JULIAN P. MILLER

The following bio was taken from page 308 of the book entitled “Rusk County History” compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Claudia Schuster

 Submitted by Gloria Briley Mayfield, Rusk County TX Coordinator

 Mr. and Mrs. Julian P. Miller (Phil and Arlene) moved into Rusk County late in 1970 with their two small children, Teresa Lynn and Linda Kaye.  They had lived in Longview for five years where Phil is employed by Marathon LeTourneau.  Arlene worked in Marshall as a nurse.  Before moving to Longview, the Millers had lived in Marshall, where they finished high school.  Phil was born in Marshall, while Arlene came to Marshall from Ponce de Leon, Florida, when she was thirteen years old.

 Arlene’s parents were farmers in Florida.  Her mother died at an early age, leaving three small children, two girls and one boy, and one older sister..  The small children went to live with an aunt and uncle, while the older sister went to live with her grandparents in Crestview, Florida.  The older sister married a Texan from Marshall, who was stationed at Egland Air Force Base near Crestview.  Upon his discharge, the couple moved to Texas.  Six years later she invited her two younger sisters to come and live with her.  That is how Arlene and her sister Alma got to Marshall.

Phil’s parents came to Marshall in different ways, Phil’s father, Troy J. Miller, was born near Copeville, Texas in 1898.  He was the ninth child in a family of fourteen children.  G.A. Miller, Troy’s father, was a carpenter, and because of this he moved around as communities began to arise in East Texas.  Troy learned to cut hair on a stump in the Noonday Community just north of Hallsville, so he became a barber.  The family moved to Marshall in 1920 so the older children could get jobs. (Should anyone be interested, the Miller history has been traced all the way back to 1472.)

 Siddie Ann Phillips Miller hailed from Lafayette Community near Gilmer.  She was sixth in a family of eight children.  She came to Marshall in either 1923 or 1924.  Her father, W.A. Phillips, worked in the Texas and Pacific shops there.  Upon completion of her high school education, Siddie had qualified for a second grade teacher certificate.  She had taught in and around Hughes Springs before the family moved to Marshall.  Siddie received her B.S. degree in elementary education from the College of Marshall.  She would teach school part of the year and go to college the rest of the year.  She later received her M.S. degree from North Texas State Teachers College in Denton.  Siddie married Troy in 1937 and taught school in and around Marshall for the rest of her life.  The year she died she was teaching a summer workshop at the University of Texas and studying for her doctorate.

 The Phil Millers became active in Rusk County soon after moving into the Elderville Community.  Because there was no place for the residents to take their garbage, Phil hauled it into Longview for them.  He operated this business for four years before giving it up.

 In 1974, a Lions Club was formed in the area and Phil became a member.  In 1975, he became president of the club and helped lead the members in several important community projects.  Some of the projects were: the formation of the Elderville-Lakeport Volunteer Fire Department, sponsoring the Ned Williams Lions Club, sponsoring a cub scout troop in the area, helped a family whose home had burned, entertained a young Japanese boy in the Lion exchange program, and provided funds for poor families who needed eye examinations.

Phil and Arlene are members of the Church of Christ in Longview.  Phil is a deacon of the church and serves as the bus director.  Arlene teaches Bible school and she is active in many programs in the church.

Teresa is a freshman in Kilgore High school.  She is in the pep squad.  She is a Christian.

 Linda Kaye is in the sixth grade at Maude Laird School in Kilgore.  She is a Christian also, and her parents are very proud of her.

 If it is the Lord’s will, the Millers will probably retire here in Rusk County among good friends and neighbors.

 Submitted by Julian Miller