Charles Miner Studio.

Charles Winslow Miner was born in Columbia City, Indiana in1866. His parents were Simon P. and Melissa Miner. He learned photography in Columbia City under the apprenticeship of a Mr. Jones. He moved to Fort Wayne around 1887 and for a few years was employed by F. Shanz before starting his own business. He married Mary S. Criswell in 1905 and they had two daughters, Sarah and Mildred. Charles died in 1912 and his wife died the following year. Both daughters were sent to live with different relatives. Leander P. Miner was born in Columbia City around 1846, the son of Byron and Sarah Miner. Byron was a lawyer and an Indiana state representative. They lived in the Fort Wayne area in 1850. Leander was in the Indiana 142nd Regiment Infantry, Company E, in the Civil War, mustered in on 16 October 1864. He died as a Corporal on 8 July 1865 in Nashville, Tennessee. Simon Miner and Byron Miner were brothers, making Charles and Leander cousins.