Person:Jacob Miller (65)

  From the Guthrie County, An Illustrious Past, A Great Future” was this article about the Miller family written by Ruby Anderson Mertes.  Over these United States there must have been over a million people named Jacob J. Miller since 1779.  This story is concerned with Jacob Miller who came to Guthrie County in 1853.  He was born in Pennsylvania, Cambria County near Johnstown.  Jacob married Catherine Lewis, a native of Ireland, she being only three months old when she came to this country with her parents.  Jacob and Catherine had six boys and three girls; Christian, Joseph, Jacob, Enos, Peter, John Elizabeth, Lydia and Rachel.  The family came west with some of the early settlers, first from PA to Wayne County, OH.  Mochican township about 1832, living there about ten years then on to IN.  In 1852 the Miller families loaded their covered wagons with household goods, wives and children.  Enos Miller was the  first to come.  He arrived in Des Moines in November of 1852, crossed the Des Moines River and bivouacked here until the spring of 1853.  He then took his family to Guthrie County, Jackson township and settled about a mile east of what was once Glendon.  In 1853 John Miller and his family came, also bringing his mother and father, Jacob and Catherine Miller. Later that year, Christian, Joseph and Peter also arrived.  Jacob J. Miller did not live long after arriving in Guthrie Co.  His grave marker at Glendon Cemetery shows he died at the age of 74 on Sept. 25, 1853.  Christian L., son of Jacob J. and Catherine was born in PA according to the 1850 census of Parke County, IN, Jackson twp.  There he is listed age 42 wife Elizabeth, 42, born in PA, children Garrett, 20, Catherine, 18, and Elijah S., 10.  Christian died not long after  his father on October 9, 1853, and was buried at Glendon.  Elizabeth held the household together and later lived with her son “Lige” until her death January 21, 1901, at the age of 92.
    Joseph L. Miller, according to Guthrie Co. History of 1884, was born in Somerset Co. PA, on April 19, 1811.  He moved to Wayne County, OH in 1832 and then on to Parke County, IN in 1833.  He was married in Putnam County, IN, to Miss Julia A. Switzer.  He and his family came on to Guthrie Co. in 1853.  Joseph died February 3, 1889, age 77, and is buried at Glendon Cemetery.  He was a Civil War Veteran.  Jacob L. Miller died in IN.  Some of his family came on to Guthrie Co. and spent their remaining years there.  Enos L. Miller was born in PA, August 12, 1815.  He was married in IN to Rufa Ann Switzer.  He came to IA in 1852.  He and Rufa Ann had nine children.  Rufa Ann was well known around the Jackson twp. area, for she was a midwife, nurse and doctor when none was available.  Enos died May 11, 1885 and Rufa Ann died January 22, 1906, both were buried at Glendon.
    Peter L. Miller born in PA about 1819, also came to IA in 1853.  On May 31, 1854, he married Mary Ann Downing.  They had no children, but their nephew Richard Downing stayed with them until he was married.  Both Mary Ann and Peter are buried in the Glendon Cemetery.
    John L. Miller, the youngest of the boys was married to Isabelle Downing in IN on June 20, 1850.  They came to IA in 1853 bringing his mother and father.  Their two oldest children, William and Nancy were born in IN.  Five other children were born to this union, Mary, Lydia, Margaret, Isabelle and James.  John died August 28, 1861.  Little is know of the girls except Lydia married Jonathan Wolfe.  It is believed they lived around Commerce, in Polk County.  Elizabeth married George Markle and moved to WI, but no other history is known of her family.  The other daughter, Rachel is known to have married Jacob Wright.
    Isabelle Downing Miller, wife of John L. lived her remaining years in the log cabin which John built for them in 1853.  She died October 25, 1907.  Her granddaughter, Eva Miller Jensen, lived in that log cabin for a few years.  She wrote about it and other things as she remembered them.  ‘John and Isabelle built a log house about a mile east of what became Glendon.  It had a board floor and had a fireplace in the west side of the building, one window in the north.  It had small window panes, but they were glass.  It was sealed with wide boards and there was a stove pipe in just about the center of the room, but I think they cooked in the fireplace at first.  The logs were hued smooth on two sides and were chinked with mortar. Later they built a shed kitchen on the south side of the house.  The fireplace had been boarded up for a long time and all of the cooking was done on the cookstove.  In 1896, my father, James B. Miller built a room on the west side of the house and we moved into it on March 1, 1896, and lived here four years.  In 1900 we moved to a farm east and south about two miles and a half.  Each spring and fall they would drive to Des Moines to buy things they couldn’t get at the grist mill.  They took their corn and wheat and had it ground in the late fall.  They lived on wild game in the winter, deer and pheasants were plentiful when they came to IA in 1853.  There were lots of fish in the rivers and creeks, beavers were plentiful along Beaver Creek and they built dams along the creek so the could catch fish for themselves.  There was lots of wild fruit in the timber, grapes, crabapples, gooseberries, also wild cherries and lots of walnuts, hickory nuts and hazelnuts and some butternuts.  There were wild blackberries in some places, red haw trees and a few black haw trees.  Wild plums were plentiful and so were elderberries.  In the summer and fall they made jellies, dried grapes and gathered nuts to eat during the winter.  
    These families and their children and grandchildren farmed this part of the county,  fought in our nations wars, raised their families according to the good book, lived and died.  In the 1860 census, each family was required to list their properties.  John L. owned 50 acres of improved land, 115 of unimproved land worth $1000, 5 horses, 4 milk cows, 18 swine, worth $500, 111 bushels of wheat, 300 bushels of corn, 3 bushels of potatoes, during the year he had made about 200 pounds of butter, cut 18 ton of hay, made 15 gallons of molasses, and slaughtered $100 worth of animals.  There are still some of the Miller kin living in Jackson twp, Guthrie County and many other parts of the state and nation.
    In the 1850 IN census in Punam Co., IN, Madison township appears Enos Miller, age 32, farmer, born in PA, wife Rufi Ann, 28 and children Oliver P. 8, Tilghman H. 6, and John F. age 1.    In the 1856 census of Guthrie County, IA he is listed, age 40, 4 years in IA born in PA, wife Ruth A., age 31, born in IN, John F., 7 born in IN, Simon P., 4, born in IN, Harriet E., age 2 born in IA.