Jacob Welsh Miller (August 29, 1800September 30, 1862) was a

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Early life

In 1800, Miller was born in

German Valley, New Jersey Long Valley is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Washington Township, in Morris County, New Jersey, United States.

(in Washington Township, Morris County),

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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. He attended the public schools, studied law, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1823, and practiced in Morristown.

Career

In 1832, Miller was elected to the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

. From 1839 to 1840, he then represented Morris County in the

New Jersey Legislative Council The New Jersey Legislative Council was the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature under the New Jersey Constitution of 1776 until it was replaced by the New Jersey Senate under the Constitution of 1844. History The Legislative Council replaced ...

(now the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

). In 1839, Miller was elected as a Whig to the state Senate, and to the U.S. Senate in 1841. He was reelected in 1847, and served from March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1853. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

(Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth Congresses). He joined the Republican Party in 1855.

Personal life

In 1825, Miller married Mary Louisa Macculloch, the daughter of George P. Macculloch, a wealthy Morristown engineer and businessman who had designed and built the

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a common carrier anthracite coal canal across northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals at Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its western terminus at Phillipsburg, New Jers ...

. They had nine children, including attorney

George Macculloch Miller George Macculloch Miller (May 4, 1832 – November 14, 1917), was a prominent lawyer and secretary of Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Early life George Macculloch Miller was born in 1832 in Morristown, New Jersey. He was a son of politicia ...

, and Captain Lindley Miller, who served as an officer of a black infantry regiment during the Civil War and wrote "

Marching Song of the First Arkansas "Marching Song of the First Arkansas Colored Regiment" is one of the few Civil War-era songs inspired by the lyrical structure of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the tune of "John Brown's Body" that is still performed and recorded today. The " ...

". In 1862, Miller died in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

. He was interred in St. Peter's Parish Churchyard.

References

Bibliography

*Macculloch-Miller Family Archives
Macculloch Hall Historical Museum
Morristown, NJ.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Jacob Welsh 1800 births 1862 deaths Members of the New Jersey General Assembly Members of the New Jersey Legislative Council United States senators from New Jersey New Jersey Whigs 19th-century American politicians New Jersey lawyers People from Washington Township, Morris County, New Jersey Politicians from Morris County, New Jersey Whig Party United States senators 19th-century American lawyers