Thomas Miller, of Middletown

Not the same as Thomas Miller, (died young)

Thomas Miller was born in England of unknown parents. Married Isabel. Came to the US around 1630 with Isabel. Had two children.

News reports show Thomas abandoned Isabel to be with their young maid named Sarah.

Thomas was jailed for adultery. Then was ordered to provide for Isabel until her death in 1666.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ctsmfsd/MillerInDepth.pdf

question

Did Thomas come to Rowley 1st?, become an adulterer, and then resettle in Middletown?

answer

http://www.middlesexhistory.org/exhibits/english.htm

Thomas and Isabel Miller moved here from Rowley, Massachusetts about 1652. On May 6, 1666, the couple's maid, Sarah Nettleton, gave birth to a son. The father was Thomas Miller. Thomas was about 56 years old; Sarah was 22.

Within a few days of the birth, Thomas's wife Isabel died. Thomas rapidly married Sarah Nettleton, but did not escape a brief imprisonment for his adultery. All things considered, the couple was fortunate to avoid the standard civil penalty of the day, which included the whipping of both or being "burnt on the Forehead with the letter A."

For his sin, Thomas Miller's home church in Rowley excommunicated him. Finally, in 1674, the convicted adulterer made his only trip back to Massachusetts to express his repentance, and was received back into church membership. Thomas and Sarah Miller had eight children together, the last born after Thomas's death in 1680, when he was over 70 years old. Some years later, Sarah married John Harris and lived well into her eighties. "

~• ed. note Isabel death sounds suspiciously like suicide {MMvB vol. curator}

Family

From: findagrave.com

Thomas Miller

• Birth: Nov. 7, 1609, England
• Death: Aug. 14, 1680 Middletown Middlesex County Connecticut, USA

Forefather of Winston Churchill.

Children:

• Thomas MILLER b: 6 MAY 1666 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT
• 2. Samuel MILLER b: 1 APR 1668 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT
• 3. Joseph MILLER b: 21 AUG 1670 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT
• 4. Benjamin MILLER b: 20 JUL 1672 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT
• 5. John MILLER b: 10 MAR 1673/74 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT
• 6. Margaret MILLER b: 1 SEP 1676 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT
• 7. Sarah MILLER b: 7 JAN 1677/78 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT
• 8. Mehetabell MILLER b: 28 MAR 1680 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT

Family links: Parents: [Disputed]

• John Miller (1560 - 1633)
• Mary Pyleston Miller (1564 - 1621)

Spouse:

• Sarah Nettleton Harris (1642 - 1728)

Children:

• Ann Miller Bacon (1636 - 1680)*
• Joseph Miller (1670 - 1717)*
• Benjamin Miller (1672 - 1747)*
• John Miller (1674 - 1745)*
• Margaret Miller Johnson (1676 - 1764)*
• Sarah Miller Johnson (1679 - 1766)*
• Mehitabel Miller Hubbard (1681 - 1753)*

Calculated relationship

Note: Burial is unknown, but most likely in Riverside Cem., Middletown, CT. Some of the earliest graves in this cemetery were moved during mid-19th century railroad right-of way construction, and gravestones do not survive.

Burial: Riverside Cemetery, Middletown, Middlesex County Connecticut, USA

Discussion

Spencer Miller, "The Millers of Bishop's Stortford, co. Hets, England,", in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. (New York, New York: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society), Part1: 70:139-50, Part2 70:242-52 Part3 70:345-52 Part4 (1940):71:43-50

There is a good summary at 70:143-44. The author discusses the English Origins of Thomas Miller and the relationship of the Millers to other New England Families such as the Chandlers, Johnsons, Heaths, Jacobs and other families. This article has been cited and further information provided by William Wyman Fiske in TAG 79:6 (chart) and by Douglas Richardson in TAG 73:57. This information was not presented by Jewett, Holman or Savage. Thomas1 Miller, the immigrant, was bp 7 Nov 1609 in Bishop's Stortford one of 11 children of John and Mary (Pylston) Miller. His father married second to Agnes widow of Henry Chandler. One of Agnes' children was William Chandler who married Alice Thorowgood of Farnham and second to Annis Bayford and immigrated to Roxbury, MA. The author traces several generations of the family in England. relatives, the Denisons, had been residents of Roxbury, Mass., for two years. William Denison of Stortford married Margaret Chandler (bapt. 1577), a daughter of Tobias and Joane (Momford) Chandler, an own cousin of William Chandler, a stepbrother of Thomas Miller. Elizabeth (Miller) Heath of Roxbury after 1635 was a second cousin of Thomas Miller, son of "Long John" Miller (Father of Thomas Miller). That there was a close relation between Capt. Isaac Johnson of Roxbury and the Millers of Stortford and Roxbury is proven in the wills of both Elizabeth (Miller) Heath r664, and Margaret (Miller) Waterman in 1670. Both called Capt. Johnson, " my cousin." Some years later two granddaughters and one grandson of Capt. Isaac Johnson (children of Nathaniel) married two sons and one daughter of Thomas Miller of Middletown.

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References

1. William Wyman Fiske, The Probable English Origins of George1 Jacob(s) of Salem, Massachusetts, in The American Genealogist (TAG). (Donald Lines Jacobus, et.al.), 79:3+Chart@6, 2004.
2. Douglas Richardson, New Light on the English Ancestry of William1 Chandler and of his cousins Margaret Chandler, Wife of William1 Dennison both of Roxbury, Massachusetts, in The American Genealogist (TAG). (Donald Lines Jacobus, et.al.), 73:50-57@57, 1998. HenryA Chandler m Anne/Agnes ___. She m (2) Bishop's Stortford 8 Jul 1622 (as his 2nd wife), John Miller of Bishop's Stortford, the son William Miller of same. His first wife was Mary Plyston. Richardson cited the NYGBR above for this family being the origins of both William1 Chandler of Roxbury, MA and John1 Miller of Middletown, Connecticut.

   ---

GEDCOM Note

Biography

Birth

Thomas Miller was born November 7, 1609, possibly in Ashford, Kent, or Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England. His parents are possibly John Miller and Mary Pylston. [SIC: DISPROVED] See pages 61& 99 of Bacon, <i>Early Families of Middletown, Connecticut, Vol. 1. An article published in 2007 in NEHGR Vol 161, page 280, (cited by Anderson in The Great Migration Directory for Thomas Miller, page228), gives evidence that John Miller and Mary Pilston were notthe parents of Thomas Miller of Middletown. Please see the "Disputed Parents" part of the newly added Research Notes in this bio.

Emigration

From England To Rowley, Massachussetts by 1643; to Middletown, Connecticut by 1651. See page 61 of Bacon, Early Families of Middletown, Connecticut, Vol. 1.

Marriage

(1) Isabel (unknown surname) about 1633 possibly in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England.

(2) Sarah Nettleton June 6, 1666, Middletown, Connecticut. See "Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870"

Excerpt from Middlesex County Historical Society, see: https://mchsct.org/exhibits-displays/their-own-stories-online-exhib...

Gravestone of Sarah Miller Harris, 1728, Old Farm Hill Cemetery "Behind a simple gravestone in the Old Farm Hill Cemetery hides a story of scandal among Middletown’s earliest settlers... "...Thomas and Isabel Miller moved here from Rowley, Massachusetts about 1652. On May 6, 1666, the couple’s maid, Sarah Nettleton, gave birth to a son. The father was Thomas Miller. Thomas was about 56 years old; Sarah was 22. "Within a few days of the birth, Thomas’s wife Isabel died. Thomasrapidly married Sarah Nettleton, but did not escape a brief imprisonment for his adultery. All things considered, the couple was fortunate to avoid the standard civil penalty of the day, which included the whipping of both or being “burnt on the Forehead with the letter A. "For his sin, Thomas Miller’s home church in Rowley excommunicated him. Finally, in 1674, the convicted adulterer made his only trip back to Massachusetts to express his repentance, and was received back into church membership. Thomas and Sarah Miller had eight children together, the last born after Thomas’s death in 1680, when he was over 70 years old. Some years later, Sarah married John Harris and lived wellinto her eighties."

Research notes on marriages

Torrey says - MILLER, Thomas (1610-1680) & 2/wf Sarah NETTLETON (1642-1728) m/2 [Thomas] HARRIS; 6 Jun 1666; Middletown, CT. Torrey, "New England Marriages" Vol. 2, p. 1040. New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015

First Settlers of Middletown, Connecticut, 1650-1654

Thomas Miller was one of the original twenty-three settlers of Middletown. His name is on the plaque at Founder's Rock, located at the entrance to Riverside Cemetery.<ref>See page 6 of Bacon, <i>Early Families of Middletown, Connecticut, Vol. 1.

Occupation: Miller

Thomas Miller was a carpenter. Thomas Miller, pdf by RW Bacon, Ed. "The Middler", page 1 "Thomas Miller built the first grist mill in the town, which stood on Miller's Brook."' Thomas Miller, pdf by RW Bacon, Ed. "The Middler", pages 1 - 3, citing Commemorative Biographical Record ofMiddlesex County, Connecticut. "In 1655, the town authorities made an agreement with him regarding the building of a grist mill, which he was to have charge of when completed, and, in 1671, the town released him from paying taxes so long as he owned and ran the mill." Thomas Miller, pdf by RW Bacon, Ed. "The Middler", pages 1 - 3, citing Frank Farnsworth Starr, "the Settlers of Mattabeseck 1650 - 1660"

Surveyor of Highways

At the town meeting of 1652 Thomas Miller was appointed Surveyor of Highways, and later appointed Townsman. ''Thomas Miller'', pdf by RW Bacon, Ed. "The Middler", pages 1 - 3, citing Frank Farnsworth Starr, "the Settlers of Mattabeseck 1650 - 1660"

===Death - 1680 ===

Thomas Miller died August 14, 1680 in Middletown, Connecticut.Thomas Miller, pdf by RW Bacon, Ed. "The Middler", pages 1 - 3, citing Middletown Vital Records and The Barbour Collection of ConnecticutTown Vital Records The location of his grave is unknown.<ref>See page 61 of Bacon, Early Families of Middletown, Connecticut, Vol. 1.

Research Notes

The Great Migration Directory

Miller, Thomas: Unknown; 1640; Rowley, Middletown [Lechford 289; RowBop 5; Rowley Fam 242; NYGBR 70:143-44; Stevens-Miller 1:301-15; Moore Anc 373-82; NEHGR 161:280-81].

Key to Abbreviations:

Lechford: Note-book Kept by Thomas Lechford, Esq., lawyer, in Boston, Massachusetts Bay, from June 27, 1638 to July 29, 1641.

RowBop: Rowley Book of Possessions (?):: Rowley Fam: Early Settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts (1933) GeorgeBrainard Blodgette

NYGBR: New York Genealogical Biographical Record:: Stevens-Miller Anc: Ancestry of colonel John Harrington Stevens and his wife, Frances Helen Miller:: Moore Anc: Moore and Allied Families: the Ancestry of William Henry Moore (1938), Effingham deForest and Anne Lawrence deForest

NEHGR: New England Historic Genealogical Record

Disputed Parents and Child

An article published by William Wyman Fiske in 2007 in The New England Historical and genealogical Register, Vol 161, page 280, (cited forThomas Miller by Anderson in The Great Migration Directory page 228) shows that contrary to previous estimations, Thomas Miller the immigrant of Middletown, Connecticut was not the son of John and Mary (Pilston) Miller of Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire.Joan (____) (Wylley) Pilston of Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire], by William Wyman Fiske, NEHGR Vol 161 (2207) page 280 (They did have a son Thomas baptized 7 Nov 1609, however he was buried 23 April 1614, at which point his mother was probably past child bearing age.)

NOTE: William Fiske shows that the will of Joan (____) (Wylley) Pilston is evidence that she was the mother of Mary Pilston (and not Agnes (Eliot) Pilston. Thomas Miller needs to be disconnected as son of John and Mary (Pilston) Miller AND Joan (____) (Wylley) Pilston needs to replace Agnes (Eliot) Pilston as the mother of Mary Pilston.

The birth date and the birth place for Thomas Miller have been disproved, along with the parents John and Mary (Pilston) Miller. That data needs to be vacant until research shows what should replace it.

The Family Tree for Thomas Miller should be vacant, and changes madeto his supposed mother's mother, as per evidence in the article by Fiske.

Sources

• Anderson, Robert Charles, F.A.S.G., The Great Migration Directory, (Boston, Massachusetts, NEHGS, 2015), "Concise entries for all immigrant families for the entirety of the Great Migration, from 1620 to 1640." Entry for Thomas Miller, page 228
• The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2013.) Joan (____) (Wylley) Pilston of Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, by William Wyman Fiske, NEHGR Vol 161 (2207) page 280
• Ancestry.com. "Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870" (BarbourCollection,) database on-line, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. <i>Ancestry.com (http://ancestry.com : accessed 8 Feb 2014), entry for Sara?? Nettleton; citing White, Lorraine Cook, ed. <i>The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55.</i> Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002.
• Bacon, Reginald W. <i>Early Families of Middletown, Connecticut, Volume 1: 1650 - 1654.</i> Newburyport, MA:Variety Arts Press, pp. 5, 61-63, 99.
• A Compilation of The Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants pdf by RW Bacon, Ed. "TheMiddler", Thomas Miller, pages 1 - 3
• Torrey, "New England Marriages" Vol. 2, p. 1040. New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015.link for subscribers
• Jacobus, Donald Lines. "The Nettletons in America", The Connecticut Quarterly (Hartford, Conn., 1908) Vol. 11, Pt. 2, Page 492 see at one click to hathitrust
• Great Migration Newsletter, V.1-20.(Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015.)V. 18, p. 29.link for subscribers