8. WILLIAM RODERICK was born 26 Apr 1826 in Alexander Bay, Jefferson, NY, USA. He died 10 Dec 1913 in New Haven, Olmsted, MN, USA and was buried 13 Dec 1913 in Pine Island, Goodhue, MN, USA. WILLIAM married MARIAH PIKE on 6 Mar 1848 in St Lawrence County, NY, USA. [Parents]
Obituary of William Roderick taken from the Pine Island Record. It reads:
William Rodrick was born April 2, 1826, at Alexander Bay, Jefferson Co., N.Y.
Here he grew to young manhood, and March 6th, 1848 he was united in marriage
with Miss Mariah Pike. To them were born six children: Emily Jane, William
Eugene, Ellen Mariah, Daniel Webster, Varnum Judson, and one babe that died in
infancy. Of these but two survive the death of the father, Daniel Webster and
Varnum Judson, both of New Haven. His wife died in 1895.
Mr. Rodrick came to Minnesota in 1866, settling in New Haven where he has
since resided.
For many months Mr. Rodrick has been in failing health. He bore his
sufferings with great patience, though often in great physical pain. During
the earlier years of his life Mr. Rodrick was not a religious man, but about
seven years since he came to the time when he felt that he owed a debt to the
loving Heavenly Father which could be paid in no other way than by giving his
life to His service, and he turned toward the way of faith and trust in God.
In his last days that faith supported him and he often expressed his
thankfulness that he had found the way before the end came to him.
In faith in the love and mercy of God he came on toward the end of his life
in great peace. He died at the home of his son, Varnum, in New Haven Dec.
10th, 1913, aged 87 years, 8 months and 8 days.
The funeral was from the M. E. church of the village Thursday afternoon, the
services being conducted by the pastor, Rev. C. E. Mead. Interment was made in
Pine Island cemetery.
His departure is mourned by a large circle of relatives and friends who hold
him in loving remembrance.William was more commonly known as "Grandpa Billy." He was a great
storyteller, often "tall tales" of the past. He always claimed he was "born on
the river" and both he and his brother John were river boat captains. Some
reports state William was born in Canada - specifically census records -
although census records for his brother John state John was "born in Spain."
The Pike book, recorded when William was younger states he was born in Canada
and that his parents were Joseph Rodrique and Josette (Rosette) Giraud. His
death certificate also lists his father as Joseph but does not give his
mothers name. William told his family that he was French Canadian and Catholic
but had left the Catholic church after an altercation with a priest after his
fathers death. Another story states that his mother died and his father
remarried and had a large family - it is known that he had at least one
step-brother. These conflicting stories make William's background extremely
hard to prove and as yet no absolute confirmation of his heritage has been
found. After contact with descendants of John Roderick, this mystery becomes
even more muddled. Professional genealogists have been hired to trace the
family and three of them conclude that the line included in this history is
"the most probable." Another puzzle becomes apparent concerning the name
Rodrigue - it is most certainly French but is also found as a Spanish name and
with the recent discovery of the census records for John Rodrick in Eagle
River, Wisconsin stating John was from Spain, this confounds the search for
the Rodrigue ancestry. Both William and John "Americanized" their name to
Roderick, and Varnum - William's son going a step farther, dropped the middle
E. The first absolute record we have found for William is a census record for
New York where he was living with Mariah, his wife and several of his
children, including our ancestor Varnum. A baptismal record found in Quebec,
Canada shows a "Guilliame Roderigue" born to Joseph Roderique and Josepte
Giraud at approximately the correct dates to have been our William but most of
the other records we have state William to have been born in Alexander Bay,
New York. Until further proof is found, this is one mystery left unsolved.
9. MARIAH PIKE was born 13 Jul 1827 in Charlemont, Franklin, MA, USA. She died 9 Oct 1895 in New Haven, Olmsted, MN, USA and was buried 11 Oct 1895 in Pine Island, Goodhue, MN, USA. [Parents]
Obituary taken from the Pine Island Record: MARITA MARIAH PIKE was born in
the state of Massachusetts July 27, 1827. She was married to William Roderick
in St. Lawrence county, New York, in the spring of 1848. Six children were
born to them, four of whom survive their mother. She came with her husband and
family to Minnesota in 1866 and settled in New Haven township, about three
miles southwest of this village, where they have since resided. Deceased died
Oct. 9th at the age of 68 years, 2 months and 28 days. The funeral services
were conducted by Eld. Roberts, of this village, at the M. E. church, where a
large and sympathising audience was in attendance. Three sons, one daughter
and a bereaved husband survive to mourn their great loss.
Mariah (pronounced Mar-i-ah) is well documented in our records. We have
located census records, both here and in New York, her death record, her
burial record, her obituary and other family papers. At the same time some
mystery surrounds Mariah, starting with her name. At various times it is
spelled Meribah, Maria, Maraby, Mary and Marita and the family called her Mari
(Mar-i). Records disagree on her birth date as well - they state July 11,
18th, and 27th although all agree she was born in Massachusetts and the year
1827. Mariah's parents are also well documented but another mystery surrounds
her mother, Meribah Jones. Meribah was from the Buckland, Mass. area where her
marriage intention was published to John Pike. Their children were born in
Massachusetts but earlier records of Buckland burned many years ago and
Meribah's mystery surrounds her birth. The family has always said that Meribah
was an Indian (some state of the Susquehanna tribe - Indian's that lived in
the Pennslyvania area) and Mariah was half-Indian. But as of this date, their
is no proof at all that this was true. The one picture left to the family of
Mariah seems to indicate that she truly "looked" Indian. Almost all of the
descendants of William and Mariah have heard this tradition of Indian blood
but there is, as yet, not one shred of hard evidence to support this. Three
"Meribah's" have been discovered in the Buckland area, none of which seem to
be "our" Meribah. We have been told that when an Indian married an Englishman,
they often took "Americanized" names, often of families that had befriended
them - perhaps this would explain Meribah's name, but without more proof, this
cannot be used as fact. Hopefully, one day someone will discover the facts
about this "Indian" ancestor. John Pike, Mariah's father has ancestry proven
back many, many generations, even without the Buckland records so perhaps
someone, somewhere has the proof needed about his wife. The National Bureau of
Indian Affairs, when we inquired there, wrote that their records were in
disarray after the protests and invasion of the early sixties. Many records
were scattered and some destroyed during these protests. They said at the time
that they anticipated at least a ten year period would be required before they
could answer any inquiries.
It is also not known how or why Mariah was in New York, where she married
William Roderick (Rodrigue). Records consistently state - with one exception -
that William and Mariah were married and made their home in St Lawrence
county, New York. Census records find them there, with their children. No
record indicates that her family moved to New York from Massachusetts so the
mystery remains how and when William and Mariah met.
Physically, Mariah was a tall, big boned woman with black hair and dark
eyes. Many of her descendants show these traits as well.
10. THEADOR SETH HARDING COALWELL was born 23 Nov 1845 in East Troy, Walworth, WI, USA. He died 16 May 1921 in Hastings, Dakota, MN, USA. THEADOR married THURBER LARS AMONDS on 18 Oct 1868 in Dane, Walworth, WI, USA. [Parents]
Theador met Thurber in Wisconsin when he was a young man and they
married in Dane county, Wi. He had all his children by her, his first wife,
although he married twice more in his lifetime. He lived to be elderly and
spent his last years in an Old Soldiers home. He is buried with Thurber in
Mazeppa, Mn. He and Thurber left a family bible, inherited by Mead Coalwell,
a grandson. Theador was in the Union Army during the time of the Civil War.
He and Thurber were married at the Patton Home at Dane, Wi.
11. THURBER LARS AMONDS was born 11 Mar 1846 in Norway. She died 27 Jan 1901 in Dodge Center, Dodge, MN, USA and was buried 1901 in Dodge Center, Dodge, MN, USA. [Parents]
Thurber became a nurse in her adult life. She was supposed to have been
influenced in this by the death of her brothers on the trip from Norway
although no records mention these sons. Thurber had a physical deformity -
she was hunchbacked - and nursing must have been very hard for her. She raised
her family as Seventh Day Adventists, uncommon for Norwegians as they are
almost all Lutheran. She is buried in Mazeppa, Mn. along with Theador, her
husband. Thurber's Norwegian name was Torbjorg Larsdtr. Himle.
12. TRUMAN CULVER was born 28 Apr 1813/1815 in Canadaigua, Ontario, NY, USA. He died 11 Oct 1905 in Oronoco, Olmsted, MN, USA and was buried 13 Oct 1905 in Oronoco, Olmsted, MN, USA. TRUMAN married LYDIAN SLAYMAKER on 25 Mar 1841 in East Grove, Bureau, IL, USA. [Parents]
Truman was engaged to drive a flock of sheep from New York to what was then
the wilderness of Illinois. He decided to settle in Lee County and later
Walnut, Bureau, IL. After farming many years, he sold his farm and stock, and
moved his family to Bear Valley, Wabasha, MN, and then, in April 1865, he took
possession of a farm in Oronoco Township, Olmsted, MN.
13. LYDIAN SLAYMAKER was born 14 Mar 1819 in Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA. She died 28 May 1887 in Oronoco, Olmsted, MN, USA and was buried in Oronoco, Olmsted, MN, USA. [Parents]
Lydian Slaymaker Culver was our maternal great grandmother.
She and her husband, Truman Culver homesteaded and worked the farm where my
mother was born in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Lydian, Lydia or "Lyd" married
in Illinois and moved to Minnesota with her husband, father and most of her
brothers and sisters. She and her husband stayed in Minnesota while several of
the family moved to Nebraska and started the branches of Slaymaker's there. On
finding a picture of Lydian in the Rochester Historical Society, we were
startled to see she was the identical image of our mother, Florence Culver
Rodrick. Her brothers are described as six-foot and Lydian was very short and
stout!I am including in Lydian's biography a story written by Edith Lumsden, an
ancestor of the Nebraska Slaymakers which begins with Lydian's immigrant
ancestor Mathias Schliermacher and ends with the westword movement of the
family titled "THE SLAYMAKERS, A PIONEER FAMILY" compiled in 1950.The Slaymaker family history, like that of many other pioneer
families of the mid-west, has its beginning in central Europe. There in Hesse-
Cassel, Mathias Schleiermacher, the founder of the American line was born and
reared. There he left several brothers when, about 1685, he moved southwestward
to the city of Strasbourg in Alsace. Just why he decided, several years later,
to migrate to America we do not know. It is possible that the unsettled
conditions in what later was to become the German nation may have been a
contributing factor in that decision. Strasbourg was close to the French
border, (at present it is within France) and if there were war tensions this
city, the very name of which means "fortress of the roads", was sure to have
felt them. Somewhat later two of Mathias' brothers were to serve in the famous
"tall" regiment of Frederick William I, King of Prussia. The required height
for this Potsdam Regiment was 6'4". It is said that the king searched all of
Europe to fill its ranks. It must have been almost as difficult to get away
from the fear of war in the Europe of the late 17th Century as it is today.Whatever may have been his reason or reasons for venturing across the
Atlantic, we find Mathias and his young wife, Catherine, arriving in
Philadelphia one day in the spring of 1710. How different this bustling little
colonial city must have seemed from the ancient city of Strasbourg they had
left behind them! North and west of Philadelphia in what is now Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania, the London Company (it had had a hand in the settlement
of Jamestown a century earlier) was busily disposing of surveyed lands. In this
rich section of southern Pennsylvania, Mathias Schleiermacher bought 1000 acres
of land, built a log house near a spring, and settled down to the pleasant (but
to him certainly unfamiliar) occupation of farming. It is interesting to note
that today a portion of this original purchase is still owned by certain of his
descendants. We are indebted to another, the late Samuel Cochran Slaymaker, for
the research upon and publication of a family history in which the genealogy
of the eastern branch of the family is traced.In the third generation the spelling of the name was changed from
Schleiermaker, which means veil-maker, to Slaymaker, which has no particular
meaning but is easier to spell and pronounce. No doubt this would have puzzled
Mathias had he lived to know of the change. He never, it seems, found it
necessary to master the intricacies of the English language nor, for that
matter, did many of his neighbors. In that day German was quite commonly spoken
in much of Pennsylvania.All of the five sons of Mathias and Catherine were born in America.
Their names were Lawrence, Mathias, John, Henry and Daniel. These given names
were to be repeated again and again in later generations. There are today in
the vicinity of Atkinson a John, a Lawrence, and a Daniel Slaymaker.We are particularly interested in Mathias' third son, John, for he
was the direct ancestor of the western branch of the family. John was born in
1733, and died in 1798, having lived throught two major wars and witnessed the
establishment of constitutional government in the young republic. Every school
boy knows the story of Braddock's ambush and defeat by French and Indian forces
and how the young Washington was able to save some of the troops from
annihilation. John was there too. The family history tells in detail of his
unsuccessful efforts to get horse drawn cannon into position. The efforts were,
it seems, disastrous to eleven horses but John was unscathed. Perhaps some of
the Indians were not as good marksman as we have been led to believe! During
the early days of the American Revolution John was active in organizing a
company of militia and appears to have served intermittently during most of the
seven years of warfare. There is an amusing anti-climax in the history at this
point. It adds, rather smugly, "He was afterward chosen county commissioner."
John's home was always in Lancaster County and his eleven children were born
and raised there.William, the ninth child, was married there but within a few years
moved a short distance south and west to Frederick County, Maryland. Baltimore,
about thirty miles distant, was the nearest marketing center. According to
records available in Frederick County, William bought land and farmed on rather
an extensive scale. Family tradition also has it that at one time he used slave
labor. This would have been quite understandable considering the period and
section in which he lived. William died in 1813.
One of William's sons, Daniel, is the next link. By Daniel's time the
descendants of Mathias Schleiermacher had long since used the name Slaymaker
and were no longer able to speak the German language. Daniel married (the
ceremony took place in Baltimore) and for a time continued to live in Frederick
County. The oldest son, Rueben, was born there.After about 1815, there was a great swing of population from the
eastern seaboard to the country west of the Appalachians. The Cumberland Road,
from Cumberland on the Potomac across southwestern Pennsylvania to Wheeling on
the Ohio, was opened in 1818. Daniel and his little family moved across the
Appalachians to southern Ohio where he purchased land. From Ohio the Indiana
country beckoned a few years later. The late 1830's found them in Illinois not
far from the little town of Walnut. Records show that in each of these
localities Daniel purchased and improved land.It is impossible to tell the story of a family without indicating how
the family was affected by and a part of the great trends of our national life.
Between 1830 and 1860 Illinois was a hotbed of political activity. As young
people Daniel's family were enthralled by the affairs of the day and keenly
aware of the growing crisis regarding the moral issue of slavery. They were not
far from the town of Nauvoo which, it will be remembered, had been chartered
by the State of Illinois as a "gathering" place for the members of The Church
of The Latter Day Saints. While in no way connected with the religious hysteria
of the time (which was to end in the death of Joseph Smith and his brother and
the migration of the Mormons westward in 1846) they knew of the situation in
Nauvoo and the sentiment of many of the non-Mormon settlers.In 1856, after the mother died, the family moved to yet another
frontier and both Daniel and his sons bought land. Southeastern Minnesota was
beautiful, rich rolling country. There they expected to stay. Two years later,
in 1858, one of the sons made a trip back to Illinois. There probably were
other reasons for the trip but while he was there he followed the two great
Americans who were campaigning for the U.S. Senate, listening intently to the
arguments they gave in defense of their views. Many years later he remarked
that HE had thought Lincoln had the best of all the arguments but that maybe
he was prejudiced. "Anyway," he added, "Douglas was elected to the Senate."Three years later Lincoln was in the White House and the country was
at war. But, for a time things were not so very changed for the Slaymaker
family in Minnesota. They were wheat farmers and a country at war needed wheat.
But as the war dragged on the need for man power, not only for military
operations in the South but also for patrol of the western frontier, became
more and more urgent. Early in 1864, Reuben, then in his early fourties, and
Henry, ten years younger, enlisted. They were attached to Company C of
Brackett's Battalion of the Minnesota Mounted Infantry. They had expected to
be sent south but instead their regiment was assigned to the Indian country and
they spent the next two years in the Dakotas and northern Nebraska. Reuben kept
a day by day record of their marches which is still almost miraculously
preserved. The diary tells of one winter spent at Fort Ridgley and another at
Fort Randall. There were forced marches, records of deaths from Indian snipers,
and one day-long battle. Through it all one may read the utter monotony of the
daily routine as well as the strain of the constant vigilance which was the
price of survival. The Slaymakers were not mustered out of the service until
the summer of 1866. Two days later they were at home in Wabasha County.
Things were about the same there. Their father was getting old (he
died in the early 1870's) and Henry's young family needed him. They were glad
to be back. But there were worries too. Farm prices had begun to drop as they
are apt to after a war. By 1873, with wheat prices far less than the cost of
production, ruin faced not only the Slaymakers but farmers throughout the
nation. As hard times continued the returned soldiers thought more and more
about the lush grass and the good water of the northern Nebraska country.The Homestead Act of 1862, had made "free land", if not easy at least
possible to obtain. So it came about that of the nine sons and daughters of
Daniel, now themselves middle-aged and with family responsibilities, seven
eventually made their homes in Holt County. All of the seven are buried in
Atkinson's Woodlawn Cemetery. Much of the land to which they obtained title is
still owned by their descendants.It was May 1879, when the first group reached Green Valley, southwest
of Atkinson. They were: Reuben, Emily, Daniel, Henry, Rebecca, and the three
teen-age children of Henry - Lewis, Mary and Wesley. Covered wagons had been
their home for a month, the time it had taken them to cover the distance from
Bear Valley, Minnesota to Atkinson, Nebraska. They were well supplied with
horses, cattle, and milch cows. Even their chickens they brought along and
safely stored away were the seeds which were necessary for their first Nebraska
crop.
Many years later one of the younger members of the group remarked,
"Of course we might have made the trip in less time, but we couldn't hurry the
cattle. The early spring weather was perfect and there were so many new and
strange things along the way that it was almost like one long picnic. I still
remember the red roofs of Sioux Falls and the thrill of the ferry at Yankton.
We didn't even have to cook over a camp fire. Uncle Reuben had found a light-
weight sheet iron stove somewhere. It even had a little oven. I have never had
food taste so good since!" It is doubtful whether the older members of the
party had the same light-hearted viewpoint, but we are reasonably sure they
were not depressed by the venture. There was, however, a certain urgency which
had to do with the planting of crops. Before the men even started to build a
shelter the prairie sod was broken and corn and potatoes planted. They made a
garden -- and hoped for a later frost.Reuben selected the claim sites and filing was made within a short
time at O'Neill. Each adult was entitled to file on 160 acres. It would be five
years before title would be granted upon proof that they had lived on the land
and made certain improvements. A few years later the law was changed to permit
each person to gain title to an additional 160 acres provided a certain number
of acres of trees were planted and growing at the time the settler appeared to
prove his title to the land. Some of the family took advantage of this Kinkaid
Act, but it was a real accomplishment to keep the trees alive in dry years.In all of the frontiers from Pennsylvania to Minnesota the family had
always had a adequate supply of timber for log or frame houses and for fuel.
Nebraska was different. There were almost no trees. Shelter and fuel were
therefore major problems. Sod houses were the answer, and incidentally a fairly
satisfactory answer, which the earliest settlers had found to the shelter
problem. They were certainly far from perfect -- but they were warm! Fuel was
something else again. The enterprising soul who first thought of the "hay
burner" probably deserved more credit than the people who used the invention
were willing to give him. This boiler-like container was packed with hay and
inverted over the open top of a stove. The fire that resulted was sudden and,
to put it mildly, brisk. Inconvenient and dangerous as the "hay burner" was,
it was one answer to the fuel problem. Corn cobs were another answer. A twenty-
five mile trip to the Niobrara country where wood was available was still
another.By fall the sod house and barns (for it was vital that the stock be
protected) were completed and the corn, potatoes and other produce including
cabbage, rutabagas, turnips, beets, and beans were harvested. Providentially
there was a late frost.One brother, John, had not been able to leave Minnesota with the
first goup of the family. It was late fall before he, his wife Susan, and their
family reached Nebraska. John filed on land to the south and west of the first
claim. Several years later a sister, Caroline Whipple, together with three
grown children made her home in the south country.All of the Slaymakers who now live in Nebraska and probably all who
live west of the Mississippi are descendants of either John or Henry, for
neither of the other two brothers ever married.During the eighty years since the family came to Nebraska they have,
as a family and as individuals, experienced all of the good and all of the bad
of the region and the nation. In a brief sketch of this type it is impossible,
though very tempting, to record numberless anecdotes of early days which are
a part of the heritage of every pioneer family but which, unfortunately, are
usually of greater interest to the narrator than to the listeners. We are
inclined to picture the life of the early settlers as difficult and dreary. And
it was -- at times. The droughts and the floods, the blizzards and the
hailstorms, the prarie fires and the grasshoppers are certainly one side of the
picture. But weighed against this bleak array of disasters must be those many
years when nature smiled and the crops were bountiful, the comfortable
unhurried days, good neighbors, lasting friendships, hope for the future, and
an abiding faith that it was a great and good land.So, finally, we come to understand some of the reasons that so many
of those who have come from this long line of pioneers still live, and are
happy to live, in northern Nebraska.Lydian and Truman and the Nebraska brother and sister's kept up a
correspondence with each other and visits between the several families
continued up to and into our mother's life (Lydia's granddaughter). Upon
researching and finding one Lawrence Slaymaker in Lincoln, NE we wrote and our
mother - one granddaughter of the Minnesota Slaymakers and Lawrence - one
grandson of the Nebraska Slaymakers enjoyed writing each other to the end of
their lives. We are particularly happy to have found our good cousin Edith
Slaymaker Lumsen without which this history would have been very difficult
indeed. Lawrence often commented on his remembrances of a trip home to
Minnesota as a young lad and meeting the Culvers, Masons and Whipples. He
remembered the Culver family and our mother's brothers as being unexpectedly
"short". As most of the Culvers, including Lydian and Truman, Daniel and the
rest were all from 5 foot to 5 foot 6 inches, they would have been short indeed
to the other 6 foot Slaymakers.
14. SALEM WALTER MILLER was born 13 Feb 1840 in Chataqua County, NY, USA. He died 25 Aug 1903 in New Haven, Olmsted, MN, USA and was buried 27 Aug 1903 in Pine Island, Goodhue, MN, USA. SALEM married ABIGAIL SOPHIA REYNOLDS on 23 Feb 1860 in Wayne, Layfette, WI, USA. [Parents]
The obituary of Salem Walter Miller from the Pine Island Record newspaper of
Thursday, September 1903 reads as follows:
Salem Walter Miller was born in Chautauqua County, New York, February 13,
1840, where he lived until he came to Stephenson County, Illinois with his
parents in 1855. In February of 1860 he was married to Abbie S. Reynolds and
together they came to Minnesota in November 1860. Nine children were born to
them, three of whom died in infancy.
He enlisted in the 4th Minnesota, Comp. D, He enrolled Oct. 10. 1861 and
mustered out Oct 10, 1861 in Pine Island, Goodhue, Minnesota. He received an
injury to his ankle which necessitated his discharge and from which he never
recovered. He was "Out of service before returns were made to Washington."
In civil war records he is listed as a Corporal.
He led a fairly active life until about eleven years ago, since which time
he was unable to walk but a short distance. He was in failing health all
winter and was taken with severe kidney trouble about the 20th of June but
still continued to make his daily trip to the creamery tho daily, growing
weaker. About the 1st of August he was persuaded, much against his
inclination, to keep his room. No competent physician had been employed up to
that time. Dr. Hill was then called in, but too late to give much benefit,
both dropsy and heart trouble being present. He suffered much but his four
daughters, Mrs. Fannie Roderick, Mrs. Lottie Davenport, Mrs. Rosa Culver, Mrs.
Daisy Brink together with their husbands, as well as his wife and only son
James, were almost constantly with him and all that loving thought and care
could do was done. One daughter, Mrs. Myrtle Pike of Bemidji, was not able to
be present. He was not at any time confined to his bed, occupying his chair a
large share of the time, being helped into it for a short time but a few hours
before his death. Tuesday it was apparent to all who saw him that his hours
were numbered and Wednesday morning about three o'clock Mrs. Culver and Mr.
Roderick who were watching with him called the rest of the household up and
shortly before 4 o'clock, without a struggle he passed away. The funeral was
from the residence at two o'clock Thursday, August 27. His pallbearers were
his G.A.R. comrades, but owing to the stormy weather they did not hold their
customary services.
15. ABIGAIL SOPHIA REYNOLDS was born 11 Mar 1843 in Fairfax, Franklin, VT, USA. She died 1 May 1928 in Oronoco, Olmsted, MN, USA and was buried 3 May 1928 in Pine Island, Goodhue, MN, USA. [Parents]
Three articles were written about Abbey Miller in the Pine Island Record when
she died. The first, dated May 3, 1928 reads: PIONEER LADY PASSES; Mrs. Abbey
Miller, one of the very early pioneer residents of this section, passed away
at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Dan Culver, shortly before 12:00 o'clock
Tuesday night at the age of 85 years.
She is survived by three daughters: Mrs. D. W. Davenport, Mrs. Dan Culver and
Mrs. Daisy Rodd and one son, James Miller of Menominee, Wis.
Funeral services will be held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Mott this
afternoon at 2:00 with burial in Pine Island cemetery.
Mrs. Miller had a most interesting career and we shall attempt to obtain an
adequate sketch of her life for future publication.
The second article is dated May 10, 1928 and reads: The death of Mrs. Abbie S.
Miller occurred Tuesday evening at the home of her daughter, Mrs. D. S.
Culver, where she spent the past two years. Mrs. Miller was a pioneer resident
of New Haven township arriving there in 1857. She was born at Fairfax, Vt.
March 11, 1843 and was thus eighty five years, one month and twenty days old
at the time of her death. The funeral was held at the home of her
grand-daughter, Mrs. Willis Mott, in Pine Island and interment was in the Pine
Island cemetery beside the husband and children who had preceded her in death.
Relatives attending the funeral fromhere were D. S. Culver and wife and son,
Lecil, Carl Culver and family, John Loos and family and Lloyd Culver and
family of Rochester. The adjoining column states C. J. Rodrick and family of
Faribault (this was in error) came Wednesday evening for a short visit. The
former returned home that evening while Mrs. Rodrick remained to attend the
funeral of Mrs. Miller, her grandmother, Thursday.
The third article was a sketch of Abbie's life and appeared on May 17, 1928:
MRS. ABBEY S. MILLER; Mrs. Abbie Sophia Miller, the daughter of Rev. Tertius
and Eliza Reynolds, was born at Fairfax, Vermont, March 11, 1843 and passed
away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. D. S. Culver near Oronoco on Tuesday,
May 1 at 11:45 p.m.
On May 11, 1857 she came with her parents to New Haven township where she has
resided continuously since that time with the exception of the past two years
which she spent at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Culver.
As a young woman she taught in the nearby school until on Feb. 23, 1860, she
was united in marriage to Salem Walter Miller, who passed on Aug. 26, 1903.
To this union six daughters and three sons were born, three of whom died in
infancy and two daughters; Mrs. Fannie Rodrick and Mrs. Myrta Pike passed on
some years ago. The surviving children are Mrs. Rose Culver of Oronoco, Mrs.
Daisy rodd of Rockford, IL, Mrs. Lottie Davenport of Pine Island and James
Miller of Menomonie, Wis. She is also survived by 14 grandchildren, 22
great-grandchildren and 4 great great grandchildren.
Mrs. Miller was a woman of rare intelligence and possessed a wonderful
memory. Last July 4, at the age of 84, she recited a long poem committed to
memory in youth. She was always a great reader until a few months ago when
failing faculties prevented, her favorite subject being history. She was a
writer of considerable ability and has written many historical articles
dealing with her pioneer experiences for the local papers.
She was essentially a home woman and loved her home above all other places
and was fond of receiving her friends there. She was the daughter of a
Congregational minister and was firm in the faith of that denomination
throughout her long life.
Funeral services were held Thursday afternoon May 3, at the home of a
granddaughter, Mrs. Willis Mott, in Pine Island, Rev. I. N. Goodell
officiating and interment was made in Pine Island cemetery.Some facts in the last article were not completely correct as Abbie and Salem
were in Illinois at the time of their marriage and appear in the census of
Stephenson County. It is not clear if Abbie taught in Illinois before her
marriage or in New Haven after she was married. Her sister was a teacher in
Illinois and also married there and came to Minnesota about the time her
parents and other family did. Salem and Abbie owned property near Pine Island
that appears on the plat maps of that time and this area was recently found.
The original house seems to be standing with some additions added.
Abbie was a tiny woman with snow white hair and her granddaughter, Florence
recalled her lovingly and respected because of her intelligence and memory.
The poem Abbie recited was "The Wreck of the Hesperus" at the age of 84 and
has become a "family tradition". It is to be hoped that the articles written
"by Abbie for the local papers" mentioned in the write-up of the 17th may be
located as her remembrances would certainly be part of our family's history.Another uncertainty is her religion. She has been referred to as
Congregationalist, Episcopalian and Methodist. It is assummed that she was
Congregational but as there was no church of that faith in Pine Island or New
Haven that she attended the Methodist Church. Recent discoveries, however,
seem to indicate that she and her family attended the Episcopalian church
which was donated - land and building - by Sol Jewell, built for Abbie's
father Rev. Tertius Reynolds and Sol Jewell's son-in-law. Sol was married to
Abbie's sister. Early records of the Methodist church in Pine Island are
missing - the story being that an early minister had taken them with him when
he left the church and on trying to return them to Pine Island, an accident
occurred and the records were destroyed by fire. A beautiful stained glass
window in this church still exists and is dedicated to Nathaniel Bowker, a
brother-in-law of Abbie's, Nathaniel being married to her sister, Martha. This
family has always stayed close together, all of Abbie's family traveling from
Vermont to Illinois together and then to the Pine Island area of Minnesota.
They are found in Illinois in Stephenson County and E. Payson Reynolds, a
brother, joined the Union Forces during the civil war from Illinois - his will
being written in Jo Davies County, Il. Many of Abbie's family members were in
the service during this time, including her husband Salem, brother in law
Nathaniel and others.Abbie is recorded in the Pine Island cemetery records as being buried next to
Salem, her husband, and in an adjoining plot her parents lie buried. Of all of
these family members, however, Abbie is the only one that does not have a
stone. Salem's stone was supplied by the government, a Veteran's benefit that
still exists.