Henry Miller of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky was the brother of Martin Miller of the same county. Both were sons of Revolutionary War soldier Jacob Miller, who died in Franklin County, Tennessee in 1832. Much more is known about Martin Miller, who left many descendants and a sizable number of written records.

Henry is much more of a mystery. Only one record before 1850 has been found that can conclusively be proven to pertain to this Henry Miller. In the probate records for his father, Jacob, there is a mention that in 1834, Henry was living in Warren County, Tennessee. Unfortunately, I have a lot of experience with Marion County and it had a massive loss of records in a 1922 fire.

There is a Henry Miller living in Franklin County in 1830, but he is only 20-29 years old.

There is also a February 1834 court record in Franklin County showing one Henry Miller being sued for debt. He requests protection under insolvency laws and a part of his declaration includes the statement that he has not sold or transferred property to avoid creditors since his imprisonment. There is no indication in the court record as to what the imprisonment was for or how long he was incarcerated. There is also no indication as to whether this record pertains to this Henry.

There many Henry Millers living in Tennessee and Kentucky by 1840, but none living near Franklin or Muhlenberg Counties. I have no idea where Henry was before 1850, except for the one mention in Warren County, Tennessee in 1834.

In 1850, Henry was settled in Muhlenberg County with wife Susannah and several children. The census taker ticked “married within the year” column for Martin D. and Adaline Miller. He was only 17, but no marriage record has been found, although they exist in this time period for Muhlenberg County. Was this a mistake? Note, too, that while Henry and Susanna say they were born in Virginia, all the younger members are enumerated with Kentucky as their place of birth.

Henry Miller had a land survey done on 17 December 1850 near Pond Creek in Muhlenberg County.

In 1860, we have yet another picture of this family. This time, Henry, Susannah, Emiline and Martin are enumerated as born in Maryland. Martin is only 24 years old in this census and Emeline is 27, so they aged 7 and 9 years, respectively, in a decade. Adaline is nowhere to be found, EXCEPT there is a marriage record for Adaline to William B. Doss on 9 September 1850 in Muhlenberg County. The 1850 census taker arrived at Henry’s home on 17 September 1850. I’m not sure why the newly married Mr. Doss isn’t in the same household as wife Adaline, but I think the census taker made a mistake and thought Martin and Adaline were married. Perhaps Adaline was visiting her family, not living there, but the census taker thought she did live there.

It seems likely that all of these children were born in Tennessee, not Maryland or Kentucky. Henry, himself, was probably born in Pennsylvania or Virginia.

Children:

i. Emeline, born 1831, Kentucky per the 1850 census, Maryland per the 1860 census and Tennessee per her marriage bond; married George A. Boothe, 8 August 1865, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky
ii. Adaline, born 28 Feb 1831, in Kentucky, per the 1850 census, but more likely in Tennessee; died 22 March 1888, Muhlenberg Co., KY; married William B. Doss, 9 September 1850, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky
iii. Martin D., born 1833, Kentucky or Tennessee; married Jane Forehand, 12 July 1863, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. I don’t know what happened to Martin Miller. There is a second man, a cousin, close to the same age, also named Martin D. Miller. He was the son of Jacob Miller and Lucinda Kittinger. That man married Eliza A. Jones. There is also a third Martin D. Miller married to Fanny Estes on 13 September 1866. This may be Henry’s son with a second marriage, but they aren’t found in 1870.
iv. Susanna, born 1836, TN; married Andrew M. Lewis, 18 February 1854, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Susan was a widow in Muhlenberg County in 1900. Their gravestone shows Andrew’s birth date as 18 January 1825 and death date as 17 May 1900 so Susan, as she was then called, was a very recent widow on 7 June 1900, census day. Susan’s date of birth on the gravestone is 17 January 1835, but no death date has been inscribed. She likely died between 1910, when she was living with her son’s family, aged 75, and 1920, probably in Muhlenberg County.
v. Mary Eva, born 1838, Tennessee or Kentucky; married John W. Lewis, 24 December 1857, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Mary apparently died sometime between 1865 and 1880, when her daughters Eliza, Mary and Susan, were living with their aunt and uncle, Andrew and Susan Lewis. John W. Lewis hasn’t been found after the 1860 census, so the girls appear to have been orphaned young.

Calling all cousins! If you are descended from Henry Miller and Susannah, through any of their children, please leave a comment.