Sacramento County
Biographies
O. H. MILLER
As a factor in local material and
commercial upbuilding the Sacramento Valley
Development Association under the secretarial supervision of O. H. Miller has
wielded a permanent influence and exercised a beneficial effect. Great as
were the achievements of the pioneers in the original settlement of the
locality, it was reserved for the progressive minds of the present generation
to secure the greatest local advancement and upon the foundation of past
accomplishments to erect the superstructure of twentieth century
prosperity. Possibly few men have been more helpful in their efforts and
certainly no one has displayed more persistent application than Mr. Miller, who
as secretary of the association named and also in the capacity of a private
citizen has been instrumental in securing a betterment of conditions in the
valley.
The Miller family was identified with the
very early history of Chicago. The records show that John Miller was instrumental
in securing the incorporation of the city of Chicago during the year 1833. Afterward for years he there
engaged in extensive business enterprises. Among his children was a son,
Capt. Tobias Charles Miller, a native of Chicago and a graduate of Knox college at
Galesburg, Ill. To him came the distinction of being chosen as a
member of the first government exploring expedition sent into the west under
the auspices of the department of the interior. Although only sixteen
years of age at the time, he endured the hardships of the long trip across the
plains with uncomplaining fortitude and proved a distinct help in the
compilation of important data as well as in the blazing of a path for future
emigrants. Four times he crossed the plains with emigrant or government
expeditions, and his knowledge of the west was exhaustive.
Shortly after the opening of the Civil War
Tobias Charles Miller enlisted as a private in the Chicago Board of Trade
Battery of Flying Artillery, and for three years he served at the front with
his regiment, taking part in many notable engagements, among them the battle of
Gettysburg. As the result of a bursting shell he was seriously wounded at
Gettysburg, after which he was commissioned captain in recognition of
meritorious services. At the time of the assassination of President
Lincoln he was stationed at Nashville, Tenn., as a member of the staff of his cousin, Gen. John F.
Miller, who at the time was in charge of troops in Tennessee. At the expiration of the war he was chosen the
first United States marshal in Tennessee, with headquarters at Nashville, and
for some years continued in that office. Later he served by appointment
as United States internal revenue collector. Before he retired from
office he had become interested in the lumber business in the south. About
1882 he came to California and settled in Contra Costa county.
For many years he was one of California's foremost citizens, serving in the constitutional
convention and also as United States senator from this state. His death occurred August 13, 1898.
While living in the south Captain Miller
had married at Nashville in 1868 Miss Malona Hanks, a
native of Ohio and a very near relative of Nancy Hanks, the mother of
Abraham Lincoln. Prior to her marriage she had engaged in teaching school
for a number of years. Of her four children, the eldest, John Grant
Miller, born June 21, 1870,
is a resident of Contra Costa county and has charge of
the old homestead of one hundred and fifty acres. The youngest son, Orson
H., was born at Twinsburg, Summit county, Ohio, August 20, 1882,
and has been a resident of California
from his earliest recollections. During boyhood he attended the schools
of Clayton, Contra Costa county, and Berkeley. After starting out in the newspaper business he was connected
successively with the Berkeley Gazette, Chico Enterprise and the Marysville Appeal,
the last-named being one of the oldest newspapers in the whole state.
Since 1906 he has devoted his attention to the secretaryship
of the Sacramento Valley Development Association. In fraternal affairs he
holds membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. March 8, 1903, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Douglass of Berkeley. Two children were born of this union, Frances Ruth
on January
15, 1907, and Robert Lincoln on March 7, 1912.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis,
William L., History of Sacramento
County, California, Pages 668-669. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1913.
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.