I recently received a number of
photographs, obituaries, and other Imle/Miller written memorabilia from my
cousins Tahnya Stepp Ford and her mother, Judith Ann Miller Stepp, “the keeper
of the photos.” Tahnya and Judith are descendants of Anna T. Imle (see posting
of 21 Mar 2017) and Eugene Miller of Clark County, Illinois. Among the photos
sent was one (shown below), which could picture Imles and/or Millers.
We can immediately rule out
Imles. Numerous photos of the Clark County Imles (Christoph and Anna Maria and
their descendants) show no one remotely resembling anyone in the above photo.
The best bet is that they are Millers, probably Jacob Miller and his second
wife Franciska, one of whose children was Anna Imle’s husband to be, Eugene. Clothing
indicates that the photo was taken around 1890, at which time Jacob probably
had eight living children: Children from his first marriage with Barbara Hess
were Peter (b. 19 Nov 1859) and Mary Elizabeth (b. 26
Nov 1865). A third child Henry born in 1862 or 1863 is last seen in the 1880
census and then disappears. All evidence indicates that Henry died relatively
young, probably prior to the date of the photo shown above. Children of Peter’s
second marriage, with Franciska (“Frances” or “Francis”) Fisher, were Emma
Elizabeth (b. 24 Jul 1869), Rudolph (b. 10 Apr 1871), Margaret Matilda (b. 11
Feb 1874), Theodore (b. 5 Feb 1877), Julius Eugene (b. 28 Jun 1879), William
(b. 8 Apr 1883). A daughter Elizabeth died as a infant. Thus there could be
five boys and three girls in an 1890 photograph. That a girl is missing is not
surprising since Mary Elizabeth married rather young (at age 16 on 21 Sep 1882)
and appears to have immediately moved to Posey County, Indiana, where her new husband lived, and then to nearby Evansville.
Assuming that this is a photo of
the Jacob Miller family around 1890, we can assign the probable individuals and
provide their ages: L to R, back row, Matilda (18), Rudolph (19), Peter (31),
Emma (21); L to R, front row, Jacob (56), William (7), Franciska (50), Eugene
(11). Certainly, the ages appear reasonable.
Are we right or wrong? Is this a
photo of Jacob Miller and his family? Is the date reasonable? Are the
identifications correct? Does any reader have this or other photos of the Jacob
Miller family? Let us know.
And thanks to Tahnya and Judith
Ann for providing a splendid puzzle.
