David Miller

David Miller. Founder of Millerstown. , Early settler, tavern keeper, Indian fighter, and founder of Millerstown all describe the life of David Miller. By 1763, Miller had settled in Rye Township, Perry County, on a tract at the present-day location of Donnally Mills, where he established a tavern., The year 1763 was a trying time for the settlers. Early in the summer, they had retreated to Carlisle and even Shippensburg for safekeeping from Indian raids. However, in July, the men came back to bring in the harvest. A party of Delaware Indians skirmished with twelve settlers at the present-day Saville crossroads and two miles west of Ickesburg. Miller was one of the seven surviving settlers., David Miller served with Colonel Frederick Watts' Seventh Battalion in 1777. In August 1777, the men marched from Sherman's Valley through Carlisle and Lancaster and then farther east. On September 11, 1777, they were among the American patriots who fought the British in the Battle of Brandywine., On September 1, 1780, Miller purchased 222 acres along the Juniata River in Fermanagh Township (now Greenwood Township) from James Gallagher. In 1790, he purchased an adjoining tract of 154 acres and together with the first tract, received a patent for both properties., After 1790, David Miller laid out the town of Millerstown and began selling lots. In 1794, he advertised the lots in Carlisle newspapers. "David Miller, Juniata, has 80 lots laid out on the Juniata River, to be called Millers Town. Lots to be disposed of by lottery." He maintained his farm and established a ferry at Millerstown., Twenty years later, in 1810, David advertised his sizable farm for sale. It included two, two-story wood houses, two barns, one quite large, 60 × 18 feet, and outbuildings. The property also included "a ferry across the Juniata" and "a town laid out, named 'Millerstown' of about one hundred lots.", The last record of David Miller in Perry County was January 1812. By January 1838, he had died in Harrison County, Ohio, without a will. His life and work epitomized the spirit of the American frontiersman , a patriot and property developer, moving ever westward.