THE MILLER FAMILY

Introduction

We will now have a look at the Miller family, who through the marriage of James Hall and Mary Ann Miller, had become a very important connection for the King-Hall family. Not only did they extend the King-Hall family's relationship with the Royal Navy back for about 30 years to at least 1780, but members of this family also fought in three of the most important naval battles of the late 18th and early 19th Century.

The three members of the family that are of direct interest to us are James Hall's father-in-law, Thomas Miller and his two sons, James' brothers-in-laws, John Francis and Thomas junior. Previous family research [PAGE1501] had established that the elder Thomas had been present at Rodney's Battle of the Saintes in 1782 and Nelson's Battle of the Nile in 1798 and that his son John Francis had been present at the Battle of Trafalgar. It is now known (2006), from recent research that the Miller family's naval record is even more distinguished. John Francis, at the age of about 12, was also present, with his father, at the Battle of the Nile and Thomas junior was present, with his brother, at the Battle of Trafalgar.

As the Millers have not left behind any diaries and letters describing their activities it has not been possible to record their lives in the way that we are able to do with later members of the family. However in view of the exceptional historical interest of the times in which they served in the Royal Navy, it was felt that it would be of interest to their descendants to provide an historical background to their lives. The following PAGES are therefore primarily designed for members of the family but some aspects of their story, such as the circumstances under which they entered the Royal Navy and the nature of their subsequent promotions, may be of interest to the general reader or even the maritime historian.

-Thomas Miller senior [PAGE1510] (1760s - 1801) - Gunner and his two sons:

-John Francis Miller [PAGE1520] ( 1786 - 1809) - Lieutenant

-Thomas Miller junior [PAGE1530] (b.1787) - Midshipman

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