Nathaniel Fillmore

Was an American farmer, and the father of Millard Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States. After his marriage, Fillmore began farming in Vermont. Shortly thereafter, Nathaniel and his brother Calvin Fillmore were approached by land agents offering tracts in New York state. Unhappy with trying to make the stony ground of their Vermont land productive, they quickly grabbed the opportunity and moved to western New York, sight unseen.

According to biographers of Millard Fillmore, "The Fillmore brothers moved their two families to their new homeland nestled deep within a timber-laden forest. Location was not their greatest problem. Nor was the dense clay they unearthed once the land was cleared. Their greatest setback came with the realization that faulty surveying coupled with corrupt local government officials had left them with virtually nothing. The Fillmore brothers lost their land because of defective titles. Duped, tired, and poor, Nathaniel eventually became a tenant farmer while occasionally teaching school, working the soil for landlords and taking their charity when necessary to survive.

Over time, Nathaniel Fillmore's fortunes changed; he became prominent enough while living in Niles, New York that he served as a justice of the peace for eleven years. He eventually purchased a farm in East Aurora, New York which he developed into a productive enterprise