JOSEPH MILLER, a substantial and prominent farmer of Martic township, was born May 18, 1844, son of Martin and Maria Miller.
Martin Miller, the father, was a son of Abraham Miller, a farmer of this township, and the father of four children, Christian, Fannie, Martin and Elizabeth, all deceased. Martin Miller was born in 1798 and died in 1880, a farmer all his life. When twenty-four years old he married Mary Breneman, who bore him two children: Elizabeth, who married Daniel Breneman, of Providence township; Abraham, who married Fanny Hildebauch, of Pequea township. His first wife dying, Mr. Miller married Elizabeth Good. They had two children, Fanny, widow of James Huber; and Jacob, who died in 1832, and for his third wife Mr. Miller married Maria Miller, daughter of Joseph Miller, of Conestoga township. They had four children: Martin, of Manor township; Mary Ann, the wife of John D. Sensenig; Susan, wife of Henry Good; and Joseph. Mr. Miller was a member of the Mennonite Church and when fifty years old was ordained a minister, serving for thirty-two years.
Joseph Miller grew up on his father’s farm and attended the public schools of Martic township. Through great industry and good business ability he has accumulated large means, although he began at the bottom of the ladder when he entered upon his business career. He now owns one of the best farms in Martic township, which he has made more valuable with excellent and substantial improvements. His farm comprises 150 acres, and his management of it has demonstrated his excellence as a farmer.
In Jan., 1869, Mr. Miller was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Charles, of Pequea township, and to this marriage the following children have been born: Annie, the wife of John F. Shenk, of Providence township; Henry, a resident of the State of Wyoming; Elizabeth, at home; Elvina, the wife of Amos Nissley, of Manor township; Ida, at home; Catherine, at home; Martin; and Joseph.
Mr. Miller stands high in the estimation of his fellow citizens, and he is generally regarded as a man of the highest integrity, an excellent farmer, a kind neighbor and a first-class citizen. In politics he is a stau[n]ch Republican. He is a member of the Mennonite Church.
Source: Biographical Annals of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: Containing Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and of Many of the Early Settlers (Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co., 1903), p. 1067.