\^;[^-r^\t[ A''-'''"Y ^HN
V.
Gc
92? . 2
M6663mh
KyiJy
ALLEN COUNTY PUBl IC LIBRARY
3 1833 01533 6727
Gc 929.2 M 66 6 :3m h
Miner, H . A .
H business life after the
golden rule
William Avery Miner
1861-1920
A Business Life After
the Golden Rule
MEMORIAL
OF
WILLIAM AVERY MINER
1861-1920
WITH INTRODUCTORY SKETCH
OF THE MINER FAMILY
GENEAIOSICAL SOCIETY
OF THcCHURC-: OF JcSUS CHRIST
OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
PRIVAThLY PUBLISHED
TRACY a KILGORE, PRINTERS
MADISON, WIS.
,\
DATE MICRG^L^
CA
Q^ ROLL
TALCGiJE f;0
CAM
Men County Public library
Ft. Woyne, Indiana
FOREWORD
Observance of "The Golden Rule" is con-
ceded to be the supreme need and duty in all
the relations of life.
In the business world it would solve the
questions now agitating both the old and
new world.
If it only could be observed — But can it not
be ? Is it true that to observe it, is to invite
failure? Is competition always the life of
business? May it not be a business killer?
Is to beat the other fellow", always a worthy
incentive?
The reader is invited to a careful perusal
of the Memorial of William A. Miner as
showing some of the results of an honest
attempt to observe this law as a business
man.
It is the hope of the writer of this simple
story that it may help to show the possibility
and wisdom of making this the supreme law
of life and thus hasten the day of its
universal observance.
H. A. Miner.
Madison, Wis., Nov. 1st. 1921.
— 4 —
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
Introductory
The Miner Family
Origin of Name 14th Century 7
Genealogy from 1632—1861 9
Samuel Holman, Conn., born 1776 11
Samuel Elbert, Vt.. born 1815 12
Emigration westward 1843 12
II.
Memorial
William Avery Miner, Wis., born 1861
His Early Days 25
Choice of Life Work 27
Goes to Northern Missouri 28
Becomes a Business Partner with
His Brother Edgar S 30
His Business Career 31
Some Leading Characteristics 39
His Home Ideal 41
His Neighborliness 48
His Patriotism 51
His Religion 54
His Last Years 61
Personal Tributes 64
— 5 —
— 6 —
INTRODUCTION
SKETCH OF THE MINER FAMILY
ORIGIN OF NAME
It is related that in the 14th century
Edward III. King of England was at war
with France. A Mr. Henry Bullman, in
charge of a large mining interest, took a
hundred of his men and entered into the ser-
vice of the King. Such was the extraordinary
success of Bullman and his men as to attract
the notice of the King. As a mark of his
approval, the King granted him a coat of
arms with the name Henry Miner engraved
thereon in recognition of his loyalty and
patriotic devotion to the King and his cause.
This man died in 1359 leaving four sons,
heirs at law of the realm.
FROM ENGLAND TO AMERICA 1630
At Stonington, Conn., stands a beautiful
monument erected by the people of that city
in memory of its founders. One of the
names inscribed thereon is Lieutenant
Thomas Miner (1608—1691) born in Chem
Magna, Somerset County, England, the
first Miner to migrate to this country, coming
on the ship Arbella, which reached Salem
Harbor, June 14, 1630. He married Grace,
daughter of Walter Palmer at Charleston,
Mass., April 23rd. 1634. He took up his
abode at Quiambaug Stonington, Conn, in
1653, where he lived till his death Oct. 3,
1690.
In the same vessel. The Arbella, at the
same time came Christopher Avery, who be-
came the head of the Avery family, settling
at Groton, Conn., the next town west of
where the Miners settled and at about the
same date. Their names are associated as
founders of both Stonington and Groton,
Conn.
As we read the early records of the
colonial history of Connecticut we find the
names of Miner and Avery frequently men-
tioned filling responsible positions both in
Church and State. Evidently they were
among the leading families all through the
years preceding and during the revolutionary
war.
As we read also the Muster Rolls of the
Connecticut Volunters, the defenders of Fort
Griswold near New London in 1781, among
whom nine Averys were numbered among
the dead, and at Valley Forge where the
roster bore the names of both the Miners
and Averys, we are deeply impressed with
the fact that these families were a long way
from being numbered among the tories of
the Revolutionary period.
GENEOLOGY OF THE MINER FAMILY
IN AMERICA
LIEUT. THOMAS MINER, born April 23, 1G08,
married Grace Palmer in Charlestown,
Mass. April 23, 1634; moved to New
London, Conn., 1646. Their son,
MENASSAH, born April, 1647; married Lydia
Moore. Their son,
ENATHAN, born Dec. 28, 1673; married Rebecca
Baldwin March 21, 1694. Their son,
NATHAN, born July 16, 1724; married Sarah
Smith March 7, 1751. Their son,
RICHARDSON, born Sept. 10, 1753, married
Katherine Holman 1775. Their son,
SAMUEL HOLMAN, born March 21, 1776; married
Anna Avery at Groton, Conn. Had three
sons and three daughters. Their son,
SAMUEL ELBERT, born in Halifax, Vt. Dec. 13,
1815; married Maria Catherine Kelley at
Oriskany, N. Y. Aug. 1843. Migrated the
same year to Wisconsin. Had four sons
four daughters. Their youngest son,
WILLIAM AVERY, born May 8th, 1861, whose
memorial appears beginning on page 24.
9 —
Samukl Hulman Miner
1776 1857
Grandfatlier of W. A. Miner
— 10
SOJOURN IN VERMONT
SAMUEL HOLMAN MINER
The 7th in the line of descent from the first
Miner in America, was born in Stonington,
Conn., March 21st, 1776. the year of the
Declaration of Independence. He learned the
saddler's trade of his father to which he
added the business of harness making, and
about the beginning of the 19th century pur-
chased a farm about two miles west of Hal-
ifax Center, Vermont.
This new country was not remarkable for
the fertility of its soil ; it required much hard
labor, persistent industry and rigid econ-
omy in those days to provide the means for
subsistence. Luxuries were not thought of.
Schools were of the rudest sort and only
for a few months of the year. Books were
few in number but carefully read. In the
center of the town was a "Meeting House"
where the people gathered each Sabbath and
spent a large part of the day in worship, list-
ening to two sermons, and in social inter-
course during the noontime hour. In this
rocky hill-town, during nearly forty years
the Miner family, using such helps as came
within their reach, was able to furnish the
heads of five other families, intelligent,
honest, strong, earnest souls, with an
ambition to make the world better for their
— 11 —
having lived in it. The following are their
names : Austin, who married Relief Haven ;
Hannah, who married Samuel Niles ; Nancy,
who married Joshua Harris; Mary, who
married Chandler Otis and Samuel Elbert,
who married Maria C. Kelly.
THE VERMONT BRANCH MOVING WESTWARD
The first of the Halifax, Vermont branch
of the Miner family to migrate west, was
Samuel Elbert Miner, the youngest son of
Samuel Holman and Nancy Avery Miner,
born in Halifax Dec. 13, 1815.
At nineteen years of age he leaves home,
goes as far as Troy, N, Y. and learns the
carpenter's trade, joins the 1st Presbyterian
Church and concludes to enter the ministry.
He begins a course of preparation at Oneida
Institute and Auburn Theo-Seminary, and
after graduation is licensed to preach by
Cayuga Presbytery and receives a commis-
sion from the American Home Missionary
Society to go to Madison, Wis., on a salary of
$400.00 a year.
After his marriage to Miss Maria
Catherine Kelly of Oriskany, N. Y., Aug. 23,
1843, he with his bride, met with a half dozen
other young Missionaries at Buffalo on a
Saturday, to spend the following Sabbath to-
gether, before taking the steamer on Monday
for their diff'erent fields of labor in Wiscon-
— 12 —
sin and the West. Arrangements had been
made for holding missionary meetings in the
Presbyterian and Congregational Churches
of the city, to be addressed by these out-going
Missionaries. It proved a day of great in-
terest.
Another like day was planned for the fol-
lowing Sabbath on their arrival at Milwau-
kee and Chicago, where the missionary band
was to separate.
At Milwaukee the Wisconsin Missionaries
landed on Saturday and were met by Pastors,
J. J. Miter of the Plymouth Congregational
Church and A. L. Chapin of the Presbyterian
Church, and the Wisconsin Home Missionary
Agent, Rev. Stephen Peet. On the following
day another Sabbath of Missionary meetings
was enjoyed. On Monday the real hardships
of the journey to Madison began.
It was not a matter of a few hours in a
cushioned rail car or automobile gliding
along swiftly over beautiful prairies, thru
oak openings on hard macadamized roads, or
even seated in a "Concord Coach and four"
with a relay of fresh steeds every dozen miles
or so, but a lumber mail wagon loaded with
trunks, chests, bundles of bedding and num-
berless packages, with scant room for seats
of any soi't for passengers ; and then the clay
roads after the big fall rains and the almost
bottomless marshes, over corduroy roads
— 13 —
made of uncovered logs, laid crossways of the
road, and not the most elegant eating stations
and lodging houses along the way for the
nearly 100 miles to be traveled, was surely
wonderfully in contrast with the previous
week's journey "around the lakes" in the
homelike steamer and delightful passengers
aboard.
But the ending was most highly enjoyed.
It was on the 20th of Oct., 1843. Such a
hearty greeting as the new Missionary and
wife received as they alighted at the Amer-
ican House with Mrs. Morrison, the landlady
and leading member of the church, and Wm.
N. Seymour Esq., the clerk of the church and
leading citizen of the town, made them forget
their weariness and banish all thought of
being among strangers. It was a genuine
Western heart greeting they received. There
were venison from the near hunting grounds,
trout from the lakes and cranberries from
the not far away marshes already upon the
table to satisfy the most dainty eater. And
then on the first night after their arrival a
prayer-meeting was held to greet the Mission-
ary and wife, at the log school house, 18x24
feet, representing the entire educational and
religious advantages of the infant city.
— 14
Father and Mother
of
\^'illiam Averv Miner
15 —
HIS WISCONSIN MINISTERIAL SERVICE
It was in this log school house in Madison,
Rev. S. E. Miner began his seventeen years of
Wisconsin Ministry, It was before Wiscon-
sin was a state. Only three years before
the 1st Congregational Church had been or-
ganized. The Capital was then a village of
about three hundred people. A small Sun-
day school had been organized and maintain-
ed by a few Christian women. Mr. Miner's
salary was only $400 of which $250 was paid
by the American Home Missionary Society.
During his three years pastorate he was
Chaplain of the legislature and of the first
Constitutional Convention. He led in the
erection of the first church building which
was dedicated in 1846 at a cost of $2,000,
$500 of which was from friends outside of
the town. It was regarded as a great event
and an act of heroism on the part of the
pastor. The edifice still stands on the
original site occupied by the German Pres-
byterian Church.
Pastor Miner was compelled by over-work
to resign his pastorate and take a period of
rest.
MINISTRY AT ELKHORN
The next six years beginning with Dec. 1st,
1846, Rev. S. E. Miner spent at Elkhorn,
the county seat of Walworth County. Here
— 16 —
he preached in the M. E. Church. After a
period of seventy years the clerk of the
church writes ! "Rev. Miner's pastorate was
marked by a steady growth, many accessions
by letter and the organizing of a church
society Dec. 1851 with the purpose of imme-
diately building a house of worship."
MINISTRY AT WYOCENA
In 1852 Rev. S. E. Miner was commission-
ed by the A. H. M. Society to take charge of
a Presbyterian church at Wyocena in Colum-
bia County. He found the church practically
disbanded. In the winter of 1852-3 a series
of services were held resulting in the
organizing of a church with eighteen mem-
bers taking the name of the 1st Congrega-
tional Church of Wyocena. This was in
March 1853. In April a church society was
organized and steps taken to build a house
of worship which was dedicated in March
1855.
In February 1854 at the close of another
series of meetings eighteen were received to
membership ; and in connection with the
church dedication, and the year following
twenty-three more, making fifty-nine re-
ceived during the pastorate which closed in
Nov. 1858.
Besides the building of this church and the
gathering of its membership, Missionary
— 17 —
Miner secured the erection of a school build-
ing and one of Gov. Slade's Missionary
teachers from Vermont, who taught several
terms of a select school. This was before
the introduction of the high school system.
Evidently the five and a half years of Mr.
Miner's pastorate was a very fruitful one, of
which the passage of over a half century has
not obliterated the memory.
But the slow growth of the town and the
crowding in of other churches dividing the
support, together with the growing needs of
his family compeled a change to a more hope-
ful field of labor. So, early in the winter of
1858-9, he accepted a call to Monroe, Wis., a
city of near 4,000 people with the hope of
having a larger congregation and a better
support for his family.
CHANGE OF OCCUPATION
After one year's service as pastor at Mon-
roe, Mr. Miner felt under the necessity of
leaving the Ministry for lack of suitable
support. He had put seventeen years of
his life into the work of the churches, be-
ginning on a salary of $400. During these
years the population and wealth of the state
had more than quadrupled. His family had
increased from two to nine members and his
salary only from $400 to $600, which was the
standard salary at that time. Neither the
Home Missionary Society nor church seems
to have noted the increase of the cost of living
nor the fact that Ministers must necessarily
be unable to lay aside a surplus for the period
of retirement. So it was a matter of neces-
sity to leave the ministry to save himself and
family from incuring a hopeless debt.
After engaging in the lumber business in
Monroe, Brodhead and Burlingame, Kansas
for about twenty years and his children had
for the most part homes of their own, his
two sons, Edgar S. and William Avery having
located in the lumber business in northern
Mo., the Father closed out his business in
Wisconsin and spent the remainder of his
days with his sons Edgar S, and William A.
at Bethany and Ridgeway Mo. He retained
to a remarkable degree, his vigor of body and
mind. In the summer of 1898, accompanied
by his two sons, he revisited Madison on the
occasion of the fiftieth Anniversary of the
State-hood of Wisconsin. Taking rooms in
the Park Hotel, he received the many friends
of his pioneer days. It was a great occasion
and he enjoyed it immensely. It was his
last visit to Wisconsin. He passed a happy
old age, retaining the use of his faculties to
the close of his earthly life which occurred
June 26, 1904 at the age of 88 years, 6 months
and 13 days.
— 19 —
Samuel Elbert Miner
1815—1904
Father of Wm. A. Miner
20 —
His remains accompanied by his two sons
were taken to Monroe, Wis., and placed by
the side of his three wives, Maria Catherine,
Lucy Haven Evans, and Olive Electa Haven ;
and a daughter, Ellen Matilda, who had pre-
ceded him to the world beyond, leaving two
sons — Edgar S. and William A., also three
daughters Mrs. Frances Maria Richardson,
Mrs. Anne Mary Baker and Mrs. Alice
Juliette Stump to mourn their father's de-
parture.
In the memorial published by the Wiscon-
sin Congregational Convention of which he
was a member, his brethren speak of him
as follows : "His place is on the roll of honor
of Wisconsin's noble Home Missionary
heroes. His convictions were intense. Into
the anti-slavery movement he put all the
force of his intense nature. In religion he
caught the spirit of the trend toward the
larger outlook, but the movement was too
slow for his sanguine temperament. He was
eager even to impatience to move the world
rapidly to its goal of civil and religious
idealism. He had his mission, he lived his
message and his name is on the honor roll in
God's book."
21 —
MEMORIAL
OF
WILLIAM AVERY MINER
A GOLDEN RULE BUSINESS MAN
IN THE MAKING
,^- -^
!f
:>
\^-
/
■4
, ^
^«e^
HkXi
1^1 II iiTiki '
^B&
H[^^3j^0|Bi'%^
^f^
ff^J ■ -
yc^
ly
i^
William Avery Miner
At Five Years
24
BIOGRAPHICAL
HIS EARLY DAYS
William Avery Miner was born in Brod-
head Wis., the 8th of May 1861. He was the
youngest son of Samuel Elbert and Maria C.
Miner.
It was at the beginning of the great Civil
War. A year of great excitement ; the climax
of many years of anti-slavery discussion.
An appeal to arms had been made. Fort
Sumpter, just off from Charleston South
Carolina, had fallen at the hands of a rebel
army April 12 th., 1861. A call for 75,000
men had been issued by President Lincoln.
Volunteers were rushing to the defense of the
dear old flag.
The infant, William Avery was growing
peacefully at Brodhead, while his two
brothers, Charles Elbert, a student in Oberlin
College and Edgar S. in the midst of his teens
in his Brodhead home, were at the front;
the former to lay down his life on the Get-
tysburg battle field July 3rd, 1863, and the
latter to serve in the first Wisconsin Cavalry,
2nd. Brigade, 1st Division, army of the Cum-
berland, under Grant, Sherman and Thomas
— 25 —
until the end of the war. Such was the in-
tensity of the loyal spirit in the Miner home,
that William A. was scarcely out of his cradle
before he was heard singing :
"Down with the 'tators,
Up with the 'tars and 'tripes."
And the father nearly sixty years of age
could not stay at home while the conflict was
being waged but was off to the front, chief
sanitary agent under Sherman, having
special care of the Wisconsin wounded.
The war ended and the family after a so-
journ of a few years at Brodhead regathered
in 1865 at Monroe, save the mother who died
July 24, 1861, and the eldest son, Charles S.
whose remains lie buried in the Gettysburg
cemetery.
It was here that William A. spent his boy-
hood days, graduating from the high school
in June 1878 having taken a full classical and
mathematical course.
While in school he began to show the
elements of a successful career. A class-
mate tells us how he appeared to him in his
school days. He says: "He was a pure
minded, ingenuous boy, a close thinker, a
faithful student — devoted to his home, loyal
to his friends — one to whom insincerity and
malice were unknown — whose fine character
— 26 —
was ever an inspiration to me, it being my
earnest desire to maintain a place in his
esteem."
It is reported that all thru his school days
he was industrious, careful of his time lest it
should run to waste. His vacations were
utilized in a way to help towards his support.
He was in school to secure an equipment for
the days to come, when he should enter upon
the real business of living. He early had a
vision of a true manhood and sought for its
attainment with genuine zeal.
CHOOSING HIS LIFE WORK
The choosing of one's life work is a criti-
cal period in a young man's life-history. The
choice made is no small factor in his future
life. With some, the choice may become ap-
parent in the early development of youth, but
in the great majority there seems to be no
leading characteristic prophetic of the voca-
tion to be.
In William Avery's case his Father suggest-
ed teaching and actually secured a good
position, but the young man thought other-
wise. Though he had been in a schoolroom
for ten years, yet the open air, the broad
fields outside, living things, cattle, horses,
sheep, the growing grass and the golden
grain had no attraction for him.
— 27 —
During his school vacations he had worked
in Dodge's planning mill. A position was
offered him in that mill which he accepted.
In the meantime his brother, Edgar S.,
having spent several years in his Father's
lumber yard as a salesman, entered into
partnership with Mr. B. M. Frees, a capita-
list, connected with a large lumber interest
in Chicago, who was to furnish the money,
while Edgar furnished the experience and
the entire management of a new yard to be
located in a new region which he, Edgar,
was to select for the business. His atten-
tion was directed to Bethany, a county town
in northern Missouri, as a good location.
It was just before the railroad had reached
the town. The region was well settled by a
thriving population, living in temporary
houses with almost no outbuildings for lack
of building material. It proved a splendid
location for the retail lumber business. Here
in 1880 the new firm, "Miner and Frees,"
located and at once began, determined to
meet the growing demand of the town and
surrounding country.
Edgar S. was quick to see the opportunity
and wrote to his brother William A. to resign
his position in the planning mill and pack
his grip for Bethany just as speedily as
possible. Not a day must be lost.
— 28 —
WILLIAM A. IN BETHANY
It was in March 1880 that William Avery
made his first advent into Bethany a total
stranger. He at once took the place of a
common helper in the yard. It was a new
experience. Of course his brother was there
to introduce him to his customers and bus-
iness friends.
He soon became acquainted with the young
people of the town, who of course began to
"size him up" among themselves. One of the
number gives impressions as follows : "A
young man of good habits, industrious,
genial, bright, a favorite with all. Admired
for his firmness, strength of purpose, always
standing firm for what he thought was
right."
After about a year a new yard was located
at New Hampton and William Avery was the
man to be placed in charge.
As yet his experience had been limited.
But one year in the business, one of study
and close observation. He had from the
first determined to master the business.
New problems confronted him which he set
himself resolutely to solve. Men came to
him for building material not knowing
exactly what and how much would meet their
needs. It occurred to him, it would be a
good thing for him to be able to help his
customers by suggesting what goods he had
— 29 —
in stock that would best meet their needs, be
the most economical for them to purchase —
and to do it in such a way as not to seem
officious, but rather as an act of kindness.
While he was there to make as large sales as
possible, he was there also to be helpful to the
purchaser.
And this he actually did. He made his
customers satisfied with his treatment of
them. They went away with the feeling that
he was an honest man, that he had regard not
only for his own interest but also for the
interest of others. It was apparent that he
not only believed in "The Golden Rule", but
was actually practicing it.
Is it any wonder that the New Hampton
yard was a success?
ENTERS THE LUMBER BUSINESS FIRM
Three years had passed. The firm, Miner
and Frees, purchased a third yard located at
Ridgeway, twelve miles north of Bethany, a
town of about 300 population. This was in
1885. It was proposed to put the young man
Miner in charge of this yard. Thus far he
had worked on a salary and was saving what
he could to build a house. He had found for
himself a life companion in the person of
Miss Martha A. Spencer of Bethany, one of
Harrison county's successful school teachers,
who has proved indeed a worthy helper in
— 30 —
life's .lOLirney. They were married in March
1882 and at once began housekeeping at New
Hampton. About this time a proposition was
made to William A, to become a member of
the firm as an equal partner with Miner and
Frees, the name of the firm to continue as
before. The proposition was accepted, and
so the firm consisted of the two brothers,
Edy-ar S. and William A. Miner, and B. M.
Frees.
HIS BUSINESS CAREER
The removal to Ridgeway and becoming
a member of the firm, marks the real beginn-
ing of William Avery's business career. The
five previous years were preparatory. He
now, so to speak, "'strikes his gait", as a bus-
iness man.
Within the first year the Miner Brothers
and B. i\I. Frees started a private bank at
Ridgeway with a capital of $5,000, of which
William A. was the cashier. It was known
as the "Ridgeway Exchange Bank." The in-
stitution started in the lumber office with a
fire and burglar proof safe. The policy of
each institution was, to run each on the
profits of each, and use the surplus of each
for the extension of each.
In December of 1902, the Ridgeway Ex-
change Bank had a paid up capital of $15,000
and a surplus of $3,000. At this date it was
converted into the First National Bank of
— 31 —
32
Ridgeway and so became the oldest national
bank in Harrison County, starting with a
capital of $30,000. At the time of William
A's. decease (1920) its capital and surplus
had reached $76,000.
In the meantime the partnership of Miner
and Frees in the lumber business had a re-
markable growth As the earnings of the
yards permitted, other yards were opened till
the total yards numbered twelve. In 1916
the Miner Brothers bought out the interest
of Mr. Frees, and in 1917 the firm was incor-
porated with a capital of $300,000, and the
style of the firm name changed to Miner and
Frees Lumber Company. During the next
two years two yards more were added,
making fourteen in all and at the time of
William A's. decease (1920) the capital and
surplus of the corporation was $350,000, thus
making the capital and surplus of the two
institutions $426,000.
This is certainly a remarkable showing
of business success. How was it done?
Especially if we call to mind the fact that
forty years before, the two brothers began
business together without a dollar. The
question comes with added force — How did
they do it? Note some of the answers
given —
The Ridgeway Journal, speaking of the
great success of the Lumber Company,
— 33 —
answers : "It is due to the persistent efforts
of William A. Miner that this company has
forged ahead and is supplying the building
demand in their line over a large area of this
part of the state. He undestood every detail
of the lumber and banking business and care-
fully watched all the little things that go far
toward success, that many business men are
apt to neglect".
Mr. Frank Hooker of Blanchard, Iowa, a
director in the George Palmer Lumber Co.,
speaking of Mr. Miner's business qualities,
replies : "Few whom I have met had a
keener grasp for business, a vision that
sensed situations and future alignments ;
magnanimous and fair in his estimate of
others opinions —
'And as our greatest, yet with least pre-
tence * * *
Great in Council
Rich in saving common sense'."
Charles G. Buffum, President, La Crosse
Lumber Co., makes answer : "He was a man
of wonderful foresight, consistent, consider-
ate and upright in all his dealings. I do not
believe there is anyone in the lumber frater-
nity who stood higher than Willian A. Miner.
Mr. J. L. Proctor of Kansas City, Mo.,
in reply, says : "He typified our highest
class of business men. His reputation for
square dealing was wide spread."
— 34 —
It must not l)e forgotten that B. M. Frees
was a member of this Company for twenty-
five years, whose known financial standing
and integrity of character was a tower of
strength ; or that his brother Edgar, was the
pioneer in starting of the business and ever
held a guiding hand. Giving due credit to
the ability and push of the management,
was there not a method of doing business —
a spirit of honorable, square dealing, a pur-
pose to treat their customers in accordance
with the ''Golden Rule" — which was above
all else, the one great secret of their success?
It has been said that the adoption of the
Golden Rule in this competitive age, is to
invite disaster. But it was not thus with the
Miner and Frees Lumber Co. Instead of in-
viting disaster, it invited a splendid success.
It drew customers from near and far. It
Avas a pleasure to trade with such a firm.
The Golden Rule principle in the world's
business, if adopted, would go far towards
making earth a paradise.
We ask our readers to turn to the
"tributes" on the last pages of this book for
a view of William A's standing as a business
man where he was best known. We are
sure you will say it pays to obey the Golden
Rule. It makes a Golden Life.
35 —
First Ridgeway Lumber Office and Exchange Bank, 1885
36
o
«
J 5 c
— - OJ
^ tf
37 —
liist National Bank, lyU3. of Ridgeway
President William A. Miner
38
SOME
LEADING CHARACTERISTICS
39
"We live in deeds, not years —
In thoughts, not breaths —
In feelings, not m figures on a dial;
We should count time by heart-throbs,
He most lives.
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the
best."
Baleys Festus
— 40
HIS HOME IDEAL
No doubt the reader of the previous pages
of this life sketch, has ah'eady come to see
that Wm. A, Miner is in business, not to
achieve wealth for his own sake, but for
what he can accomplish with it. He knows
that money is power, that with it the power
of his own personality can be greatly in-
creased. That with it he can avail himself of
much enjoyment that he could not otherwise
expect. He has a far higher goal before him
than simply money getting. His home life in
childhood and early youth, was in the midst
of an atmosphere that inspired a much higher
goal than the wealth that perishes.
One of the first things that claimed his at-
tention was the establishing of a home of his
own. He has an ideal of the home he wants.
It is not a place simply to eat in by day and
sleep in by night, but a place really to live i)i.
A place such as shall minister, not only to the
comfort of the physical man, but also to the
intellectual and spiritual needs of its oc-
cupants — a place in which to grow, to cul-
tivate the mind and heart, to reach out after
and attain the largest possible measure of im-
perishable riches.
He had made choice of a life companion, as
— 41 —
we have before noted, and now the home is to
be the product of two ideals united in one.
Happily the union is real and the two, as one,
begin the work of building with reference to
the family life yet to be.
The building is not to be completed in a
day or a year. It is to be continuous build-
ing, reaching over a life period.
His call in 1885 to take charge of the new
yard at Ridgeway with the prospect of per-
manency, made it necessary to look for a
location in that town for the realization of
his ideal. It must be with reference to
health, scenery, immediate surroundings and
distant outlook.
The location was happily chosen on a corner
fronting east and south looking towards the
business part of the town, about three or
four blocks away; the block immediately in
front being a public park covered thick with
trees where the birds make their nests and
the air is vocal with their songs, while the
squirrels leap from branch to branch in their
nimble plays — A spacious two story edifice
with wide verandas on the south and east,
with easy chairs and wide doorways opening
within, having an inviting look to the passer
by, is the ideal to be realized.
Within there is to be found not only the
usual number of rooms, but an equipment
from cellar to attic, such as will lighten the
— 42 —
burdens of house-keeping and minister to the
comfort, health and enjoyment of each mem-
ber of the family. In the family room is a
well furnished library, not as a piece of
furniture for decorative purposes, but as a
working library, with shelves filled with
books — historic, scientific, literary; maps,
pictures, portraits of distinguished char-
acters ; curiosites of various kinds, mementos
of places visited by the parents in various
parts of our home land — A home museum it
is to be. Here also are materials for indoor
home games for wholesome entertainments,
in which parents and children and neighborly
guests may participate.
This is to be indeed the family liciug room;
the place where the marriage vow of a one-
ness of purpose in mind and heart finds ex-
pression, where unity of spirit in all matters
pertaining to household management — the
getting over hills of difficulty in the ongoing
of family life, the planning together to make
home brighter, more restful, more and more
a type of Heaven. It is to be the place where
the children, as they come one by one into the
family circle, breathe in the family atmos-
sphere, take on the lineaments of the home
life, growing more and more into the likeness
of their parents ; in a word, the place where
father, mother and children help each other
to grow more and more into the life eternal.
— 43 —
In such a family room, where the spirit of
the Divine Master presides, as in the case of
the "Martha and Mary Home" of Sacred
story, is it possible for children to grow up
in such an atmosphere and go astray in after
life? If all homes were after this pattern
what a change we would have in the social
conditions of earth? A new world indeed,
we soon would have.
Husbands and fathers are not always
mindful of the important part, they are
under sacred obligations to take in the life of
the home. Not a few seem to feel that with
being a "bread winner", a "good provider,"
their obligations to home are ended. Not so
with Wm. Avery. He loved his home better
than any other spot of earth. He spared
neither time nor money to make things
comfortable and delightful. When he closed
his office for the day, he would hasten to his
home to spend the evening with his family.
He was never happier than when he had his
family about him. His three boys were his
chums. When small they would look for his
comJng and run with glee to meet him and
then such a frolic they would have ! As they
grew in years he would have games with
them. He was like an elder brother, inter-
ested in what they were interested in. He
knew what they were doing; they would re-
port their doings to each other. Thus they
— 44 —
Charles F.
45 —
Elbert S.
— 46 —
Ekwin a.
— 47 —
grew in mutual confidence and love. They
would take walks together, hunt for birds
nests, watch and feed the young birdlings.
They had their hens and chickens to care for,
and were taught how to keep an account of
the expense of feeding and returns from
sales. And so in various ways he kept him-
self in the hearts of the boys. The father,
mother and the boys made a real family,
illustrating in the concrete the meaning of
the word "fwmily".
HIS NEIGHBORLINESS
It is not good to live alone. A hermit life
is a calamity. A man without neighbors is
to be pitied. To attempt to live within ones
self with no interchange of thought, feeling
or sentiment with others, is slow suicide.
With the first coming of William A.
Miner to Riclgeway, there came a spirit of
neighborliness that grew as the years went
by. As his ability for helping increased, so
increased the help he gave. It was said of
him : "he was never too busy to stop and
listen to the cry of want, no matter from
whence it came."
While time with him was very precious, yet
his office door was never so tightly closed but
that it would open to give ear to the state-
ment of a neighbor in want; not only would
he give advice but often would render the
— 48 —
financial aid that the case required. It was
stated that in the large business of which he
was the manager, "no one was ever made to
suffer loss by reason of unneighborly
methods of collection. A spirit of accommo-
dation even to his own hurt, would be shown.
It was this characteristic of brotherly
kindness in his business relations that made
him such a favorite.
"He was a friend to all," said a business
man, writing from his California home on
hearing of his death. "In my over thirty
years dealing with Mr. Miner, he never re-
fused me any accommodation I ever asked of
him."
His neighborliness found expression in the
initiation of various town improvements.
Soon after making Ridgeway his home he be-
gan to make suggestions as to the improve-
ment of streets, sidewalks, and front yards,
thus making the town more attractive. He
aided largely in the building of its two houses
of worship and a commodious, up to date
school house. Thru his liberal offer, a whole
block was secured for a site in an excellent
location, and a fine building erected which
has the reputation of housing one of the best
schools in the county. He set the example
of erecting permanent business houses in
place of the old, cheap, wooden buildings. He
was one of five who erected a fine, modern,
— 49 —
50 —
brick hotel, which has a patronage equal to
hotels in much larger towns. Such has been
the spirit of public improvement, that today
the town presents, in the appearance of its
business and public houses and homes, the
neatness, thrift, prosperity and public enter-
prise of many larger towns in the older
sections of the state. No small portion of
the credit of the change wrought in this town,
the citizens affirm, is due to the large heart-
ed, generous neighborliness of William A.
Miner.
''My country, sir, is not a single spot
Of such a mould, fixed to such a clime ;
No, 'tis the social circle of my friends.
The loved community in which I lived
And in whose welfare all my wishes center."
—Miller.
HIS PATRIOTISM
We have received an immense legacy from
the hands of our forefathers. Three hundred
years ago this country, we called the United
States of America was a vast wilderness
from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico
and from ocean to ocean. Think of what it
is today ! The immense cultivated fields
covered with the homes of a hundred million
of people in the possession of cottages, towns,
villages and cities ; of work shops, ware
houses, mills, factories, business houses of
various kinds ; of public edifices, government
— 51 —
buildings, schools, colleges, hospitals, sani-
tariums for the treatment of all sorts of
diseases ; of railways, with a network of iron
reaching hundreds of thousands of towns
and cities, scattered over this immense ter-
ritory of ours, of the millions upon
millions of miles of wire thru which we
speak or send our messages to the ends of the
earth ; our postal and other kinds of
machinery for alleviating human toil, supple-
menting or greatly multiplying our forces of
body and mind — all of which has come into
being since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth
Rock and into the possession of the genera-
tion now on American soil — think of it —
what it means to us of today! — us, as com-
pared with the millions in other lands ! Can
we think of it and not lift our hats to "Old
Glory?" Can we think of it and not lift our
voices with hearts overflowing with thanks-
giving and sing :
"My Country, 'tis of thee.
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing :
Land vv'here my fathers died,
Land of the Pilgrims pride.
From every mountain side
Let freedom ring."
William A. Miner thought of it. And as
he thought of it, was it any wonder that with
the blood of the Pilgrims flowing in his veins
— 52 —
and remembering that his ancestors fought
and fell in such numbers at Fort Griswold in
1781, and that his father was an old time
abolitionist, a conductor on the underground
railway and that two of his brothers were in
the civil war, one making the supreme sacri-
fice at Gettysburg — was it any wonder that
his love of liberty should burst forth with
flaming zeal in the hour when the world's
freedom was in peril? Was it any wonder
that the Governor of his state should select
William A. Miner, to take the chairmanship
of his county committee to raise the quota,
not of one, but of each of the several Liberty
Loans? And was it any wonder that his
county should "go over the top" in each of the
campaigns? And is it any wonder that in
various other ways and at various other times
he championed the interests of his country?
With him patriotism meant something
more than to sing the songs of liberty when
others were singing, or to shout for freedom
when others were shouting. It was a prin-
ciple with him to make his country's interests
his interest, not only in time of war but all
the time. Said one of his employees after
sixteen years of service : "He always showed
a deep interest in the welfare of the public,
not only in his own town and community,
but in all others, wherever his business ex-
pansions opened the way. He gave freely of
— 53 —
his time in connection with such as were
working for any good moral or patriotic
movement."
Another, who was closely associated with
him in raising the Liberty Loans says : "The
fidelity, unfailing zeal and personal sacrifice
with which he prosecuted the work, com-
manded my unstinted respect and admira-
tion. He was a true patriot. In all his work
for the government, he never seemed to care
anything for the personal credit or honor
that might naturally accrue to him from a
successful performance of the work he was
set to accomplish, but he was ever greatly
concerned lest the honor of his country be not
maintained and the conflict be not pushed on
to complete and speedy victory."
HIS RELIGION
Religion is the crowning glory of
humanity — It is the chief characteristic that
distinguishes the human from the brute.
Its possession places man on a grade of
illimitable growth, which means immortality.
Every man has a religious nature. No
nation or tribe has been found but has a
religion of some sort. It is a matter of no
small account as to what sort it is, and the
extent of its influence over a man's life.
William Avery Miner had a Christian
parentage. He grew up in a Christian
— 54^-
home. His eaiiy suiTouiuliii^s were such as
to call forth the best there was in him. His
early development of character was in the
main Christian. The virtues of the Christian
religion were taught him, as his intellectual
and moral faculties developed. He breathed
a Christian atmosphere. As the health of
his body was carefully guarded, lest any
disease should attack him ; and should any
symptoms of disease appear, remedies were
applied and special care bestowed until
complete recovery was secured, so also his
morals were carefully guarded and vices cor-
rected by an appeal to his reason and sense
of right, rather than to brutal force as was so
frequently the case in former years. There
was a parental discipline exercised in the
formation of correct habits of thought and
feeling so easily taken on by children in their
early years, especially when administered in
love, that it is no wonder that he began to
grow into the Christian life very early, so
early, that as with many others, he was un-
able to state the precise time of his so called
conversion. There were epochs in his life
experience when he entered upon new lines
of Christian duty, as for example the formal
uniting with a church, which he did not do
until 1908; that, some might say, was the
date of his becoming a Christian. It was the
date of an important avowal of his practical
-—55 —
belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, but it was
not the beginning or the first act of his
Christian life. He had performed many
Christian acts before that date. He had in
many ways showed his allegiance to Jesus
Christ, contributed liberally for the support
of the Gospel at home and in other lands, had
stood firmly for the cause of truth and right-
eousness, even at a sacrifice of time and
means, had acted the part of the "Good
Samaritan" many a time, had for years
striven to do business according to Christ's
New Testament teachings, had been neigh-
borly and in a large way, not for reward, or
for the sake of future benefits to come to him-
self but from the impulse of genuine love for
others — Was he not a real follower of the
great Master of all goodness, the world's re-
deemer ?
But he had not joined any one of the
various groups of men and women, called
churches. Why not?
In his younger days he saw some things in
churches that he could not endorse, and had
met with good honorable men that did not be-
long to any church, that he thought were
better than some church members, even some
who were officials ; men that he would go to
for a favor sooner than some in the churches ;
and besides this, he could not endorse the
creeds and methods of worship that he
— 56 —
thought he would have to, in case he joined a
church. He believed in freedom of thought
and that a man could be a true Christian with
out joining a church, and be just as useful a
member of society or even more so, than if he
were a member of a church.
After a few years, having married a de-
voted member of a church and thus being
brought into closer social relations with the
church, he came gradually to see that the
main purpose of a church, was not to prop-
ogate a creed or a peculiar ritual or form of
worship, or to interfere with a man's free-
dom of thought or breadth of vision, but to
set before its membership a standard of char-
acter far higher than any other organized
group of people that he knew anything about ;
that it's moral teachings were of the highest
order, that criminal statistics showed the
least number of arrests and convictions from
the ranks of churches in proportion to their
membership as compared with any other or-
ganized body; that the gathering together on
the Sabbath for instruction in the practice of
humane and righteous living after the teach-
ings and example of Jesus Christ, the world's
Redeemer, and engaging in acts of worship of
a being of absolute perfection, must work for
the highest good of any community, as no
other human agency that he knew about was
doing; and that in general judging from the
fruitage of churches as compared with other
— 57 —
1
1
1
■j
1
1
m
» 4tl|
^H
1
1
^ .
♦♦ J
^H
1
11
h
gW
I^H
^^^^r^
■^
' ^"V"
p|m
ifji^
^^H
^
^
^ '■ ^
^1
1
"l**^^
3^v
1
Mrs. Martha A. Miner.
58
organized bodies, he came to see that his
position was untenable; that the church, with
all its failings, was the most efficient agency
for the world's betterment, for the removal
of the ills of humanity of any within his
knowledge and that as a follower of the
world's Redeemer it was his plain duty to
identify himself with some one of the
churches within his community in which he
could derive the most benefits and at the same
time be the most useful to his family and the
community in which he dwelt.
It is true that had he done it earlier in life
he and the world would have been the gainer.
But, as if to make up for lost time, he gave
himself with marked devotion to the interests
not only of his own but of other churches
also. He gave the weight of his influence to
every line of Christian endeavor. It was his
joy thus to do.
He believed that the church of which he
had become a member, had claims upon him
that other churches had not, just as his
family had claims upon his time and energies
that other families had not. In other words
his membership imposed obligations upon
him that other churches had no right to even
expect of him. So as a matter of principle he
was true to his church, but at the same time
recognized other churches as helpers in the
work of the world's regeneration. Rev. J.
— 53 —
Howard Thompson formerly pastor of the
M. E. Church of Ridgeway, bears the follow-
ing testimony. "While I was a resident in
Ridgeway, Mr. W. A. Miner, while not a
member of my church, showed great interest
in me and my work. At Christmas time each
year he freely furnished my table with a big,
luxurious, dressed turkey of the finest selec-
tion. Not only at this time but all the time
he seemed desirous of doing the big thing for
us. When our Conference met with us, his
home opened as freely and widely as any
home of my congregation, for the entertain-
ment of delegates, and he and his wife seemed
delighted to make any kind of sacrifice
necessary to make the stay of their guests as
pleasant as possible."
He believed heartily in the cooporation of
different denominations. It was not at all
in accordance with his spirit to put so much
emphasis upon the non-essentials of the so-
called Christian doctrines, as to occasion such
wide separations as to forbid the uniting of
the professed followers of Jesus Christ into
one church, in the case of small communities
unable to support more than one efficient or-
ganization. And in any town it is not only
unwise but a wicked waste to put in another
church when there are already as many
churches as can be efficiently supported.
He believed and thorougly practiced in his
— 60 —
church relations, as in his business relations,
in "The Golden Rule." It was a grief to him
that churches, professing to be the followers
of the same Master, located in the same
community should be envious of each others
successes and actually lay obstacles in the
way of each others progress as has been too
often the case in years past, especially in
small towns.
He believed in extending the warm hand of
Christian fellowship to every church of Jesus
Christ. He rejoiced in victories won for our
common Lord and Master whether by his
own or other denominations and heartily
despised the spirit that would depreciate any
good work wrought by another.
HIS LAST YEARS
During the last years of his life he was
accustomed to take occasional trips with his
wife visiting various localities North, East
and West ; and with his brother, annual
hunting trips South to Texas and other points
in the Rocky Mountain region. They were
for recreation and the gathering of memen-
toes of various kinds for the enriching of his
home cabinet.
It was during the last days of September
1919 that I had my last visit with him. He
seemed to be in about his usual health. He
had spent a few weeks at a Sanitariam for
— 61 —
treatment. We had a delightful time to-
gether for a few days. As we parted at the
station he slipped an envelope into my hand
saying: "I thot you might like to have my
autograph. You'll find it inside." I slipped
the letter into my pocket thanking him for his
kindness and jumped aboard the train.
After a little it occurred to me to open the
letter it being carefully sealed. To my sur-
prise it contained two new ten dollar bills
from his bank with his signature as presi-
dent. Such autographs are valuable.
During the late fall and winter his disease
returned with increased suffering. Not
obtaining the desired relief, in March 1920 he
went to the celebrated hospital at Rochester,
Minn. But it was too late. After about a
week his disease took a fatal turn and in a
few days March 22, 1920, he was called to his
Eternal Home beyond.
It was a great shock to his friends far and
near. A large crowd gathered at the family
home March 26th, for the final service con-
ducted by his pastor Rev. L. Alexander,
assisted by Rev. Messrs. Douglas and Welsh
from Bethany under the direction of the
Masonic fraternity, of which he was a mem-
ber.
The large attendance, in spite of the rain
and bad condition of the roads in the
62
surrounding country spoke eloguently of the
large place the deceased had made for him-
self in the hearts of his neighbors and citizens
throughout a large section of North Missouri.
We have lost "A Friend to Man", the one
word spoken by the multitude.
''That Lite is lo)ig ivliich cuisivos Life's
great end."
— Young.
"It matters )i()t lioic long ire lire, but how."
— B a He II.
"Life is tJie gif^ of God a)id is diri)ie."
— Longfelloic.
— 63 —
PERSONAL TRIBUTES
From Mr. & Mrs. C. M. Jaqua,
formerly neighbors and editor of
Ridgeway Journal and since fifteen
years, of Warrenburg Herald.
It was with deep sorrow that we learned
of Will's death. We sympathize with you
and the boys in your great sorrow, for we
realize, as old neighbors, how close the family
attachment and your great loss and sorrow.
We also feel that we have lost one of our
dearest and most valued friends. From our
close association with him in public matters
while we lived in Ridgeway we know his
great heart and worth and his desire to make
the world better for his having lived, to assist
his friends and build up the community with
which he was identified. His was a great
and unselfish mind, a mind not bound by
narrow confines. To his foresight and enter-
prise as well as liberality, Ridgeway is large-
ly indebted for her "worth while" things.
He has builded for himself in his life work a
greater monument than can be made at his
tomb with mortal hands. Your loss is our
loss and the community's loss, and in your
deep sorrow you have our heart-felt sym-
pathy.
— 64 —
From A. L. Alexander, Pastor
Christian Church, Ridgeway, Mo.
It is difficult to write an adequate apprais-
ment of a soul so rare as was Wm. A. Miner.
In a truly wonderful sense he was an all-
round character, a man marvelously many-
sided, and with each side of wondrous rich-
ness and beauty. He was a man gifted with
a really remarkable faculty for making and
retaining friends.
He was a home builder and maker above
all — the type of man who embodies and com-
binds in himself the best traditions of Ameri-
can Christianity.
The dominant characteristic of Mr. Miner
was his spirit — His was a primitive spirit —
Unrestained, simple, kindly — Chastened by
adversity and sweetened by understanding.
It manifested itself in a cheery welcome and
an urdent friendship to all.
I am glad, at the parting of the way, to pay
this small tribute to the standing qualities of
William A. Miner.
From Mr. R. M. Stanley, Auditor
of Miner & Frees Lumber Co.
I knew William A. Miner from my boy-
hood. He was our banker and was always
the writer's personal adviser. I knew him
as an employer and in the sixteen years
which I spent in his service, saw his upright
character always reflected in his deep interest
in the general welfare of the public, not only
in his own town and community, but in all
others where his business expansions led the
— 65 —
way for personal community interest. He
always manifested a great interest in the
personal welfare of his employees, as well as
his other business associates. His time was
always given freely in the council of those
who were working for any good moral or
patriotic achievement.
I knew William A. Miner socially; I knew
him fraternally ; I knew him in business. To
known him as I knew him was to love and re-
spect him. In his demise the writer feels a
deep personal loss, as all feel who really
knew him. Respect to the memory of
William A. Miner.
From Mr. Chas. G. Buffum, Pres.,
La Crosse Lumber Co. yards in Mo.
After an acquaintance covering over 40
years with William A. Miner, an intimate
acquaintance the last 20 years, I feel that I
am in a position to pass on his integrity and
uprightness of character. He was a man of
wonderful foresight, consistent, considerate
and upright in all his dealings. I do not be-
lieve there is anyone in the lumber fraternity
who stood higher than Wm. A. Miner, and
in his passing the community wherein he
lived has lost a valuable citizen and the bus-
iness concerns he was interested in, a wise
advisor. I know this particularly in the case
of the George Palmer Lumber Co., where he
and I were interested and his counsel today
is missed. His association with Mr. B. M.
Frees and Mr. Frees' high regard for him, is
enough to commend him most highly.
— 66 —
From Mr. M. D. Shamblin, former-
ly Station Agent at Ridgeway. A
long time friend.
I am totally at a loss to put in words what I
feel when trying to write a tribute to Wm. A.
Miner, I have known him from the spring
of 1885. During these 35 years I always had
the most profound respect for him in a bus-
iness way. We held the same faith religious-
ly, belonging to the same secret society and
in fact we took portions of the secret work to-
gether. I have had business transactions
with him all these years and always of the
most pleasant nature. His word was all
sufficient with me as I never knew an in-
stance he did not do just as he said. I have
associated with him in his home, in lodges, in
the church and have traveled with him and
never associated with a more honorable man.
His knowledge of business conditions of the
country and current news was far ahead of
the average man. He was a great student
of history ; not only knew it but could tell it.
As a financier he excelled all his associates in
Ridgeway in 1885. Had I heeded his
suggestions many times I would have been
much better off financially than I am now, as
he proposed many times a working together
in some deals which always were winners.
During his life he remarked to me once "Mel
if you ever get in a tight place and want
help call on me." I always felt as tho there
was one man I could turn to if in need and I
knew if in his power I would receive help.
Next to my only living brother I considered
Wm. A. Miner as my next of kin along with
— 67 —
his and my old time friend W. C. Elder, now
of Albany, Mo. We three were in Ridgeway
at the same time in 1885 and practically the
same age. I will cherish the memory of Wm.
A. Miner as long as life lasts.
Bethany, Mo., Nov., 1920.
Rockford, 111., Mar. 24, 1920.
Dear Mrs. Miner and Family:
Space is no barrier to thought. At the
moment of writing this, in our unison of
thought, I feel as near to you as if I held you
by the hand. In the same way, though
stunned by a great sorrow, I have not a sense
of separation from him whom we mourn.
That which we see borne from the door is
not the one of whom we think and speak to-
day. The loving devotion, the kindly solic-
itude, the wise counsel continue with us in
their guiding character and influence and
will do so till the end.
Written in a youth's diary in the early
hours of life's day I find these words, "Will
Miner is my best friend." Many times since
I have repeated them and with confident
assurance I say them today.
To you and to me and to many another he
has left as his richest legacy the influence and
abiding memory of a devoted husband and
father, a loyal friend, a sincere and honor-
able character.
With the deepest consideration for you all,
I am also a mourner.
E. C. CORNELIUS.
— 68 —
From J. Howard Thompson, for-
merly Pastor M. E. Church, Ridge-
way, now of Unionville, Mo.
Rarely have I found a friendship so deep
and true as that which existed between me
and Mr. W. A. Miner. During my stay in
Ridgeway he took a deep concern for me and
manifested his keen interest in me and my
family in so many ways. I feel that in his
going away I personally have lost a sincere
and true brother. While not a member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, yet he stood
on that high plane of fraternity and altruism
as to utterly hide denominationalism far in
the back ground and what seemed to interest
him most was to do the big thing every time
and all the time.
In business he was progressive, aggressive
and a leader. His spirit of initiative was
dominative and he was at the forefront of
everything of a progressive nature for his
town and community. The new and modern
brick hotel in Ridgeway will always stand as
a monument to his public spirit. Good roads,
public improvement, the schools of the city,
the churches of the community, the beautify-
ing of the parks and public places, caring for
the poor, benevolent giving, presiding over
the Red Cross Organization, and many other
laudable and worthy enterprizes, all com-
manded his most careful attention. His
family, his town, his church, his business and
his entire community have suffered an irre-
parable loss in his going away.
Unionville, Mo. 1920.
— 63 —
From C. A. Stoner, Sec. Chamber
of Commerce,. S. S. Supt., Pres.
Church Board.
I always admired Wilham A. Miner as
being very frank and honest. If he was
asked for advice or his opinion in a matter he
not hesitate to give it just the way he looked
at it and as he thought it regardless of
whether it was what the seeker of advice
wanted to hear and it was this noble trait of
his that in my opinion made him the great
friend of men that he was. His advice was
given in exactly the same way that he would
have given it to one of his own boys.
He always championed the sicle of right.
During the years that I knew him I never
once saw him hesitate in a decision when
there was a principle of right and wrong in-
volved but he unhesitatingly came out on the
side of right and fought for it. Neither did
he attempt to shirk responsibility for the
sake of policy but fought for the right know-
ing that it should and would eventually rule.
His standard of life was such that a wrong
principle did not receive a moment's con-
sideration.
His counsel on all community questions
was wise and eagerly sought. We miss him
in the study of our city problems, our com-
munity enterprises and our church program
and what he had to say in these matters was
usually heeded and his was the guiding hand.
He was devoted to his church and the
longer he lived the more attached to it he be-
came. As long as he was able to come and
was in town he was at the Sunday morning
— 70 —
services both church and Sunday school and
enjoyed them. He served on the church
board and as one of its trustees and did much
toward shaping its policies.
Ridgeway, Mo.
Mrs. W. A. Miner,
Ridgeway, Missouri.
My dear Sister Miner :
It is with sadness indeed that I hear of the
death of Brother Miner and I wish to express
to you my sincere sympathy in this sad hour.
Brother Miner was a man who stood strong
and true in the midst of men, not only in the
business world but in his church relations
and all that counts to building up commuities
and making for the welfare of his fellow
men. His death is a distinct loss to the
community in which he lived and the cause
of right throughout the state.
Brother Miner was a good friend of
Culver-Stockton College and was very much
interested in the training of young men for
leadership in the church. In behalf of Cul-
ver-Stockton as well as an expression of my
personal feelings, I wish you to know that
we remember you and all the members of the
family in this time of sorrow.
J. H. Wood, Pres. of Culver-
Stockton College
Canton, Mo., March 29, 1920.
71
From T. L, Porter, Manager of Kan-
sas City for Sabine Lumber Co.
As a personal and business friend of
William A. Miner, for more than a decade, I
wish to pay tribute to one of the finest
characters it has been my privilege to en-
counter along life's way.
I formed a very intimate acquaintance-
ship with him during the last fourteen years
of his life and I can truthfully say that that
friendship stands out distinctly as one of the
most pleasant I have had the fortune to make.
Its memory will be retained as long as I live.
William A. Miner typified our highest class
of business men. He was honest, sincere and
his reputation for square dealing was wide-
spread. His was a very democratic spirit.
Social and business inequalities never inter-
fered with his friendship. His pleasant
smile and hearty handshake carried to me a
message which could not be put into words.
From frequent visits I gained an insight into
a most cordial and happy home. I was
always to feel "at home" during my visits.
It is my earnest desire that the relation-
ship, which has existed between myself and
Mr. Miner's business, be continued for I
know that the principles which guided him in
all his endeavors, are incorporated in that
business and that it will stand always, under
the supervision of his brother and sons, as a
memorial to a man whose death has left a
void in the hearts of may men, a void which
cannot be filled.
Kansas City, Oct. 19, 1921.
72
From Mr. Frank Hooker, Pres.
Blanchard Trust and Savings Bank,
Blanchard, Iowa, 1920.
My first acquaintance with Mr. Miner was
in a business meeting some few years ago. I
was attracted to him by his pleasing person-
ality, his business judgment and knowledge
of the problems under consideration.
We were from that time till his death in
close association and I learned to know him
intimately and with the passing time, it
ripened into real friendship.
Several times a year we were for days and
weeks together and in the finer and intimate
heart life of the man I was permitted to
measure his love for his family, their wel-
fare ; his love for country and its traditions ;
his intense loyalty to every public call; his
high sense of honor and character, together
with the little glipses of the things sacred
and spiritual, made me covet and prize his
friendship and association.
He was preminently a business man, few
whom I have met who had a keener grasp of
business, a vision that sensed situation and
future alignments, magnanimous and fair in
his estimate of other's opinions —
"And as our greatest, yet the least pretence.
Great in council * * *
Rich in saving common-sense."
We revere his memory and my life will be
the richer and better for having known
William A. Miner.
73
From Rev. W. S. Welsh, Pastor
M. E. Church, Bethany.
It seems to me always that I must ever
have seen William A. Miner at his best, for I
never saw him other than as a high minded
gentleman with perfect manners and gen-
erous kindness. I have been with him many
times, and often under trying circumstances,
but I have never seen him swerve by the
slightest degree from the courteous deport-
ment of the perfect gentleman. Not that he
was not firm and forceful, but he possessed
these qualities in a marked degree, but that
in him firmness and force were perfectly
toned with courtesy and kindness.
He was a man of fine parts, of energy and
talent, of apparently untiring energy, and
faithful to the task he had assumed. Cheer-
ful, afi'able and optimistic, he was a superbly
companionable man, ever concerned for the
happiness of his friends. He was the kind
of stuff that friends are made of. He was a
friend to me. I counted his friendship as
one of the gifts of God. I am certain that my
life has been enriched and made better by my
fellowship with him. I was closely asso-
ciated with him in his work of raising the
Liberty Loans, and traveled many miles with
him, often over rough roads and in cold of
winter, and the fidelity, the unfailing zeal,
and the personal sacrifice with which he
prosecuted the work, commanded my un-
stinted respect and admiration. He was a
true patriot. In all his work for the govern-
ment, he never seemed to care anything for
the personal credit or honor that might
— 74 —
naturally accrue to him from a successful
performance of the work he was sent to
accomplish, but ever seemed greatly concern-
ed that the honor of his country should be
maintained, the conflict pushed to complete
and speedy victory, and the soldier boys
amply provided for.
I have been a privileged guest in his
beautiful home, and have known the sweet-
ness of the sincere welcome by a princely
host. I have seen him move among the
loved ones of his home, and have seen his
fine, high qualities of manhood successfully
withstand the acid test of the light of his own
fireside. I have marked the unfeigned
esteem and love with which his family
followed him, and how his coming brought
light to their faces and joy to their hearts.
Such a man was William A. Miner. His
memory is one of the precious possessions of
my life. In that beautiful land to which he
has gone, I am sure that he is one of the
choice spirits of a glorious throng.
Bethany, 1920.
— 75 —
TVNews
OpenLibrary