E. C. Miller, M. D. Biography


	This biography appears on pages 557-558 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				E. C. MILLER, M. D. 

	Dr. E. C. Miller, a graduate of the Chicago Medical College, has 
been continuously engaged in practice since 1874, and since 1899 has 
been a representative of the profession in Brookings. He is also 
recognized as a political leader of his county and is now serving for 
the third term as a member of the state senate. 

	The Doctor was born November 27, 1846, in Monongalia county, West 
Virginia, a son of Abraham and Nancy (Ross) Miller, who in the year 
1857 removed westward, becoming residents of northeastern Iowa, where 
the father engaged in farming until his death. Mr. Miller was a lad of 
about ten years at the time of the removal to this state. He acquired 
his education in the public schools of Rossville, Iowa, and in the 
periods of vacation assisted his father ill the work of the farm, but 
not wishing to engage in agricultural pursuits as a life work, he 
turned his attention in other directions, spending two years as a clerk 
in a drug store at Clermont, Iowa. It was a logical step from this to 
preparation for the medical profession and in 1871 he went to Chicago, 
where he attended the Chicago Medical College, being graduated 
therefrom in 1874. He then returned to Iowa and practiced at Rockwell 
for twenty-five years or until 1899, when he removed to Brookings, 
South Dakota, where he has since continued successfully in practice. He 
is conscientious in the performance of all of his professional duties 
and, moreover, he keeps in close touch with the advanced thought of the 
profession through wide reading and investigation. His careful 
diagnosis of eases is one of the strong elements of his success and he 
never allows outside interests to interfere with professional duties. 

	On the 27th of September, 1877, Dr. Miller was joined in wedlock 
to Miss Mary L. Putnam, a daughter of William L. and Martha L. Putnam, 
who were natives of Connecticut and New York respectively. They came to 
Iowa in the early days, settling in Hardin county, where the father 
engaged in merchandising. Dr. and Mrs. Miller have three children 
namely: Shirley Putnam, who is professor of zoology in the South Dakota 
State College at Brookings; Ralph L., engaged in the lumber and 
hardware business at Melville, North Dakota; and Harold A., who is a 
student in the South Dakota State College at Brookings. 

	Dr. Miller is well known in republican circles in his part of the 
state and has done not a little to mold public thought and action along 
political lines in his community. In 1910 he was elected to represent 
his district in the state senate and did such efficient work in 
connection with constructive legislation that he was reelected in 1912 
and again in 1914, so that he is now serving as a member of the upper 
house. For a number of years he has been and still is superintendent of 
the Brookings county board of health. He has always taken a deep 
interest in educational affairs and was actively instrumental in 
establishing and securing the Carnegie library at Brookings. He has 
been a member of the city board of education for several years and is 
its present vice president. He belongs to the Odd Fellows society and 
to the Methodist church and he is identified with various organizations 
formed to disseminate knowledge concerning the scientific practice of 
medicine, belonging to the Third District Medical Society, the South 
Dakota State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. 
Notwithstanding his activities along various lines he is preeminently a 
home man, preferring to spend his leisure at his own fireside. In 
manner he is quiet and unassuming, yet his sterling worth is recognized 
by his fellow citizens, as is indicated by the liberal patronage 
accorded him and by the honors which have been conferred upon him in 
his election to the state senate. In these various connections his 
record is a commendable one, his course being characterized by 
conscientious service and high principle.