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 

Early Clark County, Ohio History by Joanna Smith Miller

1887 Newspaper Article 
Early Clark County, Ohio 

by Joanna Smith Miller

Joanna Smith Miller (1806-1891), the daughter of Samuel Smith and Elizabeth McCleave, was married to John Miller.  John Miller was the brother of Mary Miller Leffel, our 3rd great-grandmother, and son of Frederick Miller, our 4th great-grandfather.  When Joanna was 80 years old, her son Samuel Smith Miller interviewed her for a newspaper article, which was published in the Springfield Daily Republic on 17 January 1887.  The article was titled "Clark County's Infancy," with a subtitle: "An Intensely Interesting Chapter of Early History - The Ways of Our Forefathers Charmingly Described."

In order to enlarge the newspaper article to a size big enough to be easily read, please go to Chronicling America.  The above newspaper article can be found on the Library of Congress website, Chronicling America.
 Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]), 17 Jan. 1887. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. 
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87076917/1887-01-17/ed-1/seq-2

Joanna's history includes information about the Smith, Miller, and Leffel families, as well as many others.  At the bottom of the second column is an excerpt about Joanna's father-in-law, Frederick Miller, and brother-in-law, Anthony Leffel.

I love the part about the Indians living in their wigwams near Anthony Leffel's cabin -- 

"While Mr. Leffel lived there the Indians had a dozen or so of wigwams, built of bark, a short distance west of their cabin, and Samuel, Mr. Leffel’s son, who is yet living and not very old, used to play with the Indian children.  When a tall, good looking [Anthony] Leffel of eighteen years would go to see the Indians, a comely young squaw always came out and sat on a log as if to court the young man into an attachment."

Birch-Bark Indian Wigwams
loc.gov

Related Posts:
Frederick Miller
Anthony Leffel
Springfield, Ohio

Miller Homestead, Clark County, Ohio

Frederick Miller Homestead, Clark County, Ohio

In 1818 Frederick and Elizabeth Peery Miller left their home in Botetourt County, Virginia to make a new home in Clark County, Ohio. Frederick bought a quarter section, containing forty acres of cleared land, located in Bethel township, six miles west of Springfield, Ohio. A cabin on that land was their home until 1822 when the above pictured building of hewn logs was erected. It was built two stories, with a central hall and four rooms. By records dated 1823, Peter Minnich and Peter Marquart did the carpenter work. Beaded mantles, partitions, joists and paneled doors, unusual in log houses in primitive settlements, gave beauty of finish to the structure. Its broad faced poplar logs with the white stripes of lime mortar between made an impressive view.

Frederick Miller 1760-1822 died during the construction of this house. As the widow, Elizabeth was to have a separate room in the new house. She chose as her own the east room on the first floor with its huge fireplace.

In later years other occupants of this house would build around the original structure making it a part of their home. It was still being used in 1912.

Miller land as it looks now.

Frederick & Mary Elizabeth (Peery) Miller

The following was taken from the book: "The Genealogy of the Descendants of Frederick and Mary Elizabeth Peery Miller" by John Peery Miller (Yellow Springs, Ohio: Antioch College, 1913). The Genealogy of the Descendants of Frederick and Mary Elizabeth Peery Miller was compiled by their grandson John Peery Miller, Professor of History, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1913.

Descendants of Frederick and Mary Elizabeth Peery Miller

The Frederick and Elizabeth Peery Miller Family

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. 

Pages from the above Miller book about Frederick Miller can be seen below.

A short history of the Frederick Miller family can be found in a history of Clark County (newspaper article) by the Miller's daughter-in-law, Joanna Smith Miller.  Below are several excerpts from the newspaper article.  I love the second story of Mary's pear tree.  (Springfield Daily Republic, Springfield, Ohio, 17 Jan. 1887)

Frederick Miller

Mary's Pear Tree

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
   

Our line descends through their daughter Mary, who married Anthony Leffel.  

Pages from the Miller book concerning Frederick Miller are shown below.  Click on the pages to enlarge.

Click on page to enlarge

The whole story may be read below:

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

The entire newspaper article by Joanna Smith Miller can be viewed on Newspapers.com or Chronicling America.  For info and link to the newspaper click here

Both Frederick and Mary are both buried in the Bethel Cemetery.  

List of our direct ancestors buried in the Bethel Baptist Cemetery:

Frederick Miller

Mary E. Peery Miller

Anthony Leffel

Mary Miller Leffel

Anna M. Abendschon Leffel

Bethel Cemetery in Clark County, Ohio

Recently while visiting Clark County, Ohio, we were able to visit the Bethel Cemetery in Bethel township.  Many of our Leffel and Miller ancestors are buried in the Bethel Cemetery.

The Cemetery is located next to the Bethel Baptist Church.

We walked around the cemetery trying to find the graves of our Leffel and Miller ancestors who were buried there.
In the photo below, we are trying to read the headstones. Some of the headstones were tipped over, some broken, and most were covered with moss.

Frederick Miller died on 2 Dec 1822 in Bethel Township, Clark County, Ohio.  Frederick died during the construction of his new home he was building for his family and was buried on his farm.  The surrounding plat was afterwards given for a cemetery, meeting house, and school house.  The cemetery was called Bethel Cemetery. 

Springfield Daily Republic, Springfield, Ohio, January 17, 1887

Frederick Miller Headstone

The following are from Clark County histories:

“In 1822 Mr. Miller breathed his last, and there being no cemeteries here, his remains were deposited on his own farm. The place has since been set apart as a burial ground, and is called Bethel Cemetery.” PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM OF GREENE AND CLARK COUNTIES, OHIO; CHAPMAN BROS., CHICAGO copyright 1890 page 584

“The cemetery adjoining Bethel Church was set apart for private burial purposes in 1821. The first body laid there was that of Frederick Miller, in 1822. Since that time, it has been the burial-place of most of the inhabitants dying in the vicinity.”  THE HISTORY of CLARK COUNTY, OHIO, Chicago, W. H. BEERS & CO. 1881, SPRINGFIELD, CLARK COUNTY, OHIO BETHEL TOWNSHIP, page 717

Mary E., wife of F. Miller

Mary and Anthony Leffel Headstones

List of our direct ancestors buried in the Bethel Baptist Cemetery:

Frederick Miller

Mary E. Peery Miller

Anthony Leffel

Mary Miller Leffel

Anna M. Abendschon Leffel

Many of our ancestors' siblings and children are also buried in the Bethel Cemetery.