"An Illustrated History of Whitman County, state of Washington." San Francisco:
W. H. Lever, 1901.  p. 361.
 
JOHN J. MILLER

     Not all men order their lives to their liking;, nor yet are all men true to
their potentiality for individual accomplishment. It is, therefore, ever
gratifying to take under review the life history of one who has wrought
earnestly and faithfully and has combined with great motive power and
indomitable energy the unerring judgment, the prophetic foresight and courage
tempered with conservatism which must meet in one who is to attain material
success of the first order. Such an one is he whose name appears as the caption
of this article.
     Mr. Miller was born in Ohio on November 13, 1863. He remained in the old
Buckeye state until he became seventeen years old, then went to Iowa, from which
state, in 1884, he came to Whitman county. In this unparalleled region he found
a fitting field for the exercise of his great business and executive ability. At
the time of his arrival he found himself at the foot of the financial ladder,
his worldly possessions consisting of but two dollars and a quarter. He did the
only thing that was possible under the circumstances, went to work for wages. By
dint of faithfulness and economy he soon found himself in possession of
sufficient funds to warrant his purchasing a small place, and to this, as a
nucleus, he has added betimes until he is now the owner of a princely domain
containing six thousand acres. He has a beautiful home supplied with all the
conveniences which may add to the charm of rural life, and he ranks among the
largest stock owners in the county, his flocks and herds including large bands
of cattle, hogs and horses and 3,600 sheep, while the acreage of his cereals is
five hundred. No mortgage encumbers any of this property, and to none but his
own inherent abilities is he beholden for the splendid success he has achieved.
From the ranks of the laboring classes, he has risen to a place among the most
wealthy and substantial of Whitman county's citizens.
     Mr. Miller was married in Almota, Washington, April 13, 1887, the lady
being Miss Kate Patterson, a native of Ireland, but reared in Des Moines, Iowa.
They have two daughters, Flossie and Catherine.
 

*******************

Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in June 2009 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.