Henry Millen 1822-1913

MILLEN, DRYBREAD, PIERCEBLAKE

Posted By: Cheryl Locher Moonen (email)
Date: 11/17/2018 at 00:08:44

Manchester Democrat - Manchester, Iowa - August 13, 1913

Henry Millen was born on a farm near Fredonia in Chautauua County, New York, on December 24th, 1822, and died at Earlville, Iowa, on this 11th day of August 1913, at the age of ninety years, seven months and eighteen days. When he was fifteen years old he removed with his father to Bertrand, Michigan. He worked at Bertrand, Niles and Buchauan, till he was twenty-five years old, when he married Harriet Blake, who lived about a year, and two years later he moved to Iowa, settling first on a farm on which the north part of Strawberry Point is now located, and later moving to Delaware county, where he has since resided. He was married to Sarah A. Drybread on May 25th, 1852. To this union, seven children were born, three of whom died in infancy, Alice E., now dead, and leaves surviving, Horace G. Millen of Marion, Iowa, Meda L. Pierce, of Manchester, Iowa and William I. Millen of Earlville, Iowa. Such is the brief account of this life, more than half of which was lived on the frontier of New York Michigan, and Iowa. He passed through the temptations of privations of frontier life, and came out, strengthened in purposes and character. Whether cutting cord wood and rails in winter, or rafting logs on the Ohio, or freighting on the St. Joe River, or tending bar in his father's tavern, he saw in the gambling and drinking around him, the downward road to destruction, and early set his face toward the higher and cleaner life; he joined the Advent church at Greeley soon after his arrival in Iowa, and leaves an example of an honest, temperate, industrious life. He had but a few months of irregular attendance at school, when a boy, yet, he was an indefatigable reader and kept well versed in the events through which he lived. He has seen in the span of his ninety years of life, the broad fire place on the crance of which his mother cooked their meals, supplanted by the modern furnace and range and gas stove, the tallow dips for light have given place to gas and electricity; the scythe and cradle have given way for the modern reaper; the fiail for the modern thresher; the ox teams have replaced buy the auto and aeroplane and the railroads. He has seen all the marvelous improvements and inventions that have made such marked changed in the manner of living. He was one of the few remaining of the army of pioneers each of whom did his part in transforming the unbroken prairie and trackless forests, into farms where waive fields of grass and grain, and cattle roam on a thousand hills, and the hum of industry fills the air.

He never lived for himself, but gave his thoughts and care for his children and grand children, who will ever hold him in grateful remembrance.

He has seen his wife, and the companions of his early manhood, who came from Michigan with him, fall one by one by the wayside, till he alone remained, and lonesome and weary with the journey, he too has lain down to sleep till the resurrection morn.

The funeral services were conducted by Rev. Artman, pastor of the M. E. Church of Earlville, Iowa, at the home of W. I. Millen, after which the remains were interred in the family lot in Greeley, Iowa on Wednesday afternoon, August 13th, 1913.

During the last five years Mr. Millen spent much of his time with his daughter and her family in this city and formed many warm friendships. His passing brings sorrow to many here and in Earlville where he resided so many years.

Submitted by P2-ABQ