Jesse F. Miller is engaged in general farming in Dent township, San Joaquin county, and is one of the native sons of this county, his birth having occurred on the 9th of December, 1871. His parents were Milton and Margaret (Maxwell) Miller, the former a native of Missouri and the latter of Indiana. Milton Miller became one of the pioneer settlers of Castoria township, having taken up his abode in French Camp near Atlanta in 1854. Few homes had been established in that part of the county and the work of progress and improvement seemed scarecely begun, but with great fortitude he faced the difficulties presented by pioneer life and in due course of time developed a farm. He was born in Missouri May 18, 1826, and emigrated to California in 1849. He did not remove to Castoria township, San Joaquin county, however, until 1854. In his farming operations he was very successful and as he found favorable opportunities he made investment in land until at one time he was the owner of twelve hundred acres of very valuable realty. In addition to the cultivation of the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he also engaged in the raising of stock, and became a prosperous man, owing to his excellent business qualifications and unfaltering diligence. Early in the '60s he was married to Miss Margaret Maxwell, a native of Indiana, who came to California with her parents in 1849. Her death occurred in 1899, and Mr. Milton Miller, surviving her for about two years, passed away in September, 1901. Thus the county lost two of its worthy pioneer citizens, people whose influence had always been felt for good and their efforts for progress. Of their children eight are now living: Ida M.; James H.; Mary E.; Milton E.; Jesse F.; Charles A.; William T.; and Lawrence L.

Jesse F. Miller was reared under the parental roof in San Joaquin county and acquired his education by attending the public schools of Dent township and the Stockton Business College. He was thus well qualified for life's practical and responsible duties and in his business career he has manifested good ability and laudable ambition and determination. He secured a companion and helpmate for life's journey on the 21st of November, 1893, by his marriage to Miss Luella Ellenwood, a native of San Joaquin county and a daughter of Warren B. Ellenwood, now of Pacific Grove, Monterey county, California, but formerly of San Joaquin county. Two children grace the marriage of Mr. Miller, Leslie F. and Spencer D. The family reside upon a good farm, Mr. Miller owning eighty acres of land, while his wife owns one hundred and thirty-six acres. Mr. Miller cultivates and controls the entire amount--two hundred and sixteen acres--and the farm is now splendidly improved and is supplied with all modern equipments and accessories. Fraternally he is connected with Escalon Camp, M. W. A., and his political allegiance is given to the Democracy. He is a young man, but one who has already attained enviable success and who has many friends in the county of his birth among those who have known him from his boyhood and are familiar with his entire life history.

Source: History of the New California Its Resources and People, Volume II

The Lewis Publishing Company - 1905
Edited by Leigh H. Irvine