Author: MILLER, William
Biography:
MILLER, William (c. 1760-1830: ancestry.co.uk)
He is thought to have come to High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, from Woodbridge, Suffolk, but there is nothing as yet to indicate where he was born or baptised or who his parents were. With such a common name and no certain geographical location, further evidence is needed to locate his origins. There are occasional poems on people he knew in Bristol, Ross (Herefordshire), and London. He was minister of the Congregational/Independent church in Crendon Lane, High Wycombe, from 9 Mar. 1789 to 1807 when he resigned but still continued as a Morning Preacher until 1812. He was also tutor to Lord Carrington’s eldest son. He married Philippa Shrimpton (formerly Hepburn), a widow, on 25 July 1805 at Bledlow, Buckinghamshire. There was no issue. He died on 17 Sept. 1830 at Chesham, aged 70, and was buried at the Independent burial ground on 25 Sept. There was once a memorial tablet in the chapel (now demolished). His will made provision for his wife and step-children. His widow, Philippa, died in 1841. In addition to the work listed here, he published occasional sermons and Catholic Baptism Examined (High Wycombe 1793). These were probably the earliest works printed at High Wycombe. (Congregational Magazine Oct. 1830, 560; ancestry.co.uk 30 Nov. 2023; William Henry Summers, History of the Congregational Churches in the Berks, South Oxon and South Bucks Association [1905], 94, 99; Henry Gough, Bibliotheca Buckinghamiensis [1890], 53; Buckinghamshire Marriage Index; OUCH 27 Mar. 1841) AA