At first I thought that to tell the story of my great-great grandfather would be to tell a story of a man who just couldn’t be a father, someone who was in and out of my great grandmother’s life, someone our family often described as a “ne’er do well.” While there is always some truth to the stories passed down, there is often more truth in the untold stories. Those tales that are lost to the passage of time are where we find the real truth of the person. In researching Clinton MILLER there was so much to tell that his story needs to be told in three parts.
For the first 30 years of Clinton’s story,
visit Clinton R. Miller Part 1 – The Birdman of Wilmington.
Part 2: 1915-1935
When we left Clinton MILLER, he was living with his parents in Delaware and had earned a reputation as “the Birdman of Wilmington.” In the first 30 years of his life, he had married three times and fathered 4 children with 2 of his wives. He had been widowed once, divorced once, and though he was still married to his third wife, he was no longer living with her as a husband. By the end of 1912 he had faced criminal charges for assault and false pretenses and his third wife, Grace, had moved on to a new man.
In early 1912, Clinton and Grace’s three children were living with their grandparents, E. Manly and Lillian MILLER, and Grace – now in a relationship with a widower and single father by the name of Simon WALLS – was in Ohio giving birth to a son she named James Arthur WALLS. Shortly after, Simon and Grace began living as a married couple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We cannot find record of a marriage between Simon WALLS and Grace, nor can we locate a record of the divorce between Clinton MILLER and Grace.
Grace lived in Milwaukee as Grace WALLS until her death in 1966. She raised her youngest son with Clinton in the Walls home in Milwaukee and kept in close contact with her two eldest MILLER children, who remained with their grandparents. Grace and Simon also had several children together – James (b. 1912), George (b. 1913), Ralph (b.1916), William (b.1918), and Simon Jr. (b. 1919).[1] In 1922 the couple had their only daughter – Grace Mae WALLS. She was beloved and doted on by all her family.
In 1915, The MILLER family – Manly, Lillian, Elma Mae and Edward – moved to Florida.[2] E. Manly MILLER had been severely injured in an automobile accident and the Florida air promised to be good for his health. Family legend says they took a boat from Delaware to Florida, but no port records have been found. The family purchased 115 acres in Lake County and opened Hollywood Dairy.
Clinton MILLER did not travel directly to Florida with his children and parents. In 1916, Clinton was living in Mobile, Alabama. He married 20-year-old Frances Augusta KING in February of that year.[3] Nine months later, in November of 1916, his new wife gave birth to a daughter – Frances Elizabeth MILLER.
Clinton worked as the manager of the Bloch Auto Garage Co. on Monroe Street at Jackson Street in Mobile. However, by 1918 Clinton’s wife, Frances, is listed in the city directory of Mobile, Alabama, as the widow of Clinton R. He had again abandoned another young wife and newborn daughter. They would have no reason to believe he was not dead – they likely never saw him again. By early 1921 the “widow” was living in Georgia; she would remarry and have more children. Frances and her family lived in the Atlanta area for the remainder of their lives.
In March of 1918, The Columbus Ledger reported that Clinton R. Miller was facing counterfeit charges in the federal court in Atlanta, Georgia. A local widow testified that Clinton and his wife had been staying in her boarding home but had recently stolen her car and left town without paying their bill. In her testimony, she said Clinton had been counterfeiting coin in her coal house and “working [it] off on Greeks … who couldn’t tell the difference between good money and bad.”[4] No child is mentioned, and since Frances was now living in Mobile as a widow (and single mother), we can assume this wife was someone else. The resolution of the counterfeit case has not yet been found by this author.
In September of 1918, Clinton registered his draft card for service in World War I in Walton County Georgia. He listed his city as Monroe, a suburb east of Atlanta, and stated he was occupied as a mechanic at Broach & Tuck, a local automobile dealer. He listed a “Mrs. Berda Miller” as his nearest relative – likely the same woman who was living with him in Atlanta during the counterfeit charges.[5] Her identity has not yet been confirmed.
In the 1920 Federal Census, Clinton is again found living with his parents, now listing his occupation as U.S. Army Aviator.[6] Settled in Leesburg, Lake County, Florida, E. Manly MILLER and his wife owned and operated the Hollywood Dairy, which was growing in popularity and kept the family busy. In June of 1922 it was featured in the Orlando Sentinel, where Manly MILLER described his belief in “the dipping vat and all his cattle take their regular dips. He says he will give a dollar for every tick found on one of his cattle.”[7]
Sometime after the census of 1920, in late summer, Clinton, now 36, began a career as a traveling salesman, although it is unclear what services or goods he sold. He continued to peddle himself as an inventor and flight instructor as well. He travelled to Jacksonville, Florida, which was a booming city, developing quickly as a popular beach town and hotbed for bootlegging during the Prohibition. Here he met Pauline “Birdie” WELCH in the fall of 1920. There is documentation to support the fact that he did not meet Birdie until 1920, although he had noted a Mrs. “Berda” MILLER on his 1918 draft registration in Georgia. It is likely this was a different woman entirely. Birdie and Clinton had a whirlwind courtship, were married January 26, and lived together in Jacksonville at 501 West Monroe Street. Clinton worked briefly in a marine garage nearby.
Just a few months later, on April 2, 1921, Clinton left Birdie, who suffered from health issues, to return to life on the road. On a train north, he met young Ruth Hendrick, 22. Ruth was a native of Pennsylvania who had travelled to Florida with her parents and sister, seeking treatment for her father’s health. Ruth and her sister were headed back to Pittsburgh to visit their brother when they encountered Clinton. Clinton was friendly, loaning magazines during the trip, and they parted ways in Washington, D.C., where Clinton claimed he was to see about an invention of his. Later in the month he arrived in Pennsylvania and visited Ruth at her brother’s home. In short order, he proposed, and they were married at the end of the month, on April 24, 1921.
Clinton and Ruth took rooms in Pittsburgh, eventually settling at 6805 Hamilton Avenue, in a neighborhood not far from downtown. Later in the month, Clinton informed Ruth he had sent for Birdie; he was unclear exactly as to their relationship. Birdie arrived in Pittsburgh from Florida hoping to rejoin her husband, only to find that Clinton had married again. The stress of finding her husband in the arms of a new, younger, wife was too much for her nervous system and she became ill shortly after arriving. Neighbors reported later that they were introduced to Birdie as Clinton’s sister-in-law, in town on an extended visit. Clinton used threats and violence to keep the women from leaving him or revealing their arrangement.
While Ruth cared for Birdie, now ill at home, Clinton began to travel again. Only 65 miles east of Pittsburgh, in the town of Johnstown, Clinton met a young 17-year-old girl and began a new affair. Here he also met Aubert Stutzman, 21, the son of a local farmer, tall and thin with dark red hair and gray eyes, with an 8th grade education, working as a rigger for Cambria Steel Company. To keep his wives from discovering his activities, Stutzman was hired to trail Clinton’s wives in Pittsburgh and threaten them with violence should they attempt to interfere with his new romance.
Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, the police received an anonymous tip. Two policewomen were assigned to investigate and began to receive information from neighbors pointing towards illicit activities. MILLER, likely alerted by Stutzman, persuaded Ruth to relocate to Greensburg, located halfway between Pittsburgh and Johnstown. The policewoman kept on their investigation, however, and located Ruth, returning her to Central Station, taking her statement and holding her as a witness. Birdie, who her family later testified was now financially ruined, was taken to the local Mercy Hospital for she was now so ill she needed an operation.
On September 22, 1921, Clinton R. MILLER was arrested and charged with bigamy. Shortly after, Aubert Stutzman was charged arrested on a charge of being a suspicious person but was later released on the warning to stay away from MILLER’s wives. Aubert returned to Johnstown and returned to work for the local steel mill, eventually marrying in 1925. Clinton would remain jailed until his trial.
The police investigation into Clinton R. MILLER was extensive, and the news of his “Love Nest” was national. In many papers the MILLER bigamy case shared front page news with the notorious Fatty Arbuckle murder trial, often with headlines such as “Miller’s Love Trail Leads Police Into Half Dozen Cities,” “East End Love-Nest Broken Up by Work of Women Sleuths,” and “Man Pleads Guilty to Bigamy Charge.” Investigators discovered, in a trunk left behind at a room he had formerly occupied, love letters addressed to MILLER, as well as many other aliases – Curtin Romiller, Clinton Romiller, and Marley Edwards – all variations of either his or his father’s name and all addressed to locations throughout Florida and Alabama. Birdie claimed that, when she and Clinton were married, he had stated he was married already to another woman (reports conflict on whether this woman was from New York or Florida – or perhaps the mysterious “Berda” from Georgia). Clinton had told Birdie that this other woman committed suicide two weeks after their January wedding. Investigators were never able to locate additional alleged wives in Alabama, Cleveland, New York, Florida, or elsewhere. The mystery remains as to the total number he may have had, or to the claims that some had killed themselves for him.
Both wives testified against Clinton at trial. Birdie stated she was kept prisoner at the home on Hamilton Avenue, and Ruth (already in the process of seeking an annulment) tearfully confessed to posing as Birdie’s sister under pressure from her husband. Clinton eventually pled guilty to perjury and bigamy on November 4, 1921, and was sentenced to a term of 2-4 years in Western State Penitentiary.[8]
Clinton arrived at the prison in Alleghany at 37 years old, for his sentence of 2-4 years. His crime was listed as perjury, although newspapers indicate he had pled guilty to bigamy charges as well. He was 6 feet tall, 143 pounds, of sleight build, with a medium/fair complexion, black/gray hair and gray eyes. He had a tattoo of his initials – “C.R.M” – and the words “Born 1884” on the back of his left shoulder, and several scars, one running along the side of his face above his nose. He listed an occupation of Mechanic/Musician. He claims to be a regular drinker, married and without any living children – so he lied to the government even as he entered prison for the crime of perjury.[9]
In April 1922, Ruth, Clinton’s estranged second (or perhaps now seventh?) wife delivered a stillborn daughter in her seventh month of pregnancy. Clinton is listed on the birth certificate as the father.[10] There is no evidence Clinton knew of the child, or ever had any contact with Ruth again after the trial.
Clinton sought parole in spring of 1923; it was denied. He was granted paroled on November 4, 1923, after serving the minimum sentence of 2 years. He was discharged in good health, having gained 13 pounds in prison, and he did not provide an intended residence.
After his release from prison, Clinton R. MILLER becomes an elusive figure. He appears briefly in 1925, in documents and newspaper accounts of the American Christian Industrial Association, Inc., an organization created listing Clinton R. and Birdie P. MILLER as the founders, along with a respected local lawyer, William F. Smalley. The mission was to promote the moral and social welfare of children, and they set about advertising for workers and investors in late 1925. The scheme was to purchase 200 acres of land which they intended to convert to a vacation center. William F. Smalley would die in early 1926.
Recently uncovered news articles show that Birdie was involved in the scheme, unable to tear herself from Clinton’s charms during his imprisonment. There is no evidence the land was ever purchased, or the vacation center ever built. The couple is featured in October of 1925 in the Camden Courier Post, discussing the 200 acres they plan to purchase and the camp they intend to build for orphans and needy children and elderly, to provide education and “build physical and moral character.” In 1933 the American Christian Industrial Association, Inc. had their charter to operate repealed by the state for failure to pay taxes. There is no evidence it ever opened or operated.
By 1927 Clinton is living in in Southwest Washington, D.C., in an area known as “the Wharf,” named for the DC Municipal Fish Market, the oldest open-air seafood market in the United States (since 1805).[11] This area thrived in the 1920s and in the 1930s it was revitalized. Marvin Gaye and Al Jolson grew up in the neighborhood. We can imagine the air thick with music, bridges being built and boats coming and going with the aroma of fresh seafood. In 1927 he is working at Central Auto Works and Garage as a helper.[12] He worked various odd jobs, including serving as apprentice on an oyster boat in 1928, and continuing to practice as a musician, while (using his own plans) he constructed a 52-foot excursion craft, capable of carrying more than 40 people, along the wharves. Once completed he was able to dig in around it and let the Potomac waters float the boat into the river.
Clinton MILLER is listed on the 1930 U.S. Federal Census living on a boat called the “Nellie.” Intriguingly, he lives with a daughter, age 16, named Nellie, who lists her birthplace as Florida and her mother’s birthplace as Georgia. Nellie could be another child, lost to time, or it could have been he was living with a new conquest, a young girl misrepresented on the census as his daughter due to her age. Possibly, she was the daughter of Pauline “Birdie” Welch – found on the 1920 census listed as divorced and living in central Florida with a young 6-year-old daughter named Nellie. Perhaps she was one of the children he meant to help with his American Christian Industrial Association. We cannot know for sure, but this is the only time he is recorded to be living with the girl.[13]
Despite the mystery of her birth, Nellie Miller lived with Clinton as his daughter, earned her pilot’s license and became a Captain. She was featured in several newspapers in early 1931, having set off in October 1930 on the houseboat for a tour of the eastern seaboard. One article states that Clinton is her “foster father” which leaves their true relationship still undetermined to the author.
This feature supports family lore that Clinton chartered his boat for excursions and parties – the boat had a piano on board – floating from Washington D.C. to New York Harbor. He lived aboard it for the next 12 years. A news article was discovered from Christmas Eve, 1935, tracking Clinton and his boat. He and a Mrs. Clinton R. MILLER, real identity unknown, were motoring their 50-foot houseboat from Brooklyn to Washington, D.C., when a cracked muffler allowed gas fumes to enter the cabin. They were towed ashore from their anchor off Bay Head, New Jersey, by the Coast Guard.[14] From there, the trail runs cold until 1940.
[1] U.S. Federal Census 1920; Wisconsin; Milwaukee Ward 10, Milwaukee; District 0133; Sheet 11A; 2418 Brown Street; Dwelling 176/Family 258.
[2] Delaware Public Archives; Delaware Land Records; Roll Number: 314. Newspapers.com – The Orlando Sentinel – 1922-06-30
[3] Alabama, County Marriage Records, 1805-1967 Record. February 9, 1916.
[4] Newspapers.com – The Columbus Ledger – 17 Mar 1918 – Page 2; https://www.newspapers.com/clip/148720161/clinton-charged-with-counterfeit/?xid=637
[5] U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918; Registration State: Georgia; Registration County: Walton County
[6] U.S. Federal Census 1920; Florida; Leesburg, Lake County; Roll: T625_224; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 186; Dwelling 8/Family 9.
[7] Newspapers.com – The Orlando Sentinel – 1922-06-30; https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-orlando-sentinel/18023200/?xid=637.
[8] All “Love Nest” articles located on Newspapers.com. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; The Buffalo News; The Buffalo Enquirer; The Palatka Daily News; The Pittsburgh Press; 23 Sept-27 Sept 1921, various pages; 21 Oct 1921; The Birmingham Post – page 12; and 5 Nov 1921 The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – page 4.
[9] Pennsylvania, U.S. Prison Reformatory and Workhouse Records, 1829-1971; Western State Penitentiary; Prisoner Fingerprint and Identification Cards 1907-1965; Images 32217-18.
[10] Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1970. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11, Certificate number 35728.
[11] https://www.proptalk.com/wharf-washington-dc-then-and-now
[12] U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 for C R Miller; Washington, District of Columbia, City Directory, 1927
[13] U.S. Federal Census, Washington, District of Columbia, Precinct 4, District 92, Sheet 19A, Dwelling 255/Family 301.
[14] Asbury Park Press, December 24, 1935, Page 1. “Coast Guard Tows Houseboat Ashore.” https://www.newspapers.com/clip/148766039/clinton-miller-houseboat-towed-ashore/?xid=637
Gathering Roots 