Wells Waite Miller

Wells Waite Miller’s direct ancestor, Thomas, came to the Colonies from England during the Great Puritan Migration in the 1630s. Initially an integral part of the community, Thomas ended up being at the center of one of its greatest scandals. How? He fathered a child with his maid, Sarah, Nettleton, while still being married to Isabel. Their child, also named Thomas, is part of Wells’ direct lineage. Certain first names were commonly used throughout generations in the Miller family—something not especially unusual. Nor were the names repeatedly used: Thomas, John, Samuel, and Joseph for males and Margaret for females. Thomas

Previously, I provided an overview of the life of Calvin Caswell, the father in law of Wells Waite Miller (who is the Civil War soldier I’ve been researching). This includes information about his grandfather, Thomas Caswell, who served as a Revolutionary War soldier; his father, Thomas, who fought in the War of 1812; how Calvin came to Ohio; and his two marriages (to sisters) and his  children, including Mary Helen who married Wells in 1864. I’ve also researched the tragic “Castalia Massacre,” which occurred in 1813 on land that, in 1851, Calvin bought and built his house upon. Here’s more!

Birth of Aaron Miller, Jr. Born on February 17, 1758, Aaron Miller, Jr. was just two years old when the French and Indian War began, which kept British forces in the Colonies busy fighting—and spending money on military-related expenses. This war lasted until the Treaty of Paris in 1763 when France ceded its mainland North American territory to Britain. This war and subsequent treaty vastly increased the territory held under the British crown, but it was an expensive war, one that led to Britain increasing taxes on those living in the Colonies. Couple that with George III coming to the

“Hardened veterans, scarcely strangers to the sting of battle, nevertheless found themselves ill-prepared for the horror and despondency awaiting them inside Civil War prison camps. While they often wrote frankly of the carnage wrought by bullets smashing limbs and grapeshot tearing ragged holes through advancing lines, many soldiers described their prisoner of war experiences as a more heinous undertaking altogether.” (American Battlefield Trust) After the brutal fighting at Antietam on September 17, 1862, Wells Waite Miller of the 8th OVI headed to Harpers Ferry, Virginia with his unit where they went to rest, reinforce, and resupply. On October 29, 1862,

As I’ve been researching the life and times of Wells Waite Miller, it has become quite clear that he played a significant role in 19th-century Erie County politics and farmers associations, also serving as longtime secretary of what became the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Going through scans of Sandusky newspapers, though, revealed much more. Setting the Stage: Ohio Governor’s Race On January 8, 1900, Republican George Kilbon Nash became Ohio’s 41st governor—an election in which Wells Waite Miller had received support to become the Republican candidate. It’s interesting to see the many ways in which the two men experienced similar