Robert William Miller Jr. Bio

ROBERT WILLIAM MILLER JR. was born to Robert William Miller and Dora Ann Callis on  September 15, 1921  in the family home in Garland, near Centerton, Benton County, Arkansas. He is known as Bill, but up until he got back from the war, he was often called Junior.

Sis often took care of Bill.  She was born on Bill’s birthday.  Dad built the place and it was on the edge of the city limits – 5 acres of land.

Dad was born in Illinois, but moved to Arkansas.  Mom was born in Arkansas.   He and  Uncle Charlie, who married Cora Ann, got married on the same day in Bentonville, which was the county seat, about 5 miles from Centerton.

Bill was 2 years old when they left Arkansas for California and his youngest brother J.K. was only a few weeks old.  They first went to Northern California (he remembers Crescent City, on the Oregon border) and stayed less than a year.  Uncle Claude Callis (Dora Ann’s brother) lived in Ojai and talked them into coming there, where he had a big farm.  He grew apricots and beans.  Robert and Dora Ann moved to California first, then Cora Ann and Nichols followed later moving directly to Ojai.

Dad died in 1933 when Bill was 11 1/2 years old. Just as he got through eating lunch, he stood up and fell over dead from a heart attack. Dad told Mimi that if anything ever happened to him, to move back to Arkansas and she did for about 2 ½ years and then she moved back to Ojai again.

 He had 3 grocery stores when they lived there (that he knew of) upper Ojai, Casita Springs, and one other.  He had what they call today, convenience stores with a gas station combined. Only one family member that he knew that worked at the store was Sis (Margaret).  He doesn't remember any other family member working there.  The kids had to walk a long way to get to school and they would go by the convenience store and Dad would give them Delaware Punch.  He wouldn't let them have anything else but the Delaware Punch.  

J.K. was 2 ½ years younger than Bill and got killed in Luxembourg during the war, during the Battle of the Bulge. He was only 20 years old. If he hadn't gotten killed a lot of people would have known him.  He could sing and they tried to get him to go to the USO show, but he wouldn't do it.  At one point, J.K. went to a fortune teller and was told him she couldn't see any future for him.

Bill doesn't remember any of dad’s brothers, but remember his mother’s brothers.  She had a brother named Claude and he had a big farm between Ojai and Ventura, raising apricots and beans.  Bill use to work with him in the summer months and it seemed like Claude would take off during the day and go to a beer joint to drink beer quite often.
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RECORDS
Robert William Miller
1930 - Ojai, Ventura, CA
1935 - Ojai, Ventura, CA

1940 - Fort Lewis, Pierce, WA - military

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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19 April 1940 census of Fort Lewis, Pierce County, WA, found Robert as a private in Company G, 15th Infantry, U.S. Army. He said that he lived in Ojai, Ventura County, CA, on 15 April 1935:

Robert W. Miller 18 AR - Single, Completed 2 years of high school education, Private - US Army, Earned $63 in past year
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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.

SOURCES
Refer to www.millerinfo.net/genealogy, Memories of Robert William Miller Jr., 1980 Miller Family Reunion booklet by Margot Mason Stockstill, family records and research.