Wells Waite Miller’s ancestors made themselves quite well known after immigrating to the colonies—and he is in fact a direct descendant of Thomas Miller, the baby whose birth was the source of all that scandal in their intimate Puritan community. (If you’ve read Great Puritan Migration and Scandal in the Colonies, you’ll see how young Thomas grew up surrounded by whispers—and perhaps boldly critical comments—about his parentage and their sin.)
Less is known about the next three generations, and here’s a quick overview of Wells’ family tree through the birth of the ancestor (Aaron Miller) who fought in the Revolutionary War.
Thomas and Elizabeth (Turner) Miller
Although little is known about this Thomas Miller (perhaps he wanted to live a quiet life, which would be understandable), we know that he married a woman named Elizabeth Turner on March 28, 1688 and they had two children—a son named Thomas and a daughter named Abigaille—before Elizabeth died on February 9, 1695.
Thomas was left with two young children, only two and a half years of age and five months old, respectively. Not surprisingly, he remarried, this time to a woman named Mary Rowell on December 25, 1696 (Puritans did not celebrate Christmas). With this wife, he had seven children: Mary, Stephen, James, Elizabeth, Eunice, Patience, and Deborah. Thomas lived until September 24, 1727, with Mary living until April 3, 1735.
Thomas and Mabel (Tyron) Miller
Continuing to trace the family line down to Wells, we once again go through a man named Thomas. This one married a woman named Mabel Tryon of Wethersfield, Connecticut on November 19, 1714 and they had five children. Mabel was probably about five years older than her husband, and they named their first children after themselves: Mabel and Thomas, and then Charles, Moses, and Aaron.
Aaron and Elizabeth (Brewer) Miller
Once again, there was a Thomas in this generation, but Wells’ direct ancestor had a different name: Aaron. He married a woman named Elizabeth Brewer on March 1, 1754 in Wethersfield when she was about 19 years old. This town (Wethersfield) is about 14 miles away from Middletown where the original Thomas had served as a founder although Thomas and Isabel might not have recognized how much Middletown had flourished since they’d arrived in the early 1650s. Middletown was now one of the wealthiest towns in Connecticut with a lucrative maritime trade.
On February 17, 1752, Aaron and Elizabeth gave birth to a son named Aaron in Wethersfield—and this Aaron came to adulthood in a tumultuous time in colonial history. So, if the generations briefly mentioned in this post did enjoy a sense of calm when compared to the family’s original immigrants, this was soon to change.
Wells Waite Miller: Exploration of His Life and Times
I’d like to share my research about Wells Waite Miller from Castalia, Ohio with you. Although I’ve written the material in the order in which I’ve found research material, I now roughly have the posts in the order in which the events occurred.
Blog posts I’ve written on the subject so far include:
- Wells Waite Miller’s America
- Thomas Miller: Ancestors in England
- Great Puritan Migration
- Scandal in the Colonies
- Calm in the Eye of the Storm (current post)
- Aaron Miller: Born Under the Drumbeats of War
- Grandparents, Parents, and Siblings
- Enfield, New York
- Ohio Bound
- Oberlin Years: Fierce Debates About Abolitionism
- Enlisting in the Civil War
- A Look at Lodowick G. Miller
- Captured: Camp Parole
- Marching Towards Gettysburg
- Picketts Charge and 43 Bonus Years
- Glory Days to Invalid Corps
- Castalia Massacre
- Calvin Caswell
- Calvin Caswell, Continued
- Obed Caswell And Walter Caswell: Story of Brothers
- Miller Family Mystery Solved?
- Miller Family Mystery Solved, Part Two
- Amos and Corinne Miller
- Oscar Schultz Kriebel, Part One
- Oscar Schultz Kriebel, Part Two
- Oscar Schultz Kriebel, Part Three
- Oscar Schultz Kriebel, Part Four
- Erie County, Ohio for Congress
- Wells Waite Miller: Republic Candidate for Ohio Governor
- Ohio Antietam Battlefield Commission
- “Speaking the Names: A Tale of Two Brothers” at Ashland University’s Black Fork Review
I invite you to become part of this journey, sharing my posts with people who enjoy reading historical biographies.
If you read this material and have additional information that’s directly tied to Miller or sets context about his life—or you’ve spotted errors—please email me at kbsagert@aol.com.