Mrs. Mary Miller Rites Held In Omaha

Mrs. Mary S. Miller, whose death occurred at 11 p.m., Wednesday, August 27, 1941 at the home of her daughter, Carrie Miller Gantz, 2316 Ogdon street, Omaha Nebraska, was born on her father’s farm near West Union, Ritchie County, West Virginia on April 27, 1848, and at the time of her death was 93 years, 4 months and 1 day old. She was the daughter of John and Mahalah Myres Dotson.

The “Dotsons” were descendants of 7 brothers who came from England at the time William Penn established “Penn Colony” under the original grant from the King of England in 1681. In 1720 they established homes in the vicinity of Tollygate, Virginia, (now West Virginia) and a long line of their descendants inhabited West Virginia while others scattered among many of the western states.

Mrs. Miller’s great uncle, Elisha Dotson, served as a soldier in the War of 1812. Her father, John Dotson, operated a farm of 1,000 acres near West Union, West Virginia, and among her papers is the original deed to the farm which describes the boundaries of the farm in rather unique language. Her father was born in 1800 and died in 1880 at the age of 80. After his death the decision was made to migrate west and in 1882 Mrs. Miller and her husband, Henry P. Miller, accompanied by Mrs. Miller’s mother and six children located on a farm near the old town of DeSoto, Nebraska.

Mrs. Miller’s marriage to Henry P. Miller occurred in 1866. Mr. Miller served 4 years in the Civil War, Co. K, 3rd Reg. West Va. Volunteers. He was in the infantry during the first three year enlistment term but on the date of his honorable discharge he re-enlisted for another three years and was placed in a calvary unit and later as a bugler due to failing health. The war ended after the fourth year of military service and it was shortly thereafter that his marriage occurred. To this union 11 children were born but three died in infancy before the family came west. In 1882 the children then living were Grant, Vernocia, Annie, Nellie, Carrie and Harry, the latter an infant in arms. Two other children, Fred and Maude, were born on the old DeSoto farm.

In 1887 Mrs. Miller’s husband died and after his death the surviving members of the family moved to Blair where Mrs. Miller purchased a home. Mr. Miller was a pioneer member of the Blair band, being musically inclined and especially skilled with the snare drum, bugle and fife. He was never in robust health after the war and during the five years he operated the DeSoto farm his health became continuously worse finally ending in death. The only death in the Miller family since the death of the father 54 years ago occurred in July, 1939, when Mrs. Vernocia Guyer passed away.

As an indication of the truly pioneer character of Mrs. Miller, she, at the age of 63, of her own volition and without the knowledge of her children took up a homestead in the N.W. Section of Nebraska where she lived alone (In a sod house she had built) for three years and after proving up on the property she traded it for a house and lot in Omaha which she later sold.

During the past 25 years Mrs. Miller traveled much of the time, visiting children and relatives located in West Virginia, Ohio, New York, Texas, Oregon, California, Kansas and Michigan and when not visiting others she made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Vernocia Guyer, in Blair. After the death of Mrs. Guyer she arranged for temporary abode at the Crowell Memorial Home in Blair where she remained until two months prior to her death.

Attending her funeral from out of town were her daughters, Mrs. Nellie M. Alexander of Brooklyn, New York, Mrs. Anna Jennings of Omaha, Mrs. Carrie Gantz of Omaha, her son, Harry T. Miller and wife of Detroit, and her grandchildren Robert Jennings of Detroit, Mrs. Andrew Madsen of Lyons, Nebraska, Harold Ford Alexander of New York, Mrs. Earl Boyd of Kansas City, Mr. and Mrs. Russel Gantz and three children, Eunice, Donald and Patricia. Mr. Ed Cain (brother of Mrs. Grant Miller) and his wife of Omaha were also in attendance. Three surviving children, Grant of Wichita, Kansas, Fred of Portland Oregon, and Mrs. Maude Rolfson of San Francisco, California, were unable to attend.

Funeral services were held from the First M.E. Church in Blair at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 30th. The pall-bearers were six grandsons, Lyle, Fred and Burman Guyer of Blair, Russel Gantz of Omaha, Harold Alexander of New York City and Robert Guy Jennings of Detroit.

Mrs. Miller has been a member of the First M.E. Church of Blair since 1882 except for those years in which she resided elsewhere. She was also a member of the Womens Relief Corps which was represented at her funeral. She was an entertaining person and her history has been briefly covered several times via radio broadcasters who became interested in her long and useful career. She was known as “Grandma Miller” to all who knew her in Blair and Omaha and elsewhere wherever she was acquainted.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~