Marion Miller by Jana Bickel
Marion L. Miller was born September 4, 1843 in Cedar County, Missouri to Elijah Garten Miller and Hannah Garten. When he was eight years old his father went off to the California gold fields and died there leaving his mother to raise nine children with only teenaged sons to help her. The family moved to Miller country where Hannah’s parents, Hugh Garten and Rachel Milbourn, lived. Their farm was near Jefferson City, where the state capitol was located.
In early 1861, when Marion turned eighteen, as the country was preparing for war, the governor of Missouri, who wanted Missouri to join the Confederacy, rallied the state militia to take over the state capitol in Jefferson City. This effort failed but left the state in jeopardy. The Federal troops established order and a new governor was appointed to lead the state through the coming war. Missouri families lined up on the Union Side or the Confederate side and there were many incidents, on both sides of guerilla activity in Marion’s neighborhood. The 42nd Regiment Enrolled Missouri Militia was established to keep order. Marion became a member of the militia was called to active duty on June 9, 1863 and relieved from duty on September 14th of the same year.
In 1864 as the war was reaching a fever point, General Price, an officer in the Missouri State militia before the war and now a Confederate general, made a last ditch effort to win the state of Missouri for the Confederacy. He led troops from Arkansas north in an attempt to take the state capitol at Jefferson City. Marion was called into active duty on October 1, 1864 to protect the capitol, serving as a private under Captain Goodman. Because the capitol was so well protected Price declined to attack and led his troops further west to wreak havoc in the western part of the state. Marion was dismissed from active duty on November 6th having served 76 days.
Marion Miller was married twice, first to Eliza Watkins in 1861 by whom he had three children: Elijah Boyd, William Jacob and Mary Miller. After Eliza died in 1867, he married Martha Lumpkins Wadley, who had two children by her husband, Moses Wadley, who had been killed by Yankee bushwhackers. Marion and Martha had four children: Cornelia, Esom, Ollie and Margaret. Together the two raised a combined family of nine children on their farm. Martha died in 1914 and Marion in 1925; they are buried at Spring Garden in Cole County, Missouri. Their son Ollie was my great-grandfather.