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Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Judge James H. Miller Papers, A&M 1886, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Biographical / Historical

James Henry   Miller   (1856-1929) was the son of William E. Miller   and Sarah Barbara McNeer, of Monroe County. William and Sarah Miller   married on February 8, 1849, and had four children: Charles Lewis, James Henry  , Anderson E., and Mary Benson. James graduated from the Concord Normal School in 1879 and then taught school for almost three years. He studied law with private tutors and at the University of Virginia, and was admitted to practice in 1881. James Miller   married Jane Tompkins on February 1, 1882, and the couple had four children: James Henry   Jr., Grace Chapman, Jean, and Daisy Corinne.

James H. Miller   had a long career in law and public service during the late nineteenth and the twentieth century, serving as superintendant of schools and prosecuting attorney in Summers County. In 1904 he was elected judge of the Circuit Court of the Ninth West Virginia Circuit. Miller   served sixteen years on the bench. He was also active in the state's Democratic Party and in Summers County business affairs. Judge Miller   died on February 9, 1929.

Scope and Contents

James H. Miller   (1856-1929) was a judge and attorney in Hinton, Summers County, West Virginia, for more than forty years. He also wrote a history of Summers County in 1907. Black-and-white photographs, postcards, letters, and miscellaneous letters and printed items document the profession life of James Miller   and the personal life of his descendants, particularly his daughters, Daisy Miller   Gooch and Grace Miller   Rose. Boxes 1 and 2 contain identified photographs from the early 1900s to 1965 (bulk 1900-1930). Levels of description vary and may include names, dates, or locations. Subjects include James H. Miller  , Daisy Miller  , William Miller  , the Miller   family, Shan Rose, and the photos are chiefly portraits. Boxes 3 to 5 contain unidentified photographs, which are also chiefly portraits and also date from the early 1900s to approximately 1930. Boxes 9 and 10 contain oversize photographs and copper-plate negatives. Subjects of oversize pictures include the Georgetown Prep baseball team from 1910 and Rose's Drug Store in Hinton.

Box 6 contains post cards sent between 1911 and 1957 (bulk 1911-1917), which are primarily addressed to Mrs. James Miller   and her daughters. They depict historical sites and geographical features across the United States and typically contain brief messages pertaining to the places visited. Many are unsigned. Box 7 holds letters, a diary, and miscellaneous printed material. Letters to and from Judge James Miller   date from 1902 to 1929 and pertain to his career as a judge and attorney. Topics include his 1904 nomination as the Democratic candidate for the West Virginia Senate, his cases, county court matters, and his death in 1929. Other manuscript materials include the 1902 diary of Grace Miller   Rose and scattered letters and printed items belonging to Grace Miller   Rose and Daisy Miller   Gooch. Box 8 contains oversize manuscript material, including an early-nineteenth-century Holstein-Friesian Herd Register.

Separated Material

4 photos separated to A&M 4168, Panoramic Photos Collection:

City of Clarksburg (original); 1894

City of Clarksburg (copy); 1894

Bridge, Potomac River at Shepherdstown, WV; undated

18th Convention UDC, Clarksburg, WV, Stonewall Jackson's Birthplace (group portrait); 1915/09/29