Burget
Miner
(1812-1909)
Burget Miner was born in Maryland on June 12,
1812, the son of John and Mary Magdalena
(Kohl) Minard Sr. He was a prominent carpenter in western Ohio whose tall
marker in the family's plot of graves, seen here, suggests that he had a successful and lucrative
career. (The marker is under inspection by
cousin Eugene Podraza in 2002.)
It's thought Burget's name actually was an Americanized form of the German "Burkhardt," also the name of an uncle and several cousins who went by "Burket."
As a boy, it's believed that Burget moved with his parents to Laurel Hill, a mountainous section of Fayette/Somerset Counties, PA. Later, they emigrated further west to near Scio, Harrison County, OH, where Burget grew up.
Burget married Sarah Ann
Hays (1816-1894), a native of
Columbiana County, OH. Her photograph is seen at left, when she was in
older age.
The Miners first lived in Unity Twp., Columbiana County circa 1840, when their names appear there on the federal census. (Burget's brother Jacob Minor also resided in Unity Twp. for many years, as did Sarah's sister Eliza A. Augustine.)
Burget and Sarah had at least three children – David Nesbit Miner, Eliza A. DeMoss-Cornwell and Jefferson Miner. Also residing with them in the year 1850 was one-year-old Thomas I. Hammel, relationship unknown.
In about 1854, the Miners moved to Van Wert, Van Wert County, OH. Burget's brothers Henry (in 1839) and John Jr. (1840) had migrated to Van Wert County years earlier, and may have been part of the reason why Burget chose to relocate there.
Burget
was a carpenter. Upon arriving in Van Wert, he purchased town lot #130. In 1856,
1862 and 1864, he purchased other town lots, some in Van Wert's east side.
Whether he purchased them for his own use, or for development and construction
of houses, is unknown. A May 1877 issue of the Van Wert Times said that
in Ridge Township, "Mr. John Johankins, of Southern Ridge, is building a
splendid residence this Spring. Mr. Miner, of Van Wert, is doing the work."
Sarah is seen at right, in old age, standing by a wooden-railed fence.
In 1856, Burget dabbled in politics, and was elected a Trustee of the City of Van Wert. Others holding office that year were Mayor Gaylor M. Saltzgaber, Recorder Reuben Tristre, Trustees George W. Moltz, Joseph Cassel, Joseph Brodnix and John H. McCulloch, and Treasurer Jacob Fox. Burget served in this role for one year, but never again afterward.
As with many parents of that era, they worried when son David enlisted in the Army and served in the Civil War. He was a member of the 15th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company H, where he was a corporal. The regiment saw action at Chickamauga, Pickett’s Mills, Stone River and Resaca. David later was a pioneer settler of Nebraska and Kansas.
Son in law Charles W. DeMoss also served in the Civil War, in Company H of the 139th OH Infantry and Company K of the 46th OH Infantry. Among the major battles in which the 46th OH fought were at Shiloh, Kenesaw Mountain and Atlanta. Sadly, just a year after the war, Charles died. His was laid to rest in the Woodland Cemetery, and in about 1895 his remains were relocated to the Miner family plot there.
After
the death of son in law DeMoss, Burget purchased the DeMoss town lot #303 in
1869. He then deeded it back to his widowed daughter.
A pen and ink sketch of Van Wert is seen at left circa 1888, a scene that would have been very familiar to Burget and Sarah.
Burget was a charter member of the Independent Order of Red Men, a national lodge organization. At his death, 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..."
Sarah was a member of the Order of Pocahontas.
The Miners surely must have
attended the annual Van Wert County Fair, which today continues to be a popular
event. The rare old promotional postcard seen here is dated 1909 and
reads: "There Will Be 'Some Pumpkins' at the Van Wert County Fair... Alex.
Mentzer, Pres... E.V. Walborn, Sec'y."
Circa 1870, son Jefferson was a clerk in the Van Wert House hotel run by Alf and Ella Howell. The 1882 History of Van Wert and Mercer Counties, Ohio mentions Jefferson, saying "This house is convenient to the depot, has 35 rooms, and can afford accommodations to 50 guests."
Widowed daughter Eliza married William Cornwell in December 1872, and moved together to Nebraska. After completing the move, in 1880, Eliza granted her father power of attorney to complete the sale of Van Wert real estate that she owned.
Similarly,
in 1882, Mary E. Walton-Roach and her second husband, Ephraim Roach, of Pierce
County, Washington State, appointed Burget as their power of attorney. (The
relationship of the Roaches to Burget is unknown.)
Sadly, Sarah passed away on March 7, 1894, at the age of 79. The cause of her death is not known. She was buried at Woodland Cemetery in Van Wert, OH, in the Miner plot. Her grave marker today is legible, but dark, and is seen here as photographed in August 2002. Sarah's name graces the curved top edge, while the flat face reads "Wife of B. Miner."
News
of her passing was telegraphed to her sister Eliza Augustine in Unity,
Columbiana County, near where the Miners had once resided. A paragraph
acknowledging her death was published in the Reveille Echo in East
Palestine.
As widower Burget reached his mid-90s, he moved from Van Wert to a prominent section of Cleveland, OH, to live with his granddaughter Clara (DeMoss) Lawrence at her home on 13325 Euclid Avenue, a tony neighborhood in the city. (Clara's husband, William Henry Lawrence, was co-publisher of The Ohio Farmer, a prominent agricultural trade publication.)
After residing in Cleveland for a few years, on Jan. 31, 1909, at age 96, Burget died of pneumonia. His remains were shipped back to Van Wert for burial. The Twice-A-Week Bulletin said that the funeral was conducted by Red Men lodge members from Van Wert, Scott, Convoy, Middlepoint and Delphos, "and a long procession of his brethren marched, with solemn mien and measured tread, as an escort for the body to its last resting place. The presence of the members of the tribe, in such large numbers, proved that Burget Miner was truly respected and beloved in the circle of Redmanship."
Burget was laid to rest beside his wife and son in law DeMoss in the Miner plot. His specific grave is unmarked, though sexton records of the cemetery confirm that he is there.
Entrance to the Woodland Cemetery,
including a horse
and buggy on the road, framed by the gate and sign
Copyright
© 2001-2006 Mark A. Miner.
Sketch of
Van Wert from
Historical Collections of Ohio (1888) by Henry Howe.