James Harvey Miner

James Harvey Miner (February 4, 1830 – August 18, 1913) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Richland County in the 1870 session, and served as district attorney and county judge. He was also the principal editor of History of Richland County, Wisconsin.

Early life James H. Miner was born in Lockport, New York, in February 1830. He lived his early years on his father's farm in Lockport. The family moved west when James Miner was eight years old, settling in Hillsdale County, Michigan, where he was raised and educated. He graduated from Hillsdale College (then known as Michigan Central College), and went on to study law with Judge E. H. C. Wilson.

Personal life and family

James H. Miner was the seventh child of Luther Miner and his third wife, Lena Eleanor Grant.

His great grandfather, Jesse Miner, was one of the 1,500 Continental volunteers who took possession of Bunker Hill on June 16, 1775, and fought the British there in the Battle of Bunker Hill the following day. The Miners trace their lineage back to Thomas Miner, who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 and later moved to the Connecticut Colony. Ulysses S. Grant is also a descendant of this Thomas Miner.

Further back, the Miners traced the origin of their family name to Henry Bullman, who was given the name "Miner" by King Edward III of England, after he led a band of miners to war for the King during the first years of the Hundred Years' War.

James H. Miner married Sarah Ann Dunn in Volga, Iowa, on May 12, 1855. Sarah Dunn was a native of Alleghany County, New York. The Miners had five children, though one died in infancy. Their eldest child, Alberka—"Berkie"—was the first graduate of the Richland High School and went on to marry Miner's one-time law partner, J. H. Berryman. Miner's eldest son, Grant, followed his father into the legal profession and worked as his partner for much of the latter part of his life.

Electoral history Richland County District Attorney (1856, 1858)

Richland County Judge (1865)

Wisconsin Assembly (1869)

Published works