Tehama County CA Archives Biographies.....Miller, Bertha Rotter ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 18, 2007, 8:58 pm Author: Lewis Publishing Co. (1891) MRS. HENRY MILLER, the proprietor of the National Hotel, Red Bluff, is the widow of the late Henry Miller. He was one of Red Bluff's successful business men and an early settler of California, having come to the State in 1856. Mr. Miller was born in Newark, New Jersey, November 28, 1838, the son of thrifty and honorable German parents. He received his early education in New York and New Jersey; learned the carpenter's trade; was a United States soldier under the command of General Harney, at Fort Vancouver and was a successful miner in Idaho. He made three trips back to the East, and at one time engaged in the grocery business in New York city. Like many other miners, he made a deal of money, met with reverses and lost it all. In 1870 Mr. Miller again returned to the West, located in California and worked in the Bald Hills. He came to Red Bluff in 1873 and engaged in the restaurant and saloon business, which he successfully carried on for five years. He purchased several lots on Main street and built the National Hotel, a house of only ten rooms, on the corner of Main and Hickory streets. Mr. Miller was married in 1878 to Miss Bertha Rotter, a native of Austria. She came to the United States in 1865, when quite young. Mrs. Miller at once entered into all her husband's plans with zest and became a helpmate indeed, and, with their united efforts, their business continued to prosper. It soon became necessary for them to have a larger building, and the small hotel gave place to a larger one 50 x 115 feet, two stories high and containing forty rooms. Further north in the same block he purchased six lots, where he built a tine and commodious residence, and also north of his residence a line brick building for business purposes. Their union was blessed with five children, all born in Red Bluff, three of whom are now living: William J., George I. and Bertha L. In 1888, in the midst of his prosperous business career, Mr. Miller was stricken with disease and died. His wife and little family were bereft of a kind and loving husband and father, and the county lost an enterprising and conservative business man. Having had some experience in the hotel business, Mrs. Miller was, in a measure, prepared to take full charge of and conduct the business that devolved upon her, and nobly has she done her part. She is assisted by an able corps of ten efficient workers, with Mr. George Reid as clerk, and she caters to an average of sixty guests each meal. Mrs. Miller prides herself on her well-kept table and the general cleanliness of the house, which is growing in popularity. It has the reputation of being the best low-rate hotel in the country. Mrs. Miller gives her personal supervision to every detail of the work, sees that guests are attended to with promptness and consideration, and she has acquired a reputation for her business ability. Some one has said that "God helps those who help themselves," and it is certainly true in this case. Mrs. Miller is deserving of all the success she has attained, and the good people of Tehama County are not slow to appreciate honest merit. Additional Comments: Extracted from Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California. Illustrated, Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with Glimpses of its Prospective Future; Full-Page Steel Portraits of its most Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of many of its Pioneers and also of Prominent Citizens of To-day. "A people that takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendents." – Macauley. CHICAGO THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1891. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/tehama/bios/miller740gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/cafiles/ File size: 4.3 Kb