Steward Alexander Miller (1805-1893), a native Virginia, studied law in Crockett with James Carr and joined Col. Jacob Snively’s expedition in 1843. The Snively Expedition was one of a series of forays between Texas and Mexico following Texas becoming an independent nation. This foray formed specifically to address the indignities heaped on previous expeditions such as the Texas Santa Fe and Mier expeditions. During the expedition, Miller received the rank of colonel, which he used until his death.
After returning to Texas in 1850, Miller married Rebecca F. Whiten, with whom he had ten children. He was elected to the First and Second Texas legislatures as the representative of Houston County and served in the state Senate in 1851, 1854, and 1861. Following the adoption of the Constitution of 1876, Miller was elected Houston county judge, where he served for two terms.
Sources:
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "Constitution of 1836," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/mhc7.html (accessed July 27, 2010).
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "Miller, Steward Alexander," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/MM/fmi25.html (accessed July 27, 2010).
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "Snively Expedition," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/SS/qys2.html (accessed July 27, 2010).
The Steward Alexander Miller Papers, 1843-1873, 1926-1966, concern the life and career of Miller. The collection includes the only eyewitness account of the Snively Expedition of 1843 (in the form of a diary), correspondence, letters of recommendation from Sam Houston and Thomas J. Rusk, tax receipts, land titles, funeral notice and photographs. The twentieth-century documents include correspondence from historians and writers to Miller’s daughter, Amelia M. Comer, concerning the publication and possible sale of the diary, newspaper clippings, and H. Bailey Carroll’s manuscripts of the edited diary. The collection includes a photostat copy of the diary and typed transcripts.
Access to portions of this collection are restricted. Contact repository for further information.
Steward Alexander Miller Papers, 1843-1873, 1926-1966, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.
Some material has been separated to the Artifacts and Newspaper Collection.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s