The Miller Families of Clark County, Ohio

MILTON M. MILLER (deceased), farmer and local minister; P. O. New Moorefield; born in Kentucky Dec. 23, 1811; was a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Hanson) Miller, he a native of Virginia and she of Maryland. They became residents of Clark Co. in the spring of 1812, locating upon the farm now owned by Abraham Mumper, and here they resided till their death. He died Oct. 18, 1834; his wife died in August, 1857. They were parents of six children, and he had three by first marriage. Two only now survive—Mary (now Widow Banes), and Maria (now widow of Samuel Hunter). They were strictly pioneers in this neighborhood, taking their farm right from the woods in its wild state, and enduring all the labors and hardships incident to such life, bringing the forests into fine cultivated fields, with having grain, and replacing their primitive log cabin with a comfortable frame house, and before their death were able to enjoy the general comforts and conveniences of life, and all accomplished by his own labor and industry. He owned two quarter sections of land, and in connection with his many labors and progress in accumulating property and obtaining the comforts and conveniences of a good farm and home, he was an active Christian worker in the M. E. Church, being a local preacher for many years, and in his death the community lost a kind neighbor and the church a great worker. Our subject being but an infant when his parents moved to this county, was nurtured, raised and grew to maturity injured to the hardships of the early settlers of that day, and lived with his parents till their death. He was married, Nov. 29, 1832, to Mary T., daughter of Samuel T. and Rebecca (Dunlap) Hedges, he a native of Virginia and she of Kentucky; became settlers of Champaign Co. about 1812. They were parents of eleven children; those now living—Mary T., James, Jane, Elizabeth, Tabatha, Sarah and Sawuel. Mary T. was born Sept. 22, 1814. Mr. Miller and wife had ten children, six now living— Mary E., Rebecca, Clara L., Robert N., Hattie M. and Milton M. Mr. Miller followed the footsteps of his father in being an industrious, energetic farmer; also an active Christian and a local preacher in the same church, and thus continued to the end of his life, which was terminated very suddenly. On May 5, 1872, having returned. from church feeling wearied, he laid down to rest, and when called by his daughter to dinner, was found dead. This, though a severe stroke and loss to his family, was doubtless his eternal gain.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

JOHN C. MILLER, Probate Judge, Springfield. Judge Miller comes of a pioneer family; is a son of Reuben Miller, who came to Clark County in 1812, he then being a boy of 15 years of age, with his father, Rev. Robert Miller, who was a pioneer local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal denomination, and known over a large region of country, his residence being in Moorefield Township, where he owned a section of land, and where Reuben grew to manhood, and married Mary, daughter of Samuel Hedges, of Berkeley Co., Va.; she left her parents in Virginia and came to Champaign County with her brother, Jonas Hedges, who settled just over the line in Champaign County and adjoined Mr. Miller's land in this county; after their marriage, Mr. Miller farmer and taught school for a time, and subsequently became a county officer and removed to Springfield, where he continued to fill important offices for general years, as will be seen by reference to the body of this work, and continued to reside in Springfield until 1875, when, his wife having deceased Jan. 2, he went to Keokuk, Iowa, and resided with his only surviving daughter, Mrs. R. B. Ogden, until his decease, which occurred Oct. 3, 1879; his remains were brought to Springfield and interred in Fern Cliff Cemetery. He had a family of five sons and two daughters, of whom four sons and one daughter survive— D. B. Miller, M. D., of Covington, Ky.; John C.; Commander J. N. Miller, of the United States Navy; and Henry R. and Mrs. R. B. Ogden, of Keokuk, Iowa. The subject of this sketch was born in Springfield April 13, 1834; he received rudimentary training in the district school, and finished his school days at the Ohio Conference High School; learned the printer’s art, and, at 18 began the study of law, under the direction of the Hon. Samuel Shellabarger; was admitted to practice in April, 1855, and, in the fall of the same year, having spent the spring and summer in the West looking up a location, commenced the practice of his profession in Springfield. In 1861, he was elected Mayor of the city, and in the fall of the same year was elected Proseeütor for Clark County, and held the latter office five years; was City Solicitor from 1869 to 1876, when he resigned to enter upon the duties of Probate Judge, to which he had been elected the previous October, and which he continues to discharge with credit to himself and satisfaction to the people. He married, Oct. 4, 1860, Miss Marianna T., daughter of James R. Hoglen, of Dayton; from this union have been born two children—Robert J. and Ella C.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

JOSEPH N. MILLER, United States Navy; son of Reuben Miller, and grandson of Rev. Robert Miller, pioneers of Clark County; was born in Springfield, Ohio, Nov. 22, 1836; after passing the required examination, was appointed an Acting Midshipman at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., Oct. 1, 1851; in February, 1852, was advanced one year, and was graduated No. 3 of his class in June, 1854, having made two summer cruises in the practice ship Preble, in 1852 and 1853; from Sept. 1, 1854, to Sept. 20, 1856, served on board the United States flag-ship Independence, in the Pacific Squadron; Nov. 22, 1856, passed his final examination, and was warranted as a Passed Midshipman in the navy; from Feb. 20, 1857, to Oct. 26, 1858, was an assistant in the department of Ethics and English Studies at the Naval Academy; was warranted as Master in the navy Jan. 22, 1858; from Nov. 2, 1858, to Sept. 24, 1860, served on board the United States ship Preble in the Paraguay expedition, and in the Home Squadron; assisted in the capture of the steamers Gen. Miramon and Marquis de la Habana, off Vera Cruz, Mexico, on March 6, 1860; was commissioned as Lieutenant in the navy Feb. 19, 1860; was assistant in the department of Ethics and English Studies at the Naval Academy from October, 1860, until the breaking-out of the rebellion in April, 1861, when he was detached and ordered to the brig Perry, fitting out in New York; the vessel was employed on the blockade, and captured the privateer Savannah, off Charleston, June 3, 1861; the Savannah was the first privateer captured in the war; in November, 1861, was transferred to the United States steamer Cambridge as Executive Officer, and was in the action when the Cumberland and Congress were destroyed by the Merrimac, on March 12, 1862; in May, 1862, was transferred to the practice ship John Adams, and in August was detached, on application, for active service; was commissioned as a Lieutenant Commander in the navy July 16, 1862; from September, 1802, to June, 1863, served on board the ironclad Passaic as Executive Officer, and was present at the naval attack on Ft. McAllister March 3, 1863, and the attack on Ft. Sumter April 7, 1863; in June, 1863, was assigned to duty with Admiral Gregory in New York, superin-

"PUO P Ne tt Mins es = tending the construction of ironclads; in September, 1863, was ordered as Executive Officer of the United States steamer Sacramento, and in November was transferred to the ironclad Sangamon, on the blockade off Charleston; in April, 1864, was transferred to the command of the ironclad Nahant, and in May, 1864, was engaged in an attack on Ft. Sumter; in July, 1864, was detached from the Nahant and granted sick leave; in August, 1864, was ordered to the ironclad steamer Monadnock, and was present in both attacks on Ft. Fisher, Dec. 24 and 25, 1864, and Jan. 13, 14 and 15, 1865; in February, 1865, was detached from the Monadnock and ordered to the Naval Academy as head of the department of Seamanship; commanded the practice ship Marion during the summer cruise of 1865; was detached from the Marion on Sept. 30, 1865, and was assigned to duty at the Naval Academy as head of the department of Ethics and English Studies; in September, 1867, was detached from the Naval Academy and ordered to the United States steamer Powhatan, South Pacific Squadron; served in that vessel in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico until Jan. 5, 1870, when he was detached and placed on leave; was commissioned as a Commander in the United States Navy Jan. 25, 1870; was ordered on duty at the New York Navy Yard in February, 1870, and in April, 1870, was detached and ordered to the South Pacific Squadron as Chief of Staff; in February, 1871, was assigned to the command of the United States steamer Ossifer, in addition to the duties as Chief of Staff; in December, 1872, was detached from the Ossifer, and placed on waiting orders; in January, 1873, was ordered as Executive Officer of the naval station at New London, and in February, 1873, was transferred to the Hydrographic Office at Washington as Assistant Hydrographer; in November, 1873, was ordered to command the ironclad Ajax, which joined the fleet at Key West, assembled in anticipation of difficulty with Spain; in June, 1874, was detached from the Ajax and again assigned to duty as Assistant Hydrographer; in August, 1875, was detached from the Hydrographic Office and ordered to command the United States steamer Tuscarora; ran a line of deep sea soundings with that vessel from the Sandwich Islands to Fiji Islands and Australia; in September, 1876, was detached from the Tuscarora and placed on leave; in December, 1876, was ordered as Assistant to the Chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks; in March, 1877, was detached from the Bureau of Yards and Docks and ordered as Inspector of the Eleventh Lighthouse District, which embraces Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior; on Oct.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

OLIVER H. MILLER.

01i\er H. Miller is engaged in the practice of law in Springfield. He was born in Clark county, Ohio, October 10, 1862, and is a representative of two of the old families of this portion of the state. He traces his ancestry back to Moses Miller, who was born in England on the ist of August, 1759, and on leaving his native land emigrated to New Jersey, where he was married in 1780. He came to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1791, and spent his last days in Clark county, where he passed away in 1814, having removed from Cincinnati to this locality in 1806. He took up his above in Mad River township, following farming there. At the usual government price he purchased nearly one thousand acres of land, which his descendants still have in their possession. He married Phrtbe Baker, who was born in New Jersey December 31, 1761. She had two brothers, Jonathan and Melyn, who came to Clark county about 1806 and settled on adjoining land in Mad River township.

Moses Miller and his wife became the parents of eight children, of whom Melyn Miller, the grandfather of our subject, was the eighth in order of birth. He was born in Cincinnati in 1801 and died in Clark county January 15, 1854. Like the other members di the family he pursued his education in the early schools of this county, was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life and followed farming and cabinet making in order to provide for his wife and children. The Millers are not a long-lived race, nor have they married early in life and of this particular branch of the family there are but few descendants. The land originally owned by the grandfather has always remained in the family. Melyn Baker Miller, the grandfather, was married to Christena Powell, of LIrbana, Ohio, who was born April 15, 1803, and died October 16, 1884. Their marriage was celebrated March 12, 1823. Melyn B. Miller acquired considerable of the land belonging to the original purchase and upon his farm he reared his family, numbering ten children, of whom but one is now living, Melyn H. Miller, who resides upon the old family homestead. He was born August 28, 1836. Of this family all the children were born and educated in Clark county. Seven of the number, five sons and two daughters, reached mature years. Sylvester had one son who is still living- -Edgar.S., a dentist, of Indianapolis, — while Abram Powell had three children and the others died leaving no descendants. Abram Powell Miller, the father of our subject, was the ninth child of his parents' family and was born in 1839. On the material side he is a representative of the Powell family which originally emigrated from Virginia to Kentucky, but on account of a poor land title in the latter state they came to Ohio, settling in Urbana. Abram

Powell Miller became a prosperous farmer of Clark county. He inherited some of the land of the Closes' Miller purchase, added to that and possessed at the time of his death a very valuable farm of three hundred and twenty-five acres. Abram Powell Miller was married October 20, 1861, to Mary Cox, a daughter of George W. Cox, a farmer of this county". Her mother bore the maiden name of Lois H. Baker, belonging to an early pioneer family that removed from New Jersey to Clark county. Three sons were born of this marriage: Oliver H.; Albertus Cox, who is married and resides upon a farm in Mad River township and has two children — Mary J., and Eldon G.; and Lioval O., who is a mechanic, is married and resides in Springfield. Abram P. Miller, the father of these children, died in the year 1897, at the age of fifty-eight years, his birth having occurred on the loth of July, 1839. His wife passed away April 20, 1 88 1, and they were laid to rest in the cemetery at Enon. Ohio.

]t will be interesting in this connection to know something of the material ancestry of our subject, who in that line is descended from Melyn Baker, who was born I\Iay 18, 1793, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was a son of Melyn Baker, Sr., who was born January 10, 1760, and became a resident of Clark county in 1806. He served his country as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, belonging to the Xew Jersey Artillery and was wounded in the army but never asked for a pension. His wife, Pha'be Baker, was born December 31, 1761. His death occurred January 20. 1826. while she died in Clark county, November 4, 1813. The Bakers owned two sections of land in Mad River township and the Millers a section and a half. Both.families carried on farming on an extensive scale. Their land was all covered with heavy timber which they cleared away and improved the fields, transforming the tract into richly cultivated land. To-day of the eight hundred and sixty acres owned by the Millers, only forty acres is still covered with the native timber. The Millers and Bakers Avere about the fifth and.ixth families to establish homes in j\Iad River township and since that time representatives of both families have carried on general farming here. Our subject now has in his possession a land patent which was signed by Thomas Jefferson, the president of the United States, in 1806. Of the tract of eight hundred and sixty acres of land above mentioned, nearly all is yet in the possession of the Miller family and the subject ijf this review is the owner of one hundred and thirty-five acres of that tract and twenty-five acres of the Baker tract.

Melyn Baker, Jr., was united in marriage to Mary Dalton, who was born in Clark county December 13, 1797. She was a very bright and intelligent woman, retaining her mental faculties up to the time of her death, which occurred January 8, 1879. Her husband had long since passed away, living died in Clark county June 4, 1844. They were the parents of nine children, of whom seven reached years of maturity. Oliver H. Miller, of this review, has now in preparation a genealogy of the Miller family and is well posted upon the family history.

In the district schools our subject pursued his early education and later became a student in Wittenberg College at Springfield, Ohio, where he completed the work of the junior year. In 1886 he began the study of law under General J. Warren Keifer, and in 1887 he became a student in the Cincinnati Law School, where he was graduated in May. 1888. Immediately afterward he returned to Springfield where he opened an otBce and during his fourteen years' connection with the bar here, he has built up a practice which has constantly grown in volume and importance.

On the 15th of February, 1900, Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Adra R. Hutchinson, a daughter of John and ]Martha (Kelly) Hutchinson. She was born in Clark county, Ohio. Her father was a stairbuilder and cabinet-maker, and died in 1898, hen about sixty-nine years of age, his birth having occurred in 1829. His widow now makes her home with Mrs. Miller, who was an only daughter.

In his political views ]\Mr. Miller is a Republican and has been an active worker in his party, for he believes firmly in its principles. He served as secretary of the republican central committee from 1892 until 1897. and was its chairman in 1899. In 1802 he was elected secretary of the school board and has served in that capacity continuously since, the cause of education finding in him a warm and earnest friend. He was the first librarian of the Clark County Law Library and is a member of the Clark County Bar Association. He belongs to Ingomar Lodge, No. 610, K. of P., in which he has served as master of finances since 1892. Mr. Miller is a worthy representative of pioneer families of Clark county. His ancestors began the work of development and improvement here. This task was carried on by representatives of later generations and at the present time the subject of this review is performing his full share in the advancement and upbuilding of the county. The family name figures prominently upon the pages of Clark county's history and Oliver H. Miller is now recognized as an active factor in professional circles. having attained creditable success as a member of the bar.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

EZRA DANIEL MILLER.

Ezra Daniel Miller is a retired farmer living in Mad River township. He was born in Clark county, October 22, 1844. His father, Samuel Newton Miller, was also a native of this county, born June 30, 1819, and his father was Daniel Miller, while his grandfather was Moses Miller. After reaching years of maturity Samuel Newton Miller was united in marriage to Miss Casandra Melvina Baker, who May 13, 1823, a daughter of Ezra D. Baker. This marriage occurred October 12, 1841, and unta them were born the following named: Ann Elizabeth, who was born March 20, 1843, and became the wife of John E. Finley, on the ıst of January, 1860; Ezra Danel, of this review; Loretta D., who was born March y, 1846, and was married March 3, 1871, to Ephraim 'S. Beard;: Ambrose R., who was born July 9, 1849, and married Mary. Elizabeth Aiken; Gustavus A., who was born October 14, 1850, and married Lydia A. Brantner; Charlotte Emily, who was born June 13, 1855, and became the wife of Abram Dunkle, but is now deceased; Earl Newton, who was born June 3, 1857, and married Frances Dunkle.

The subject of this review was reared upon the home farm and worked for his father until his marriage, which occurred January 4, 1870, the lady of his choice. being: Miss Marjory Arthur, who was born in Clark county, October 11, 1847, and is a daughter of Joseph and Nancy (Alvin) Arthur. They began their domestic life upon his father’s farm and came to their present home in the village of Enon in March, 1899. Throughout his business career Mr. Miller has carried on agricultural pursuits and he still owns the old homestead, comprising one hundred and forty-seven acres. This is a well developed place, having many excellent improvements, which stand as monuments to the care and supervision of the owner. Three children have been born unto him and his wife: Frank A., who was born February 21, 1871, and died on the was born

2nd of February, 1874; Samuel Newton, who was born February 21, 1873, and married Jessie Dolveer, a daughter of Albert D. Dolveer, by whom he has one child, Ruth, born July 29, 1900; and Estella, who was born October 12, 1878, and married Robert C. Hebble, M. D., the wedding being celebrated October 23, 1901.

On the 2nd of March, 1864, Mr. Miller offered his services to the government as a defender of the Union. -He was then nineteen years of age. He enlisted as a mem- - her of Company F, One Hundred and Fiftythird Ohio Volunteer Infantry, being mus- - tered in at Camp Dennison. He was then sent to Paw Paw 'Station, Virginia, from which place he took the field, being first in battle at Green Spring River. He also took part in the engagement at Oldtown and afterward went into camp at South Beach. The fever made great ravages in the command at that place and a fever kemp was established at Cumberland. At the close of his term of service Mr. Miller returned to his father’s farm and again took up ‚the work of cultivating the fields, which he followed until his labors had brought to him a competence sufficient to enable him to rest from further toil. He was a member of the Christian church, in which he served as trustee. He has also been a regular attendant at the Sunday-school. Formerly he was connected with the Knights of Pythias fraternity and is now a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

In politics he has been a Republican since the time when he cast his first presidential vote for Grant. For three years he filled the office of township trustee and for one year previous to that time he had served in the same office. He has been content, however, to quietly perform his duties as a private citizen without seeking the rewards of office for party fealty.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

WILLIAM MILLER, who is now living in retirement at his home in Springfield Township after many years of business activity, is owner of considerable property in different parts of the county. He has seven or eight acres within the limits of the city of Springfield, a tract of twenty-five acres across the road in Spring-field Township and another tract of eighty-two acres in the same township, and in Moorefield Township has a farm of ninety-two acres. He is a native of Clark County, Ohio, having been born on the old Isaac Miller farm, April 10, 1846, and is a son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Sitz) Miller.

The paternal grandparents of William Miller came from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, of which they were natives, to Ohio, and took up their residence in German Township, Clark County. The grandfather, a hardy old pioneer, sowed the first clover seed in Clark County, having brought it in from Butler County.

Isaac Miller was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and was seven years of age when he accompanied his parents to Clark County. He attended the primitive schools of German Township, and at an early age learned the trade of carpenter with James Humphrey, who lived on the ITrbana Pike. He enjoyed a long and useful life, being nearly ninety-two years old at the time of his demise. He married Elizabeth Sitz, whose father. Henry Sitz, was a farmer and an early resident of the county. This union resulted in the following issue: David, who died at the age of forty-two years; AAilliam and Henry, twins; and Mary, wife of James M. Sheatf.

William Miller received an excellent education in the district schools of his native township, and throughout his long and active business career engaged in agricultural pursuits. He farmer the home place until his marriage, in 1871, then rented a place south of the city of Springfield. After a short residence there he moved down toward Clifton, and later to the old Charles Stroud farm at Donnelsville. He then purchased twenty-six acres of land from his father, for which he paid $2,600 and after residing there three years sold out at $154 per acre, almost doubling his money on the investment. He then lived on the farm left by his father-in-law, Henry Gram, for four years, at the end of which time he moved to his present place.

Mr. Miller was first married to Miss Anna Rebbert, a daughter of Andrew Rebbert, who lived south of the city of Springfield, and one son, Andrew J., was born to bless this union. After the death of his first wife he formed a second union October C, 1875, with Miss Elizabeth Gram, a daughter of Henry Gram, who was a speculator and a well known citizen of this county. She was one of the following children bom to her parents: Catherine, deceased; Rebecca, deceased; Elizabeth (Miller); Sarah; John, deceased; and Cornelius. This second union was also blessed with a son, Henry G., who operates the home farm. The latter was joined in marriage with Mary Kobelanz, a daughter of Henry Kobelanz, and has a son, Karl C, aged three years. Religiously Mr. Miller and his family are members of the Lutheran Church.

As printed in the source³. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ISAAC MILLER, farmer; P. O. Christiansburg, Champaign Co. Mr. Miller is the son of Augustus and Mary (Williamson) Miller, natives of Penn. The father came with his parents to this State in 1811 and settled in Sugar Creek Township, Greene County, where his father died. He had been three times married. His first wife, Mary Williamson, was married to him in 1818. She became the mother of two children— Isaac, our subject, born May 1, 1819, and Joseph, born November, 1821. After the death of his wife, in 1822, Mr. Miller moved to Montgomery County, where he married Jane L. White in 1826. She was possessed of a piece of wild land, where Mr. Miller built a cabin and lived until the death of this wife in 1854. — By her he had seven children, only one of whom, viz., Hannah J., born 1830, is now living. In eighteen months after the death of his second wife Mr. Miller married Mrs. Martha Irvin, with whom he lived until his death, Nov. 28, 1865. By her he had one child, not now living. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church. His son Isaac, our subject, lived with his father until he was 23 years old, when he moved to Jackson Township, Champaign Co., where he purchased eighty-four acres of land, on which he lived six years. During this time he was married to Anna, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Winters) Merritt, of Jackson Township. They had thirteen children, as follows: Elizabeth M., born Feb. 8, 1843; Augustus C., born July 28, 1844; George N., born July 18, 1840; Peter N, born Feb. 6, 1849; John L., born March 3, 1851; Mary A., born May 9, 1853; Hannah J., born April 11, 1855; Joseph W., born August 23, 1857; Rosa E., born Feb. 22, 1859; Susan A., born May 11, 1862; Carrie A., born July 20, 1864; Harry L., born March 23, 1866; Bertha E., born July 21, 1868. The father moved to the farm where he now lives in 1847. He is a member of Beech Grove Grange, No. 335, and of the German Reformed Church. He is one of the oldest residents of the county, and has always voted the Whig and Republican. His eldest son enlisted in 1863, in the 44th O. V. I. during the rebellion, and received an honorable discharge at the close of the war.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

R. L. MILLER, dealer in agricultural implements, Enon; his parents, Abraham B., and Barbara Miller, were both born in Lancaster Co., Penn., and emigrated to Ohio in 1840, locating in Clark Co. R. L., the subject of this sketch, is a native of Ohio, born in Clark Co., May 12, 1853. He was brought up to farm labor, and received his education in the district schools; when 18 years of age he commenced to learn the carpentering trade, which he followed for about six years, meeting with good success. He married Miss Irena Shellabarger when he was 22 years old. Two. children have been born to them, viz.: Bertie May, born April 14, 1876; Dasia Iowa, deceased. Mr. Miller is now engaged in selling agricultural implements and machinery of all kinds.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

JOHN M. MILLER, who resides in Spring-field Township, Clark County, Ohio, is a successful business man, who in addition to farming maintains stall No. 42 in the Springfield market. He has a fruit farm of thirty-three acres in Springfield Township, on which he has 600 bearing cherry trees, besides a large number of apple, each and plum trees. During the winter he butchers and dresses poultry for the market. He also rents and farms the Bitner place of 100 acres in Springfield Township. Mr. Miller was born on his father's farm in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, September 11, 1861, and is a son of Emanuel and Anna (Kendig) Miller, and grandson of Emanuel Miller.

Emanuel Miller, father of John M., was one of ten children and was born on a farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. At the age of eighteen years he came west to Ohio with a party of men on horseback, Clark County being at that time largely forest land, but he soon returned to Pennsylvania, and followed farming in Franklin County until his death in June, 1890, when aged seventy-two years. He married Anna Kendig, who was born in Pennsylvania and is now living there with her oldest son, at the advanced age of eighty years. They had fourteen children, ten of whom grew up, as follows: Jacob K.; Melinda, wife of H. Frantz; Jerry, who died at the age of thirty-four years; Barbara, wife of John C. Miller; Abraham; Benjamin F.; John M.; Susan E., wife of George Geltzinger; Martin R.; and Harry.

John M. Miller was reared on the home farm and attended the common schools. When nineteen years old he began learning the trade of a machinist, and for three and a half years was in the employ of Frick & Co. in their engine and boiler works at Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. He subsequently followed the trade of a tool maker. In 1886 he came to Springfield, Ohio, and worked for the William N. "\tele Company continuously until 1890, except for a short time spent at Dayton, Ohio, and from 1890 until 1892, for the Rogers Iron Company, now the William Bailey Co., of Springfield. In 1887 he purchased ten acres of land in Spring-field Township, from Henry

Frantz, upon which he moved on March 1, 1888, removing from there to his present location in October, 1899, having purchased this place in the fall of the same year. He was always considered a skilled machinist and has also been successful in agricultural work and his business undertakings.

Mr. Miller was married December 5, 1886, to Anna L. Bair, who was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Her parents were Daniel H. and Barbara (Weber) Bair, the latter of whom died after the birth of the following children: Benjamin W., Mary, Anna L., Martha, and Elizabeth. The father of Mrs. Miller formed a second marriage with Clara A. Resh, by whom he has a son, Daniel I. Mr. Bair is living at the age of seventy-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are parents of five children, namely: Arthur R., Mary A., Harvey D., Harrold L., and Oscar B. The family belong to the Mennonite Church.

As printed in the source³. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

IRVINE MILLER, LL. B.

The rare example of sons of great men rising as high as their fathers seems to support the notion that there is in this country a sort of hereditary bar to public succession. This class of young men is not judged by their associates, but by their distinguished fathers and to bear an illustrious name seems often to invite the shafts of jealousy and envy. As a western editor has expressed it: “If any schon of a house still honored rises to greatness he will have achieved it. He will not be born to it or have it thrust upon him, but he must be very great indeed to overcome the disadvantage of standing in the shadow of the colossal dead.” And yet an honorable ancestry is a precious heritage. This Mir. Miller can claim, and at the same time he has become recognized as a most prominent lawyer at the Springfield bar.

A native of Iowa, he was born in the city of Keokuk, June 10, 1860, his parents being Samuel F. and Eliza (Winters) Miller. Her paternal grandfather was a soldier of the war of 1812. The father of our subject was a distinguished lawyer and jurist, serving as judge of the supreme court of the United States, to which he was appointed by President Lincoln in 1862, when in his judicial capacity he was called to Washington, D. C. There he died in 1890. He was a native of Kentucky and was a strong antislavery man, whose influence was marked in behalf of the Union. His wife died in 1900 in the nation’s capital.

Irvine Miller began his education in a private school in Keokuk, Iowa, and later attended the public schools at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and Sharon, Pennsylvania.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.