Reunion Time! Park shelter reserved for June 25th

The surviving children of Pete and Dora Miller
gathered in Chadron for the 1988 Miller Reunion.

Another step has been taken in plans for the Miller Family Reunion scheduled for next summer in Nebraska.

We've reserved the Wilson Park Shelter in Chadron for all day on Saturday, June 25th.  That's the same location where the Millers gathered 22 years ago, when we had our last reunion.  Of course, we've lost many loved ones since that time, and this may well be the last time that many of us will see one another for a good long spell.  So, we hope that all "cousins" and "in-laws" will plan to join us for this informal get together from Friday, June 24th through Sunday, June 25th. 

Cousins Pete Miller in Metaline Falls, Washington, and Larry Miller in Spearfish, South Dakota, have sent postcards out to a couple of dozen folks in an effort to collect addition names/addresses/phone numbers and e-mail addresses of as many of our family members as possible.  We've found that many addresses we have are incomplete, phone numbers have changed, or e-mail addresses no longer work. We want to make sure that even the most distant cousins know about our gathering and have an opportunity to attend!  We'll do a more complete mailing with further information in February.

Marie Derrick and Bertha Bird - 1988

Please call or e-mail us with your contact information -- and tell us how we can reach others in your family branch who should know about the reunion.

Larry    (605) 722-6018  ~  dakotamillers@gmail.com

Pete    (509) 446-3915  ~  pjmiller@povn.com 

At this writing, there is no specific agenda -- but lots of ideas.  For many of us, just having a chance to visit with family we've not seen for a long time will be the primary goal.   It's also an opportunity to visit Whitney, which was home to our parents/grandparents for more than half a century.  A visit to the Whitney Cemetery would be in order, since many of our ancestors are at rest there.  Please let us know your ideas and suggestions regarding the reunion.

And bring your cameras, there's bound to be
some fun -- and tomfoolery!

There's lots to see and do around the area, too!  Two of the most beautiful state parks of Nebraska are within 30 minutes -- Chadron State Park and Fort Robinson State Park.  Both offer cabins and camping, as well as a variety of recreational activities the whole family can enjoy.  There's also hiking, biking, golf, and trail rides.  Fort Robinson has a great museum, and there are also fine historical museums in both Chadron and Crawford.

And you might want to bookmark this web site, since we'll continue to provide updated information here, including lodging options, recreational activities, and other reunion-related tips.

Mark your calendars and plan to join us for the Miller Family Reunion, June 24-26!

Help us plan for the reunion...

From the Czar's army....to America

He was buried 100 years ago in Mountain View Cemetery on the north side of Longmont, Colorado.   But there is no tombstone.  No marker.  Nothing that tells us anything about this German-Russian immigrant who escaped the hard life of Russia for new opportunities in America.

Conrad Luke Eckerdt
Undated photograph

This man, Conrad Eckerdt, was born July 12, 1858 in the German colonies along the eastern “wiesenseite”  (meadow side) of the Volga River.  We don't know exactly where he was born, but the discharge documents from his service in the Russian Army listed the village of "Splavnukha" as home.  The Germans living there called the colony “Huck.”  Conrad's parents were listed as Lewis (Luke) Eckerdt and Lizzie Liesmann, and he had at least one brother, Philip. 

The German colonists were largely a segregated group, preferring to remain unto themselves; however, the changing requirements of the Czar's rule discontinued the exemption from military service that German colonists had long enjoyed.  So it was in 1880 that Conrad Eckerdt entered the Russian military.  He was 22 years old and was described by one of his acquaintances as a "good-sized" man, and he would serve five years in the Czar's army. 

Conrad Eckerdt
Army discharge document

On March 6, 1885, Private Eckerdt, who had worked as a "Staff Helper" in the 96th Reserve Battalion, was discharged to the army reserve.  He returned to Schwed, and that's probably where he met Maria Dorotea Wilhelm.  There are no documents listing a date of marriage for the Eckerdts, but they were supposedly married by the Lutheran pastor from nearby Rosenheim parish sometime between 1885 and 1890.  Their first child, Alexander Eckerdt, was born on October 1, 1890.  

Some years later, Eckerdt was described by acquaintance Fred Gorr as a "pretty good carpenter," so he may have pursued that kind of work upon his return to Schwed.  However, Gorr also remembered that at some point, Conrad Eckerdt worked at a flour mill for an uncle named Kriegel.  

In January of 1892, Conrad and Maria had their second child -- Dora.  There are no documents to substantiate it, but family hearsay indicates that Maria Dorotea died giving birth to her daughter.

So Conrad was left to raise his two young children alone.  But at some point between 1892 and 1900, he remarried.  His new bride was the widow Helena (Lena) Neuwirth, who also had a son, Henry.  Conrad and Lena remained in Schwed for the next few years before packing up and leaving Russia in early 1905, headed for America.  They made their way to Bremen, Germany – probably by train – and then sailed from Bremen on March 29, 1905, destined for the United States.

There are lingering family stories that some of the colonists from Schwed -- like so many immigrants at the turn of the 20th century -- were not allowed to enter the United States because of “pink eye,” but that was not the case for the Eckerdts. 

They arrived in Galveston, Texas, on April 20th aboard a ship of the “Missler” line.  Arrival documents indicated that their destination was Denver and that  “Dorothea Schneider, 18,” accompanied the family.  She was listed as a niece to Conrad Eckerdt.

Peter & Dora Miller
Wedding photograph
March 21, 1909

Marie (Miller) Derrick, a granddaughter to Conrad Eckerdt, remembered being told that the family was met in Galveston by an unnamed uncle, who escorted them to Longmont, Colorado.  It was there that Conrad would would find work in the sugar beet fields of Boulder County.   And it was also where young Dora Eckerdt would meet another “Volga Deutsch” immigrant, Peter Miller.  They married on March 21, 1909.  He was 23 years old.  She was 21. 

According to the Longmont Call newspaper, Pete and Dora were married at the Longmont City Hall, which served as the temporary worship site for the Evangelical Peace Lutheran congregation organized in 1907 under the leadership of Rev. Wm. I. Busch.  It was Pastor Busch who married the couple.  Pete and Dora's first child, Marie, was born in December of 1909, and they soon moved to Chicago, Illinois.

Alex & Marian Eckerdt
2006 - Au Gres, Michigan

Conrad and Lena Eckerdt remained in Longmont, however.  Just two years after his daughter had married, Conrad Eckerdt, who suffered from diabetes, succumbed to heart disease and died.  It was December 26, 1911.

His obituary in the Longmont Ledger of December 29,1911, said “Mr. Eckerdt was a Russian by birth.  He was not feeling well and was going to the depot to take a train for Denver to see if he could get relief, when he was taken down.  Friends took him in a carriage to go to his home, but he died on the way.”

Conrad Eckerdt was just 52 years old when he died.

His widow, Lena, would eventually move east, settling in Michigan., where numerous Eckerdt and Neuwirth descendants continue to live.  At right are Alex Eckerdt, Jr. and his wife Marian, whom we had the great pleasure of meeting during a visit to Michigan in the fall of 2006.  Alex is a grandson of Conrad Eckerdt.