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Jasper County, Iowa
Historical and Genealogical Data Exchange
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William J. Miller Mr.
William J. Miller was born in Sherman Township, this County, April 9, 1858. He
is the son of John, Jr., and Lucretia Jane (Cannon) Miller, the father born in
Fulton County, New York, December 29, 1833, and the mother in Boonesboro,
Kentucky, July 6, 1834. When sixteen years of age the father of the subject came
with his grandfather, John Miller, Sr., to Kendall County, Illinois, by boat
over the Great Lakes. In 1853 John:
Jr., with his mother and brother George and sister Sarah, drove through to
Jasper County, Iowa, and located in Sherman Township, John Miller, Sr., having
died in Illinois in 1852. His sons,
John and George, bought two hundred acres of land for their mother and they all
lived on the place until 1865, when John Miller, Jr., moved to Newton Township
and bought one hundred and forty acres. From there he moved to Sherman Township
in 1865 and bought one hundred and forty acres.
At the time of his death in 1899 he owned three hundred and sixty acres.
Politically, he was a Republican. His
family consisted of four sons and three daughters, namely:
The two oldest died in infancy: Mrs. Louisa E. Hanson, Mrs. Nancy J.
Henney; Lemuel J. and Oscar E. are deceased; and William J., of this review. William
J. Miller grew up on the home farm and he began working the fields when but a
lad. He attended the rural schools in Sherman Township, and
remained at home until his marriage, then rented land a year, after which he
bought eighty acres. He has met
with continued success as a general farmer and stock raiser and he became the
owner of six hundred and twenty acres, all in Mound Prairie Township. This he
sold largely to his sons and bought two hundred and thirty-seven acres in Newton
Township, one-half mile from the corporation.
He has kept his land under an excellent state of cultivation and modern
improvements, and has built good barns and outbuildings.
He has kept and bred Aberdeen-Angus cattle for twenty years, and he keeps
from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty stock cattle for breeding.
He has bred and fed more Angus steers than any other Angus breeder in
America. Those who have
knowledge of such matters will readily acquiesce in this statement.
He is widely known for his fine cattle and a large part of his competency
has been gained in this manner, for he is an excellent judge of the bovine
division of live stock and understands well their care, so his stock always
finds a very ready market. He has fed several carloads of cattle annually for the past
twenty years, and he keeps nothing now but registered cattle.
He also raises Percheron horses of an excellent grade. Mr. Miller is a Republican and he has been a member of the County Board of Commissioners for two terms in the past. Mr.
Miller was married on February 28, 1878, to Emma A. Leeper, who was born in
Ohio, the daughter of John Leeper, an early settler in Jasper County and a
substantial and highly respected citizen. To
the subject and wife the following children have been born:
Mrs. Jennie Traxler, Ralph Leroy, John, Mrs. Edith Pink, Florence and
Floyd. Mr.
Miller is one of the most prominent cattle breeders in central Iowa and
every year he carries away many premiums at the Iowa state fair. Personally, he
is a genial, companionable, honest gentleman who has won the confidence and
respect of all who know him. The Past and Present of Jasper County,
Gen. James B. Weaver, Editor-In-Chief, 1912 B.F. Bowen Co., Indianapolis, IN, p.
1136. |
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