MARGARET M. MILLER
Died Dec. 9, 1896
Aged 79 ys. 3 ms. 20 ds.
 

 

 
Thomas Miller, deceased, emigrated to this county in May 1836; was born in Cumberland county, Pa., in 1795.  He opened up a farm on sec. 21, where he raised a family of 8 children: 4 sons and 4 daughters.  Mrs. Miller, whose maiden name was Margaret Meredith, was born in 1817; is of Irish-German descent, and a native of Pennsylvania.  The father [Thomas] died in 1878, being 83 years of age.  The mother [Margaret] is still living, and in good health at this writing.

Rebecca died at the age of 7.

The sons are all farmers of this tp.  William is on a farm of 160 acres, in sec. 15, where he has resided since March 1868.  William was married in 1868 to Miss Christina Sibert, who is the mother of a happy little group of 3 children - James C., George W., and Josephine E., the last a little girl of 7 years.

Mary is the wife of Wm. McCullough; Kate, unmarried, is a milliner at Fountain Green.

Sarah E. is the wife of John Sibert.

Robert, the second son, was born in 1842.  At the age of 20 he enlisted in the war, under Col. Marsh, and was with that regiment for over two years; was at the engagement of siege of Vicksburg, Jackson's Mills, Holly Springs, etc.; was wounded at the latter place, but was not discharged until after that memorable 4th of July, 1863, when Vicksburg yielded to the great General.

James, born Sept. 4, 1846, also enlisted in the late war, but in the 12th Ill. Cav., Co. G.  He was only 17 years old at the time, and therefore had to take a turn holding horses; was with the regiment on the Red river expedition, and was discharged at the close of the war.  He was married Sept. 19, 1875, to Anna Kelley, whose father, James Kelley, was a native of Kentucky.  The [their] little girl, Maggie, a loving little child, died June 13, 1880.  James resides on sec. 15, where he owns 80 acres of good prairie land.

John Miller, the youngest of the family, who now resides on the old homestead, was married in 1877, to Julia Brandon.  They have but one child, a little girl of one year.

The Miller family were among the oldest settlers here, and have all settled in life in the immediate neighborhood where they were brought up.  The father was active during the Mormon difficulties, and was a live Republican during the late war.  The Presbyterian Church record contains several of the family as members.

Thomas' wife, Margaret, was born August 19, 1817 (also calculated from the tombstone inscription, it is an ambiguous date), in Pennsylvania, and died December 9, 1896. They were both buried at Fountain Green Cemetery.

Margaret was the daughter of Mrs. Catherine Meredith (also buried at Fountain Green Cemetery and apparently widowed sometime prior to the 1850 census enumeration).  Margaret's sister was Sarah Meredith, second wife of William Allton.

Thomas and Margaret were among the early arrivals to the area eventually named Fountain Green Township, settling there in May of 1836.  Margaret would have been pregnant with William, born in July of 1836.

Thomas purchased land in sections 15, 20 and 21 in November of 1840, and evidently prospered over the course of his lifetime.

In the 1840 census of Hancock County, the household of Thomas Mills was counted near other families who are known to have been continuously in Fountain Green Township, among them: James McConnell, Thomas Geddes and Jesse Hadley.  It appears that Sarah Meredith (prior to her marriage in 1844) was living with Thomas and Margaret in 1840, and perhaps also Mrs. Catherine Meredith, although the reported age for the eldest female in the household does not jibe with later documentation.

The children of Thomas Miller and Margaret Meredith were probably all born on the Miller farm. They were:

i.	William Miller, born July 25, 1836.  He died March 10, 1905, and was buried at LaHarpe City Cemetery, LaHarpe, Hancock County.
ii.	Katherine "Kate" Miller, born April 1, 1838.  She died January 26, 1920, in LaHarpe and was buried at Fountain Green Cemetery.
iii.	Sarah Ellen Miller, born January 16, 1840, died November 14, 1890.  Interment at Fountain Green Cemetery.
iv.	Robert Miller, born ca. 1843, died 1913, burial at Fountain Green Cemetery.  The above biography of Thomas stated that Robert was born in 1842, a biography of Robert reported he was born August 16, 1846, and his tombstone bears the year 1843.
v.	James Miller, was born September 4, 1845 or '46, died 1912, burial at Fountain Green Cemetery.  Further in disagreement with the above biography: James and Anna were married on September 29, 1875, rather than the 19th; Anna consistently reported that her father was born in Ireland; their little girl, Maggie, died July 17, 1880, according to a reading of her tombstone, rather than June 13.
vi.	John Miller, born October 4, 1848.  He died November 9, 1931, at Warsaw, Hancock County, and was buried at LaHarpe City Cemetery.
vii.	Rebecca Jane Miller, birth and death dates uncertain, burial location uncertain. She may have been the Rebecca Jane Miller listed in the Mortality Schedule prepared at the time of the 1860 Federal Census.  An eight year old girl by that name was reported to have died in September of 1859 after being ill for 5 days with croup.  The biography of her father said Rebecca died at the age of seven; the biography of William Wallace McCulloch (Anna Mary Miller's husband) said she died at the age of 8. If Rebecca did die in 1859, it's likely she was buried at Fountain Green Cemetery.
viii.	Anna Mary Miller, born April 7, 1854, died December 28, 1934, the last surviving Miller sibling. She was buried at LaHarpe City Cemetery.

Household of Thomas "Mills"

Males 0 through 4 - 1          [William]
Males 40 through 49 - 1      [Thomas]
Females 0 through 4 - 2       [Katherine and Sarah Ellen]
Females 15 through 19 - 1   [Sarah, Margaret's sister ?]
Females 20 through 29 - 1   [Margaret]
Females 40 through 49 - 1   [Perhaps Catherine Meredith, but there is an age discrepancy.]
Total - 7
Persons employed in agriculture - 2

Thomas Miller, 55, male, farmer, value of real estate 2526, born PA
Margaret, 32, female, born PA
William, 14, male, born IL, attended school within the year
Catharine, 12, female, born IL, attended school within the year
Sarah E, 9, female, born IL, attended school within the year
Robert, 7, male, born IL, attended school within the year
James, 4, male, born IL
John, 2, male, born IL

Thomas Miller, 64, male, farmer, value of real estate 6000, value of personal estate 2000,
born PA
Margaret, 43, female, born PA
William, 24, male, farmer, born IL
Catherine, 21, female, born IL
Sarah, 18, female, born IL
Robert, 18, male, farmer, born IL
James, 14, male, born IL, attended school within the year
John, 12, male, born IL, attended school within the year
Mary, 6, female, born IL, attended school within the year

Miller, Thomas, 74, male, white, retired farmer, value of real estate 5000, value of personal estate 4000, born PA, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more
Margarett, 52, female, white, keeping house, born PA
Meredith C, 90, female, white, born PA
Kate, 30, female, white, born IL
James, 25, male, white, farmer, value of real estate 2500, born IL, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more
John, 21, male, white, farmer, born IL, male citizen of the U.S. aged 21 or more

Seibert, John Jr, white, male, 39, married, farmer, born VA, both parents born Hessen Cassel
Sarah E, white, female, 39, wife, married, keeping house, born IL, both parents born PA
Henry, white, male, 7, son, single, at home, could read but not write, born IL, father born VA, mother born IL
Miller, Margaret, white, female, 63, mother-in-law, widow, at home, born PA, both parents
born PA
Kate, white, female, 42, sister-in-law, single, at home, born IL, both parents born PA