Frederick Miller

For other uses, see Frederick Miller (disambiguation).
Frederick Miller
Miller in an undated photograph
Born
Friedrich Johannes Miller

(1824-11-24)November 24, 1824
Riedlingen, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Confederation
DiedMay 11, 1888(1888-05-11) (aged 63)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Known forMiller Brewing Company
Spouses
  • Josephine Müller
  • Lisette Gross Miller
Children4 sons, 2 daughters

Frederick John Miller (November 24, 1824 – May 11, 1888) was a brewery owner in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He founded the Miller Brewing Company at the Plank Road Brewery, purchased in 1855.[1][2][3][4] He learned the brewing business in Germany at Sigmaringen.

He was born Friedrich Johannes Miller[5][6] in Riedlingen in the Kingdom of Württemberg. Some German records, like the one about the baptism of his first son Joseph Eduard, also state the name as Müller.[7] Since the end of the 20th century, some publications state Miller's name as "Frederick Edward John Miller" from which they derive the birth name "Friedrich Eduard Johann(es) Müller".[8]

Miller married Josephine Müller in Friedrichshafen, Württemberg, on June 7, 1853.[9] Their first child, Joseph Edward Miller, was born the next year.[7] In 1854, the family emigrated to the United States, spending the first year in New York. They moved to Wisconsin in 1855, arriving through New Orleans.[10]

Josephine died in April 1860 and Miller married Lisette Gross and had five children who survived infancy: Ernst, Emil, Frederick II, Clara, and Elise. Clara married Carl A. Miller (no relation), also a German immigrant.[10]

Frederick Miller once owned a tract of land in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan that is now Craig Lake State Park.

Miller died of cancer in 1888 at age 63, and was buried in the Calvary Cemetery in Milwaukee. Following his death, the company was run by his surviving three sons and son-in-law Carl.[10]

Miller's younger daughter Elise was the mother of Harry G. John (1919–1992), president of the company from 1946 to 1947 and founder of the De Rance Corporation, once the world's largest Catholic charity.[11]

Older daughter Clara's son Frederick C. Miller (1906–1954) was an All-American college football player at Notre Dame under Knute Rockne and became president of the company after John in 1947.[12] He and his 20-year-old son Fred, Jr., were killed in a plane crash in Milwaukee in 1954.[13] The nine-passenger twin-engine company aircraft was a converted Lockheed Ventura. It was bound for Winnipeg for a December hunting trip at Portage la Prairie;[14] the crash also killed the two company pilots, brothers Joseph and Paul Laird.[15]

  1. ^ "Term: Miller, Frederick 1824 - 1888". wisconinhistory.org. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  2. ^ "Timeline: Another page in the Miller Brewing story". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. May 30, 2002. p. 14A.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Company founded in 1855 by hard working young German". Milwaukee Journal. (Miller High Life Journal - advertisement). July 19, 1949. p. 1.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Daykin, Tom (April 10, 2005). "Good times, tough times, Miller time". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 1D.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, Katholische Kirchenbücher: Zweitschriften, Riedlingen, F 901 Bd 1217/ Baptim book from 18 March 1818 - 6 October 1840, picture 69, #66
  6. ^ Diözesanarchiv Rottenburg, Familienregister Riedlingen 1808, microfilm 1051174, page 283 (image 548 at FamilySearch
  7. ^ a b Joseph Eduard Müller, „Deutschland, Baden, Erzbistum Freiburg, katholische Kirchenbücher, 1678-1930“ • FamilySearch, familysearch.org
  8. ^ Yenne, Bill: The field guide to North America's breweries and microbreweries, 1994, p. 72
  9. ^ Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, Katholische Kirchenbücher: Zweitschriften, Sigmaringen, F 901 Bd 494, Marriage register from 10 February 1831 - 9 December 1875, picture 64, #5
  10. ^ a b c "Miller's grandfather came here as immigrant in 1854". Milwaukee Journal. December 18, 1954. p. 4.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Archives, L. A. Times (1992-12-21). "Harry John; Founded Charity That Gave Away Millions". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
  12. ^ "Miller Brewing Co. president is a colorful figure". Milwaukee Journal. (Miller High Life Journal - advertisement). July 19, 1949. p. 2.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "Fred Miller, son die in fiery plane crash". Milwaukee Sentinel. December 18, 1954. p. 1.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "Fred C. Miller, son killed in air crash". Milwaukee Journal. December 18, 1954. p. 1.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "Pilots buried side by side". Milwaukee Journal. December 20, 1954. p. 2.[permanent dead link]