My name is James Albert Titmas. I chose as my wife Janice Lynne Kistler, born 22 March 1942. Together we had three children. Kevin Scott, born 15 December 1965, Kurt Stephen, born 13 Oct 1967 and Kimberly Susan Titmas, born 16 Oct 1972. Lynne's father was John Kistler who's family came to America from Switzerland and settled in Kistler Valley, Pennsylvania before James A. Titmas the Revolutionary war, arriving on the ship J. Lynne Kistler Bellinder Townshead in Philadelphia in October of 1737. Five sons of the immigrant Johannes Kistler and his wife Anna Dorthea served in that war, but not the oldest son John, who had passed away in 1772. The family line is Johannes(1), John(2), Abraham(3), John W.(4), John B(5), Walker M(6) and then John(7), Lynne's father. Lynne's mother was Zelda Grace Jones. Grace was the daughter of Estelle Swarington and Jowelle E. Jones of Wilkerson County, Georgia. That family line is Nathan Jones who passed away in Halifax County, North Carolina in 1808 (1), Allen (2), Kilby(3), Wile y B(4) and Jowelle E(5).
    II was born in Lynnwood, California on November, 1937, the youngest of four children of William Gary Titmas (Dec. 1908- Aug. 1987) and Clara May Black. The family returned to Ohio shortly after I was born in the family home at 3180 Redwood Avenue in what is now Los Angeles. My sister Elizabeth (Betty) Ann Titmas was born on 18 January 1931. William Jr. (Billy) was born on 12 September 1934 and  William Gary Titmas passed away on 24 April 1935. My older Clara May Black Brother, John Edward Titmas, was born on 24 December 1935. My mother, Clara May Black (Titmas) (Alexander), was the former president of the Bath Township Historical Society. She lived from August of 1909 until December of 1991.
    I remember visiting my mother's father, James W. Black, at his home on Grand Avenue in Akron, Ohio. On the generous porch was a potted century cactus, a cutting of which has grown to an old plant that I now have. At a time late at night for a five-year-old, Grandpa would call our house to report the cactus was going to bloom that night.
    At this tender age I would walk, half running, the three blocks to his home to marvel at the huge and complex snow-white bloom. That bloom would last only a few hours. He would smoke his pipe with its sweet smell of Captain Black's tobacco and we would sit quietly and marvel at that magnificent and short-lived blossom. My grandfather, James William Black, was born in 1885 and passed away in 1951. Always even tempered, gentle in manner, he has grown to be my absolute image of what a grandfather should be. When the hour was not so late, we would play chess or I would listen to stories of his research into the family ancestry.
    My favorite was Captain Abraham Miller, a soldier of the War of Revolution, who lived in a wilderness frontier log cabin he had built beyond what was then the western boundary of the United States, in James William Black what is now Bath, Ohio. This history of the family will go back to him after tracing the pedigree of my mother's family.
    My mother's mother was Ida Mae Herberich , 1886 - 1957. Ida was born in the United States. She was quiet and supportive but was not always keen on the weeding chores, the abrupt confrontation with small wild creatures, and the tasks needed to tend the victory garden my grandfather had on Yellow Creek Road in Bath Township, where I now live. Her special treat for the grandchildren was to bake a cinnamon kuchen, a sort of pizza made with sugar, cinnamon, and raisins. My grandmother followed the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy which as a youngster I did not understand, given my Anglican upbringing. In later years I came to appreciate more the intellectual nature of Christian Science and the comfort she obtained through the visitations of readers. Ida Mae Herberich
    Ida's mother, Lena (Lina) Fuchs, 1860 - 1916, and father, David M. Herberich, 1847 - 1923, had immigrated to the United States from Kaub, Germany. Kaub is on the East side of the Rhine River just downstream from Wiesbaden. The family arrived in New York from Amsterdam on the ship Stella on September 30, 1882.
    My mother's father, James W. Black, was the only child of William Lion (Lyon) Black and Ida May Miller of Bath, Ohio. William Lion Black was born in 1860 and passed away in 1916, so I never knew him. Ida M. Miller was born in 1864 and passed away in 1945. She was a remarkable person known to my generation as "Big Gramma," a title probably invented by my sister Betty to tell Big Gramma apart from my Grandmother Black, Ida M. Herberich, who was actually of fuller frame than Great
    William Lyon Black Grandmother Black. Big Gramma Black was small in stature and rather slim. She loved huge puzzles and always had one on a card table in her upstairs apartment above the apartment of my uncle and aunt, Fred and Alice Evelyn (Sue) Schaal. Her apartment was close enough to my grade school that my cousin, Dr. Stephen (Rick) Schaal, and I would go there for lunch and to rest a few Ida May Miller minutes before charging back to school. I now envision Big Gramma as every bit a princess, and only in the last few years of carrying on my grandfather's family research have I come to understand how close that was to the mark.
    After Ida May Miller and William Lion Black were married, they lived from 1883 to 1888 on the farm of her father, Ralsamond Camma Spencer Miller. The farm was about a mile and a half west of Ghent in Bath Township, Ohio. William worked as a carpenter and cabinet maker, and his tools are now divided between my son, Kevin Scott Titmas, and my older brother's son, Mark Edward Titmas. Ralsamond C.S. Miller lived from 1838 until 1897 and had a grist mill at Granger and Hametown Roads in Bath.
    Ralsamond married Sarah Hershey in 1858. Sarah was born in 1832 and passed away in 1898. The Hersheys were of Swiss stock and arrived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, before the revolution. Sarah's ancestor, Christian Hershey, served his new nation in that war. Sarah Hershey R. C. Spencer Miller
    The parents of Ralsamond C.S. Miller were William Harvey Miller and Louisa Electa Crosby. The latter is the L.E.M. that appears as a monogram on the delicate silverware that has been passed down through the generations, only a few pieces of which remain. Louisa Electa Crosby was the cousin of the blind hymnest Fannie Crosby, whose hymns are  still sung in the Pilgrim Church. Louisa's mother was Polly A. Spencer, whose family lineage dates back in English history to the Norman Conquest and includes the common ancestors of Sir Winston Churchill and Princess Diana Spencer as well as quite a few United States Presidents. Polly's father was Abaja Spencer of Canandagua, New York, and his father was Samuel Crosby, of Bristol Township, the son of Samuel Crosby, "the fifier," of the Dutchess County Militia, New York. The lineage of that Samuel Crosby can be traced to other United States Presidents, to several signatories of the Magna Carta, to many
    Louisa Electa Crosby of the English royal families including the Plantagenets, and even to Charlemagne. William Harvey Miller, 1817 to 1865, was the son of Morris P. Miller and Hettie B. Looker.
    William married Louisa Electa Crosby when she was 14 years old. William Harvey Miller was born in New York state and raised in Bath Township.They moved around, living on Liberty Hill in Granger Township, then in Bath, and then on Smith Road and Buttermilk Road, and then on Harris Hill in Bath. They then moved to Copley and finally to Akron, Ohio. Louisa was born in 1822 and William H. Miller passed away in 1913.
    Morris Pilgrim Miller was born September 10, 1793, and prior to moving to Ohio in 1818 lived in Ontario County, New York. One picture remains of Morris P. Miller, from the genealogical records of Ed Stein, who married the granddaughter of Lena Fryman. Virginia Martin, a Miller family historian, stated that she thought the picture of Morris shows strong Native American features. According to Virginia the mother of Morris may have been a Native American. That story has persisted down through family and local lore and was even reported to me by my stepfather, Clair Alexander. Morris and Hettie Brown Looker were married in Tompkins County, NY. No record has been found of her marriage to Morris because Tompkins County, NY records are elusive due to the constant reorganizations of that county that have added, Morris Pilgrim Miller deleted and split townships several times.
    According to the local historical society, we need to identify the actual township of Tompkins County where they lived. Lodi Township, now in Seneca County, is the most probable locale for that temporary home. Lodi was in Tompkins County for two years between April 1817 and April 1819.
    Hettie was born in 1795 in Newark, New Jersey. When she was 14 months old, Hettie and her parents moved to Tompkins County, NY.New York records list the family name as Looker and sometimes as McLooker.
    Perrins History of Summit County places the Morris P. Miller family first in Northampton Township, then Portage County, original lots 14 or 15, where he is listed in the census and tax records for 1820. The census lists a Morris P. Miller family with heads of household between 26 and 45 years of age, and three boys under 10 years of age. The 1820 census also lists the arrival of the family of William Looker in Northampton.
    The heads of the Looker household were parents over 45 years of age with three teenage daughters living at home. The name Looker is very rare, and the records of Essex and Union County, New Jersey, list the Looker family as descendants of Henry Looker, the Brewer of Sudbury, Massachusetts, whose son, William Sr., moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey, before 1676. The Presbyterian Church of Westfield and Elizabeth, New Jersey, founded by William and John Miller (an ancestor candidate for Captain Abraham), was built on property originally purchased from William Looker in the early 1700's. Elders of that church later included Stephen Brown and his wife. Census and property records then show both the Morris Miller and William Looker families moved to Bath Township sometime before 1830. The suggestion is that the members of this Looker family were the in-laws of Morris Miller.
    According to the James W. Black research, when Morris Miller first moved to Ohio, his family lived with the Turner family on original lot 1 (extreme NW corner), Copley Township, and then cleared their own road, farm, and homestead in Bath Township 1-1/2 miles west of Ghent. After 1820 land taxes and plats place Morris Miller on original lot 78 of Bath Township. This land is at the intersection of Granger and Hametown Roads, which remained a Miller farm and home well into the twentieth century.
    According to the William Black research Morris first came to live on the Turner property on what is now State Route 18, immediately south of Stoney Hill, original lot 98, Bath Township, or the actual property to which Captain Abraham Miller had title, and adjacent to the property of one Elisha Miller from Hartford, Connecticut, and no known relation. That Turner property is still in the hands of the Miller family, that of W. Garth Miller, a descendant of Morris.
    The first information on the Miller family was provided by the recollections of Lena Fryman, who passed away in 1937 at the age of 76. The line of Lena is Captain Abraham Miller (1), Morris Pilgrim (2), Harriet (Miller) Hubbard (3), and Lena (Hubbard) Fryman (4). Lena gave the available details to James W. Black in 1936. She listed the children of Abraham as Morris Pilgrim Miller, Isaac Miller, John Miller, Moses C. Miller (who married Anna Compton), Sally (who married Reuben Compton and later married Robert McMillan), and Aaron (Pilgrim?) Miller. No order of birth or town of birth was known at that time, nor were the names of the wives of all of Abraham's children, nor the name of their mother. Captain Abraham Miller first shows up locally in the chronicles of Jonathan Hale of Hale Homestead that are preserved and stored in the archives of the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland.
    When Jonathan arrived in the Cuyahoga Valley to original lot 11 in 1810, he found the land already cleared, a crop in the field, and a cabin built. It was occupied by a Captain Abraham Miller.
    A sketch of the Miller cabin was done by Albert Rugar, the son-in-law of O.W. Hale, based on the recollections of James Hale, who lived in the cabin as a child, and probably reflects a state of development somewhat beyond the property as it existed in 1810. The sketch was published in     The Jonathan hale Farm, by John J. Horton, published by "The Western Reserve Historical Society," 1990. The cabin shown on the extreme right is believed to be that of Aaron Miller, but that cabin was actually a quarter mile distant. After Aaron moved to Boston Township his cabin became the first school in Bath, a.k.a. Hammondsburgh. A Ms. Hammond was the first teacher. The Abraham Miller cabin was the object of an archeological excavation that was done by Dr. David Brose in 1972, through a grant to the Western Reserve Historical Society. The Hale Homestead has now rebuilt a period cabin close to the site of the cabin of Captain Abraham Miller.
    It was an Aaron Miller, his wife and his young son whom, according to the published Historical Reminiscences of General L. V. Bierce, Jonathan Hale had met on the trail from Connecticut. Jonathan stated he was going to Town 3, Range 12. Aaron was quoted as telling Jonathan that "when you get there you will walk right up to my doorstep." In fact, Jonathan walked up to the front door of Captain Abraham Miller on Range 11, and Jonathan noted in his chronicles that Aaron's cabin (already built in 1810) was on land on the hill to the north on range 10 in Bath.
    The Northampton location for the first Morris Miller farm happens to be on the west side of the Cuyahoga River adjacent to the original lot 10, which was the property of an Aaron Miller. There remains a reasonable possibility the Aaron on Lot 10 was the brother and not the son of Abraham as reported in the Hale Chronicles. Morris was on property to which he had legal title. Some accounts list the Aaron on Lot 10 of Bath Township as a squatter, which has not been verified. An Aaron Miller also had property in Boston Township, almost certainly the son of Captain Abraham. The Aaron Miller that we are sure was the son of Captain Abraham and the brother of Morris later had property in Portage Township (now Akron) when he passed away in 1823. In the next chapter on the Miller roots in New York there was an Aaron Miller of the same generation as Captain Abraham Miller, very closely associated with the family.
    Perrins Summit County History also places Captain Abraham and a Samuel Miller of Boston Township in the Cuyahoga valley sometime prior to 1810. Verbally, James W. Black stated that Abraham's first visit may have been as early as 1796. Nina Stanton, a Cuyahoga valley historian living in Peninsula, who's family was one of the very first to come to the Cuyahoga Valley, believes the date was closer to 1803. The United States did not have undisputed rights to the lands west of the Cuyahoga River until 1817.
    Jonathan Hale said in his letters that this Aaron was a brother of Captain Abraham, which is only a possibility. An Aaron Miller was a contemporary of Morris Pilgrim in founding the Presbyterian Church in Lower Smiths Clove in Monroe Township, Orange County, New York, at a time too early for that Aaron to be Captain Abraham's son. There was also an Ensign Aaron Miller in the Orange County Militia at the same time Abraham was a Lieutenant in that regiment. That would imply Aaron may have been a younger brother.
    The moniker of "squatter" is used for one who, with intent, locates and occupies a property known by him not to be his property. A squatter would have no title to that or any other land in the vicinity. We do not know if that was the case with Captain Abraham Miller or Aaron Miller. At that time conflicting claims to territories and lands were everywhere, even extending to the actual boundaries of nations. Given the time and circumstances, and the amicable relationship among Abraham Miller and Jonathan Hale, the term may not apply to this situation. It would appear that both Jonathan and Abraham must have believed there was never an intent on Abraham's part to possess Jonathan's property. There were no challenges or bodily threats, no life and death confrontation. Jonathan had a clear deed. Abraham apparently did have a claim to property on lots 99 and 98, Bath Township, and he may or may not have been on Lot 11 as a mistake.
    In Medina and Portage Counties of the 1800's, a township was usually five miles by five miles. Each square mile was divided into half-mile squares of 160 acres each. Each of these were divided into quarter sections of 40 acres. The original township lots (each a half-mile square) in the Western Reserve were numbered one to one hundred, sometimes. Northampton and Portage were irregular townships. Several townships such as Stow and Portage had area exclusions for special purposes, such as the city of Cuyahoga Falls or Akron City. What is peculiar is that each township started the numbering at a different corner and increased in number in different directions. Bath began number one at the northwest corner, thence east, and Hudson at the southwest corner, thence east. Boston began at the Northeast corner, thence south. Depending on exactly where the numbering starts, where one belonged would change. If Bath Township numbering had started at the northwest corner and thence south, what is now lot 99 would have been labeled lot 11. Considering the short time period of the original survey mapping, the arbitrary selection of the numbering origin and direction, and the probable date of arrival in Bath Township of Abraham and Aaron Miller, it would have been easy to make a mistake. Part of Lot 99 was the property of Elisha Miller and part of Lot 99 and lot 98 the property of Abraham Miller. That portion of Lot 99 was willed by Mary Miller to her daughter Sally. These lots are located at the intersection of Hametown Road and State Route 18; actually Hametown Road passes through the southeast quarter of lot 98.
    Both Abraham and the possible brother Aaron Miller may have even lived there before lands west of the Cuyahoga River were part of the United States. Captain Abraham and an Aaron leave Orange County New York, but only Abraham's children appear in land records stopping in Lodi in what would be Tompkins County, New York. Abraham himself gives a clue about his status. In the Jonathan Hale chronicles, when Jonathan Hale arrived at the Miller cabin he asked Abraham if he could put his animals in the pasture. Abraham replied "The whole world is before you." I definite "why not" attitude, which reflects both Abraham's character and even his concept of property. Abraham's location, being a mistake or not, being referred to as a "squatter" may not have meant much to Abraham Miller. The answer Abraham gave must have impressed Jonathan enough to mention it in the chronicles. It may also have been just a matter of convenience as James Black told me he understood the field was already cleared when Abraham arrived in the Cuyahoga Valley.
    A review of Ohio history is of interest. In 1785 the Fort McIntosh treaty set the western boundary of the united states as the Cuyahoga River. That treaty was stated again in 1789. This same boundary was once the western boundary of the lands of the Iroquois nations after the genocide of the Erie Indians that had lived here. The Cuyahoga River to Portage Path to Tuscarawas River was the principal Indian trail through Ohio from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. To the west were the lands of the Indians who were headed by the Indian chief Pontiac and included remnants of the Delaware tribe with whom the Lenape were a part. Mary, the wife of Abraham, probably belonged to the Lenape family of tribes. The Delaware and the Iroquois were enemies from ancient times. The Iroquois, who were hunter - gatherers, felt contempt for the Lenape use of farming and agriculture. As Captain Abraham had a wife of Lenape descent, he could not live on lands claimed by the Iroquois and stay alive. That might explain why he was on the west side of the river.
    That boundary persisted through the six years of Indian wars, and in 1796 with the treaty at Greenville the Cuyahoga River and the Portage Path Western boundary was again accepted. The surveyors from the Connecticut land company first arrived at the mouth of the Cuyahoga in July of 1796 and began laying out the lands in Cleveland and to the east of the Cuyahoga. It would not be until 1811 and the battle of Tippecanoe that the lands in Ohio west of the Cuyahoga and Portage Path started to be absorbed by the United States. Many Indians with claims to the lands west of the Cuyahoga sided with the British in the War of 1812, which was hotly contested in north western Ohio. It was not until 1817 that clear title to lands west of the Cuyahoga became universally accepted. Nina Stanford, a descendant of the first white settler in Boston Township, believes Abraham and an Aaron Miller came to the valley in 1803. Jonathan Hale, Captain Abraham and the Aaron Miller(s?) had actually purchased their lands in Medina County before it was universally accepted as being part of the United States. Such an "occupy first - legitimize second" approach appears to be a common denominator in the whole history of the Americas, both native and European.
    Captain Abraham Miller consistently moved west as was the custom, going first with the family following afterward. He apparently had no love for densely populated areas nor any strong church affiliation. That may have been influenced by his being married to a native American which may not have been accepted in most white family circles. He was obviously very proud of his military rank as in virtually every reference he is listed as Captain Abraham Miller, as if it were all one word. He was literate and obviously much respected to be asked to chair organizational meetings for townships. He had no problem with the native American way of adopting or caring for the ill even at very great inconvenience for the occupants of a one room cabin. It was also the Lenape custom that the "farm" was run by and was the "property" of the mother, but nobody owned the land itself, per se. If we accept the report of Nina Stanton, which is consistent with family stories, Captain Abraham settled on an already cleared Native American plot before the surveyors arrived in Ohio. It was in a territory that was claimed by Native Americans. Abraham's nature may best summed up as in his response to Jonathan Hale when Jonathan asked if he could put his animals in Captain Abraham's pasture, and Abraham responded "the whole world is before you", meaning "be my guest". Ironically it actually was Jonathon Hale's pasture. Being called a "squatter" may not have bothered Abraham that much, and he may not have even looked on the situation in that way. Captain Abraham was compensated for the improvements he made, and he moved on. One family story says he "abandoned" the family in 1812. If we knew what happened to him, his intent would be better understood.
    Despite all the possible confusion, the Captain Abraham Miller family took Jonathan Hale in as Jonathan had become seriously ill, not being used to the notorious cold and wetness of northern Summit County. Were it not for a caring Miller family, a cabin, and an established crop in the field, Jonathan Hale might not have survived.
    The ledgers of Jonathan Hale, located by Melissa Arnold, then a Hale Homestead researcher, show that Jonathan and Captain Abraham settled the accounts over the cabin and land clearing and the many services with the payment by Jonathan to Captain Abraham of a "Wagon and Team of horses," a very valuable commodity on the frontier. Jonathan also cited "The Golden Rule" in his own justification for compensating Abraham in the letters Jonathan wrote home to his wife. Every item of barter, down to a board or a piece of cloth, was recorded, amounting to only a few cents. There was very little money in circulation -- actually there was an acute shortage of currency -- which resulted in this type of barter.
    Jonathan lived with Captain Abraham Miller until the arrival of Jonathan's wife in December of 1810. Captain Abraham then went to live at least for a short time in Boston Township, as we find Captain Abraham Miller chairing the first organizational meeting of Boston Township in February of 1811. At that meeting an Aaron Miller was elected as one of the first trustees of Boston Township.
    That Aaron Miller was probably the son of Captain Abraham. If Aaron the brother of Captain Abraham lived on Lot 10 in Bath, he would not be eligible to hold office in Boston Township.
    `The ledgers of Jonathan Hale show that Jonathan and Aaron, and continued to do business with each other for several years. A typical entry shows that Aaron made a set of shoes for the Hales and Jonathan provided a coat for his wife and a smaller coat for "Charity" in September 1811. Aaron, the son of Captain Abraham, was a tanner by trade and a shoemaker, as were the Point family in-laws that came to live in the area.
    There is no Charity Miller in the known family records for Aaron the son of Captain Abraham, but children's deaths were not uncommon. Charity is believed to be the name of the mother of Daniel, John Lewis, Captain Abraham and Aaron Miller. Charity, the mother, may have been living with her youngest son. There is a will for a Charity Miller, listed under estate records, case 6378, but it had no known relation to Aaron the son, the brother, or to the known family, and Miller would probably be her married name. There is another mystery in the listing of a Betsy Miller, the wife of an Aaron Miller. That might be a family name for Sophia, or maybe a reference to a wife of Aaron the brother of Captain Abraham.
    Jonathan Hale, in his chronicles, stated that he thought Aaron was Abraham's brother. Jonathan lived with Abraham in a simple cabin for five months, so it is hard to conceive that Jonathan was wrong in that, and Aaron was their nearest neighbor to the north who had arrived at about the same time as Captain Abraham. That specific passage in the chronicles has not been located and comes to us second hand.
    Trade between Jonathan and Captain Abraham Miller continued with the last known entry on January of 1813. In March 1814, Jonathan entered under the Abraham account the note "$1.55 due, balanced to my satisfaction," which has a certain finality. That is quite a time gap, and it must be assumed that over a year passed between Abraham's departure and the arrival of some word that he had passed on.
    Captain Abraham Miller might have moved west. In 1813 Major George Crogan encamped at Old Portage. Crogan next stopped at a farm at the intersection of Smith Road and Ghent Road in Bath. Nearby there is a monument to his campaign at Crogan Park at the intersection of Sand Run Parkway and Miller Road in Fairlawn, Ohio. Major George Crogan and his small army then marched due west along Smith Road, which becomes Medina Road and now State Route 18. The procession of this army marching to Fort Stephenson (now Fremont, Ohio) would have passed directly in front of the cabin of Captain Abraham Miller at the corner of Hametown Road and Route 18. The fife and drums may have tempted Abraham to join the ranks, but the list of officers and men that participated in the dramatic and critical defense of Fort Stephenson does not list a Captain Abraham Miller.
    Virginia Martin reported that in the tax records of Medina County, 1813 was the last year Abraham paid taxes on the Bath Township property of Mary Miller. That reference, and the naming of Morris Pilgrim Miller after Captain Morris Pilgrim of Monroe, New York, (Abraham's first company commander) were the only documented references until November, 2000 that supported the supposition that Captain Abraham Miller as the sire of our Bath Miller family. Since that date, research by Jane E. Wood, the Seneca Falls, New York, historian has identified three deeds of record in Goshen in Orange County, New york, for Abraham Miller and his wife Mary. These include a transfer of property in 1802 to George Fowler, deeds H-397 and H-399, and a transfer to Samuel Lewis in 1805, J-114.
    The will of Mary Miller of Bath (then Medina County) dated 18 April 1831 states, "to children Isaac Miller, Morris Miller, Moses C. Miller, and Sally Compton". Sally married Robert McMillan in 1834, Virginia Martin quotes her first husband as Reuben Compton. The will is witnessed by Anson Miller, the son of Elisha Miller, their neighbor. At this time Aaron Miller and John Lewis Miller had already passed away (there is a will for an Aaron Miller of Portage Township, now Akron, dated 1823 the time of the great Typhoid epidemic). The will of Mary Miller includes one cow and household goods for Sophia, (the widow of Aaron the son). Sophia was born to the Point family, closely associated with the Millers of Orange County New York, and Sophia's brother was an early settler in Sharon Township, Ohio. It was reported by Virginia Martin that Mary's will was contested, and her family is of the Aaron Miller line. No record of that contesting has been found as yet. After Aaron (the son) died, Sophia married Alexander Metlin in October of 1823
    The research here in Summit County continues with the help of the will of Sally McMillan, daughter of Abraham, Summit County Will Book 1, will 10, page 33, dated 18 November 1839. Sally wills 50 acres of lot 98 Bath Township "willed to her by her mother Mary Miller." That Mary was therefore, most probably the wife of Captain Abraham Miller. The coffin Aaron purchased in 1812 might have been for Reuben Compton, who was the first husband of Sally Miller; however, Sally still went by the name Compton in 1831 at the time of her mother's death. It is not known if that Compton was related in any way to Anna Compton, the wife of Moses C. Miller Brother/sister-- sister/brother 1839 Tin Plate believed to be Sally Miller marriages were not unknown. There were three Compton families in Monroe Township, Orange County, in 1800: William, Jacob, and Vincent Compton. There is a "public" burial ground at the juncture of Bath original lots 98 and 99, which is referred to as the Miller Stoney Hill Cemetery, that was relocated in 1938 to widen State Route 18 to four lanes. In this we do find a Robert McMillan, who died in February 1844 at the age of 48 years, the husband of Sally, as named in her will dated 1839. Robert McMillan was Sally's second husband with a marriage date of July 10, 1834, Vol A, pg 111 Medina County Records. The original layout of this cemetery has been requested from the Ohio Department of Transportation and may yield clues by the original association of the original grave sites. This cemetery has the highest probability for the resting place of Sally, as well as her first husband and her mother Mary Miller.
    The linkage, if any, may still be revealed by further research on the Miller families of this analysis and that of Lewis Miller of Akron. Lewis was the father of Mina Miller, who married Thomas Edison in Akron. Several of the descendants of Morris P. Miller attended that wedding with the grandparents (Jasper and his wife, a Sweet [4]) of Florence Coveyou, and the letters to James Black from Florence Coveyou (Jay [5], Jasper [4], John [3], Morris [2], Abraham [1]) indicated the Millers were "close relatives." Only a partial list of the wedding guests appears in the local newspapers at the time. Lewis Miller's wife was an Alexander, who may have been the Miller family tie to Mina Edison, and it was Mina's mother through whom Mina established her D.A.R. membership. She made no claim for D.A.R. membership through her father's Miller lineage. Lewis Miller recorded his Miller roots as being of German origin.
    Lena Fryman believed that John Lewis Miller had no heirs and died as a young man. Virginia Martin had information that he died in New York. No trail of a will or burial has been found for John. The records of Monroe Township, Orange County, New York include the name of a John Lewis that married a Mary Pilgrim (the daughter of Morris Pilgrim), but this may just be coincidence. The given family name selection of the Millers of Long Island and Scotch Plains, New Jersey, typically includes John, Lewis, Aaron, William, Harvey, Moses, and Daniel. Both Daniel's and Abraham's descendants selected the name John Lewis (Miller) for their children. This particular combination of first and middle names is fairly unique to the family line. The research from Seneca Falls, New York does list the death of a 23 year old farm hand named John Miller, but no specific date and no middle name.
    The will of an Aaron Miller, E 1823 (E for Estate, with the year of death), PO (Portage County), lists debts owed to his estate from Isaac and Morris Miller as well as a Marvin Richardson, his son-in-law, but does not identify whether Isaac and Morris are brothers or nephews. The will record is case 38, ad1, p19. Aaron died in or just before 1823, which was the time of the great epidemic. Virginia Martin reported Aaron died young. The census of 1820 places an Aaron in Portage Township, Portage County, which is now Akron, Ohio, in Summit County. That census of 1820 lists a non-white female over 45 years as living in Portage Township, Portage County, with the family listed as headed by Aaron (P) Miller. That was probably Mary Miller. Confidence is high that this Aaron was certainly Aaron the brother of Morris. Aaron (P?) Miller's wife was Sophia (Betsy?) Point. The known children were named Morris, Moses, Betsy, and Phoebe. According to Virginia Martin the birthdate for Aaron, the brother of Captain Abraham, was between 1778 and 1783, making Aaron the eldest son.
    The estate records, case 418, of Moses C. Miller place his death in July 1850. There are two other Moses Millers in what would become Summit County (Summit County was organized in March 1840), one in Hudson and one in Norton. The Hudson Moses lists heirs of Charles, Emily, and Ransley. The Norton Moses lists no known heirs, nor are they witnessed by known family names or associations. In passing it might be that the "C" middle initial for Moses could stand for "Clinton" in honor of the governor of New York about the time of the birth of Moses. The son of Morris Pilgrim Miller was named Morris Clinton Miller. Moses and his wife, Ann (sometimes Anna), are buried at Moore's Chapel Cemetery, Bath Township, which gave the age of Moses as 53 years, placing his date of birth in 1797, probably the youngest of the family of Captain Abraham Miller.
    The will and estate record of Moses C. Miller of Bath Township, Summit County is difficult to read but does identify his wife Ann(a). The will and estate record of Anna (Case 631 - year 1854), Bath Township, Summit County, lists her sons Luther, Levi and Isaac as well as her daughters Adeline and Caroline Furguson as well as Jim Furguson, who are all accounted for in family records. It also contains a few surprises as it appears to name an older son Hison or Hiram who is to take care of an inheritance "until his younger brother Luther attains the age of twenty one years." (A will for a Hiram Miller of the right age has been located in Medina county records).
    The will of Anna, wife of Moses also names three granddaughters, "Charlotte A. Hale, Martha D. Hale, and Mary E. Hale one dollar each." Charlotte Hale later married a Sam Shaw and then Lyman Doolittle. Charlotte Doolittle was a well known early pioneer, the daughter of Stoten Hale and Lydia Allen from Bristol township, Ontario County, New York. Charlotte and her sisters were orphaned at an early age. Lydia Allen was also the name of the wife of Samuel Crosby listed in the will of Samuel of Bristol, Ontario County. Charlotte's father was a veteran of the war of 1812, and no known relation of Jonathan Hale. The will of Ann(a) also lists a receipt dated May 10, 1856 for the needs of Peter Miller, administrator of the estate of Ann Miller, signed by V. Compton, Guardian. This Compton may be a brother or close family relative as Compton was the maiden name of Ann, the wife of Moses. It may also link with the David and Vincent Compton of Orange County, Monroe Township, NY. The Peter Miller is not a known relative, but he was also the administrator for the will and estate of Moses.
    Except for his place of birth and town and exact date of marriage, specific records are available forMorris Pilgrim Miller, born September 1795 and died 1856. Morris was probably born in Monroe Township, Orange County, New York and died in Bath Township, Ohio. Hettie was born in 1795 in Newark, NJ, and died in Bath in 1875. They were married in Tompkins County New York circa 1815. In the will of Morris P. Miller he mentions his wife, his sons John Lewis Miller, Moses Clinton Miller, and Aaron Miller, and his daughters Sharlott, Harriet, and Laura. It is interesting to note that this will was written in 1848 and witnessed by Joshua and Thomas Piersons of Calaveras County, California. The Pierson and Miller family associations begin in Lynn Massachusetts, then to Long Island, then New Jersey and then New York, and then to Ghent, Ohio in Bath Township.
    The will of Isaac H. Miller of Bath is listed as 1871, case 3511, and at the time of death he lists a wife Ann(a), but the text is barely legible. The first wife of Isaac Miller was believed to be Polly Hurley. There is an Isaac Miller buried at Reid Hill Cemetery on Granger Road, Granger Township, not far from the Morris Pilgrim Miller homestead. That grave was reported to be the grave of Isaac, the son of Moses C Miller, but it states the age as 87 years, making that Isaac the son of Abraham and Mary. With that Isaac are the graves of Adeloid Miller, 1839 - 1860, and a daughter Dora, 1860 - 1860. Isaac H. Miller lived to be 87 years of age, making his date of birth 1784, probably the second eldest of the children of Captain Abraham and Mary Miller. The probability exists that the "H" stands for Helm, the maiden name of Abraham's mother. The "H" may also stand for "Hawthorn," the commanding general of Abraham's Revolutionary War army unit. The "H" could also stand for Harvey, the known middle name selected for William H. Miller of our line, the son of Morris Pilgrim Miller.
    No grave for Isaac Miller, the son of Mosses C Miller has been located. To date, no burial location has been found for Abraham or his wife Mary, Aaron or a wife Betsy, Aaron or his wife Sophia Point, daughter of Henry Point the shoemaker, Samuel Miller or his wife Sally (Ozman), or Sally Miller and her first husband Reuben Compton. The very first cemeteries in the area were organized in Hudson (1808) by the college, in Middlebury in Akron (1815), and in Kent. In all of those locations no trace has been found of the early Millers in Ohio. Summit County cemetery records include a statement "does not include the grave markers from Miller's Corners." Millers Corners was in Boston Township, but no family graveyard has been found.
    There was an old cemetery located where the old Buchtel College was built, known as the Spicer Cemetery, of Akron Ohio, which would be a candidate location for Aaron, but the grave relocation records to Glendale Cemetery do not list an Aaron Miller. It was reported the workmen refused to relocate the graves of those who died at the time of the great epidemic. There is one older burial ground in Hudson that has no records or stones. Neither the old burial grounds at Botzum (War of 1812 veterans) or Everett (Hale Homestead) have any of these names, although several of Aaron's descendents are at Everett cemetery, as are the Richardsons as well as those members of the Point family that came to Bath from Monroe New York. Burial records or stones, if still legible, would have a date of birth or age and date of death, which information is lacking.
    Many of the descendents of Captain Abraham Miller did move west to places like Indiana, Illinois and Nebraska, to Colorado and California. Perhaps Captain Abraham is with them.