The Miller Families of Jasper County, Iowa

GEORGE W. MILLER.

We rarely find two persons in every-day life who attribute their success in their different spheres to similar qualities. Hard work and plodding industry paved the way for one, good judgment and a keen sense of values for another, intuition and a well balanced mind for a third. An admixture of some of the qualities above named, emphasized by hard work and plodding industry, has been responsible for the success of George W. Miller, one of the best known and highly honored citizen of Mound Prairie township, Jasper county, where he owns a valuable and attractive farmstead, having been known for many decades as one of the substantial and leading farmers and stock men of the county.

Mr. Miller was born in New York state, December 19, 1835. He is the son of John Miller, Sr., and Maria (DeGaw) Miller, natives of the state of New York, the father of Albany county. They grew up and were married in their native state, and they began farming for a livelihood, finally owning a good farm in Fulton county, New York. In 1845 they moved to Kendall county, Illinois, coming by boat over the Great Lakes, and they bought two hundred acres in that county, making their home in that county until the father's death in 1852. John Miller, Sr., was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a man of sterling qualities, a typical frontiersman, hardy, brave and yet gentle in disposition. In the year 1853 the mother of the subject brought her children, George W., John and Sarah, to Jasper county, Iowa, settling in Sherman township. Here the two sons bought two hundred and twelve acres in partnership, and they lived there until 1865 when George W., of this sketch, sold out and bought eighty acres in found Prairie township. Here he prospered from the first through his close application and good management, and he added to his original purchase until he now owns six hundred acres, all in Mound Prairie township. When he first came to this place he found a wild country, there being only two houses within a radius of four miles, the raw prairie stretching beyond the sight in all directions. He set out trees, built bridges, erected buildings and fences and in due course of time had a model farm. He has succeeded beyond the average person as a general farmer and stock raiser. He has a commodious and pleasant home and everything about his place denotes thrift and good management. He is still active and hale for one of his age. the result of wholesome living and right thinking.

Politically, Mr. Miller is a Republican, but he has never sought to be a public man. He was married on January 20, 1857. to Emily Helphrey, a native of Ohio, and the daughter of Israel Helphrey, who settled in Jasper county, Iowa, in 1854.

To Mr. and Mrs. Miller nine children have been born, named as follows: Stephen, deceased; Melville T. lives in Metz, Iowa; Mrs. Clara Brock; Clarence; Mary is deceased; Mrs. Sadie Hardinbrook; Ora May is deceased; Mrs. Berta Baker is deceased; Mrs. Georgia Emmack, of Mound Prairie township.

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

WTLLIAM J. MILLER.

In every life of honor and usefulness we find much interesting incident and yet in summing the career of any person the biographer needs touch only the most salient points, giving only the keynote of the character, but eliminating much that is superfluous. So in presenting the life record of William J. Miller, one of the leading farmers of Jasper county, who is the owner of a model farmstead in Mound Prairie and Newton townships, no attempt shall be made to recount all the important acts in his useful life, nor recite every incident in his praiseworthy career, for it is deemed that only a few of them will suffice to show him to be eminently worthy of a place in this volume along with his fellows of high standing and recognized worth.

Mr. Miller was born in Sherman township, this county, April 9, 1858." He is the son of John, Jr., and Lucretia Jane (Cannon) Miller, the father born in i'ullon county. New York, December 29, 1833. and the mother in Boonesboro, Kentucky. July 6, 1834. When sixteen years of age the father of the subject came with his grandfather, John Miller, Sr.. to Kendall county, Illinois, by boat over the Great Lakes. In 1853 John. Jr., with his mother and brother George and sister Sarah, drove through to Jasper county, Iowa, and located in Sherman township, John Miller, Sr., having died in Illinois in 1852. His sons, John and George, bought two hundred acres of land for their mother and they all lived on the place until 1865, when John Miller, Jr., mo'ed to Newton township and bought one hundred and forty acres. From there he moved to Sherman township in 1865 and bought one hundred and forty acres. At the time of his death in 1899 he owned three hundred and sixty acres. Politically, he was a Republican. His family consisted of four sons and three daughters, namely: The two oldest died in infancy; Mrs. Louisa E. Hanson, Mrs. Nancy J. Henney; Lemuel J. and Oscar E. are deceased; and William of this review.

William J. Miller grew up on the home farm and he began working the fields when but a lad. He attended the rural schools in Sherman township, and remained at home until his marriage, then rented land a year, after which he bought eighty acres. He has met with continued success as a general farmer and stock raiser and he became the owner of six hundred and twenty acres, all in Mound Prairie township. This he sold largely to his sons and bought two hundred and thirty-seven acres in Newton township, one-half mile from the corporation. He has kept his land under an excellent state of cultivation and modern improvements, and has built good barns and outbuildings. He has kept and bred Aberdeen-Angus cattle for twenty years, and he keeps from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty stock cattle for breeding. He has bred and fed more Angus steers than any other Angus breeder in America. Those who have a knowledge of such matters will readily acquiesce in this statement. He is widely known for his fine cattle and a large part of his competency has been gained in this manner, for he is an excellent judge of the bovine division of live stock and understands well their care, so his stock always finds a very ready market. He has fed several car loads of cattle annually for the past twenty years, and he keeps nothing now but registered cattle. He also raises Percheron horses of an excellent grade.

Mr. Miller is a Republican and he has been a member of the county board of commissioners for two terms in the past.

Mr. Miller was married on February 28, 1878, to Emma A. Leeper, who was born in Ohio, the daughter of John Leeper an early settler in Jasper county and a substantial and highly respected citizen. To the subject and wife the following children have been born: Mrs. Jennie Traxler, Ralph Leroy, John, Mrs. Edith Pink, Florence and Floyd.

Mr. Miller is one of the most prominent cattle breeders in central Iowa and every year he carries away many premiums at the Iowa state fair. Personally, he is a genial, companionable, honest gentleman who has won the confidence and respect of all who know him.

THOMAS j. JEFFERS

In such men as Tliumas J. Jeft'ers, farmer of Independence township, Jasper county, there is peculiar satisfaction in offering their life histories as justification for the compilation of works of this character — not that their lives have been such as to gain them particularly wide notoriety or the admiring plaudits of their fellow men, but that they have lived upright lives and been true to the confidence reposed in them, having shown such integrity as to entitle them to the regard of all.

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

The Miller family have been one of the best known in Jasper county since the pioneer days and the several members of the same have so ordered their lives that they have been of much benefit to the locality in general. A very creditable representative of the present generation is Robert Miller, a man of whose record nothing but words of praise could be uttered, for he has always sought to do his duty in all the relations of life. He was born in Clear Creek township, this county, June 15, 1861, and here he grew to manhood, received his educational training and has always been identified with the agricultural life of the same. His grandfather, Joseph Kintz, was one of the earliest settlers of Jasper county, being the first settler of Clear Creek township. The father of our subject, Robert Miller, was born in Alabama. Not being in good health when the Civil war came up, he did not enlist, but later he was drafted into the service. He was compelled to make a long and arduous march from Grinnell, Iowa, to Savannah, Georgia, and he died soon after reaching that place. His family and friends felt that an injustice had been done in thus pressing him into the service when he was not able-bodied, the privations and hardships of the march having caused his death. The mother of the subject was known in her maidenhood as Rebecca Kintz. She was born in Summit county, Ohio, December 20, 1837. and there she spent her girlhood, coming to Clear Creek township, Jasper county, Iowa, in 1845, thus being among the first settlers. She is still living, making her home with the subject of this sketch on the old homestead, being now advanced in years. She vividly recalls pioneer conditions and incidents of the trip from Ohio to this township, relating how they made the long journey over rough roads, crossing but one railroad on the entire trip, that one being in Indiana. They saw no white people, Indians still being numerous in the Middle West then. The family were on excellent terms with all the Indian chiefs, and Mrs. Miller tells much of the famous chief, John Green, who was a welcomed visitor to all the cabins in the settlement.

There were six children in the Miller family, two of whom died in infancy, the others live in the immediate vicinity of the old home and are as follows: Commodore Perry, Mrs. Phoebe Long, Mrs. Mary Sumpter and Robert, of this sketch; they all live in Clear Creek township with the exception of Mary whose home is in Independence township. They were born, reared and educated in the home community.

Politically, Mr. Miller is a Democrat. He has devoted his life to farming and there are one hundred and eighty acres in the old home place where he resides. In addition to cultivating that, the subject owns and directs a threshing machine, a lumber mill and corn shredder. Ke believes in using the most modern and improved labor-saving machinery and devices and is an up-to-date farmer. He has remained unmarried.

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

AUGUST GALEN MILLER.

We are glad to note in this series of biographical articles that so many of the progressive citizens of Jasper county have been born and reared here, for this is an indication of at least two things, namely, that they are men of keen discernment, being able to see and appreciate present conditions as they are, and that the county is indeed one of the favored sections of the great Hawkeye state, else these people would have sought opportunities elsewhere. As it is they did not need to heed the call of the wanderlust that is heard at some stage or other in the lives of all young men. It very frequently leads them to forsake the "land of milk and honey" and go in search of a never-to-be-attained oasis of a mirage, ultimately finding instead the barren, sandswept waste of a Sahara, often, too, after it is too late to return and establish themselves in their own native heath. The subject of this sketch is one of a large number of Jasper county boys who have had the good judgment to remain right at home and devote their energies to the things with which they are most familiar, hence they have had a better chance of ultimately attaining the ever-sought-for guerdon: success.

August Galen Miller, farmer of Mariposa township, Jasper county, was born here on December 25, 1871. He is the son of August, Sr., and Emma (Buchann) Miller, the former born in Prussia in 1825 and the latter in Germany in 1844. The father grew up in his native land, received his education there and learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed with success. In 1858 he and his parents emigrated to St. Louis, Missouri, in which city he remained, engaged at his trade, for several years, during which time he did a great deal of work in railroad construction. After the Civil war he went to Scott county, Iowa, and engaged in farming on rented land. In 1869 the father of the subject came to Mariposa township, Jasper county, and bought eighty acres in section 24, and in 1870 he moved on his farm here, building the house that is still standing here. The farm was all raw prairie and a great deal of hard work was required to reclaim it from the wild and place it under profitable cultivation, but he was a man injured to hard work and in overcoming all manner of obstacles, so he set to work with a will and eventually had a good farm and a comfortable home.

August Miller, Sr., was a Republican in politics and he was baptized and reared in the Lutheran church, to which faith he ever adhered tenaciously. His family consisted of three sons and four daughters, named in order of birth as follows: Mrs. Amelia Miller, Mrs. Lillie Catron, Mrs. Minnie Infield, Daisy (died when thirteen years of age). Will (living at Deadwood, South Dakota), John (living at Hamilton, Missouri), Louis (deceased), August Galen, of this review, who is the fifth child of this family.

The subject grew up on the farm and when but a boy he was put to work in the fields, finding time, however, to attend school in the Barrett district. When twenty-one years of age he started to work out by the month, following this course for three years until he got a start, then, in 1894, he purchased forty acres in section zt,, Mariposa township, and in 1897 he purchased the home place of eighty acres. He has met with encouraging success all the while as a general farmer and stock raiser, and he has become widely known as a raiser of registered shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs. Owing to the recognized superiority of his fine stock they are greatly admired by all who see them and they find a very ready market at fancy prices when offered for sale. It would be hard to find a better judge of live stock than Mr. Miller, and he understands all the modern ways of properly caring for his herds so as to get the best results through the minimum amount of labor and cost. He has a comfortable, substantial home and convenient outbuildings and his place is kept well improved.

A Democrat in politics, Mr. Miller has ably served his community as. township trustee and road supervisor.

On November 10, 1903, occurred the marriage of August G. ]Miller and Laura Belle Speas. The latter was born in Marshall county. Iowa. September 20, 1877, and there she was reared and educated in the common schools. She is the daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Hilsebeck) Speas. early settlers of Marshall county and well known citizens there, in fact, the Speas and Hilsebeck families have been prominent in Marshall county for several generations. Elias Hilseleck. the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Miller, settled in that county as early as 1848.

The death of August Miller, Sr., father of the subject, occurred on April 16, 1880, after a successful and busy life. His widow, a woman of strong characteristics, is still living, making her home in Kellogg township, this county. She is now ach'ance in years, having survived her husband nearly thirty-two years.

Six children have Ijeen born to August G. Miller and wife, named in order of birth as follows: Floyd, born August lo. 1904, survived only ten days, dying on August 20th of the same 'year; Morris was born on August 20, 1905; [name withheld], born February 3, 1906, died August 20th of the same year; Florence, born April 2t, 1907, died March 24, 1908;.August Virgil, born May 13, 1908; Oliver Vernon, born June 13, 1910.

Mr. Miller is known to be a careful business man, broad-minded, genial and a man who appreciates a good joke. He is a man of positive ideas and advocates cleanliness in both public and social life.

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