Oliver Miller (April 15, 1824 – October 18, 1892)"Gone to Be Judged: Death of Judge Oliver Miller", ''Annapolis Evening Capital'' (October 19, 1892), p. 3. was a justice of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The court, which is compose ...

from 1867 to 1892.

Early life, education, and career

Born in Middletown, Connecticut, to Giles and Clarissa Miller, he went to Frederick City to live with his sister, Mrs. Converse, whoso husband was principal of tha Academy in that town.The Court of Appeals: A Historical Review of Maryland's Highest Tribunal
, ''The Baltimore Sun'' (February 19, 1892), p. 3. He attended schools in Middletown,

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

, and

Leesburg, Virginia Leesburg is a town in the state of Virginia, and the county seat of Loudoun County. Settlement in the area began around 1740, which is named for the Lee family, early leaders of the town and ancestors of Robert E. Lee. Located in the far northeas ...

, and graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

with high honors in 1848. That year he went to Annapolis and read law under Alexander Randall, gaining admission to the bar in Maryland in 1850. Miller reported and arranged four volumes of Maryland chancery decisions by Chancellor John Johnson Jr. From 1853 to 1862 he was reporter of the Court of Appeals, reporting the Maryland Reports from the third to the eighteenth volume inclusive.

Political and judicial service

Miller was a member of the constitutional convention of 1864, represented Anne Arundel county as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

in 1865, 1866 and 1867. In the latter session he was

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

. At the first election under the new constitution, in November 1867, he was elected chief judge of the fifth judicial circuit, comprising the counties of Anne Arundel, Howard and Carroll, and was re-elected in 1882. Miller resigned from the bench due to failing health on October 1, 1892.

Personal life and death

Miller was married. His wife died four years before him. He died at his home in Ellicott City, Maryland, at the age of 68, and was interred in Baltimore's

Loudon Park Cemetery Loudon Park Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated on January 27, 1853, on of the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by James Carey, a local merchant and politician. The entrance to the cemetery i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Oliver 1824 births 1892 deaths People from Middletown, Connecticut Dartmouth College alumni U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law Members of the Maryland House of Delegates Speakers of the Maryland House of Delegates Judges of the Supreme Court of Maryland 19th-century Maryland politicians