Alexander Corbett Miller of Wick

[DJMPotts]

Visiting Scotland this summer and would like to find family. My great grandfather Alexander Corbett (Corbet, Corbitt) Miller was born in Caithness June 14, 1856. His father was James Miller and his mother was Barbara Corbet Miller. He immigrated to the US as a young teenager, became a dairy man, married Frances Lucinda Sellers May 18, 1881 in Birmingham, Alabama. They had at least 8 children, one was my paternal grandfather. The family lore was that Alex's mother died when he was a child and his father remarried and his stepmother and he did not get along so he became what we would call a merchant marine and sailed to America, jumped ship in New Orleans and worked his way up into northern Alabama. He did go home to Wick at some point to meet a younger half-brother, and it is archives or records of him and those relatives I would love to find.

[Elwyn Soutter]

Scotlandspeople has what looks like Alexander Miller’s birth in Wick in 1856. Also what looks like his mother’s death in Wick in 1863, aged 38. I think Alexander and his parents and 3 siblings are in Wick in the 1861 census. GROS ref 043/1 6/32.

https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/search-our-records

You may be able to trace the family in the 1871 census too, though I can’t immediately find them. (There are a lot of Millers in that area).

[ColC]

The census returns for Wick 1841-1881 are on freecen.

1861 Wick – all born there. It’s looks like the family are scattered by 1871 see below.

MILLER   James   Head   35   Labourer Farm Servant
MILLER   Barbra   Wife   35   Farm Servant's Wife
MILLER   Wm           Son   9   Scholar
MILLER   Cathrine   Dau   7   Scholar
MILLER   Alexr           Son   4   -
MILLER   Thomas   Son   2   -

Death on SP as mentioned.
MILLER   BARBARA   38   MELVILLE   1863   Wick Burgh

If this was the birth of James?
MILLER   JAMES   JAMES MILLER/ELISABETH BRUCE   30/01/1824   Wick

This may be his death?
MILLER   JAMES   46   MMN = BRUCE   1870   Wick

Colin

[rosie17]

Possible record for him on the 1871 census Wick Landward Caithness 
Alexander Miller age 14 years ( farm servant ) with a John Sutherland and family

Rosie

And a warm welcome to rootschat 

[DJMPotts]

Thank you so much for the replies! Sorry I did not include in my original post that Alex returned to the US after visiting Wick as an adult, and died in Birmingham AL USA (Homewood Jefferson County) Jan 3 1917 and is buried in the Miller family cemetery (we now spell our name Millar, I think my Grampa changed it in a pique after an argument with his dad, Alex.) I do think that is Alex in the 1861 and 1871 census references you cite. Your help is very much appreciated!

[rosie17]

Can see all the records for him in USA ..What was his step mothers name ?

Rosie

[DJMPotts]

Don't know step mothers name but he had a half brother named Dan, his father and step-mother's son, who Alex brought back to Alabama. Since Alex had jumped ship (merchant marine or British navy, the story changes) in New Orleans, he had to sneak out of the US, then come back in legally, 40 years after he originally immigrated, and he brought Dan with him. Dan was a tailor and also lived in the Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, USA area.

[ev]

Dan may have been born Donald Miller(b.1873) , mother Margaret Sutherland.
Think Dan/Donald married Euphemia Davidson in Scotland 


ev

[DJMPotts]

Interesting, my daddy was named Donald and nobody knew where that came from but it is such a common Scottish name. I have an 88 year old Uncle (Corbet Alexander Millar) who remembers an Uncle Dan Miller but can't tell me much about him except he was a small man (the Millar men are all big burly redheads). Wonder what happened to Euphemia if Dan/Donald came to the US around 1900? Dan would have been in his late 20's then, and Alex in his early 40's. My Uncle says Alex had been in the Scottish Army, went AWOL, hired onto a cattle ship to Amsterdam, joined the British Navy there and went AWOL in the US in New Orleans, and maybe changed his last name spelling to Millar from Miller to avoid being detected. Alex did not communicate with his family in Scotland, again from fear of being found by the authorities, but became a US citizen so he could go back to Scotland to visit, where he found the half brother Dan in Wick. Thank you very much for giving me that information about Dan/Donald and Euphemia.