Millers shared common roots with Oliver Cromwell, according to our great grandmother whose uncle, Oliver Miller, was named after his historical ancestor. If Cromwell had consented to become King of England, a status he was twice pressured by parliamentarians to assume, why then we descendants could now claim that royal blood flowed in these peasant veins. A letter from the old Miller farm refers to our Cromwellian connection:

"Grandpa Joseph Miller could trace his family back to Oliver Cromwell (1598-1658), so if we could fill in to 1815 when Grandpa Joe was born we'd have quite a story, eh?"

(per Irene Miller ~)

Great Great Great Grandfather Joseph Miller was 31 when he left County Londonderry, North Ireland for Canada's Huron Tract in 1846. When he emigrated he left behind our GGGG Grandparents, Joseph John Miller and Margaret [Thompson] Miller and other relatives in Lislaughmore. A pretty name for an Irish village, but there were few laughs by 1845, as the potato crops lay barren, destroyed by blight, and so Joseph and his family became part of a massive exodus to a land of hope. He brought with him his wife and family of five, his faith and family bible, and a gift of setting bones of animals or people. By 1854, the family owned 100 acres in Ellice Township, Ontario.

Like his Cromwellian ancestor, Grandpa Joseph was active in politics, even to his death, caused by a cold caught while voting in the November election of 1904. In his obituary it states:

"[he was] in all respects one of the best examples in the country of the self-made man, his postion in life being attained entirely by his own individual efforts and an honesty and integrity never impeached."

Joseph and Sarah [Henry] Miller raised 13 children, five born in Londonderry North Ireland, and eight more, including our Great Great Grandmother Sarah Braden Miller, born in Ontario.

The family's children seemed destined to wander further west. GG Grandmother Miller married a school teacher, Alexander Acheson. Then Sarah and Alexander, along with his sister Arabella and her husband John McKennit joined the train-loads of settlers heading out to the prairies of Western Canada.

Grandpa Acheson then buys a village in Manitoba. Rosefeld is part of the section of land that the family purchases, 50 miles south of Winnipeg. Grandma is no slouch either. She owns and operates the General Store of Rosenfeld, supervising farm business and enjoying some wheeling and dealing in real estate. The store was well stocked in bolts of satins, silks, damask, dotted swiss, and huge spools of velvet ribbons, braids, fringes and Amsterdam lace. Her four daughters stepped out in luxurious clothes, for Grandma would invite her dressmaking niece, Minnie Miller, to come visit and do clothes for the girls.

Grandma Acheson would end up in Winnipeg, having lost her husband, a son to the war, the store rented out and the family house sold. Taken in by her oldest daughter, she never got out of the bed after that day, and passed away a few weeks later, at least in the care of her family.

My Lineage:

• Joseph John Miller 17?? to 18??
• Joseph Miller 1815 to 1904
• Sarah Braden [Miller] Acheson 1853 to 1919
• Sarah "Sadie" Isabella [Acheson] Webber 1879 to 1953
• Winnifred Kathleen [Webber] Benedict 1911 to 2003

-- JasonBenedict - 03 Nov 2005

References

-- JasonBenedict - 17 Nov 2005

Notes:

• You are currently in the Miller web. The color code for this web is this background, so you know where you are.
• If you are not familiar with the TWiki collaboration platform, please visit WelcomeGuest first.

to top