Daniel
L. Minor
(1835-1909)
Daniel
L. Minor was born
on Dec. 20, 1835 near Somerset, Perry County, OH, son of Jacob and Mary (Ferguson)
Miner.
A veteran of the Civil War, Daniel was wounded in battle during General Sherman's famous "March to the Sea" in North Carolina and Georgia and is profiled in a well-known history book about Perry County. He also was an early coal miner of Perry County.
Daniel added the middle initial "L" to his name after reaching manhood, but it's not known whether the letter stood for another name or whether it simply helped to differentiate him from someone else by the same name.
Daniel was raised on a farm near Somerset.
He was about the same age as another young
man who grew up in Somerset and later went on to great fame in
the Civil War -- General
Philip Henry 'Little Phil' Sheridan -- whose portrait is seen at right.
Sheridan, four years older than Daniel, is said to have "carried water for the
workmen and afterwards drove a cart in the construction of the Zanesville and
Maysville pike, the line of which passed through the town of his boyhood home
and on which has father had a contract." In
1905, a
statue of Sheridan on horseback (seen at left) was unveiled in the square in
the center of Somerset, and stands there today.
At age 16 or 17, Daniel moved with his parents to Brownsville, Licking County, OH. As an adult, he stood 5 feet, 10 inches with dark brown hair and blue-grey eyes. He learned the cooper trade, serving with his brother for one year, after which he did journey work until the Civil War began.
Daniel enlisted in Company C of the 27th Ohio Infantry on July 18, 1861. After serving for seven months, he was discharged at 4th Street Hospital in St. Louis, MO, in January 1862, due to disability from a buildup of fluids.
Returning home, he worked as a journeyman for about two months. When his health returned he re-enlisted in Co. A of the 10th Ohio Cavalry with his second cousin, Frederick Miner Jr. (An interesting note is that a "Matthew Miner" was a corporal in the regiment, but was a member of the unrelated English family of Miner.)
In September 1863, Daniel came down with a bad case of hemorrhoids. Later, he was promoted to quartermaster sergeant and saw service in battle at Athens, NC. He took part of the infamous 'March to the Sea' under William Tecumseh Sherman (also known as the 'March on Atlanta'). On that offensive, at Resaca, GA in May 1864, Daniel was shot in the left thigh and was hospitalized for two months.
A sketch of the Battle of Resaca, GA, where Daniel was wounded
Daniel was discharged on July 24, 1865 at Lexington, NC. He returned home and later that year married Frances Vreeland at Linville, OH, on Dec. 14, 1865. Their children were Maude Rhoads, Charles Claudius Minor and Mary 'Mayme' Daugherty.
For next three years, Daniel labored as a cooper in winter and as a farmer in summer. In 1872, he moved to the booming coal town of Shawnee, Perry County, OH. He lived and worked there for many years as a coal miner.
Shawnee was known
for its coal mining and clay brick making, and gained fame in the 1870s as the site
of the formation of the Knights of Labor. At right is a rare pen and ink
sketch of a Shawnee coal mine of the era.
During this time, Daniel's nephew, James E. Johnston, began his law practice in Shawnee before moving to nearby New Lexington, Perry County, and later becoming a judge. In 1889, James signed his name as a witness to paperwork Daniel filed to obtain a Civil War veterans pension.
Daniel died on May 18, 1909. Frances
died on June 21, 1915. Both are
buried at Shawnee Cemetery.
Daniel's biography appears in the 1883 History of Fairfield and Perry Counties. (Click to see the full text in an electronic reprint of the book.) He also is mentioned in the 1881 History of Licking County.
Copyright
© 2000, 2002, 2005 Mark A. Miner.
Sketch of Resaca reproduced from Life and Deeds of
General Sherman,
F.F. Spyer & Co., Brooklyn, NY.