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From Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Rock, Green, Grant, Iowa and Lafayette, Wisconsin, publ. 1901- page 523-524
JACOB MILLER, one of the veterans of the war of the Rebellion, and ex-sheriff of Grant county, is one of the influential factors in the political and social life of Boscobel, Wisconsin.
Mr. MILLER was born in Des Moines county, Iowa, in 1845, son of William and Lucinda (DUKE) MILLER. William MILLER was a native of Kentucky, and was married there, his wife also have been born in that State. After their marriage they migrated to Des Moines county, Iowa, in 1843, while it was still a Territory. About 1849 the family removed to Iowa county, Iowa, where they resided at first on a farm, but later William MILLER purchased and operated a sawmill. During the war of the Rebellion he not only served himself, but gladly contributed all of his sons who were old enough to shoulder a musket, David Duke and Solomon J., both of whom were members of Company I, 28th I.V.I., with their father. The latter served about sixteen months, and then was honorably discharged for disability. David D. MILLER entered the regiment at its organization, and served faithfully until at its organization, and served faithfully until the close of the war; while Solomon J. MILLER, who was too young at the time of organization, enlisted as soon as old enough. David D. MILLER now resides near Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and Solomon J. MILLER is a resident of South Dakota. Another son, a noted blind musician, resides at Millersburg. Henry Ward MILLER, another son, died at the age of fourteen. A daughter, Elizabeth, married George DEDMORE, who also served in Company I, 28th I.V.I., and died in the service; she is now the wife of Peter CARDY, who served in the same regiment and is now a resident of Millersburg. Another daughter, Mary Ellen, married Alfred REDMOND, a lumber dealer at Missouri Valley Junction. William MILLER, the father, died in 1878, and the mother passed away in 1872.
Jacob MILLER passed his boyhood days with his parents. Upon the breaking out of the Civil war he was fired with the same spirit of patriotism which animated his father and brothers. Twice he enlisted, only to be rejected on account of his youth, but undaunted, the brave boy enlisted for the third time, and was successful, this last enlistment being at Washington, Iowa. The captain of the company wrote his mother, and she, realizing that he was determined to go, gave her consent, especially as this officer was a friend of the family and an excellent man. Thus, after many struggles, Jacob MILLER became a soldier, and a member of Company I, 18th I.V.I. The regiment went direct from Iowa to St. Louis, thence to Sedalia, and from there to Springfield, Mo., where they did garrison duty for a year. When Gen. Marmaduke attacked Springfield the 18th took a prominent part in the conflict, in which the Confederates were defeated and pursued to the Ozark mountains in Arkansas, where they were overtaken at the foot of Boston Mountain. The 18th then went to Clarksville, Ark., remaining there for a short time; proceeded to Pea Ridge, and then to Van Buren, Ark., doing garrison duty for several months. They were then ordered to Fort Smith; thence to Darden, on the Arkansas river, where they again did garrison duty until Gen. Banks' Red River expedition, when they were sent to Prairie d' Ann. There the Union forces repulsed an attack of Gen. Price's troops, and proceeded to Camden, in the same State, with the expectation of re-enforcing Gen. Steel's command at Shreveport, La., but, Gen. Banks suffering defeat, that part of the program was not carried out. However, the 18th participated in a battle at Poison Springs, about sixteen miles from Camden, with three companies of the 2d Kansas Colored Regiment, against a large force of Confederates. The Union troops were guarding a wagon train which was engaged in foraging. Owing to the superior numbers of the Confederate force the train was captured, but the Union troops escaped, and started for Little Rock. The enemy pursued them, and a battle ensued at Saline river, in which the Confederates were defeated. Crossing the river, the Union troops encountered another force of Confederates, and were thus between two fires, but finally reached Little Rock, and from there proceeded to Van Buren. From this point they marched through the Indian Territory to a place near Fort Scott, Kans., for the purpose of intercepting Gen. Marmaduke. Returning to Van Buren, the regiment remained at that point until the close of the war, going thence to Little Rock, where it was honorably mustered out July 19, 1865.
After the war Jacob Miller engaged in teaching school in Iowa for some time; then worked at the carpenter's trade, which he had learned before the war, and also farmed. In 1877 he became a resident of the town of Lancaster, Grant Co., Wis., where he worked at his trade, removing to Fennimore in 1884. In 1892 Mr. MILLER was elected sheriff of Grant county, and proved himself a very conscientious and efficient official. In addition to this office he has served as justice of the peace, town clerk, and trustee in Fennimore, giving unbounded satisfaction.
In 1878 Jacob MILLER was married to Mrs. Mary Ellen LICKEL, a native of Pennsylvania, and four children grace their home: Garfield, born Jan. 24, 1880, who, following the example set by his brave father so many years before, enlisted in the 4th Wisconsin Regiment; Vesta, born in 1884; Carrie Anna, born in 1888; and Josephine, born in 1893.
Mr. MILLER is a member of John McDermott Post, G.A.R., of Boscobel; is also a member of the Masonic, Odd Fellows and K. of P. fraternities, and is a Republican in politics. Both Mr. and Mrs. MILLER are very popular, and justly so, possessing as they do so many admirable qualities, and may be regarded as true representatives of the best interests of the community in which they live.
This biography generously submitted by Carol Holmbeck