OHFAIRFI-L Archives

From: Carole Paprocki <>
Subject: [OHFAIRFI-L] Frank Pierce Miller
Date: Sun, 03 Nov 2002 20:44:50 -0500

SOURCE: "History of Fairfield County, Ohio and Representative Citizens",
edited and compiled by Charles C. Miller, Ph. D., Ex-State Commissioner
of Ohio Schools. Published by Richmond-Arnold publishing Co., Chicago,
IL. No publication date given, but the Preface written by Dr. Miller is
dated April 15, 1912.

Pages 505-507

FRANK PIERCE MILLER, who is one of Walnut Township's leading citizens
and substantial agriculturists, resides on his highly improved farm of
255 acres, which is situated in Section 18, his land being well adapted
to farming and stock raising and also valuable in gas production, four
wells being situated on the place. He was born July 23, 1852, on his
grandfather's farm in Pleasant township, Fairfield County, O., the only
one of his parents’ children born in this state, being a son of John Q.
and Elizabeth (Hiestand) Miller.

John Q. Miller was born in Pleasant Township, Fairfield County, December
21, 1826, a son of Christian and Martha (Strawn) Miller, both of whom
were natives of Virginia and undoubtedly of German-English ancestry. By
trade Christian Miller was a wagon-maker and he continued to work as
such, although he bought a farm in Pleasant Township after coming to
Fairfield County. He was a man of very practical ideas and a judicious
father. He had six sons and he required them to work on the farm until
they were eighteen years of age and then to learn a trade, leaving the
choice to them, and thus each one was equipped in youth with the means
of earning a livelihood outside of farming, which all, however, followed
to some extent. Both Christian Miller and his wife died in Fairfield
County, the latter passing away suddenly while on the way home from
church. They had eight children, namely: Enos, who learned the
wagon-making trade; George, who became a saddler; Elisha, who learned
the business of a tanner; Samuel, who became an expert blacksmith; Anna,
who married Benjamin Macklin; John Q.; Rebecca, who married Benjamin
Rudesell; and Lewis, who learned the tanning business. All are now
deceased, the last one of the family passing away when John Q. Miller
died at his home in Indiana, August 21, 1911, aged eighty-five years.
Until he was eighteen years of age he assisted on the home farm in
Pleasant Township and then, according to his father's wise dictum,
started to learn the trade of blacksmith, under his brother Samuel, and
followed this excellent trade for thirty-five years, working for two
years with an expert blacksmith at Findlay, O., where he bought his
anvil and full kit of tools. These implements of his trade are still in
the possession of his son, Frank P., who values them as heirlooms. John
Q. Miller then carried on a blacksmith business in a shop on his
father's farm for three years. He was married when twenty-six years old
to Miss Elizabeth Hiestand. She was born in Liberty Township, Fairfield
county, O., a daughter of David Hiestand and a granddaughter of Joseph
Hiestand, the latter being a native of Germany. He married a Miss
Shaffer whose father was an early settler in Fairfield County, where he
entered a whole section of land. The country was a wilderness at that
time and he killed a bear on the site of the old court house at
Lancaster, which was then only an Indian Village.

Several months after his marriage, John Q. Miller moved to Indiana and
took possession of a farm that David Hiestand had entered there in 1830,
which he gave to Mr. Miller and wife on condition that he would improve
it. He made a wagon trip to the land and made some improvements there
and then returned to Ohio and in the follow (sic) November started by
wagon again with his wife and infant son, Frank Pierce, for the new home
in the Indiana forest. Here, through hard work, he cleared and developed
a farm. He built a house and stable of logs and also erected a
blacksmith shop and continued to live on the place during the rest of
his life. His first wife died there in 1884, aged fifty-four years. In
1889 he married Miss Alice White, a native of Indian, who is still
living. His children were all born to his first marriage, eight in
number and all in Indiana, except the eldest, Franklin Pierce. Ada, the
second born, is the wife of James Thompson and they live in Carroll
County, Ind. David lives in Canada. Catherine is the wife of George
Shigley of Carroll County, Ind. Amelia, now deceased, was the wife of
G. W. Gwinn. Walter lives at Indianapolis, Ind. Christian makes his home
in Colorado. Viola, the youngest, married Rev. David Rodgers and lived
in Indiana; she died in January, 1912.

Franklin Pierce Miller remained at home until he was twenty years of
age, assisting his father during the summer seasons and attending
district school mainly in the winters. He then entered college at Battle
Ground, Ind., so named in commemoration of the battle fought there in
1811, by General Harrisonís forces when they were lured into an Indian
ambush. There are yet to be seen twenty-six graves of those who fell
there ninety-one years ago. After he completed his college course Mr.
Miller taught school in Carroll County, Ind., for seven winters and
followed farming in the summer. Afterwards he bought his grandmother's
farm in Indiana, containing seventy-five acres, and lived with her for
seven years, retaining this property until 1909, when he sold it to
advantage. In 1886 he moved back to Ohio and bought seventy-five acres
of his present farm in Walnut Township, Fairfield County, from his
sister-in-law, Rebecca Turner, which, together with eighty adjacent
acres belonging to his wife, made a fine body of land to operate. Still
later he purchased the additional 100 acres adjoining his other land,
all of which he makes productive according to its soil and situation. He
found reasonably substantial buildings on the place but soon decided to
erect a more modern dwelling and it was completed in 1905, with the
comforts and conveniences which make life easier in both town and
country than it was when he was a boy. He is a stockholder in several
financial institutions, including the Baltimore Bank, at Baltimore, O.,
and the First National Bank at Lancaster, O. In his political attitude
he has always been a Democrat and at times has consented to serve in
township offices. In January, 1911, he was appointed a member of the
school board of Walnut Township.

On October 14, 1880, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Susan C. Wagner, who
is a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Wagner, both of whom are now
deceased. They were born in Walnut township, to which section their
parents had come in pioneer days. Eight children have been born to Mr.
and Mrs. Miller, six sons and two daughters, namely: Earl H., Frank C.,
John Q., Dottie, Ralph W., and Walter L., and two that died in infancy.
Dottie is the wife of Ernest A. Lamb and they reside in Walnut Township,
living near enough to Mrs. Lamb's parents to be neighborly. Mr. Miller
and his family are members of the United Brethern (sic) church, in which
he is an official. For many years he has been identified with the
Masonic fraternity and for seven consecutive years was master of the
Masonic lodge at Baltimore, O., having served longer in that capacity
than any other member of the body. In all that is of importance in his
section, Mr. Miller is interested, his fellow citizens in general having
high regard for his judgment.

This thread:

• [OHFAIRFI-L] Frank Pierce Miller by Carole Paprocki <>