Parents: Joseph Miller and Julia Ann (Alderman) Miller; w#1-Mary Lucinda (Minkler) Miller, (married circa 1856 and div. 1862), 2 children: Clarrisa "Clara" Miller and Virginia Miller; w#2-Sarah Elouisa (Ford) Miller, children: Julia M. "Nellie", William Edward, Thomas Jefferson Jr., Joseph, and Nettie Miller.

1850 US Federal Census, Washington, Oregon Territory:
Julia Ann Miller, born about 1809 in New Jersey;
James Miller, born about 1829 in New Jersey;
Thomas J., born about 1833 in Indiana;
Chas. Miller, born about 1836 in Indiana;
Ann E. Miller, born about 1840 in Indiana;
Capt. Barnes, born about 1815 in Canada.

Lockley, Fred. "History of the Columbia River Valley, From The Dalles to the Sea." Vol. 3. S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1928. p. 129:

THOMAS M. MILLER (cousin of Thomas Jefferson Miller)

A pioneer of 1850 and a veteran court officer related the events of his
career to Fred Lockley, one of the able writers for the Oregon Journal, in which
the sketch was published in four installments beginning with January 25, 1926.
The following is a copy of the article:
"Thomas M, Miller has been bailiff of the court of Oregon City for
fifty-five years. I doubt if another bailiff in the west has such a record of
continuous service. When I visited him recently he said: 'I have lived in Oregon
City seventy-five years. I was born in Union County, Indiana, October 10, 1839.
My father, Samuel Miller, was a native of New Jersey and my mother, whose maiden
name was Rachel Hart, was born in Maryland. They were married in Delaware.
" 'My father and his brother (Joseph Miller) decided to go west when the discovery of gold
in California became known. They started in the spring of 1849. We traveled by
ox team to St. Joseph, Missouri. There were five children of us and while we
were waiting at St. Joe several of the children got sick. My uncle (Joseph Miller) started on
with other emigrants but father decided to wait till the children were well. It
was then too late to start, so we stayed in Savannah, Missouri, not far from St.
Joe, till the spring of 1850.
" 'It wasn't the discovery of gold that principally decided my father to go
west, but disgust with conditions in Indiana. He had a water power sawmill,
which was washed away by high water. Everybody said such high water was unusual
and probably would not occur again in twenty years, so father spent most of his
money in fixing up a better mill than he had lost, when along came the high
water the next spring and washed this mill away, leaving him broke and
disgusted. He had just enough money left to buy our outfit to go to Oregon.
" 'My father's favorite brother (Joseph Miller) reached Oregon City in the fall of 1849 and
took up a place two miles west. Willamette valley farmers came back late that
fall from California with glowing reports, so he decided to try the gold fields,
and went to California with his two boys, Jim and Jeff. They struck a rich claim
and. cleaned up a good bunch of money. The next spring they sold their claim,
but just as they were about to start home my uncle (Joseph Miller) took sick and died. His sons
buried him near their claim and returned to Oregon City.
" 'My cousin, James D. Miller, his brother, Thomas Jefferson Miller, and
another brother, C. S. Miller, were all early steamboat men on the Willamette.
J. D. Miller, or "Captain Jim," as they called him, was nineteen when he arrived
at Oregon City. In 1850 he began running a flatboat between Canemah and Dayton,
afterward landing a job on the 'Hoosier, which he bought a few years later. In
1857 he built a steamer, which he called Hoosier No. 3. E. M. White and my
cousin, with one or two others, bought the James Clinton. It was burned in the
spring of 1861, while lying at the wharf at Linn City, where the paper mill now
is. In 1860 he took the machinery from the Hoosier and put it into a scow called
the Yamhill, which he sold to Captain J. T. Apperson. J. D. Miller went up to
the Snake river mines in Idaho but stayed only a little while. He came back not
long before Christmas in 1861 and bought the Unio from Captain Apperson,
renaming her the Union. For a while he was captain of the Mountain Buck and next
was in command of the Julia. Later he served as pilot for Captain George Jerome
aboard the Fanny Patterson, afterward becoming pilot on the Enterprise, of which
Sebastian Miller was captain, and subsequently was pilot on the steamer Albany.
He quit the river awhile and was in the milling business here in Oregon City.
After Dave and Asa McCully started the People's Transportation Company to
compete with the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, Captain Jim served as pilot on
the Onward and later on the Senator and the E. N. Cooke. In the spring of 1875
he happened to be a passenger on board the Senator, which was running between
Portland and Oregon City. While the Senator was at the dock taking on freight
the boiler exploded and Captain Dan McGill, who was at the wheel, was instantly
killed. Felix Evans, an engineer, was in the pilot house with him and had his
leg torn off. One passenger, the fireman, three deckhands and J. D. Locey, the
purser, were killed. The mate, Jim Leary, and the steward and several others
were badly injured. The explosion resulted from lack of water in the boiler.
Captain Jim was aft of the kingpost and was not hurt. The following day he was
given command of the E. N. Cooke.
" 'In 1878 he bought out the interest of C. P. Church in the flour mills and
also purchased the steamer of A. A. McCully, which he operated between Oregon
City and Eugene. In 1881 he became captain of the City of Salem and for the next
year or two was busy carrying railroad material to Dayton and Ray's Landing. In
the early '80s he bought the flour mill at Walla Walla, Washington. Later he ran
the Henry Villard on Lake Pend Oreille and afterward operated a vessel on
Clark's Fork. In 1882 he sold the mill in Walla Walla and engaged in ranching
for a time, returning to the river in 1889 as captain of the City of Salem.
Early in the '90s he had charge of the building of the steamer Norma and was her
captain on her first trip on the Snake, Later he was captain of the Governor
Newell, also of the Three Sisters, the Toledo and the Joseph Kellogg. About 1893
he went up to Montana to run the steamer Annerly on the Kootenai between
Jennings and Fort Steel. Afterward he bought the steamer Halys and put her on
the Kootenai run, operating her out of Bonner's Ferry. After working on the
river for several years my cousin, Thomas Jefferson Miller, settled in eastern
Oregon and my cousin, C. S. Miller, went to California following his retirement
from navigation affairs.
" 'I was eleven when we left St. Joseph, Missouri There were fifteen wagons
in our train. In 1850 there was so much travel that we had no trouble from
Indians. Most of those who visited our camp carried papers which they carefully
treasured, to prove that they were good Indians. Some of the "recommendations"
were very curious. An Indian would gravely hand out a "recommendation" reading,
"This is a bad Indian; look out for him. He will steal your eye teeth if you
don't watch him." We started out with plenty of provisions but a good many that
year ran short, so we shared ours till we also were out of food. From Fort Hall
on we lived pretty much on corn bread, sage hens and jack rabbits. My cousins,
who had come back from California that spring, had an idea that we might be out
of supplies, so they packed some horses with bacon, flour, potatoes and other
provisions. They met us in the Grand Ronde valley and I needn't tell you we were
mighty glad to see them. One reason why we were so late was that the travel was
so heavy in 1850 that the grass on both sides of the old Oregon trail was pretty
well eaten off, so we had to drive our cattle a mile or two back from the trail
to get any grass. We laid over a day each week to let them feed up and rest up.
In coming across the plains I ran across a blue ox that somebody had abandoned.
I called him "Old Bull" and brought him along. In the Blue mountains, near Lee's
encampment, not far from where Meacham now is, the timber wolves killed my old
blue ox, to my great sorrow. I heard him bawling and the bells of the other
cattle jingling as they ran, but before we could get there the wolves had
dragged Old Bull down and torn his throat so badly that he bled to death. We
reached Laurel Hill about October 20, having the twelve cattle which we had
brought from St. Joseph, and encountered a storm similar to the "silver thaws"
which at intervals visit Portland. After descending the hill we camped near
Mount Hood and during the night six head of our cattle died from exposure. Dr.
R. M. Alien and his family, who were just behind us, were prevented from
descending the hill owing to the severity of the storm and the intense cold
during the night killed all of their cattle.
" 'My father settled near his brother, J, D. Miller, purchasing a tract of
six hundred and forty acres, for which he paid two hundred and fifty dollars,
and I spent my boyhood working on this farm. There are not many people now
living in Oregon City who were here at the time of our arrival. Dr. Forbes
Barclay built his house on the river bank near the new bridge the year we came
here. His two daughters, Mrs. Harriet Barclay Pratt and Miss Barclay, live in
the old house and are among the oldest settlers here now. Dr. Barclay was a
former employe of the Hudson's Bay Company and a fine man.
" 'I used to be a crack shot with a rifle and kept our table supplied with
grouse and pheasants. I never shot them in the body, for that ruins the meat. I
usually shot them through the head or neck. It is a rather curious thing that
while I was so successful in bagging grouse and pheasants I never was much good
in hunting deer. I could find them alright but they usually got away before I
could shoot them, for I invariably got the "buck ague" and by the time I had the
end of my gun barrel steady the deer had left for parts unknown.
" 'I did my first steamboating under Captain Jim Miller on board the Union.
I started as fireman but before long he made me mate. For a while we ran from
Canemah up the Yamhill river to Dayton. The other boats would take no freight
this side of the Yamhill, so that we controlled the business on that river.
Later we went into the "long trade," as the haul from Canemah to Corvallis was
called. One of the incidents I remember most distinctly on the river was the
explosion of the steamer Gazelle. I was fifteen at that time. The Gazelle was a
side-wheeler, built by Page, Bacon & Company. There seemed to be a sort of
hoodoo on that company. The first boat they built was burned before she could be
launched at Oregon City. The manager of the firm or rather, the superintendent
of the Willamette Falls Company, which owned the Gazelle was killed when the
boat exploded. The Gazelle made her trial trip March 18, 1854. A few weeks later
to be exact, on April 8----while lying at the wharf at Canemah, her boiler burst
and twenty-two of the fifty people on board were instantly killed and many
others badly injured. Some of the best known people in Oregon lost their lives
in that accident and among them was Daniel Page, one of the builders' of the
Gazelle. About a year previously his wife and little girl had been killed by the
explosion of the Jenny Lind at San Francisco. My brother-in-law, Ezra Post, had
a blacksmith shop at Canemah and the killed and wounded from the Gazelle were
carried to his place, which was not large enough to accommodate all of them. I
hurried to Canemah as soon as I heard of the explosion and I shall never forget
the sight of those dead bodies on the floor of the shop, nor shall I ever forget
the groans of the wounded. Among the dead were the Rev. J. P. Miller, of Albany,
Oregon; Judge Burch, of Polk county; James White, of Salem; David .Fuller, of
Portland, and a number of others.
" 'A lot of history has been made at Canemah. It was there that the steamer
Canemah was built in 1851. Captain A. F. Hedges, Alanson Beers, Hamilton
Campbell, John McCloskey and Charles Bennett were the owners and builders of the
Canemah. Alanson Beers came to Oregon in 1836 with Jason Lee, Captain Charles
Bennett was killed while charging the Indians at the head of his company up near
Walla Walla in 1855. Hamilton Campbell, or "Cow" Campbell, as he was called, was
also one of the early-day Methodist missionary party. John McCloskey used to be
a pilot on the Mississippi. The old Canemah was used by Nathaniel Coe, Oregon's
first postal agent, as a traveling post office. The steamer was his headquarters
and mail for all communities up the river was sorted aboard the Canemah. Its
boiler exploded in the summer of 1853 and Marian Holcroft, a passenger, was
killed. Some of the best known steamboat men in Oregon served aboard the
Canemah, among them Ainsworth, Cole, Pease and Wygant. Captain Theodore Wygant
ran her during 1852 and 1853 and was succeeded by Captain George E. Cole.
" 'Among the early-day Oregonians I used to meet at Canemah or Oregon City
were Dave and Asa McCully, who founded the People's Transportation line; Joe
Meek, the well known sheriff, trapper and mountaineer; John G. Campbell, Colonel
A. L. Lovejoy, Sidney Moss, Captain Apperson and scores of others whose names
are recorded on the pages of Oregon's pioneer history. In the fall of 1850 I met
an Indian, who played an important part in events that shaped the early history
of the state. His name was Peu Peu Mox Mox. At that time we were in the Grand
Ronde valley. Father had a wall tent that this Indian chief was very anxious to
get and traded it to him for a fine American mare. Father was an expert
millwright and was hired by Dr. McLoughlin to rebuild his mill. In those day the
mills were provided with a long spout and the bran was emptied into the river.
Later the bran was run into a big bin and sold at a low price. My brother and I
went down to the mill shortly after my father began working there, taking along
several sacks in which to carry some bran. I was not yet twelve. Dr. McLoughlin
watched us a moment and then said, "You boys hold the sack open and I'll shovel
the bran in." So he filled the sacks for us. I never yet have met a man who
knew Dr. McLoughlin who did not speak well of him. He was kind, just and
generous. I have always felt sorry he was treated so unjustly and his property
taken from him through legal technicalities.
" 'In 1858 I organized a band at Oregon City. In those days there were bands
at Portland, Salem and Aurora, Oregon, and a military band at Vancouver,
Washington. I played the E-flat cornet. One year we went up to the state fair
and played against the Salem band. There were eight men in my organization and
the Salem band had seventeen. We played just after the ball game. The judge tied
the blue ribbon to my horn. It made the leader of the Salem Band very angry and
he said, "I'll bet you're afraid to show up here next year. If you do, I'll warn
you right now that you won't take first prize." The next year I went up with
twelve men in my band and the Salem Band refused to compete. I added five more
men, split it in two, and we competed against each other and of course took the
blue ribbon. This was in the '60s. About 1879 the residents of Oregon City
presented me with a silver cornet. For over thirty years I served as leader of
the band. Among those who played in it during the early years were Sidney,
Walter, Volney and Johnny Moss, and their stepbrothers, Gallatin and Linn
Richardson.
" 'From 1861 until 1863 I was employed on the river, abandoning that work
after my marriage. During the spring of 1851 I met Miss Marion W. Allen, who
became my wife on December 31, 1863. She was a daughter of Dr. R. M. Allen, who
came to Oregon in 1850. His widow married William Barlow, who was the founder of
the town which bears his name.
" 'I worked at whatever I could make the most money at, doing carpentering
for some time, and aided in building the locks at Oregon City. As a young man I
was employed in the flour mill owned by Daniel Harvey, Dr. John McLoughlin's
son-in-law, and used to pile sacks of wheat from seven to nine bags high, being
pretty husky in those days."
On October 24, 1870, Mr. Miller was appointed bailiff of the court at
Oregon City, which at that time was in session only during the spring and fall
terms, thus affording him leisure for other activities. He was deputy sheriff of
Clackamas county under Captain Apperson, who was later a member of the state
senate, and completed his unexpired term as sheriff, an office to which his
brother-in-law, J. G. Pillsbury, was then elected. He chose Mr. Miller as a
deputy and at the same time the latter performed his work as court bailiff,
serving under Judges Upton, Shattuck, McBride, Ballinger, Scott, Taylor and
Campbell. Before the office became an all year job Mr. Miller did important work
as a building contractor between the terms of court and aided in completing the
breakwater from Oregon City to Canemah. As superintendent he was in charge of
the construction of the first sewer in Oregon City and acted in the same
capacity when the first brick paving was laid here. Under Superintendent
Sullivan of the paper mill he assisted in building nine cribs thirty feet long
and ten feet deep. He continued as bailiff until May 30, 1927, and had he
remained in office until October 24, 1927, would have completed fifty-seven
years of continuous service. As a public official he displayed rare qualities,
establishing a record of faithfulness and efficiency which has seldom been
equaled. Mr. Miller has witnessed much of the actual "winning of the west" and
his conversation is enriched with interesting reminiscences of the past.
Mrs. Miller was born December 1, 1847, in Palmyra, Missouri, and on,
January 19, 1917, was called to her final rest. Her father responded to death's
summons in 1851, and her mother, whose maiden name was Martha Partlow, has
passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have a son and daughter. Ralph D. was born
April 18, 1871, and is engaged in ranching near Willamette. By his first wife,
who was Miss Edna Tabor, he had one child, Marion D. and his second union was
with Miss Anna Fisher. The daughter, Lura Ellen, married C. G. Huntley, who is
collector of internal revenue at Portland. Their only child is now Mrs. Mildred
S. Lovett and also makes her home in the Rose city.
The exercise of effort has kept Mr. Miller alert and at the advanced age of
eighty-eight years he is remarkably well preserved. He has found life well worth
living, making the most of it day by day and discharging every duty and
obligation to the best of his ability. Time has strengthened his position in
public regard and no resident of Clackamas county is better known or more highly
esteemed.