Family of G-Gparents Benj L and Ava Belle MILLER
(great-grandparents)
Clay Co, TX marriage records show that Benjamin Lee MILLER and Ava Belle FORD were married 21 Dec 1887 by Rev James Anderson of St Jo, TX. They lived for awhile in Cooke and Denton Co, TX until about 1899 and then show up in Hall Co, TX in the 1900 census. Family legend (an obituary for Cecil H Miller) has it that they moved west to find a drier climate that was better for Ava Belle's health. Hall Co records show that B.L. MILLER was a Justice of the Peace for 1901 and 1902 in the area around Estelline, TX. Shortly thereafter they moved just across the western TX border to near Elida, Roosevelt Co, New Mexico where they had 1/4 section of land about 6 miles east of Elida. Ava Belle died in NM and the family moved on to Arizona where they appear in the 1910 census in Maricopa Co, AZ. Many of the descendants of this family still reside in Arizona.
Marriages
| Silver Carl MILLER... | Louise CORGIAT |
| Laura E MILLER... | Robert STEVENSON |
| Joseph D MILLER... | Zoe POMEROY |
| Mary Eunice MILLER... | Frank Raymond PETERSON |
| Esther Louise MILLER... | Harry Marion NELSON |
| Margarette MILLER... | Ralph BASKETT |
| Cecil Harold MILLER... | Phyllis Marion HICKEY |
Joseph actually went by the name Simon. No one seems to know for sure the origins of this assumed name. Do you know?
Esther married Harry NELSON who reportedly either owned or worked at the local bank and also owned an icehouse. Esther and her husband Harry NELSON adopted two children. Peggy was a redhead and had an interesting (and unverified) family history letter written to her by her "Uncle Cecil"
Esther's family
Esther L MILLER.....{b TX Sep1896}
m1--Harry Marion NELSON
....1. Joseph
....2. Peggy Anne
According to legend Cecil MILLER was quite a good baseball pitcher. He attended Oregon State University where he reportedly held the record for strikeouts (17) for many years. School yearbooks around 1920 to 1923 refer to him as "Lefty" since he was a left-handed pitcher.
Cecil's family
Cecil Harold MILLER Sr.....{b TX Oct1899, d AZ Dec1983}
m1--Phyllis Marion HICKEY.....{b Aug1906}
....1. son.....{b AZ 1927}
....2. son.....{b AZ 1930}
Family of GG-Gparents Wm D and Margaret MILLER
This family lived in Clay Co, MO (in the same township as the notorious Jesse James so that they most likely knew him) until the early 1870s when they moved to Cooke Co, TX. Out of the few hundred land transactions by various Miller's in Cooke Co from that time until 1900, Wm D and Margaret A were involved in about 50 themselves, not to mention quite a few by their children. Son Benjamin Lee was the first to move away from the general area about 1899 and landed at Hall Co, TX. Around 1902 his parents and youngest brother and sister, John and Ethel, also moved to Hall Co although Benjamin simultaneously moved to New Mexico. The oldest son, Dr Wm S Miller was the last to move to Hall Co around the time of death of their father Wm D Miller in 1912 or 1913. Dr Wm also signed the death certificate of his mother Margaret in 1923. Margaret's death certificate gives her father's name as Eli MOBERLY of Madison Co, KY although other details suggest his name was actually Simeon Moberly. From Wm D and Margaret on down, many members of this family are buried in the cemetery in Estelline.
William Simeon, the oldest son of Wm D and Margaret MILLER, was a physician and surgeon as he is listed as such in the 1887 Gainesville, TX city directory, in various federal censuses and also several books about Cooke and Hall Co history.
William's family
William S MILLER.....{b MO 20May1859, d TX 1938}
m1--Mollie MOORE.....{b KY Aug1860, d TX 1947}
....1. ?????
....2. Edith MILLER.....{b TX ?Sep1884, d TX bef1910}
....3. David MILLER.....{b TX ?Aug1885, d TX bef1910}
....4. James MILLER.....{b TX ?Aug1886}
....5. Hattie MILLER.....{b TX ?Feb1888}
....6. Wilmoth (Mittie) MILLER.....{b TX ?Jul1889}
....7. Van MILLER.....{b IT(OK) ?May1891}
....8. John MILLER.....{b IT(OK) ?Jul1892}
....9. Ina MILLER.....{b IT(OK) ?Jan1894}
...10. Mary MILLER.....{b IT(OK) ?Sep1896}
...11. Paul MILLER.....{b IT(OK) ?May1898}
...12. Madge (Margaret) MILLER.....{b TX c1900}
We presently know next to nothing about Wilmoth J MILLER. It appears she died before 1900 as in the Cooke Co, TX census for that year her mother Margaret Miller is listed as having 5 children with only 4 still living, and the other 4 siblings are accounted for. Also in the 1900 census sister Ethel, now a widow, is listed as a sister-in-law in the household of Charles Shotwell, a widower. Charles Shotwell has a daughter Maggie (Margaret) which was a common name among the grandchildren of Wm D and Margaret A Miller. Also in land records the heirs of Margaret A Miller (wife of Wm D) are given as her 4 surviving children and spouses plus a Margaret of Cooke Co, TX. These facts strongly suggest that Wilmoth married Charles Shotwell, had a daughter Margaret, and then died before 1900.
Speculative -- Wilmoth's family
Wilmoth J MILLER.....{b MO 20May1859, d TX bef1900}
m1--Charles SHOTWELL.....{b KY ?Jun1833, d aft1910}
....1. Margaret SHOTWELL.....{b TX ?Oct1882}
.......m1--??? DeBerry (widowed bef1910)
.......m2--R J Wakefield (divorced bef1930)
Ethel L MILLER married in Cooke Co, TX to D.H. BUSH on 13 June 1887. She apparently had no children and by 1900 is also widowed (see Wilmoth above). She moved with her parents and brother John O to Hall Co in 1902 and there married Thomas E Tucker on 27 Sep 1906.
Ethel's family
Ethel Lynn MILLER.....{b MO 1868, d TX 1953}
m1--D H BUSH.....{b ?, d bef1900}
m2--Thomas Edmund TUCKER.....{b 1850, d 1928}
....1. Margaret TUCKER.....{b TX c1908}
Cooke Co, TX marriage records show that John MILLER married Eva McGAUGHEY on 24 Oct 1894. Interestingly John's brother Benjamin Lee had a brother-in-law, George W Ford, in Clay Co, TX who married Addie McGAUGHEY. Could these McGAUGHEY's be related?
John's family
John O MILLER.....{b MO ?Feb1870, d after 1920}
m1--Eva Dora McGAUGHEY.....{b TX ?Apr1874}
....1. Floy MILLER.....{b TX ?Oct1895}
....2. Horace G MILLER.....{b TX ?Dec1896}
....3. William H MILLER.....{b TX ?Feb1899}
....4. Wilmoth H MILLER.....{b TX ?May1900}
....5. Doris E MILLER.....{b TX c1901}
m2--Texas A ??.....{b TX c1882}
....6. Tommy O MILLER.....{b TX ?Feb1916}
....7. John D MILLER.....{b TX ?Sep1918}
Family of Wm and Susannah MILLER
There is a Howard Co, MO marriage record that lists William MILLER and Susannah LOE being married 18 Dec 1817. It is not known for certain that these are our Wm and Susannah however the circumstantial evidence looks good. For one, Susannah would have been about 18 or 19 which is certainly a reasonable marriage age in those days. Secondly, their first child Eliza Jane was born March 1819 which is a reasonable birthdate being 14 months after the above marriage date. Thirdly, if they married in MO then we could expect their children might have been born there as well, which research in later censuses bears out.
William MILLER is listed in the 1850 census as a farmer. It appears from the 1840 listing that for awhile they had "slaves" (1 woman 24-35, and 3 boys under 10). Bits and pieces of data for the descendants of this family follow...
Marriages
| Eliza Jane MILLER... | (1) Preston Parker LAFFOON (2) Jacob BRAWNER |
| Andrew MILLER... | Caroline E CONKLIN |
| Hepzebah MILLER... | James (John?) M CROOK |
| Margaret MILLER... | William CROWLEY |
| Thomas MILLER... | Mary J ??? |
| Francis M MILLER... | Milton W.D. SHORT (or SHOOT) |
| Katherine MILLER... | Robert S OSBORN | 1 Jan 1857 |
| Nancy MILLER... | Byrd SMITH | 22 Feb 1857 |
| William David MILLER... | Margaret A MOBERLY | 27 Jun 1858 |
| Elizabeth A MILLER... | Theodore COONS | 5 Feb 1857 |
| James MILLER... |
|
Listed in 1850, 1860 census as a farmer.
Andrew's family
Andrew MILLER.....{b MO 12Feb1821}
m1--Caroline E ??.....{b OH c1827}
....1. John C MILLER.....{b MO c1845}
....2. Littleton H MILLER.....{b MO c1845}
....3. Darwin R MILLER.....{b MO c1848}
....4. Lou E V MILLER.....{b MO c1850}
....5. Alice J MILLER.....{b MO c1856}
....6. Eliza V MILLER.....{b MO c1859}
Margaret's husband listed in 1850 census as a farmer.
Margaret's family
Margaret MILLER.....{b MO 29May1825}
m1--William CROWLEY.....{b AL c1817}
....1. James CROWLEY.....{b MO c1843}
....2. William T? CROWLEY.....{b MO c1845}
....3. Susan CROWLEY.....{b MO c1848}
....4. John W CROWLEY.....{b MO cMay1850}
Listed in 1850, 1860 census as a farmer.
Thomas' family
Thomas MILLER.....{b MO 8Oct1827}
m1--Mary J ???.....{b MO c1828}
....1. H C MILLER.....{b MO c1856}
....2. T M MILLER.....{b MO c1858}
....3. Jas W MILLER.....{b MO cNov1859}
Francis' husband Milton is listed in 1850, 1860 census as a physician.
Francis' family
Francis MILLER.....{b MO 18Nov1829}
m1--M W D SHOOT.....{b KY c1819}
....1. Caroline A SHOOT.....{b MO c1849}
....2. O K SHOOT.....{b MO c1853}
....3. F W SHOOT.....{b MO c1855}
....4. C S SHOOT.....{b MO c1858}
Katherine's husband listed in 1860 census as a school teacher. His name also appears often in the Liberty Tribune in the late 1850s as a highly respected teacher.
Katherine's family
Katherine "Kate" MILLER.....{b MO 21Nov1831}
m1--Robert OSBORN.....{b NY c1828}
....1. Luke? B OSBORN.....{b MO c1858}
Elizabeth's husband listed in 1860 census as a carpenter in Kansas City. There is a COONS family in 1860 Clay Co, MO that might be her in-laws.
Elizabeth's family
Elizabeth A MILLER.....{b MO 19Sep1840}
m1--Theodore COONS.....{b KY c1833}