Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Casper Miller: Sandusky County Ohio Civil War Soldier


Casper Miller
The above 16" x 20" image is believed to be that of Casper Miller of Ballville Twp. Sandusky County, Ohio. It was recently donated to the Hayes Presidential Center by Harriet Stiger Liles of Coral Gables, Florida. The photograph was given to Mrs. Liles in 1965 by one of Casper's granddaughters, Helen Miller Newman, the daughter of John Henry and Mary C. Miller. Mrs. Newman and Mrs. Liles taught at the Old Fort School in Old Fort, Ohio.

Casper Miller was born in Switzerland October 5, 1832. He came to the United States in 1854 and became a naturalized citizen. He married Mary A. Diehr March 4, 1858. Mary was born in Germany January 6, 1839. She was the daughter of John and Mary Diehr, also of Ballville Twp. Casper and Mary Miller were the parents of Louis, Willie, John Henry, and Rosie.

Casper died in Ballville Twp. Sandusky County September 13, 1910. Mary Diehr Miller died in Ballville Twp. February 6, 1917. Both are buried in the McGormley Cemetery.

A single individual by the name of Casper Miller appears on a list of Civil War draftees for Sandusky County. The document is part of the Local History Collection at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center. Casper Miller is believed to have enlisted as a private in Company C of the 72nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry raised largely in Sandusky County, Ohio.

3 comments:

Pat'sBooks said...

Nan, this looks as if it might be one of the men in the Anthony a Young group picture

Pat'sBooks said...

A couple weeks ago, I came across a picture of this civil water veteteran, Casper Miller, right here on Ohio's Yesterdays.

As you can see it gives the names of this man's wife, Mary Diehl.


I then went to www.familysearch.com and looked for anyone with last name Miller and these parents.

I found a death certificate for a Louise Miller Baker, (informant Peter Baker).

As soon as I saw the Baker name in Old Fort I looked at my tree and found that the date of birth on this death certificate matches the date of birth of a Louise Miller who married Peter Baker, son of Christina Mathie and Peter Baker, according to information I received from a Gessner cousin in Fremont. If I have it right, my cousin's grandmother Christina Baker Gessner's brother Peter married the daughter of the man pictured above.

To make it all even stranger, the woman who gave the photo to Nan Card lives very close to me.

I originally focused on the article because the photo of this soldier looked to me as if it could be one of the men in a group photo I have of Anthony Young and other civil war soldiers. I can't post it here, but Young and Miller were both in the 72nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry but in different companies.

Thank you Nan Card, you never know where a hint may lead, and the web gets ever more tangled!

Nan Card said...

Hello Pat: Wow! How amazing that you were able to note similarities and identify Casper Miller in the photo you have that includes Anthony Young! Great detective work!

Mrs. Lisles and her granddaughters made a special stop at the Hayes Presidential Center to donate the large photograph of Casper Miller in uniform. Her friend had given it to her many years before. She felt it should be placed at an institution where it could be preserved and accessible to the public. I was pleased to receive it and make it available on "Ohio's Yesterdays."