Petrus (Müller) Miller (abt. 1815 - 1886)

Born about 12 Mar 1815 in Burgalben, Pirmasens, Pfalz, Bayern

Descendants

Died 31 May 1886 at about age 71 in New York, USA

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Biography

Petrus (or Peter) Müller was born about 12 Mar 1815^[1][2] and baptised on 14 Mar 1815, the son of Johannes Adam Müller, a carpenter, and Catharina Sigel (or Siegel) of Burgalben in the Pfalz region of the Rhine District (German: Rheinkreis).^[2][3][4]The family was Catholic.^[3] The baptism was recorded in the churchbook of the Catholic church in Clausen.^[3] It was a transitional period for the region. The Congress of Vienna was underway and the Rheinkreis, under provisional co-administration by the Empire of Austria and the Kingdom of Bavaria, was in its final months as a part of Napoleon's Empire of France. Austria would formally cede control of the region to Bavaria the following year.

Baptism of Petrus Müller, 14 Mar 1815.[3]

Marriage and Children

Peter's wife Eva Roschy came from the neighboring village of Waldfischbach and was baptised there in the local Reformed church.^[5]

Date and place of marriage to Eva Roschy is unknown. They arrived in New York City from Le Havre on 19 July 1836.^[6]

Peter and Eva had the following children:

1. Anthony^[7][8]
2. Eva^[7][8]
3. John^{[7][8][9][10]}
4. Peter Jr.^{[7][8][9][11]}
5. Susan^[8][9][12]
6. Clara^[8][9]
7. William^[8][9]

Residence and Occupation

In census reports Peter's occupation was recorded as: mahogany (U.S. 1850, 1860),^[7][9] mahogany dealer (NY 1855),^[8] lumber dealer (U.S. 1870),^[13] retired lumber merchant (U.S. 1880).^[14] He was presumably engaged in retail of finished lumber.

His immigration record gives occupation as farmer, but that may have been an assumption.^[6] Otherwise he first appears as a cabinet maker at 37 Attorney St. in 1852, when the New York Tribune reported a small fire in his third-floor shop ("damage trifling").^[15] He occupied No. 37 sometime after 1843 when someone else lived there.^[16] Thereafter his lumber business was located at No. 39 next door. In 1866 or 1867 Peter brought his son John into the business, now listed as Miller & Son, mahagony.^[17] By 1876 Peter had retired and the business was Peter Miller's Sons, William having joined John.^[18] From 1879 Miller's Sons was not listed and evidently went out of business.

Peter and Eva remained at Attorney St. until their deaths. Nos. 37 and 39 were sold on behalf of the estate in 1898.^[19]

Death and Estate

He died on 31 May 1886 in Manhattan, New York.^[1][2][20]

Death notice of Peter Miller, Sr. in The Sun, 1 Jun 1886.[20]

Although the newspaper reported his age as 72 years old,^[20] his New York death certificate gives an age of 71 years, 2 months, and 19 days.^[2]

His will was signed on 2 Aug. 1878 and probated 1 Jul. 1886.^[21] The will named wife "Eve" and son Peter Jr. as executors and trustees. Estate to be held in trust for his wife until her death. Then: $100 each to Anthony, John and Eva Storm; and a quarter of the remainder each to Peter, Susan and Clara. The final quarter was put in trust for William, his brother Peter as trustee. William was to receive the income from the funds, the principal going to his heirs upon his death. Peter states that the lesser bequests to Anthony, John and Eva are "made by me after due consideration and for reasons that are satisfactory to me". Presumably they were already provided for one way or another and certainly they were all quite wealthy in later life.

There is no explanation for putting William's share in trust. Evidently he was considered to be somehow incapable of responsibly handling the money and/or had done something to displease his father. The will was made about the time Miller's Sons went out of business. Perhaps William was somehow thought responsible for the business failure.

Peter's funeral was held on 2 Jun 1886 at his home on the 2nd floor at 37 Attorney St.^[20] Burial was the same day at the Lutheran Cemetery.^[1][2]

His Geneanet entry.

Research

Death certificate indicates his burial on 2 Jun 1886 in the Lutheran Cemetery. This may refer to the Lutheran Cemetery (now All Faiths Cemetery) in Middle Village, Queens. Does All Faiths have a record of his burial?

His Lower East Side residence was not far from the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Mark at 323 E 6th St. Do Peter Miller or his family members appear in their church archives?

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WJY-9P8 : 20 March 2015), Peter Miller, 31 May 1886; citing Death, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,373,987.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Death certificate of Peter Miller, New York, #564639, 31 May 1886. "Manhattan death certificates, 1866-1919", FHL film #1373987. His parents are listed as John and Margaret Miller, presumably Johann and Margaretha Müller. The name "Margaret" does not agree with the name of his mother per his baptism record, "Catharina". Possibly this is an error of the informant, or perhaps Catharina had two names, such as Catharina Margaretha, which was not uncommon. The discrepancy is noted.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Baptism of Petrus Müller on 14 Mar 1815: Katholische Kirche Clausen (BA. Pirmasens). Kirchenbuch, 1806-1913. "Taufen 1806-1889; Konfirmationen 1806-1834". FHL #400533, DGS #8110854, Image 53.
4. ↑ "Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N2HS-XGC : 25 March 2020), Petrus Mueller, 1815.
5. ↑ Reinhold Fremgen, Bürger- u. Familienbuch von 1798-1850 der Verbandsgemeinde Waldfishbach-Burgalben... (1998, FHL film 1224610 Item 14, p. 320.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Arrival, ship Baltimore, "New York, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1957"; Line: 15, NARA Microfilm M237:30 Ancestry.com. Listed as Peter, 21 and Efa Muller, 20, he a farmer (everyone is listed as farmer), from Bavaria. Names and ages are close. Origin is correct (Rhineland-Palatinate was part of Bavaria, 1815-1946). Date of arrival matches length of U.S. residence on their death certificates.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4} "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCT8-HY2 : 9 November 2014), Peter Miller, New York City, ward 7, New York, New York, United States; citing family 2273, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7} "New York State Census, 1855," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K67C-L3X : 13 March 2018), Peter Midler, E.D. 1, Ward 13, New York City, New York, New York, United States; citing p. 46, line #18, family #416, county clerk offices, New York; FHL microfilm 1,018,659.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5} "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCHF-VKW : 30 December 2015), Pelter Miller, 1860.
10. ↑ "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:249K-CM2 : 20 March 2015), Peter Miller in entry for John Miller and Wilhelmine Scheig, 11 Jun 1873; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York City Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,561,968.
11. ↑ "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2716-KG3 : 20 March 2015), Peter Miller in entry for Peter Miller, 06 Jan 1910; citing Death, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,323,235.
12. ↑ "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2492-VY9 : 20 March 2015), Peter Miller in entry for Casper Feld and Susan Miller, 09 Jun 1874; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York City Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,562,047.
13. ↑ "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8F3-LDW : 17 October 2014), Peter Miller, New York, United States; citing p. 9, family 80, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 552,490.
14. ↑ "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZ6M-JWP : 15 July 2016), Peter Miller, New York, New York, New York, United States; citing enumeration district ED 145, sheet 170B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0873; FHL microfilm 1,254,873.
15. ↑ New York Tribune, 19 Nov. 1852, p.7, col. 2 Fulton History: New York State Historical Newspapers.
16. ↑ New-York City and Co-Partnership Directory (New York: John Doggett, Jr.) 1843/44, p. 21: 37 Attorney St., Samuel Atkinson, carpenter. New York Public Library.
17. ↑ Trow's New York City Directory (New York: J.F. Trow, 1853ff) 1867-68, p. 722 HathiTrust.org.
18. ↑ Trow's New York City Directory (New York: J.F. Trow, 1853ff) 1876-77, p. 956 Archive.org.
19. ↑ New York Tribune, 26 Oct. 1898, New York State Historical Newspapers.
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3} Death notice of Peter Miller, Sr. in The Sun (New York, New York), 1 Jun 1886, Tuesday, Page 3.
21. ↑ "Will of Peter Miller", signed 2 Aug. 1878, probated 1 Jul. 1886; Record of Wills, v. 369, p. 41; Surrogate Court, New York, NY, FHL film 1313824, item 2. FamilySearch.org.