Unknown MUELLER Mary Ann MILLER Frances Allen MILLER John William MILLER George H MILLER Malinda F MILLER Nancy Elizabeth MILLER Sarah MILLER Martha MILLER Nancy J NEAL Nofirstname UNKNOWN Mini tree diagram
John C MILLER

John C MILLER6,7,2,3,4,5,1

also known as Johann MUELLER1

11th Nov 18062,3,4,5,1 - 21st Mar 18831

Life History

11th Nov 1806

Born in Prussia.2,3,4,5,1

25th Jun 1834

Married Nancy J NEAL in Lauderdale County, Alabama.7

before 1841

Birth of daughter Frances Allen MILLER in Mississippi

about 1841

Birth of daughter Mary Ann MILLER in Mississippi.3,4

Dec 1843

Birth of son John William MILLER in Mississippi.8,9,10,4

15th Apr 1845

Birth of son George H MILLER in Mississippi.11,12,13,4,14,15

about 1847

Birth of daughter Malinda F MILLER in Mississippi.4

Jul 1849

Birth of daughter Nancy Elizabeth MILLER in Mississippi.4,16,3,17,14,18

about 1851

Birth of daughter Sarah MILLER in Arkansas.4,3

about 1854

Birth of daughter Martha MILLER in Arkansas.3,4

1880

Resident in Prairie Township, Arkansas, Arkansas.2

21st Mar 1883

Died in Arkansas County, Arkansas.1

after 21st Mar 1883

Buried in Miller Family Cemetery, Van, Arkansas County, Arkansas.1

Notes

  • John Miller was born in Prussia.  The original form of his name, in German, then, would be Mueller.  Either he had translated it to the English equivalent, or it was written that way by the census enumerator.  His children, however, born in Mississippi, also use the English spelling.

    Likely, as so many other German immigrants in this period, he simply translated his name to the English word. Many Germans named Groene or Groen did the same, translating the name to the English Greene or Green.  Likewise Braun and Brown.  The first US record I have found for John and his family is his marriage record in Alabama.

    Alabama Marriages, 1809-1920 (Selected Counties)
    John C Miller
    Spouse Nancy Neal
    Ceremony Performed by C. Cormock
    Marriage 25 Jun 1834 Lauderdale County
    Lauderdale County Marriage Book Vol 4, Page 21

    By the 1850 census, we find they have migrated to St Charles, on the White River in Prairie Township, Arkansas County, Arkansas.

    1850 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 12 November, Prairie Township, page 30 (15B), Hse/Fam #15
    John Miller 45 M Carpenter b Prussia (b abt 1805)
    Nancy Miller 34 F b Alabama Cannot read or write
    Mary Ann Miller 13 F b Mississippi
    -- page 31 --
    John W Miller 11 M b Mississippi
    George H Miller 7 M b Mississippi
    Malinda G Miller 5  F b Mississippi
    Nancy E Miller 2 F b Mississippi

    In 1860, John Miller and his family are still living in Prairie Township, in or near St Charles, Arkansas County, Arkansas.

    1860 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 27 July, Prairie Township, PO St Charles, page 65, Hse #477, Fam #456
    John Miller 54 M Farmer $3200 Real Estate $1520 Personal born Prussia (Germany)
    Nancy Miller 45 F House Keeper  b Alabama
    Mary Ann Richie [dau married to Edward Richie below] 19 F House Keeper  b Mississippi
    John Wm (William) Miller 17 M Farm Laborer b Mississippi
    George H Miller 14 M b Mississippi
    Malinda F Miller 13 F b Mississippi
    Nancy Eliza Miller 10 F b Mississippi
    Sarah Fra...(?) 8 F b Arkansas
    Martha J Fra...(?) 6 F b Arkansas
    Eward (Edward?) Richie 33 M Farm Laborer b S Carolina [son-in-law, b abt 1827]
    John Bichop (sic) 13 M b Mississippi

    The ages of Sarah (8 F b Arkansas) and Martha J (6 F b Arkansas) match the sequence to be the two youngest children of John and Sarah Miller.  But the unreadable second name of Sarah looks like a surname.  Maybe the unreadable name Fra... is a middle name, but it is the same for both Sarah and Martha.  There is no ditto following to indicate this is also a Miller.  Maybe the ditto for Martha J is for the family name Miller?  Some genealogies have no children after Nancy Elizabeth.  Both Martha and Sarah are reported again in the 1870 census and Nancy appears under her middle name Elizabeth.

    John was an immigrant from Prussia who arrived in St Charles about the same time as Col Charles Belknap.  Belknap commissioned Miller to build his mansion in St Charles, which thereafter became the showplace home of the town.  It took John 3 years to complete the mansion.  During the Civil War, after the Union forces captured St Charles, the mansion was turned into a hospital until the war's end.

    ------------------------------
    "Spanish Founder Named St. Charles For King"

    Topic:  Role of Colonel Charles W. Belknap in the founding of St. Charles, Arkansas
    Topic:  German Immigrant Carpenter John W. Miller Built the Belknap Mansion

    Although St. Charles was not an incorporated town for many years after it first began to be settled, it is one of Arkansas' oldest communities - perhaps second only to Arkansas Post.

    It is listed in Spanish Grant No. 2404 made to Pedro Perturis in 1797 by Estevan Miro, governor of Louisiana.

    A trading post was established on the White River at that time for the purpose of buying furs from the Indians, and it was given the name St. Charles in honor of King Charles IX of Spain.

    When the town of St. Charles was incorporated in 1875 it comprised 160 acres of the northeast corner of the old Spanish grant.

    The town actually was platted in 1852 when Col. Charles Belknap had it commissioned.  The original plat, however, was never recorded.  Twenty-seven years after the establishment of St. Charles' post office in 1848, the town became incorporated.  Col. Belknap was the first postmaster.

    Leading new settlers to the St. Charles area was Charles Belknap, a Kentucky colonel in 1849.  He bought a large Spanish grant on the river and numerous other lands about St. Charles, some of which he later sold.  He brought with him his immediate family and two brothers.

    The Colonel was a man of vision and superior native intellect, was educated, and an optimist who went right to work improving the settlement he moved into giving himself in public service to the community and the county.

    Soon after arriving, he hired a young German carpenter, John W. Miller [It woiuld have been John C Miller, whose son John W was born only in 1843], who had arrived by boat to St. Charles about the same time as Belknap, to build his big adobe residence.  Miller was three years completing the 17-room mansion which became the showplace of St. Charles.

    Because of its size, Belknap had to give his home up during the Civil War when Union troops took it over for a hospital.  He moved back into it after the war and lived there until his death in 1882.  The house was a gathering place for both old and young for many years.

    During the Battle of St. Charles, the Confederate fort was behind the Belknap house.  Belknap was in the fort with Captain Joseph Fry, encouraging the soldiers and helping direct the defense of St. Charles.  But because he was not a member of the Confederate military forces, he violated rules of war.  He and Captain Fry were captured, court martialed and sentenced to be shot the next morning.  When before the firing squad, Belknap reportedly give the Masonic sign of distress.  The captain of the firing squad, also a Mason, consulted Fry, another Mason, and let Belknap go.

    The little town saw much tragedy during the Civil War days.  Numbers of its residents were murdered, including women, and the people lived in constant fear as long as the enemy was around - and Union soldiers held St. Charles a good part of the time during the War.

    "Spanish Founder Named St. Charles For King," the Stuttgart Daily Leader, Bicentennial Issue, July 1, 1976, p. 5H
    (Thanks to Jerry Robnette for locating and initially posting this information on Ancestry.com)
    ------------------------------

    1870 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 18 July, Prairie Township, PO St Charles, page 18, Hse/Fam #150
    Miller, John 64 M W Farmer $1600 Real Estate $500 Personal  b Prussia
    Miller, Nancy 54 F W Keeping House born Tennessee Cannot read or write
    Miller, Mary A 28 F W born Mississippi
    Miller, Elizabeth 21 F Labor born Mississippi
    Miller, Sarah 19 F W born Mississippi
    Miller, Martha 15 F W born Arkansas

    Their son John William Miller is living next door.

    1870 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 18 July, Prairie Township, PO St Charles, page 18, Hse/Fam #151
    Miller, John 26 M W Farmer $400 Real Estate $300 Personal  b Mississippi
    Miller, Mary 24 F W Keeping House born Louisiana Cannot read or write
    Miller, Carcy (Carson) 7 M W born Arkansas
    Miller Francis 4 F born Arkansas
    Miller, Jane (Jennie) 3 F W born Arkansas
    Miller, Mary A 9 months born Aug 1869 F W born Arkansas

    In 1880 a widowed daughter E (Elizabeth) Holbert and her children are living with John and Nancy.  The Boarder reported in their household, Sam (William Sam) DeBerry, married Nancy Elizabeth (E Holbert) about 1882.

    Also a sister of mother Nancy, Mary Noel (family sources later indciated this name as Neal, though it is clearly Noel in the census).  As Mary is reported as single, the maiden name of Mary and Nancy is likely Noel (Neal).  The sister is age 40, so we might expect her to be married.  Since, however, she is reported as an invalid, this might indicate she had been invalid all her adult life and had never married.

    Since Mary Noel is reported as Single, I have concluded that Noel is the maiden name of Nancy and Mary.  Since Noel is originally a French word/name, this might indicate that their family originated in France.  The Miller family genealogy I later found confirmed that Nancy's maiden name was Noel (later corrected to Neal from family sources), but had not further info on the origins of the family. Nancy was born in Alabama.

    1880 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 2 June, Prairie Township, page 21 (scan p15C), Hse #20, Fam #23
    John Miller  Sr W M 74  Self  Farmer  Prussia  Prussia Prussia
    Nancy Miller  W F 64 Wife  House Keeper  AL AL AL
    E Holbert W F 32  Dau   Widow  House Keeper  MS Prussia AL
    H Holbert W  M  7  GSon  AR MS MS
    L Holbert W F 4  GDau   AR MS MS
    Darius Holbert W M 1 GSon  AR MS MS
    Mary Noel  W F  40 Sister-in-Law  Single Invalid  AL AL AL
    Sam Deberry   W M  25  Hired Hand Single  Laborer  MS TN TN

    I later found a genealogy that had more information and indeed confirmed John's original German name and reports Nancy's maiden name as Noel, as well as the maiden name of John Jr's wife Mary, and provided many details.

    A genealogy gives the full names of some of the children of John (Johann) and Nancy:
    Francis Allen Miller b: WFT Est. 1829-1857
    Mary Ann Miller b: ABT. 1841 in MS
    John William Miller b: 1843 in MS
    George H. Miller b: 15 APR 1845 in MS
    Malinda F Miller b: 1847 in MS
    Elizabeth Miller b: 1848
    Nancy Elizabeth Miller b: 1850
    (The latter two appear to be two entries for the same child, with different dates based on different census sources he may have found.  Nancy Elizabeth appears variously as Nancy E, Nancy and Elizabeth or Nancy Eliza)
    --  John Miller (John Mueller), http://awtc.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=*v28t1777&id=I0778

    The Stocks Family genealogy reports Nancy's maiden name as Neal, rather than Noel, as it appears in the 1880 census and in a couple of genealogies.  This genealogy provides lots of details, like John's nickname of Dusty, and marriage and death dates, giving the impression that the details are coming from family sources.  Unfortunately, the compiler provides no documentation or explanation at all by which to judge.  Some other genealogies in a set that appear to have copied form each other or used the same undocumented sources, use the name Neal and some report Nancy's parents, her father being John Neal.

    John C (Dusty) Miller
    Birth 11 May 1806 in Prussia, Germany
    Death 21 May 1883 in Arkansas, Arkansas
    Spouse Nancy J Neal
    Birth 11 Apr 1816 in Alabama
    Death 10 Aug 1895 in Arkansas, Arkansas
    --  Stocks Family, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/8226070/person/-843488722

    I found the marriage record, and Nancy's name is Neal there.

    Alabama Marriages, 1809-1920
    Page: 21
    John C. Miller
    Nancy Neal
    Marriage 25 Jun 1834 Lauderdale County
    Performed by C Cormock

    Note that this also has a middle initial of C for John.

Sources

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