Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-03-05
An Honorable Lineage.

Though from yon blue heavens above
us bent the gardner Adam and his wife
smile at the claims of long descent;"-
though "'tis only noble to be good" and
| kind hearts are more than coronets and
simple faith than Norman blood"-never-
| theless there is such a thing as an honor
| able and wholesome pride of ancestry.
1t is natural and well that man should
care to know something about his fore
fathers: and many man has found all
| incentive to truth, courage. fidelity to
principle, and patriotism, in the knowl-
edge that he bears a name which has been
made honorable by ancestors who illus
trated such qualities in their lives. The
patriotic societies which have set so many
persons to looking up their pedigrees, are
doing good service in the stimulation of
such qualities. They arouse in many in
terest In and emulation of the examples of
good men and women who have been
gathered In honor to their fathers and
they should encourage every man to make
for himself record which he will not be
ashamed to hand down to his posterity
We have been much interested in glanc-
ing over the genealogy of our worthy
townsman, Charles Edmund Miner. He
is the son of Martin Luther Miner and
the great grandson of Roswell Miner who
came from Connecticut to the then newly
organized town of Shelburne, VT, In 1884
with his wife, and bought land the deed
of which bears date of May 9Th, 1884 On
the farm thus purchased he was buried
and it is now owned by c. e. Miner, hav-
ing never passed out of the ownership of
the direct descendants of the pioneer
This Roswell Miner was the grandson of
Thomas Miner, who came from England
to America in Gov. John Winthrops Com
pany; arrived at Salem. Mass, in 1890. and
marched with Winthrop and others
through the unbroken woods to Charles
town, Mass, where he settled, became one
Of the leading men of the colony, and was
active In establishing the First church
there. The family removed to Connecti-
cut In 1916; and a granite boulder, almost
imbedded in the earth in the old burial
ground in Stonington, Conn, bears the
inscription 'rudely cut" Here lyeth the
body of Lieutenant Thomas Miner, aged
50 years, departed $780,"
The family line is traced back through
many generations In England, to one
William Miner, of whom 1t Is recorded that
he married Isabella Harcope de Frolihay;
that he was 1.-The Flower of Chivalry"
and that he sevenged the death of the two
young princes that were murdered in the
tower of London by their inhuman uncle,
Richard the Third"
Following the line still further back,
through seven generations it Is traced to
Sir Henry Miner, knight, residing at
Mendippi Hins, County Of Somerset, Eng
land. Tho original surname of this Sir
owner and 1t is related of him that when
King Edward Third and his son, the
Black Prince, were passing his estate, on
their expedition against France. in 1886,
he armed hundred of his miners with
battle-axes and rendered them with his
own service, to the King. And in reoog-
milton OF his loyalty he was knighted by
the king under the name of Henry the
Miner" and granted a coat of arms. with
crest of two battle-axes crossed. He
died at Mendippi Hills A. d. 1859.
In all, this genealogy covers eighteen
generations. The principal facts in re-
gard to the first ten Of these men gather
ed by Thomas Miner 9Th. the first emf
grant TO America, on subsequent visit
to England and the manuscripts In which
they are recorded are now in the keeping
of the Connecticut Historical society, at
Hartford, Conn.