MILLER of Wicklow Parish, Carleton County

It was August of 2007 when we Millers made the Pilgrimage to the ‘homeland’.

This was a trip my mother in law had always wanted all of us to make together.

We had intended to do it sooner, then my father in law BEECHER MILLER got ill and life got in the way.  You know how it goes.

You see…Beech had grown up on a farm in New Brunswick, near a tiny place called Royalton which was no more than a church located on a narrow road along the Maine – New Brunswick border.  His parents were WARD MILLER (1872 -1953) and CORA HILLMAN (1874 – 1965).

We were going ‘home’ to where he had grown up.

There were seven of us in our little group; my mother in law, her three sons and their wives.  We had been invited back for a homecoming.

In 1889 Beech’s Grandfather, Ira MILLER (1835 – 1909)  had donated 2 acres of his farm to build a church – The Royalton Wesleyan Church (previously called the Reformed Baptist). The first meeting of the church had been at the kitchen table in the farm house.

We were invited to the Homecoming of the Royalton Wesleyan Church.

And what a homecoming!  The people were so friendly and welcoming.   We met distant cousins and neighbours of Beech’s family.

There were two days of music; we heard moving services and had a wonderful dinner in the church basement.

Cousin Alton McCrae told the story of how he used to spend summers (when he was age 8 or s0) at his Uncle Ward’s and Aunt Cora’s farm (Beech’s parents).  Beech was already grown up by then but would come home once in awhile.  Alton remembered him from those visits.

Alton recalled how Uncle Ward slurped and said “Stay out of the well house, boys.” And how Aunt Cora would knuckle him on the head when he misbehaved 🙂

What a story teller, that Alton!

It was a special, special visit.  Thank you friends and family of New Brunswick!

The Miller Men had come home to their roots.

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Our Miller Ancestry in New Brunswick

Our MILLER family has a New Brunswick connection that we can trace back to Ira MILLER in 1796. The names of individuals that married into the family are HARTLEY, TURNER on my father in law’s paternal side of the family and HILLMAN, DOW and CUMMING on the maternal side.

Connections?  Please contact us by leaving a comment below.

Check out the  New Brunwick Genweb Project web pages for more info about genealogy in this area.