In 1882 at age 19 my grandmother married Major Charles Dana Miller. There was a big difference in their ages. At 46 he was old enough to be her father. They went on to have 5 children – Myrtle in 1884, Ruth in 1886, Dana in 1887, Joseph in 1891, and Roy in 1893. Major Miller, though in ill health as a result of injuries incurred in the Civil War, was an active member in their local community of Mt. Vernon Ohio. For health reasons, they spent a certain amount of time in Florida. Was this an asthmatic condition? But it was in Mt. Vernon where he died at the still young age of 61 in 1898. Mary became a widow with 5 young children.
I recall being told that he had an encounter with a burglar in the cellar of their home in Mt. Vernon. Gun shots were exchanged and a bullet shattered a glass jar used to preserve fruits and vegetables. He was cut by a piece of glass, blood poisoning developed, proving to be fatal. That’s the story in my memory.
Alternatively I have subsequently read that his death was due to skin cancer. Quite different. That is the cause of death given in the book about his service in the Civil War – Struggle for the Life of the Republic.
Reading the obituary published following his death, the writer indicates that Charles was a man of small stature/light frame and nervous temperament. This implies that he was not 100% healthy at the time of his enlistment in 1861, at age 25. Despite this he served valiantly until his honorable discharge in 1964. Over the years he went on to father 7 children. In later life he spent time in Florida, for health reasons. Near the end he returned to Newark and failed more rapidly. I think this sounds like cancer. Or possibly his problems with asthma and chronic bronchitis just lead to an early death.
Questions – family mysteries.
Janet's thread 