Published Articles of Abraham Minges

Notes for Abraham Menges:
From the History of Calhoun County, Michigan.

On March 5, 1849, Mr. (Abraham) Minges left Battle Creek as one of the 49-ers, bound for California. The party of five wagons and its personnel included Mr. Minges, Charles Cooley, Christian Hanna, Thomas Ten Eyck, George McCamly, George Burrall, Joshua and Samuel Cook and Albert Dewey. They were on the road for six months and 10 days.
On the west coast, Mr. Minges took a job in Sacramento making coffins, went into lumbering and finally into mining. He returned home by way of Panama and arrived here December 26, 1851. Shortly thereafter he bought the 200-acre place which became the homestead farm, located in Minges Road where the creek crosses the highway.

Mr. Minges was first married on February 15, 1852 to Elsie Cowlan. They lost two children in infancy and Mrs. Minges died on September 20, 1856.
Four children were born to his second marriage to Eugenia Amidon. All were born in the Minges homestead which later became the home of the son Frank for the 81 years of his lifetime. Frank Minges died in January 1955, and his widow, Laura (Adams) Minges, still makes her home there. They have three children, Philip A., on the faculty of Cornell University; Rachael M. DeLonge of Crawford, N.J. and Mrs. Frances Delmerico, now living near Baltimore, but who plans to join her mother here this summer. There are four grandchildren.

The other two sons of Abram Minges are also deceased. They were Erwin G., who had two children and whose grandchildren include Vaughn C. Minges of 50 W. Minges Road; Orlow A. whose daughters are Mrs. Glee (Ruth) Dunn and Mrs. Sidney (Meda) Everest, both of Battle Creek.
After his long and successful career as a builder, millwright and mill owner, gold-seeker and farmer, Mr. Minges died at 89 at the family home in Minges Road on April 1, 1908. He was buried in the family lot at DuBois Cemetery.