Dodge County Minnesota Civil War First Infantry Milliken Creek

Where Curiosity Leads...

Blog post by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com

Milliken Creek, 2013
Photo: Mary Katherine May

Dodge County: Milliken Creek
When visiting family ties in Minnesota's Dodge County, I often make time to explore the area. A few years back I noticed a sign for Milliken Creek and wondered how it got its name. Web information notes the source as being an early settler, and that is about as far as my research went.

Kasson, Minnesota
Canisteo Township

Graves Site of Geo. A. Milliken
Digital Photo by Mary Katherine May

Curious about the founder of Kasson in Dodge County, Minnesota, I learned the original owner was Jabez Hyde Kasson (1820-1891). The family grave is in Maple Grove Cemetery in Canisteo Township, located on the south side of Hwy. 14 and west of the its Kasson exit.  Noticing a grave marker for Geo. A. Milliken, I took a photo and just recently rediscovered it in my digital files.

Milliken Family
American Civil War
1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry
Now armed with a little more information, I renewed my search for the origin of the Milliken Creek name.  Mr. Isaac Milliken and his wife Betsy came to the area from Maine in 1855.  What I know at this point is that there were four sons: Charles, Marcello, George Augustus and Clifton.

Wasioja Seminary, Wasioja MN
Dodge County Civil War Memorial Site
Digital photo by Mary Katherine May

Young men from Dodge County were among the early volunteers. Wasioja was particularly hard hit by casualties, and I have visited the memorial site several times.

Antietam and Gettysburg
Marcello & George Milliken
1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry
Marcello Milliken died in the Battle of Antietam.  George Milliken was wounded at Gettysburg and mustered out of Company I on 15 December 1863 at the rank of corporal. 

Minnesota Memorial at Gettysburg
Photo taken by Mary Katherine May
May 2016

George became an attorney, practicing law in Kasson.  He married Pauline Ellen Jewett on October 24, 1867, and two years later son Charles was born.  

Their happiness, however, was short lived as four years later on October 12, 1873, George Augustus Milliken, born April 6, 1842 in Charleston, Maine, was laid to rest in Maple Grove Cemetery.

Milliken's Creek
Most likely but not for certain and for an unknown reason, it is Isaac Milliken who became associated with the stream now having his name, which then eventually was recorded as such in public records. It is also very possible that long-time residents of Dodge County or the Milliken descendants themselves know who the exact namesake is.  If my curiosity about this matter is again piqued, I may look to see how early the name shows up on maps.

Wasioja, Minnesota: Dodge County Civil War Memorial Site
Digital Photo by Mary Katherine May

Wasioja Seminary as it appears today.
Digitial Photo by Mary Katherine May