T. Michael Miller

I first met T. Michael Miller in around 1977 when I was digging in the 500 block of King Street in Alexandria, Virginia. This was my first task as City Archaeologist upon arriving in town. I can see him now walking up to the dig, with shaggy black hair, bright eyes full of curiosity and hands that may never have touched soil. I later learned why his hands were pristine. Mike was a marvelous pianist and enjoyed entertaining guests with passionate playing of classical pieces. Mike had finished a master’s degree in political science and was figuring out what to do next. A great lover of history with a memory of all he had read, Mike joined the volunteer crew digging the site. He became a dear friend to my parents and me, and I continue to miss him.

The King Street site was not a pretty place by archaeological standards. We dug between parked cars as the place still functioned as a parking lot. Most dig locations were brick lined shafts used as privies after their utility for water ended. However, there were some places in which we could use standard stratigraphic excavation methods requiring hand tools. Mike was an eager excavator, perhaps too eager. As I remember the photos, he was usually covered with dirt or mud but full of glee. I always cautioned Mike to dig more patiently. He just couldn’t stop himself from digging fast so he could hold the arti- fact. I remember one blue transfer print platter that Mike just had to get out of the soil too quickly. Finally, I had to tell Mike that he wasn’t cut out for archaeological field work due to his lack of patience. He agreed, but still had caught the fever for discovering the past. How was he going to satiate his passion for the past? I suggested he tackle written history through which he could more quickly make meaningful discoveries without damage.

Mike enthusiastically read the microfilm of old newspapers rather than current ones. Thus, when I answered the phone one Sunday morning and Mike said, “Guess what I just read!” I didn’t remember anything that exciting in my morning paper. Yet, he had just read an 1890s news article on the desecration of a burial ground that led 25 years later to the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial.

Mike loved research, but he ultimately wanted people to know Alexandria’s history, study it and appreciate it in all forms. It is in this wider sense of Mike’s legacy that the AHS Board chose to expand the criteria for recipients of the T. Michael Miller Award and the separate AHS Special Awards in 2023 to individuals and groups involved in a variety of expressions of history.

Note: T. Michael Miller passed away in 2016

Pam Cressey, AHS President
AHS Newsletter, December 2022