BIOGRAPHY - EDWARD H. MILLER
PROF. EDWARD H. MILLER, Principal of the public schools of Piper City,
is a native of the Hawkeye State. He was born near Burlington, Des Moines
County, Iowa, on the 18th of July, 1864, and is a son of B. H. and Carrie A.
(Styer) Miller. His parents were natives of Pennsylvania and after their
marriage removed to Iowa, in 1845, locating in Burlington, where the father
followed his trade of milling. His death occurred at the age of thirty-three
years, and his wife also died when young. They were the parents of four
children, but the eldest, Mrs. Alice A. Ballard, died m Burlington; H. H.,
who was educated in Burlington, is now Professor of Mathematics in a
business college of California; our subject is the next younger, and J. E.,
who completes the family, is attending school in Iowa.
Prof. Miller was a lad of only fourteen years when his parents died, since
which time he has made his own way in the world, being entirely dependent on
his own efforts. He went to La Salle County, where he worked by the month on
a stock farm near Mendota for six months, and through the remainder of the
year he attended school. He was desirous of securing a good education, and
in order to do this he had to earn the money necessary to pay his expenses.
He pursued a four-years' classical course in the Normal School of Dixon,
Ill., from which he was graduated in 1886, and then engaged in teaching for
two years in Mendota, being assistant Principal of the High School. In 1889,
he went to Paxton where he secured a position as Professor of Mathematics in
the Rice Collegiate Institute, serving as such for three years, when he came
to Piper City and has since been Principal of its schools.
Prof. Miller was married on the 6th of October, 1887, in Mendota, Ill., Miss
Marcia M. Freeland becoming his wife. She is a native of that place and a
daughter of John M. and Sarah Freeland, residents of Colfax, Ill. Two
children grace the union of our subject and his wife, a son and daughter:
Stafford De Witt and Margaret. Prof, and Mrs. Miller are both members of the
Presbyterian Church and are prominent people in this community and held in
high esteem by their many friends.
In his social relations, the Professor is an Odd Fellow and, in politics,
votes with the Republican party, but has never been an office-seeker. He is
an intelligent, able young man, a most successful instructor, and has won
general favor in the communities where he has been employed as teacher. He
may well be termed a self-made man, for since a very early age he has made
his own way in life, never having a cent but what he earned himself. The
industry, enterprise and perseverance which have characterized his career
argue well for a successful future.
Extracted 14 Dec 2017 by Norma Hass from Portrait and Biographical Record of Ford County, Illinois, published in 1892, pages 201-202.
