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The Disappearance and Return of John Adams Miller of Halifax
Posted By Norman Gasbarro on April 30, 2018
In September 1910, news reports of the discovery of a long-lost Halifax area Civil War veteran began to appear in the local newspapers. That veteran was John Adams Miller who was born in Jackson Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, on 23 May 1834, the son of Joseph H. Miller III (1812-1897) and Elizabeth B. [Bowerman] Miller (1814-1885).
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From the Elizabethville Echo, 29 September 1910:
FORMER HALIFAX RESIDENT RETURNS TO DAUPHIN COUNTY
Absent 49 Years
Until recently the whereabouts of John Adams Miller were unknown, but on Monday morning he arrived at Harrisburg and that evening there was a happy reunion at the home of his daughter, Mrs. W. H. McFadden, at 610 North Third Street.
When the war broke out Miller was a resident of Halifax and he enlisted in the 130th Pennsylvania’s Volunteers [130th Pennsylvania Infantry] at the age of 26.
He served in the Army of the Potomac and later marched with Sherman to the sea.
After the war he enlisted in the regular army and until 1870 served as a government blacksmith, and then settled down as a Texas farmer. He was married to a Southern lady and four children are living by his second marriage. His first wife died at Halifax 23 years ago.
Through the efforts of Mrs. McFadden, her father’s whereabouts were discovered. She applied to Captain Harry C. Hontz, private secretary to Congressman Obmsted. Mr. Hontz found the name of John Adams Miller on the pension rolls, and by communicating with him at Delhart, Texas, the long looked-for parent was found.
Although Mr. Miller is now past 75 he at once made preparations to come east, arriving at Harrisburg on Monday morning, where he was met and welcomed by his children. His brother, James Miller, lives at Loyalton.
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From the Lykens Standard, 7 October 1910:
Returned After Many Years
At the outbreak of the Civil War, John Adams Miller, a person well known in the upper end of the county, enlisted in the Union Army and became a private in the 130th Pennsylvania Volunteers [130th Pennsylvania Infantry]. After the term of enlistment expired he re-enlisted in the regular army and served eight years. For more than 49 years he had not been heard from, his children had grown to manhood and womanhood and some died, as did his wife whom he left behind. His daughter, Mrs. McFadden, of Harrisburg, believed her father was still living, and made efforts to ascertain the truth. The pension records at Washington were examined and he was finally located in Texas. Monday of last week he came back to Dauphin County, and was welcomed with rejoicing by his children and relatives. He is a brother of Mrs. John Novinger of Penbrook, James Miller of Loyalton, and Joseph Miller of Wiconisco.
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From the Harrisburg Telegraph, 25 November 1910:
Complimentary Dinner to John A. Miller
John Adams Miller, who recently returned from Texas, after having been mourned as dead for forty-nine years, was a guest of honor at a Thanksgiving celebration, held at the home of his son, John H. Miller, Penbrook.
Among the guests were: B. P. Clark, of Academia, and Daniel Paul, of Constantine, Michigan, who were Mr. Miller’s comrades in arms during the Civil War. Both old soldiers made telling addresses and Joseph Miller told of the achievements of this special branch of the Miller family.
In the party were: William H. McFadden, Mrs. McFadden who discovered her father’s whereabouts through records of the War Department, Mr. and Mrs. James Miller, John A. Miller, Mr. and Mrs. James Novinger, Mr. and Mrs. John H. Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Knauff, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Machamer and son, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bordner, Mr. and Mrs. Percy Saunders and children, Miss Mary Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Miller of Fisherville, Mr. and Mrs. John Johns, Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Bowerman, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Miller, Mr. and Mrs. C. S. Grubb, B. P. Clark, Daniel Paul, Miss Ruth Grimm, Miss Maude Bordner, Ammon Miller, Miss Martha Miller, Mylon Johns, Arthur Miller, R. M. Grimm, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Miller and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Grimm, Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Weidman, Mrs. E. M. Swartz, Mrs. William Goudy, Miss Nettie Seeger, Miss Sarah Herst, Mrs. J. H. Reese, Mrs. Charles Shadle, Miss Esther Bixler, Miss Edna Novinger, Miles Flory, James Novinger Jr., Joseph Novinger, John Bortner, James Miller Jr., and Edward Knupp.
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From the Harrisburg Daily Independent, 25 November 1910:
BIG RECEPTION FOR JOHN ADAMS MILLER
[includes photo featured at top of this post]
John H. Miller, of Penbrook, gave a dinner yesterday in honor of his father, John Adams Miller, and the occasion was in the shape of an all-day family reunion for one who had been mourned as dead for years. The man mourned as dead was John Adams Miller, the guest of honor at yesterday’s dinner and who had left the upper end of this county at the breaking out of the Civil War and was not heard of until less than a year ago, when his daughter, Mrs. William McFadden, of 610 North Third Street [Harrisburg], located him in Texas. Mrs. McFadden, after locating her father, lost no time in getting him to come east. In September of this year she made a trip to Texas and had her father accompany her hack to the east.
Mr. Miller, since his arrival in this county, has been visiting his sons and daughters and the scenes of his boyhood days in Halifax and Jackson Townships. His sons and daughters a few weeks ago planned to fix Thanksgiving Day as an appropriate time to fittingly celebrate his return after years spent on ranches and farms in Texas and New Mexico. Among those present at the big dinner and reunion were B. P. Clark, of Academia, who was a comrade of Mr. Miller in the regular army, and also Daniel Paul, of Constantine, Michigan, who was a comrade at the outbreak of the Civil War, when Mr. Miller served with a volunteer company. Both old soldiers made fitting addresses yesterday and James Miller in a speech told of the Miller family and trace it back for several generations.
Those present were…. [See list in preceding article from Harrisburg Telegraph, 25 November 1910].
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Additional information is sought about this story, including the reasons for Mr. Miller abandoning his Lykens Valley area family and marrying another woman while his first wife was still alive, having children with her, and not communicating with his children from the first marriage for more than 40 years.
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News articles from Newspapers.com.
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