Margaret
(Miner)
Sherwood-Miller
(1852-1931)
Margaret
(Miner) Sherwood-Miller was born near Cardington, Morrow County, OH on Oct.
11, 1852, the daughter of George S. and
Cynthia (Johnson) Miner.
Maggie's father died when she was just over a month old, and her mother remarried. Her uncle Harvey Sloan Jr. (husband of Margaret Sloan-Maxwell) was appointed legal guardian, and it's thought that Maggie may have been raised in small or large part by the couple. When the girl's grandfather (Daniel Miner Sr.) died in 1854, she received a share of the estate, signed by the uncle.
On March 27, 1873, at the age of 20, Maggie married farmer Lester E. Sherwood (1853-1904), the son of David and Emeline Sherwood of Cardington. The ceremony took place in Cardington, by the hand of Rev. L.B. Gurley.
The Sherwoods had three children -- Ella Smith, Harry 'Glen' Sherwood and Minor L. Sherwood Sr.
Seen
here, Maggie (standing at left) poses with her family, back row, left to
right: Edna and Minor Sherwood, Ella Smith; front row, l-r: Minor Sherwood Jr.,
Wilfred Sherwood and Liana Peak.
The Morrow County Independent once said that Lester had "a large circle of friends" and was "converted and joined the Methodist church at Bethel under the ministry of Rev. Gurley."
Lester stood 5 feet, 9 inches, with a swarthy complexion, gray eyes and brown hair. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, 45-year-old Lester went to Little Rock, AR to enlist in the US Army. He 'joined up' as a musician with Company H of the 2nd Arkansas Infantry.
During the war, Lester suffered with acute diarrhea. Little else is known of his service. After the war, Lester returned to Cardington, where he worked as a carpenter, farmer, house painter, stationary engineer, musician. About that time, he purchased "a little home" for $270, with a $25 down payment.
Tragedy struck, however, in early 1904, when Lester suffered a series of strokes, causing paralysis. He died on March 27, 1904, at age 50, and was buried in Glendale Cemetery in Cardington. The physician attending Lester at death was Dr. C.H. Neal of Cardington.
On New Year's Eve, 1905, Maggie married George Clancey Miller (1852-1928), the son of George and Rebecca Miller. Among those present was Maggie's son Minor. George had been married (and widowed) twice before, to Mary L. Barnes and Isolina (Rogers) Duncan. Maggie thus became a step-mother of sorts to George's children -- those from his 1st marriage were Charles R. Miller, Carrie Sackman and Abraham Miller, and from his 2nd marriage were Harry Duncan Miller, Frank Lawrence Miller and Carlos Doyle Miller.
George
was a rural mail carrier for 18 years until his retirement. In the early 1920s,
Maggie suffered some sort of debilitating illness, and George "had to
give his entire time to his wife who is more or less an invalid," reported
the Morrow County Sentinel.
They resided at 124 William Street in Cardington. Among their longtime friends and neighbors were Wily and Weltha R. Sellars, H.D. Curl, S.C. Bennett, and O.H. and Kate Shaw.
They were married for exactly 23 years. George died of a stroke on New Year's Eve 1928. The Morrow County Sentinel said that he had been:
...feeling as well as usual Tuesday evening, also on Monday morning when he did the morning work and had been down street. He suddenly took ill and summoned a doctor and after he was put to bed his right side became paralyzed. He never spoke a word but grew weaker and finally passed away.
As the years passed, the memory of Lester Sherwood faded. In 1929, when the federal government asked for a copy of Lester's signature, the family could not find one. In a letter, son Minor wrote: "I have made diligent search of all effects remaining in the possession of [my mother], but cannot locate anything bearing his signature. It has been 25 years since his death, and all records and papers have been lost or destroyed."
Son Harry is said to have resided in California, and died at sea, perhaps "in some sort of military service or Merchant Marine," wrote one his grand-nieces. He died sometime between 1904 and 1931. This will be explored in future research.
Widowed
and helpless, Maggie moved to Stantontown, OH, to the home of her daughter
Ella Smith. She suffered a stroke in about 1927, and never recovered. During
that time, she was awarded a pension for her first husband's military service, and
received $30 a month.
Maggie died four years after her stroke, on July 18, 1931, and was buried beside Lester in Cardington. At her death, she carried life insurance policies with the Metropolitan Insurance Company. Daughter Ella wrote several letters to the US Pension Commissioner for reimbursement of Maggie's funeral expenses. Wrote Ella: "We tried to make the funeral expences as cheap as possible by paying cash. We had to get every dollar we could to pay..."
Circa 1932, daughter Ella resided at Marengo, OH.
For more information, contact great-granddaughter Doris Christian.
Copyright © 2001-2002 Mark A. Miner