Glimpses from the life of Margaret Mericle Miller

There are a few of my three-times great grandparents who lived long lives bridging the second half of the nineteenth century and the first quarter or so of the twentieth. They were born in what can still be called “pioneer times” in the lower Midwest, and died in the heady days of modernization following World War I.

Margaret Mericle Miller (1839-1929) is one of these remarkable figures who saw the world change in many ways.

Margaret was born on 6 November 1839 in the hilly and wooded areas south of Bremen, Ohio in what is now Marion Township, Hocking County, Ohio. Her parents, Solomon Mericle and Catherine (Blosser) Mericle, were both born in the earliest pioneer days in Fairfield County, Ohio and married in Fairfield County in 1829. They were the parents of fourteen children, ten of whom survived to adulthood. Margaret was their seventh, following three older brothers and three older sisters.

A photo of Margaret developed by her grandson, Cloyd Patton. Probably circa 1910. Companion scene unknown. 

Margaret was likely born and raised on her father’s farm in section 24 of Marion Township.¹ This farm is located on lands that today are on the far eastern side of Marion Township, east of Ohio State Route 664, off of Bowland-Derr Road. The area was populated by a number of other Brethren and Mennonite families, many of whom were related to one another with tangled roots of intermarriage in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and eastern Pennsylvania in the eighteenth century. Solomon appears to have been a relatively prosperous farmer, with his land valued at US$2,000 in 1850, higher than that of many of his neighbors, but lower than the average valuation than the flatter, more fertile lands closer to Bremen a few miles north. Margaret’s paternal grandparents, John and Saloma (Stihl) Mericle lived on a farm closer to Bremen, about five miles north, although both died in Margaret’s early childhood. Her maternal grandparents, George and Rebecca (Garrison) Blosser, were near neighbors, living on an adjacent farm. Several aunts and uncles were also near neighbors.

The Mericles, like most of their neighbors, were members of the Brethren church. Many of these families had been a part of the Anabaptist tradition since its rise in Switzerland in the sixteenth century and had emigrated to Penn’s Pennsylvania colony in large part due to the religious freedom offered there in the early eighteenth century. Many of these families were already tightly connected by marriage when they arrived in Pennsylvania and continued to intermarry as they moved from eastern Pennsylvania to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and then western Pennsylvania and Ohio. The locally-oriented governance of these religious groups led to many splits and often porous boundaries. It was not uncommon in the area to have some who were Mennonite while others belonged to varying Brethren communities or even Lutheran or Presbyterian churches.

The Slabshed Church in Hocking County (no longer standing). From www.findagrave.com listing for Dunkard Cemetery. Uploaded by Dean Bright. 

The Solomon Mericle family appears to have been quite devoted to the Dunkard Brethren community. Solomon’s parents and (at least) his maternal grandparents were all attached to this community. The family was part of the Slabshed Brethren Church community located very close to the Mericle farm, just south of Bowland-Derr Road. Many members of the Bright family (cousins to Solomon) were also part of this community, as was the family of his sister, Saloma (Mericle) Blosser. It was closely tied to the Dunkard Brethren congregation that existed near the old Mericle farm, just south of Bremen in Fairfield County, which began around 1809.

Margaret came of age in the late 1850s and married Abraham Miller in Hocking County on 21 March 1858. They were married by John Hunsaker, Brethren minister. John Hunsaker (1811-1883) was married to Catharine Hufford (1814-1879), whose father was Solomon Mericle’s cousin. John and Catharine Hunsaker’s son, Jacob, would later marry Margaret’s younger sister. Abraham was born in 1837 in Hocking County, son of Christian and Susannah (Stemen) Miller, both of whom came from deep Anabaptist roots. Abraham and Margaret were second cousins, as Abraham’s great-grandfather, Nicholas Beery, was a brother of Margaret’s great-grandmother, Catharine (Beery) Blosser. Abraham and Margaret took up residence in Hocking County near the Mericles, Hunsakers, and other related Dunkard families. Their eldest daughter, Sarah, was born on 6 October 1858, followed by a second daughter, Catharine, on 29 August 1860.

A small photo of Margaret with six children - probably Effie, John, Noah, Rella, Amos, and Mary

Beginning in the 1840s, as the population of southeastern Ohio continued to grow both naturally and through continued immigration from the east, population pressure built. While the river and creek valleys of the area around Bremen and Logan were rich, agriculture was harder in the hillier areas. In the late 1830s and 1840s, a significant migration of families from the Bremen area began to a variety of points, including Tama and Warren Counties in Iowa, Branch County in Michigan, and Seneca County in northern Ohio. One of the greatest points of migration was the western part of Allen County, just north of the village of Elida. The Salem Mennonite community was formed here, led by Abraham Miller’s grandfather, Mennonite Bishop Henry Stemen (1775-1855).

Between 1860 and 1865, nearly all of the Solomon Mericle family, as well as many of their neighbors and extended family, left Hocking County for Allen County. By 1865, all of Solomon’s children were living in northwestern Ohio and Solomon himself moved there following the death of Catherine Blosser Mericle in May 1865. Abraham Miller’s mother and siblings also joined many of their Stemen relatives in the Elida area in the 1860s as well. Only one of Abraham’s brothers remained in Hocking County.

Margaret with family at the Miller farm - 1911 - with children Sarah, Nora, Catherine, James, Mary, John, and Amos

It is not clear exactly when Abraham and Margaret moved. All documents state that their third daughter, Cinderella, was born in Allen County in January 1862.³ It is likely that they lived for a time near relatives in Sugar Creek Township before settling in Marion Township around 1867.⁴ Abraham and Margaret settled on a farm between Delphos and Elida, just east of Scott’s Crossing. This farm was located on the north side of what is now SR309 (formerly “30 south”) about half a mile east of where State Road crosses the highway. A modest white home stood there into the mid-twentieth century, as seen in several photos from the early twentieth century. Abraham and Margaret raised ten children on this farm. Their children grew up amidst their Miller and Mericle cousins and these families remained closely tied for several generations.

Abraham Miller died suddenly at the age of 62 at his home on 4 March 1900. Margaret survived him by nearly 30 years and continued to live on the family farm until she moved to live with her son, Amos, near Allentown shortly before her death. She died at Amos’ home just shy of 90 years of age on 15 February 1929. Both Abraham’s and Margaret’s funerals were held at the Salem Mennonite (aka Dutch Hollow) Church and both are buried in the cemetery there.

Few biographical details are known about Margaret’s life. Several of Margaret’s grandchildren remembered her as a “spry” and "slight" and as a hard-worker and a woman of strong faith. There were many gatherings of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren at the Miller farm over the years, and many of the Miller cousins remained close throughout their lives, with reunions taking place into the 1970s.

A Mericle family reunion - 1916 - at the Miller farm - Margaret with several Mericle sisters and brothers

Several members of the family seemed to suggest, obliquely, that Abraham and Margaret, and perhaps some broader part of their families, were seen as “black sheep” by other relatives. This could be because of some church conflict that took place among the Dunkard Brethren of Hocking County in the 1860s. Such conflicts were common at the time, fed by the rise of a number of Brethren periodicals in the 1850s and 1860s, as well as conflict over fighting in the Civil War. It is clear that the Millers and Mericles kept distance from the Mennonite Church where some of their Stemen cousins were members. Although Abraham’s funeral was held at the Salem Church where his grandfather had preached, he was not remembered as a “church going man.” Margaret’s obituary states that she had been a member of the Christian Church for 65 years at the time of her death, dating to about 1864, or about the time of their move to Allen County. At least in later years, this corresponded to the Middle River Christian Church, a congregation that still functions near Delphos. None of their children or grandchildren appear to have been associated with the Mennonite church. By contrast, a number of the descendants of the John Hunsaker family, their neighbors in Hocking County, remain members of the Dunkard Brethren churches today.

Margaret and her daughter Mary - 1920s - courtesy of Ron Reynolds

Margaret was the matriarch of a large family. She gave birth to at least eleven children, with only the youngest, Walter, dying in infancy. Three others predeceased her as adults. She was grandmother to at least 53, of which 44 survived to adulthood. At the time of her death, she was also great grandmother to 53 and great-great grandmother to 10. The last of her children, Nora (Miller) Butler died in 1963. Only two grandchildren are still living today, both in their 90s.

Margaret was born into a tight-knit rural religious community that likely had little interaction with the outside world. By the time of her death, 90 years later, she and most of her family had left this Brethren community, moved to a new area, seen a generation fight in the Civil War (and another generation fight in the “Great War”), as well as witnessed technology advances like the advent of the automobile, the first airplanes, electricity, and (comparatively) rapid spread of information. What a fascinating conversation partner she would have been!

Source Notes:

1.  Her father, Solomon Mericle, entered this land (North Half of Northeast Quarter of Section 24, Township 15-N, Range 17-W, consisting of approximately 83 acres, on 5 March 1834.

2.  There were several (related) George Blossers living in Marion Township, so it is not simple to sort out which land patents belong to which George. However, as George and Rebecca appear on the 1850 census adjacent to the Mericles, it is safe to assume that they were very near neighbors.

3.  Cinderella’s death certificate and her obituary in the Delphos newspaper both state this. Her family has also said that she was born on the Miller farm near Scott’s Crossing. Many of these stories date back to Rella’s lifetime. It is clear from Civil War registration records that Abraham Miller was living in Allen County by June 1863.

4.  Abraham Miller’s obituary suggests that he had resided in Marion Township for 33 years at his death in 1900.