James Miller (1829 - 1909)

Born 14 Jan 1829 in Scotland

Husband of Sarah Dorothy (Evans) Miller — married 20 Mar 1862 in Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 8 Mar 1909 at age 80 in Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom

Biography

This profile is part of the Wheatley, Oxfordshire One Place Study.

James was born in 1829.

James married Sarah Dorothy Evans on 20 March 1862 in Edgbaston, St Bartholomew, Warwickshire, England.^[1]

In the 1881 census James (age 52) was living with his 2 sons and a number of servants at Shotover House, Shotover, Oxfordshire, England. He was a retired colonel and justice of the peace. ^[2]

He passed away in 1909 and is buried at Forest Hill, Oxfordshire. ^[3]

Further biographical detail from a document at Wheatley Village Archive:
Lieutenant-Colonel James Miller who bought the Shotover Estate in 1871 was born the eldest son of Mr Alexander Miller of Middlesex. He married Sarah Dorothy, the only child of Mr Thomas Moore Evans in 1862 and they had a family of four sons and one daughter. He served with the 11th Hussars and held the offices of Deputy-Lieutenant for Middlesex and Oxfordshire, High Sheriff for the County of Oxfordshire and Justice of the Peace. His obituary in Jackson’s Oxford Times stated that Colonel Miller ‘entertained Liberal views’ until Mr Gladstone brought in his first Home Rule measure in 1886 and then he became a strong Unionist, though he did not take an active part in politics. He died in 1909 and was buried at St Nicholas Church, Forest Hill where a large number of the ‘neighbouring gentry, tenants and villagers’ had congregated to ‘pay their last respects to an ideal country gentleman who had won the hearts of all who came in contact with him, by his courteous bearing and kindly and generous manner. ^[4]

Research notes

The above text refers to James having 4 sons but per census and birth records he actually had 5 sons, possibly the text excludes son Thomas Brooke Miller who died relatively young in the Boer War.

Sources

1. ↑ Marriage: "Birmingham, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1937"
   Reference Number: DRO 53; Archive Roll: M148
   Ancestry uk Record 4994 #3715847 (accessed 17 February 2022)
   James Miller (Full) marriage to Sarah Dorothy Evans on 20 Mar 1862 in Edgbaston, St Bartholomew, Warwickshire, England.
2. ↑ 1881 Census: "1881 England Census"
   Class: RG11; Piece: 1495; Folio: 95; Page: 16; GSU roll: 1341361
   Ancestry uk Record uki1881 #17891564 (accessed 17 February 2022)
   James Miller (52), married, Col Retired Cavalry JP & L (Officer), head of household at Shotover House in Headington registration district.
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/183168922/james-miller : accessed 17 February 2022), memorial page for LTC James Miller (14 Jan 1829–8 Mar 1909), Find a Grave Memorial ID 183168922, citing Forest Hill Church Cemetery, Forest Hill, South Oxfordshire District, Oxfordshire, England ; Maintained by Iain MacFarlaine (contributor 46514200) .
4. ↑ Shotover House and the Miller Family, accessed at Wheatley Village Archive on 17 Feb 2022