Ward
C. Miner
(1882-1914)
Ward
C. Miner was born on July 3,
1882 in Greene County, PA, the son of Andrew Jackson and Mary Louise (Johnston)
Miner. He was an early professional photographer in our family, and an early
resident of Wyoming and Colorado.
In 1888,
as a five-year-old, Ward moved with his parents to near Hundred, Wetzel County, WV. In 1898, they moved again to Chartiers Twp., Washington County, PA,
and lived on the farm of Alexander Gaston. In 1901, the family moved again, to a rented house on Broad Street in Washington, PA.
With his family, Ward joined the West Washington Methodist Episcopal Church, where his brother Harry O. Miner and sister Emma White sang in the choir. Many of their Bedillion cousins were members of the church as well.
In about 1903, suffering from tuberculosis, Ward moved out west, hoping for a cure. He first went to Laramie City, Albany County, WY, and then to Louisville, Boulder County, CO, about 21 miles northwest of Denver.
Residing in Louisville, Ward joined the Louisville Methodist-Episcopal Church. He was not alone in Colorado, despite being so far away from his parents. He made his home there with his uncle and aunt, Benjamin "Addison" and Sadie E. Johnston, and nearby the dwellings of his uncle and aunt, Cassius Marcellus "Clay" and Caroline Johnston, and cousins Frank W. Johnston (1873- ? ) and Ward Johnston (1882- ? ).
Seen
here with his camera, Ward was an
accomplished photographer. He worked in Louisville in a photo studio,
"taking views," according to the federal census of 1910. Click to see
an enlarged version of this image, which was our "Photo of the Month"
in November 2005.
In 1906, his brother William Allen Miner came to Louisville for a visit, and for the purpose of attending the Epworth League convention in Denver.
Ward kept in communication with his parents back east, although in a postcard written just after Christmas 1913, his mother complained that she had not heard from him in awhile. Click here to see the actual postcard.
Tragically,
Ward
never found the cure he was seeking. On
March 24, 1914, he died at his home in Louisville. He was only 31 years of
age.
Ward's death made front-page news at home in the Washington Reporter. His remains were shipped back to Pennsylvania for burial in the Miner plot at Washington Cemetery. He rests for all time near his parents, brothers, nephew and nieces.
Copyright © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008 Mark A. Miner