Harry and Argenta Miller Papers

Harry and Argenta Miller Papers, 1898-1969

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Harry and Argenta Miller
Title: Harry and Argenta Miller Papers
Dates: 1898-1969 (inclusive)
18981969
Quantity: 2 c.f.
Collection Number: MG 062 (collection)
Summary: Personal correspondence, including fifteen letters from Argenta Miller's brother Orland Scott, author of Pioneer Days on the Shadowy St. Joe; financial records, legal documents relating to land purchases, and photographs of family and friends.
Repository: University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
University of Idaho Library
875 Perimeter Drive
MS 2350
Moscow, ID
83844-2350
Telephone: 2088850845
libspec@uidaho.edu
Languages: English
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Harry (born Hezekiah) Miller was born September 26, 1868, in Alvin, Illinois, the fourth of five children, and the only son of Ambrose and Mary (Ballah) Miller. At the age of 19 he migrated first to Aberdeen, Washington, then to Olympia where he was employed carrying mail on horseback between Olympia and Montesano. Later he came to the Palouse country where he worked on a farm near Colfax until coming to the St. Joe Valley in 1891. In 1898 he married Argenta Scott and the couple moved to Spokane where he worked in the Phoenix Sawmill. In 1903 they returned, with their small daughter, to the St. Joe Valley where they lived for 60 years on a 230 acre ranch. In 1955 infirmities of age forced them to sell the ranch and move into St. Maries where he died on January 22, 1964.

Ada Argenta (Scott) Miller was born October 2, 1878 in Missouri, the fifth of seven children of Francis (Frank) Gale and Amy Jane (Hicks) Scott. When she was three the family traveled first by rail to San Francisco, then by boat to Portland, and finally by wagon to Crescent, near Cheney, Washington. Her father worked at several jobs in the area, then in 1885 he moved the family to the St. Joe Valley where he acquired extensive land holdings. He also built the first log schoolhouse which was located on the bank of the St. Maries River near the junction with the St. Joe. After graduating from this school Argenta obtained a teachers certificate and taught for a time in Harrison, Idaho. On October 12, 1898 she married Harry Miller; they had one daughter. Harry's rheumatism and her lameness as the result of a broken hip in 1955 caused them to sell their ranch on the St. Joe in 1959 and move into St. Maries where she died in 1969.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The papers of Harry and Argenta Miller span the years 1898 to 1969, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1930 to 1965.

The papers include personal correspondence, Christmas and other greeting cards, picture postcards, property tax receipts, promissory notes, mortgage and lease agreements, the will of Harry Miller, Scott family records and the 1955 correspondence of Amy Belle Scott, Argenta Miller's diary and bird watching notebook plus her reminiscences of moving to the St. Joe Valley, two autograph books, one from 1894-96 with poems written by her school friends, the other the guest book from the Miller's 60th wedding anniversary party, funeral memorial books for Amy Belle Scott and Harry Miller, a poem entitled "The Bachelors of St. Joe," and a large collection of photographs, including some tintypes, of Scott and Miller family and friends, and the descendants of Harry and Argenta.

The earliest letter is from Harry (then known as Hezekiah) to Argenta prior to their marriage. The 15 letters of Orland Scott, author of Pioneer Days on the Shadowy St. Joe, to his sister Argenta, which were written between 1955 and 1969, contain many reminiscences of their childhood.

The Amy Belle Scott papers include her 1915 divorce degree, family birth records, stock certificates, and some 1955 correspondence, including one letter from her brother Orland.

Also included with the game licenses and membership cards in folder 38 are a newspaper clipping and pamphlet dealing with Argenta's fractured hip, a list of boats that have sailed the St. Joe River, and a booklet "The Mann's Chapel Country" the story of a pioneer church near the town where Harry Miller grew up.

Materials in box 3 came from the Idaho Subject and Idaho Title vertical files. They were added to this manuscript group by Julie Monroe in 2013. See the addendum at the end of this finding aid.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The personal correspondence was arranged by year only, with separate folders created for special events; in October 1955 Argenta Miller fell and broke her hip and the cards she received are in a separate folder. Likewise the sympathy cards she received when Harry died in 1964 are separate from the rest of the 1964 correspondence. Separate folders at the end of the correspondence file contain Christmas cards and picture postcards. Christmas cards containing family portraits are in this series.

The financial material was sorted by type and the contents of each folder are arranged chronologically. The same system was used for the legal material.

Many of the photographs were tied together in bunches with broad identifications, e.g., "Friends and unidentified folk, not relatives." These groups were kept together in folders and the identifiers modified and used as folder headings. Many of the pictures were not identified, and the majority were undated.

All greeting cards and post cards without messages were discarded as were religious tracts, souvenir booklets of California and Florida, bank statements, canceled checks, invoices, and receipts. The exception to these last items are the 1905-1926 checks for over $100.00, checks made out to the Scott family or banks, and receipts for payments on bank notes, land purchases, and taxes, all of which were retained with other financial material. In all, about 1 c.f. of material was removed.

Acquisition Information

The papers of Harry and Argenta Miller were donated to the University of Idaho Library on March 16, 1970, by their granddaughter Lois (Mrs. Bert) Scholz of Colfax, Washington.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series I. Correspondence , 1898-1969Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/1-14	Letters and greeting cards 385 items	1898-1969
1/15-16	Christmas Cards 98 items	1930-1968
1/17	Picture postcards 48 items	1910-1965

Series II. Financial Records , 1903-1966Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/18	Road Poll Tax 3 items	1908-1910
1/19-20	Property Taxes 84 items	1921-1961
1/21	Income Tax Return 1 item	1959
1/22	Hay Sale Records Book 3 items	1936-1937
1/23	Promissory Notes 59 items	1903-1934
1/24	Bank Savings pass books 6 items	1910-1966
1/25	Canceled checks 103 items	1906-1926
1/26	Receipts 14 items	1905-1925
1/27	Medical bills for broken hip 13 items	1955-1956

Series III. Legal Items , 1903-1960Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/28	Property Agreements (mortgages, leases) 16 items	1903-1956
1/29	Release & Option for crop damage 2 items	1942-1949
1/30	Sale of Ranch 8 items	1959-1960
1/31	Will of Harry Miller & Burial Plot Deed 3 items	1934-1953

Series IV. Other Papers , 1894-1964Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1/32-33	Amy Belle Scott papers & letters 24 items	1915-1955
1/34	Argenta Scott's memoirs & diary 3 items	1954-1959
1/35	Harry Miller's family birth records 2 items
1/36	Autograph books 2 items	1894-1896; 1958
2/37	Insurance policies and receipts 3 items	1935-1960
2/38	Game licenses, membership cards and other papers 17 items	1913-1963
2/39	Funeral memorial books 5 items	1955-1964
2/40	Poem, "The Bachelors of St. Joe" 1 item	undated

Series V. Photographs , ca. 1880-1964Return to Top

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
2/41	Francis Gale & Amy Jane (Hicks) Scott 4 items	undated
2/42	Harry & Argenta (Scott) Miller 15 items	1898-1964
2/43	Ardis (Miller) Cook 12 items	1906-1925
2/44	Ardis Cook and her family 35 items	1933-1946
2/45	Lois (Cook) Sholz and her family 3 items	1947-1958
2/46	Doris (Cook) Polli 7 items	1950-1956
2/47	Harry Cook 1 item	ca. 1946
2/48	Phillip Cook and his family 13 items	193?-1957
2/49	Harry & Argenta Miller and family groups 13 items	1945-1961
2/50	Relatives of the Millers 17 items	1945-1958
2/51	Scott family relations 3 items	ca. 1900
2/52	Amy Belle Scott 3 items	undated
2/53	Orland Scott and Family 6 items	undated
2/54	Frank Elmer Scott and Family 26 items	18-?-1958
2/55	Harry Miller's Relatives 20 items	ca. 1880
2/56	Harry Miller's Friends 4 items	ca. 1880
2/57	Hicks family relations 14 items	undated
2/58	Scott and Hicks family & friends, (tintypes) 34 items	undated
2/59	Miller's Ranch house on St. Joe 9 items	ca. 1950
2/60	Stacking hay on Miller farm 4 items	ca. 1910-1950
2/61	Harry & Argenta's neighbors 26 items	1885-1930
2/62	Scenic views of the St. Joe area 15 items	ca. 1910-1940
2/63	Birthday party for Mrs. Emma Ross 13 items	1958
2/64	Ferrell Women's Club 1 item	ca. 1930
2/65	Miller relative's Florida scrapbook & photos 8 items	1925
2/66	Unidentified children 25 items	undated
2/67	Unidentified individuals 7 items	undated
2/68	Unidentified family groups 22 items	undated
2/69	Unidentified farm scenes 9 items	undated

Addendum Return to Top

Container(s)	Description
Box/Folder
3	Materials added from the Idaho Subject and Idaho Title vertical files

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Personal Names

Miller, Argenta--Archives
Miller, Harry, 1868-1964--Archives
Scott, Orland A.

Geographical Names

Saint Joe River Valley (Idaho)--History--Sources

Titles within the Collection

Pioneer Days on the Shadowy St. Joe

Archives West Finding Aid

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