Bio-Minerd, JacobBuck

Jacob Minerd Jr. was born on Sept. 12, 1854 in Evansville, Preston County, WV, the son of Jacob and Ruth (Adams) Minerd Sr. His birthdate also has been given as January 1861, but his birth officially is on record in Preston County.

We do not know if this family is related to ours, but it is known that Jacob Jr.'s father was a "Dutchman" (Pennsylvania German) and that he was from the precise area of the Fayette/Somerset County, PA, border region where our Minerds were pioneers in the 1790s. We also know that Jacob Jr.'s mother was a Native American and that Jacob Jr. and his siblings thus were considered of mixed race (or "mulatto" in the language of the mid-1800s).

As a young man, Jacob moved with his parents and siblings to South Grafton, Taylor County, WV and to Philippi, Barbour County, WV. Later, in the late 1870s or early 1880s, Jacob moved to the Athens County, OH, area.

On July 24, 1887, 33-year-old Jacob married 16-year-old Martha A. "Bessie" Buck (1870-1932?). The ceremony was performed in Athens County. It's possible Jacob fibbed about his age, given the difference of 17 years between him and his bride. Bessie was a native of Ohio.

Jacob labored as a farmer and farm hand. He also is known to have driven teams of horses and wagons, hauling materials for local customers. The photograph seen at right shows Jacob with a load of long pipe, taken along a road in the Guysville area of Athens County.

The Minerds had seven children, born between 1889 and 1899 -- Eva D. Minerd, Claude "Cloddie" or "Tod" Thomas Minerd, Edna A. Kyle, Lonnie B. Minerd, John E. Minerd, Basil A. Minerd Sr. and one of unknown identity who died prior to 1900.

Circa June 1900, when the federal census was taken, the Minerd family was renting their home, and living in Amesville, Ames Township, Athens County. In later years, the family also resided in Rome Township, Athens County.

Family portrait, taken at M.M. DeWeese Studio, Stewart, Ohio: Standing, back row, left to right: Tod, Edna and Eva. Seated, front: Basil, Jacob, John and Martha.

Tragedy struck the family in the spring of 1907. On April 4, while working on the farm of Mahlon Hayes about two miles south of Guysville, Jacob "dropped dead," said an Athens newspaper. He "was planting potatoes when he suddenly fell and died before medical aid could be summoned. He had been in good health previously and heart failure is supposed to be the cause of death." A granddaughter recalls that he had stopped his work to rest in the shade of a tree when he was stricken.

The funeral was held two days later at the Minerd home, and Jacob's remains were laid to rest in the Bean Cemetery. Jacob's family believed him to be age 42 at death, but in reality his actual age was 53. The Bean Cemetery is seen here circa 2005. A search of the cemetery, as well as an examination of burial records held at the Alden Library at Ohio University in nearby Athens, show that Jacob's grave is not marked, a fact that has been confirmed by family stories of a granddaughter.

Martha outlived her husband by 20 or more years. She remained in the Guysville area, and stayed in close contact with her children and growing family of grandchildren. One of her granddaughters remembers Martha giving her a scolding when playing on a porch. She is believed to have passed away in 1930 or 1932, and was laid to rest beside or near her husband. Their grave is said to be next to the fence at the top of the hill at Bean Cemetery.

View on Amesville's unpaved State Street. Note the railway track in the foreground, left to right

On May 15, 1912, 19-year-old daughter Edna Minerd (1893-1916) married 24-year-old James Delbert Kyle (1887-1965). The ceremony was performed by Athens Mayor G.H. Slaughter. James was a native of Stewart, Athens County, and was the son of James and Roe (Sutton) Kyle. The Kyles resided in Stewart, Athens County, and are believed to have had two children -- Margaret Kyle and Anne Kyle. Sadly, the marriage lasted only four years. In the fall of 1916, Edna came down with a bad case of pneumonia. She passed away from the illness on Oct. 4, 1916, at the age of 24. She was laid to rest in the Haga Cemetery in the rural hills of Guysville. The cemetery is seen at right as photographed in April 2005. Edna's grave today is not marked, but is recorded in the booklet, Rome Township Cemetery Inscriptions by Nancy E. Bryan Aiken and T. Lee Gregg, on file at Ohio University.

Son Claude ("Cloddie" or "Tod") Minerd (1891-1966) was of medium height and build, and had blue eyes and dark brown hair. Circa 1918, he resided at Guysville and was employed as a farmer by Mrs. Amy Cornell. He was a veteran of World War I, having served as a corporal in the 308 Motor Battallion. On his military draft registration card, he noted that his race was "African" and that his right foot was disabled, "caused by broken ankle." He married Ethel Frye (1896-1983), the daughter of Lee and Maud (Perrin) Fry. They resided in Guysville, Athens County and had 12 children -- Claude Watson Minerd of Little Hocking, OH; Bessie Brown of Guysville, OH; Margaret Rittinger of Chillicothe, OH; Roberta Dailey of Stewart, OH; Mina Mae Boyer of Columbus, OH; Mrs. Cre Yeater and Ohema Dumfee of Guysville, OH; Beverly Humphrey Thompson of Columbus, OH; Eudora Van Curren-Barnhart of Athens, OH; Watson Minerd of Little Hocking, OH; Robert Minerd of Barberton, OH; William Minerd of Guysville, OH; and Roy Minerd of Athens, OH. In December 1927, Ethel and several of her children attended a birthday party for M. Coon in Guysville, and the news was published in the Sunday Messenger newspaper. Claude passed away on March 14, 1966, and Ethel died on Feb. 12, 1983.

Son Basil Minerd Sr. (1898-1981) had grey eyes and brown hair. He married Audrey Lonas (1909-1992), the daughter of Charles O. and Bessie I. (Carsey) Lonas. Their children were Jean Beal Secoy and Donna France of Athens, OH, Shirley Fender of Chauncey, OH; Earl Edward Minerd of Athens and Florida, Basil Minerd Jr. of Washington; Charles Minerd of Springfield, OH; Roger Minerd of Glouster, OH, Gary Minerd of Chauncey, OH; Richard Dow Minerd; and Larry Lee Minerd. Circa 1918, Basil labored for D. Evans in Guysville. Sadly, their son Richard, a veteran of World War II, died at age 23 of heart disease on Feb. 27, 1953, and was buried at Clark Chapel Cemetery in Athens. Basil passed away in 1981. Audrey outlived him by 11 years, and died on July 30, 1992. At the time, she was survived by 32 grandchildren and several great and great-great grandchildren. One of Basil Sr.'s daughters recalls hearing that the Minerd family was of Cherokee and Irish descent.

Son John Edward Minerd (1899-1974) had a short and slender build, with brown eyes and black hair. He apparently never married. "He had been an oil field worker and farmer for the greater part of his life," said a newspaper. When he registered for the military draft in 1918, at the age of 19, he marked himself as a farmer, but the draft board representative wrote, "In my opinion occupation is more of an excuse." He lived during the 1960s in Nelsonville. Later in life, he resided in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Fickisen in Guysville. He passed away on Dec. 12, 1974, and is buried in the Bean Cemetery in Guysville.

Widowed son in law James D. Kyle later married Mary E. Thompson and had one son of their own, Hughie Weston Kyle. Said a newspaper, James "was employed by the Anchor Hocking Glass Co. in Lancaster until his retirement." He passed away in July 1965 in Lancaster. The fates of his daughters Margaret and Anne with Edna Minerd are unknown.

Grandson Claude W. Minerd served in World War II. "He retired from Union Carbide following 30 years of service," said a newspaper. Claude married Mabel Jenne. He passed away on Aug. 23, 2000, and is buried in Rockland Cemetery near Marietta.

Great-grandson Richard Dean "Rick" Minerd is the retired Chief of Police in Obetz, a suburb of Columbus, Franklin County, OH, where he spent a decade in law enforcement. Earlier in his career, he worked for 10 years as a public affairs officer with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, and was frequently quoted in the Columbus Dispatch and on radio and television in connection with crime-fighting activities. He was quoted in Time Magazine (Dec. 15, 2003) for his work to help catch a sniper along Interstate 270 who had gunned down numerous motorists before being captured. Rick also has been quoted or mentioned in the New York Times, USA Today and Cleveland Plain Dealer. In 1991, he appeared on a segment of television's America's Most Wanted with John Walsh to apprehend an escaped rapist. Prior to his career as a police officer, he was a radio news, sports and talk-show broadcaster with some of the most popular radio stations in Columbus -- WTVN, WCOL, WNCI and WMNI. Rick is strongly considering an election campaign in 2008 for the office of Sheriff of Franklin County.

Be sure to visit Jacob's page on the TribalPages.com website compiled by Barb Nelson with significant excerpts from our research and website.