Polly (Smith) Miller (1815 - abt. 1880)

Born 1815 in Ohio, USA

Ancestors

Wife of John Miller — married 5 Apr 1838 in Townsend Township, Norfolk, Upper Canada

Descendants

Died about 12 Mar 1880 at about age 65 in Creston, Union County, Iowa, USA

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Biography

What became of Polly Miller? She disappeared after the 1871 Canadian census. There is no death record. Could she have gone back to the USA, perhaps to live with a son or daughter?

Birth

Birth of Polly Smith

Place: Ohio or New York state, USA

When Polly's son William was registered in the 1880 U.S. census^[1] he listed his mother as being born in Ohio.

Polly's other son, Thomas, who she resided with at the time of the 1870 Census in Floyd Twp, Illinois, registered her as having New York as her birth state. Thomas would report this same info through to the 1920 Census.

Marriage

Polly married Englishman John Miller on April 5th, 1838 in Townsend, Ontario at the Wesleyan Methodist Church, Talbot district. We have the marriage registration. Both reside in Townsend. The witnesses are John Eddy and Samuel Fisher. A month before, on March 12, 1838, Polly's sister Abigail married John Eddy. Source - Archives of Ontario microfilm MS 248 Reel 4, or LDS film 1030054 - : http://virts.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maryc/TalbotDistrict.htm

Children

Children of John Miller and Polly Smith

i. William Miller - b. 1837 or 1840, Canada; d. 1906, Clark Iowa; m. Jerusha Townsend; 5 children

ii. Thomas Miller - b. August 29 1840, Brantford, Ont; d. May 21 1918, Monmouth, Warren, Illinois; m Margaret Werelen, 1871; 3 children

iii. Ann Miller - b. 1843 or 1846, Canada; d.

iv. John Wesley Miller - b. July 4 1846, Brantford Canada^[2]; d. March 19, 1923 in Knox County, Illinois; m. Mary Lewis; 5 children

v. James Arthur Miller - b. 1848, Canada; d

vi. Grace (Miller) Goble - b. 1854, Canada; d. Apr 20 1880, Norfolk, Ont; m. George Washington Goble, Feb 3 1874, Townsend, Ont.; 1 child

vii. Elizabeth (Miller) Hoover - b. 1856, Canada; d. 1910, Indianola, Warren County, Iowa; Henry J. Hoover, June 30 1885, Union County, Iowa; 2 children

Notes

A Polley Miller, born in the US in 1815, is listed as a widow in the 1861 census for Townsend twp. in Norfolk county. Several children reside with her including William, Thomas, Ann, John, Grace (Goble) and Elizabeth (See below)

Catherine Smith and daughter Polly Miller are widows living together in Oakland at the time of the 1871 Census. They are living with the youngest of the Smith kids, Catherine McAllister (See below)

Census Data

1851 Census - Brantford, Brant County, Ontario, Canada West^[3]

John Millar - 40 (1811) b. England; o. Farmer

Polly Millar - 38 (1813) b. United States

William Millar - 14 (1837) b. Canada

Thomas Millar - 13 (1838) b. Canada

Ann Millar - 8 (1843) b. Canada

John Wesley Millar - 5 (1846) b. Canada

James Arthur Millar - 3 (1848) b. Canada

1861 Canada West Census - Townsend Twp., Norfolk County, Ontario^[4]

Note: 1 story frame house built 1852. - A big assortment of relatives lived among each other

William Edy - Farmer - UC - Baptist - 29 (1833)

Malinda Edy - Housekeeper - UC - Baptist - 29 (1833)

Lorenzo Edy - UC - Baptist - 6 (1856)

Esther Edy - UC - Baptist - 4 (1858)

Willis Edy - UC - Baptist - 2 (1860)

James Edy - Labouer - UC - Baptist - 19 (1843)

Esther Haviland - Spinster - U.S. - Baptist - 74 (1788) Widow

Calvin Flanders - Labourer - UC - from Brantford - 17 (1846)

• Frame House built 1840.

Polly Miller - Farmer - U.S. - Methodist - 46 (1816) Widow

William Miller - Labourer - UC - Methodist - 22 (1840)

Thomas Miller - Labouer - UC - Methodist - 20 (1842)

Ann Miller - Labouer - UC - Methodist - 15 (1846)

John Miller - Labouer - UC - Methodist - 14 (1847)

Grace Miller - Labouer - UC - Methodist - 8 (1854)

Elizabeth Miller - Labouer - UC - Methodist - 6 (1856)

• 1 and 1/2 story brick house built in 1850.

Alfred Eddy - Farmer - UC - Methodist - 22 (1841)

Clarissa Eddy -Housekeeper - UC - Methodist - 22 (1841)

1870 U.S. Census - Floyd, Warren, Illinois^[5]

Thomas Miller 29 - (1841) b. Canada

Polly Miller 55 - (1815) b. New York

Hiram Irwing 20 - (1850) b. Canada

1871 Canadian Census - Oakland, Brant county^[6]

McAlister, Wellington - 54, Canada, Irish, Farmer, Married, Baptist.

McAlister, Catherine - 36, Canada, English, Married, Baptist.

McAlister, Owen - 21, Canada, Irish, Farmer, Baptist.

McAlister, Obedience - 18, Canada, Irish, Baptist.

McAlister, Elizabeth - 16, Canada, Irish, Baptist.

McAlister, Arthur - 12, Canada, Irish, Baptist.

McAlister, Robert - 10, Canada, Irish, Baptist.

McAlister, Charley - 7, Canada, Irish, Baptist.

McAlister, Arney - 5, Canada, Irish, Baptist.

McAlister, Amanda - 3, Canada, Irish, Baptist.

McAlister, Maud - 1, Canada, Irish, Baptist.

Smith, Catharine - 75 U.S.A., Widowed, Methodist N.C.

Miller, Polly - 56 U.S.A., Widowed, Methodist N.C.

Burial

There's some strong hints pointing to the burial plot of Polly Miller being located at Graceland Cemetery in Creston, Union County, Iowa. The entry in Findagrave is as follows:

Burial of Polly Miller^[7]

Date: March 12, 1880

Age: 64y

Place: Graceland Cemetery, Creston, Union County, Iowa, USA

Plot: Section B Lot 78 Grave 10

With this comes with an entry for a Polly Miller in the U.S. Federal Mortality schedule for the 1880 Census, year ending May 31, 1880 in Lincoln Twp, Union County, Iowa

Polly Miller (widow) - 64 (1816) b. Ohio; Parents b. Ohio; o. keeping house; month of death: March; Cause: Congestion of lung; How long a resident of the county: 1y

When the 1880 Census is taken on June 24, 1880, an Elizabeth Miller, matching the identity of Polly's youngest daughter is enumerated as working as a servant at the home of Nathan Hart Whittlesey, a prominent minister (1848-1901)

1880 Census - Creston, Union, Iowa^[8]

N. H. Whittlesey M - 32 Connecticut, United States

H. A. Whittlesey F - 30 Connecticut, United States

Hellen S. Whittlesey F - 3 Iowa, United States

Geo. N. Whittlesey M - 1 Iowa, United States

A. A. Eastman F - 40 New Hampshire, United States

Elizabeth Miller F - 25 (1855) B. Canada; Father b. England; Mother b. New York; O. Servant

Given Lincoln twp is next to Creston, Iowa, in Union county, and considering Elizabeth moved a few minutes down the road to Indianola to raise a family it is close to conclusive that this is Polly' Resting place.

Sources

• G. MacKay, firsthand knowledge. Click the Changes tab for the details of edits by G. and others.
• AncestryDNA connection 8cM|1 segments between Richard Cooper, descendant of Polly (Smith) Miller (1814-1880), and mumu2010, descendant of Obedience (Smith) Haviland (b. 1813-1844) through common ancestors John Smith (1784-1859) and Catharine (Lawrence) Smith (1796-1879)

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MDLV-PWL : accessed 26 May 2012), William Miller, Lincoln, Union, Iowa.
2. ↑ "Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NQPH-89H : accessed 2 June 2012), Ora Lewis Miller, 1939
3. ↑ 1851; Census Place: Brantford, Brant County, Canada West (Ontario); Schedule: A; Roll: C_11713; Page: 127; Line: 30.
4. ↑ 1861; Census Place: Townsend, Norfolk, Canada West; Roll: C-1053; Page: 19.
5. ↑ 1870; Census Place: Floyd, Warren, Illinois; Roll: M593_286; Page: 57A; Image: 352; Family History Library Film: 545785.
6. ↑ Year: 1871; Census Place: Oakland, Brant South, Ontario; Roll: C-9914; Page: 34; Family No: 121
7. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=miller&GSfn=polly&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=14&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=17457182&df=all&
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MDLV-BW1 : accessed 3 June 2012), Elizabeth Miller in household of N. H. Whittlesey, Creston, Union, Iowa.