The Miller family was a pioneer Olympia and later Seattle family who played a significant role in the development of Washington Territory and State.
William Winlock Miller was born in Greensburg, Kentucky in January 1822. He came west from Illinois to Oregon Territory in 1850, and in 1851 was appointed Surveyor of the Port of Nisqually for the new Puget Sound Customs District. Serving in the Indian Wars of 1856-1857, William Miller reached the rank of General. He also became a friend and political ally of Governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens. William Miller held several minor offices and was mayor of Olympia. He also supported various railroad and other development schemes and suggested the name for the town of Winlock, Washington. William Miller acquired extensive property interests in Washington Territory, as well as in San Francisco, in addition to his involvement in money lending and financing. In November 1869, he married Mary McFadden, but died several years later in Olympia in January, 1876.
Mary Margaret McFadden Miller was born in Little Washington, Pennsylvania in December, 1840. She moved to Washington Territory with her family in 1853 when her father, O.B. McFadden, was appointed a justice of the Territorial Supreme Court. Mary McFadden and William Miller had two sons: Winlock, born in 1870, and Pendleton, born in 1871. After her husband's death, Mary Miller carried on and expanded the family's property holdings and investments.
During the late 1880s, Mary Miller lived in the San Francisco area, but settled permanently in Seattle in 1894. She and her son Winlock traveled to Japan in 1892. In October 1894, she formed the corporation Mary M. Miller and Sons to administer their lucrative business affairs. Mary Miller was a stockholder and board member of Merchants National Bank of Seattle, Denny Clay Company, Ravenna Park and Mineral Springs Association and other companies. She also maintained investments in several Alaska ventures after the 1897 Klondike gold rush.
In 1906, Mary Miller gave the city of Seattle land for Pendleton Miller Playground (in memory of her son, who died in 1904) and donated land to establish William W. Miller High School in Olympia. She remained active in many philanthropic, social and business activities up to her death in December 1927.
Winlock William Miller was born in October 1870 in Olympia, Washington Territory. He and his brother Pendleton attended the Belmont School in Belmont, California and graduated from Yale University in 1894. After studying law, Winlock Miller was admitted to the bar in 1897 but he never practiced, instead devoting his time to the family's property and financial interests. In 1904, he married Martha Louise Keating of Seattle and they had two sons: Winlock Jr. in 1906 and Pendleton in 1910. Both boys attended Phillips Andover Academy. Pendleton received a law degree from the University of Washington and Winlock received a law degree from Yale. Winlock Jr. died unexpectedly in 1939, after a promising career as a taxation lawyer and Northwest history scholar. Martha Keating Miller died in 1947.
Winlock Miller was active in the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the Building Owners and Managers Association and other civic, social and philanthropic organizations. He was named Federal Fuel Administrator for Washington state in 1918. During the 1920s, Winlock Miller was involved in efforts to promote Mount Rainier National Park and was a member of the Natural Parks Association. In 1913, he was appointed to the Board of Regents of the University of Washington, an office he held almost continually until his resignation from the Board in 1957. In 1954, Education Hall on UW campus was renamed Winlock W. Miller Hall. Winlock Miller died in Seattle in January, 1964.
Arranged in 3 accessions:
Papers of a pioneer Olympia and later Seattle family who played a significant role in the development of Washington Territory and State. Includes biographical/historical features, correspondence, business records, real estate documents, writings, ephemera and subject files; 1851-1974 (bulk 1851-1935).
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Some restrictions exist on copying, quotation or publication. Contact Special Collections for details.
Miller family papers. Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle, Washington.
Yale University Library also has Winlock W. Miller papers. Portions of these were filmed and are available in the UW Libraries Microforms Section. See A248 Elwood Evans papers, (2 reels).
Letters between family members have been placed in the series of the recipient of the letter, with the exception of William W. Miller. The William W. Miller papers (1851-1876) contain all his incoming and outgoing letters. The subsequent series pertain to Mary McFadden Miller and her family, and her son Winlock W. Miller and his family. Researchers should be aware of some overlap among these later series, as the Millers' personal and business affairs often coincide.