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Miller (John Franklin) Papers
M0059
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: John Franklin Miller Papers
Identifier/Call Number: M0059
Identifier/Call Number: 1461
Physical Description:
2 Linear Feet
(5 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1848-1890
Abstract: Personal and military correspondence, business, financial and legal papers dealing with Miller's early legal career and military
service. Material covers his service in Tennessee during the Civil War, business and political activities in California after
the war, and the Alaska Commercial Company. Letters (1880-1886) relate to Miller's term as U.S. Senator from California and
his position as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Correspondents include Andrew Johnson, Hugh McCulloch, Mrs. James
Polk, and General William Starke Rosecrans.
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use. Audiovisual materials
are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. K. Cecil, 1955
John Franklin Miller, the eldest of William and Mary Miller's five children, was born in South Bend, Indiana on November 21,
1831. Young Miller attended a local academy and in 1848 entered the Hatheway Mathematical and Classical School in Chicago.
After a year, he returned to South Bend and studied in the law office of Judge Elisha Egbert. In 1852 Miller received his
LL.B. from the State and National Law School at Ballston Spa, New York.
Upon completing his education, John Miller returned to South Bend to open his practice with a Joseph Defrees. This partnership
lasted only a few months because illness forced Miller to look for a different climate. He joined a group of emigrants headed
for California by way of Nicaragua and arrived in Napa in March of 1853. There, he went into partnership with Judge Currey
of San Francisco and also served as county treasurer for two years.
In 1855 illness again necessitated a change of climate and Miller returned to South Bend to work with a new partner, Norman
Eddy. Shortly after his return Miller met Miss Mary Chess of Monongahela, Pennsylvania, whom he married in 1857. A daughter,
Eudora, was born in 1859, and a son, John, some years later. Apparently the boy died while still quite young for references
to him suddenly stop after 1876.
John Miller entered the Indiana Senate in 1861 as a Republican. With the outbreak of the Civil War he offered his services
to the Union cause and served with distinction until his retirement from the military in 1865. He was originally commissioned
a colonel of the 29th Regiment of the Indiana Volunteer Infantry and served under various commanders including Sherman, Buell,
Rosecrans, and Thomas. In 1862 Miller was put in command of Headquarters at Nashville, Tennessee. On December 31, 1862 he
was wounded in the neck at the Battle of Stone River or Murfreesboro and on March 31, 1863 he lost an eye at the Battle of
Liberty Gap. For his bravery in this last engagement, Miller was made a brigadier general of volunteers. At the Battle of
Nashville in 1864 he was in command of a brigade and on March 13, 1865, he was brevetted a major general.
On September 25, 1865, John F. Miller resigned from the army and moved his family to San Francisco. There, by appointment
of President Johnson, he served as collector of the port for four years. During this time the family lived at the Palace Hotel
in San Francisco and some years later moved to Napa.
At some time during his tenure as collector to the port Miller became interested in the seal hunting possibilities in Alaska.
There is a story to the effect that a sea captain talked him into backing one such venture that was highly successful. At
any rate, in 1869, Miller became president on the Alaska Seal Company, a post he held for twelve years. It was a very lucrative
business for all concerned, especially since it held the United States monopoly for this type of enterprise.
In 1872 and 1876 Miller was the Republican candidate for Presidential elector, and a delegate to the second State Constitutional
Convention of 1878-1879. On March 4, 1881, he became U.S. Senator from California and served until his death on March 8, 1886.
As one of the wealthiest members of that body, he belonged to its "Millionaires Club." While in the Senate he was chairman
of the Foreign Relations Committee, supported free labor, and took an active part in anti-Chinese legislation including the
modification of the Burlingame Treaty with China and the Exclusion Bill of 1882.
In the front part of many of the folders are handwritten lists of correspondents with short notes as to contents.
Page from catalog record https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/4082756
[Identification of item] John Franklin Miller Papers, M059, Dept. of Special Collections, Stanford Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
The John Franklin Miller Papers consist of personal and military correspondence, business, financial, and legal papers, official
documents, calling cards, clippings and photographs, and some printed matter covering almost forty years, 1848-1886. The bulk
of the material is dated between 1848 and 1865 and deals with Miller's early legal career and his military service during
the Civil War.
The correspondence and other papers relating to the Civil War are the most important and significant part of the collection.
Miller wrote almost daily to his wife between 1862 and 1865, except when she was with him in Nashville and Murfreesboro. These
letters describe men and conditions in military camps, skirmishes, and the battles of Liberty Gap and Stone River and others.
They also give accounts of conversations which sometimes include plans and strategy. There are also letters to Miller by men
of military and political importance in Tennessee and nationally. In this category are letters from Andrew Johnson, Schuyler
Colfax, Mrs. James K. Polk, and General Rosecrans. The letters of Henry M. Cist, Miller's aide and later on the staff of General
Thomas, give long and detailed accounts of troop movements. Various other military correspondents describe recruiting procedures
and problems as well as troop movements and battles.
From 1865 to 1886 the correspondence is much slimmer, but contains many names of political importance including Cabinet officers
and Miller's Senatorial colleagues. There are also some papers and clippings dealing with seal hunting in Alaska and two letters
from the Alaska Commercial Company of which Miller was president.
Included in the Miller papers are several folders of letters to Miller's daughter Eudora from her husband, naval officer Richardson
Clover. There are some sketchy descriptions of an expedition to Alaska, but most of the correspondence is purely personal.
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
Bayard, Thomas F. (Thomas Francis)
Boutwell, George Sewall
Johnson, Andrew
Miller, John Franklin
Alaska Commercial Company