Hancock County (Georgia) Cemeteries

- ca. 1803

Cemetery: Miller-Gause Family Cemetery
Grave 1

Inscription and Notes:

d. before Jan. 19, 1804. d. Hancock Co. See attached writeup for sources.
Local DAR records say "He could speak the Creek Indian language".
Military Service: American Revolution
Ga. Troops. Note: although the grave is
marked by a Rev War marker, see attached
writeup for more info regarding service.

Jonathan Miller

It is possible that Jonathan Miller was from Lancaster, PA where he was a blacksmith and gunsmith. It is believed that he served the Revolution by repairing rifles. It is believed that the Millers who migrated from Lancaster, PA went to Lancaster, SC. Jonathan acquired substantial amounts of land through land grants. There are 13 listed in Georgia in "Index of Headright and Bounty Grants", 1756-1900, revised edition, edited by The Rev. Silas Emmett Lucas, Jr. In his will, Jonathan states he is leaving a part of a soldier's bounty to a couple of his sons.

The heirs of Jonathan Miller (#2936) are also listed in "Roster of Soldiers From North Carolina in the American Revolution", Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, Baltimore, MD, as receivng warrants under heading "A list of Warrants for Lands Granted the Officers and Soldiers in The Continental Line out of The Secretary's Office ", page 292. Acreage is not shown. The warrants are shown as deeded to a Capt. McNees. Therefore, there is evidence that Jonathan served in the Revolution, if not as a soldier then presumably by his gunsmithing. There is also evidence from his son's obituary that he was in the Revolution.

The earliest definitive records of Jonathan in Georgia was his head right grants in Washington Co. in 1789 and the tax he was paying in Wilkes Co. in 1790. He may have been in Washington as early as 1785, when some evidence on a plat map exists that he may have owned a mill in Hamburg (Washington County). By 1794 he was paying taxes in Hancock Co, which adjoins Washington County. On 13 December 1797, Jonathan sold a tract of land on Tiger Creek to Moses Brown, whose son, John, married Jane Miller (Hancock Co, GA Deed Book C, pages 180-182, recorded 3 December 1798). On 8 October 1802, Jonathan sold an additional 70 acres to Moses, registered 25 October 1804, being part of a grant of 487 1/2 acres by the Governor to Jonathan Miller (Hancock Co., GA, Superior Court Deeds and Mortages, Book G, 1803-1806, page 113).

Jonathan died in 1803 or 1804. The first return made on the estate of Jonathan was dated 19 January 1804, thus the date of death was prior to that. A copy of the will, which is undated, shows the names of the sons, but the names of the daughters were omitted, and instead wavy black lines appear. The copy that is available must have been transcribed from another book in which parts were illegible. The will is not dated, and no date for recording is shown, although it carries the legend "The foregoing Will of Jonathan Miller, deceased, proved in open court and ordered to be recorded. M. Greene, Clk. Co." (Hancock Co., GA., Inferior Court Wills and Estates Book C, 1803-1816, p.140-143).

Included among the legatees, in addition to Mary, his wife, and his four sons, were John Brown, James Gladden, George Barnett, Abraham White and Lee Reaves. These five must have been legatees by virtue of having being the husband or guardian of one of the daughters. From other sources it has been established that Jane married John Brown, Patience married James Gladden, and Deborah was the wife of Lee Reaves. That leaves George Barnett and Abraham White, who must be either the husbands of the remaining two daughters, Sarah and Lucy, or their guardians.

The land on which Jonathan's grave is located was his property. After his death it became the property of Francis Miller, his son. When Francis died Jonathan D. Miller (probably his son) acquired the land. Jonathan D. died in 1876, and J.R. Gause was appointed executor of the estate. Charles Gause, brother of J.R. Gause, applied to the court for the property, claiming Jonathan D. had sold the land to him, and became the owner of the Jonathan Miller land. Hence, the more modern name of Gause Cemetery.

Jonathan Miller's grave is marked by a Revolutionary marker, placed there by the Nancy Hart Chapter, DAR, Baldwin Co., Ga. as part of a massive grave-marking effort. It was placed in 1930. Their records on the grave-marking effort have been lost, and what records remain simply state that Jonathan spoke the Creek Indian language. He is not listed in the "DAR Patriot Index", Centennial Edition.

The webmaster would like to thank primarily Dwight Allen, along with Henrietta Wiles and Danee Crouch, for providing the information for this biographical sketch.