Wednesday, April 26, 2017

A Miller Photograph?

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.