A Summary of the Andrew Jackson Miller Family History
George Conrad, “Grandpa”, Miller instilled great pride in his grandson Leon R. Hunt. He embodied the bold, self-reliant spirit that had made the conquest of this vast continent possible. He was one of the last great “frontiersmen”, always looking for untamed lands to subdue. I recall him from a photo taken at his Kansas farm, sitting tall in the saddle, six-gun strapped to his waste. His father, Andrew Jackson Miller, must have shared this spirit, for he pioneered the North-West Territory and the Great Prairie of the United States in the forefront of its westward expansion.
The origin of the surname Miller is the English occupational name for a mill operator, the individual who grinds grain into flour or meal, from the Middle English term “mille”. But, as the name and its variations was common and used throughout Europe, it is not known where Andrew Jackson Miller of Ohio and his ancestors originated. The Irish potato famine of 1841 brought large numbers of Irish immigrants into the Territory. Also, thousands of Germans and Dutch fled to this area of the country after the failure of the 1848 German rebellion.
Family oral tradition suggests that the Millers emigrated from Europe and were part of the Pennsylvania-Dutch settlement in the Colonies and thus of German (Deutch) descent and probably “Muellers” or “Mullers” originally, later changing the surname to the Anglicized version, “Miller”. We can trace our earliest known ancestor, Andrew Miller, to Virginia where he was born in 1743. This may have been in the West Virginia panhandle not far from Fayette County, Pennsylvania where we find some of the family a generation later but this area was sparsely populated in the 1740s. In 1732 Scottish, Irish, Welsh and German pioneers settled Virginia in the area of Harper’s Ferry. This is about 80 miles south of York County, in eastern Pennsylvania, where there is an index of wills that lists an Andrew Miller with wife and children that match those of our Andrew.
So if we are to speculate about the possible migration path of our Miller ancestors, it would originate in the valley of the Upper Rhine, Germany, where Penn had enlisted other religious reformists to colonize his land grant in Pennsylvania through his missionary work there in the last quarter of the 17th century. The first migration occurred in 1683 and Germantown was settled near Philadelphia. Next they would move to Codorus Township, York County, approximately 100 miles west, close to the Maryland border where they may have found work in the tobacco plantations.
We believe they then settled in German Township, Fayette County, not far from the western border of the state where new inexpensive land had become available after the French and Indian War. We find Andrew’s children connected to the Franks and Bolsinger families from this area who accompany the Millers in subsequent moves. This may also indicate that others in the German community joined in this westward migration.
Conrad, Andrew’s son, was born in Virginia 1789, probably Ohio County; about 100 miles west of Fayette where the family had next migrated. By 1850 Conrad and his family had moved 200 miles northwest to Wayne County, Ohio, south of Akron in the northern part of the state. Opal Miller’s Bible record notes Andrew’s family resided near Apple Creek. Actually, the census of the same year records their residence as East Union Township which is five miles east of there. Here we find Conrad’s son, Andrew Jackson, who was born 1829 in Ohio.
Fertile farmland and newly developed railway service may have drawn Andrew Jackson and other family members to Clayton County, 1000 miles to the west in northern Iowa. This is where we find him, his sister Minerva and husband Christopher Bolsinger ten years later. This area had already received an influx of immigrants fleeing economic and political turmoil in Europe in the 40s. By 1861, in the midst of the American Civil War, we find Andrew Jackson in Dubuque where he marries. George Conrad Miller, the first of Andrew’s five children was born October 20, 1862 near Dubuque in Colesburg. The family is found in the 1870 census in Mallory Township, 3 miles north of Colesburg.
There were no significant Civil War battles fought in Iowa but over 10 percent of its population of 700, 000 served in the military and more than 20 percent of that number were killed or wounded. There are a number of Andrew Millers serving in the 1st, 5th, 6th , 9th, 11th, 15th and 21st Iowa regiments during the war. There is a Pvt. Andrew J. Miller on the roster of the 5th Regiment, Iowa Cavalry, Company L, a.k.a., Naughton’s Irish Dragoons, which actually originated in Missouri but included men from many different locales including Iowa. There is another Andrew Miller on the roster of Company E, a.k.a, The Fremont Hussars, which formed at Dubuque and may more likely be related to our ancestor..
The economic panic of 1873 and the following economic depression may have prompted the immigration of many in the Dubuque area to free land in the West made available by the recent Homestead Act. This departure was probably compounded by a severe grasshopper infestation that descended on the state in 1873 and subsequent years. Many families from Iowa settled in Eastern Kansas, in Franklin and Osage Counties. In 1875 Andrew Jackson Miller loaded his family and his earthly possessions in a covered wagon and immigrated to Kansas, where he homesteaded land in Osage County, near Lyndon.
George Conrad Miller, Andrew Jackson’s son married Isabelle Doyle on October 24, 1894 and settled in Osage County, Kansas. He moved his family in 1903 to Ellsworth County, near Lorraine, Kansas and again in 1910 to Ness County. They raised children, Isa, Ralph, Opal, Kenneth and Clara.
In 1911, George moved his family to a desolate section of “Homestead” land–probably some of the last government land grants– in southeast Colorado. There he built a “dug-out” and animal sheds against the side of a knoll, using the slab rock from the escarpment, stacked one on top of the other to form the walls. He transported his water from a stream on the far side of the valley. This frontier life was such a struggle for Isabelle and the children that she finally moved them back to Ness County. But George remained living on the homestead for the five years required to claim the title.
Although some of the early accounts may be speculative, we do have public census, cemetery, personal Bible notations and other records to support much of our family history. Following is an enumeration of the available information.
The burial record for Conrad in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery, Smithville, Wayne Co., OH, which lists his father as Andrew Miller (b. 4 Apr 1743) in Virginia, (d. 13 Jun 1816) in Wayne County, OH. He married Barbara Hook (1750-1818).
Andrew and Barbara’s children are Barbara Miller (b. 10 Dec 1773), Jacob Miller (b. 11 June 1775) who married Dorothy Franks, Andrew (b. 14 Dec 1778) who married Catherine Kibler, Anna Katherine (b. 12 Feb 1782) who married Jacob M. Franks, Mariah (b. 19 Feb 1784), Conrad (b.24 Mar 1789) and Minerva Isabelle (b. Feb 1792) who married Christopher Bolsinger. Jacob Franks, son of Michael Franks, Jr. was from German Township, Fayette County, PA.
There is an index for a will in Codorus Township, York Co., PA that includes Andrew Miller, wife, Barbara, son, Jacob, brother, George that may trace the family to the eastern part of the state.
In the 1850 census there is Andrew J. Miller, 21, in East Union Township, Wayne County, OH. His father is Conrad Miller. Conrad was born March 24, 1789 in Virginia and died May 18, 1877 in Wayne County. He married Elizabeth Kibler of Virginia (1804-1885). Their children were Andrew J. (b.1829), Nancy J. (b .1832), Ezra M. (b.1834), John P. (b.1836), Uriah F. (b.1839). There is another son of Conrad and Elizabeth’s who died before the census; William H. Miller (1824-1830).
There is a marriage record in Clayton County, Iowa of Andrew Jackson Miller to Frances Cordelia White in 1861.
The 1870 census for Mallory Township, Clayton County and Opal Miller’s Bible record note Andrew Jackson Miller (b. 12 Mar 1829) and Francis White (b. 12 Aug1843) with children George Conrad (b. 20 Oct 1862), Abbie Elizabeth (b. 29 Jul 1864), Ezra Washington (b. 19 Oct 1865), Mary Tamer(?) (b. 25 Oct 1871), Willie J (26 Apr 1876)
The Bible record shows that George Conrad married Isabelle Doyle 24 Oct 1894 and had the following children: Isa Mildred (b. 10 Nov 1896), Ralph Dewey (b. 15 May 1898), Opal Irene (b. 12 Jun 1900-d. 26 Nov 1949) married Isaac Sylvester Hunt 30 Apr 1921, Kenneth George Doyle (b. 19 Jan 1901), Clara Belle (b. 4 Nov 1904)
Andrew Jackson Miller died in 1912 and is buried in Scranton, Osage County, Kansas.
Hunt Homestead 