Miller School of Albemarle - Blue Ridge Blast Yearbook (Charlottesville, VA)

Page 13 text:

ticent shaft marks the last resting-place of the friend of the poor children of his native c0unty. A The view from his cabin door is perhaps the finest in Virginia. It is in the midst of that magnificent sweep which all the passengers of the Chesapeake and Ghio Railway delight to enjoy at the eastern opening of the Rockfish Tunnel. It includes the mountains and pointed peaks of the Blue Ridge that overlook the valley from Lexington to Wfinchester. It holds in its wide range Humpback, the signal station of the nation, Rockfish Gap, through which the loaded wagons of the valley came east, Br0wn's Gap, that was made in after years immortal by the tread of Stonewall Iacksonls legions, and Swift Run Gap, where the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe first went through. A few steps further, on the summit of a high peak in these Ragged Mountains, the view includes the mountains of Am- herst and Nelson, of the Peaks of Utter, and the mountains of Greene, and far off Wfillis Mountain in the fading east, the University of Virginia, and Charlottes- ville, and the homes of jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and if sight were strong enough, America's Capitol and A1nerica's Mecca. Perhaps this grand view inspired him to high and noble purposes. None knew his day-dreams as he saw this grandeur. He may have seen the steam cars winding their way over the summit of the Blue Ridge and afterwards gliding through the famous Rockiish Tunnel, or Iefferson's conception of a great Ameri- can university being realized, or in far-off years the triumphant march of the Confederate hosts. But it is a recorded fact that he saw in the center of this broad out stretch of country a school, the most magnificent in all the Southland, with beautiful lawns and farms, with water power and electric lig,hts, and nia- chinery and teachers and food and raiment and a splendid home for children, that his poor life knew nothing of, but which he in his dreams longed for. Above all, in this vision of youth, that he gave his life to make real, he saw coming to the home-school, that in his dreams he built, a long line of children, needy, longing for better things, coming from the mountains, plains, hills and valleys of old Albemarle, that he loved so well, and this line grew longer and longer as the years went by, and he saw also these same children clothed, educated, made strong in mind and body, with firm characters, and noble purposes to do good, t0 strengthen the manhood and womanhood of our land, coming from this home-school to build happy homes and to help in the uplift of the world, and these streams he saw coming in and going out through unending years. From all this beautiful vision the poor, uneducated boy turned to make the dream a reality, and he did it. . - ' T ' ' VVe present below the inventory of Mr. Miller's possessions when he died, and a synopsislof his will. It is to be noted that his entire estate was valued at 31,250,- I50.92g that by his will he gave out 3327600.00 over and above what he gave t0 7

Page 12 text:

' His older brother, John, went to Lynchburg, Va., about 1814 and entered into business and became quite a successful merchant. He secured his education at a school near Batesville under the free school laws of that time in Virginia, which shows the efficiency of the system then in vogue. John Miller laid the foundation of the great fortune of Samuel Miller. At the time of his death in 1841 he was estimated to be worth about SIO0,000. All of this he gave to his younger brother, Samuel, whom he had some years previous to his death called from his home in Albemarle, near which he was teaching school, to be his partner in business at Lynchburg, Va. Therefore the fact must not be overlooked that to John Miller belongs the beginning of the great fortune ultimately accumulated by Samuel Miller. It was a cherished idea of these two brothers in their youth to amass a large sum of money for the purpose of establishing in itheir county a charitable institu- tion for the education of poor children. After john Milleris death Samuel Miller, with their united fortunes, moved on with a steady, unwavering purpose to the accomplishment of this cherished dream of their youth, until he became one of Virginia's greatest benefactors. It is a rather remarkable fact that what was left to Samuel Miller in 1841 by his brother would have amounted, at 6 per cent., compound interest, to- the sum that he wished in 1869 to leave to the Albemarle school. - ' On the first day of April, 1859, Mr. Miller made his will, and by it established and richly endowed the Miller Manual Labor School of Albemarle. He also added greatly Q31 51,5005 to the munificent gifts with which he had already endowed the Lynchburg Female Grphan Asylum. He subsequently gave S1oo,ooo to the University of Virginia. In addition to all these gifts to the cause of education, he provided liberally for his relatives and those who had cared for him and proved true to him through long years of friendship. During the war Mr. Miller managed his finances with rare sagacity and con- stantly added to his wealth. At the time ,of Hunter's raid into Virginia in 1864, large amounts of his bonds were stolen. Most of these, being considered worth- less to the holders, were left, near Salem, Va., where Mr. Miller found them. However, they held on to'1S1o9,ooo of Indiana bonds, which were confiscated by order of the United States. Circuit Court of Indiana, and were equally divided between the government and those who took them. The finders, being unable to agree as to the division of their ill-gotten gains, left their half untouched until after the war closed, when Mr. Miller recovered them, while the United States Government, by a special act, refunded to him the other half. Mr. Miller died on the 27th of March, 1869, at his residence in Campbell COUIHY, Virginia, aged seventy-six years, eight months and three davs, and was buried in the grounds of the Lynchburg Female Crphan Asylum, where a magni- 6 . X X 1 +- B - V 4 . i, I i Y ' N

Page 14 text:

the Miller Schoolg that there was paid out for the compromise, that was hnally effected in the litigation against the estate in 1874, about 3300,0o0g that the SCl100l buildings and equipments are worth 37I6,000, that for all purposes there has been spent from interest on the endowment S2,I77,547.6O, that the school has been running for twenty-seven yearsg that it has homed, cared for and taught on the average 250 pupils for each of these years, and that besides its plant, the school has an endowment fund amounting to 3I,470,968.49, which yields an annual 1n- come of 375,469.Iog that those who have gone out into the world from the care and training of this school are receiving annually 3300,000.00 more than they would have received had they never enjoyed these benehts, and that if we measure Mr. Miller's work by the true and high standard of moral and intellectual develop- ment there is no arithmetic that can compute, as the years go by, the income that will accrue from his wise investments. lnventory of Samuel lVliller's Estate Indiana State Registered 5 01, Bonds, confiscated and in suit .... 3 21,675 . 00 Virginia State Registered 6 72, Bonds, 3200,000 Q 50 cents ............ 100,000z 00 Missouri State 6 W5 Coupon Bonds, 33,000 Q0 cents ................... 2,700.00 Missouri State 6 Z, Coupon Bonds CNorth Missouri R. RQ, 323,000 Q 900. . ' 20,700.00 Missouri State 6 WZ, Coupon Bonds CSt. Louis 85 Iron Mountain R. RJ 323,000 Q 900 ......... ......................................... 2 0,7000 Missouri State 6 Z, Coupon Bonds CPacific R. R. Co.j, 371,000 Q 900 .... 63,900 Illinois State Registered Bonds, 6 fZ, ..............................,... 58,342 Illinois State Registered 6 472, Bonds Ccontinuedb ..... ................... 1 41,949 Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana R. R. Coupon Bonds, 7 Wg, 335,000 Q 980 ................................................. 34,300 Bank of Kentucky Stock, 500 shares Q 3IO0.00 ...... .................. 5 0 000 Railroad Bridge Co. Coupon Bonds, IO Wg, guaranteed by Chicago 8: Rock Island R. R. Co., 340,000 Q 3100 ................................. -40,000 Chicago, Rock Island Pacific R. R. Stockg 650 shares 3100 ....,.... 65,000 Virginia 8: Tennessee R. R. Co. Registered Bond, Q 8 Z, 3575.30 Q 700 .... 402 Virginia 8: Tennessee R. R. First Mortgage Bonds, Q 6 'Z,, 32,000 Q 720. . 1 440 Virginia 85 Tennessee R. R. Second Mortgage Bonds, Q 6 Z, 329,000 Q 680 City of Lynchburg Registered 6 Wg, 3770 Q 650 ........................ I9 Zoe? City of Lynchburg Coupon Bonds, 6 fZ,, 335,800 Q 650 .... . .. ... 23,2270 Merchants Bank of Lynchburg Stock, IO shares Q 38.00 ............ S0 Merchants National Bank of Lynchburg Stock, 182 shares Q 950 .... I7,2OO James River Sc Kanawha Co. Registered Bonds, 6 Wg, 343,000 Q 450 .... I9,3 30, State of Indiana Registered Bonds, 5 Wg 37,000 Q95c ............ 6,6341 City of Richmond Registered Bonds, 6 QQ, 35,000 Q 650 ........... 'g'2EO. Virginia 85 Tennessee R. R. Coupon Bonds, 8 95, 347,000 Q 720 .... 33330, State of Virginia Registered Bonds, old, 6 Wg, 3332,944.00 Q 500 .... T66 4-Q State of Virginia Registered Bonds of 1866, 6 fZ,, 335,831 Q, 556 Unlt 193333 8