By Diana Rahe Taylor

Brothers Samuel Carson Miller and Jacob Leroy Miller arrived in the unexplored area of central Arizona Territory with the Walker Party in May of 1863. Sam and Jake left their home in Illinois in 1859, headed to California to seek gold and there joined up with "Uncle Joe" Walker and his group of mining hopefuls. Both Sam and Jake are listed as members of the Walker Prospecting and Mining Company, established on May 10, 1863 on the banks of the Hassayampa River about six miles south of what is now Prescott - near present Wolf Creek Campgrounds.

Sam Miller discovered gold on Lynx Creek in May, 1863 and he and his brother mined the area for a while. Sam and Jake did well with their claim. They moved up to Granite Creek where the town of Prescott would soon be established.

In March of 1864, Sam and Jake, by squatter’s rights, staked out their homesteads in Spring Valley, later the area was re-named Miller Valley. They managed Iron Springs Road as a toll road and established a business of hauling supplies from Los Angeles through Wickenburg to Prescott and later along the Hardyville Road between Prescott and Hardyville on the Colorado River, which is today Bullhead City. They had invested their first placer gold in the pack animals and wagons and became the heroes of 1864 by keeping the local miners and settlers from starvation.

In March 1864, another white family moved into Spring Valley. Julius and Celia Sanders arrived with three of their children; sons Irvin and Peter and daughter Mary. Their older sons Thomas and Robert had come on ahead with another prospecting group. The family homesteaded the land where the Yavapai Regional Medical Center now stands and eventually sold it to Yavapai County for $500. Mary Sanders married Sam Miller in 1867 and raised a family of eight children.

Jake had left his wife and three children back in Illinois in 1859 and now it was 10 years since he had seen them. He wanted to see them, but Sam needed him here. Jake was not easily dissuaded – not until someone informed him that his wife had divorced him. Grieved by the news, he decided not to return to Illinois. He did, however, arrange for a letter to be sent, telling her he had been killed by Indians!

When Jake’s children grew to adulthood, his son, "Roll" (Leroy) contacted his father by mail. Encouraged by his son’s letter, Jake took off for Illinois, fully intending to persuade his three children to move to Arizona Territory. He waited at the Paris, Illinois post office, hoping someone would know how to contact them. After a brief conversation with a man who had come to pick up his mail, Jake asked if he knew Roll Miller in Grandview.

"No," said the gentleman, "But I know a young man named Roll Cook and his two sisters, Serilda and Cynthia." Bingo! Jake hired a team and buggy and drove to Grandview. Enthusiastic about reconnecting with his father, Roll used the buggy to bring his sisters to meet their father. After a bit of friendly persuasion, the three decided to accompany their father back to Prescott.

Jake’s children settled in the newly established town of Prescott. His daughter Cynthia married Thomas Sanders in 1873 and twelve children were born to this union. Tom served with General Crook, farmed and ran a stage station in Yeager Canyon (at the base of Mingus Mountain).

Jake’s daughter Serilda married Harley Cartter in 1874, making their home on South Marina Street next to the First Baptist Church. Harley served as district attorney, under sheriff, judge, school superintendent and various other offices. He bought the ranch in Yeager Canyon and sold it to the Fain family in 1902.

Jake’s son, "Roll", bought a ranch in Skull Valley. He also helped with his father’s freighting business. Since women were scarce in the territory, he returned to Illinois and, within a few months, married pretty Rachel Wiebrecht and brought her back to Skull Valley. At midnight on July 12, 1876, the Millers got off the train in Skull Valley. At first glimpse, Rachel declared Arizona to be the most "godforsaken country" she had ever seen. Roll died in 1893 at the age of 42 leaving his young widow to raise their seven children. She became affectionately known to all as "Aunt Rachel." Her stamina was evident until her death at age 95 in 1954.

Jake Miller died in April of 1899 at age 69 and is interred at Citizen’s Cemetery and his brother, Sam, in October 1909 just one month short of 69. He is interred at the Miller Valley (Simmons) Cemetery on the hill adjacent to the Pioneer’s Home Cemetery.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(PO1169pa and PO1172p) Reuse only by permission.
Brothers Samuel C. and Jacob L. Miller, c.1880s, cousins of Kit Carson, settled in the 1860s in what is now known as Miller Valley.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(PO1173p) Reuse only by permission.
Samuel C. and Mary (Sanders) Miller, c.1880s.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(PO1170p) Reuse only by permission.
Jacob L. Miller with daughters Cynthia and Sirilda, c.1880s.