This family under the varied spellings, German, Dutch and English, form one of the very largest groups of lineal and related families in the United States. They came from all lands and settled everywhere. Every land had a Mill and a Miller. They have been prominent in every department of our country's development. One hundred and fifty of the name are entered on the rolls of New York soldiers serving in the revolution. In the professions, business, politics, agriculture, and commerce they are equally numerous and prominent. These things being true, it can easily be seen how difficult it is to trace the line with reference to one particular family where early records have not been preserved.
The Miller family of German Valley, New Jersey, whose descendants settled in Montgomery county, New York, where they are found to-day (1910) prominent and prosperous, spring from John Henry Miller or Mueller, born in the village of Niedermastahn, in the Zweibrucken Palatinate, May 22, 1728, came to America in 1752, landing at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died February 9, 1819. He is recorded as a "Schuldiener" (school teacher). He married, April 3, 1755, Marie Catherine Moelich. They settled in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, near New Germantown. He was town clerk of Tewksbury, New Jersey, for thirty-one years. Had four children. A descendant, Jacob W. Miller, became a prominent lawyer and United States senator from New Jersey. The first settler, Jacob, was a son of the emigrant, and the first to settle in Montgomery county.
(I) Jacob Miller, who lived to the great age of ninety-four, is the progenitor of the family in the Mohawk Valley here considered. There were several of his name that served in the revolutionary war from Albany and Tryon counties, and as his life covered the revolutionary period he may have been one of them. One Jacob Miller served in the Second Regiment, commanded by Colonel Van Cortland; one in the Third Regiment under Colonel James Clinton; one in the Third Regiment, Albany county militia, under Colonel Philip P. Schuyler, and one in the Twelfth Regiment under Colonel Jacob Van Schoonhoven. Adam Miller, who was of the same family, was at the battle of Oriskany under General Herkimer and was shot through the hand. Another brother, John, was in the same battle. Jacob Miller was a farmer and cleared his homestead farm which is still in the possession of the family. He married a Miss Putman, of the Mohawk family of that name who have been identified with Montgomery county development from its foundation. Children:
- Daniel, born in 1802, died 1886; married Elizabeth McDuffee and had issue.
- Dorothy, born in 1804, died in Wisconsin, 1907; married Abraham J. Davis and left Hannah Davis, married Jonathan Bowman; children: Nellie, Ambrose, Asa, Jennie and Emma Bowman.
- Polly, born in 1806; married John Vedder and had issue.
- Sarah A., born in 1808; married William Wires; she married a second time and had a daughter, Sarah E., married William Haggadorn; son, William Haggadorn.
- John P., see forward.
(II) John P., son of Jacob Miller, was born on the Miller homestead in Glen, Montgomery county, New York, April 17, 1810, died on his own farm near Schoharie creek at Mill Point, December 6, 1867. He was a farmer and located on the Mill Point farm in 1843. He married, in Glen, Rebecca Fisher, born in that town March 4, 1810, died June 12, 1890, daughter of Samuel and Anna (Craig) Fisher, both of New Jersey birth and early settlers in Montgomery county. Samuel and Anna (Craig) Fisher had other children:
- Jane, married Joel Smith;
- Amelia, married Peter J. Weldon;
- Catherine, married John H. Bell;
- Samuel and
- Ellison.
Samuel Fisher married (second) Catherine Van Patten and had a daughter, Hannah. Children of John P. and Rebecca (Fisher) Miller:
- Abraham J. D., see forward.
- Charles F., born November 1, 1836; was a farmer of Glen; married Martha G. Ingersoll, of Charleston; children:
- Jennie M.;
- Anna C., deceased;
- Ella N., a trained nurse of Rochester, New York;
- Sarah, married Abram M. Faulknor, of Glen;
- Maud, married Ernest Dakin, of Port Chester, New York, and has a daughter, Eleanor Dakin.
(III) Abraham J. D., son of John P. and Rebecca (Fisher) Miller, was born in Glen, New York, June 2, 1834. His farm, lying between the Mohawk river and the Erie canal in the town of Glen, where he has spent his life, is a well-improved property. He married, December 29, 1857, Cornelia W. Van Horne, born in Charleston, Montgomery county, New York, April 8, 1839, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Pettengill) Van Horne, both born in the town of Florida and representatives of two old and important Mohawk Valley families. After his marriage Peter Van Horne settled in Charleston, where he died in February, 1877, at the age of eighty-three years. His wife, Eliza (Pettengill) Van Horne, born in 1797, died June 12, 1869. Their children are:
- Jane, deceased; married Richard Cline and had a daughter, Ida Cline.
- Adaline, married Jacob Hauck, both deceased; without issue.
- Elizabeth, deceased; married Benjamin Baird and left issue.
- William, died at age of forty-seven; unmarried.
- Cornelia W., married Abraham J. D. Miller.
- Levi, died at age of twenty-four; unmarried.
Children of Abraham J. D. and Cornelia W. (Van Horne) Miller:
- Elizabeth, born April 18, 1859; married Dr. James Shelp, of Amsterdam, New York. Children:
- William B., a prominent business man of Houston, Texas;
- James, of Amsterdam.
- Rebecca, born July 4, 1862; married Charles L. Wilson, a farmer of Glen; children:
- Frank, married Mary Dugan, of Amsterdam, New York, and has a son, Jerome F. Dugan;
- Jennie C., married Schuyler Shutts, of Amsterdam;
- Nellie C., married Jerome F. Preston, of Spring Valley, Wisconsin;
- Alice;
- Ada H.
- Jennie, born August 29, 1865, died May 6, 1878.
- John P., see forward.
(IV) John P. (2), only son of Abraham J. D. and Cornelia W. (Van Horne) Miller, was born September 20, 1867, on the homestead farm in Glen, New York, that he now owns and cultivates. He is a capable, energetic and successful farmer. His parents also reside on the homestead. The Millers are members of the Dutch Reformed church and politically are Independents. John P. Miller married, February 3, 1892, Catherine Dunlap, born in Glen, January 27, 1870, daughter of Elijah and Mary C. (Newkirk) Dunlap. Elijah Dunlap settled on a farm near Amsterdam, where he died in 1897 and where his widow continues living. Children of Elijah and Mary C. Dunlap: Jay, Jennie, William B., Frank, Catherine, married John P. Miller, no issue; Emmet, Leslie.