1929 Original Draft of a Genealogy Book on the Ellis Family of Mayfield, Maine and Hartstown, Pennsylvania Which Would Be Published in 1936

On offer is a detailed draft of a book tracing the roots of the Ellis Family who resided in Mayfield, Maine and Hartstown, Pennsylvania. The draft was written by a son of Silence Ford Ellis of the Pennsylvania Ellis lineage. 

The author of this manuscript is Milo H. Miller (1863-1951). Miller was the author of two books, each thoroughly researched genealogical treasures focused on the history of his family. He published A History and Genealogy of the Miller Family, 1725-1933 (tracing his father’s roots) in 1933 and A History and Genealogy of the John Ellis Family, 1797-1935 (tracing his mother’s roots) in 1936. This 1929 manuscript is an early draft of the latter. [To learn more about Milo Miller, SEE BIO NOTES following this listing].

The draft manuscript is largely handwritten in Miller’s tidy hand. He has divided the book into chapters based on the specific branch of the Ellis family he is following and included a section with images and relevant maps. He has written the title page, Table of Contents and Preface in pencil. as well as a Preface about the importance of preserving family history and his “labor of love” and citing his reason for being the one to take on the task: “The need of preserving the records during the lifetime of many of the older members of the family seemed imperative; and this seemed like an opportune time to compile such valuable genealogical data for upon such records is based much of the knowledge…sought by historical and genealogical societies”. The preface is extremely similar to the one Miller would ultimately publish in 1936. 

The following pages contain Miller’s typed pages intended for the book, which he has glued into the larger pages of the draft, as well as pencil-drawn family trees, glued in newspaper articles relating to the people and places he is writing about, and a hand drawn map of Mayfield Township featuring John Ellis’ farm. To give a sense of the content of the manuscript, some of the titles of the pages in the draft follow:

Explanation of the Map of John Ellis Farm, Historical Sketch (related to John Ellis and the farm), Military Service of Benjamin an Enoch Ellis, Sketch of Abner Ellis, Military Service of Nathan F. Ellis, The Death of John Ellis and Philander Coburn Ellis. There is a typed transcription of two Civil war letters between members of the Ellis family in 1863, and further pages discussing the Ellis family in the Civil War.

Sadly, Miller has cut rectangles out of some of the pages in order to extract photographs he had glued in. It appears he removed the photos in order to create photo pages for the book. The original photos and the cardboard on which they are pasted are included in this collection, and the photos can also be seen in his 1936 book. Unfortunately, cutting out the photos has impacted several of the family trees Miller drew, with big chunks missing from the middle. It also appears Miller removed other content, likely for use in the final book.

Regardless of any imperfections of this draft manuscript, it contains terrific insight into how a genealogist made connections and put his research into a condensed and readable format. It also provides awesome insight into familial connections in Pennsylvania and Maine. This would be a terrific addition to a collection or research arsenal of anyone interested in genealogy, Pennsylvania, Maine or the evolution of familial lineage. 

BIO NOTES ON MILO H. MILLER: Milo H. Miller was born to his brother to parents Samuel K. Miller (1822-1896) and Silence Ford Ellis (1828-1899) just outside of Hartstown, PA. Milo and his brother, Myron Manson Miller (1859-1949) were raised in Hartstown. Milo attended the Edinboro Normal School and Allegheny College. He worked as an education professional following graduation, and his hobby was genealogy. He worked as a principal and head of schools in Girard and Knoxville, and a principal in McKeesport. In 1894, Milo married Maude Moriarty (1870-1942). They had two children, Florence Imogen Miller (later Willison) and Ellis Miller. Milo devoted much time to genealogical research. Milo retired from education in 1933. A few months after Maude died in September of 1942, Milo travelled to California to stay with Ellis and his family, and eventually made his own home in California. 

The manuscript draft contains approximately 45 pages of content. The collection also includes seven photo boards with original photos cut and glued on to carefully measured boards containing labeled photos of 39 members of the Ellis family, organized by family tree. The manuscript is paper bound and intact save for Miller’s cutouts and a few pages of content that have come unglued from the larger manuscript. There are bends and tears throughout as the book is not bound. Overall Fair. The photo boards are in VG condition.