From a long line of tillers of the soil comes a worthy representative of a sturdy ancestry in Luther Minerd. He, too, is a toiler in the fields, owning a splendid farm of twenty acres, which he has taken pride to cultivate to the highest extent. His farm and residence are located near the Upper Stockton road, about six miles southeast of the Sacramento court house, and there he is extensively engaged in the raising of grapes. Mr. Minerd is a native of Harrison county, Ohio, born January 10, 1865, his parents being Daniel and Rebecca (Knouff) Minerd, the father a native of Ohio and the mother of Vermont. The former has long since passed away, but his widow still survives him and resides on the Minerd estate, which has been owned by the Minerd family for over a century.

Luther Minerd was reared to years of maturity in his native county of Harrison, his early education being received in its public schools, but this was later supplemented by attendance at the Scio College in Scio, Ohio. In 1890 he came to the Golden state, immediately taking up his residence in Sacramento county, where for a time he was employed by others in agricultural pursuits. He then engaged as a salesman in the retail meat business in Sacramento county, and in the fall of 1896 purchased and removed to the farm which he now owns and occupies, consisting of twenty acres, thirteen and a half acres of which are devoted to the growing of grapes, principally of the Tokay and Mission varieties. Almost his entire time and attention are devoted to this industry, and his farm is well tiled and produces bountifully.

On the 7th of March, 1895, Mr. Minerd was united in marriage to Mary B. Cornelius, a native daughter of Sacramento county, where her father, H. P. Cornelius, was long an honored resident. He came to California in 1874, settling in Sacramento county, and died November 16, 1894. They have become the parents of two living children: Luther and Lillian R. Dannie C. is deceased. In his political affiliations Mr. Minerd is a Republican, and has in various ways demonstrated that he is a public-spirited man, ever solicitous for the welfare and advancement of the community in which he has cast his lot. In his fraternal relations he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Florin. While living the conventional farmer's life, unprodictive of any great events, yet he is honored by his fellow men for the many sterling qualities he possesses, among them honesty and integrity in his intercourse with those about him.

Source: History of the New California Its Resources and People, Volume II

The Lewis Publishing Company - 1905
Edited by Leigh H. Irvine