DORA ANN CALLIS was born on 24 September 1883 in Dickson, Benton County, AR. She is the twin sister of Cora Ann Callis.
On 10 January 1903, Dora and Robert William Miller obtained a marriage license. That very next day, at the age of 19, Dora married Robert on 11 January 1903. That ceremony also included the marriage of Dora’s twin sister, Cora Ann to Charles Elmore Nichols.
On 10 January 1903, Dora and Robert William Miller obtained a marriage license. That very next day, at the age of 19, Dora married Robert on 11 January 1903. That ceremony also included the marriage of Dora’s twin sister, Cora Ann to Charles Elmore Nichols.
The Callises were aristocrats (of course) in England and among the first settlers in Virginia according to family tradition. They married into the Bannister, Ford and Duncan families before Mimi linked up with the Millers.
Dora and Robert were married in Benton Co. Ark. on Jan 11, 1903 which was a snowy, cold and windy day. That afternoon they went along with Mimi's twin, Cora, and Charles Nichols by buggy several miles to the home of John Brown, a Justice of the Peace. The twins were wearing matching dove gray moire dresses with red cherry accents. They told Mr. Brown that they wanted just one ceremony for both couples. So Mr. Brown, who was more nervous than the young couples, said to the men, "Will you take the one you are holding by the right hand to be your wife?" They said they would. When the four of them returned to the home of the girls' parents, it was dark and the house was full of relatives, neighbors and friends for the wedding party (what we now call the reception).
Robert and Dora Ann (Mimi), had 10 children, all born in Arkansas. Elisha True Miller, James Herbert Miller and John Hershel Miller who were twins, Cora Margaret Miller, Dick Clifford Miller, Donald Robert Miller, Violet Maxine Miller, Winnie Ruth Miller, Robert William Miller and Jesse Kennedy Miller. They also raised their niece, Blanche Ping, daughter of Margaret Elizabeth Miller and Otis Warren Ping. Blanche’s mother had died shortly after her birth and her father died 2 years later.
In August of 1924, Robert Miller and John Miller families moved nearby to Crescent City, Del Norte County in Northern California and a year later, Robert and Dora settled in Ojai, Ventura County, California.
Robert died in 1933 and shortly thereafter, Mimi and some of the children, Dick, Don, Maxine, Ruth and Jesse moved back to Benton County, Arkansas. Robert had told Mimi that if anything should happened to him, he wanted her to go back to Arkansas - and she did. .
She and the family are shown in the 1940 census to be living again in Ojai.
Mimi died on 18 March 1978 at the age of 94 in Ojai, Ventura County, CA. She was buried on 21 March 1878 in Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura, Ventura County, CA.
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Dora and Robert were married in Benton Co. Ark. on Jan 11, 1903 which was a snowy, cold and windy day. That afternoon they went along with Mimi's twin, Cora, and Charles Nichols by buggy several miles to the home of John Brown, a Justice of the Peace. The twins were wearing matching dove gray moire dresses with red cherry accents. They told Mr. Brown that they wanted just one ceremony for both couples. So Mr. Brown, who was more nervous than the young couples, said to the men, "Will you take the one you are holding by the right hand to be your wife?" They said they would. When the four of them returned to the home of the girls' parents, it was dark and the house was full of relatives, neighbors and friends for the wedding party (what we now call the reception).
Robert and Dora Ann (Mimi), had 10 children, all born in Arkansas. Elisha True Miller, James Herbert Miller and John Hershel Miller who were twins, Cora Margaret Miller, Dick Clifford Miller, Donald Robert Miller, Violet Maxine Miller, Winnie Ruth Miller, Robert William Miller and Jesse Kennedy Miller. They also raised their niece, Blanche Ping, daughter of Margaret Elizabeth Miller and Otis Warren Ping. Blanche’s mother had died shortly after her birth and her father died 2 years later.
In August of 1924, Robert Miller and John Miller families moved nearby to Crescent City, Del Norte County in Northern California and a year later, Robert and Dora settled in Ojai, Ventura County, California.
Robert died in 1933 and shortly thereafter, Mimi and some of the children, Dick, Don, Maxine, Ruth and Jesse moved back to Benton County, Arkansas. Robert had told Mimi that if anything should happened to him, he wanted her to go back to Arkansas - and she did. .
She and the family are shown in the 1940 census to be living again in Ojai.
Mimi died on 18 March 1978 at the age of 94 in Ojai, Ventura County, CA. She was buried on 21 March 1878 in Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura, Ventura County, CA.
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Identical Twins Mark 85th Birthday; Born Near B'ville
THE BENTON COUNTY DEMOCRAT, Wednesday, October 23, 1968
Identical twins born in Benton County in the 1880's celebrated their 85th birthdays in California last month and one of the guests was Dick Miller of Bentonville, a son. Mrs. Dora Miller and Mrs. Cora Nichols received birthday greetings from President Johnson as a highlight of the observance, during which newspapers in the Ojai, Calif., area described them as the oldest living identical twins in Ventura County.
Their maiden name was Callis, having been born near Bentonville to pioneer County resident, the late John and Ann Duncan Callis. Both moved to California after their marriage. Mrs. Miller and her husband moved first to Crescent City approximately 44 years ago, followed soon by Mr. and Mrs. Nichols to Ojai. Mrs. Nichols' husband, Charley, died in 1959; Mrs. Miller's husband died in 1933.
Besides the Bentonville son, Mrs. Miller has three other sons and three daughters living, and three sons deceased. The other living children are Herbert Miller of Santa Ana, Calif., Donald Miller of Ojai, Bill Miller of La Puente, Calif., Mrs. Richard (Margaret) Catterlin and Mrs. Olin (Ruth) Cornine, both of Ojai, and Mrs. Ernest (Maxine) Mason of Garberville, Calf. Her deceased sons are True Miller, Hershel Miller and J.K. Miller. Mrs. Nichols' three sons and three daughters are Earnest Nichols and Chalmer Nichols, both of Ojai, Virgil Nichols of Oregon, Mrs. Jack (Edith) Allen of Missouri, and Mrs. Orville (Hazel) Edwards and Mrs. Ray (Ann) Bower of Ojai.
The Bentonville son, who is employed at Mitchell Lumber Co., noted that the first trip he made to California with his parents took 30 days by Model T car. "This one by jet took a little more than two hours, actual travel time," he said.
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OLDEST IDENTICAL TWINS
Greetings from President - Twins mark "85"
Birthday greetings from President Johnson were received Thursday by Mrs. Cora Nichols, 202 Fox St. and Mrs. Dora Miller, 291 Recreo, as the identical twins, celebrating their 85th birthday. They prepared to greet friends and relatives at a gala celebration to be held in Soule Park Sunday between 3 and 4 pm. The public is invited to the party.
Mrs. Nichols and Mrs. Miller are believed to be the oldest identical twins in Ventura County, relatives state. Born in Benton Co., Arkansas, near the present town of Bentonville, both moved to California after their marriage. Mrs. Miller and her husband moved first to Crescent City, Calif. approximately 44 years ago, followed soon after by Mr. and Mrs. Nichols to Ojai. They have lived here ever since.
Mrs. Nichol's husband, Charley, died in 1959; Mrs. Miller's husband died in 1933. Mrs. Nichols has three sons and three daughters: Earnest and Chalmer of Ojai, and Virgil, of Oregon; Mrs. Jack (Edith) Allen, of Missouri; Mrs. Orville (Hazel) Edwards and Mrs. Ray (Ann) Bower of Ojai. Mrs. Miller has four sons and three daughters living, and three sons deceased. The deceased are True, Hershel and J. K. Those living are Herbert, of Santa Ana, Dick, of Arkansas, Donald of Ojai, and Bill of La Puente. Also, Mrs. Richard (Margaret) Catterlin and Mrs. Olin (Ruth) Cornine, of Ojai, and Mrs. Earnest (Maxine) Mason, of Garberville.
Both Mrs. Nichols and Mrs. Miller are members of the Church of Christ and regularly attend services.
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Published in The Ventura County (Calif) Star-Free Press, Thurs., Sept. 27, 1973
Ninety years of being sisters, identical twin sisters, is cause for more than a one-day celebration.
For the Callis twins, Dora and Cora, nine decades old Monday, all the quieter days of their sisterhood and closeness have been loving days of a smaller celebration of the joy of living.
Their homes are only a few miles apart in Ojai where for 40 years they've lived and raised their families.
Dora is Mrs. Robert W. Miller. Cora is Mrs. Charlie Nichols.
They were born Sept. 24, 1883, near Siloam Springs and Centerton, Ark.
They were married at 19 in a double ceremony to young Arkansas boys who were "best friends, closer than brothers in many ways."
Five years after the Millers came to California in 1926, the Nichols followed.
The Millers had 10 children. The Nichols had six.
Many beloved faces were not with the Miller-Nichols clans when they gathered Sunday in Ojai for the 'big party' the families have every five years for their mothers.
Both women were widowed years ago; four of Mrs. Miller's sons are deceased.
But there were more than 150 people at the party in the Ojai home of Mrs. Roy Bowers, Mrs. Nichol's daughter. Among them were some of the sisters' 77 progeny including Mrs. Nichols' great-great-grandchild, Jennifer Nichols,
age 1, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kit Nichols, Ojai.
The Guests of honor are talkative, intelligently sharp and sociable.
Their health is "real good. I do have to take some B-12 shots now and I got my sister to go get some, too, but other than that, we don't need any medicines or pills," said Mrs. Nichols.
Both women still keep house, cook, tidy up their own kitchens, and together go to church often for services in their life-long denomination, the Church of Christ.
Mrs. Nichols' son, Chalmer, lives with her in their home on Ojai's Fox Street. Mrs. Miller is housekeeper for her grandson, David Mason.
The twins talk to each other every day on the phone, and a lot of their conversation centers on the soap-opera programs they watch each day.
Their own life stories are the stuff of which movies are made.
Ninety years ago births were not recorded in the farming communities at the foot of the Ozarks. The twins are not sure how many brothers and sisters they had. Babies died of "cholera phantom" or "summer complaint" - a colloquialism for dysentery.
"It took babies in their second summer during the hot spells. Mama probably lost three or four babies that way," says Mrs. Miller.
But the twins grew strong and healthy, and on their fourth birthday a photographer was engaged to take their picture with their beauteous mother and stalwart father in the backyard of the Arkansas farm home.
Their schooling was sketchy. What there was of it, happened in a one-room school. Their wedding day 71 years ago was joyous, but "poor people didn't have photographers around and the guests didn't all come with cameras like they did for our 90th birthday," says Mrs. Miller.
The twins, dressed in navy blue flower-spattered print dresses made for them by their daughters, mingled with their guest and had quite a bit to say about happenings in the news. They are in awe of any woman who produces "six babies at once, poor dear woman in Denver. How ever is she going to manage?"
But they giggled over the National Enquirer picture of them and its story naming them the "oldest twins in the United States."
"Surely, there are older ones some place in the big country. Ninety years isn't that old," smiled Mrs. Nichols.
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RECORDS
Twin sister to Cora.
Dora Ann Callis
1900 - Garland, Benton, AR
1910 - Garland, Benton, AR
1920 - Garland, Benton, AR
1930 - Ojai, Ventura, CA
1935 - Benton, AR
1940 - Ojai, Ventura, CA
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19 June 1900 census of Garland, Benton County, Ar, found the Callis family living in dwelling #186. Next door in dwelling #187 was William Callis family:
John H. Callis 12/1855 40 AR TN AR Farmer
Annie L. 5/1864 36 TN TN TN
Dora A. 9/1883 16 AR AR TN
Cora A. 9/1883 16 AR AR TN
Clark 1/1888 12 AR AR TN
Leland 2/1890 10 AR AR TN
Ethal 5/1892 8 AR AR TN
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"Arkansas, County Marriages, 1837-1957," R W Miller, 1903
Name: R W Miller
Event: Marriage
Event date: 11 Jan 1903
Event place: Benton, Arkansas, United States
Age: 23
Estimated birth year: 1880
Residence: Hiwassee, Benton, Arkansas
Spouse: Dora Callis
Spouse's age:19
Spouse's estimated birth year: 1884
Spouse's residence: Calis, Benton, Arkansas
Marriage license date: 10 Jan 1903
Page: 294
Film number: 1034662
Digital folder number: 004401667
Image number: 00542
Source Citation
"Arkansas, County Marriages, 1837-1957," index and images, FamilySearch
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18 April 1910 census of Garland, Benton county, AR, found the Miller family living in dwelling #32. Robert and Dora said that they had been married 7 years and 4 of their 5 children were still living:
Robert W. Miller 30 IL IL IL Farmer
Dora N. 26 AR AR TN
Herbert J. 5 AR IL AR
Hershell J. 5 AR IL AR
Maggie C. 2 AR IL AR
Unnamed son 0/12 AR IL AR
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23 Jan 1920 census of Garland, Benton County, AR, found the Miller family living in dwelling #50 on Fourth Street:
R. W. Miller 40 IL IL IN Salesman - H.W.D.
Dora 36 AR AR TN
Hurbert 14 AR IL AR Twin
Herschell 14 AR IL AR Twin
Maggie 12 AR IL AR
Dick 9 AR IL AR
Donald 7 AR IL AR
Maxine 3 AR IL AR
Ruth 1 6/12 AR IL AR
Blanche Pitts 13 IL IL AR Niece
J. D. Miller 80 IL OH IL Father, Widowed
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Mildred Miller said that the John Miller and Robert Miller families all went to California together, leaving from Southwest City, MO, and traveling through Oklahoma, Kansas and eventually Oregon. They finally arrived in California in August of 1924. She said that Louoma's mother was a Callis, as was Robert Miller's wife.
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26 April 1930 census of District 19, Ojai, Ventura County, CA, found the Miller family living in dwelling #344. Robert and Dora said that they were first married at ages 23 and 19 respectively. Living nearby were Dora's father, John H. Callis (76) and brothers Claude (40) and George (45) and their families:
Robert W. Miller 50 IL IL IN Operator - Service station
Dora 46 AR AR TN
Herbert 26 AR IL AR Rancher - Fruit ranch
Dick 20 AR IL AR Rancher - Fruit ranch
Donald 18 AR Il AR Gardener - Private home
Maxine 14 AR Il AR
Ruth 12 AR IL AR
R. W. 9 AR IL AR
J. K. 5 AR IL AR
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1 April 1940 census of Ojai, Ventura County, CA (Dist 56-23), found the Mason and Miller families living in dwelling #204 on Ojai Avenue. Ernest said that he was living in Ojai on 1 April 1935, Maxine and her Miller relatives said that they were in Benton County, AR:
Ernest Mason 25 SD - Truck Driver - Trucking company, Completed 4 years of high school, $900 in annual wages
Maxine Mason 23 AR - Completed 1 year of college
David Miller 8/12 CA - Son
Dora Miller 56 AR - Mother-in-law, Widow, 8 years of education
J. K. Miller 15 AR - Brother-in-law, 8 years of education
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Social Security Death Index about Dora Miller
Name: Dora Miller
SSN: 556-18-9102
Last Residence: 93023 Ojai, Ventura, California, United States of America
Born: 24 Sep 1883
Died: Mar 1978
State (Year) SSN issued: California (Before 1951)
Source Citation: Number: 556-18-9102; Issue State: California; Issue Date: Before 1951.
Social Security Death Index about Dora Miller
Name: Dora Miller
SSN: 556-18-9102
Last Residence: 93023 Ojai, Ventura, California, United States of America
Born: 24 Sep 1883
Died: Mar 1978
State (Year) SSN issued: California (Before 1951)
Source Citation: Number: 556-18-9102; Issue State: California; Issue Date: Before 1951.
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THE TRIP TO CALIFORNIA (as remembered by Maxine Miller Mason and written by Margot Mason Stockstill)
On August 1, 1924, the family left Benton County, Arkansas, and headed for a ranch near Crescent City in Northern California that Robert's uncle and namesake, Robert William Miller, had given him. Mimi had only been out of Benton County once and then only a few miles into Oklahoma.
There were 24 people and a collie named Socrates in the moving party packed into a new Maxwell, a Ford, a Buick and a Ford Truck. They were: Mimi and Robert, Herbert and Hershel, Blanche, Margaret, Don, Dick, Maxine, Ruth, Bill, JK (just 7 weeks old), Uncle John Miller (Robert's brother) and his wife Aunt Dove and their 5 girls, Mimi's brother Uncle Claude Callis, Aunt Arthula and their son Louis, Mimi's father John Hamilton Callis, who was 64 years old, and Cora Nichols, Mimi's twin.
The first stop was Grove, Oklahoma, at Mimi's brother Uncle Clark's home. Aunt Cora only went that far. Uncle Clark had a big going away party for the family. Each night while traveling they stayed in campgrounds. The women would wash clothes and the men would work on the cars and truck.
In Colorado there was an inspection stop for boll weevils so the family had to empty all their boxes. the Rocky Mountains were too big for Robert so his sons Herbert and Hershel drove. The family drove down through Oregon and reached Crescent City on Don's birthday, August 30th. The trip had taken 30 days. When they first saw the Pacific Ocean Mimi said,"I think we've come too far."
On their new ranch they lived in tents. The children had fun playing in the river but Socrates, the collie, got ahold of a dead salmon and died. They wouldn't let Grandad (John Hamilton) Callis play his fiddle for fear it would attract bears and Indians.
In September it was time for school so the family moved into town. Uncle John Miller took his family to Smith River. That winter Uncle John's youngest girl died, their house and car burned, but they stayed on in Smith River. There was a hurricane which ruined part of Crescent City. Mimi was sick all winter because the damp weather caused her to have rheumatism. Uncle Claude and Aunt Arthula left Crescent City and moved to Ojai, writing back about the warm and beautiful valley.
As soon as school was out in 1925 the Millers headed south, stopped in Suisun and leased a ranch with apricots and peaches. Mimi always said that that was one of the happiest years of her life. Robert took Hershel and Margaret to Ojai and liked it so well they decided to move down in the Fall of 1926.
SOURCES
Refer to www.millerinfo.net/genealogy, Memories of Robert William Miller Jr., Miller Family Reunion booklet compiled by Margot Mason Stockstill, family records and research.
Find A Grave Memorial
SOURCES
Refer to www.millerinfo.net/genealogy, Memories of Robert William Miller Jr., Miller Family Reunion booklet compiled by Margot Mason Stockstill, family records and research.
Find A Grave Memorial
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