By Carol Powell

In November of 2000 Parker Anderson, a local Prescott historian, wrote an article for Days Past about a notorious citizen and outlaw of old Prescott by the name of Louis C. Miller. He ended the article by stating, "The trail of Louis C. Miller stops there. I have no further information about the rest of his life, or when and where he died. Unlike today's media-saturated cases, notorious citizens in those days were often able to drift back into anonymity if they so desired. Louis C. Miller may be buried somewhere under his own name, but so far records have not been located. If anyone reading this has further data on Louis C. Miller, please contact either myself, or the Sharlot Hall Museum Archives."

At that time, I had not started my husband's family history, and had no idea that anyone else was interested in the Miller family. I had tried to hire a professional genealogist, but was told not to waste years of my life looking for them with the sketchy information I had. 

In 2003, my husband and I visited Sharlot Hall Museum, looking for information about my husband's grandfather and/or siblings. All we had was a list of names with his grandfather's parents, brothers, and sisters. While at the Museum, we did find some items of interest, and began a timeline with the information. I posted that information on the Web. Within a short time, I heard from Parker Anderson, and between the little bit of family history I had, Parker and I uncovered a fascinating story. 

I had a story about one Louis Clair Miller, described as a victim in a mining accident in a newspaper clipping tucked away in my brother-in-law's closet that was part of some belongings he kept from an aunt that passed away. 

Parker's story was about a fugitive, a man who spent years of his life in prison. My version was a romantic love story about Louis Clair Miller and his bride, Emma A. Schultz, who was his nurse. She fell hopelessly in love with him. Louis claimed that the mine accident was directed by the hand of God, and that meeting Emma was Divine intervention. It may have been Divine opportunity for Louis went on to live a full life with Emma. They had a child named Granite, who died in 1976. Louis had a brother named Otto, and a sister named Minnie Haas (another faithful woman in Louis' life, her testimony at his trial playing a big part in sending him to prison rather than being executed). The location, same middle initial, time frame, and these three names were a match to the man that Parker Anderson had spent years looking for; a man that pulled off the perfect double life. Yes, I had a death date, and was able to answer Parker's questions about Louis. He was born March 8, 1870, in Texas. He died March 29, 1932 in Portland, Oregon. 

Miller served prison time for being an accomplice to murder with Fleming "James" Parker for killing Lee Norris, a Deputy District Attorney, during a jailbreak. Fleming Parker was sentenced to hang (it was carried out June 3, 1898). Louis Miller was sentenced to life in prison in Yuma Territorial Prison. His sentence was later commuted to 20 years. While in prison, Louis Miller made two unsuccessful attempts at escaping. He also spent some time in solitary confinement for causing trouble in the prison. Eventually he decided to turn himself around and took to studying surveying in prison. Hearing about his case, a wealthy philanthropist in New York, Mrs. Russell Sage, bought him a complete set of surveying tools for his use in finding work if he ever got out of prison. Louis Miller was paroled in 1912 and left Arizona and was working in Park City, Utah, when in December 1913 he was involved in a mining accident that left him blind and crippled. 

The paper trail I found proved that Louis died a true con artist. His wife Emma was the informant on his death certificate. She said that Louis worked 25 years in the mines as a Civil Engineer. Between doing prison time and becoming injured in the mining accident, Miller worked in that field only a few months. Could it be that Emma dedicated her life to a man that she never really knew? 

I found Miller to be an opportunist who was able to play on good people. One lone jurist kept Miller from the hangman's noose. Mrs. Russell Sage gave him opportunity. His sister Minnie stood by him; she even helped him hide out after his first jailbreak. Minnie enlisted her brother-in-law, Deputy Fletcher Fairchild, a lawman from a neighboring town, to aid them. Miller was saved through the efforts of Minnie and without her help he was in danger of being lynched; a team of officers was secured by Fairchild, and Louis Miller was taken in a private conveyance to the jail in Flagstaff. And his wife, Emma, loved and took care of him until his death at age 62 in 1932. 

Sharlot Hall Museum's Blue Rose Theatre will present "A Different Kind of Miller", the complete story of Louis C. Miller, October 13th, 14th, 20th, and 21st at 7:30, and two Saturday matinees on Oct 14th and 21st at 2:00 p.m. in the Museum Center Gallery. Tickets are available at the Museum Store. For more information, please call the museum at 445-3122. 

(About the author: The past meets the present. Two researchers, Carol Powell and Parker Anderson, study past events. They were able to trace the trail of Louis Clair Miller by trading information on the web. At least three times in Louis' life he was hunted by the law and almost 100 years later, Carol and Parker found his trail.) 


Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(Miller) Reuse only by permission.
Louis C. Miller, Yuma Territorial Prison Inmate #3020, 1909. Courtesy Arizona Department of Library, Archives, and Public Records, Yuma Territorial Prison State Park