John Peery Miller

John Peery Miller

Family Historian

Some of my favorite ancestors are those who were our family's pioneers in family history research.  John Peery Miller and his brother Samuel Miller were the first to do genealogical research for our Miller and Leffel families.  

In 1913, John Peery Miller published the following family history booklet:

"The Genealogy of the Descendants of Frederick and Mary Elizabeth Peery Miller" complied by  their grandson John Peery Miller, Professor of History, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1913.

In the Prefatory Notes (page 7), Miller describes his interest in and reason for writing the history of his grandparents, Frederick and Mary E. Peery Miller.  J. Peery Miller gives credit to his brother Samuel S. Miller for assistance in furnishing the early family history.

John Peery Miller 

John Peery Miller descends from Frederick and Mary E. Miller's son, John Miller (1798-1863) who married Joanna Smith (1806-1891).   John Peery was born 7 May 1847 in Bethel, Clark County, Ohio.  He was a veteran of the Civil War.   After the war, John entered Antioch College in Ohio.  For thirty-three years he was a Professor of History at the Antioch College.  John Peery died at the age of 90 years old in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Below is the information of his wife and children he included in his Miller genealogy.

J. Peery Miller Obituary

Information from the Miller book on the

Frederick and Mary Elizabeth Peery Miller Family

Our family descends through Frederick and Mary Elizabeth Miller's oldest daughter, Mary Miller, who married Anthony Leffel.  Their second daughter Elizabeth Miller married James P. Leffel, the brother to Anthony Leffel.   John Peery Leffel was a first cousin to our ancestor David Miller Leffel (son of Anthony and Mary Miller Leffel).

Frederick Miller (1760-1822) and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Peery (1769-1844), were both raised in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. After their marriage, they migrated to the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. Their seven children were born in Botetourt County, Virginia, 1789-1811. The family migrated to Clark County, Ohio in 1818. Frederick bought a quarter section, containing forty acres of cleared land, located in Bethel township, six miles west of Springfield.

Frederick Miller died during the construction of their house in Clarke County in 1822. Frederick and Mary Elizabeth Miller are buried in the Bethel Cemetery, Bethel Township, Clark County, Ohio.  

Frederick and Elizabeth were the parents of  seven (7) children: 

1. Mary 1789-1850, md Anthony Leffel - 10 children,
2. Henry 1791-1866, md (1)Charity Vantassel - 2 children, (2)Sarah Beaty - 1 child,  
3. Elizabeth 1796-1874, md James P Leffel - 7 children,  
4. John 1798-1863, md Joanna Smith  - 12 children, 
5. Daniel 1802-1878, md Elizabeth Neff  - 11 children,
6. David 1805-1867, md Sarah Smith - 10 children, 
7. Delilah 1811-1863, md William Gordon - 12 children

Miller Posts: 
Frederick and Mary Elizabeth Peery Miller    
Miller Homestead, Clark County, Ohio  
Bethel Cemetery in Clark County, Ohio  

**Note: A scanned copy of the Miller book in it's entirety is available on FamilySearch.org.  Click on the Search tab, then Books, and then search for Frederick Miller. 

Other pioneer genealogical researchers in our family:
Alta Sherrard Waugh - Weiss Family History  
Charles E Hatfield - Hatfield Family Record