Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of George Washington Miller

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Descendants of George Washington Miller

Generation No. 2

2. OREN LEE² MILLER (GEORGE WASHINGTON¹) was born August 01, 1886, and died June 04, 1966 in Pratt, Kansas. He married ALICE HILLARD August 02, 1908 in Kansas, daughter of LEWIS HILLARD and MARTHA BLOXOM. She was born August 31, 1888, and died January 27, 1974 in Pratt, Kansas.

Notes for OREN LEE MILLER:
[Miracle,Kennedy,Bloxom,1.FBK.FTW]

Oren came from Illinois, He found work at the Ormal Williams farm just east of Hillard's and got acquainted with Alice, courting her in a horse and buggy. Oren and Alice were married at the Hillard residence by Minister D.E. Nolan.
Oren wooed and won fair Alice and they were married August 2, 1908.
Hard luck seemed to follow Oren. two of his three horses died and they were not yet paid for. Then his family came from Illinois and moved into the little three room housse with them...Oren, Alice and three babies. There were George Washington Miller, Crandma and their six children.
Next the barn burned and the only way to fight fire was with a bucket brigade from the water tank. Not much was saved. After that the urge came to Oren to go out west and prove up some land near Moscow, Kansas. He packed everthing we had into a wagon, trailing the stock. He put Alice and the three kids on the train and they headed west.
Very little land was farmed in western Kansas at that time, just frass land. There were no roads except angles to town and neighbors. Alice's first home in Western Kansas was a two room house with a dirt floor. At that time there were three babies. Oren and Alice raised turkeys. They also raised chickens, ducks and sheep.
While they lived here a tornado destroued oour barn and blew out all the windows in our house.
There wasn't any fuel except cow chips. We only heated one heated one room besides the kitchen.
We always looked forward to threshing because it meant a new straw mattress. We would burn the old straw and fill the ticking with new. Oren loved tream engines so he always followed threshing crews.
They moved a short distance west to what they called a half dugout, a room on
ground level and a basement with a good sized window. We had a big pond in the yard and lots of rattlesnakes.
There were railroad tracks just South of the house and a passing train started a Prarrie fireone day. Oren saved the house by quickly plowing around as the fire approached.
Oren also went with the threshing machine that year. Alice was so afraid at night that we always locked doors and pushed furniture in front of them. Oren bought her a gun. Alice didn't know anything about guns but Oren told her if she just pointed it at them, they would be gone anyway.

Then Oren decided ge should move Southwest of Moscow so they loaded up and tood off. This was a two story house. Our kitchen was BIG,at harvest time I remember our big table of harvest men around it.
Oren never ate without prayer. Oren also used to read to the children by lamplight. By the way, those lamps had to be filled and cleaned every morning.
The kids started school that year in Moscow. The kids rode a horse cross coountry I think it ws about two miles. It was the worst winter I ever remember. It smowed and snowed. About Christmas time a storm came with so much snow we had to dig a tunnel to the barn to milk the cows.
The family moved a little southeast of Pratt. Alice was able to take the kids to the county fair in Pratt that year, taking the new baby on his first trip. By this time Alice had learned to drive the car but couldn't back up. The kids used to help push the car out of the garage and turn it around.
We moved again to a farm northwest of Isabel where the kids went to another one room school. Our school was in Ashton.
Our next venture was a dairy northeast of Pratt. The kids attended school in Pratt at the Haskins School. We then moved north of Pratt. Next we moned to Waldeck on another farm. then we moved to Cairo. Oren took a job patrolling ten miles of the Cannonball (Highway 54). The next home was on the Bailey farm, east and south of Pratt. Oren was hired by the S.F. Baker Company. They moved to Welsford for a short time. then moved to Richards, Missouri. Oren and Alice finally bought a house at 113 B. Curtis in Pratt, where they lived until they died.

More About OREN LEE MILLER:
Burial: Cairo Cemetery, Pratt Co. Kansas
Social Security Number: Kansas# 509-24-1628

Notes for ALICE HILLARD:
[Miracle,Kennedy,Bloxom,1.FBK.FTW]

Alice Hillard came to Kansas ot the age of 4 years, with her parents. the brought stock, trees, seed, etc., settling on land that is now Pratt County, where they lived until their deaths. Their home was south and east of the town of Pratt. They planted evergreen trees in the Cairo Cemetery and a cottonwood tree in their yard.
Grandma Hillard always fixed a big dinner every day, family and salesmen soon learned this. It was under the big cottonwood tree that a salesman unloaded a framophome (just to show) and Grandpa Hillard fell in love with it and moved it into the living room.
Alice attended 8 years of grade school, then went to Normal Training School in Pratt. This was enough to qualify her to teach school.

More About ALICE HILLARD:
Social Security Number: Kansas# 509-68-7411

More About OREN MILLER and ALICE HILLARD:
Marriage: August 02, 1908, Kansas

Children of OREN MILLER and ALICE HILLARD are:

3.	i.	LEE³ MILLER, b. June 01, 1909.
4.	ii.	MILDRED MILLER, b. September 01, 1910, Kansas.
5.	iii.	MATTIE MILLER, b. January 27, 1912, Kansas; d. June 1972, Pratt, Kansas.
6.	iv.	JESSIE MAY MILLER, b. October 22, 1915, Kansas.
7.	v.	ORVILLE HILLARD MILLER, b. May 06, 1918, Kansas; d. September 21, 1966, Virginia.
8.	vi.	ROBERT LEWIS MILLER, b. August 03, 1919, Kansas.
9.	vii.	GEORGE WILLIAM MILLER, b. March 27, 1924.
10.	viii.	ALICE P. MILLER, b. August 11, 1926.

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