Miller

Franklin Pierce Miller b. 1855

/ Kirstin Miller

Franklin Pierce Miller, great uncle on RootsMagic tree.

Franklin was born September 1, 1855 in Stark, Ohio. He was the 2nd child of Peter and Esther Young Miller and the older brother of William L Miller, grandpa of Faber Miller.

Frank’s family moved from Stark County, Ohio to Bremer County, Iowa before 1870. Frank had 5 brothers and 1 sister, Lillie and all grew up on the family farm in In Lafayette Township, Bremer County. On Christmas Day 1888 Frank married Harriet ‘Hattie’ Finney, her family was also from Stark, Ohio. Frank and Hattie had one son John Cleveland Miller.

In August 1898 Frank and brother in law George Bailey, husband of Lillie Miller Bailey, went to Nebraska to look at farms. The Bailey and Miller families decided to move to Nebraska and in January 1899 a farewell surprise party was held, “Frank Miller of LaFayette leaves next week for Nebraska with a car of household goods, etc. and his family will go later. Their neighbors gave Mr. and Mrs. Miller a farewell surprise party one evening last week, enjoying a pleasant time socially and before bidding their host and hostess good bye presented them with a handsome center table.”

The Millers and Baileys stayed in Nebraska and for about 7 years. By 1910 both families had moved to Aurora County, South Dakota. Brother Sylvester Miller was already there with his family, the southeast . Frank and Hattie’s son John married Teresa Gales. The couple had 10 kids, stayed in South Dakota where John farmed, owned a lunch room in the 1930s.

Frank was a widow in 1913. In Aurora he was a produce merchant on the 1920 census. The 1930 census shows Frank was retired and lived with John Gelsen and family and other boarders. John Gelsen was 43, a retired police officer, his parents from Germany and New York. David Marsh was 21, a retail merchant at a general store his parents were from Russia. John Robinson was 27, he managed a lumberyard his parents were from South Dakota and the Netherlands. Peter McGooty was 74, same age as Frank, he owned a billiard hall and his parents were from Ireland. Narem Grueznor. was 31, she sold hardware, her parents were from Wisconsin. Frank lived to age 78. He and Hattie are buried at Silver Ridge Cemetery
in Stickney, Aurora, South Dakota.

Sources

Jacob Miller and Mary Stephenson b. 1771

/ Kirstin Miller

Jacob Miller and Mary Stephenson on RootsMagic tree

Jacob Miller was born in 1771 in Monroe, Virginia. Mary Stephenson was born in 1772 in Virginia. They share a single record, their marriage on July 2,1802 in the commonwealth of Virginia. Jacob’s dad Jacob and Mary’s dad Samuel gave permission for the marriage and signed the marriage certificate. The Miller, Stephenson, Pleasant Davis and Horton families were all connected in Virginia, then Ohio. Jacob and Mary’s son Jacob married Sarah Davis. Sarah Davis Miller’s mom’s family is the Horton family and they have a published family history that may give more clues to Jacob Miller and Mary Stephenson of Virginia.Miller, Jacob Sr marriage 1802

Their wedding record, “Know all men by these presents that we Jacob Miller and Samuel Stephenson are hold and firmly bound into James Monroe, Esq gov’r of the commonwealth of Virginia and his supervisors in sum of 150 dollars with condition that there is no lawful cause to obstruct a marriage intended to be solemnized between the said Jacob Miller and Mary Stephenson of this county and that this obligation to be void otherwise to be, and remain in full force and virtue sealed with our seals and dated this third day of July eighteen hundred and two. Jacob Miller , his mark and Saml Stephenson.”

Sources

  • West Virginia Marriages1780-1970 database at FamilySearch
  • Public Ancestry photo “Nicole Meruvia originally shared this on 09 Jan 2012”

Jacob Miller b. 1808

/ Kirstin Miller

Jacob Miller, my 3rd great grandpa on RootsMagic tree

Jacob was born in 1808 in Virginia, not much is proven about his childhood or parents. On April 18, 1833 in Jackson, Ohio he married Sarah Davis, also from Virginia. Sarah’s siblings were in Jackson too. Jacob and Sarah had their first child in Ohio then moved to Elkhart, Indiana and had 9 more kids. On the 1840 and 1850 US censuses, Jacob and his family farmed in Baugo Township, 50 miles east of Lake Michigan, near Elkhart and South Bend, Indiana. In 1850, Jacob and Sarah’s oldest daughter Mary married Moses Mitchell. Moses and his family were from New York, neighbors to the Millers. Mary and Moses moved to Chickasaw County, Iowa after their marriage. 

Jacob died in 1854 at age 46 and there’s a pretty good chance he was hit by a train after a night of drinking. The Peru (Indiana) Wabash Valley Olio newspaper of January 13, 1854 shows detail.

This newspaper of Miami County, Indiana named intoxication, “the scourge of mankind”, as the cause of death. In 1854 the temperance movement was pretty well established in America. Maine passed the first prohibition law in 1847. The movement blamed immigrants and industrialization, big cities and alcohol for the moral decline spreading across the country.

At Jacob’s death, his widow Sarah, with 8 kids still at home, decided to move 400 miles west to Iowa, where her daughter Mary Mitchell and family lived. Jacob and Sarah’s kids set up homes in California, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington.

Sources

  • 1850 US Census at FamilySearch
  • Public Ancestry photo “LanceL_Ferris originally shared this 24 Dec 2013”.
  • Newspaper Archive, Cedar Rapids Public Library, Peru (Indiana) Wabash Valley Olio 1854 Jan 13

Will Miller b. 1850

/ Kirstin Miller

Will Miller 3rd great uncle on RootsMagic tree

Miller, William

Will Miller, a public photo shared on Ancestry

Will was born February 2, 1850 in Elkhart, Indiana, the 8th of 10 children of Jacob and Sarah Davis Miller. On the 1850 census, the Miller family was living on a farm, Will was just born. The 1860 census shows Sarah as a widow with her youngest 6 children living with her, an older daughter has married and moved to Iowa. By 1870 William was in Black Hawk County, Iowa with his mom and siblings. Will worked on a farm, was 20 years old and attended school sometime during the year. In 1880 Will lived with his mom age 66 and his niece Ellen Mitchell age 21. The next record for Will is not until 1920 when he was in Seattle Washington, 70 years old, a night watchman.

This move across the country seems a stretch but a residence source and then a death record in Seattle in 1930 confirm his move to the west coast. Will was born during the creation of the western states. When he lived in Iowa in 1870 the state was 20 years old. When he was in Seattle, Washington the state was about 20 years old with a population of 300,000. If his missing years 30 from 1890 to 1920 were spent moving west, he saw the country created and maybe lived in new states and kept moving further west.

Will didn’t marry and lived to age 80, he died in 1930. He died of heart disease his parent’s names are on his death record and he was cremated.

Sources

Adam Miller b. 1863

/ Kirstin Miller

Adam Miller 3rd great uncle on RootsMagic tree

Adam was born in Indiana in 1863. In 1870 he was living on a farm in Bremer County, Iowa with his parents Peter and Esther, 5 brothers and a sister. Adam and his brother William were named after their uncles.

In 1887 Adam was in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri where on December 22 1887 he married Bridget McKeown. From 1889-1909 Kansas City phone books show Adam was a tailor, Bridget on a census form is also a tailor. Adam and Bridget had 2 daughters both born in Kansas City.

Miller, Adam 1909 tailor

They moved to California and on the 11920 census this Miller family is in Los Angeles. Adam is a proprietor of a tailor shop. their neighbors are local and international born in Japan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Syria, Mexico, California, New York, Germany. Adam’s youngest daughter Jaquetta is 17 and at home, older daughter Mary is probably married. Adam lived until at least age 70, Bridget is a widow on the 1940 census living in Santa Monica with her daughter and granddaughter both named Jacquetta.

Missouri, Jackson County Marriage Records, 1840-1985
U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995
1920 US Census

Good deeds

/ Kirstin Miller

Both my grandfathers, Stanley Roose and Faber Miller, show up (at least once) in the Greene, Iowa newspaper for their good deeds.

Stanley Roose: Good Neighbor Deed in Greene Recorder 1961 August 16, page 1of 10 column 3 midway.

A group of neighbors and friends gathered at the farm of Mr and Mrs William Kline on Friday afternoon and baled 1300 bales of hay. Town extra balers, wagons and tractors were provided to do the work. Those helping were Walt Wilkie, John Schwennen, Duane Miller, David Rotting, Myron Beguelin, Leonard Wiegman and son Gordon Cassman, Stan Roose, Galen Miller, Oscar Chaman and grandson, Dennis McWilliams, Gary McWilliams and Frances Beguelin. The neighbor ladies furnished lunch.

Faber Miller: Good Samaritan to Half Frozen Pheasant in Iowa Recorder 1942 Jan 7 page 1 column 5.
A half frozen hen pheasant picked up this morning by Faber Miller Greene rural mail carrier on his route was brought to the local post office this morning. The bird apparently recovered from the warmth of the postoffice, was given food and released again. Local sportsmen are asking all who can to leave a little grain or crumbs where they can be picked up by the hungry pheasants. The heavy snow prevents the birds from securing food as well as having normal shelter.

 

Jake Miller b. 1841

/ Kirstin Miller

Jake Miller 3rd great uncle,  on RootsMagic tree

Jacob Miller was born August 6, 1841 in Elkhart, Indiana the 3rd child of 9. The family farmed, the kids went to school. Jake’s dad died when he was 13 and soon after the family moved to Iowa close to where his older sister, now married, was living near Nashua, Iowa.

Jake stayed single. In his later years he lived with his bother Jame’s family, then with his nephew James Archard Miller and family. When his brother James D married Mary Ella Gaines, Jake is on the marriage record testifying to the bride and groom’s ‘competent age and condition’. On census records Jake is a farmer, a horse breeder and a horse trainer. He lived in Janesville, Bristow and Greene, Iowa and was a welcome guest in the Janesville Waverly area. On the 4th of July 1885. “Mr Jacob Miller was down from near Bristow to spend the 4th with his friends around Janesville. Jake is always a welcome guest in these parts.”

Miller, Jake obituary

 

Henry Miller b. 1789

/ Kirstin Miller

Henry Miller b. 1789 4th great grandfather Henry Miller in RootsMagic tree

Henry was born in 1789 in Pennsylvania and is newly added as the father of Peter Miller b. 1827. Researching Peter in Waverly newspapers, he visited Canton, Stark County, Ohio a lot and in June of 1898 he visited with daughter in law Fiana Druckenbrod Miller, both were attending family reunions. It turned out the Stark, Ohio newspaper actually recorded Peter Miller’s visit and featured a full page article about the famous Miller family reunion with perhaps 500+ Millers attending.Miller family reunion 1898

The article is in the Stark County (Ohio) Democrat newspaper of 1898 June 30, provided by Stark Library. https://starklibrary.org/home/genealogy/digital-archives/

Henry Miller was born about 1782 in Pennsylvania, probably Berks County and probably descended from parents or grandparents who arrived from Germany.  He married Elizabeth Fryberger, they moved to Ohio around 1810 and were pioneers in the area. Henry was a widow around 1834 and married again, he may have had 12 children total. An 1830 census shows him and his family in Stark, Ohio. Before 1850 only the heads of homes names were recorded so the 1830 census has Henry Miller and 9 other people identified by tick marks in an age and gender category. Henry is second from bottom on this list. There also an Ohio marriage record for Henry and Julia Essig Troxel, both widowed, they married October 4, 1835 in Stark, Ohio.

Peter Miller b. 1827

/ Kirstin Miller

Peter Miller, 3rd great grandfather on RootsMagic tree

Update: In June 1898, Peter and daughter in law Fiana Druckenbrod Miller traveled to family reunions in Stark County, Ohio. Fiana attended the Bair reunion, Fiana’s mom was Elizabeth Bair. Peter attended the Miller reunion, which was in the newspaper and gives details on Peter’s father and siblings. Peter’s family left Pennsylvania for Ohio, and migrated from Germany. Peter’s mom’s, possibly his dad’s family have a lot of history.

Miller family reunion 1898

Peter Miller was born Feb 2, 1827 in Stark County, Ohio, and lived in Canton. He grew up on a farm. On June 3, 1949 Peter married Esther Young. Around 1867 at the age of 40, Peter, Esther, and their 9 children moved to a farm near Waverly, in La Fayette Township, Bremer County, Iowa. Peter died on August 25, 1912 in Amery, Wisconsin. He was living with son William, and family. Peter is buried in Andrews Cemetery outside Waverly, Iowa. Some of Peter’s life is documented in the Waverly, Iowa  newspapers of the time.

1892 Aug 25 page 5 of the Waverly Republican –https://is.gd/TofPAp.
Peter Miller is painting his house and barn on his farm in La Fayette and fixing up generally

1887 Mar 11 page 5 of the Waverly Democrat –https://is.gd/Y5sXr4.
Peter Miller living in LaFayette has a cow that is worth bragging about, It is twenty one years old and during her lifetime has given birth tp 19 splendid calves the last two being a pair of twins. And what is more she is still a good milker and promises yet to live many years.

1898 September 15 page 4 of Bremer County Independent –https://is.gd/phWT6v.
Peter Miller was appointed as judge for the upcoming General Election in Lafayette township.

1901 August 22 page 5 of the Waverly Democrat –https://is.gd/JodKen
Peter Miller will leave Monday for a visit to his old home at Canton, Ohio. He will be gone about 6 weeks.

Peter visited Canton, Ohio often, so did his wife Esther and their daughter in law Fiana Druckenbrod. Peter happened to be in Canton for the funeral of President William McKinley 

1901 October 3 page 5 of the Waverly Democrat –https://is.gd/ADVOwn.
Peter Miller returned Thursday morning from his visit at Canton, Ohio, the home of the late President. Mr Miller was present at his burial services, which he describes as being “grand beyond description”.

Canton, Ohio public square

Public Square in Canton, Ohio c. 1907-1915, US historical postcard snapshot

James Davis Miller b. 1845

/ Kirstin Miller

James Davis Miller, my 2nd great grandpa on RootsMagic tree.

James Miller was born June 27, 1845 in Elkhart, Indiana to Jacob and Sarah Davis Miler. The 1850 US census shows James with his parents and 7 siblings, living on a farm. In 1854 after James’ dad died, his family trekked from Indiana to Nashua, Iowa about 400 miles. In 1870 James was 25, his family farmed near Janesville, Iowa.

Miller, James and Ella snapshot
James Miller and Ella Gaines marriage certificate.

In 1878, James, or JD, married Mary Ella Gaines in Waverly, Iowa on November 13. JD and Mary Ella lived near Greene, Iowa where they farmed and had 2 sons William and James. Later in life they visited the west coast where Mary Ella’s two sisters lived. In 1905 JD and Mary Ella travelled to the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon. The Expo lasted 4 months with 1.6 million visitors- it was a big deal. From the local newspaper September 20, 1905, ” Mr and Mrs James Miller living west of town have been enjoying the wonders of the Portland fair for the past week and Mr Miller’s brother Jake has been helping care for things on the farm during their absence”.

Agricultural Palace Lewis and Clark Expo 1905
Agricultural Palace 1905 Lewis and Clark Expo in Portland.

JD was a widow in 1917. In 1925 he lived with his son William and family including grandson Faber b. 1905. JD lived to age 84, he died in 1929. From his obituary, “He has been industrious and has prospered through the years. He was honorable in his dealings with his fellows and is highly respected by those who knew him.” James Davis Miller is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Greene, Iowa.

Sources