Remembering...

Pete Miller visiting the gravesite of his dad, Fred Miller, in late June of 2009 in a cemetery near Metaline, Washington. Born in Bayard, Nebraska in 1923, Fred died four years ago this month (12/05) at his home in Metaline Falls. Eighteen months later, his only surviving sibling -- Pauline -- passed away in Texas. They were the last two of the 11 children born to Peter and Dora Miller. Our on-line Miller family charts list other members of this German-Russian family and some of their ancestors.

Meeting Molly - born in Unterdorf!

One of the exciting prospects for learning more about our Miller family migration from Germany to Russia – then to North America – came last summer, when we had a chance to meet Molly Miller Both. It was during a trip to Washington state to visit family in the Metaline Falls and Seattle areas.

One of the few remaining “Miller” family descendants to be born in the Volga-Russian village of Unterdorf, Molly now lives in Marysville, just north of Seattle. While Molly and I had corresponded a few times over the past decade, we were unable to establish a firm link between our families.

However, with fewer than 100 families living in Unterdorf at the beginning of the 1900s, and with both families named Miller, it seems likely that there is a connection. While there’s still no documentation that confirms such a linkage, some aggressive sleuthing in the weeks and months ahead may well uncover something. At least, that’s our belief, and we’re proceeding optimistically.

Molly Miller was born in January of 1926 in Unterdorf, Russia, her family having survived the political upheavals and famine that cursed the Volga region in the early 20th century. That's Molly on the right, when she was about four years old. Our patriarch of the Miller line in western Nebraska, Peter Miller, was born in Unterdorf in 1886 – some 40 years earlier. By the time Molly was born in 1926, Peter and Dora (Eckerdt) Miller were in the North Platte River valley region of the Nebraska panhandle. Chances are, they were making plans or were already on their way to a new home in Whitney. Molly’s family would migrate to Canada, where she grew up, later meeting and marrying Nick Both.

Molly is convinced that our Miller families are related, and I agree. But we’re still searching for the proof.

Until we discover that elusive document, we delight in discovering a new “cousin.” Our visit with Molly and Nick Both at their home in Marysville was a joy, and it was a bonus to meet a few other other members of their family. Much to our delight, Molly also agreed to a short video interview, which we did on the spot!

One of the rewards of genealogy is bringing together long lost relatives. Even if those elusive documents confirming such a kinship are never uncovered, we’re so pleased to meet one of the few remaining “Unterdorfers” -- a lady we’d be proud to call “family.”

Surviving the Titanic

More than 10 years before the White Star Steamship Line launched the SS Titanic in 1912 for its destiny with an iceberg in the North Pacific, White Star built another vessel that was the biggest steamship at the time.

Like the Titanic, the SS Celtic was built in the Harland & Wolf shipyards in Belfast. With twin screws, it was twice as long as a football field and her displacement was more than 20,900 tons – more than any other steamship. Celtic was launched in 1901 and would provide long and significant service to her owners.

Our interest in knowing more about the SS Celtic emerged some years ago when I learned that my grandfather, Peter Miller, voyaged to the new world aboard the Celtic – likely in steerage, but aboard her, nonethess.

The year was 1906, and Pete Miller was traveling with his older sister, Eva Behm, and her family from Liverpool to New York City. They’d likely already endured a long train ride from Saratov, Russia to a port on the Baltic – then probably gaining passage on a ship to England. They all had made the collective decision to leave their homes in Unterdorf, Russia, not far from the Volga River, to find new lives in America.

They arrived at Ellis Island on September 30, 1906 and would make their way to Longmont, Colorado. Eventually, the Behms would settle in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Pete Miller met Dora Eckerdt in Longmont, where they were wed in 1909, later moving to Chicago, then Watertown, South Dakota, before settling in the Nebraska panhandle, where they raised their family and spent the rest of their lives.

As for the SS Celtic: she survived well beyond the Titanic disaster. The Celtic was particularly noted for her steadiness in rough weather. In 1928 she was converted to a cabin class liner; shortly thereafter, she ran aground in the fog near the entrance to Queensland Harbor in Australia, ending her seagoing days. She was converted to scrap in 1933.

A "mini" reunion of Millers

It was a few years back -- in June of 2006 -- that three Miller cousins got together in the City Park at Spearfish, South Dakota, for something of a "mini-reunion."

Left-to-right are: Pete Miller of Metaline Falls, Washington, son of Fred and Charlotte Miller; Jeanette Miller Gleed of Rapid City, South Dakota, oldest daughter of Alex and Mildred Miller; Connie Miller Merchen of Rapid City, South Dakota, middle daughter of Alex and Mildred Miller; and Larry Miller of Spearfish, South Dakota, younger son of John and Lettie Miller.

The last large gathering of this Miller family was in Chadron, Nebraska in 1985. Or was it 1988?    Or....?   Perhaps we're due for another one, eh?

Millers find a home in the Pend Oreille

Pete and Dora (Eckerdt) Miller came to the United States from Russia and were married in Longmont, Colorado in 1909. They ultimately chose Whitney, Nebraska, as their home, but their children would make their homes in other locales -- ranging from Wyoming and Arizona to Washington and Texas.

We've visited most of these places and must confess that we've become especially smitten with one of them.

The beautiful Pend Oreille River Valley north of Spokane, Washington, is home to many of Pete and Dora's descendants.

In the photograph above is their grandson, "Pete" Miller and his wife, Judy, who guided us up to this overlook above Metaline Falls, Washington, which they've called home most of their lives -- and the place they chose to raise their family. Pete's brothers, Wayne and Charlie, aren't far away, and their sister Jean and family live just to the south in Spokane. Their mother, Charlotte Miller, still lives in the family home nestled on a hill above the river. Pete's cousin Albert "Mike" Miller and his wife, Cheryl, live in nearby Ione.

It's easy to see why two of Pete and Dora's sons -- Fred and Albert -- chose to settle in this region after they left military service following World War II. There's nowhere in the country any more beautiful, and it's hard to imagine a better place to raise kids.

I suspect that if Pete and Dora Miller were to peek down from above today, they'd find great joy in seeing the wonderful lives many of their descendants have found in this part of the country. It's a far cry from the wind-swept plains along the Volga River where they grew up. I think they'd be very pleased.

A family death....a family gathering

One of our favorite photographs, this shot was taken in Whitney, Nebraska. We earlier thought it was taken when Dora Miller died in February of 1963; however, cousin Bruce Miller in California suggests it was more likely in June of 1957, upon the death Pete Miller. Grandma and Grandpa Miller had moved from the irrigation company "ditch house" near the railroad depot in Whitney to the small house just north of the Post Office, then on the northwest corner of the intersection of Division and Missouri Streets. The Post Office is just to the right and out of view in this photograph. .

In this photograph are three of Pete and Dora's sons; left-to-right are: Alex Miller of Lusk, Wyoming; John Miller of Chadron, Nebraska; Louis Bird of Houston, Texas; and Fred Miller of Metaline Falls, Washington. Louis Bird was married to Pete and Dora's fourth daughter, Bertha.

In the background on the left, the tops of both the old lumber yard and the Baldwin building are visible.

A place named Unterdorf

Early in my genealogical research, I was confronted with the sad fact that our family surname, Miller, is about as generic a name as you'll find within the German language. Many folks have speculated that our name was originally Muller (probably with an umlaut), and that's likely accurate, although there's no verification one way or the other. Miller, Muller, and Mueller are all surname candidates!

My grandfather, Peter Miller, was born in Unterdorf, Russia in 1886. When I was able to verify that information, I was ecstatic. When I learned that Katie Behm, the wife of my grandfather's nephew, Alex Behm, had created a map of Unterdorf, I was excited at the prospect of learning exactly where my grandfather had lived in the "old country."

Alas, while I guess I had known it, I conveniently overlooked the reality that every family seemed to name their boys the same: Pete, Alex, John, Henry, Fred, etc. There was not a lot of variety. Thus, with so many Miller families in Unterdorf, I haven't been able to pin down exactly where my grandfather lived before migrating to the United States with his older sister, Eva (Miller) Behm, and her family in 1906.

While I've not been able to update it much over the past year or so, I have expectations of significantly enhancing my Unterdorf website in coming months. Of course, that's done largely through the benevolence of people like you -- folks who may have new information about this small village not far from the Volga in Russia and the families that lived there.

Shown above is a contemporary aerial photo of the Unterdorf region. For the many years that I've been tracking the Peter Miller and Dora (Eckerdt) Miller families, I've had hopes of one day setting foot on the same soil that Grandpa Miller walked. With each passing year, that becomes less likely, but I've not given up hope. And perhaps by the time I make the trek, I'll know more about this little village and the circumstances that drove its citizenry to seek opportunities in the "new world."