John Miller Jr.

Ancestors

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My complete family tree is on Geneanet. I also have a tree on Ancestry.com -- without sources and not regularly updated, maintained to track DNA matches.

Bio: Retired from career in intelligence and security with U.S. Navy and Dept. of Defense. Served as an intelligence analyst and briefer, translator, publications editor and security director. BA, Williams 1968. PhD (history), Yale 1978. Commander, USNR (Ret.). Home: Rising Sun, MD.

Early Arrivals and Other Notable Miller and Weishaar Ancestors:

• Joseph Bolles, Maine, c. 1640. Descendent of Alfred the Great, William the Conqueror, Charlemagne, first King of Scots. Connection.
• Azor Curtis, Continental Army at Saratoga, Monmouth, Valley Forge (at age 60). Connection.
• Stephen and Mary Viola (Costeski) Federoff , originally Fedor. From today's Slovakia (he born there, her parents probably also). The only identified line of ancestry outside of Britain and Western Europe. Connection.
• Marselis Janse van Bommel, Schenectady, 1653; descendants took Marselis as their surname. Connection.
• John Martin, Swansea, Plymouth Colony, c. 1650. Connection. His daughter-in-law, Mercy Stafford(?) is Pam's earliest known "mitochondrial" ancestor. Connection.
• Peter and Eva (Roschy) Miller, first of our Millers to America, 1836. Eva's ancestry is traceable to the 17th Century in Rhineland Germany. Connection.
• John Ogden, a principal founder of the New Jersey Colony, 1664. Connection. Also: John Littell, NJ Founder, 1668. Connection.
• Johannes Theodorus Polhemus, Dutch Brazil, 1637; Long Island, New Netherlands, 1654. Connection.
• James R. Robinson, a major brick wall. Connection. Possibly related: Isaac Decker, Staten Island Loyalist.
• Thomas Walford, New England, 1623. Connection.
• Johannes and Eva Barbara (Scheidt) Weishaar, the original Weishaar immigrants to Chicago Heights, IL. Ancestors have been traced to 17th Century in Alsace. Connection.

Research & Resources:

• Wiki Resource Pages.
  • Swan Island Captives: The Lazarus Noble Family in Canada, 1750.
  • Surname Marselis, The Legend of Gabriel: Resolving confusion surrounding the origins of the Marselis family of Schenectady and other Dutch immigrants of that name.
  • "Lost" Census Returns for Arundel, Maine, 1810. Missing from NARA microfilm and online sites including Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. Include probable entry for Andrew Noble.
• Vital Records: Studies based on family documents recording lineal "missing links" not recorded elsewhere.
  • The Ancestry and Offspring of Andrew Noble, Alfred and Parsonsfield, Maine, 1796 - 1865, by John T. Miller (2019, Academia.edu). Presents a family document uniquely identifying the children of Andrew Noble and analysis of his ancestry, as descending from Benjamin Noble.
  • Biography: Memoir and Family Documentation, by Ellen Harmon Littell, John T. Miller, ed. (1930, commentary 2020, Academia.edu). A memoir of growing up in 19th-century Schenectady, and containing unique information regarding the Irish origins of Thomas Harman and Deborah Dudley. With commentary and Harmon genealogy.

• Family Genealogies: Genealogical charts by family researchers.
  • Roschy Genealogy: A genealogy chart compiled by the Roschy family of Waldfischbach, Germany, tracing connections to Infert, Seibert and other families of Rhineland-Palatinate back to the Seventeenth Century.
  • Hassinger Ancestral Chart: Compiled in 1970 by Bernice Hassinger (1915-2004) of Birmingham, AL, wife of Richard, from sources as annotated. Provided in 1981 to William H. Creighton. The chart traces the Schuber ancestry of the Mathis family, as well as Hassinger and related lines.

Watch:

Theodorus Polhemus (1755-1820) | Dupe

Ephraim Price (abt.1650-)

John Henry Wade Jr (1619-)

Mary (Thompson) Haines (abt.1650-abt.1736)

John Thompson (abt.1673-1734)

Nicholas Carter Sr. (abt.1629-abt.1681)

Joseph Bond (abt.1644-1709)

Isaac Hatfield Sr. (abt.1665-bef.1717)

Nancy Ann Tucker (1778-1845)

Mary (Ogden) Gunn (1795-1856)

Benjamin Ogden (1654-1722)

Daniel Ogden Jr. (1737-1809)

Draft

In 1788, Nicholas submitted a claim for "Losses and Sufferings" to a Parliamentary Commission meeting in Quebec, inquiring into "the Losses and Services of the American Loyalists" during the Revolution. He stated that:^[1]

• He was resident in New York City in 1775 and "took an active part in opposing the violences of the Rebels".
• In May 1775 he saved Dr. Myles Cooper, President of King's College, from a mob.
  • President Cooper took refuge aboard a British vessel and sailed for England. Nicholas was a graduate of Kings, now Columbia University.^[2]
• He was "threatened to be Tarred and Feathered" and fled to New Jersey.
• In 1776 he was apprehended by Patriot authorities in New Jersey, to be tried for conspiring to kill George Washington, but charges were dropped for lack of evidence.
• At an unspecified time he purchased several hundred pounds worth of supplies in New York and attempted to bring them to British forces in Georgia aboard a naval convoy. But he was captured by an American squadron and held as a prisoner, to be tried for treason. He escaped back to New York.
• He joined the British Army in New York under Lord Cornwallis in Dec. 1776
  • This was when Cornwallis was driving the Continental Army out of New Jersey -- Nicholas's rank and status at the time are not specified.
• He served as 1st Lt. and Assistant Brigade Major with the New York Provincial Militia.
• He was attainted -- his property confiscated -- by the New Jersey State Assembly.
• He valued the lost property at £3684.
  • It is not clear what he was awarded for compensation, which was invariably a lot less than claimed.

A Maj. Beckwith testified in the proceedings that Nicholas had been "employed confidentially and gave intelligence that was of Service" to the British in New York. He was familiar with the territory in New Jersey and probably had cooperative contacts.

____________________

1. ↑ "American Loyalist Claims" (Audit Office, Public Records Office, London UK, 1776-1835; Public Archives of Canada), AO 12/18, pp. 18-26; Ancestry.com.
2. ↑

____________________

He established a law practice in Newark in 1763 and was subsequently admitted to the bar of the State Supreme Court.^[3]

In May 1775 Isaac was a delegate from Essex County to the New Jersey Provincial Congress, called to consider removing the British administration of the Province, following the outbreak of fighting in Massachusetts the previous month. In June 1776 they adopted a state constitution for New Jersey, and in July joined the twelve other colonies in Declaring Independence.^[4]

Isaac opposed independence. He had attended initial sessions of the Congress hoping that a breach with Britain could be avoided. Finding this futile he resigned in August 1775.^[3]

In supporting the British regime he was joined by his father and brothers Nicholas and Peter, while Samuel and Abraham adhered to the Patriots. As a Loyalist Isaac was forced to flee to British-held New York City in 1776, although his family remained in their home in Newark. They were severely inconvenienced, but apparently not molested, when both British and American commanders used the house as headquarters during the to-and-fro of the fighting. ref name="UELOgden"/ Isaac practicied admiralty law while a refugee in New York.^[3]

He sailed for England in 1783, at the conclusion of the conflct, with his family. As his property in America was confiscated due to his adherence to the Crown, he claimed £2927 in compensation, and received £660, with additional for loss of income. In the hearings regarding compensation claims, some witnesses questioned whether he was genuinely loyal to the Crown. Apparently his participation in the Provincial Congress had led some to doubt his sincerity. There is also some indication of personal animus. Certainly he had no reason to abandon his livelihood and property if he was not truly dedicated to the Royal cause. ^[3]

In 1788 he was appointed a Judge in the Admiralty Court in Quebec and subsequenly as a Justice of the Court of the Kings Bench in Montreal. He returned to England for medical treatment in 1818 and died there in 1824. At his death, according to his will, he was living in Taunton, Somerset County, England.

______________________________________________________________

There is no direct record of David's dates of birth and death. He was presumably born in Newark, NJ, where his family lived. He died in Whitestone, a village in the town of Flushing, LI, between 21 May 1798 when his will is dated (codicil) and 6 Aug. when it was probated.^[5][6] In secondary accounts he is commonly said to have been born in 1707 and to have died at age 92 or 93, year of death given variously as 1798, 1800 and 1802. He clearly died in 1798. If he was then 93 he was born in 1705 (+\-).^[7][8][9]

A member of a prosperous family, David graduated from Yale College in the Class of 1728.^[7]

In Newark he established "an extensive and lucrative" law practice, and was known for his robust work ethic: "Up at four in the morning, winter and summer, he had done a day's work, before most of his professional brethren were out of their beds." He "for many years, stood confessedly at the head of the Bar in New Jersey." He was appointed to the King's Council for the Province of New Jersey (upper house of the provincial legislature) in about 1750 and became a Justice of the Provincial Supreme Court in 1772.^{[8][5][10][11]}

The emergence of the movement toward American independence created a deep rift in David's family. David remained loyal to the British Crown, as did three of his sons (Isaac, Nicholas, Peter), while two sons sided with the revolutionaries (Samuel, Abraham).^[9]

Accordihg to his post-war claim for compensation from British authorities, Judge Ogden was removed from his court position in 1776 and forced by threats of violance to flee to New York City in Jan. 1777, whereupon his house in Newark was plundered by Continental troops, and his property thereafter confiscated by the Revolutionary regime. He reported losses of over £20,000 and was awarded £9415 in compensation, along with a pension of £200 p.a.^[10][9]

In New York during the war David was appointed to the Board of Directors of the "Associated Loyalists", organized in 1780 to oversee operations by irregular Loyalist combatants against American troops, communities and coastal shipping in New York and New Jersey.^[12][7]

David went to England in 1783 when the British evacuated the former colonies. For a time he acted as agent for other Loyalists in pursuing claims for compensation. He returned to America in 1790 and died in 1798. His will leaves his Long Island property to son Nicholas and $500 to Isaac. He directs executors to pursue a claim for debt against Samuel (who sided with the Revolution). He leaves a carriage and harness to daughter Sarah.^[5][6]