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James Hodge Miller
b.1805
d.1893
Facts and Events
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 James Hodge Miller (1805-1893) married Aseneth Chapman (1806-1898) of Frankfort, Kentucky, in 1831. After learning the tanner's trade in Lewisburg, he had been the first settler in what was to become the town of Gauley Bridge, in Fayette County, just north of Summers County. Gauley Bridge is located in a wild and picturesque section of the state, near the junction of the New and Gauley Rivers. The bridge for which the town was named had burned in 1826, but it was replaced by a ferry. Traffic through the area was heavy, especially after the Covington-to-Charleston stagecoach began regular service. In the 1830s James opened a store, the first in the area, and in 1840, President William Henry Harrison named him postmaster of Gauley Bridge. Later he operated a well-known tavern that was visited by a number of prominent figures, including Presidents William McKinley and Rutherford B. Hayes. For a time James represented Fayette County in the state legislature, though he was described as a very quiet, peaceful man that preferred life without the excitement attendant upon the making of laws or electing a United States Senator. He and his wife had three children: James Henry, Ann Eliza, and William. James Henry Miller (d. 1906) continued his father's business in Gauley Bridge and also served as postmaster, sheriff, and president of the county court. He and his wife Margaret Ann Muncy (whom he married in 1860) had three sons: Fenton H. Miller, William A. Miller, and Robert H. Miller. The two latter sons took over the family business, giving it the name Miller Brothers and promoting it as the town's oldest mercantile establishment. The business was still in operation in the 1920s.
http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=1122&p=surnames.hodge
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