterward, was a clerk in the Van Wert House hotel. Mentioned in the 1882 History of Van Wert and Mercer Counties, Ohio.
	Henry Minerd – pioneer settler of near Wilshire in 1839. At his death, a newspaper said: "He came to this country in the pioneer days and carved his way through the forest and settled on a trace of land .... [By] his effort and toil he not only witnessed his own farm, but the whole country for miles and miles around emerge from the wild Indian forest to the beautiful farms, cities and homes of civilization."
	John Minerd Jr. – pioneer settler circa 1840. A newspaper once said: "In the fall of 1840 he ... made preparation to 'go west.' After having secured a good team of horses and a substantial wagon, on the 18th day of September 1840 they started for the then 'far west.' After traveling for several weeks they reached Van Wert county, Ohio, at a point five miles north of Wilshire...."

Williams County

	Thomas L. Purinton - a Civil War veteran from West Virginia, died in Bryan in 1919.
	Frieda (Wyandt) Mallen Everett - daughter of Jacob and Martha (Purinton) Wyandt - native of Bryan - during World War II, served as chief of publications for the office of Inter-American Affairs, run by Nelson A. Rockefeller; and later was chief of the documentary articles section of the United States Information Agency.
	Helen (Wyandt) Reihart - native of Bryan - early medical researcher who was the first trained medical technologist in Nebraska and the first medical technologist on the faculty of what is now the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
	Jacob Wellington Wyandt - husband of Martha "Mattie" Purinton - superintendent of Bryan High School for 28 years. He "ran a tight ship," reported the Bryan Times, "and believed that a high standard of scholarship by all, and not from a few students, was the measure of a school. He said that 'This complex age demands ever-better training because civilization has always been a race between education and catastrophe'."

Wood County

Prize cattle at an early Wood County Fair

	Edna (Miner) Asmus – lived to the age of 102; served in "every church group, club and community organization in town," said a newspaper. She also belonged to the Ladies Aid Society in Haskins, was a charter member of the Middleton Township Grange and part of the farm bureau. Son Arlyn Asmus was a member of the Tontogany Village Council and a trustee of Washington Township.
	Rebecca (Minerd) Behme-Kearns – produced a son with two-time Medal of Honor winner Thomas Ward Custer, who was killed with his more famous brother General George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn; mentioned in the 2002 book, Tom Custer: Ride to Glory.
	Fred Bemis – owned the Bemis Grocery in Haskins for 47 years.
	William J. Burditt – served in the Civil War in the 123rd Ohio Infantry; shot in the thigh as a POW after a battle in Farmville, VA; later was a farmer in Tontogany and was in a bridge building partnership with brother in law Jacob Minerd.
	Clarence William Caldwell – established one of the first automobile garages in Bowling Green.
	Gerald and Marybelle (Robinson) Croll - granddaughter of Isabelle (Burditt) Robinson, were well-known co-owners of the Croll Funeral Homes of Tontogany and Grand Rapids.
	Thomas M. Farmer – Captain of the Volunteer Fire Department at Bowling Green (1890-1900).
	Rhoda (Van Horn) France - A newspaper called her "one of the first school teachers in Wood county and daily rode horseback to her duties in the early days." This makes her one of the earliest educators in our family in general and in Ohio in particular.
	Harry A. Goodger Sr. – owned a grocery and meat market in Tontogany for many years.
	Beverly (Hansen) Miner - an active family historian and volunteer with the Wood County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. Her family is profiled in the 1994 publication, On the Courthouse Steps of Wood County, Ohio. She contributed information for Carl Day's 2002 book, Tom Custer: Ride to Glory, and introduced the author when he spoke at the 2002 Minerd-Miner-Minor Reunion.
	Hugh Valentine Miner – manager of the Royce and Coon Grain Elevator of Tontogany. Daughter Lucy (Miner) Mettler was Wood County’s delegate to the Ohio State Fair in 1932. Son Harvey Dean Miner set up industrial arts programs in many local schools; studied technical education of Nigerian secondary schools and colleges; and was an instructor at Bowling Green State University. The family is profiled in the 1994 booklet, On the Courthouse Steps of Wood County, Ohio.
	Jacob Minerd – acknowledged among 'First Families of Wood County;' bridge and stonework contractor with brother in law William J. Burditt; built simple span structures over local creeks large man-made drainage ditches; served on Tontogany area school board circa 1886-1887; mentioned in Beers' 1897 Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record of Wood County, Ohio.
	Samuel Minerd – pioneer settler of Tontogany in 1846; local school director in 1853, often providing room and board for teachers; he and his wife Susanna are acknowledged among First Families of Wood County; were longtime friend and neighbor of Emanuel and Maria (Ward) Custer and their sons, Gen. George Armstrong Custer and Capt. Thomas W. Custer.
	Nellie (Goodger) Parcell - daughter of Jennie (Miner) Goodger, was a member of the first graduating class of Washington Township Rural School District after it was consolidated circa 1917.
	Gerald and Margaret Robinson - grandson of Isabelle (Burditt) Robinson, is mentioned in the 1975 booklet, Tontogany Times. Margaret once served as clerk of the Washington Township School Board.
	Ross Robinson - son of Isabelle (Burditt) Robinson, was the first Noble Grand of the Tontogany Lodge of the International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF). According to the 1975 booklet, Tontogany Times, his son and grandson also became Noble Grands of the lodge.
	William H. Shepard - a resident of Tontogany, served in the Civil War in the 34th Ohio Infantry; held as a POW at Pemberton Prison in Richmond; later was a farmer at Haskins.
	Eli Van Horn - longtime farmer in the area of Weston Township (Grand Rapids), who with his wife Mary Ann (Kimberlin) Van Horn had 11 children, born over nearly a quarter of a century timespan between 1857 and 1880. One of their sons was an early California resident.
	Isaac Van Horn - served in the Civil War in the 144th Ohio Infantry; held as a POW at the notorious Confederate prisons at Belle Island and Libby, VA; profiled in Beers' 1897 Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record of Wood County, Ohio, which said, "The improvements he has made [on his farm] are of a high class, and he conducts the property in a model manner, having constructed ditches, planted orchards, and built substantial structures as needed."
	Samuel and Sophia (Minard) Van Horn – acknowledged as pioneers in the 1897 book, Commemorative Historical and Biographical Record of Wood County, Ohio, which said that: "In 1831 they came to Wood county, traveling in a wagon, which contained all their household goods. They settled upon a tract of eighty acres of wild land, building a house, 16 x 18 feet, immediately upon their arrival, and went through all the experiences incident to pioneer life." Also named among ‘First Families of Wood County.'
	Hazel (Keeler) Young – Daughter of Gurdon and Edith (Miner) Keeler - in 1926, she and her husband Clark built a movie theatre in Bowling Green that today is said to be the "oldest continuously operating, first-run, single-screen moviehouse in Ohio." A newspaper once said that Clark arrived in town in 1916, "taking over the little Lyric Theatre showing 1 and 2 reel silent movies, accompanied by a piano player..."