History of Wexford County, MI. Compiled by John H. Wheeler Published in 1903 by B. F. Bowen Biography Page 100 - 102

CARROLL E. MILLER, M.D.

Among the leading physicians and surgeons of northwestern Michigan the subject of this sketch has long held a deservedly conspicuous place and his distinguished career since locating in Cadillac entitles him to honorable mention as one of the representative professional men of Wexford county. The Miller family is an old one and its history is traceable to the early Puritan settlement of New England, the Doctor's ancestors having been among the first white men to seek freedom of worship on the shores of Massachusetts in 1620. On the maternal side the subject's lineage descends in an unbroken line from the celebrated Maryland family of Carrolls, of which Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was perhaps its most distinguished representative, and there is well established proof that that eminent statesman and patriot was the Doctor's direct antecedent. Dr. Miller's grandfather was a seafaring man who commanded a ship which plied the waters of many oceans and spent the greater part of his life on the waves. Among his children were two sons, Charles Carroll and Judson J., both of whom became eminent Baptist divines, the latter having labored in the cities of Worcester and Boston, Massachusetts, for upwards of thirty years, during which time he rose to stations of prominence in the church and earned much more than local repute as a scholarly and eloquent preacher of the Word. Charles Carroll Miller was born in Maine and received a liberal education and after his ordination as a minister served as a pastor of different churches in the various parts of New England, his chief field of labor, however. being confined to the state of Massachusetts. About the year 1853 he came to Michigan and for some time thereafter ministered to a congregation in Grand Rapids, subsequently holding pastorates in Stanton, this state, and Augusta, Wisconsin. He is still actively engaged in the work of his holy office. Politically Rev. Miller has long been an influential factor in the Republican party and has frequently appeared on the hustings in the campaigns of more than ordinary import, his well-known forensic ability causing his services to be much sought after by party leaders throughout the state. For many years he was in close touch with the most prominent Republicans of Michigan, among whom was Hon. Zacharia Chandler, a man of national repute, between whom and himself feelings of the warmest personal friendship existed as long as the former lived. The maiden name of Mrs. Charles Carroll Miller was Miriam C. Dyer, who bore him four sons and two daughters, the subject of this review being the oldest of the family; the others are Frank, a lawyer practicing his profession in Montcalm county, this state, and has just been elected mayor of Stanton for the fourth time; Judson, a resident of Cadillac; Rev. Ashley, a Baptist minister located in Idaho; Fanny, wife of Frank Ashley, of Big Rapids, and Jessie, who is living with her parents. Dr. Carroll E. Miller was born February 1, 185l, in Portland, Maine, and was a small child when his parents exchanged their residence in New England for a home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After attending the common and high schools of that city he entered the State Agricultural College at Lansing, where he prosecuted his studies until completing the prescribed course, graduating in 1872 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. Leaving college, he devoted some time to teaching and subsequently was elected superintendent of the public schools of Neillsville, Wisconsin, which position he held for a period of three years, the meanwhile establishing a creditable record as an efficient educator and capable manager. While a mere youth the Doctor manifested a decided preference for the medical profession and the laudable ambition to make it his life work was ever uppermost in his mind. With this object in view he prosecuted his educational work and as soon as he had accumulated sufficient means he entered Rush Medical College at Chicago. He paid his way through that institution by working in the Times office from two to six o'clock every morning, earned an honorable record as a close and critical student, and was graduated in 1879 with one of the. highest grades in his class. He was elected president of the class, being well qualified for the course by reason of a well stored mind and a fitness for the duties of the position. The same year in which he finished his course Dr. Miller opened an office in Cadillac and here he has since remained, conducting a steadily increasing practice, as successful financially as it has been professionally, and establishing a reputation which, as stated in a preceding paragraph, has won him distinctive prestige, not only among leading physicians of his city and county but also among the most distinguished medical men in the northwestern part of the state. In addition to his large general practice he served for some time as United States examining surgeon for the pension department, also held the post of assistant surgeon for the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, and in these responsible positions added very materially to his standing in every branch of his profession. Dr. Miller is one of the oldest physicians in Wexford county and to say that he is also one of the most successful is abundantly demonstrated by the uniform advancement which has characterized his career from the beginning to the present time. He has never ceased to be a student and availing himself of every opportunity to increase his knowledge and familiarize himself with the art of reducing the same to practice, he has kept fully abreast the tines in all things relating to medical science and stands today the peer of any of his professional brethren in a field where talent and skill are recognized at their true value. The Doctor is essentially a self-made man, as he began life with no financial help and with nothing in the way of social prestige or the power of influential friends to stimulate him in his chosen sphere of endeavor. As we have already learned he was obliged to rely entirely upon his own resources for his professional training and to this perhaps as much as to any other circumstance is he indebted for the sturdy self reliance and determination to conquer obstacles, which are among his most pronounced characteristics. He mounted rapidly the ladder of success, managed with consummate skill that which he early set about to accomplish, and from the modest beginning alluded to he has advanced step by step until reaching the present proud position he occupies as one of the eminent medical men of his day. He is a member of the State Medical Society, in the deliberations of which he has been much more than a passing spectator, and at one time he was honored by being elected a member of the Ninth International Medical Congress, which convened in 1888 in Washington, D. C. Clear perception, correct judgment, comprehensive thought and stainless honor have marked the Doctor's career outside his profession and as a citizen, deeply interested in everything calculated in any way to promote the interests of the community, he is easily the peer of any of his fellow men in the city of his residence. In the year 1875, at Augusta, Wisconsin, was solemnized the ceremony by which Dr. Miller and Miss Alice Turner, a native of Auburn, New York, were united in the bonds of wedlock. Mrs. Miller is the daughter of Rev. George Turner, a leading minister of the Advent church, living in the city of Chicago, and she has borne her husband five children, whose names are DeVere, Jessie, Carroll, Ray and Miriam. Of the three living children, DeVere is a graduate of Rush Medical College and is the junior member of the firm of Doctors Miller & Miller; Jessie is a graduate of Oberlin College and married H. L. Edgerton, of Sharon, Pa., where she now lives; Carroll is a graduate of the Cadillac high school and is now a student of naval engineering. Dr. Miller possesses in a marked degree those traits and abilities which mark men masters of their own destinies. Great industry and consecutive effort account largely for the success which has attended him and the honors already won bespeak for him a long and prosperous future in which to benefit and bless the world by ministering to and healing the ills of suffering humanity. While attending closely to his professional duties, the Doctor finds time for the consideration of public matters and ever since locating in Cadillac he has been an active participant in the affairs of the city. In politics he is a staunch Republican, and as such has rendered his party yeoman service, having been active in its councils, besides serving at different times as a delegate to local, district and state conventions. He is an ardent friend of education and as a member of the school board of Cadillac labored zealously for the schools of the city, doing much to bring them up to their present high standard of efficiency. He is identified with several social and fraternal organizations, among which are the Delta Tau Delta, the Royal Arcanum and the Knights of Pythias, holding the title of past chancellor in the last named society. He is also a Mason of high standing, having taken a number of degrees in that ancient and honorable order, including, among others, that of Sir Knight.