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George
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George Minard was born in Fayette County, PA in 1797, the eldest son of John and Mary Magdalena (Kohl) Minard Sr.
When
George was a teenager, his parents moved to a farm near Scio, Harrison County,
OH. George is thought to have remained for a number of years in Fayette County, but
evidence shows he also traveled back and forth to his parents’ new locale.
On Sept. 9, 1819, in Harrison County, OH, George married Susannah Smith (1794-1861), also a native of Fayette County. Rev. John Crom officiated at the ceremony. On the marriage license, the family name was spelled "Mynart."
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1850 Census of Ohio, showing George's birthplace as "Fayette County, Pa." |
The Minards had at least seven children – Daniel Miner, Jacob Minerd, John W. Miner, Catherine Ann Minard, William Miner, Mary Minard and Susannah Minard. Son Daniel was born in Fayette County in 1828, but shortly thereafter the family moved for good to Harrison County, where William (1830), Mary (1833) and Susannah (1835) were born. In 1850, when the federal census was taken, George declared that he, his wife and their eldest son were born in "Fayette County, Pa." This census also shows that George's occupation was a miller.
In 1856, when George’s father wrote a will, he directed that George receive $80 in cash payments within one year of death. The father did not die until 1867, and it is not known if George received the inheritance.
When
the federal census of 1860 was taken, the Minards resided near Scio and
Connotton, Harrison County. George is marked as a laborer and Catherine as a
housekeeper. Unmarried daughters Catherine (age 30) and Mary (20) were in the
household that year also, and labeled as "domestics." In comparison to
his neighbors, whose personal assets were valued in the hundreds if not
thousands of dollars, George's assets were worth just $50.
Susannah died at the age of 65 years on May 11, 1861. She was buried at the United Brethren Church Cemetery at Conotton, Harrison County. Her grave marker, seen here, is still legible and was photographed in August 2001. On the marker, the family name is spelled "MINOR."
George and his daughter Catherine were residing together when the federal census was taken in 1870. When the census was taken in 1880, George and daughters Catherine and Mary made their home together. In that census, George is listed as having been born in Maryland, as were his parents.
On May 18, 1885, George and daughter Catherine were admitted to the Harrison County Infirmary, a type of poor house. She stayed a little under two years, and was discharged on March 7, 1887.
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Harrison County Infirmary |
George
never left the Infirmary, and resided there for nearly six years, until his death on March 29,
1891. The Cadiz Sentinel reported simply: "George Minard, an aged
inmate of the County Infirmary, died on Sunday last, aged 94 years." He is thought to be buried near his wife in the Conotton Cemetery.
After his death, George was largely forgotten, but not entirely. Thirty years later, in 1921, his name was mentioned in the newly published book, History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio.
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Daughter Mary Minard ~
Daughter Mary Minard (1833-1911) is thought to have never married. Her decades of life experiences took place in a silent and slow time, and are not known today. She died at age 75 in 1911, said to have been “well known to the older residents of Scio.” Her official Ohio certificate of death stated that the cause of death was sepsis arising from a punctured wound in her right second finger. She is buried at the United Brethren Church Cemetery in Conotton, and her marker is seen here, still quite legible as of August 2001.
Copyright © 2001-2002, 2007, 2010 Mark A. Miner