Grundy County IL Archives Biographies.....Misner, John H ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com March 26, 2006, 8:16 am Author: Bio/Gen Record LaSalle/Grundy 1900 JOHN H. MISNER. During the civil war Mr. Misner manifested his loyalty to the government by going to the front with the boys in blue. He is a grandson of one of the heroes of the Revolution, and his patriotic spirit has always been manifested in support of all movements and measures which he believed would prove of public benefit. The Misners are of sturdy Pennsylvania Dutch stock, the ancestors of our subject being early settlers of the Keystone state. His grandfather was a son of Conrad Misner, and was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, September 22, 1759. He was married in 1787 to Miss Barbara Stacker, whose birth occurred in Germany January 13, 1773. She remained in the Fatherland until eleven years of age, when she came with her parents to the New World. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Misner occurred in Pennsylvania, but early in their married life they removed to Kentucky and afterward to Ohio, whence they went to Indiana and later to Illinois, locating near Newark, this state, about the year 1840. There Henry Misner died, September 25, 1848, and his wife passed away May 20, 1847. He was a valiant soldier in the service of his country and took part in the Indian war against the Six Nations, serving under General Sullivan. When the colonies attempted to throw off the yoke of British oppression, he joined the American army, enlisting as an Indian spy, at the age of seventeen years and six months. Later he served in the North Cumberland company in a militia regiment, in which he remained for fifteen months, as a private under Captain Green. On the 2d of September, 1832, when seventy-three years of age and while a resident of Pickland, Indiana, he applied for a pension. In his family were sixteen children, thirteen sons and three daughters, and with one exception all were married and had families. Two of his sons, Henry and Demarquis, came to Illinois in 1832, bringing with them their families. Demarquis and his family lived in a tent during the month of November, until the trees could be cut down and a log cabin erected. He took up his claim near Lisbon, Illinois, and he served in the war of 1812 under Captain Sloan and General Hull in an Ohio regiment, being with Hull's army at the time of the surrender at Detroit. He was afterward a pensioner of that war. Subsequently to the arrival of Henry and Demarquis in Illinois, two daughters and seven sons of the same family came to this state. These were Mrs. Elizabeth Scoggins, Mrs. Serena Hauck, Elijah, Elisha, Christopher, Ransom, Harrison, Abraham and Fletcher. Elijah afterward went to Missouri and died there, but Elisha spent his last days in Grundy county and they were farmers. Abraham took up his residence near Springfield, Illinois, where he spent his remaining days. Fletcher was for sixty years a resident of Millington, Illinois, where he engaged in the manufacture of wagons and agricultural implements, at one time doing a large business. He is still living, making his home with his son in Anderson, Indiana. The remains of Henry Misner, the Revolutionary hero, were interred in the Millington burying ground where, three years ago, the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a monument to his memory. It is believed that he was the second Revolutionary soldier to die in Illinois. Ransom Misner, the father of our subject, was born in Ohio, May 21, 1810, learned the carpenter's trade and was married in his native state to Miss Margaret Cromwell, who was born February 7, 1810, and died May 12, 1839. Immediately after the death of his wife, Mr. Misner established a home in Kendall county, Illinois, where he followed his trade until 1850, when he started across the plains to California with a party formed at Quincy, Illinois. While hunting, in May of that year, he was killed by Comanche Indians. His life had been an honorable and upright one and he was respected by all who knew him. His children were George D., born November 8, 1833; John H., born December 22, 1834; Mary R, born December 22, 1836, and Martha A., born September 14, 1838. John H. Misner was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, and was about four years old when brought by his father to Illinois. His educational privileges were limited, but his training at farm labor was not meager and throughout his life he has carried on agricultural pursuits. In 1851 he came to Grundy county, where he worked as a farm hand until April 27, 1862, when he enlisted at Ottawa, Illinois, as a member of Company G, One Hundred and Fourth Illinois Infantry, under command of Captain Salem White. When hostilities had ceased he was honorably discharged June 6, 1865, near Washington, D. C. At the battle of Hartsville, Tennessee, where the regiment was captured, he succeeded in making his escape, although the rebels fired at him. After four days spent in the woods when there was about six inches of snow on the ground, he succeeded in reaching the Union troops at Gallatin, Tennessee. During his wanderings he had been protected by the colored people. His exposure, however, brought on illness, and after six weeks spent in the hospital at Gallatin he was sent home with the sick and wounded men of his regiment, remaining in the north during the winter. The following April he rejoined his regiment at Chicago, Illinois, where the troops were engaged in guarding prisoners. In the spring he went with them to Nashville and participated in the Tullahoma campaign and in the battles of Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain and the Atlanta campaign, where his regiment was under fire for one hundred days. He was also with Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea and campaigned from Savannah through the Carolinas. In North Carolina he and sixty comrades, who had been detailed to forage, were taken prisoners and sent to Johnston's headquarters and from there to Richmond, being confined in the famous Libby prison for four days, after which he was paroled. They were then sent to Grant's lines at City Point and to Annapolis, Maryland, and to the paroled camp at St. Louis. On the close of the war they were transferred to Washington city to be mustered out. When the country no longer needed his services, Mr. Misner returned to Braceville township, where he resumed farm work. He was married December 12, 1867, in what is now Maine township, to Miss Esther C. Hill, who was born in Delaware county, Ohio, February 13, 1847, a daughter of John A. and Esther (Marsh) Hill. She was fourteen years of age when she went to live with her sister Lucy, the wife of E. H. Robinson, and with them she came to Illinois in March, 1865, making her home with them until her marriage to Mr. Misner. Unto our subject and his wife have been born two children, Emma S. and Arthur H. Mr. and Mrs. Misner began their domestic life upon a farm in Maine township, but after two years removed to their present home, our subject here having eighty acres of land, which he cleared and improved, making it a valuable property. In addition to this he has one hundred and sixty acres of land in Pawnee county, Kansas. In his business dealings he is very reliable and his success may be attributed entirely to his own work. Mr. Misner belongs to Sedgwick Post, No. 305, G. A. R., of Gardner. He voted for John C. Fremont, the first Republican candidate for the presidency, and has since supported its presidential nominees. Some minor offices have been filled by him and by popular choice has served as a member of the school board of his township, and was a constable of Coal City during his residence in that place. His military career and his public and private life are alike above reproach, and he is regarded as one of the representative men of his neighborhood. Additional Comments: Source: Biographical and Genealogical Record of La Salle and Grundy County, Illinois, Volume 11, Chicago, 1900, p776-779 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/grundy/bios/misner95gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 8.5 Kb