From the Portrait and Biographical Record of the state of Colorado, 1899.
A pioneer settler of Leadville, Colorado, Ahiman Valentine Bohn rose from humble beginnings in Ohio to make his name in railroading and mining in the Centennial State. Prior to his removal to Colorado, Bohn had served in the Civil War was involved in the coal business in Alabama and St. Louis, Missouri. Bohn entered politics late in life when he was elected to one term in the Colorado State Senate, representing the 6th district of Lake County, and during this term filled the additional role of U.S. Postmaster at Leadville. Born on November 12, 1835, in Massilon, Stark County, Ohio, Ahiman Valentine Bohn was the son of Valentine and Susan (Strickler) Bohn. Bestowed a unique first name, Ahiman is one of two figures mentioned in the Bible. The first Ahiman is mentioned as a giant who was seen by Caleb at Mount Hebron, and the second noted as a Levite temple gate-keeper under Nehemiah.
A local political office holder in Stark County, Valentine Bohn (1793-1854) was a former county court and district court judge, and following his family's removal to Carroll County, Illinois, continued his political career, winning election as county clerk and county judge. Young Ahiman would attend the Mount Carroll High School and at age 20 left the family home to strike out on his own. He would first take work as an agent for the Illinois Central Railroad at Amboy and later worked in railway construction for the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad.
Following the start of the Civil War Bohn enlisted in the 15th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, and was mustered in with that regiment in May 1861. He would serve through the war's duration, and with his regiment took part in the capture of Fort Donelson, the Battle of Shiloh, the Siege of Corinth, the Battle of Hatchie River, the Siege of Vicksburg, and the Battle of Bentonville. Enlisting as a private, Bohn attained the rank of major by the time of his discharge in late 1865. Ahiman V. Bohn married during his service in 1864 to Emma Kneisley (1839-1916). The couple were wed for fifty years and had three sons, Arthur Kneisley (1865-1906), John Valentine (1868-1909), and Charles Ahiman (1870-1963).
After his return to civilian life, Bohn removed back to Ohio, and after settling in Dayton began to study at a commercial college in that city. His two-year residency in that city also saw him teach at that school, and in 1868 relocated to Missouri. He would enter the coal business in Kansas City, and made his first foray into the mining industry when he purchased an interest in coal mines on the Vandalia Railway. He continued in dealing coal after relocating to St. Louis, and while a resident of that city became a major promoter in the construction of a railroad reaching "from Cape Girardeau to the interior of Missouri." The project saw eighty miles of track laid, and following the financial panic of 1873, Bohn's finances in the project took a hit.
Bohn remained in St. Louis until 1874, and following removal to Alabama, he returned to his earlier interest in coal, "developing the coal fields along the South and North Railway". In 1878 he made the permanent move to Colorado, being recorded by the Leadville Herald Democrat as having "drove into Leadville from Denver with a wagonload of butter and eggs." Shortly after arrival, Bohn made the acquaintance of Horace Austin Warner Tabor (1830-1899), the "Bonanza King of Leadville" who later served as Lieutenant Governor and U.S. Senator from Colorado. Having earned a fortune from his silver mining interests, Taber brought Bohn into Colorado's mining industry, with Bohn later becoming the local manager for the Tabor-owned Matchless mine. Bohn would go into mining for himself sometime later, and through the succeeding years was the manager of the following mining properties: Small Hopes, Lucy B. Hussey, Shields, and the Star of Hope. Bohn would also be a founder of the Home Mining Company, which he later "left with little wealth accumulated from the genius of his organization." It was left to the Leadville Herald Democrat to describe Bohn's win-loss record in regards to his finances from mining, remarking:
"From all these mining ventures, Major Bohn held the reputation of having brought more revenue into the Leadville district than any other single individual. The only loser from these projects was himself."
From the Leadville Herald Democrat, September 7, 1905.
In addition to his mining activities, Ahiman Bohn was long prominent in the affairs of the G.A.R. veterans organization, being a charter member of the James Garfield Lodge No. 9 in Leadville. From 1885-86 he was the G.A.R. department commander for the states of Colorado and Wyoming, and also attained high rank in the Leadville Elks Lodge, where he was a past exalted ruler from 1894-95.
A longtime Republican, Bohn first voted for that party in 1856, the year of the first Republican presidential ticket. In 1906 Bohn entered into the race for the Colorado state senate from the 6th senatorial district and in November was opposed by Democrat Austin Blakey. On election day it was Bohn who won out, polling 2,297 votes to Blakey's 1,815. He would take his seat in January 1907 and at the start of the 1907-11 session was named to the following committees: County Affairs; Finance, Military Affairs; Mines and Mining; Privileges and Elections; Railroads and Corporations; and Supplies and Expenditures (chairman.) Bohn's time in the senate saw him opposed to a bill proposed to state senator David Campbell that aimed to repeal "all Colorado statutes which require that all old soldiers and sailors entering the Solider's and Sailor's Home shall turn over their pensions to the commandant." This bill was the exact opposite of existing national laws that required pensioners to keep their own money, and as a veteran himself, Bohn aired his outrage in the February 26, 1909 edition of the Yuma Pioneer, remarking:
"The custom arose because it was feared that the old soldiers would go into town pension day and get drunk...Well, if they want to get drunk, let them. They have a right to do so. They fought for the country and have a right to any pleasure they may get out of their pensions. It is nobody's business."
From the Leadville Herald Democrat, June 20, 1908.
Midway through his senate term Bohn was appointed by President William Howard Taft as U.S. Postmaster at Leadville, and in July 1909 resigned his senate seat. He served as postmaster through the Taft administration and stepped down several months into the Woodrow Wilson presidency in September 1913. Bohn continued residency in Leadville until January 1914, when he took an extended visit to Los Angeles, California, staying at the home of his niece. A week prior to his death his health began to fail, and he died at his niece's home on March 4, 1914, of the effects of asthma and heart trouble. He was survived by his wife and son Charles and was interred at the Angelus Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles.
From the New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial, Vol. III, 1914.
Vermonter Ahiman Louis Miner is one of the true "old guard" names on The Strangest Names In American Political History, as he was first located via the Congressional Bioguide webpage in early 2000. In the twenty years since first locating his name, Miner has, like many other 19th century congressmen, been consigned to history's dustbin. Despite his many accomplishments being all but forgotten today, Miner was long a political power player in his state, as he was a multi-term member of both houses of the Vermont legislature, Rutland County attorney, justice of the peace, register and judge of probate, and for two years was clerk of the Vermont house of representatives. He reached his highest degree of political prominence with his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1850, where he served for one term.
The son of Gideon and Rachel (Davison) Miner, Ahiman Louis Miner was born in Middletown, Rutland County, Vermont on September 23, 1804. His formative years were spent in that town, and during his youth attended the Caselton Seminary in Castleton, Vermont. After deciding not to pursue further study at the Middlebury College, Miner focused on law studies, entering the offices of Rollin and Mallory in Poultney. He was admitted to the state bar in 1832, and for three years practiced in Wallingford. Ahiman Miner married in Vermont in 1832 to Fanny Adams Beman (1811-1852). The couple were wed until Fanny's death and had five children, Fannie, Henry, Alice, Nathan Beeman, and Wilhelmina. Miner would remarry shortly after her death to Susan Sarah Roberts (1821-1913), with who he had three more children, Ahiman Louis (1854-1908), John Gideon, and George Roberts.
Around 1836 Miner left Wallingford and after locating in Manchester in Bennington County, established his law practice. Within a short period of his resettlement he had entered into his first political office, that of clerk for the Vermont House of Representatives, He held that post in the sessions of 1836-1837, and in the last-named year won a seat for himself in that body as a representative from Bennington County. During the 1838 term, he sat on the Judiciary Committee and would be returned to the legislature on three more occasions, serving in 1839-40, 1846-47, and 1854-55.
Miner continued his climb up the state political ladder with his service in the state senate from 1840-41, and from 1843-45 served as State's Attorney for Bennington County. A seven-year stint as county register of probate followed, and beginning in 1846 he served a four-year term as county judge of probate. Miner would also be elected as a justice of the peace in 1846 and served in that capacity until his death.
Miner as he looked during his congressional service.
In 1850 Miner's name was put forward as Whig candidate for the U.S House of Representatives, and in the early months of that contest was opposed by another Whig candidate, attorney Alanson P. Lyman. These dual Whig candidacies occurred due to dissension amongst the Whig ranks in Vermont's 1st congressional district. During the first round of balloting in September 1850, Lyman won out in the vote count, polling 3,693 to Miner's 3,591. The election was declared null as no candidate achieved a majority vote, with another election scheduled for November.
Although Miner and Lyman remained above-board during the fracas, campaigners on their behalf slung mud at one another in newspapers of the time. Eventually, civil correspondence between the two men was published in the Rutland Herald in October 1850, in which Miner wrote to Lyman:
"Dear Sir: The situation in which the whig party of this place, in consequence of the use of both our names as candidates, seems to require some sacrifice on our part for the sake of harmony. Political and personal friends are in some instance becoming embittered, and a state of feeling exists which ought not to continue, if we can prevent it. I am not aware that the trouble has arisen through any action or agency of my own. I am nevertheless willing to use any honorable means to allay the excitement and restore quiet. I would therefore propose that we withdraw from the canvass, and recommend that some third person be put in nomination on whom all can unite."Despite Miner's proposal that both men withdraw for the sake of party harmony, the election in November again saw Miner and Lyman as candidates, and on November 5th it was Ahiman Miner who became Congressman-elect, besting Lyman by a vote of 4,320 to 4,099. Miner took his seat in January 1851 and during the 1851-53 session was a member of the Committee on Engravings. He was not a candidate for reelection in November 1852.
Following his term in Congress Miner returned to practicing law and in December 1857 was appointed as receiver of the Danby Bank in Rutland County. In 1870 he flirted with another run for Congress and would enter that race as an Independent Republican candidate. He would lose that contest in November, placing third in a field of five candidates, with victory going to one term incumbent Charles Wesley Willard (1827-1880). Miner continued residence in Manchester until his death at age 81 on July 19, 1886, at his home. He was survived by his wife Sarah and was interred at the Dellwood Cemetery in Manchester.
Ahiman Miner in old age, courtesy of "Manchester" by the Manchester Historical Society, 2011.
From the Middlebury Register, July 23, 1886.
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