Thomas Redd Miller (1795 - 1836)

Born 1795 in Stone Knoll, Prince Edward, Virginia, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Sidney (Gaston) Kellogg — married 11 Mar 1832 in Gonzales Colony, Coahuila y Texas, Mexico (Gonzales County, Texas)

Died 6 Mar 1836 at about age 41 in The Alamo, San Antonio, Bexar, Texas

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Biography

Gonzales Immortal 32

Thomas Redd Miller was born 1795 in Stone Knoll, Prince Edward Co., Virginia, the eldest of son of seven children of Armistead Miller and Susanna Redd of Prince Edward Co., Virginia. ^[1][2] Thomas had inherited land in Virginia, when his father died in 1813, which adjoined properties of his brothers, sisters. ^[3] Thomas and brother, Richard were doing well with lending money to people. He left Power of Attorney for a brother to sell his land holdings in Virginia and migrated to Texas. He later received $ 500.00 for his share of property. ^[3]

Once there Thomas filed for land grant and received a single man's grant (one fourth league located on Eastern bank of the Guadalupe in Northern DeWitt Co. He also obtained some additional lots in Gonzales where he had his store and house on block 3, lot 3 of the Gonzales inner town, which was S of the fort. And he purchased land on San Marcos River in the West part of outer town. He was a merchant, farmer, and became the town clerk of Gonzales. ^{[4] [5]}

Thomas married Sidney Gaston (1816-1838). They were married by bond March 11, 1832. One child was born but it died in infancy. July 21, 1833, they agreed to separate. (This is noted in an endorsement to the marriage bond. Then the couple separated, 22 Aug 1833. ^[6][7] Thomas also bought Green DeWitt league No. 4, the Felix Taylor league, José Salinas league, and J. P. Dales one-third league, bit by bit.

• Dewitt Mexican grant title

Thomas became a Town Clerk of the local city council, had a farm with a general store. By 1834 Thomas had become the road surveyor for Gonzales, they even held the Town Council meetings at his house. Thus he was sindico procurador of the Gonzales Ayuntamiento of 1834. ^[8][9] Thomas R. Miller was chosen as a member of the Texas Consultation which met Nov. 3 to Nov. 14, 1835 (delegates trying to plan on what they should do about the problems caused by the Mexican government and Santa Anna's actions).

He enlisted in the Gonzales >reRangers, was one of the Old Original Eighteen defenders of Gonzales when that battle occurred, in the refusal to "give the Gonzales cannon" back to the Mexican army. Thomas also bought several leagues of land, bit by bit. The Green DeWitt league No. 4, the Felix Taylor league, José Salinas league, and J. P. Dales one-third league, bit by bit. Thomas was also a supplier for the early Texas revolutionary army. ^[9]

When the messenger arrived in Gonzales with his letter from Col. Travis, Thomas Redd Miller responded to the appeal for aid, and journeyed with the Gonzales Rangers to the Alamo to provide what aid they could.

Thomas Redd Miller was killed in the Battle of the Alamo along with his brother-in-law, John E Gaston. A memorial is in San Fernando Cathedral.

Will of Aug 1, 1834, Thomas Redd Miller: was probated May 30, :

Quote: for love and affection I have for my two Brothers, Edward B. Miller and Richard F. Miller of the United States of the North do will, bequeath and give to them one league of land Situated in the forks of the Guadalupe and St. Marcos Rivers known as the Moreland league. I do will and bequeath the Remainder of all of my property that I possess in Texas to Edward B. Miller, Richard F. Miller and Joseph P. Lalor.

NOTE: It seems the brothers did not go to Texas to inherit. Many people filed for the inheritance. Finally in 1846 after a lot of land had to be sold to pay court expenses, etc. Edward B. Miller bought the rights to the estate from brothers, and left this to his four children. One son consolidated these, but lost the lands in Texas in a bad investment in 1892.

1920 acres Bounty.

Note: In 1838 J.D. Clements, administrator of Miller's estate, petitioned the Board of Land Commissioners of GonzalesCo with signatories Clements, William A. Matthews and Adam Zumwalt, and Gonzales increased his headright of land to a full league which was due all single men who served in the Alamo! ^[9]

• Thomas R Miller Bounty 1920A
• 3 sq veras
• 640 Acres

Joseph D. Clements wrote 11th July 1838 a letter to the heirs of Thomas R. Miller requesting some one of the heirs to come and take the business off his hands. Your petitioner writes represent to your honor that he landed in Texas sometime about the last of August 1838 and has been in the Republic ever since and … he justly thinks he is the only heir to the remnant of the Estate of his brother.

George further represented that he had sufficient claims in hand to pay all of the debts of the estate without the sale of any of the land which was at that time scheduled to be sold on the first Tuesday in January 1840 in order to pay the debts of the estate. This was a very interesting development because on February 19, 1838, Edward B. Miller had paid George D. Miller, both of Prince Edward County in Virginia, $600 cash in hand, and George gave “unto the said Edward B. Miller his heirs and assigns, all the right, title, interest, claim or demand which he now has or may hereafter have in and to the Estate of his deceased brother—Thomas R. Miller; late of Gonzales in Texas.” Armistead M. Miller had also relinquished all claims to the estate for the sum of $700 recorded on June 26, 1838.

Eventually Thomas R. Miller’s estate was settled, presumably in 1846 with the final account of William A. Matthews, administrator de bonis non of the estate of Thomas R. Miller. Much of the property had been sold to pay court costs submitted by numerous administrators, and additional records continued to be filed after that, but Edward B. Miller purchased all rights to the estate from his brothers and bequested the remnant of the estate of Thomas Redd Miller, defender of the Alamo, to his four children. Edward’s son, Richard Anderson Miller, consolidated the lands in his own right when he purchased the shares of his brother and two sisters. In 1892 Richard lost all of the land formerly owned by Thomas Redd Miller when he posted it as security in an insurance company which went bankrupt in 1892 ending the legacy of the family in Texas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Anne Virginia Agnew, Papers, 1919–1943, Accession 42287, Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. Gonzales County Probate Records, Gonzales County Clerk’s Office, Gonzales, Texas. Prince Edward County Deed of Records, Clerk of the Court Office, Farmville, Virginia. Proceedings of The Gonzales Ayuntamiento 1833–1834 (http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/gonminutes.htm), accessed February 16, 2012. Ethel Zivley Rather, “DeWitt’s Colony,” Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association 8 (October 1904). Richard Anderson Miller

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.sonsofdewittcolony.org//gonzalesrangersl-zhtm.htm
2. ↑ http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/bexar/military/alamo/alamo.txt
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} http://www.thealamo.org/remember/history/defenders/index.html
4. ↑ http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/gonreliefframe.htm
5. ↑ http://www.sonsofdewittcolony.org/gonminutes.htm
6. ↑ https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmi26
7. ↑ https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE1113506 "The Alamo heroes and their Revolutionary ancestors : bicentennial project, Alamo.., by Daughters of Republic of Texas
8. ↑ "Proceedings of The Gonzales Ayuntamiento 1833–1834 (http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/gonminutes.htm), accessed February 16, 2012.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/gonzalesrangersl-zhtm.htm

• https://historical.ha.com/itm/autographs/statesmen/-alamo-defenders-jose-antonio-navarro-and-thomas-r-miller-land-transfer-signed/a/6097-34011.s

See also:

• GLO search
• Anne Virginia Agnew, Papers, 1919–1943, Accession 42287, Personal papers collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
• Gonzales County Probate Records, Gonzales County Clerk’s Office, Gonzales, Texas. Prince Edward County Deed of Records, Clerk of the Court Office, Farmville, Virginia.
• Proceedings of The Gonzales Ayuntamiento 1833–1834 (http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/gonminutes.htm), accessed February 16, 2012.
• Ethel Zivley Rather, “DeWitt’s Colony,” Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association 8 (October 1904).

Acknowledgements

• Woodrow Warriner Miller's detailed 1985 research on Miller family tree by going to Virginia county courthouses, interviewing family members, reviewing wills, family bibles, etc. We are all grateful for Woodrow's tireless efforts in documenting the family tree back to 1766.