Members of Rocky Face Rangers Honor Guard and                           William Franklin Chapman's gravestone
Order of the Confederate Rose Chapter 27, Southern Cross.

 

 

 

James W. Miller, Jr. and Drucilla Sweet Gwaltney;                          Marie Starnes and James W. Miller, Jr. unveiling gravestone
great-grandson and g-granddaughter of Pvt. Noah Miller                 and placing flag at Pvt. Noah Miller's grave.

 

Pvt. Noah Miller's gravestone                                                         Members of Order of the Confederate Rose Chapter 27,
                                                                                                      Southern Cross, paying respect at Pvt. Noah Miller's grave.

 

Drucilla Gwaltney, age 84, g-granddaughter of Noah Miller.           Marie Starnes, great-great granddaughter of Pvt. Noah Miller

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noah Miller was my great-grandfather.  My grandfather was Jacob “Jake” Miller and my father was James Woodrow Miller, Sr.  I have a son, James Woodrow Miller III who is also in attendance today and who is the last of the Jake Miller line.  On July 14, 2007, I was humbled to be the one to dig the hole to place the gravestone for Noah Miller 125 years after his death with the assistance of the Rocky Face Rangers camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. I will now attempt to give a brief biography of Noah Miller’s  life and his family.

 

Noah Miller was born in 1825, a son of John and Barbara Popst (Pope) Miller, while his parents were residing in the Catfish-River Bend section of Lincoln County, North Carolina, the area now being northeast Catawba County.  His parents moved to the area prior to 1810 from Rowan County.  This was a German-speaking family.  Noah’s siblings included Jacob Miller who married Elizabeth Fulbright, and Eve Miller who married Elijah Henry Pope.  There were other brothers John, Henry, Andrew, and George, and it is believed there was another sister named Dorcas.  All these children married into other families of German descent.  Jacob, his wife Elizabeth; Eve, and her husband Elijah, are all buried in the cemetery of Sharon Lutheran Church in northwestern Iredell County.

 

In 1843 Noah Miller married Leah Hefner, daughter of John and Elizabeth Hefner of newly formed Catawba County.  Noah and Leah were the parents of eleven known children, all born in Catawba County and who married into Alexander County families.

These children were:
Elizabeth Miller
John A. Miller, who married Mary Laura King
William Leander Miller (who never married and was the first of the Miller family to be buried in this cemetery in 1879 at the age of 30 years)
Exie Caroline Miller, who married David Shook (both buried here in Macedonia cemetery)
Dorcas Miller
Sidney M. “Sid” Miller, who married  Susan Nancy Price (both buried in Macedonia cemetery)
Jacob M. “Jake” Miller (my grandfather) who first married Martha Etta Teague, daughter of Henry and Obedience “Bedie” Warren Teague; and second Bessie Susan Cloer (my grandmother),  who was the widow of William J. Sanford.  Before either of his marriages Jake Miller fathered a daughter with Rebecca Fox of Liledoun whose name was Artie Fox.  Artie married Cephus Keever.  I can remember the many times in my youth we would visit Aunt Artie and the “lassie biscuits” she always made.  Jake’s father-in-law, Henry Teague,  was also a Confederate war veteran and he and his wife, Bedie,  are buried in Macedonia cemetery.  Jake and Martha Etta are buried here in Macedonia cemetery.
Rufus Lafayette “Fate” Miller
Henry Miller, who married Margaret Price (both Macedonia cemetery)
Anna B. Miller
And lastly Harriet E. Miller, who married Milas Gavin Mays

 

In 1850 Noah Miller was listed as a farmer in Catawba county, but by 1860 he had become a miller, the occupation he held until his death.  About the year 1863 Noah and Leah moved their family to Alexander county settling in Miller’s township.  On Jan. 1, 1871, Noah and Leah sold 300 acres to Marcus Lippard which lay on the bank of the Catawba River “east of the foarding coming out of the island.”  By 1880 Noah and Leah had settled in Ellendale township near Liledoun on the old Stirewalt mill or creek place.   Noah’s nephew, Levan Miller, son of Jacob and Elizabeth Fulbright Miller, also lived in the Liledoun area. Levan married Mary Elizabeth Sipes and she is also buried here at Macedonia.

 

On October 31, 1864, Noah Miller enlisted in Co. A, 56th Infantry Regiment North Carolina troops.  On March 25, 1865 he was taken prisoner of war at the battle of Fort Stedman, Virginia.  On March 28, he was confined at the Point Lookout, Maryland, prison where he remained three months until taking the oath of allegiance to the United States on June 24, 1865, and then being released.

 

Name: Noah Miller ,  
Residence: Alexander County, North Carolina 
Occupation: Miller 
Enlistment Date: 31 October 1864
Distinguished Service: DISTINGUISHED SERVICE 
Side Served: Confederacy 
State Served: North Carolina 
Unit Numbers: 163 
Service Record: Enlisted as a Private on 31 October 1864
Enlisted in Company A, 56th Infantry Regiment North Carolina on 31 October 1864.
POW on 25 March 1865 at Fort Stedman, VA
Confined on 28 March 1865 at Point Lookout, MD
Took Oath of Allegiance on 24 June 1865 at Point Lookout, MD

 

Noah’s physical description:  dark complexion, blue eyes, brown hair, 5 feet 7 ½ inches tall.

 

Noah’s son, John A. Miller, served in the same regiment, having enlisted a year earlier on October 18, 1863 at the age of 18. He was wounded 20 May 1864 at Ware Bottom Church, Va., and again wounded 15 July 1864 during the Battle of Petersburg, Va., when he lost the middle finger of his left hand due to a gunshot.  The wound eventually caused his other finger to stiffen and his left arm to shrink until it was much smaller than his right arm.   John returned to service on 30 July 1864 and was taken prisoner of war  01 April 1865 at  the battle of Five Forks, Va.  He was confined 06 April 1865 at the Point Lookout prison where he was released 24 June 1865 after taking the oath of allegiance to the United States.  John took the oath the same day as his father Noah so they probably made their way home to North Carolina together.

 

John A. Miller married Mary Laura “Polly” King, daughter of Elizabeth Betty King and George Little.  They had several children together the last being Cleo Miller who was born about seven months after the passing of her father.  John A. Miller died 26 September 1901 and is buried here at Macedonia.  In 1905 Mary Laura “Polly” King Miller married William Franklin Chapman, another Confederate war veteran we are honoring here today.  William was a widower when he married Polly, his first wife having been Anna Goodnight.  William and Polly Chapman had one daughter, Madalene, who married Lawrence Jolly, however, they also raised the Miller children as well.  Cleo Miller married George Sweet and had several children, one of which is Noah Miller’s great-granddaughter Drucilla Sweet Gwaltney, age 84, who is attending this service with us today.

 

Noah Miller died in September 1882.  His grave stone has been erected beside the grave of his son, William Leander Miller, who died in 1879.  Noah’s wife, Leah Hefner Miller, was born Dec. 31, 1825 in Lincoln, now Catawba, county and died March 23, 1897 while living near Liledoun.  She is also buried here with her husband, Noah.  Many of Noah and Leah’s sons, daughters, their husbands and wives, and grandchildren are buried here in Macedonia Baptist cemetery.

 

American Civil War Soldiers
about John A Miller
Name: John A Miller ,  
Residence: Alexander County, North Carolina 
Enlistment Date: 18 October 1863
Distinguished Service: DISTINGUISHED SERVICE 
Side Served: Confederacy 
State Served: North Carolina 
Unit Numbers: 163 
Service Record: Enlisted in Company A, 56th Infantry Regiment North Carolina on 28 July 1862.
Enlisted as a Private on 18 October 1863 at the age of 18
Wounded on 20 May 1864 at Ware Bottom Church, VA
Wounded on 15 July 1864 at Petersburg, VA
Returned on 30 July 1864 (Estimated day)
POW on 01 April 1865 at Five Forks, VA
Confined on 06 April 1865 at Point Lookout, MD
Took Oath of Allegiance on 24 June 1865 at Point Lookout, MD.

 

As I mentioned earlier the Millers were of German descent.  My grandfather, Jake Miller, passed away in 1944 at the age of 88 before I was born.  According to my father, Woodrow, Jake could speak German but refused to teach it to my father when asked.  My father, who was born in 1922,  felt his refusal was probably because of the anti-German sentiments which existed due to the World Wars.

 

Noah Miller’s children and grandchildren married into Alexander county families of Scot-Irish, English and German descent.  These family surnames include King, Fox, Price, Teague, Cloer, Mays, Payne, Chamberlain, Deal, Isenhour, Dyson, Dagenhart, Carrigan, Rhyne, Vickes, and Bentley.

 

Noah Miller’s descendants can be proud of his fulfilling his duties not only to his family but also to the Southern cause when he was called.  May he always be remembered for this and may he eternally rest in peace.

By
James W. Miller, Jr.
510 Clover Church Road
Granite Falls, North Carolina 28630

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