Minerd family had big presence in Civil War
William Minerd was from Mount Braddock.
Perry Enos was from White.
Robert Rankin was from Elliotsville.
Martin Miner was from Normalville.
?For most people, a family reunion probably means catching up with out-of-touch cousins. The Minerd reunion is a little bit different 鈥� the family鈥檚 genealogy has been chronicled on Minerd.com and the family is estimated to have about 50,000 descendants in the country.
鈥淚 meet new cousins all the time,鈥� Mark Miner, the reunion鈥檚 organizer and founder of the website, said. 鈥淭he goal is to connect.鈥�
This year, the family connected to their past by marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. A total of 107 plaques lined the walls of the Indian Creek Valley Community Center to honor relative soldiers, including 32 from Fayette County.
For Miner, honoring them was important not only because of the anniversary, but also because of the number of soldiers involved and what they fought for.
鈥淵ou see the events in Egypt when all of a sudden, thanks to social media, a revolution breaks out and freedom comes at a lot of hard work,鈥� he said. 鈥淚dealistically, freedom sounds great but, actually, it鈥檚 difficult to sustain. The Civil War was one of those moments that kept our country alive at the cost of hundreds of thousands of casualties. It鈥檚 important for us to not forget these men 鈥� simple common farm folk who put their lives on the line for something they believed was worth fighting for.鈥�
The family鈥檚 Civil War ties are also the subject of Miner鈥檚 book 鈥淲ell at This Time,鈥� which chronicles the wartime diaries of soldier Ephraim Miner. Some of the Minerd relatives have bought the book to place in local libraries.
In addition to the war, Miner also said family history is important but is often forgotten by many.
鈥淭here is a vast disconnect between young people and their history because it鈥檚 been so poorly taught in schools,鈥� he said. 鈥淧arents and grandparents need to teach history. Who else would teach the connection?鈥�
History is important to other relatives, too.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to know where you come from,鈥� Sid Miller said. 鈥淕enealogy is very, very interesting. It gives me pride that I know I had all these cousins that fought in the Civil War.鈥�
These connections keep bringing Minerd relatives in to the reunion, even those whose families left the area in the 1800s.
鈥淭he reunion brings them back to reconnect with their roots,鈥� Miner said.
The reunion also included a one-man performance by re-enactor Bill May, an all-day campout by the Sons and Daughters of Union Veterans of Somerset County and a trip to Gettysburg which included a private tour of the battlefield where Minerd relatives fought.