His mother died in 1841, and he worked in a woolen mill for six years starting in 1844.

He started teaching school at age twenty, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1861.

[1] During the American Civil War, Minshall enlisted in the Union Army as a private in Company C of the 22nd Ohio Infantry April 20, 1861, and was mustered out after four months as a Sergeant Major.

[1] After the War, Minshall began a practice in Chillicothe, and was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Ross County.

[1] In 1885, the Republicans nominated George W. McIlvaine to a fourth five-year term on the Ohio Supreme Court.