[NOTE: If you are interested in the Lutheran Camps at Shawnee on the Delaware, Pennsylvania, you may also find this bio of Peter P. Hagan of interest. If you are interested in a bit of Indian culture at Camp Miller, you might like this memorial for Chief Bearheart.]
As a child, I attended Camp Hagan for girls at Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania. The parallel Lutheran camp for boys was Camp Miller, which my father attended as a boy. Both camps were victims (along with another sister camp, Camp Ministerium) of the eminent-domain land buyout by the federal government to make way for the Tocks Island Dam project. Thousands of acres of farmland, woods, old homesteads and historic places were purchased and levelled to be left underwater in this project, which ultimately never happened but still resulted in much devastation.
Anyway, I wondered how Camp Miller got its name, and tracked down the honored gent. To try to wite a bio of this man is folly; he just did too much in his lifetime in the Lutheran church and in the banking business, but here's a selection of info about E. Clarence Miller. (His first name was Elmer, but he used just the initial.)
His bio from the church written in the 1920's states:
"E. CLARENCE MILLER, LL.D., was born in Philadelphia, Pa., March 22, 1867, son of J. Washington Miller (Director of the Seminary, 1889-1900), and his wife, Mary Ann Bremer. He graduated from the Central High School of Philadelphia (A.B.) in 1884, and entered the banking business. He is now the senior partner of Bioren & Co., Bankers, established in 1865.
In 1892 Dr. Miller married Miss Mary Wagner, of Philadelphia, and they have the following children : Doris A., E. Clarence, Jr., and Mary R. Df. Miller is President or Director of various Public Utility, Industrial and Banking Companies. He was President of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, 1907-12. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. In 1922 Muhlenberg College conferred upon him the degree of LL.D.
For thirty years Dr. Miller has been a member of the Board of Trustees of Old St. John's Church, Philadelphia. He was one of the organizers and a member of the Church Council of St. John's Church, Melrose Park. He has been a Director of the Philadelphia Seminary since 1903; was Vice-President, 1911-20; and was elected President of the Board in 1920, the first layman to hold this office. He was active in the movements which led to the formation of the United Lutheran Church in America and has been its Treasurer and a member of its Executive Board since its organization in 1918. His active interest and liberal support are constantly given to various Church and charitable causes."
The Philadelphia Inquirer archives has over 170 articles about our subject, many of them social mentions - E. Clarence Miller at the Art Club for a John Singer Sargent show, at the opera, on the board of Township Commissioners, at the Jersey shore in a fine hotel... far too much to include here. Other snapshots of his life:
January 8, 1906, Philadelphia Inquirer
Article about the Old York Road Fire Company's "millionaire club" - men with money backing 28 active firemen. E Clarence Miller is on the board of directors.
April 3, 1906, Philadelphia Inquirer
Article about Philadelphia Stock Exchange mentions E. Clarence Miller elected vice-president.
December 29, 1907, Philadelphia Inquirer
Article about Juvenile Protective Association covers the need for more funds to carry out their work. E. Clarence Miller is listed among the officers and directors of the group.
July 1, 1908, Philadelphia Inquirer
The new Bioren & Company banking and brokerage opens for business, a merger of the old Bioren & Company (founded 1865) and the E. C. Miller Company.
September 15, 1908, Philadelphia Inquirer
The executive officers of the Central YMCA move into a new million dollar building on Arch near Broad in Philadelphia. The remainder of the building for classes and other activities will be ready in lat September and early October. E. Clarence Miller is on the board of directors. Courses will include "preparation for college, law, medicine and pharmacy, a civil service school, commercial course, modern languages, music, elocution, building construction, mechanical arts and manual trades."
June 9, 1909, Philadelphia Inquirer
E. Clarence Miller sells an almost 2 acre tract of land at Beech Ave. and Old York Road. "This is a portion of the old Sharpless estate, for years famous as one of the beauty spots of this beautiful section. (New owner) Mr. Linde will at once begin the erection of a magnificent $25,000 mansion, plans for which are now being prepared."
January 25, 1910, Philadelphia Inquirer
75th anniversary (1835-1910) of Delaware Insurance Company of Philadelphia noted, John S. Bioren, president, E. Clarence Miller on board of directors.
March 19, 1911, Philadelphia Inquirer
The Old York Road Country Club's new casino is complete, and E. Clarence Miller, president, and his wife will receive members at a reception the coming Friday. (The club will be a year old the following June.)
August 27, 1911, The Philadelphia Inquirer
A social column on Ocean City, New Jersey says E. Clarence Miller plans to build a cottage there in fall.
September 14, 1911, Philadelphia Inquirer
Lutherans Plan to Raise Two Million
E. Clarence Miller proposes a 1917 jubilee to mark 400th anniversary of the Reformation, to bring church laymen together.
December 3, 1911, Philadelphia Inquirer
The ladies of the Old York Road Country Club hold "De Mock Minstrel" as a playful retort to an earlier men's minstrel show which teased and impersonated many of the ladies. Among the impersonations was "Mrs. Exchange Centerpiece Miller" for E. Clarence Miller.
February 2, 1912, Philadelphia Inquirer
Having declined nomination for another term as Philadelphia Stock Exchange president, as one of his last acts, Miller signs paperwork for a new Stock Exchange site at 1411-1419 Walnut Street, the new building planned by architect Horace E. Trumbower.
May 1, 1912, Philadelphia Inquirer
Real Estate Title and Trust Company lists assets and liabilities in display ad, and E. Clarence Miller on board of directors.
March 22, 1913, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The newspaper issues a "birthday bulletin" congratulating Miller on his birthday, and features his picture. They do the same other years as well.
May 21, 1913, Philadelphia Inquirer
Mrs. E. Clarence Miller and other ladies of Oak Lane social circles will perform a three-act Indian drama, "The Arrow Maker" at the Miller country seat on Ansley Avenue, Melrose Park. Her guests will be 150 members of the Review Club, Oak Lane. "The drama will be staged on the lawn fronting the Oaks, in a setting of remarkable old trees - with every participant costumed with rigid adherence to detail and accuracy." Among the ladies participating are "Miss Doris Miller, daughter of the hostess... (who) will portray the part of a fighting man..."
July 4, 1915, Philadelphia Inquirer
E. Clarence Miller and a party of 20 stay at the Buckwood Inn, Shawnee on Delaware. (First found reference to his being in the area where Camp Miller would be laid.)
August 24, 1916, Philadelphia Inquirer
Miller returns from a six weeks motoring trip to Lake Placid, New York.
December 20, 1916, Philadelphia Inquirer
Permits Issued Yesterday
Henry P. Schneider erection of a frame chapel, 20 by 60 feet on the northeast corner of 7th street and Wyoming avenue, for E. Clarence Miller, cost $1200. (This is believed to be a part of the 400th anniversary of the Reformation jubilee.)
May 29, 1920, Philadelphia Inquirer
Mount Airy Theological Seminary postions change with deaths, and E. Clarence Miller, a vice-president, is named also to the board of trustees.
1920
Mr. E. Clarence Miller, of Philadelphia, gave $29,000 to the Seminary to clear accumulated deficit and to purchase an additional tract of ground, 225 by 185 feet, immediately adjoining the grove. Extensive improvements
were made in the Dormitories.
The By-Laws of the Seminary were revised, the office of the Dean was abolished, and Professor Henry E. Jacobs, D.D., LL.D., was elected the first President of the Seminary. Mr. E. Clarence Miller, of Philadelphia,
was elected President of the Board of Directors, the first layman to hold this position.
October/November 1921, Philadelphia Inquirer
Several social mentions of a dance to be given November 9 at Miller's country home, the Oaks on Oak Lane for his son and daughter in law, Mr and Mrs E. Clarence Miller, Jr. Mrs. Miller was formerly Miss Lucille Johnson, daughter of Mr and Mrs Andrew Johnson of Wayne, Pennsylvania.
1922
The library of the Rev. Johann Mgebroff, of Brenham, Texas, was purchased and presented to the Seminary by Mr. E. Clarence Miller. [NOTE - Mgebroff was a Lutheran pastor, historian, and church music composer born in Nikolaev, South Russia.] This added about 1,500 volumes, rich in historic material, to the collection.
May 25, 1922, Philadelphia Inquirer
Mass meeting held for the $100,000 Lutheran Inner Mission fund at Saint Matthew's Lutheran Church, Broad and Mount Vernon Streets in Philadelphia. Mr. Miller, treasurer, is listed as a speaker, and chairman of the Campaign Committee, Peter P. Hagan will preside. (First mention of the two men together, though their living close together, active in the Lutheran church, members of Saint John's in Melrose Park, and overlapping lives made it likely they knew each other far before this. Mr. Hagan was the gent who donated the land for Camp Hagan, Camp Miller's sister camp.)
July 10, 1922, Philadelphia Inquirer
Over the years the newspaper included numerous mentions of Mrs. Miller's involvement with the Oak Lane Review Club, and now it finally reports that she and another officer will lay the cornerstone on the new clubhouse building at Seventieth avenue and Twelfth street.
July 25, 1923, from the New York Times (from larger article about ship arrivals and departures) -
"Lutheran Delegates Leaving
Five of the eight Commissioners who will represent the United Lutheran Church of America at the world congress at Eisenach in August are booked on the Red'Star Liner Lapland, sailing today for Plymouth, Cherbourg and Antwerp. The party consists of Dr. F H Knubel of New York, President of the United Lutheran Church; Dr. F. F. Fry, pastor of the Church of the Reformation, Rochester, New York; Dr. E. Clarence Miller of Philadelphia; Dr. J. A. Morehead, Executive Director of the National Lutheran Council; and Dr. A. G. Voight of South Carolina. Sessions of the world conference will be held in the famous Wartburg Castle and the Castle Church at Wartburg."
September 14, 1923 New York Times
"Ocean Travelers
The Mauretania of the Cunard Line with 1,300 passengers aboard, the majority vacationists from abroad, is due here today. (A long list of passengers from New York City, and elsewhere followed, including...) Mr. and Mrs. E. Clarence Miller, the Misses Doris and Mary Miller..." [NOTE: It was a big deal to travel on this ship, the larger sister ship to the Lusitania. Launched in fall of 1906, the Mauretania held the trans-Atlantic speed record for twenty-two years, so was still the fastest way to Europe when the Millers were on board.]
January 17, 1926 New York Times
"Staten Island Asks for Real College" - Larger financial gifts given to Wagner College are listed, among them "$1000 was contributed by E. Clarence Miller of Philadelphia, Treasurer of the United Lutheran Church in America." It is explained that while the college is non-sectarian, it was founded by Lutherans.
May 9, 1926 New York Times
"Lutherans to Build New College in East
Institution for Women Due to be Opened in Washington in Fall of 1927." - The News Bureau of the National Lutheran Church announces the plans for the new college, and lists the officers, which include Dr. E. Clarence Miller, Treasurer, of Philadelphia.
Reading Eagle, September 28, 1928 - "A million-dollar expansion program, to be completed in 1930, will be undertaken by Mount Airy Theological Seminary of the Lutheran Church. This was announced by Dr. E. Clarence Miller, president of the Board, who yesterday addressed several hundred clergymen from the ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States at the annual reunion of the Alumni in Ashmeade-Schaeffer Memorial chapel."
September 2, 1943 New York Times
"Lutherans Make Bid For Morgan's Home
45-Room House on Madison Avenue May Be National Quarters" -
The article describes how the 1852 vintage property of the late J. P. Morgan at 231 Madison Avenue may be acquired by the Lutheran Church in America. Speaking as treasurer of the ULCA, Miller is quoted as saying "No agreement of sale has been executed but we hope to see the sale consumated soon." (This is a norteworthy brownstone building, one of the few of its kind left in the city. The Lutherans got it in 1944, and it acquired by the Pierpont Morgan Library in 1988, and was designated a landmark by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965. That designation was overturned, only to be redesignated in 2002.)
November 15, 1943 New York Times
"Lutherans Honor Knubel, Miller
Hold Silver Jubilee and Found Lectureship Named for United Church Heads
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14- As a climax to the silver jubilee observance in more than 4,000 congregations thoughout the United States and Canada of the founding of the United Lutheran Church in America, dignitaries of the church assembled here this evening to honor the churchs first and only president, the Rev. Dr. Frederick H. Knubel of New York, and its first and only treasurer, E. Clarence Miller, banker, of Philadelphia.
The tribute to the harmonious team-work of these two church officials through a quarter century of service is in the form of a lectureship which will visit various theological seminaries and centers of religious life. It is known as the "Knubel-Miller Foundation" and its income will provide for presentations every second or third year by an outstanding churchman on the general theme of "A Better Church, Through a Better Ministry."
The announcement that a fund of $5,000 had been quietly raised by private invitation for this purpose in honor of these men came to them as a surprise, when the presentation was made by the secretary of the United Lutheran Church, Dr. Walton H. Greever of New York City... Dr. Knubel responded, accepting the honor for both men. Dr. Miller was not present, his physician advising him not to make the trip..."
March 4, 1944 New York Times
E. C. MILLER DEAD
LUTHERAN OFFICIAL
Treasurer of United Church Since 1918
An Investment Banker in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA, March 3 - E. Clarence Miller, investment banker and an outstanding figure in the affairs of the United Lutheran Church in America, died today at his home in suburban Jenkintown following a heart attack induced by two-weeks' illness from pneumonia. He was 76 years old.
Mr. Miller's work as a Lutheran layman won him note in Europe as well as in this country. He was the only man to serve as treasurer of the United Lutheran Church in America, having held the post since 1918, when three Lutheran groups were merged into the United Lutheran body. He had been president of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Lutheran Seminary since 1920 and a member since 1903, president of the American Sunday School Union for nineteen years and a director for thirty-two years, and a member of the American Bible Society.
Visited Germany, India
He was one of the representatives of the United Lutheran Church in America at the first convention of the world organization in 1923 at Eisenach, Germany. The following year he visited India with other representatives of the church to inspect Lutheran missions there.
President and senior partner of Bioren & Co., an investment firm with which he had been associated for nearly thirty-five years, Mr. Miller was a member of the New York and Philadelphia Stock Exchanges. He was president of the latter from 1907 to 1912 and held directorships in a number of industrial and utility corporations.
Mr. Miller assisted personally in the financing of many projects of the church, including Camp Miller, a boys' camp named in his honor at Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pa., and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Leningrad, established jointly by the American Lutherans and the Lutheran Church in Russia.
The Rev. Dr. Frederick H. Knubel of New York, president of the United Lutheran Church since its inception, once said of him: "Nobody could know Mr. Miller without recognizing him to be a strong Christian man possessing all of the finest qualities to be included in the word 'strong' and all of the finest qualities to be included in the word 'Christian.' He was, I believe, the finest of Lutheran laymen.
Honored by Friends
Last November when the United Lutheran Church celebrated its Silver Jubilee in a festival service in the Church of the Reformation in Washington, Mr. Miller and Dr. Knubel were joint recipients of an honor arranged privately by several hundred of their friends, when the "Knubel-Miller Foundation" was established to commemorate the work the two men had done during a quarter century for the improvement of the quality of the ministry. The trustees of the foundation arrange every second or third year a series of lectures by an outstanding churchman on the general theme of "A Better Church Through a Better Ministry."
Mr. Miller leaves a widow, Cornelia Bruegel Miller, his second wife, whom he married in 1928. His first wife died in 1927. Also surviving are three children, E. Clarence Miller Jr., connected with Bioren & Co.; Mrs. Joseph T. Beardwood and Mrs. E. M. Anderson.
A funeral service will be held on Monday at 2 P.M. in St. John's Lutheran Church at Melrose Park, the Rev. Kenneth P. Otten, pastor of the church, and Dr. Knubel participating.
As a child, I attended Camp Hagan for girls at Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania. The parallel Lutheran camp for boys was Camp Miller, which my father attended as a boy. Both camps were victims (along with another sister camp, Camp Ministerium) of the eminent-domain land buyout by the federal government to make way for the Tocks Island Dam project. Thousands of acres of farmland, woods, old homesteads and historic places were purchased and levelled to be left underwater in this project, which ultimately never happened but still resulted in much devastation.
Anyway, I wondered how Camp Miller got its name, and tracked down the honored gent. To try to wite a bio of this man is folly; he just did too much in his lifetime in the Lutheran church and in the banking business, but here's a selection of info about E. Clarence Miller. (His first name was Elmer, but he used just the initial.)
His bio from the church written in the 1920's states:
"E. CLARENCE MILLER, LL.D., was born in Philadelphia, Pa., March 22, 1867, son of J. Washington Miller (Director of the Seminary, 1889-1900), and his wife, Mary Ann Bremer. He graduated from the Central High School of Philadelphia (A.B.) in 1884, and entered the banking business. He is now the senior partner of Bioren & Co., Bankers, established in 1865.
In 1892 Dr. Miller married Miss Mary Wagner, of Philadelphia, and they have the following children : Doris A., E. Clarence, Jr., and Mary R. Df. Miller is President or Director of various Public Utility, Industrial and Banking Companies. He was President of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, 1907-12. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. In 1922 Muhlenberg College conferred upon him the degree of LL.D.
For thirty years Dr. Miller has been a member of the Board of Trustees of Old St. John's Church, Philadelphia. He was one of the organizers and a member of the Church Council of St. John's Church, Melrose Park. He has been a Director of the Philadelphia Seminary since 1903; was Vice-President, 1911-20; and was elected President of the Board in 1920, the first layman to hold this office. He was active in the movements which led to the formation of the United Lutheran Church in America and has been its Treasurer and a member of its Executive Board since its organization in 1918. His active interest and liberal support are constantly given to various Church and charitable causes."
The Philadelphia Inquirer archives has over 170 articles about our subject, many of them social mentions - E. Clarence Miller at the Art Club for a John Singer Sargent show, at the opera, on the board of Township Commissioners, at the Jersey shore in a fine hotel... far too much to include here. Other snapshots of his life:
January 8, 1906, Philadelphia Inquirer
Article about the Old York Road Fire Company's "millionaire club" - men with money backing 28 active firemen. E Clarence Miller is on the board of directors.
April 3, 1906, Philadelphia Inquirer
Article about Philadelphia Stock Exchange mentions E. Clarence Miller elected vice-president.
December 29, 1907, Philadelphia Inquirer
Article about Juvenile Protective Association covers the need for more funds to carry out their work. E. Clarence Miller is listed among the officers and directors of the group.
July 1, 1908, Philadelphia Inquirer
The new Bioren & Company banking and brokerage opens for business, a merger of the old Bioren & Company (founded 1865) and the E. C. Miller Company.
September 15, 1908, Philadelphia Inquirer
The executive officers of the Central YMCA move into a new million dollar building on Arch near Broad in Philadelphia. The remainder of the building for classes and other activities will be ready in lat September and early October. E. Clarence Miller is on the board of directors. Courses will include "preparation for college, law, medicine and pharmacy, a civil service school, commercial course, modern languages, music, elocution, building construction, mechanical arts and manual trades."
June 9, 1909, Philadelphia Inquirer
E. Clarence Miller sells an almost 2 acre tract of land at Beech Ave. and Old York Road. "This is a portion of the old Sharpless estate, for years famous as one of the beauty spots of this beautiful section. (New owner) Mr. Linde will at once begin the erection of a magnificent $25,000 mansion, plans for which are now being prepared."
January 25, 1910, Philadelphia Inquirer
75th anniversary (1835-1910) of Delaware Insurance Company of Philadelphia noted, John S. Bioren, president, E. Clarence Miller on board of directors.
March 19, 1911, Philadelphia Inquirer
The Old York Road Country Club's new casino is complete, and E. Clarence Miller, president, and his wife will receive members at a reception the coming Friday. (The club will be a year old the following June.)
August 27, 1911, The Philadelphia Inquirer
A social column on Ocean City, New Jersey says E. Clarence Miller plans to build a cottage there in fall.
September 14, 1911, Philadelphia Inquirer
Lutherans Plan to Raise Two Million
E. Clarence Miller proposes a 1917 jubilee to mark 400th anniversary of the Reformation, to bring church laymen together.
December 3, 1911, Philadelphia Inquirer
The ladies of the Old York Road Country Club hold "De Mock Minstrel" as a playful retort to an earlier men's minstrel show which teased and impersonated many of the ladies. Among the impersonations was "Mrs. Exchange Centerpiece Miller" for E. Clarence Miller.
February 2, 1912, Philadelphia Inquirer
Having declined nomination for another term as Philadelphia Stock Exchange president, as one of his last acts, Miller signs paperwork for a new Stock Exchange site at 1411-1419 Walnut Street, the new building planned by architect Horace E. Trumbower.
May 1, 1912, Philadelphia Inquirer
Real Estate Title and Trust Company lists assets and liabilities in display ad, and E. Clarence Miller on board of directors.
March 22, 1913, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The newspaper issues a "birthday bulletin" congratulating Miller on his birthday, and features his picture. They do the same other years as well.
May 21, 1913, Philadelphia Inquirer
Mrs. E. Clarence Miller and other ladies of Oak Lane social circles will perform a three-act Indian drama, "The Arrow Maker" at the Miller country seat on Ansley Avenue, Melrose Park. Her guests will be 150 members of the Review Club, Oak Lane. "The drama will be staged on the lawn fronting the Oaks, in a setting of remarkable old trees - with every participant costumed with rigid adherence to detail and accuracy." Among the ladies participating are "Miss Doris Miller, daughter of the hostess... (who) will portray the part of a fighting man..."
July 4, 1915, Philadelphia Inquirer
E. Clarence Miller and a party of 20 stay at the Buckwood Inn, Shawnee on Delaware. (First found reference to his being in the area where Camp Miller would be laid.)
August 24, 1916, Philadelphia Inquirer
Miller returns from a six weeks motoring trip to Lake Placid, New York.
December 20, 1916, Philadelphia Inquirer
Permits Issued Yesterday
Henry P. Schneider erection of a frame chapel, 20 by 60 feet on the northeast corner of 7th street and Wyoming avenue, for E. Clarence Miller, cost $1200. (This is believed to be a part of the 400th anniversary of the Reformation jubilee.)
May 29, 1920, Philadelphia Inquirer
Mount Airy Theological Seminary postions change with deaths, and E. Clarence Miller, a vice-president, is named also to the board of trustees.
1920
Mr. E. Clarence Miller, of Philadelphia, gave $29,000 to the Seminary to clear accumulated deficit and to purchase an additional tract of ground, 225 by 185 feet, immediately adjoining the grove. Extensive improvements
were made in the Dormitories.
The By-Laws of the Seminary were revised, the office of the Dean was abolished, and Professor Henry E. Jacobs, D.D., LL.D., was elected the first President of the Seminary. Mr. E. Clarence Miller, of Philadelphia,
was elected President of the Board of Directors, the first layman to hold this position.
October/November 1921, Philadelphia Inquirer
Several social mentions of a dance to be given November 9 at Miller's country home, the Oaks on Oak Lane for his son and daughter in law, Mr and Mrs E. Clarence Miller, Jr. Mrs. Miller was formerly Miss Lucille Johnson, daughter of Mr and Mrs Andrew Johnson of Wayne, Pennsylvania.
1922
The library of the Rev. Johann Mgebroff, of Brenham, Texas, was purchased and presented to the Seminary by Mr. E. Clarence Miller. [NOTE - Mgebroff was a Lutheran pastor, historian, and church music composer born in Nikolaev, South Russia.] This added about 1,500 volumes, rich in historic material, to the collection.
May 25, 1922, Philadelphia Inquirer
Mass meeting held for the $100,000 Lutheran Inner Mission fund at Saint Matthew's Lutheran Church, Broad and Mount Vernon Streets in Philadelphia. Mr. Miller, treasurer, is listed as a speaker, and chairman of the Campaign Committee, Peter P. Hagan will preside. (First mention of the two men together, though their living close together, active in the Lutheran church, members of Saint John's in Melrose Park, and overlapping lives made it likely they knew each other far before this. Mr. Hagan was the gent who donated the land for Camp Hagan, Camp Miller's sister camp.)
July 10, 1922, Philadelphia Inquirer
Over the years the newspaper included numerous mentions of Mrs. Miller's involvement with the Oak Lane Review Club, and now it finally reports that she and another officer will lay the cornerstone on the new clubhouse building at Seventieth avenue and Twelfth street.
July 25, 1923, from the New York Times (from larger article about ship arrivals and departures) -
"Lutheran Delegates Leaving
Five of the eight Commissioners who will represent the United Lutheran Church of America at the world congress at Eisenach in August are booked on the Red'Star Liner Lapland, sailing today for Plymouth, Cherbourg and Antwerp. The party consists of Dr. F H Knubel of New York, President of the United Lutheran Church; Dr. F. F. Fry, pastor of the Church of the Reformation, Rochester, New York; Dr. E. Clarence Miller of Philadelphia; Dr. J. A. Morehead, Executive Director of the National Lutheran Council; and Dr. A. G. Voight of South Carolina. Sessions of the world conference will be held in the famous Wartburg Castle and the Castle Church at Wartburg."
September 14, 1923 New York Times
"Ocean Travelers
The Mauretania of the Cunard Line with 1,300 passengers aboard, the majority vacationists from abroad, is due here today. (A long list of passengers from New York City, and elsewhere followed, including...) Mr. and Mrs. E. Clarence Miller, the Misses Doris and Mary Miller..." [NOTE: It was a big deal to travel on this ship, the larger sister ship to the Lusitania. Launched in fall of 1906, the Mauretania held the trans-Atlantic speed record for twenty-two years, so was still the fastest way to Europe when the Millers were on board.]
January 17, 1926 New York Times
"Staten Island Asks for Real College" - Larger financial gifts given to Wagner College are listed, among them "$1000 was contributed by E. Clarence Miller of Philadelphia, Treasurer of the United Lutheran Church in America." It is explained that while the college is non-sectarian, it was founded by Lutherans.
May 9, 1926 New York Times
"Lutherans to Build New College in East
Institution for Women Due to be Opened in Washington in Fall of 1927." - The News Bureau of the National Lutheran Church announces the plans for the new college, and lists the officers, which include Dr. E. Clarence Miller, Treasurer, of Philadelphia.
Reading Eagle, September 28, 1928 - "A million-dollar expansion program, to be completed in 1930, will be undertaken by Mount Airy Theological Seminary of the Lutheran Church. This was announced by Dr. E. Clarence Miller, president of the Board, who yesterday addressed several hundred clergymen from the ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States at the annual reunion of the Alumni in Ashmeade-Schaeffer Memorial chapel."
September 2, 1943 New York Times
"Lutherans Make Bid For Morgan's Home
45-Room House on Madison Avenue May Be National Quarters" -
The article describes how the 1852 vintage property of the late J. P. Morgan at 231 Madison Avenue may be acquired by the Lutheran Church in America. Speaking as treasurer of the ULCA, Miller is quoted as saying "No agreement of sale has been executed but we hope to see the sale consumated soon." (This is a norteworthy brownstone building, one of the few of its kind left in the city. The Lutherans got it in 1944, and it acquired by the Pierpont Morgan Library in 1988, and was designated a landmark by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965. That designation was overturned, only to be redesignated in 2002.)
November 15, 1943 New York Times
"Lutherans Honor Knubel, Miller
Hold Silver Jubilee and Found Lectureship Named for United Church Heads
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14- As a climax to the silver jubilee observance in more than 4,000 congregations thoughout the United States and Canada of the founding of the United Lutheran Church in America, dignitaries of the church assembled here this evening to honor the churchs first and only president, the Rev. Dr. Frederick H. Knubel of New York, and its first and only treasurer, E. Clarence Miller, banker, of Philadelphia.
The tribute to the harmonious team-work of these two church officials through a quarter century of service is in the form of a lectureship which will visit various theological seminaries and centers of religious life. It is known as the "Knubel-Miller Foundation" and its income will provide for presentations every second or third year by an outstanding churchman on the general theme of "A Better Church, Through a Better Ministry."
The announcement that a fund of $5,000 had been quietly raised by private invitation for this purpose in honor of these men came to them as a surprise, when the presentation was made by the secretary of the United Lutheran Church, Dr. Walton H. Greever of New York City... Dr. Knubel responded, accepting the honor for both men. Dr. Miller was not present, his physician advising him not to make the trip..."
March 4, 1944 New York Times
E. C. MILLER DEAD
LUTHERAN OFFICIAL
Treasurer of United Church Since 1918
An Investment Banker in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA, March 3 - E. Clarence Miller, investment banker and an outstanding figure in the affairs of the United Lutheran Church in America, died today at his home in suburban Jenkintown following a heart attack induced by two-weeks' illness from pneumonia. He was 76 years old.
Mr. Miller's work as a Lutheran layman won him note in Europe as well as in this country. He was the only man to serve as treasurer of the United Lutheran Church in America, having held the post since 1918, when three Lutheran groups were merged into the United Lutheran body. He had been president of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Lutheran Seminary since 1920 and a member since 1903, president of the American Sunday School Union for nineteen years and a director for thirty-two years, and a member of the American Bible Society.
Visited Germany, India
He was one of the representatives of the United Lutheran Church in America at the first convention of the world organization in 1923 at Eisenach, Germany. The following year he visited India with other representatives of the church to inspect Lutheran missions there.
President and senior partner of Bioren & Co., an investment firm with which he had been associated for nearly thirty-five years, Mr. Miller was a member of the New York and Philadelphia Stock Exchanges. He was president of the latter from 1907 to 1912 and held directorships in a number of industrial and utility corporations.
Mr. Miller assisted personally in the financing of many projects of the church, including Camp Miller, a boys' camp named in his honor at Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pa., and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Leningrad, established jointly by the American Lutherans and the Lutheran Church in Russia.
The Rev. Dr. Frederick H. Knubel of New York, president of the United Lutheran Church since its inception, once said of him: "Nobody could know Mr. Miller without recognizing him to be a strong Christian man possessing all of the finest qualities to be included in the word 'strong' and all of the finest qualities to be included in the word 'Christian.' He was, I believe, the finest of Lutheran laymen.
Honored by Friends
Last November when the United Lutheran Church celebrated its Silver Jubilee in a festival service in the Church of the Reformation in Washington, Mr. Miller and Dr. Knubel were joint recipients of an honor arranged privately by several hundred of their friends, when the "Knubel-Miller Foundation" was established to commemorate the work the two men had done during a quarter century for the improvement of the quality of the ministry. The trustees of the foundation arrange every second or third year a series of lectures by an outstanding churchman on the general theme of "A Better Church Through a Better Ministry."
Mr. Miller leaves a widow, Cornelia Bruegel Miller, his second wife, whom he married in 1928. His first wife died in 1927. Also surviving are three children, E. Clarence Miller Jr., connected with Bioren & Co.; Mrs. Joseph T. Beardwood and Mrs. E. M. Anderson.
A funeral service will be held on Monday at 2 P.M. in St. John's Lutheran Church at Melrose Park, the Rev. Kenneth P. Otten, pastor of the church, and Dr. Knubel participating.
[NOTE: If you are interested in the Lutheran Camps at Shawnee on the Delaware, Pennsylvania, you may also find this bio of Peter P. Hagan of interest. If you are interested in a bit of Indian culture at Camp Miller, you might like this memorial for Chief Bearheart.]
As a child, I attended Camp Hagan for girls at Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania. The parallel Lutheran camp for boys was Camp Miller, which my father attended as a boy. Both camps were victims (along with another sister camp, Camp Ministerium) of the eminent-domain land buyout by the federal government to make way for the Tocks Island Dam project. Thousands of acres of farmland, woods, old homesteads and historic places were purchased and levelled to be left underwater in this project, which ultimately never happened but still resulted in much devastation.
Anyway, I wondered how Camp Miller got its name, and tracked down the honored gent. To try to wite a bio of this man is folly; he just did too much in his lifetime in the Lutheran church and in the banking business, but here's a selection of info about E. Clarence Miller. (His first name was Elmer, but he used just the initial.)
His bio from the church written in the 1920's states:
"E. CLARENCE MILLER, LL.D., was born in Philadelphia, Pa., March 22, 1867, son of J. Washington Miller (Director of the Seminary, 1889-1900), and his wife, Mary Ann Bremer. He graduated from the Central High School of Philadelphia (A.B.) in 1884, and entered the banking business. He is now the senior partner of Bioren & Co., Bankers, established in 1865.
In 1892 Dr. Miller married Miss Mary Wagner, of Philadelphia, and they have the following children : Doris A., E. Clarence, Jr., and Mary R. Df. Miller is President or Director of various Public Utility, Industrial and Banking Companies. He was President of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, 1907-12. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. In 1922 Muhlenberg College conferred upon him the degree of LL.D.
For thirty years Dr. Miller has been a member of the Board of Trustees of Old St. John's Church, Philadelphia. He was one of the organizers and a member of the Church Council of St. John's Church, Melrose Park. He has been a Director of the Philadelphia Seminary since 1903; was Vice-President, 1911-20; and was elected President of the Board in 1920, the first layman to hold this office. He was active in the movements which led to the formation of the United Lutheran Church in America and has been its Treasurer and a member of its Executive Board since its organization in 1918. His active interest and liberal support are constantly given to various Church and charitable causes."
The Philadelphia Inquirer archives has over 170 articles about our subject, many of them social mentions - E. Clarence Miller at the Art Club for a John Singer Sargent show, at the opera, on the board of Township Commissioners, at the Jersey shore in a fine hotel... far too much to include here. Other snapshots of his life:
January 8, 1906, Philadelphia Inquirer
Article about the Old York Road Fire Company's "millionaire club" - men with money backing 28 active firemen. E Clarence Miller is on the board of directors.
April 3, 1906, Philadelphia Inquirer
Article about Philadelphia Stock Exchange mentions E. Clarence Miller elected vice-president.
December 29, 1907, Philadelphia Inquirer
Article about Juvenile Protective Association covers the need for more funds to carry out their work. E. Clarence Miller is listed among the officers and directors of the group.
July 1, 1908, Philadelphia Inquirer
The new Bioren & Company banking and brokerage opens for business, a merger of the old Bioren & Company (founded 1865) and the E. C. Miller Company.
September 15, 1908, Philadelphia Inquirer
The executive officers of the Central YMCA move into a new million dollar building on Arch near Broad in Philadelphia. The remainder of the building for classes and other activities will be ready in lat September and early October. E. Clarence Miller is on the board of directors. Courses will include "preparation for college, law, medicine and pharmacy, a civil service school, commercial course, modern languages, music, elocution, building construction, mechanical arts and manual trades."
June 9, 1909, Philadelphia Inquirer
E. Clarence Miller sells an almost 2 acre tract of land at Beech Ave. and Old York Road. "This is a portion of the old Sharpless estate, for years famous as one of the beauty spots of this beautiful section. (New owner) Mr. Linde will at once begin the erection of a magnificent $25,000 mansion, plans for which are now being prepared."
January 25, 1910, Philadelphia Inquirer
75th anniversary (1835-1910) of Delaware Insurance Company of Philadelphia noted, John S. Bioren, president, E. Clarence Miller on board of directors.
March 19, 1911, Philadelphia Inquirer
The Old York Road Country Club's new casino is complete, and E. Clarence Miller, president, and his wife will receive members at a reception the coming Friday. (The club will be a year old the following June.)
August 27, 1911, The Philadelphia Inquirer
A social column on Ocean City, New Jersey says E. Clarence Miller plans to build a cottage there in fall.
September 14, 1911, Philadelphia Inquirer
Lutherans Plan to Raise Two Million
E. Clarence Miller proposes a 1917 jubilee to mark 400th anniversary of the Reformation, to bring church laymen together.
December 3, 1911, Philadelphia Inquirer
The ladies of the Old York Road Country Club hold "De Mock Minstrel" as a playful retort to an earlier men's minstrel show which teased and impersonated many of the ladies. Among the impersonations was "Mrs. Exchange Centerpiece Miller" for E. Clarence Miller.
February 2, 1912, Philadelphia Inquirer
Having declined nomination for another term as Philadelphia Stock Exchange president, as one of his last acts, Miller signs paperwork for a new Stock Exchange site at 1411-1419 Walnut Street, the new building planned by architect Horace E. Trumbower.
May 1, 1912, Philadelphia Inquirer
Real Estate Title and Trust Company lists assets and liabilities in display ad, and E. Clarence Miller on board of directors.
March 22, 1913, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The newspaper issues a "birthday bulletin" congratulating Miller on his birthday, and features his picture. They do the same other years as well.
May 21, 1913, Philadelphia Inquirer
Mrs. E. Clarence Miller and other ladies of Oak Lane social circles will perform a three-act Indian drama, "The Arrow Maker" at the Miller country seat on Ansley Avenue, Melrose Park. Her guests will be 150 members of the Review Club, Oak Lane. "The drama will be staged on the lawn fronting the Oaks, in a setting of remarkable old trees - with every participant costumed with rigid adherence to detail and accuracy." Among the ladies participating are "Miss Doris Miller, daughter of the hostess... (who) will portray the part of a fighting man..."
July 4, 1915, Philadelphia Inquirer
E. Clarence Miller and a party of 20 stay at the Buckwood Inn, Shawnee on Delaware. (First found reference to his being in the area where Camp Miller would be laid.)
August 24, 1916, Philadelphia Inquirer
Miller returns from a six weeks motoring trip to Lake Placid, New York.
December 20, 1916, Philadelphia Inquirer
Permits Issued Yesterday
Henry P. Schneider erection of a frame chapel, 20 by 60 feet on the northeast corner of 7th street and Wyoming avenue, for E. Clarence Miller, cost $1200. (This is believed to be a part of the 400th anniversary of the Reformation jubilee.)
May 29, 1920, Philadelphia Inquirer
Mount Airy Theological Seminary postions change with deaths, and E. Clarence Miller, a vice-president, is named also to the board of trustees.
1920
Mr. E. Clarence Miller, of Philadelphia, gave $29,000 to the Seminary to clear accumulated deficit and to purchase an additional tract of ground, 225 by 185 feet, immediately adjoining the grove. Extensive improvements
were made in the Dormitories.
The By-Laws of the Seminary were revised, the office of the Dean was abolished, and Professor Henry E. Jacobs, D.D., LL.D., was elected the first President of the Seminary. Mr. E. Clarence Miller, of Philadelphia,
was elected President of the Board of Directors, the first layman to hold this position.
October/November 1921, Philadelphia Inquirer
Several social mentions of a dance to be given November 9 at Miller's country home, the Oaks on Oak Lane for his son and daughter in law, Mr and Mrs E. Clarence Miller, Jr. Mrs. Miller was formerly Miss Lucille Johnson, daughter of Mr and Mrs Andrew Johnson of Wayne, Pennsylvania.
1922
The library of the Rev. Johann Mgebroff, of Brenham, Texas, was purchased and presented to the Seminary by Mr. E. Clarence Miller. [NOTE - Mgebroff was a Lutheran pastor, historian, and church music composer born in Nikolaev, South Russia.] This added about 1,500 volumes, rich in historic material, to the collection.
May 25, 1922, Philadelphia Inquirer
Mass meeting held for the $100,000 Lutheran Inner Mission fund at Saint Matthew's Lutheran Church, Broad and Mount Vernon Streets in Philadelphia. Mr. Miller, treasurer, is listed as a speaker, and chairman of the Campaign Committee, Peter P. Hagan will preside. (First mention of the two men together, though their living close together, active in the Lutheran church, members of Saint John's in Melrose Park, and overlapping lives made it likely they knew each other far before this. Mr. Hagan was the gent who donated the land for Camp Hagan, Camp Miller's sister camp.)
July 10, 1922, Philadelphia Inquirer
Over the years the newspaper included numerous mentions of Mrs. Miller's involvement with the Oak Lane Review Club, and now it finally reports that she and another officer will lay the cornerstone on the new clubhouse building at Seventieth avenue and Twelfth street.
July 25, 1923, from the New York Times (from larger article about ship arrivals and departures) -
"Lutheran Delegates Leaving
Five of the eight Commissioners who will represent the United Lutheran Church of America at the world congress at Eisenach in August are booked on the Red'Star Liner Lapland, sailing today for Plymouth, Cherbourg and Antwerp. The party consists of Dr. F H Knubel of New York, President of the United Lutheran Church; Dr. F. F. Fry, pastor of the Church of the Reformation, Rochester, New York; Dr. E. Clarence Miller of Philadelphia; Dr. J. A. Morehead, Executive Director of the National Lutheran Council; and Dr. A. G. Voight of South Carolina. Sessions of the world conference will be held in the famous Wartburg Castle and the Castle Church at Wartburg."
September 14, 1923 New York Times
"Ocean Travelers
The Mauretania of the Cunard Line with 1,300 passengers aboard, the majority vacationists from abroad, is due here today. (A long list of passengers from New York City, and elsewhere followed, including...) Mr. and Mrs. E. Clarence Miller, the Misses Doris and Mary Miller..." [NOTE: It was a big deal to travel on this ship, the larger sister ship to the Lusitania. Launched in fall of 1906, the Mauretania held the trans-Atlantic speed record for twenty-two years, so was still the fastest way to Europe when the Millers were on board.]
January 17, 1926 New York Times
"Staten Island Asks for Real College" - Larger financial gifts given to Wagner College are listed, among them "$1000 was contributed by E. Clarence Miller of Philadelphia, Treasurer of the United Lutheran Church in America." It is explained that while the college is non-sectarian, it was founded by Lutherans.
May 9, 1926 New York Times
"Lutherans to Build New College in East
Institution for Women Due to be Opened in Washington in Fall of 1927." - The News Bureau of the National Lutheran Church announces the plans for the new college, and lists the officers, which include Dr. E. Clarence Miller, Treasurer, of Philadelphia.
Reading Eagle, September 28, 1928 - "A million-dollar expansion program, to be completed in 1930, will be undertaken by Mount Airy Theological Seminary of the Lutheran Church. This was announced by Dr. E. Clarence Miller, president of the Board, who yesterday addressed several hundred clergymen from the ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States at the annual reunion of the Alumni in Ashmeade-Schaeffer Memorial chapel."
September 2, 1943 New York Times
"Lutherans Make Bid For Morgan's Home
45-Room House on Madison Avenue May Be National Quarters" -
The article describes how the 1852 vintage property of the late J. P. Morgan at 231 Madison Avenue may be acquired by the Lutheran Church in America. Speaking as treasurer of the ULCA, Miller is quoted as saying "No agreement of sale has been executed but we hope to see the sale consumated soon." (This is a norteworthy brownstone building, one of the few of its kind left in the city. The Lutherans got it in 1944, and it acquired by the Pierpont Morgan Library in 1988, and was designated a landmark by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965. That designation was overturned, only to be redesignated in 2002.)
November 15, 1943 New York Times
"Lutherans Honor Knubel, Miller
Hold Silver Jubilee and Found Lectureship Named for United Church Heads
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14- As a climax to the silver jubilee observance in more than 4,000 congregations thoughout the United States and Canada of the founding of the United Lutheran Church in America, dignitaries of the church assembled here this evening to honor the churchs first and only president, the Rev. Dr. Frederick H. Knubel of New York, and its first and only treasurer, E. Clarence Miller, banker, of Philadelphia.
The tribute to the harmonious team-work of these two church officials through a quarter century of service is in the form of a lectureship which will visit various theological seminaries and centers of religious life. It is known as the "Knubel-Miller Foundation" and its income will provide for presentations every second or third year by an outstanding churchman on the general theme of "A Better Church, Through a Better Ministry."
The announcement that a fund of $5,000 had been quietly raised by private invitation for this purpose in honor of these men came to them as a surprise, when the presentation was made by the secretary of the United Lutheran Church, Dr. Walton H. Greever of New York City... Dr. Knubel responded, accepting the honor for both men. Dr. Miller was not present, his physician advising him not to make the trip..."
March 4, 1944 New York Times
E. C. MILLER DEAD
LUTHERAN OFFICIAL
Treasurer of United Church Since 1918
An Investment Banker in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA, March 3 - E. Clarence Miller, investment banker and an outstanding figure in the affairs of the United Lutheran Church in America, died today at his home in suburban Jenkintown following a heart attack induced by two-weeks' illness from pneumonia. He was 76 years old.
Mr. Miller's work as a Lutheran layman won him note in Europe as well as in this country. He was the only man to serve as treasurer of the United Lutheran Church in America, having held the post since 1918, when three Lutheran groups were merged into the United Lutheran body. He had been president of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Lutheran Seminary since 1920 and a member since 1903, president of the American Sunday School Union for nineteen years and a director for thirty-two years, and a member of the American Bible Society.
Visited Germany, India
He was one of the representatives of the United Lutheran Church in America at the first convention of the world organization in 1923 at Eisenach, Germany. The following year he visited India with other representatives of the church to inspect Lutheran missions there.
President and senior partner of Bioren & Co., an investment firm with which he had been associated for nearly thirty-five years, Mr. Miller was a member of the New York and Philadelphia Stock Exchanges. He was president of the latter from 1907 to 1912 and held directorships in a number of industrial and utility corporations.
Mr. Miller assisted personally in the financing of many projects of the church, including Camp Miller, a boys' camp named in his honor at Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pa., and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Leningrad, established jointly by the American Lutherans and the Lutheran Church in Russia.
The Rev. Dr. Frederick H. Knubel of New York, president of the United Lutheran Church since its inception, once said of him: "Nobody could know Mr. Miller without recognizing him to be a strong Christian man possessing all of the finest qualities to be included in the word 'strong' and all of the finest qualities to be included in the word 'Christian.' He was, I believe, the finest of Lutheran laymen.
Honored by Friends
Last November when the United Lutheran Church celebrated its Silver Jubilee in a festival service in the Church of the Reformation in Washington, Mr. Miller and Dr. Knubel were joint recipients of an honor arranged privately by several hundred of their friends, when the "Knubel-Miller Foundation" was established to commemorate the work the two men had done during a quarter century for the improvement of the quality of the ministry. The trustees of the foundation arrange every second or third year a series of lectures by an outstanding churchman on the general theme of "A Better Church Through a Better Ministry."
Mr. Miller leaves a widow, Cornelia Bruegel Miller, his second wife, whom he married in 1928. His first wife died in 1927. Also surviving are three children, E. Clarence Miller Jr., connected with Bioren & Co.; Mrs. Joseph T. Beardwood and Mrs. E. M. Anderson.
A funeral service will be held on Monday at 2 P.M. in St. John's Lutheran Church at Melrose Park, the Rev. Kenneth P. Otten, pastor of the church, and Dr. Knubel participating.
As a child, I attended Camp Hagan for girls at Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania. The parallel Lutheran camp for boys was Camp Miller, which my father attended as a boy. Both camps were victims (along with another sister camp, Camp Ministerium) of the eminent-domain land buyout by the federal government to make way for the Tocks Island Dam project. Thousands of acres of farmland, woods, old homesteads and historic places were purchased and levelled to be left underwater in this project, which ultimately never happened but still resulted in much devastation.
Anyway, I wondered how Camp Miller got its name, and tracked down the honored gent. To try to wite a bio of this man is folly; he just did too much in his lifetime in the Lutheran church and in the banking business, but here's a selection of info about E. Clarence Miller. (His first name was Elmer, but he used just the initial.)
His bio from the church written in the 1920's states:
"E. CLARENCE MILLER, LL.D., was born in Philadelphia, Pa., March 22, 1867, son of J. Washington Miller (Director of the Seminary, 1889-1900), and his wife, Mary Ann Bremer. He graduated from the Central High School of Philadelphia (A.B.) in 1884, and entered the banking business. He is now the senior partner of Bioren & Co., Bankers, established in 1865.
In 1892 Dr. Miller married Miss Mary Wagner, of Philadelphia, and they have the following children : Doris A., E. Clarence, Jr., and Mary R. Df. Miller is President or Director of various Public Utility, Industrial and Banking Companies. He was President of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, 1907-12. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. In 1922 Muhlenberg College conferred upon him the degree of LL.D.
For thirty years Dr. Miller has been a member of the Board of Trustees of Old St. John's Church, Philadelphia. He was one of the organizers and a member of the Church Council of St. John's Church, Melrose Park. He has been a Director of the Philadelphia Seminary since 1903; was Vice-President, 1911-20; and was elected President of the Board in 1920, the first layman to hold this office. He was active in the movements which led to the formation of the United Lutheran Church in America and has been its Treasurer and a member of its Executive Board since its organization in 1918. His active interest and liberal support are constantly given to various Church and charitable causes."
The Philadelphia Inquirer archives has over 170 articles about our subject, many of them social mentions - E. Clarence Miller at the Art Club for a John Singer Sargent show, at the opera, on the board of Township Commissioners, at the Jersey shore in a fine hotel... far too much to include here. Other snapshots of his life:
January 8, 1906, Philadelphia Inquirer
Article about the Old York Road Fire Company's "millionaire club" - men with money backing 28 active firemen. E Clarence Miller is on the board of directors.
April 3, 1906, Philadelphia Inquirer
Article about Philadelphia Stock Exchange mentions E. Clarence Miller elected vice-president.
December 29, 1907, Philadelphia Inquirer
Article about Juvenile Protective Association covers the need for more funds to carry out their work. E. Clarence Miller is listed among the officers and directors of the group.
July 1, 1908, Philadelphia Inquirer
The new Bioren & Company banking and brokerage opens for business, a merger of the old Bioren & Company (founded 1865) and the E. C. Miller Company.
September 15, 1908, Philadelphia Inquirer
The executive officers of the Central YMCA move into a new million dollar building on Arch near Broad in Philadelphia. The remainder of the building for classes and other activities will be ready in lat September and early October. E. Clarence Miller is on the board of directors. Courses will include "preparation for college, law, medicine and pharmacy, a civil service school, commercial course, modern languages, music, elocution, building construction, mechanical arts and manual trades."
June 9, 1909, Philadelphia Inquirer
E. Clarence Miller sells an almost 2 acre tract of land at Beech Ave. and Old York Road. "This is a portion of the old Sharpless estate, for years famous as one of the beauty spots of this beautiful section. (New owner) Mr. Linde will at once begin the erection of a magnificent $25,000 mansion, plans for which are now being prepared."
January 25, 1910, Philadelphia Inquirer
75th anniversary (1835-1910) of Delaware Insurance Company of Philadelphia noted, John S. Bioren, president, E. Clarence Miller on board of directors.
March 19, 1911, Philadelphia Inquirer
The Old York Road Country Club's new casino is complete, and E. Clarence Miller, president, and his wife will receive members at a reception the coming Friday. (The club will be a year old the following June.)
August 27, 1911, The Philadelphia Inquirer
A social column on Ocean City, New Jersey says E. Clarence Miller plans to build a cottage there in fall.
September 14, 1911, Philadelphia Inquirer
Lutherans Plan to Raise Two Million
E. Clarence Miller proposes a 1917 jubilee to mark 400th anniversary of the Reformation, to bring church laymen together.
December 3, 1911, Philadelphia Inquirer
The ladies of the Old York Road Country Club hold "De Mock Minstrel" as a playful retort to an earlier men's minstrel show which teased and impersonated many of the ladies. Among the impersonations was "Mrs. Exchange Centerpiece Miller" for E. Clarence Miller.
February 2, 1912, Philadelphia Inquirer
Having declined nomination for another term as Philadelphia Stock Exchange president, as one of his last acts, Miller signs paperwork for a new Stock Exchange site at 1411-1419 Walnut Street, the new building planned by architect Horace E. Trumbower.
May 1, 1912, Philadelphia Inquirer
Real Estate Title and Trust Company lists assets and liabilities in display ad, and E. Clarence Miller on board of directors.
March 22, 1913, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The newspaper issues a "birthday bulletin" congratulating Miller on his birthday, and features his picture. They do the same other years as well.
May 21, 1913, Philadelphia Inquirer
Mrs. E. Clarence Miller and other ladies of Oak Lane social circles will perform a three-act Indian drama, "The Arrow Maker" at the Miller country seat on Ansley Avenue, Melrose Park. Her guests will be 150 members of the Review Club, Oak Lane. "The drama will be staged on the lawn fronting the Oaks, in a setting of remarkable old trees - with every participant costumed with rigid adherence to detail and accuracy." Among the ladies participating are "Miss Doris Miller, daughter of the hostess... (who) will portray the part of a fighting man..."
July 4, 1915, Philadelphia Inquirer
E. Clarence Miller and a party of 20 stay at the Buckwood Inn, Shawnee on Delaware. (First found reference to his being in the area where Camp Miller would be laid.)
August 24, 1916, Philadelphia Inquirer
Miller returns from a six weeks motoring trip to Lake Placid, New York.
December 20, 1916, Philadelphia Inquirer
Permits Issued Yesterday
Henry P. Schneider erection of a frame chapel, 20 by 60 feet on the northeast corner of 7th street and Wyoming avenue, for E. Clarence Miller, cost $1200. (This is believed to be a part of the 400th anniversary of the Reformation jubilee.)
May 29, 1920, Philadelphia Inquirer
Mount Airy Theological Seminary postions change with deaths, and E. Clarence Miller, a vice-president, is named also to the board of trustees.
1920
Mr. E. Clarence Miller, of Philadelphia, gave $29,000 to the Seminary to clear accumulated deficit and to purchase an additional tract of ground, 225 by 185 feet, immediately adjoining the grove. Extensive improvements
were made in the Dormitories.
The By-Laws of the Seminary were revised, the office of the Dean was abolished, and Professor Henry E. Jacobs, D.D., LL.D., was elected the first President of the Seminary. Mr. E. Clarence Miller, of Philadelphia,
was elected President of the Board of Directors, the first layman to hold this position.
October/November 1921, Philadelphia Inquirer
Several social mentions of a dance to be given November 9 at Miller's country home, the Oaks on Oak Lane for his son and daughter in law, Mr and Mrs E. Clarence Miller, Jr. Mrs. Miller was formerly Miss Lucille Johnson, daughter of Mr and Mrs Andrew Johnson of Wayne, Pennsylvania.
1922
The library of the Rev. Johann Mgebroff, of Brenham, Texas, was purchased and presented to the Seminary by Mr. E. Clarence Miller. [NOTE - Mgebroff was a Lutheran pastor, historian, and church music composer born in Nikolaev, South Russia.] This added about 1,500 volumes, rich in historic material, to the collection.
May 25, 1922, Philadelphia Inquirer
Mass meeting held for the $100,000 Lutheran Inner Mission fund at Saint Matthew's Lutheran Church, Broad and Mount Vernon Streets in Philadelphia. Mr. Miller, treasurer, is listed as a speaker, and chairman of the Campaign Committee, Peter P. Hagan will preside. (First mention of the two men together, though their living close together, active in the Lutheran church, members of Saint John's in Melrose Park, and overlapping lives made it likely they knew each other far before this. Mr. Hagan was the gent who donated the land for Camp Hagan, Camp Miller's sister camp.)
July 10, 1922, Philadelphia Inquirer
Over the years the newspaper included numerous mentions of Mrs. Miller's involvement with the Oak Lane Review Club, and now it finally reports that she and another officer will lay the cornerstone on the new clubhouse building at Seventieth avenue and Twelfth street.
July 25, 1923, from the New York Times (from larger article about ship arrivals and departures) -
"Lutheran Delegates Leaving
Five of the eight Commissioners who will represent the United Lutheran Church of America at the world congress at Eisenach in August are booked on the Red'Star Liner Lapland, sailing today for Plymouth, Cherbourg and Antwerp. The party consists of Dr. F H Knubel of New York, President of the United Lutheran Church; Dr. F. F. Fry, pastor of the Church of the Reformation, Rochester, New York; Dr. E. Clarence Miller of Philadelphia; Dr. J. A. Morehead, Executive Director of the National Lutheran Council; and Dr. A. G. Voight of South Carolina. Sessions of the world conference will be held in the famous Wartburg Castle and the Castle Church at Wartburg."
September 14, 1923 New York Times
"Ocean Travelers
The Mauretania of the Cunard Line with 1,300 passengers aboard, the majority vacationists from abroad, is due here today. (A long list of passengers from New York City, and elsewhere followed, including...) Mr. and Mrs. E. Clarence Miller, the Misses Doris and Mary Miller..." [NOTE: It was a big deal to travel on this ship, the larger sister ship to the Lusitania. Launched in fall of 1906, the Mauretania held the trans-Atlantic speed record for twenty-two years, so was still the fastest way to Europe when the Millers were on board.]
January 17, 1926 New York Times
"Staten Island Asks for Real College" - Larger financial gifts given to Wagner College are listed, among them "$1000 was contributed by E. Clarence Miller of Philadelphia, Treasurer of the United Lutheran Church in America." It is explained that while the college is non-sectarian, it was founded by Lutherans.
May 9, 1926 New York Times
"Lutherans to Build New College in East
Institution for Women Due to be Opened in Washington in Fall of 1927." - The News Bureau of the National Lutheran Church announces the plans for the new college, and lists the officers, which include Dr. E. Clarence Miller, Treasurer, of Philadelphia.
Reading Eagle, September 28, 1928 - "A million-dollar expansion program, to be completed in 1930, will be undertaken by Mount Airy Theological Seminary of the Lutheran Church. This was announced by Dr. E. Clarence Miller, president of the Board, who yesterday addressed several hundred clergymen from the ministerium of Pennsylvania and Adjacent States at the annual reunion of the Alumni in Ashmeade-Schaeffer Memorial chapel."
September 2, 1943 New York Times
"Lutherans Make Bid For Morgan's Home
45-Room House on Madison Avenue May Be National Quarters" -
The article describes how the 1852 vintage property of the late J. P. Morgan at 231 Madison Avenue may be acquired by the Lutheran Church in America. Speaking as treasurer of the ULCA, Miller is quoted as saying "No agreement of sale has been executed but we hope to see the sale consumated soon." (This is a norteworthy brownstone building, one of the few of its kind left in the city. The Lutherans got it in 1944, and it acquired by the Pierpont Morgan Library in 1988, and was designated a landmark by the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965. That designation was overturned, only to be redesignated in 2002.)
November 15, 1943 New York Times
"Lutherans Honor Knubel, Miller
Hold Silver Jubilee and Found Lectureship Named for United Church Heads
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14- As a climax to the silver jubilee observance in more than 4,000 congregations thoughout the United States and Canada of the founding of the United Lutheran Church in America, dignitaries of the church assembled here this evening to honor the churchs first and only president, the Rev. Dr. Frederick H. Knubel of New York, and its first and only treasurer, E. Clarence Miller, banker, of Philadelphia.
The tribute to the harmonious team-work of these two church officials through a quarter century of service is in the form of a lectureship which will visit various theological seminaries and centers of religious life. It is known as the "Knubel-Miller Foundation" and its income will provide for presentations every second or third year by an outstanding churchman on the general theme of "A Better Church, Through a Better Ministry."
The announcement that a fund of $5,000 had been quietly raised by private invitation for this purpose in honor of these men came to them as a surprise, when the presentation was made by the secretary of the United Lutheran Church, Dr. Walton H. Greever of New York City... Dr. Knubel responded, accepting the honor for both men. Dr. Miller was not present, his physician advising him not to make the trip..."
March 4, 1944 New York Times
E. C. MILLER DEAD
LUTHERAN OFFICIAL
Treasurer of United Church Since 1918
An Investment Banker in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA, March 3 - E. Clarence Miller, investment banker and an outstanding figure in the affairs of the United Lutheran Church in America, died today at his home in suburban Jenkintown following a heart attack induced by two-weeks' illness from pneumonia. He was 76 years old.
Mr. Miller's work as a Lutheran layman won him note in Europe as well as in this country. He was the only man to serve as treasurer of the United Lutheran Church in America, having held the post since 1918, when three Lutheran groups were merged into the United Lutheran body. He had been president of the board of directors of the Philadelphia Lutheran Seminary since 1920 and a member since 1903, president of the American Sunday School Union for nineteen years and a director for thirty-two years, and a member of the American Bible Society.
Visited Germany, India
He was one of the representatives of the United Lutheran Church in America at the first convention of the world organization in 1923 at Eisenach, Germany. The following year he visited India with other representatives of the church to inspect Lutheran missions there.
President and senior partner of Bioren & Co., an investment firm with which he had been associated for nearly thirty-five years, Mr. Miller was a member of the New York and Philadelphia Stock Exchanges. He was president of the latter from 1907 to 1912 and held directorships in a number of industrial and utility corporations.
Mr. Miller assisted personally in the financing of many projects of the church, including Camp Miller, a boys' camp named in his honor at Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pa., and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Leningrad, established jointly by the American Lutherans and the Lutheran Church in Russia.
The Rev. Dr. Frederick H. Knubel of New York, president of the United Lutheran Church since its inception, once said of him: "Nobody could know Mr. Miller without recognizing him to be a strong Christian man possessing all of the finest qualities to be included in the word 'strong' and all of the finest qualities to be included in the word 'Christian.' He was, I believe, the finest of Lutheran laymen.
Honored by Friends
Last November when the United Lutheran Church celebrated its Silver Jubilee in a festival service in the Church of the Reformation in Washington, Mr. Miller and Dr. Knubel were joint recipients of an honor arranged privately by several hundred of their friends, when the "Knubel-Miller Foundation" was established to commemorate the work the two men had done during a quarter century for the improvement of the quality of the ministry. The trustees of the foundation arrange every second or third year a series of lectures by an outstanding churchman on the general theme of "A Better Church Through a Better Ministry."
Mr. Miller leaves a widow, Cornelia Bruegel Miller, his second wife, whom he married in 1928. His first wife died in 1927. Also surviving are three children, E. Clarence Miller Jr., connected with Bioren & Co.; Mrs. Joseph T. Beardwood and Mrs. E. M. Anderson.
A funeral service will be held on Monday at 2 P.M. in St. John's Lutheran Church at Melrose Park, the Rev. Kenneth P. Otten, pastor of the church, and Dr. Knubel participating.
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