Marin County CA Archives Biographies.....Miller, James 1814 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com March 6, 2007, 12:01 pm

Author: Alley, Bowen & Co. Publishers (1880)

  James Miller. One of Marin's earliest residents, is a native of county
Wexford, Ireland, having been born there May 1, 1814. In 1828 he accompanied his
parents to Lower Canada, and with them settled about thirty-six miles from
Quebec, and there resided until 1841, in which year he emigrated to Missouri,
located in Holt county, and engaged in farming there until May 1844. At this
period, accompanied by his wife and four children, he started in a train of
thirteen wagons to California, and after a long and tedious journey arrived in
the State near the head-waters of the Yuba river, where they recruited for six
weeks, and thence following the course of the Bear river they reached Sutter's
Fort December 15, 1844. February 1, 1845, he arrived at the place known as the
Houck Farm, where another halt of six weeks was made, after which his journey to
San Rafael was continued, and where he arrived April 6, 1845. In the following
year (1846) Mr. Miller purchased six hundred and eighty acres of land from
Timothy Murphy, situated on the Las Gallinas grant, the deed for which is the
first recorded in the county. Here he erected a shake shanty to begin with,
later a substantial adobe was constructed, to be in turn succeeded by a dwelling
of magnificent proportions. In 1849 Mr. Miller went to the placers, driving one
hundred and fifty head of cattle, all of which he slaughtered and sold at the
rate of one dollar per pound weight. In the following year he returned to his
farm and has since resided there. His residence, known as Miller Hall, is
beautifully situated about four miles from San Rafael, on the high road to
Petaluma. It is a square building, massive in appearance and commodiously
apportioned into convenient apartments. From the broad verandahs which surround
the edifice, a grand view of varied scenery is obtained, while the house stands
the central figure of tastefully laid out grounds and well wooded groves.
Contiguous to the mansion are the well appointed farm offices, where a large
dairying business is conducted. Besides owning a considerable quantity of real
estate in the thriving town of San Rafael, he is the proprietor of no less than
eight thousand acres of land in different parts of Marin county. Married in
Canada, September 1, 1834, Mary Murphy, and has ten children, named as follows:
William J., Kate, Mary, Martin, Ellen, Julia, Francis, Therese, Bernard and
Josephine.



Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA;
INCLUDING ITS
Geography, Geology, Topography and Climatography;
TOGETHER WITH
A Full and Particular Record of the Mexican Grants; Its Early History and
Settlement, Compiled from the most Authentic Sources; Names of Original Spanish
and American Pioneers;

A Full Record of its Organization; A Complete Political History, including a
Tabular Statement of Office-holders since the Formation of the County;

Separate Histories of Bolinas, Nicasio, Novato, Point Reyes, San Antonio, San
Rafael, Saucelito, and Tomales Townships;

Incidents of Pioneer Life, and Biographical Sketches of its Early and Prominent
Settlers and Representative Men;
ALSO
An Historical Sketch of the State of California,
In which is embodied the Raising of the Bear Flag

ILLUSTRATED.
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 
ALLEY, BOWEN & CO., PUBLISHERS.
1880.


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