Darius Miller
Born(1859-04-03)April 3, 1859
Princeton, Illinois, US
DiedAugust 24, 1914(1914-08-24) (aged 55)
Glacier Park, Montana, US
OccupationRailroad executive

Darius Miller (April 3, 1859 – August 24, 1914) was president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad[1][2] and Colorado and Southern Railway.[3][4]

Early life and family

Darius Miller was born in 1859 in Princeton, Illinois, the son of John S. and Elizabeth H. Miller.[3][5] He was educated in his home town; in 1882, he married Sue C. Brown of Morris, Illinois.[3]

In 1910, Miller and his wife Sue were living in Chicago.[6] Thorndale Manor, which was designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw and built in Lake Forest, Illinois, in 1916, was originally built for Miller. The home was owned from the 1940s until 2001 by the family of Ronald P. Boardman.[7][8]

Railroad career

Miller's railroad career began in 1877, at the age of 18, as a stenographer[2] for the Michigan Central Railroad. In 1880 he changed jobs to be a clerk for the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway in that company's freight office. He was promoted in 1881 to be chief clerk to the general manager, holding this position for two years. Miller changed jobs again in 1883 to become the general freight and ticket agent for the Memphis and Little Rock Railroad; he held that position until 1887 when he was promoted to general freight and passenger agent. Two years later in 1889, Miller became the traffic manager for the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railroad. Miller made another change in 1890 to become traffic manager for the Queen and Crescent Road, holding that position until late 1893. At that time he was appointed as traffic manager for the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad (MKT); he was promoted to vice president in November 1896. In October 1898 he left the MKT to become second vice president of Great Northern Railway,[9] serving in that position until 1902 when he became first vice president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q).[9][10] He was appointed president of both the CB&Q[2] (succeeding George Harris[11][12]) and the Colorado and Southern Railway in 1910.[3]

In 1913 Miller drafted sample legislation against trespassing on railroad property, which he then submitted to the governors and railroad commissions of the states through which the CB&Q operated. Miller cited a total of 51,083 deaths following trespassing on railroad property in 1911 as part of the reasoning behind the sample legislation; he proposed fines ranging from $10 to $100 or jail terms of up to 30 days per infraction.[13]

After his death in 1914, Miller was succeeded as president by Hale Holden.[11][12]

Death and burial

While on a vacation at Glacier Park, Montana, with his wife Sue, Darius Miller reportedly collapsed on August 22 from what was soon revealed to be appendicitis.[14] Special emergency trains carrying physicians, railroad officials and family members were dispatched from St. Paul, Seattle and Great Falls, Montana, and Miller received an operation to treat the condition on August 23,[14] but Miller died from the original injury on Sunday, August 24, 1914.[3][14]

Miller's mauseoleum at Rosehill Cemetery

His funeral was held on August 27, 1914, with a large number of railroad presidents and prominent Chicago businessmen serving as honorary pallbearers. These included:[15]

A. F. Banks, W. G. Bierd, J. H. Carroll, E. F. Carry, W. P. Clough, A. J. Earling, Howard Elliott, Samuel Morse Felton, Jr., Samuel W. Fordyce, W. A. Garnder, Jule Murat Hannaford, George Harris, James J. Hill, Louis W. Hill, W. V. Keeley, J. W. Kisen, George E. Marey, C. H. Markham, J. J. Mitchell, J. R. Morron, R. U. Mudge, A. D. Parker, Charles Elliott Perkins, Jr., J. W. Peyton, F. H. Rawson, G. M. Reynolds, Edward Payson Ripley, T. Schumacker, John G. Shedd, S. C. Scotten, O. N. Spencer, J. B. Terbell, J. J. Turner, Frederick Douglas Underwood, Daniel Willard and B. M. Winchell

The active pallbearers were all executives of the CB&Q.[15]

Miller was interred in an Egyptian Revival-style mausoleum at Rosehill Cemetery.[4][16] Although some websites include him as part of the expedition that opened King Tut's tomb,[4] his death in 1914 and the date of the tomb discovery in 1922 would disprove this assertion.

In honor of Miller, CB&Q officials donated land in Princeton, Illinois, where Miller was born and raised, to the city of Princeton; the land formed the basis of Darius Miller Park.[17] The park is adjacent to the current Princeton station served by Amtrak.

References

  1. ↑ Davison, A.H.; Swan, A.U.; Swan, Elsie, compilers (July 16, 1915). Forty-Fourth Annual Report of the Assessed Valuation of Railroad, Equipment and Express Companies' Property in the State of Iowa. Des Moines, Iowa: Bernard Murphy. p. 3. Retrieved November 30, 2013.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 3 "If you would be a railroad president, begin as a section hand". San Francisco Call. Vol. 106, no. 174. November 21, 1909. p. 4. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Darius Miller Dead" (PDF). New York Times. August 24, 1914. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Curse of King Tut". Gravely Speaking. January 9, 2013. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Darius Miller in household of John Miller, Illinois, United States; citing p., family 221, NARA microfilm publication M593, FHL microfilm 000545689". FamilySearch. "United States Census, 1870," index and images. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Darius Miller, Chicago Ward 6, Cook, Illinois, United States; citing sheet, family 150, NARA microfilm publication T624, FHL microfilm 1374259". FamilySearch. "United States Census, 1910," index and images. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  7. ↑ Rohleder, Anna (January 12, 2001). "Banished from Beantown". Forbes.com. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  8. ↑ Reed, Danielle (April 20, 2001). "House of the Week: Thorndale Manor". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  9. 1 2 Martin, Albro (1976). James J. Hill & the Opening of the Northwest (1991 ed.). St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp. 464 and 577. ISBN 0-87351-261-8. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Darius Miller Goes to the Burlington". Spokane Daily Chronicle. December 18, 1901. p. 6. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  12. 1 2 Grant, H. Roger, ed. (2000). Iowa Railroads: The Essays of Frank P. Donovan, Jr. University of Iowa Press. p. 285. ISBN 0-87745-723-9. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Miller Forms Trespass Law". San Francisco Call. Vol. 113, no. 59. January 28, 1913. p. 12. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  14. 1 2 3 "President Darius Miller of "Q" Railroad Dies". Milwaukee Sentinel. August 24, 1914. p. 12. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Obsequies for Darius Miller". Railway Review. 55 (9): 243. August 29, 1914. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum: Darius Miller". Graveyards.com. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  17. ↑ Barker, Donna (July 6, 2011). "Darius Miller needs a facelift". BCRNews.com. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
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