This website is dedicated to tracing the descendants and finding the ancestors of William Miller and his wife Magra. William was born in about 1688 and died 17 September 1768 in Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey.
William had a plantation (farm) in Morris County, New Jersey as well as some property in neighboring Somerset County which were left to his wife and daughters in his will made just three days before his death in September 1768. Three years earlier in 1765, William had purchased 650 acres of land in the Cheesecock Patent from Lord Stirling. The five parcels of land were all located in New Cornwall Precinct, in Orange County, New York. The area was popularly referred to as Smith's Clove ("Clove" is an Anglo-Saxon word that means "valley") after the name of the family that first settled there. In the early 19th century, the village and town was was renamed "Monroe".
William apparently prospered in New Jersey, as he agreed in an Indenture (Contract) dated 11 July 1765 to pay 975 pounds in New Jersey proclamation money for the land in New York . This is about $203,000 in 2008 terms. Each of his sons, William, Henry, John, and Garrett received a Plantation of 150 acres in New York, and they moved there to live soon after the purchase was made.
William died 17 September 1768 and was buried in the Presbyterian Church burial ground at Basking Ridge, Somerset County, New Jersey. (see photo of grave stone above.) The inscription on the gravestone: "HERE lies interr'd ye body of William Miller who departed this life Sept ye 17th in the 80th year of his Age."
At this time I have not determined the parents of William. Some sources list William's father as a William born in 1594 in England. This is very unlikely as it would make William's father 94 years old when his son was born and his mother 90!
There is strong evidence that William was of German origins.
There is some evidence that William may have come to North America by way of Ireland as part of the Palentine immigration of 1709.
Palentine immigrants to New York in 1710 included Wilhelm Mueller, wife Margaretha, and one child.
*************************