Azaniah "Melvin" Minerd
(1855-1921)
Azaniah "Melvin" Minerd was born in May 1855 in Farmington, Fayette County, PA, the son of Samuel and Rebecca (Smalley) Minerd. He and his wife were pioneer settlers of Kansas.
While in Fayette County,
Melvin married Harriett Jane Baldwin (1860-1949). She
was born on April 19, 1860 in Fayette County. Harriett is seen here,
at left, with her sister in law, Margaret
Hester (Minerd) Jackson.
The Minerds' four children were Orville Baldwin Minerd, George B. Minerd, Olive Shelton and Sylvester Lynn Minerd.
Melvin's
occupation in Fayette County is not known. However, the June 13, 1878 edition of
the Uniontown Genius of Liberty reported that an "A.M. Minerd,
Bullskin Twp." had been granted a hotel license a few days earlier. (The
clipping is seen at right) Since Melvin's father also was a hotel-keeper,
and as Melvin's brother Levi Springer
Minerd also resided in Bullskin, the reference to "A.M." is
thought to be Melvin.
In 1886, when Melvin was 31, he and Harriett and his parents and siblings ventured westward, leaving their longtime homes and becoming pioneer settlers of Pittsburg, Crawford County, KS. They took with them their one-year-old son Orville.
After becoming firmly established in Pittsburg, Melvin and his brothers "removed the first coal by using a slope mine, in what is now Lincoln Park in Pittsburg..."
Melvin worked as a coal dealer in and around Pittsburg, but went on to become a police officer during Dr. Charles Hunter's administration as Mayor of Pittsburg. Law enforcement service became a tradition in this family, and, following in his footsteps, son Sylvester (in Bloomington, IN), grandson Donald E. Minerd, grandson in law Frank Swope, great-grandson Mike Minerd and great-great grandson Tracey Repp have all served in this way.
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Busy coal mine operations in Pittsburg in the early 1900s |
Later in life, Melvin worked as a meat cutter.
In June 1899, a passerby named John Ramsey, on his way overland from Missouri to Kansas, recorded this story about Melvin in his diary. It was reprinted in the Winter 1996 edition of the White River Valley Historical Quarterly:
…We camped in Cherokee County, Kansas, eleven miles east of Columbus. A Mr. Minerd and two of his boys stayed with us. He lived at Pittsburg Kansas. He happened up with us Saturday night and his boys wanted to come in with us to Spring River to fish. Plenty of timber along the river. Spent nothing. (I remember this Mr. Minerd had his boys out for weekend outing. He was very much worried about his horses. Said there was a gang that made practice of stealing horses from campers along the river. It was raining some too, and we kept more than the usual vigilance, based on his caution. In the night I hear my father calling me for help and to bring a knife quick. I knew from his tone of voice he was in a strain out among the horses and I supposed he was mixed up with a horsethief. I jumped up and grabbed a dagger knive we kept handy and clambered out as fast as I could. It developed that one of the horses has someway got tangled up in his halter rope and was about to choke to death. Father just wanted a knife to cut the rope before too late.
In about 1919, Melvin became
sick, and two years later he died, on July 5, 1921. He was laid to eternal rest at the Mt. Olive Cemetery in Pittsburg.
Harriett survived him by nearly three decades, making her residence at 114 West Madison Street.
She died at the home of her daughter Olive Shelton on March 18, 1949, at the age of 89, after residing in Pittsburg for more than six decades.
For more information, contact great-granddaughter Melinda (Swope) Brooksher.
Copyright © 2000, 2006-2007 Mark A. Miner