Grandma Miller and "the girls" get together!

Alas, we have no date with this photograph, but it was almost certainly taken at the "ditch rider" house in Whitney, probably in the early 1940's.  Shown are Grandma Miller and her daughters.  Left-to-Right, they are:  Evelyn, mother Dora Miller, Bertha, Pauline, and Marie.  Wish it were a wider view; would like to have seen the cars and more of the house, but it was fun to seeing Grandma Dora and "her girls" together! 

Busted! A case of mid-morning nostalgia...

It used to glow in the dark.  Wait...wait.  It still does!

I take pictures at the drop of a hat. And then some.  So this morning, – instead of doing chores that need to be done – Karen caught me rummaging through the "numerous" photos occupying space on my cell phone.  I had been busted....mesmerized by the photograph on the left above. 

It was nostalgia at first sight, a photo snapped a few years ago while visiting sister Linetha in Oklahoma.  

We were reminiscing about our days of yore, when I recalled a framed picture of a "vagabond duck" that used to grace her bedroom wall when we were kids.

"I still have it," she exclaimed.

"No!" I retorted in disbelief. 

"After all these years?"

Within minutes she produced the object of my interest.   It wasn't very big.  It wasn't framed.  It had faded a wee bit....and....horrors.....it wasn't glowing!"  Nonetheless, I captured the above image of Linetha with her duck friend.

Yep, as a kid, I was enamored with this vagabond duck, apparently running away from home, or maybe just exploring new places.  And perhaps most intriguing for me (when I was a kid....and maybe still) was that this wandering waterfowl had glowed in the dark.

Maybe my early exposure to Linetha's vagabond duck explains why Karen and I have lived in a gazillion places over the past half century or so.

But my excitement over seeing this long-lost "friend" really was tempered by the fact that it didn't seem to glow anymore.  After all, that was what had really intrigued me as a kid.  I'm not sure what kind of goop (read that "chemically-treated goop") was applied to it to make it glow, but it did.

Methinks that goop has lost it punch, just like the rest of us.  

But with a little help from Photoshop, I wanted to let my dear sister know that her Vagabond Duck still shines! 

Still standing...Whitney's old Methodist parsonage

In the mid-1930's  Alex Miller met a high school girl from Crawford named Mildred Saxton.  But it would be a couple of years later, after he returned from working in Michgan, that they would marry.  It was on  July 1, 1936; they were married in the Methodist parsonage by Reverend C. Curtis Norlin.   It was Alex's 25th birthday, and they  were married nearly 50 years before he died in April of 1985.

Alex and Mildred's children have often visited the Whitney area, usually to visit the cemetery and occasionally to see if the old parsonage is still standing.  It was on one of those visits about 15 years ago that Charlene Miller took this photograph.

Charlene and brother Bruce were in Dawes County within the past few months  (winter 2020), and report that the old parsonage structure is, indeed, still standing!  Thanks to Charlene for sharing this photograph!

Happy Birthday TODAY to cousins Marlene & Darlene!

by Larry Miller

One of the real joys of genealogy is finding family you either didn't know you had – or reconnecting with family you've never met.

But those happy moments also apply to cousins you knew you had – but hadn't seen in a long time.  Say....50 or 60 years!

Such is the case with the Snyder girls, Marlene and Darlene (shown above, although it could well be Darlene and Marlene!)  They are  the twin daughters of Evelyn (Miller) Snyder, youngest of the 11 children born to Pete and Dora Miller, our German-Russian grandparents who lived the last 30-40 years of their lives in Whitney, Nebraska, where Evelyn was born in 1930.

I saw the twins at least once, but it was a long time ago.   I believe they were with Evelyn when she came back to Nebraska for the funeral of grandma Miller in 1963 – but in may have been in 1957 when grandpa Miller passed away.  

In any event, it was a long time ago!  Fact is, my memories conjure up only the images I've seen of them in two photographs.  One of those photos is shown above.

In March, after finding information about both the girls in a 2000 obituary published in Akron, Ohio, I was able to locate Marlene in Virginia and track down a telephone number.  

We had a delightful conversation – followed some days later by a phone call from Darlene, who also lives in Virginia!

It's safe to say that most of the Miller cousins whose photos have appeared on this website and the linked Miller Gallery have never met these ladies, who are still on the young side – even though they're celebrating a landmark birthday today!  We hope they're able to review some of the many stories and photos we've posted over the years, learning a bit about their Miller cousins.

We hope to learn more about Darlene and Marlene.  Perhaps they'll share with us a bit about themselves and their families as so many of our other Miller cousins have over the past 15 years or so.  Maybe a photo from time to time that we can add to our gallery (It'll be hard to top the cute photo above!)

But for now, we wish them both a very Happy Birthday!  May you and your families be safe and well!

Cousin "Pete" Miller passes away in Spokane, Washington

Pete Miller (1945-2019)

We're sorry to report that we've lost another Miller family member.

Freddy Paul "Pete" Miller passed away on Tuesday, February 19, 2019, in Spokane, Washington.  Pete had been suffering the past few months, the victim of mesothelioma.  He was 73.

Cousin Pete was born February 24, 1945 in Wenatchee, Washington, the second child of Fred and Charlotte Miller.  He was their first child born in Washington state after they relocated from Nebraska to the the Pacific northwest in the early 1940's.   Pete's sister, Jean, was born in 1943 in Chadron, Nebraska, where Fred and Charlotte had married in June 1942.  

Pete was the oldest of the three Miller boys.  His younger brothers, Wayne and Charlie, were both born in Ione, Washington.

Pete, like the rest of his siblings, grew up in Metaline Falls, nestled along the Pend Oreille River in northeast Washington.  He lived there the rest of his life.   Pete met Judy Newman, and they were married July 29, 1966.  Their two children, Paul and Rhonda, were both born and raised in Metaline Falls.

Like his dad, Pete worked many years for the cement plant.  After it closed, he went to work at the Box Canyon Dam a few miles south of Metaline Falls.  After retiring, Pete and Judy found great pleasure in camping and the outdoors – but their greatest joy came from their children and grandchildren.

Pete loved his family and was proud of them.  I believe he also found great joy in the area his parents had chosen to make their home.  The Pend Oreille Valley and the Colville National Forest region is one of the most beautiful areas of the United States.  Those of us fortunate enough to have visited there understand and appreciate the quality of life that abounds there – particularly for raising kids.

Pete was just a few days shy of his 74th birthday when he passed away.  Immediate and close family members gathered on his birthday to celebrate his life.  It was a good life.  And Pete was a good man.  I suspect his namesake grandfather, Pete Miller and wife Dora, are joined by Fred and Charlotte looking down and reflecting on Pete's life, saying, "Well done."  

Our hearts go out to Judy and the Miller children and grandchildren, as well as to Jean, Wayne, and Charlie.  

All of us are the better for having known this wonderful man.

We are told that a memorial gathering will take place in the spring.

Rest in peace, cousin Pete.

Freddy Paul "Pete" Miller obituary

In search of family......and finding them!

"Müller" and "Miller" families pose for this photo taken September 15, 2018 in Thaleischweiler-Froschen, Germany.  Left-to-right are Roland Kurz, Lydia Leis, Max Leis, Karen Miller, Andrei Krug, Eduard Leis, Nelli Leis, and Rosalia (Müller) Leis.  You'll find a few more photos/information in our Miller Family Gallery of photographs.

Most family researchers work long and hard to find family and get to know them.  Usually, it's a search for ancestors – often family they never knew:  a great-grandmother long since deceased or a great uncle  whose life was shrouded in mystery.  That process of finding and learning more about ancestral families is what excites genealogists, professional and amateur alike.

Sometimes, however, it's a search for living relatives with whom we've lost all contact, perhaps for decades.  In some cases, we discover "cousins" we never knew we had – family far away, perhaps in a different culture, with a different language.  Such is the case here.

First however, a short disclaimer.  As yet, we have no evidence that absolutely confirms a close relationship between the Miller family from Whitney, Nebraska, USA and the Müller family from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, now living in Germany (Above photo).  No matter, We've met these good people – and we consider them family.  Perhaps DNA testing will help confirm our relationship.

But let us explain.

We've dabbled with family research for about half a century.  Retirement 15 years ago allowed a bit more time to pursue this passion – and that's when we created a few family history websites, including this one.  Then, one day in June of 2010, I received an e-mail from a young lady in Germany who wrote that she had visited my website about Unterdorf, Russia, ancestral village for our Miller family line.  

"My great-grandfather Friedrich Miller was born in 1869 in Unterdorf..."

Lydia Leis was in search of information I might have about her family.  I was delighted to learn of  another Miller descendant whose ancestors came from Unterdorf.  And with several Miller families in that small Volga River village, there seemed a likelihood that Lydia might be a distant cousin!

Still, it was a long shot.  We exchanged a few e-mails, and she gave me permission to post a photograph and information about her great-grandfather, which I labeled Reaching Across the Sea -- Finding a Cousin?  But we discovered no new information that might link our families.  And then......nothing. It seems that both Lydia and I became caught up in life activities – immediate family, friends, jobs, activities.  My web posting received little response from our "Whitney" Miller family, despite a gathering of our clan in Chadron the following summer (June 1911).  While it was a splendid reunion, the excitement of a possible relationship with another "Müller" family from Unterdorf faded. 

Fast forward seven years to October 21, 2017.  An e-mail arrived from a name and address I did not recognize. Nonetheless, I opened it...

"Dear Larry,  I am Nelli, sister of Lydia Leis from Germany..."

It revealed plans for visiting America, spurring visions of finally meeting other Miller family members whose ancestors also came from Unterdorf, Russia.  This happy prospect spurred my enthusiasm for re-visiting Miller family research.  

While Nelli and her husband were not able to make that trip to the United States last year,  wife Karen and I began planning our own trip to Germany!  While we had several objectives:  visit Monet Gardens in France, the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach, do the "Sound of Music" tour in Salzburg, and re-visit Rothenburg (a favorite place of ours on the Tauber River), my primary motivation was to visit Lydia, Nelli, and their families in western Germany.

We did just that in September 2018, and – for me – it was the highlight of our nearly three-weeks in Europe.  In the future, I'll be writing more about our visit with the Müller and Leis families who left Unterdorf, Russia, for Kazakhstan, where their families lived for generations before they "returned" to Germany whence their ancestors came centuries ago.  This, while our Miller ancestors set sail for America in the early 20th century. 

You'll find additional photographs and information in our online Miller Family Gallery.

The lessons of Tiananmen Square

Cousin Bruce Miller recently shared a story that we think is worth including on Miller Archives.  He referred to a speech given by a former Chinese student activist about events that he had experienced at Beijing's Tiananmen Square some 28 years ago.  We hasten to add that cousin Bruce was working in China when the popular nationalist protest occurred, forcibly suppressed by Chinese troops after the government invoked martial law.  Bruce began his piece with a refresher about that fateful event.

Bruce Miller

Dear Folks:

...Should memory not serve you, that bloodletting in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on the nights of June 3rd and 4th, 1989, was precipitated when a malevolent and evil totalitarian one-party government murdered hundreds – perhaps thousands – of its own innocent citizens who were petitioning for nothing more than the right to assemble, speak openly, and campaign for the establishment of basic freedoms and equalities that we Americans have long taken for granted.  That malevolent one-party state still ruthlessly rules the destiny of the Chinese people today.

I was in Shanghai, China that Sunday morning of June 4th, 1989, on a university campus where I had been teaching English for nearly two years.  How vividly I recall speaking with several of my students on the central plaza of the university that morning as the sun rose and awareness of the massacre on Tiananmen Square was taking hold.  One middle-aged professor who had been my English student, with tears streaming own his face, told me "Mr. Miller, what can we do?  The government's police and army have all the weapons, what can we do?!"

And that, in summary folks, is the strongest argument that I can propose to resist until our last breath the efforts of those in positions of power and authority in our statehouses, our federal governemtn, our colleges and universities, and sadly, even many of our churehes and religious institutions, to take away our right to freely keep and bear arms!

We have a national administration and President in place today that strongly acknowledges our 2nd amendment rights enshrined in the Constitution, but the time may well come, and likely will, when "liberal" leftist politicians will again gain ascendency and undertake once more their efforts to disarm our citizenry.

Look around, folks, even in our "democratic" world, citizens have been effectively disarmed and accepted the lie of big government that "we'll protect you – society is better and safter if only have arms!"  (It's a given that the first thing totalitarian governments always take away is the right to bear arms.)

In summary, remember, freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction!

Regards,

Bruce

The children of Alex & Mildred Miller - Summer 2017

Taken at the time of a Lusk (Wyoming) High School reunion in the summer of 2017, these are (left-to-right): Jerry Miller, Jeanette Gleed, Charlene Miller, Bruce Miller, and Connie Merchen.  Thanks to cousin Bruce Miller for sharing this photograph.  A nice looking group, don't you think?  For a higher resolution image, visit our Miller Family Gallery.

Another clue on the Eckerdt trail…

We found this funeral remembrance card neatly tucked between the deteriorating pages of an old German book at the end of our bookshelf.  The book — undated, but I would guess a turn-of-the-20th century vintage — is printed in the Gothic looking old German script.  The front introductory pages, as well as pages beyond 246, are gone.  The heading on page 3 reads:  "Geschichten des Alten Testaments" or "History of the Old Testament."  It likely earned its dog-eared pages through use in the Pete and Dora Miller home in Whitney, Nebraska, and was likely the repository of many  newspaper clippings and other mementos over the years — all long since gone.  So finding this was a pleasant surprise.

The card honors Helene Eckert (Eckerdt), the second wife of Conrad Luke Eckerdt. 

Conrad's first wife is believed to have been Maria Dorotea Wilhelm.  About her, we know almost nothing, since it is believed that she died giving birth to her only child — Dorotea (Dora) Eckerdt.  Dora was born in Schwed, Russia, on January 8, 1892.  Her father Conrad  then married widow Helene Neuwirth sometime in the 1890's.  By the time Conrad Eckerdt and his wife Lena left for America in 1905, they had three children.  A daughter (Dora) by Conrad's first wife.  A son (Henry) by Lena's first marriage.  And their own son, Alex, born in 1900.

In the United States, while living in Longmont, Colorado, Dora Eckerdt met and would later marry Pete Miller on March 21, 1909.

Finding this remembrance card of Lena's rekindles our interest in learning more about Conrad Eckerdt and his first wife, Maria Dorotea Wilhelm, cold though that trail might be!

Cousin Cece (Miller) Kennedy dies May 16th at age 72

We’re sorry to report that Cecelia Lou (Miller) Kennedy passed away last Saturday (5/16/15).  She had been in failing health the last few years and was recently admitted to the hospital.  She had been living for some time with her brother, Albert (Mike) Miller, and his family in Ione, Washington.

The daughter of Albert and Edca Miller, Cece was born September 8, 1942 in Milford, Nebraska. Early in life she spent some time in the Chadron area and Whitney, where her grandparents, Pete and Dora Miller lived.  Cece graduated from Ione (WA) High School and was married to Leslie Kennedy.  She is survived by two daughters, Anita and Leslee, who live in the Ione area. and by four granddaughters, one grandson, and two great-granddaughters..

We understand that no funeral service is planned.  Cece’s immediate family, including her sisters Betty Jo and Mary Dot, and brother, Mike, will gather in Ione, Washington, this June to celebrate her life.

New Miller memorabilia shared by cousin Mike Miller

Another treasure trove of family history was revealed this week when Washington cousin Mike Miller visited us and brought along a box chock full of artifacts, photographs, letters and other documents related not only to his father, Albert Miller, but also to Pete and Dora Miller.  They are, of course, the two key people for whom this web site was created.

These items take on increased importance for the family, since so much memorabilia that belonged to Al Miller fell into the hands of a non-family person who, unfortunately, has been unwilling to share any of it with uncle Al's children.  That's a separate and tragic story.

Remarkably, these several items are in wonderful shape.   Precious letters written to Albert in the Pacific during his Marine Corps service in World War Two.  Newspaper clippings.  And several photographs that most of us have never seen.

Among them is this photo (at left) of Pete and Dora Miller taken in about 1945 in Chadron, Nebraska.  Behind them is a home we immediately recognized as the Denton residence at 217 Ann Street in Chadron.  

There are several others, which we'll soon post in our Miller Gallery.

Thanks to Mike Miller for sharing these photographs and allowing us to scan them and post them in the Miller Gallery!

Remembering Charlotte Miller...

We were saddened by the news that Charlotte Miller had died last week.

According to her family, she passed away on Sunday, July 1, 2012, while being transported from her home in Metaline Falls, Washington, to the hospital in nearby Colville.  She was 87 years old.

Charlotte and brother Gerald

“Aunt Charlotte,” as she was known by so many of us, was a product of the tough Depression years.   But we never heard her complain about how tough things were – and they were plenty tough for the Flock family of northeast Nebraska, where she was born and raised.

Charlotte Lavonne was the 12^th of 13 children in the family of Lyman and Charlotte “Lottie” Flock.  Born at Loretto in Boone County Nebraska on September 13, 1924, her family moved to nearby Bartlett and eventually to the community of Spalding, Nebraska, where Charlotte began school.

Lyman Flock “did a little bit of everything,” Charlotte once told us.  He worked in the wheat fields, at the Gambles store in Spalding, and on a road repair crew.  Whenever and wherever he could find a job during those early years of the 1930’s, Lyman went to work – including work as caretaker for the cemetery.  Complicating things was Lyman’s health, which took a sharp turn for the worse in 1934. He suffered from “double pneumonia” and kidney failure.  Lyman died on May 7, 1934 at 62 years of age.

His wife, Lottie, was left with little more than several children who needed to be fed and cared for, including their 9-year-old daughter Charlotte, and Gerald, who was the youngest in the family.

Within months, the widow Flock—along with her youngest children, Charlotte and Gerald – moved to Chadron, where her older sister, Mary, and family lived.  Charlotte attended school at both Chadron Prep and the city school system.  And it was in Chadron some years later that she met Fred Miller from nearby Whitney.

They wed on June 2, 1942, but with the United State in the throes of World War II, it was just a matter of a few months that Fred was drafted and was on his way to basic training with the Army Air Corps in California.  Their first child, Jean, was born in Chadron in 1943.  After training in Lincoln, Nebraska, and then Chicago, Illinois, Fred was assigned to installations ranging from Kearns, Utah, and Indianapolis, Indiana, to Fresno and Glendale, California.

Charlotte and Jean were able to join Fred when he was assigned to duty first at Moses Lake, Washington, and later at Ephrata.  Their second child, Pete, was born in nearby Wenatchee in February of 1945, and Fred was discharged from the Army Air Cops nine months later -- on Armistice Day of 1945.

After a short stint back in Chadron after the war, The young Miller family packed up and headed back for Washington, where Charlotte’s mother and other family members were living.  It was the summer of 1947.  While Fred worked at a variety of jobs, two more Miller children were born:  Wayne in 1948 and Charlie in 1950.  Both were born in Ione.

Within a few years, Fred and most of the boys were working at the Lehigh Cement plan in Metaline Falls.  And it’s there that the Millers made their home and raised their family.

Charlotte and Fred were able to watch their children grow, marry, and have families of their own.  Delightfully, the children all have remained in eastern Washington, where they’ve raised their own families.  Watching their children and grandchildren grow up – and then having them near in their later years – was a joy.

From their modest house perched on a hillside overlooking the Pend Oreille Rive at Metaline Falls, Washington, Fred and Charlotte enjoyed the home that they had created for themselves and their descendants in this beautiful region of America.  They camped, fished, celebrated birthdays and enjoyed the fruits of their labors.  The above photograph was taken when Fred and Charlotte celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.  Left-to-right are:  Pete, Charlie, Jean, Fred, Charlotte, and Wayne.  Thanks to Pete Miller for sharing these photos. 

We've added this and a few other photographs of Charlotte, Fred, and the Fred Miller family in our Miller Family Gallery. 

Fred died suddenly in late December of 2005.

And now, almost seven years later, Charlotte will join Fred as her ashes are scattered along the landscape of the Pend Oreille valley.