Edward G. Miner came to Winchester, Illinois from Vermont in 1832 and eventually started a bank in that city, a member of the state legislature in 1846-1848, he essentially remained in banking until he retired. He married Sophronia Alden, a descendent of John Alden. Their son James, a doctor, married Ellen Thomas, whose mother Sarah Hawthorne Thomas was a cousin of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Several of her daughters attended Monticello Seminary. James Miner and Ellen's brothers Edward and Marshall all served in the Civil War. James as a surgeon with the 101st Infantry and Edward with the 144th. Marshall was killed in the war. Her sister Julia married Fred Barker a clerk in Glancy's Mercantile store in Springfield until it closed. They then moved to Kansas, where Julia died giving birth to twins boys. James and Ellen, after living in Waverly and Springfield, settled in Winchester. James was a founding member of the Morgan County Medical Association.
From the description of Papers, 1837-1955. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 52975250
