Daniel Miller (1765-1849)

D3 Daniel Miller, born May 5, 1765 in Huntington County, PA or Washington County, and died January 24, 1849 in Montgomery County. He gave his birthplace as Washington County, MD in the 1850 census according to information in A Short History of the Daniel Miller Susannah Bowman Family by Betty Miller Wurstner. Daniel married Susannah H. Bowman 1785 in Bedford, daughter of John Bowman and Esther ____. Eleven children.

Susannah was born February 16, 1769 in Bedford County, and died December 10, 1851 in Montgomery County, Ohio. Daniel and Susannah are buried in Fort McKinley Cemetery, Montgomery County, Ohio. His occupation was distiller and Mill owner. Their religion was German Baptist Brethren. Susannah H. Coleman's name is sometimes spelled Susan. Information about her parents comes from WFT Volume 9 #50 submitted by Loni Voorhis.

Some material from George E. Miller (5), great grandson of Benjamin Miller, follows:

"Upon a marble slab this inscription appears: Daniel Miller, Sr. Emigrated from Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, 1804, to this place where he died January 24, 1848, Aged 83 years, 8 Months, 19 Days. His wife, Susan, was a sister of Elder David Bowman, Sr. She died Dec. 10, 1851. When they landed at Dayton its oldest house had been built eight years. They made their way up Wolf Creek Valley by the men going ahead and cutting away trees and vines for passage and taking possession of Section 30, three miles west of Dayton, but now adjoining the corporation. The encroachment of the city caused the removal of their remains to Fort McKinley, where their monuments now stand . . . . The 'wanderlust' of Daniel Miller's family seems to have been satisfied when he located in this goodly land, as is evidenced by the completeness with which his numerous posterity have possessed the present lower Wolf Creek Valley. Emigration had no charms for them. They have quite a list of ministers and deacons in their progeny." (Many family members were in the German Baptist Brethren Church so these ministers and deacons were presumably in that faith.)

"In late 1802 or early 1803, Daniel Miller came from Huntingdon County, PA to prospect for land In Harrison Township in Montgomery County, he found a squatter by the name of Billy Mason who had built his cabin and cleared some land in 1800, the first squatter in Harrison Township. Daniel Miller liked the land which lay along the Wolf Creek and he bought it from Mason. The United States patent for this plot was granted to him on February 11, 1804 above the signature of President Thomas Jefferson. Miller then returned to Pennsylvania and brought his wife and family back to Ohio.

In 1808 a large brick dwelling was erected on a rise overlooking the Wolfe Creek. This house is still standing at 3525 Dandridge Avenue and is registered as an Historic Site (see photo at right taken November 11, 2002).

In 1804 or 1805 Miller built a saw and a grist mill on the Wolf Creek near his home. The grist mill was later equipped with a set of French buhrs weighing approximately 1500 pounds each which were bought in Cincinnati. Miller's Mills burned in 1825 or 1826 but were rebuilt shortly after.

Later he added a distillery and made large quantities of liquor. He and his sons made three trips down the Mississippi River to Natchez and New Orleans to sell the products of their labors. They did so well that Daniel Miller became the owner of a large amount of land ranging in estimately (sic) from several hundred acres to two thousand acres.

When Miller arrived in Montgomery County, it was necessary for him to cut a road through the forest to his land from Dayton which was only a tiny hamlet. This was the start of his involvement in the building of the roads in the area. According to the Road Records of Montgomery County Engineer's Office, Daniel Miller was an active participant in the building of these roads: Liberty Road (1809), a road from Dayton to New Lexington (1807), Wolf Creek Pike (1810), an alteration to Wolf Creek Pike (1813), Western Avenue (1818) and other transactions. A Denlinger family tradition explains the crookedness of the Wolf Creek Pike from Dayton to Trotwood this way: as the ancestors were clearing the forest to build the road, it was easier to go around the largest trees than to cut them down.

Daniel Miller's wife was Susan Bowman, daughter of John Bowman, Sr. and wife Esther (maiden name unknown). The Millers were the parents of ten children: Benjamin, John, Joseph, Betsy (married Shoup), Susannah (married Etter), Catherine (married Jacob bornWolfe), Esther (married Long), Margaret (married Abraham Denlinger), Daniel, Jr., Sarah (married John Denlinger).

The Millers were devout members of the German Baptist Brethren Church. Their large brick home was built with removable partitions between the rooms so that worship services could be held there. The Annual Meeting of the denomination for the whole country was held at Miller's Crossing in 1884.

Daniel Miller lived a long, eventful and prosperous life. He saw Montgomery County change from dense forest to a populous area and he played a prominent part in that development. He died in 1849; his wife in 1851. Both were buried near their home, but the encroachment of the city necessitated their removal to the Ft. McKinley Cemetery on Free Pike."

Carolyn Denlinger   

Children of Daniel Miller and Susanna Bowman:

E1 Benjamin Miller, born March 18, 1786, Maryland; died October 4, 1855, Montgomery County, Ohio.

E2 John Miller, born November 3, 1792, Washington County, Maryland, died August 22, 1876, Montgomery County, Ohio; married Anna Wenger Sollenberger; born ca. 1802; died August 30, 1855, Montgomery County, Ohio.

E3 Mary Miller, born 1793; died ca. 1820.

E4 Elizabeth "Betsy" Miller, born 1797; died September 15, 1877; married Moses Shoup, March 26, 1818; born 1793; died May 7, 1880.

E5 Susannah Miller, born April 5, 1799; died December 9, 1861; married Joseph Etter, 1825; born October 05, 1802; died December 21, 1874.

E6 Catherine Miller, born March 6, 1801, PA; died July 6, 1876.

E7 Esther Miller, born 1803; died 1888; married Isaac Long, November 5, 1829; born 1806; died 1886.

E8 Margaret Rebecca Miller, born 1806; died 1863; married Abraham Denlinger, Jr., May 10, 1832.

E9 Daniel Miller Jr., born 1808; died April 13, 1862; married Susan Oliver, 1829; born January 15, 1811; died May 25, 1885.

E10 Sarah Miller, born January 13, 1813; died April 30, 1876; married John Denlinger, Sr., April 14, 1833; born 1809; died 1885.

E11 Joseph Bowman Miller, born 1815; died 1873; married Catherine Funderburg, 1844; born 1822; died 1913.