JACKSONVILLE LITERARY SOCIETY.--At a meeting of this society, held Friday, December 19th, the following officers were elected: President, W. J. Stanley; Vice-President, Frank Kasshafer; Secretary, Walter Jewell; Treasurer, Robt. A. Miller. The society is now permanently organized, and will meet at the district school house every Friday evening. It starts off with a good membership, composed of both sexes, and has a bright future before it. We wish it all success.
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, December 27, 1873, page 4


    Robt. A. Miller, who has been attending the San Jose University for the past year, returned home Wednesday.
"Personal," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 25, 1875, page 3


    Honors are showering themselves upon our friend Robt. A. Miller, now at Salem. He has just been elected president of the Alka Literary Society and is first lieutenant of the military department of the Willamette University.
"Brief Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, February 15, 1878, page 3


    A sporting club has been formed at Salem, with W. F. Cornell as president and Robt. A. Miller as secretary.
"Brief Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 7, 1878, page 3


    Robt. A. Miller was one of the students that graduated from the Willamette University yesterday.
"Brief Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, June 14, 1878, page 3



    Robt. A. Miller, accompanied by Mr. [James Everett] Stuart, a Portland artist, arrived in town Saturday. The following Wednesday they left for Crater Lake, and will spend several weeks in visiting the curiosities and viewing the beautiful scenery in which southern and southeastern Oregon abound. Mr. S. will also do some sketching while here.
"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 18, 1882, page 3


    FOR LAKE COUNTY.--Peter Britt started for Crater Lake this week accompanied by Robt. Miller and Mr. Stuart of Portland. The latter is an artist and he proposes making some sketches of the scenery in Lake County while out.
Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, August 19, 1882, page 3


    P. Britt and family, Robt. A. Miller and Mr. Stuart returned from a trip to Crater Lake yesterday.
"Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 15, 1882, page 3


    Peter Britt and son and Robt. A. Miller came in from Crater Lake this week. Mr. Stuart, the artist, is visiting Mt. Shasta.
"Personals," Ashland Tidings, September 15, 1882, page 3


    Robt. A. Miller and Mr. Stuart, who have been paying Southern Oregon a visit, returned to Portland this week.
"Here and There," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 20, 1882, page 3


    Robt. A. Miller and Mr. Stuart, the artist, returned to Portland this week. The latter made some fine sketches while here.
"Local Items," Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, October 21, 1882, page 3






    Robt. A. Miller and Raphael Morat are making large shipments of grapes to the Portland market, where they find a ready sale.
"Local Items," Oregon Sentinel, Jacksonville, September 18, 1886, page 3


    If we have the straight of it, Robert A. Miller of Jacksonville has been made president of the fruit growers association of Southern Oregon. This no doubt means that the organization will take on new life and vigor and become something more than a sort of haphazard advertising medium for tree peddlers. With such actual and practical, and experienced, growers of fruit and grapes as Stewart, Whitman, Miller, Galey and others, this association should be made one of the recognized interests of the state. It ought to be able to make rules and regulations for all growers in Southern Oregon, and so hedge this great interest, that dishonest men in the business or deal with it cannot get it at a disadvantage.
Southern Oregon Transcript, Medford, March 13, 1888, page 3






    Best exhibit of wine grapes, R. A. Miller, 1st, $5. Best exhibit of grapes, J. H. Stewart, 1st, $1. Best exhibit Mission grapes, R. Morat, 1st, $1. Muscat grapes, Dr. E. P. Geary, 1st, $1. Improved Mission and White Sweetwater, John Miller, 1st on each, $1. Flame Tokay and Black Hamburg, W. C. Winston, Douglas County, 1st on each, $1.
"Premiums Awarded [at the District Fair]," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, October 3, 1889, page 3


    Col. R. A. Miller, who has charge of J. N. T. Miller's vineyard, reports sixteen acres in vines; yield this year 22 tons, from which were made 800 gallons wine, the balance shipped to Portland market; there are twenty-five varieties of grapes growing in this vineyard, the most being the "Miller Mission" and "White Sweetwater," estimated at less than one-half the yield of 1887.
"Grape Growing in Jackson County," Ashland Tidings, December 20, 1889, page 1




    Col. Robt. A. Miller returned home on Monday, but left for Portland the following day. He will assume his duties as register of the Oregon City land office at once.
"Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, July 21, 1893, page 3


    It is announced that Col. Robt. A. Miller and Mrs. Sarelia Grubbe of Salem will soon enter the holy bonds of matrimony. Joy and prosperity be with them.
"Personal Mention," Democratic Times, Jacksonville, August 18, 1893, page 3


    A Salem dispatch of the 11th inst. gives the information that Col. Robert A. Miller, register of the Oregon City land office, and Mrs. Sarelia G. Grubbe, late superintendent of the Salem schools, were married that morning at the home of the bride's parents at Waldo hills. The contracting parties have a host of friends and acquaintances throughout the state, all of whom join the Times in wishing them a happy and prosperous journey upon the matrimonial seas.
Democratic Times, Jacksonville, September 15, 1893, page 3


    David Bloomer vs. George E. Bloomer; the plaintiff appeared by his attorney, R. A. Miller. It was ordered and decreed that the said defendant, George E. Bloomer, shall, upon the entry of this decree, transfer to the plaintiff, David Bloomer, by good and sufficient deed of conveyance, the legal title so received from said Amelia Darling and John H. Darling, by such aforesaid, and in default of which this decree shall stand as a monument of title in lieu thereof.
"Circuit Court," Oregon City Enterprise, November 22, 1895, page 8


    A PIONEER OF 1845.--One of Oregon's oldest pioneers died at his home in Jacksonville, Tuesday, the 18th, in the person of Colonel J. N. T. Miller, aged 74 years. Col. Miller was a native of Hardin County, Kentucky, where he was born in the year 1826. He came to Oregon among the earliest immigrants in 1845, and settled in Jackson County, where he has since resided, in 1853. In that year he was married to Miss Elizabeth Ann Awbrey, the union being blest with eight children, five of whom have preceded the father to the beyond. Besides his wife Col. Miller leaves three children, Col. Robert A. Miller, of Oregon City; Mrs. Anna Beach, of San Francisco, and W. L. Miller, of Jacksonville; and two brothers, General John F. Miller of Salem, and Emmett Miller of the state of Nevada, to mourn his loss.--Tidings. Col. Miller is a relative of F. J. Miller of this city.
Albany Democrat, September 28, 1900, page 1


    Mr. Miller comes from one of the well-known pioneer and political families of Oregon, his people coming to this state in 1845 and first settling in Multnomah and Clackamas counties. He was born in Lane County, Oregon, in 1854. His parents moved to Jacksonville, Oregon, when he was six weeks old, and his early life was spent on his father's donation land claim adjoining that then-famous mining town. He learned the bridle paths of Jackson and Klamath counties while assisting in his father's stock interests. He graduated at the Willamette University in 1878 and supplemented this with a Chautauqua diploma in 1900. He was admitted to the bar in 1887 and was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1893, and was admitted to practice before the Land Department at Washington, in 1897. Mr. Miller was elected to the legislature from Jackson County in 1886 and was re-elected in 1888. His course in the legislature gave him the Democratic nomination for Congress in 1890 by acclamation. He was one of the nominees of his party for presidential elector in 1892, and was appointed Register of the Oregon City Land Office in 1893 and served four years. Col. Miller gets his military title from having served for six years as aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor Pennoyer. He has been for the past two years chairman of the Democratic County Central Committee of Clackamas County and at the last convention received the unanimous endorsement of the convention for Congress. He was nominated in the state convention of 1900 for Congress but declined and placed in nomination Hon. Bernard Daly, of Lake County, who received the nomination. Col. Miller has a state reputation and stands well in the counsels of his party.
    Aside from Mr. Miller's political work he spent some years in the newspaper field of Oregon, being engaged as a writer or reporter for the Salem Mercury, the Daily Standard, the Oregonian, the News, and the Polaris, and during the year 1883-4 he was editor and proprietor of the Hesperian, published at Portland, Oregon, He left the newspaper work for more congenial pursuits.
    Mr. Miller, after four years' residence in Portland, Oregon, returned to Southern Oregon in 1884 and took charge of his father's fruit and farming interests and demonstrated that both could be made to pay. He helped to build up the Southern Oregon State Board of Agriculture and was secretary for two years during its most prosperous period. He was president of the Southern Oregon Fruit Growers' Association and gave much attention to the material development of that portion of the state.
    Col. Miller, since coming to Clackamas County, was president of the Willamette Valley Chautauqua Association for four years and took an active interest in upbuilding that institution. He is now president of the Men's Club of the First Congregational Church, of Oregon City.
    Col. Miller, since retiring as Register of the Oregon City Land Office, in 1897, has devoted his time to building up a law practice which now extends over two states. He is winning both fame and fortune in his chosen profession.
Oregon City Courier-Herald, Oregon City, January 3, 1902, page 29






    Robert A. Miller spent Sunday with Mrs. Miller in Salem. Mrs. Miller has been quite ill at the capital city, where she went for a visit.
"Personal Mention," Oregon City Enterprise, June 12, 1903, page 3


    SALEM, Or., June 20.--(Special.)--Mrs. Sarelia Griffith Miller, wife of Hon. Robert A. Miller of Oregon City, died at the Salem Hospital about midnight last night. The immediate cause of her death was the shock of a surgical operation.
    The deceased was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. C. Griffith, and was born at the farm home in the Waldo Hills on February 28, 1859. She was educated in the public schools and at Willamette University, graduating from the latter institution in 1877 with the degree of bachelor of science. The following year she was married to Quincy A. Grubbe, of this city, who died about 1885. For several years she served as a principal in the Salem public schools, and here her work was so highly satisfactory that she was chosen city Superintendent of Schools. This position she held until 1893. In the latter year she was married to Hon. Robert A. Miller, who survives her. Since 1893 her home has been in Oregon City.
    Mrs. Miller was widely known in Oregon as a close student and a leader in educational work. She pursued the studies of the Chautauqua course for several years, and was once a director in the state organization. She made a very exhaustive study of Shakespeare's works, and has delighted many Oregon audiences by her excellent interpretation of that author.
    Mrs. Miller was honored by being elected the first president of the state organization of Native Daughters of Oregon, in which order she has always taken a very active interest. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, at Oregon City, and of the Portland Woman's Club.
    Besides her husband, father and mother, Mrs. Miller left four children and three brothers: Mrs. George A. Peebles, Weston; Mrs. A. W. Giesy, Mrs. L. H. McMahan, Miss Jennie Griffith, Dr. L. F. Griffith, Dr. J. C. Griffith and Carl Griffith, all of Salem.
    The funeral will be conducted at 11 o'clock a.m. tomorrow (Sunday) from the First M.E. church in this city, Dean W. C. Hawley, of Willamette University, having charge of the services. Burial will be had in the cemetery near the Griffith home in the Waldo Hills.
Sunday Oregonian, Portland, June 21, 1903, page 4




    Residence, 670 Johnson Street; office, 333 Worcester Building, Portland. Born near Eugene, Oregon. Son of James Napper Tandy and Elizabeth Ann (Awbrey) Miller. Married to Sarelia W. Grubbe, September 11, 1893. Attended Jacksonville public schools, and from 1874 to 1875 the University of Pacific, at San Jose, California. Graduated from Willamette University, Salem, Oregon. Received diploma from New York Chautauqua August 15, 1900. Admitted to Oregon State Bar at Salem, Oregon, March 7, 1887; to Supreme Court of United States, May 10, 1893; to United States District Court of Oregon, and United States Circuit Court of Oregon, November 23, 1904. Admitted to all bureaus of Interior Department, at Washington, D.C., December 15, 1897. Aide-de-camp to  Governor Pennoyer six years, as lieutenant colonel. Representative from Jackson County in legislatures of 1887-89. Candidate for Congress in 1890, and for Presidential elector in 1892. Register United States Land Office, Oregon City, Oregon, 1893-97. Mason. Democrat.
History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon, 1910, page 188


    MILLER, ROBERT A.--Attorney at Law, 333 Worcester Bldg., Portland, Ore. Born Lane County, Ore., October 22, 1854; son of James Napper Tandy and Elizabeth Ann Awbrey Miller. Educated Jacksonville public school. Willamette University. Admitted to Oregon State Bar 1887; Supreme Court of United States, 1893; United States Circuit Court of Oregon, 1904. For some time Register United States Land Office, Oregon City. Representative of Jackson County to Oregon Legislature, 1887-1889; Aide-de-Camp to Governor Pennoyer for six years. Admitted to all bureaus of Department of Interior, Washington, D.C., 1897. Club: Commercial. Societies: A.F.&A.M. (32nd degree), Scottish Rite, National Geographical Society. Address: 670 Johnson Street, Portland. Ore.
Who's Who in the Northwest, vol. 1, Western Press Association 1911


    The women who don't want to vote and the women who do each heard their sentiments voiced by their chosen champions at the Lincoln High School last night, when Colonel Robert A. Miller, for the Oregon Equal Suffrage League, and Judge Guy C. H. Corliss, for the State Association Opposed to Equal Suffrage, met in debate. Retainers of both sides of the question were out in force, and the auditorium was nearly filled. The audience was generous in applause, and both speakers, as they concluded their arguments, were given prolonged salvos of appreciation.
    Judge Corliss maintained that while woman may have a right to vote from a moral standpoint, the granting of equal suffrage would not tend to simplify the solution of present political problems, but would add that much to her duties without benefitting her or the body politic in the least.
    "Suffrage is not a question of right at all," said tbe speaker. "It is a question of expediency alone. It is a question of whether the granting of the ballot will or will not facilitate the business of government." Throughout his address Judge Corliss maintained that equal suffrage would involve rather than simplify governmental matters.
    Arguing that woman is entitled to the ballot not only as a moral, but as a political and economic right, Colonel Miller made an impassioned plea for the adoption of the equal suffrage amendment in Oregon.
    "Women want no privileges that men do not possess," he declared. "It is simply a matter of justice. Whether women want to vote or not, and my opponent declares that they don't, is beside the question. I believe that they do want to vote, but they should have the right to vote whether they want to use it or not, the same as men."
    Colonel Miller ridiculed the idea that the possession of the privilege of the ballot will tend to mar the spiritual nature of woman. He declared that women will not be soiled by plunging into the pool of politics, and maintained that the feminine opponents of equal suffrage, by their activity in the present campaign, had either refuted their own logic or else had already suffered the taint that they asserted would ensue in case tbe amendment carried.
    Colonel C. E. S. Wood argued for the election of Woodrow Wilson.
Morning Oregonian, Portland, October 26, 1912, page 4




    I went to school with Robert A. Miller, now of Portland. J. N. T. Miller was his father, and general John F. Miller was his uncle.
Jennie Ross Reames, "The Oregon Country in Early Days," Oregon Daily Journal, Portland, August 12, 1915, page 6  The beginning of the interview is on the Ross page.




"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, February 2, 1921, page 2


    Robert A. Miller of Portland, Democratic candidate for Congress in the Third District, has been active in Democratic state politics for years. He has served as receiver of the land office, Portland district, and has been a Democratic candidate for different offices during past campaigns. He is a native son of the state and is now and has been a practicing attorney of Portland for many years.
"Candidates and Platforms," Oregon Journal, Portland, May 15, 1922, page 8




Col. Miller at Crater Lake
    Col. Robert A. Miller of Portland, who is spending the summer in Ashland, made a trip to Crater Lake Sunday with J. H. Hardy. This is the first time Col. Miller has been to the lake in 48 years. His father was a surveyor and in 1870, when his father was surveying Klamath Lake country, he held one end of the chain. It was in this same year that he made his first trip to the lake, and he was influential in naming it.--Ashland Tidings.
"Local and Personal," Medford Mail Tribune, August 14, 1930, page 2






Last revised February 18, 2024