Thomas Miller (1876 - 1945)

Born 21 Jul 1876 in Grand Valley, Ontario, Canada

Died 20 Jun 1945 at age 68 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

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Biography

Thomas Miller was the shortest serving and seventh Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan and was in office in 1945 for less than four months.

Miller was born in Grand Valley, Ontario to James and Ann Miller, both natives of Ireland who came to Canada about 1872. He was the 10th of 13 children. In 1881, Thomas was 5 years old and one of seven children in the home of James and Ann Miller.^[1] His father gained employment with the CPR and worked first in Winnipeg and then Regina. While he was a boy, his family moved to Regina, Saskatchewan in 1882.

He worked for a number of Saskatchewan newspapers for fifty years, including the Regina Standard, the Moose Jaw Times and the Times-Herald.

Thomas Miller married Miss Grace Keay, a native of Perthshire, Scotland in 1897. They had three children: James M; Lillian and Dorothy.

Shortly after resigning his position as president of the Liberal party, Thomas and Grace moved to Victoria, BC.

He was appointed lieutenant-governor in 1945 on the advice of federal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and made his official residence at the Hotel Saskatchewan as the provincial government had closed Government House the previous year.

Miller presided over victory celebrations in the province following the end of World War II.

He died of a heart attack on June 20, 1945, and is buried in the Royal Oak Burial Park Cemetery (plot C - 113 - A), Victoria, British Columbia.

His obituary in the Lethbridge Herald read (in part):

PREMIER KING PAYS TRIBUTE THOS. MILLER - Ottawa, June 20 - Death of Thomas Miller, lieutenant-governor of Saskatchewan for the last four months, in Regina, will occasion deep regret "not only throughout the province of Saskatchewan, but in many parts of Canada as well,", Prime Minister MacKenzie King said today. ...

"Through the editorial columns of his newspaper, he exerted a beneficial influence on his fellow citizens for more than a half century." ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ 1881 Census: "1881 Census of Canada"
   Year: 1881; Census Place: Luther East, Wellington North, Ontario; Roll: C_13260; Page: 39; Family No: 181
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 1577 #12014 (accessed 29 June 2022)
   Thomas Miller (5) in Ontario. Born in Ontario.
2. ↑ The Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Wed., June 20, 1945, page 2

• Wikipedia:Thomas_Miller_(Saskatchewan)
• This WikiTree profile is referenced from Wikidata: Item Q212303, en:Wikipedia
• 1891 Census: "1891 Census of Canada"
  Year: 1891; Census Place: Moose Jaw, Assiniboia West, Territories, Canada; Roll: T-6426; Family No: 513
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 1274 #4369926 (accessed 29 June 2022)
  Thomas Miller (15), single son, in household of James Miller (50) in Moose Jaw, Assiniboia West, Territories, Canada. Born in Ontario.
• 1901 Census: "1901 Census of Canada"
  Year: 1901; Census Place: Moose Jaw (North-East/Nord-Est), Assiniboia (West/Ouest), The Territories; Page: 2; Family No: 12
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 8826 #5134526 (accessed 29 June 2022)
  Thos Miller (24), married, Editor, head of household in The Territories. Born in Ontario.
• 1906 Census: "1906 Canada Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta"
  Year: 1906; Census Place: 36, Assiniboia West, Saskatchewan; Page: 25; Family No: 113
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 8827 #2384466 (accessed 29 June 2022)
  Thomas Miller (29), married head of household in Saskatchewan. Born in Ontario.
• 1911 Census: "1911 Census of Canada"
  Year: 1911; Census Place: 132 - Moosejaw, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; Page: 16; Family No: 124
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 1911Canada #2374696 (accessed 29 June 2022)
  Thos Miller (35), married husband, Publisher, in household of Thos Miller (35) in 129 One W, Saskatchewan. Born in Canada.
• 1916 Census: "1916 Canada Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta"
  Year: 1916; Census Place: Saskatchewan, Moose Jaw, 17F; Roll: T-21931; Page: 25; Family No: 262
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 1556 #757255377 (accessed 29 June 2022)
  Thomas Miller (39), married, Editor Manager, in 333, Ominica, W, Moose Jaw, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. Born in Ont.
• 1921 Census: "1921 Census of Canada"
  Reference Number: RG 31; Folder Number: 156; Census Place: 156, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; Page Number: 44; Line Number: 4
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 8991 #7051341 (accessed 29 June 2022)
  Thomas Miller (47), married, Manager, head of household in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. Born in Ontario.
• Thomas Miller on Find A Grave: Memorial #194996117 - McEvoy-527 17:09, 23 January 2019 (UTC)
• "June 20, 1945 (Page 3 of 16)." The Leader Post (1930-2010), Jun 20, 1945, pp. 3. accessed on ProQuest 29-06-2022, Obituary of Hon Thomas Miller

See also:

• Child Birth: "Web: Saskatchewan, Canada, Birth Index, 1875-1919"
  Government of Canada; Canada; Geneology Index Searches
  Ancestry ca Record 9191 #150114716 (accessed 29 June 2022)
  Lillian Grace Miller born to Thomas Miller and Grace Macgregor Keay on 13 Apr 1903 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada.
• Child Marriage: "Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1938"
  Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1928; Reel: 853
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 7921 #84034874 (accessed 29 June 2022)
  Thomas Miller's child James Macgregor Miller (27) marriage to Evelyn Mary Edna Fisher on 2 Jun 1928 in York, Ontario, Canada.