Thomas Miller

As printed in 1882

THOMAS MILLER, farmer; P. O. Springboro; born at Brownsville, Penn., Aug. 12, 1812; is a son of Solomon and Ruth Miller, whose history is given in sketch of Lewis N. Miller. Thomas was in his 4th year when his parents settled at Centerville, Montgomery Co., Ohio, and there he grew to manhood. On April 24, 1834, he was married to Eliza, daughter of Samuel and Susanna (Painter) Curl, natives of Virginia. The paternal grandparents were Joseph and Rebecca Curl, he a native of Wales and she of France; the material were John and Betsy Painter, believed to be natives of England, who emigrated to America and settled in Virginia at a very early day, where they lived and died. The grandfather, Joseph Curl, was living on the Brandywine during the Revolutionary war, and, being a miller by trade, was put in the mill and kept there to supply the army, and was an eye-witness of many terrible things connected with the war. About 1802, they emigrated to Ohio and located in Columbiana County, where they resided till 1809; thence they removed to Logan County and lived till 1829; thence they moved to Greene County, where they lived the balance of their lives. Samuel, whose first wife and family are given in sketch of Lewis N. Miller, married for his second wife Catharine Smith, a native of Virginia, by whom he had one child (deceased); his third wife was Mary Van Dyke, by whom he had one child (deceased). One of the ancestors of Susanna Painter, Benjamin McGuinn, when 8 years of age, was kidnaped from his home in England and brought to America and sold to pay his passage; he served out his time, grew to manhood, and in after years returned to England to visit his kindred, and again sailed to America, where he spent the remainder of his life. An incident in the life of the Curl family in an early day in Logan County may be of interest: John Curl, a cousin to Samuel Curl, when about eight years of age, went out with other of his brothers to get the cows; he stopped to pick berries by the way and became lost from his brothers, and, it seems, took the wrong course and wandered farther and farther from his home; the alarm was given and the whole neighborhood turned out to search for the lost child, and, after a diligent hunt for eight days, he was found twenty miles from his home, having passed through an almost impenetrable wilderness; then were many hearts made to rejoice. Eliza Curl was born in Logan Co., Ohio, June 16, 1810. Mr. Miller and wife have had five children; four now survive: Ruth H., now Mrs. Rogers; Susan M, now Mrs. Isaiah Peelle, residing at Wilmington; Solomon W., and Samuel C., living in Iowa; and Rhoda M., who married David Hare, by whom she had five children; she died May 28, 1881, aged 35 years. Mr. Miller and family resided in Montgomery County till the fall of 1848, when they located on the place where they now live and have since resided; they first moved into a log cabin, but the next year made brick and erected their present large house, and since then have erected other buildings and made improvements, till they have a very pleasant and comfortable home, situated* about one-half mile north of Springboro. Mr. Miller, in his younger years, took careful observations of the ways and progress of the various farmers, and thus prepared himself for the business of life. Soon after starting in life he had to pass through the severe panic of 1837, and experienced all the trials of those times; he saw money of uncertain values, and many persons try to save themselves by investing in land, which, after an excessive fall in value and terrible increase in taxes, etc., they were compelled to give them up, and lost all. They had to work in every way to obtain money to pay their taxes and support their families; went often to market and sold potatoes at 12 J cents per bushel, apples at 5 cents, a barrel of cider for 75 cents; and paid from 33 to 40 cents per yard for calico; gave twelve pounds of home-made sugar for a common glass salt cellar. Such were the times and trials these worthy pioneers had to pass through. The present and future generations may well be thankful for this age of plenty and comfort, and give due honor to the worthy fathers and mothers who have so faithfully labored to bring about these better days. Mr. Miller and wife have now journeyed the pathway of life together for forty-seven years, almost half a century. He and wife are worthy and earnest members of the Society of Friends, to which they have belonged all their lives, and in which Mr. Miller has been a minister for many years, and is one of their most earnest workers in the Christian cause.

As printed in The History of Warren County, Ohio (1882). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.