Notes |
- 18 April 1910 census of Garland, Benton county, AR, found the Miller family living in dwelling #32. Robert and Dora said that they had been married 7 years and 4 of their 5 children were still living:
Robert W. Miller 30 IL IL IL Farmer
Dora N. 26 AR AR TN
Herbert J. 5 AR IL AR
Hershell J. 5 AR IL AR
Maggie C. 2 AR IL AR
Unnamed son 0/12 AR IL AR
23 Jan 1920 census of Garland, Benton County, AR, found the Miller family living in dwelling #50 on Fourth Street:
R. W. Miller 40 IL IL IN Salesman - H.W.D.
Dora 36 AR AR TN
Hurbert 14 AR IL AR Twin
Herschell 14 AR IL AR Twin
Maggie 12 AR IL AR
Dick 9 AR IL AR
Donald 7 AR IL AR
Maxine 3 AR IL AR
Ruth 1 6/12 AR IL AR
Blanche Pitts 13 IL IL AR Niece
J. D. Miller 80 IL OH IL Father, Widowed
Mildred Miller said that the John Miller and Robert Miller families all went to California together, leaving from Southwest City, MO, and traveling through Oklahoma, Kansas and eventually Oregon. They finally arrived in California in August of 1924. She said that Louoma's mother was a Callis, as was Robert Miller's wife.
26 April 1930 census of District 19, Ojai, Ventura County, CA, found the Miller family living in dwelling #344. Robert and Dora said that they were first married at ages 23 and 19 respectively. Living nearby were Dora's father, John H. Callis (76) and brothers Claude (40) and George (45) and their families:
Robert W. Miller 50 IL IL IN Operator - Service station
Dora 46 AR AR TN
Herbert 26 AR IL AR Rancher - Fruit ranch
Dick 20 AR IL AR Rancher - Fruit ranch
Donald 18 AR Il AR Gardener - Private home
Maxine 14 AR Il AR
Ruth 12 AR IL AR
R. W. 9 AR IL AR
J. K. 5 AR IL AR
8 April 1940 census of Downieville, Sierra County, CA, found the Miller family living at 106 Commercial Street. They said that they lived in Hollywood, Los Angeles County, CA, on 15 April 1935:
Hebert Miller 35 AR - Completed 4 years of high school education, Miner - Gold mines, Earned $455 in past year
Alice L. Miller 35 GA - Completed 4 years of high school education
Valerie J. Miller 4 CA
Catleen A. Miller 2 CA
Herbert Worked as a foreman for California State Highways.
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According to his brother, Robert Miller, Herbert and Lynn (Alice) were living in Texas at the time of Herbert's death, but they had been in Ojai, California, for his mother Dora and her twin sister Coras 90th birthday celebration. Herbert and Lynn were driving back to Texas and stayed the night in Clovis, New Mexico, as they couldnt make the drive in one day. Lynn woke up that next morning and said they needed to get going because they had a long way to go, but Herbert was dead in the bed. Robert said that as the family was driving to Texas for Herbert's funeral, (they drove in sister Ruths new Buick), they stopped by the hotel to make sure everything was fine and had been paid for.
Obituary -
October 1, 1973
Clovis News-Journal from Clovis, New Mexico สบ Page 2
James H, Miller
Funeral services for James Herbert Miller, 68, of Hillsboro, Tex. are pending at Steed-Todd Funeral Home. Mr. Miller was dead on arrival at Clovis Memorial Hospital Saturday night the victim of an apparent heart attack. Mr. Miller was staying over night in Clovis at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife Alice, of Hillsboro, Tex. The body will be transferred.
http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/7242675/
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THE TRIP TO CALIFORNIA (as remembered by Maxine Miller Mason and written by Margot Mason Stockstill)
On August 1, 1924, the family left Benton County, Arkansas, and headed for a ranch near Crescent City in Northern California that Robert's uncle and namesake, Robert William Miller, had given him. Mimi had only been out of Benton County once and
then only a few miles into Oklahoma.
There were 24 people and a collie named Socrates in the moving party packed into a new Maxwell, a Ford, a Buick and a Ford Truck. They were: Mimi and Robert, Herbert and Hershel, Blanche, Margaret, Don, Dick, Maxine, Ruth, Bill, JK (just 7 weeks old), Uncle John Miller (Robert's brother) and his wife Aunt Dove and their 5 girls, Mimi's brother Uncle Claude Callis, Aunt Arthula and their son Louis, Mimi's father John Hamilton Callis, who was 64 years old, and Cora Nichols, Mimi's twin.
The first stop was Grove, Oklahoma, at Mimi's brother Uncle Clark's home. Aunt Cora only went that far. Uncle Clark had a big going away party for the family. Each night while traveling they stayed in campgrounds. The women would wash clothes and the men would work on the cars and truck.
In Colorado there was an inspection stop for boll weevils so the family had to empty all their boxes. the Rocky Mountains were too big for Robert so his sons Herbert and Hershel drove. The family drove down through Oregon and reached Crescent City on Don's birthday, August 30th. The trip had taken 30 days. When they first saw the Pacific Ocean Mimi said,"I think we've come too far."
On their new ranch they lived in tents. The children had fun playing in the river but Socrates, the collie, got ahold of a dead salmon and died. They wouldn't let Grandad (John Hamilton) Callis play his fiddle for fear it would attract bears and Indians.
In September it was time for school so the family moved into town. Uncle John Miller took his family to Smith River. That winter Uncle John's youngest girl died, their house and car burned, but they stayed on in Smith River. There was a hurricane which ruined part of Crescent City. Mimi was sick all winter because the damp weather caused her to have rheumatism. Uncle Claude and Aunt Arthula left Crescent City and moved to Ojai, writing back about the warm and beautiful valley.
As soon as school was out in 1925 the Millers headed south, stopped in Suisun and leased a ranch with apricots and peaches. Mimi always said that that was one of the happiest years of her life. Robert took Hershel and Margaret to Ojai and liked it so well they decided to move down in the Fall of 1926.
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