Our Miller's and Their Relatives in Early Somerset County, Maryland

When our Miller ancestors came from County Donegal, Ireland to America, they first settled in Somerset County, the most southerly (and swampy) county in Maryland.

In 1684, a John Miller (wife Isabel) acquired 300 acres known as “Enlargement” from John Emmett and his wife Hanna (see source below).  I believe this John is a relative of our ancestor, David Miller, probably a cousin.

"Enlargement” was situated on the east side of Chesapeake Bay about 1 ½ mile south of the Pokomoke River. (Somerset Co. Deeds, Liber L 1, p. 442.)

The first record of David Miller (father of our Abraham Miller and grandfather of our William) is in 1688 when David buys a parcel of land in Somerset County named “Spalding” (or Spaulding).  In the same year David Miller and the “Emitt’s” obtain cattle marks from
the court.  And in 1689 David's father-in-law, Ninian Dunlap, is mentioned in a Somerset County court record. While the exact location of Spalding is unknown, it is reasonable to assume that it was not too far from "Enlargement" (I'm still looking for the original land record regarding "Spalding."  If anyone has the link to it, I would truly appreciate it).

Our Miller's stayed in Somerset County about 8 years before moving north, presumably to find better farmland.

The following is from a GenWeb online article which might explain other reasons they wanted to move north.  Though it's dated several years after they left the area, I don't imagine things were much different when our Miller's lived there.

"This county [Somerset] lies very low, and the many rivers and creeks that empty themselves into the Chesapeake Bay abound in marshes, to a considerable extent. I was once led to believe it was one of the most unhealthy counties in the world; but from what cause I know not. It appears to have more aged people in it than I am acquainted with... The manner of those people living, is nearly as follows. They rise before the sun, and generally drink one or two drams, that is, one half peach or apple brandy, the other water with honey and sugar, and eat a piece of biscuit, then breakfast on cold meat with homony and as much coffee or tea as fills up the remainder of the stomach. The most of those persons I am acquainted with, and they generally labor (although not bound to do so, for they in general have pretty good) from breakfast to dinner, which is about 2 or 3 o'clock, they then dine upon good substantial food, such as beef, mutton, turkey . . . . . . those who live near the water, have a great plenty of shell and other fish. Their drink is cyder or strong toddy, perhaps no people drink less water. They smoak tobacco before and after dinner, which is their meal and retire to bed about 8 or 9 o'clock. It is requested by the writer of this, that some gentlemen will take the trouble of examining their several counties to see whether as great a number of aged persons can be found in two hundreds thereof, throughout" (emphasis added).  Source:  http://www.mdgenweb.org/somerset/history/longevit.htm).

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* The John Miller listed above (born 1674) is said to have been in the “St. Martin’s area” by 30 March 1686.  He patented tracts Brent Marsh and Partner’s Contentment with Abraham Emmett [our David Miller's brother-in-law].  He was constable for Bogerternorton Hundred.  Sons: (1) John b. 1695, d. 1750; and (2) Joseph born 1700.  Below is a transcript of the original land record where John buys "Enlargement":

"This Indenture made the Ninth day of June in the Second year of the Reigne of William & Mary of England King & Queene Scotland ffrance & Ireland^ defenders of the Prodestant Religion And in the year of our Lord God one Thousand Six hundred & Ninety Betweene John Emmitt & Hannah his wife of Somerset County in the Province Maryland of the one Part And John Miller resident in y Said County & Province of the other Part Witnesseth That wherease the R^t: hon^r:ble Charles Lord & Proprietary of the Province of Maryland & Avalon Lord Baron of Baltemore &c by his Deed of Graunt und^r: the great Seale used in the Said Province of Mary(land) for granting of Land there bearing date at the Citty of S^t: Maryes the first day of June in the 12th:year of (the) Dominion &c Annog^e: Do^m: one Thousand Six hundred Eighty and Seaven for the Consideration there-  thereto mentioned Did grannt unto the Said John Emmett a Certaine Tract of Land Called the enlargement Scituate Lieing & being on the east Side of Chesepeake bay and on the Southeast Side of Pocomoke river about one mile & a halfe off the river beginning at a Corner hiccory belonging to A mulbery Grove from thence North thirty degrees west one 
hundred perches to a marked white oake Thence east Thirty degrees North Sixty perches to another white oake marked Thence South thirty eight degrees east one hundred Sixty Seaven perches to a marked white oake thence South thirty four degrees west three hundred & eighty perches thence North fifty four degrees one hundred and four perches binding upon George Truitts Land to a white oake marked thence North thirty Six degrees east binding upon Mulbery Grove to the first hiccory Containing & layd out for three hundred Acres more or Lesse according to Certificate of the ~ Survey thereof taken & returned into the Land office at the Citty of S^t: Maryes bearing date the Eighteenth day of September Annoq^e. Do^m: 1684 & there remaining upon record for three hundrerd acres as aforesaid Together w^th: all rights Proffitts bennefitts & Priviledges thereunto belonging royall mines excepted To have & to hold the said Tract of Land to him the Said John Emmett his heires & assignes for Ever und^r: the rents and Services in the Said Grannt reserved relacon there unto being had more fully & more at large it may & doth appear Now this Indenture further Witnesseth That the Said John Emmitt and Hannah his wife for divers good Causes & valuable Considerations them thereunto moveing but more especially for & in Consideracon of Seaven Thousand pounds of Tobacco unto them in hand paid by the said John Miller before Sealing & delivery hereof the receipt whereof & of every part and parcell thereof the said John Emmitt & hannah his wife doth hereby acknowlege and thereof doe fully freely Clearly & absolutely acquitt exonerate & discharge the S^d. John Miller his heires execut^rs: & administrators for Ever by vertue of this Indenture have given granted bargained & Sold enfeofed & Confirmed And by these presents doe give grant bargaine Sell enfeofe and Confirm unto him the Said John Miller his heires & assignes for ever all that Tract of Land before mentioned Called the enlargement Scituate and bounded as aforesaid Together with all the rights proffitts bennefitts & appurtenances thereunto belonging Royall Mines excepted To have and to hold the same & every part & parcell thereof to him the said John Miller & to the only proper use & behoofe of the S^d: Miller his heires executo^rs: administrato^rs: & assignes for Ever without any Mortgage Condition redemption use or Limitacon to recall alter Charge or determine the Same The rents & Services due to the Lord or Lords of the fee alwaies excepted & foreprized And the Said John Emmett and Hannah his wife for themselves theire heiress executors administrators & assignes doe Covenant promise & grant to and with the Said Jn^o: Miller his heires execut^rs: adm^rs. & assigness & to & with Every of them by these presents in Manner & forme following That is to Say That they the Said John Emmett and Hannah his wife now are & both of them is and Standeth Lawfully ~ possessed and Interrested of and in the Said Tract of Land Called the Inlargement with all wholy & Singularly appurtenances thereof And that they the s^d: Jn^o: Emmitt & hannah his wife have good right full power & Lawfull Authority in themselves to give graunt bargaine aliene Sell Convey assigne enfeoff & Confirme the said Land & p^r:misses with the and Every of the appurtenances unto him the S^d: Jn^o: Miller his execut^rs: administrat^rs: & assignes in manner and forme as aforesaid And that he the said Jn^o: Miller his heires executors administrators & assignes Shall & Lawfully may from time to time and at all times for Ever hereafter standmp amply perfectly firmly Lawfully and effectually Seized and possessed of and in the premisses and the appurtenances And Shall or may peaceably and quietly have hold occupy possess the Land aforesaid Called enlargement Together with all wholly and Singularly the ~ Commodities hereditaments and appurtenances thereof in any wise appertaining without the Lawfull Lett Suit trouble interuption or disturbance of any person or persons whatsoever And also free & Clear & freely & Clearly acquitted exonerated & discharged or otherwise Sufficiently & well Saved & kept harmless of and ~ from all and all manner of former & other bargaines Sales guifts Graunts Leases estates rights Tyles Joyntures Dowers fines forfeitures mortgages Statutes recognizances Judgem^ts: execucons Rents ~ Annuities Charges Burthens Incumbrances whatsoever had made done or Suffered or to be had made ~ done or Suffered by the Said John Emmitt or hannah his wife or either of them their or either of their heires Executors administrators or assignes A by any other person or persons whatsoever And also that they the Said John Emmit or Hannah his wife or the heires executors administrat^rs: or assignes of either of them Shall & will from time to time and at all times hereafter at the reasonable request & at the only Cost & Charges in the Lawe of the said John Miller his heires executors administrators or assignes make doe acknowledge execute & Suffer or Cause to be made done acknowledged executed & Suffered...... all & every such further & other Act & Acts thing & things device & devices assurance & assurances in the Law whatsoever for the further & more ffull perfect "  (Source:  http://aomol.msa.maryland.gov/000001/000405/html/am405--33.html)

USGenWeb - An Indispensable Site to All Family Historians

Kudos to the USGenWeb creators and volunteers who have kept this amazing and free genealogy website going all these years. 

18th Century Buildings in Elkton, Cecil County, MD
(source: http://cecilcounty.wordpress.com/2012/03/17

The site includes records from all over the United States, land records, tax records, vital records, cemetery records to name just a few. 

On their home page we read:  "Welcome to The USGenWeb Project! We are a group of volunteers working together to provide free genealogy websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. This Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free genealogy access for everyone." (source:  http://usgenweb.org)

An example of one of their thousands of records that are available free and online is the following Cecil County, Maryland 1783 tax record for residents in and around the town of Elkton (where William and Rebecca lived). Here is an excerpt:

Maryland State Archives
MARYLAND INDEXES
(Assessment of 1783, Index)
1783
Cecil County
MSA S 1437

Andrew Miller. Three Bohemia Sisters, pt, 55 acres. CE 2nd District, p. 10. MSA S 1161-3-8    1/4/5/46
Andrew Miller. 55 acres. CE 2nd District, p. 5. MSA S 1161-3-8    1/4/5/46
Benjamin Miller. Sims Forest, pt, 380 acres. CE 2nd District, p. 12. MSA S 1161-3-8    1/4/5/46
Benjamin Miller. Sims Forest, pt, 20 acres. Notes: and Richard B. Ford of John. CE 2nd District, p. 12. MSA S 1161-3-8    1/4/5/46
Benjamin Miller. 390 acres. CE 2nd District, p. 5. MSA S 1161-3-8    1/4/5/46
Samuel Miller. CE 2nd District, p. 6. MSA S 1161-3-8    1/4/5/46

Source:  http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/stagser/s1400/s1437/html/1437ce.html

This is of great value to our Miller-Bradford research. Here's how:  We have been unable to exactly pintpoint when William and Rebecca packed up their children and belongings and left Cecil County for good, traveling "out west" to the wilds of southwestern Pennsylvania (Fayette County). Research indicated that it was probably around 1782 or 1782, but we haven't been able to prove it. 

While several of the above-mentioned Miller's are no doubt related, we can easily see that William is no longer a taxpayer in Cecil County in 1783, making a strong case for he and his family having moved earlier in the year or in 1782. And again, this record was completely free and took me about 2 minutes to find vai my online search just now.

In addition to USGenWeb's wonderful collection of U.S. records, they have started genealogical special projects that might be of interest to you either for research purposes or to volunteer!

For instance, you might balk at the thought of walking through a cemetery, but it's actually a

 great experience!  It gets you out in the fresh air, you will probably find, as my family and I have, that reading the tombstones is fascinating, and your findings could be invaluable to another family historian. Check out this opportunity:  

"The USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project was started to encourage people to walk cemeteries and donate copies of the surveys to The USGW Archives. Many transcriptions are already available online and more are added daily. The Project also provides links to cemetery transcriptions that are not archived in The USGenWeb Archives. These include transcriptions on County web sites and on independent web sites." 
(source:  http://usgenweb.org/projects/index.shtml )

Please visit them at the the above website address for a full list of projects. 

And why don't we all write them a heartfelt thanks for their great service, and maybe even become a volunteer. Contact USGenWeb at:  webmanager@usgenweb.org 

Lancaster Family - Back Creek Hundred Ties?

Here is a wonderful email I received from Don Lancaster who found the blog and was kind enough to write to me. My answers to him are in bold and brackets.  If any of you have information that might help him, please write to me at the email address listed to the right, and I will forward it on to him. 

Thanks Don! Truly appreciate hearing from you!

My family is of very early Cecil Co as wel,l 1670s.

Sinclair Lancaster Captain of the 18^th Battalion,  son Abraham Lancaster married Lydia Foard

This family are family of Pennington. Lum, Bayard, Bouchelle, Hollingsworth, Herman, Thompson [[sadly I don't have any of those names in my family history].

Abraham Lancaster served the war of 1812 Baltimore Maryland and New Castle De, after his father’s death he migrates to Washington of Williamsport 1820 (Ortho H Williams founder)

A lot of Miller’s of Germany are settled of the Han Michal Miller line. [Have researched Hans Miller and others, and we are definitely not related to any of the German Millers (Darn! There is lots of info about Hans, so I wish I did tie in!!)]


Abraham Lancaster son William married Harriet Lucas believed of the Lucas family of Cecil Co Md [sorry, but don't have any info on the Lucas family]

Had three children, Malinda a Lancaster Born in Middletown New Castle De 1826, Benjamin and St Clair Lancaster Born 1833 & 1834 in Chesapeake City  North side of back creek also called Back creek Hundred. [My William Miller, his father, Abraham, and some brothers owned land in Back Creek Hundred for many years.]

This is what makes me wonder of the connection of Millers of Cecil Co Md are of English Decent [I am almost 100% sure that they were of Scotch Irish descent. I can't find any ties to England....thus far! Who knows! My ancestors are quite elusive, no I never rule anything out completely!] and also believed to have Migrated through Virginia to Washington Co Maryland and reason is St Clair A Lancaster

Son of William Married Margaret A Miller daughter of John W Miller Born in Jefferson Co VA 1805.  His son John Lester Miller had a son that moved to Ohio and of this family I found the grandson that submitted his DNA we all hoped for a match with the Millers of Washington Co [Lots of William Miller's inlaws (the Bradfords) lived in Washington County, Pennsylvania....is that the Washington County you speak of?] but of our surprise we found that this DNA was of English Decent. [isn't this DNA thing revolutionizing genealogy?!!]

Kind of a long way around it but a lot of years to go through, I have land deeds with William Miller and Richard Foard/Ford [I have always wondered if there was any family relationship between William and the Fords, so your connection to Lydia Ford/Foard that you mentioned above is very, very interesting] of a Mill on Elk River I do have that deed also so this explains the Miller’s of Washington co being of same in fact owned very important Mills

Of the area.
 Another connection with Cecil and Washington Co is a lot of the same family migrated as well

Land Record From 1779!

[Note: Sorry, but I couldn't get the image any larger without it going off the screen. You should be able to right click on it and Save Image onto your computer for a more readable version]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

It never ceases to amaze me that we can look at a document that is over 230 years old and see our ancestor's names on it! This is a land record from Cecil County, Maryland, and while the principle parties are Andrew Miller (our William Miller's brother) and Benjamin Pearce, it also mention William and Andrew's  father, our great, great, great... grandfather, Abraham Miller (the Miller information starts about one-third of the way down).

The date is March 1779. The American Revolutionary War is still raging, but our people still live, marry, farm, buy and sell land, and conduct their lives as best they can.

Possibly more amazing is that these records survive! So many documents were destroyed, especially during the Civil War. Though we wish we had more information about our people, we are truly blessed to have several wonderful land papers for our Miller and Bradford ancestors. Some have already been published on this blog, and there will be more to come. Let us be grateful for each and every document that has survived, and for the insight that it gives us into our ancestors lives.

ADDENDUM: Adding the other two pages that are part of this land document. Page 1 is above; pages 2 and 3 are below. Kudos to anyone who wants to transcribe this unusual hand-writing!:

The Enigmatic Rebecca

Picture - Early Elkton


I don't think I would be far off in saying that we all feel a great closeness to our progenitor, Rebecca Bradford Miller, and yet she is one of the persons we know so little about! To my knowledge, she is named in only one semi-primary source - a transcription of Elkton, Cecil County, Maryland marriage licences.

That she was William Miller's wife is also mentioned in a few DAR sources. And we are indebted to her grandson George Washington Allen for listing the basics, birth, marriage & death info, as well as children's names in The Allen Family Record.

But there is precious little information to "flesh out" her life story...except for one nugget contained in an intriguing old email from a Mike Miller (is anyone still in touch with Mike?):

"You will notice the difference in ages of William Miller and his wife [Rebecca Bradford]. I have heard Mother say it was told her, he used to visit the Bradford family when Rebecca was a baby in the cradle and would say he was going to have her for his wife when she grew up, as so he did. -written by Sallie Allen, l904." [if anyone has further details about this story, we would love to hear from you].


From these bits and snatches, I will try to piece together Rebecca's life story in the next few posts. If you have more information about Rebecca, please leave it in the Comments section below or email it to me, and I will include it in these write-up's. I feel a great love for this good lady, and I hope we learn even more about her in the future.

Our Scots-Irish Bradford Line

Picture: County Down, Ireland

[Please forgive my long absence...a move, the holidays, and many other things intervened, but I hope to be back to writing at least a once-a-week post, and you all are invited to contribute, too!]

As descendants of William Miller and his wife, Rebecca Bradford Miller, we have the distinction of descending from two completely different ancestors named Samuel Bradford--one is Rebecca's father, and one is her grandfather on her mother's side..."no relation" according to the Allen Family Record, a quite reliable source we quote from often in this blog.

Rebecca's grandfather (whom we have affectionately dubbed "Red Lion Sam" as he lived in Red Lion Hundred in Newcastle County, Delaware) is proving to be an extremely difficult research subject, and we cannot as yet with certainty say anything about his heritage. Was he Scots-Irish, of English descent, or [be still our hearts] a descendant of The Governor? Only time will tell, we hope!

But it is with near certainty that we can say Rebecca's father was of Scots-Irish origin (see post dated September 1, 2009, entitled "Rebecca's Uncle James Bradford."

While we have not yet identified from which village in Northern Ireland our Bradfords haled, the entry below confirms that persons with this name were part of the migration from Scotland to Ulster:

"A well planned plantation of Ulster began in 1609, involving the introduction to the province of thousands of settlers. These were brought in by adventurers who, in return for title to the land, brought in a specified number of settlers to their estates. One Scottish adventurer, James Hamilton, brought over ten thousand Scots to northwest Down, Scottish names such as Boyd, Fraser, Johnston, Lindsay, Morrison, Patterson and Maxwell are consequently common in Down. English adventurers in Down who brought over English families included Annesleu, Hill and Montgomery. These settlers brought the names Wilson, Johnson, Young, Taylor, Walker, Jackson, Watson, Bradshaw, and Bradford to Ulster." Source: (http://www.rootsweb.com/~fianna/county/down.html)

For a good general history of the plantations of Northern Ireland, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantations_of_Ireland and http://www.libraryireland.com/ScotchIrishAmerica/I.php

It will be thrilling day when we find the exact village in Ireland that Rebecca's father side came from, and an even more thrilling day if we can trace that line back to their origins in Scotland. Let's all join in the search, and hopefully that day will come sooner rather than later.

*I use the term Scots-Irish as opposed to Scotch-Irish, as it is the preferred term [at least by the Scots themselves!].

Abraham - Overseer of Roads

I have often wondered exactly what the job of "Overseer of Roads" entailed. We know that Abraham Miller, our William's father, and others in the family worked as overseers in Cecil County, Maryland for several years in the 1700's. Here is a job description from that era:

AND BE IT ENACTED, That it shall and may be lawful for the several and respective overseers of the said roads, and they are hereby authorised and empowered, as often as need shall require, to dig, take and remove, any stones, gravel, or earth of firm quality, which may be found on any land adjoining the roads for which the same may be necessary, and to employ the same in the repairing of the said. roads ; and for the making or repairing of bridges over the heads of rivers, creeks, branches, swamps, or other low and miry places, through and over which the said roads may pass, to cut down, or cause to be cut down, any tree or trees growing on any of the next adjacent lands to such places where bridges may be necessary as aforesaid, and the same trees to maul and carry away from off such lands, and to apply the same to the making or repairing of the said bridges; provided, that it shall be the duty of each and every overseer aforesaid to render a true account, (certified under their hands and seals respectively,) of all and singular such tree or trees by them cut down and taken for the purpose aforesaid, with a description of the size and quality of such tree or trees, together with their estimation of the value thereof, to the owner, tenant or overseer, of the lands from whence the same shall have been taken, and to return a duplicate of such account, on oath, to the next levy court of the county, in order that the justices of said court may be enabled to estimate the real value thereof, to be allowed or paid to such owner or owners in such manner as said justices shall appoint and direct...the said overseers shall have power, and they are hereby authorised and required, to call upon all and singular the free able bodied male inhabitants of their respective limits, above the age of eighteen years and under the age of fifty years, and upon all and singular the able bodied male slaves residing therein, above the age of eighteen years and tinder the age of fifty years, to labour and assist in clearing, amending, improving and repairing, the several and respective roads aforesaid, and to require such and so many of the said persons as they shall from time to time deem necessary, to assemble at such place within their respective limits as the said overseers shall severally appoint, with sufficient implements of labour, and thereupon to proceed in the execution of such work and labour upon the said roads, for the improvement and repair thereof, as the respective overseers shall order and direct; and the said overseers shall also have power to hire and employ carts and teams for the carrying and removing all such stones, dirt, gravel and timber, as may be deemed requisite for repairing and completing the said,roads and bridges, and the expence of such carts and teams shall be levied upon the county" [sic] (Maryland State Archives, Vo. 558, p. 41 - http://aomol.net/000001/000558/html/am558--41.html)

[picture from awesomeamerica.com/maryland/]

Can You Just Imagine?

Below is a land record (double click on it to enlarge) for William's father, Abraham Miller from 1749!! Wouldn't you give anything to know what the land around Elkton looked like back then! How did our ancestors live, dress and travel? What did they eat? We will never know for sure, but this entry from another famliy history site (not related) gives us a flavor of what it might have been like:

Life on the eastern shore in the late 1700s was very basic, as described by a writer in the Chestertown Transcript:
Farm implements were of the rudest kind. We used wooden plows, with an old saw for the land side, and the mold board covered with a gar skin. Corn was worked with the fluke harrow and hoe. ... The smaller products of the farm were taken to town every Wednesday and Saturday, where they were exposed in the market for sale until 9 A.M. If not disposed of by that time, they were exchanged with the merchants for their goods. Clothing was of the simplest kind, and very often homespun, though there were at the time several woolen mills in Kent. Shoes were made at the farmers' houses by an itinerant shoemaker, whose avocation was called by the euphonious name of "whipping the cat." Roads were generally very poor, and laid out without regard to straight lines. If a mudhole was in the middle of the road, they drove around it and made a new road. Horseback was the favorite method of traveling. On Sunday the families would generally pile in an ox-cart and go that way to church. There were a few gigs, but they, like coaches, were costly, and were only used by the very rich.There were several kinds of amusements indulged in by the men, one of which was horse racing. The distance run was generally a quarter of a mile, and the stakes a gallon of whiskey. The very best whiskey cost fifty cents per gallon. Husking matches were common in the winter. The husking was generally done by the negroes, while the white folks had a good time in the house. The huskers were always provided with a good supper; plenty of roast pig, corn-bread and whiskey. Once a year there was a day appointed for a squirrel hunt, generally in June, when the young squirrels were tender and eating fit for the Gods," (picture and article from VanderFord Family.com).

This land deal involved Abraham buying a large tract of land near the Head of the Elk [River]. He was probably around 39 years old. He and his wife, Rosannah (or Susannah?) would have had several children by now (we know William was born in 1732). They seem to have been fairly well situated financially in order to buy this much land. They had been living in NewCastle County, Delaware [why does the deed say "in the Territories of Pensylvania [sic]?...we'll leave that question for another posting], and were now moving to Cecil County, Maryland, though this was a move of only 5 or 10 miles. Someday perhaps one of our members will travel to this part of the country, pinpoint this area and take pictures, though we can be sure it won't look even remotely the same! We are lucky to now have these land records at our fingertips to help give us a more complete picture of what our ancestors' lives were really like.

Summer 1778 At The Head Of The Elk

While we have some of information about William Miller, precious little is from those highly sought-after primary sources. One item that comes as near to that particular genealogist's nirvana is the record we have of his marriage to Rebecca Bradford on June 13, 1778, in Elkton, Maryland, by Reverend William Thompson. Because this record is copied from the original (thanks to the Jeremiah Baker Chapter of the DAR), it is not technically a primary source, but we won't quibble. [Note: Lori Butler actually visited the Cecil County Historical Society in Elkton this summer and copied the page above for us, so thanks to Lori, too].

So we can be quite certain in declaring that William and Rebecca were in Elkton in June of 1778. We hunger for more details. Where was their residence? How long had they lived in Cecil County? Precisely when did they leave for Fayette County, Pennsylvania? Where were their parents living? But those questions are for another time. Let's enjoy the knowledge that we can at least pinpoint this fascinating couple on one day in history.

So how did that history affect their lives? We can't know for sure, and yet a quick look at the surrounding events is instructive.

According to Elkton.org, "On a hot stormy day, August 27th in the year 1777, three hundred ships with over 15,000 British soldiers, commanded by General [William] Howe, landed on the shores of the Elk River [see map]. They marched to Elkton and made camp. There were more soldiers than citizens in the entire county. In anticipation of the enemy's arrival, people hid their horses, cattle, and valuables in the woods, so that the soldiers couldn't take them. On August 25th, prior to the landing of the British, General George Washington traveled through pouring rain to reach Delaware and then Cecil County. He came to observe their situation, knowing that the British were sailing up the Chesapeake Bay. Washington stayed at Head of Elk [later known as Elkton] in a hotel owned by Jacob Hollingsworth. On August 27th, General Howe slept in the same room and was waited on by the same servant who waited on Washington just two days prior. The British stayed in the County for a few days, planning strategy, stocking up on supplies, and waiting for the storm to pass. When they marched onward, it was to Brandywine and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. No battles took place on Cecil ground that August of 1777, but it was a time that Cecil Countians will never forget."

That December, 75 miles away, Washington and his troops suffered through the winter at Valley Forge. By June 19th of 1778, Washington, still in Pennsylvania, left to join the troops in New Jersey (where the Battle of Monmouth would play out on June 28th just 15 days after their marriage).

The war would rage on for five more years, and as far as we know, Mr. and Mrs. Miller would remain in Elkton during most of that time. Their first two sons would be born, and some time between 1782 and 1783, as the War was ending, they would move their family west to Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

In future posts, we will examine the legends about the first years of their married life in Cecil County, the stories of boat-building, William knowing Rebecca as a baby, and whether or not he owned a mill there in Elkton. As we combine our search efforts, hopefully the fabric of their life will someday be woven into a more complete piece. But for now, even these threads are fascinating.