Sonoma County CA Archives Biographies.....McMinn, Joseph 1795 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com March 3, 2006, 5:19 am

Author: Alley, Bowen & Co. (1880)

McMinn, Joseph, Whose portrait appears in this work, was born in Washington
county, Maryland, June 11, 1795. His parents moved to Hawkins county, Tennessee,
when Joseph was quite young, and where they resided till 1830, thence to Madison
county, Illinois. After five years here, they took up their residence in what is
now called Dallas county, Missouri. April 27, 1852, the subject of this sketch
came to California, crossing the plains and settled in this township on his
present farm on October 15th of that year, where he has since resided. He
married for his first wife, Charlotte Derrick, in Hawkins county, Tennessee, on
April 20, 1820. She was a native of that county, and was born February 7, 1800;
and died April 18, 1836- Lucretia, Alzira, Selina, Pascal and Joseph are the
names of the children by this marriage. He married for his second wife, Mary
Martin, in May 1837. She was born February 7, 1802. Mary, Ann and John, are
their children, and reside in this county. Mr. and Mrs. McMinn are the oldest
couple living in Santa Rosa township, now being respectively eighty-four and
seventy-seven years old. Mrs McMinn is the great - grandmother of forty-four
children, and grandmother to forty-three. In 1858, while residing on another
portion of their farm, the old lady received an injury which it is not out of
place to record. There was a loaded gun of the ancient flint-lock kind left in
the house, and in order to have it in a secure and out-of-the-way place, Mrs
McMinn placed it underneath the bed. A little negro boy about six years old who
was living with the family, found the gun, and in playing with the weapon, it
was accidentally discharged, the ball passing through a wooden partition and
into Mrs. McMinn's ankle, which caused the amputation of her limb. She is now
using an artificial leg and moves around in a remarkably sprightly manner.

Additional Comments:
Santa Rosa Township

Extracted from:

HISTORY
—OF-
SONOMA COUNTY,
-INCLUDING ITS—
Geology, Topooraphy, Mountains, Valleys and Streams;
—TOGETHER WITH—
A Full and Particular Record of the Spanish Grants; Its Early History and
Settlement, Compiled from the Most Authentic Sources; the Names of Original
Spanish and American Pioneers; a full Political History, Comprising the Tabular
Statements of Elections and Office-holders since the Formation of the County;
Separate Histories of each Township, Showing the Advancement of Grape and Grain
 Growing Interests, and Pisciculture;
ALSO, INCIDENTS OF PIONEER LIFE; THE RAISING OF THE BEAR FLAG; AND BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN;
—AND OF ITS—
Cities, Towns, Churches, Schools, Secret Societies, Etc., Etc.
ILLUSTRATED.
SAN FRANCISCO:
ALLEY, BOWEN & CO., PUBLISHERS.
1880.


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