James Miller (1860 - 1947)

Born 11 Jul 1860 in Auchtergaven, Perthshire, Scotland, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Died 28 Nov 1947 at age 87 in Randolphfield, Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom

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Biography

James was born in 1860. He was the son of George Miller and Elizabeth Bell. He grew up on the family farm in Auchtergaven, Perthshire. Auchtergaven, located 8 miles from Perth, is Gaelic meaning "upland of yearling cattle." James was the eldest of six children. He chose architecture as his career and was apprenticing by 1881. James secured a position with the engineering department of the Caledonian Railway. In 1888 he was transferred to Glasgow and set up his own practice there in 1893 after winning the competition to design Belmont Church in Hillhead. His career spanned nearly fifty years during which he designed churches, schools, banks, factories, hospitals and private homes but he was best remembered for his railway stations and hotels.

James Miller designed the stunning Wemyss Bay Railway Station in 1903. Listed as a Category A Building, it was refurbished between 2014 and 2016. His association with the Queen Anne style Central Station Hotel in Glasgow was as the secondary architect who expanded the 1883 design of Robert Rowand Anderson. The Caledonian Railway commissioned James to enlarge the station and hotel. Work began in 1901 and the completed building opened in April 1907. Currently the hotel is part of the InterContinental Hotels Group. James also designed Turnberry Hotel for South Western Railways in 1904 and the Stirling Railway Station in 1916.

One of James Miller's lesser known accomplishments was the design in 1907 of the elegant interiors of the RMS Lusitania. James used plasterwork rather than wood, giving the ship's grand two-story dining hall a brilliant appearance. However, like the ill-fated Titanic, the Lusitania suffered a horrific tragedy. In 1915 a German U-boat torpedoed the steamship and it sank within twenty minutes causing 1,198 deaths. https://www.WikiTree.com/wiki/Space:Shipping_Disasters

James married Emelina Henrietta Crichton and they had three children; Muriel, George and Mabel. James moved the Miller family to Randolphfield, located in Stirlingshire, in 1911 but kept his office in Glasgow. After his son George Miller died in 1940, James finally retired at age 80. His daughter Mabel recalled her father was an avid gardener. He taught the children to play tennis and golf and took them fishing. He owned a luxury motor car, a Delage Hispan-Suiza, which was driven by his chauffeur named "Mustard." James passed away in Randolphfield in November 1947.

Sources

• Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms 1564-1950, JAMES MILLER Birth 11 July 1860 Auchtergaven, Perthshire, parents George Miller and Betsy Bell
• 1871 Scotland Census, Auchtergaven, Perthshire, George Miller 36, Betsy Miller 30, wife, JAMES MILLER, 8 mo(nths), son, Isable Cormack 13, cousin, Euphima Robertson 22, servant, James Garvie 14, servant
• 1881 Scotland Census, Auchtergaven, Perthshire, Cairnie Farm House, George Miller 55, Betsy Miller 48, JAMES MILLER 20, apprentice architect, Robert Miller 18, Betsy Miller 16, George Miller 14, Catherine Miller 12, Joanna Miller 10, Margaret Boyd 16, servant
• 1901 Scotland Census, Govan, Lanarkshire, 19 Hillhead St., JAMES MILLER 41, architect, Emalina H. Miller 33, wife, Bessie Arthur 27, servant, Margaret Fraser 23, servant
• England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills And Administrations ) 1858-1995, MILLER, James of Randolphfield, Stirling died 28 Nov 1947. Confirmation of Geoffrey Tillotson bank manager Emilina Henrietta Crichton or Miller widow Alexander Hugh Purdie treasurer Harold Clifford Murgatroyd and James Smith Arthur Primrose consulting engineer. Sealed London 23 April 1948
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Miller_(architect)#Family
• Dictionary of Scottish Architects. James Miller,Scottish architects. org.uk
• James Miller 1860-1947, Gazeteer for Scotland Scottish-places.info
• The Glasgow Story: James Miller, the glasgowstory.com
• Lusitania, Wikipedia. org (note: image of James Miller's design of the RMS Lusitania is also located on WikiTree under the Free Space topic of Shipping Disasters.)