Mary Spurstow, wife of William Miller of Liverpool.

The portrait is a photograph taken of an oil painting of Mary Spurstow. Mary Spurstow was the daughter of George Spurstow and Elizabeth Hayes of Chester, England. The original portrait was in the possession of Barbara Barker and then Jack Barker, her son. Photograph of portrait courtesy of Hope Healy Koontz.

William Miller was born to John and Margaret Miller in 1751 in Kendal, Westmoreland County, England. He was christened in Holy Trinity Church, Kendal, October 14, 1751.¹ Family tradition says that the William Miller from which our line descends was born in 1751. His age at death, 74, in 1826 agrees with this birth date.²

William married Mary Spurstow, 1756-1832, on 21 September 1779 in St. John the Baptist Church, Chester, England.³ Mary's father was George Spurstow, an apothecary.

William Miller was a mercer and draper and lived in Liverpool most of his life. He is listed in the parish registers of St. Nicholas Church, Liverpool, as a mercer and draper at the 1782 christening of his daughter Elizabeth;⁴ from 1788 until 1800 he is listed as a silk mercer at his children's christenings. William and Mary had 10 children, all born in Liverpool.

William wrote his will 13 April 1826. He died 11 August 1826 in Liverpool, Lancaster County, England. Date of probate was 23 January 1827.⁵ His wife, Mary, died in 1832.⁶

Baptismal record of William Miller

Marriage Certificate of William Miller and Mary Spurstow

Children of William Miller and Mary Spurstow

Descent chart for William Miller and Mary Spurstow with sources

Will of William Miller

1. Kendal Parish Register, Kendal, England, FHC Microfilm 0973138 & 139 of original transcripts, vols. 6 & 7, 1750-1770, vol. 6, p.19.

2. Notice of death of William Miller, d.1826. Gore's Advertiser, p.3, col.6, Died 7 inst. Aged 74 years.

3. Registration of Marriage for William Miller and Mary Spurstow, Sept. 21, 1779, The Parish Church, St. John the Baptist, Chester. Registration #636, County and City of Chester, England.

4. Bishop's Transcripts from the Registers of St. Nicholas Church, Liverpool, Lancashire, Parish of Liverpool, Diocese of Chester. FHC microfilm 1068888 of original records at the Lancashire Record Office, Preston, Register no. 362 for 1782, Elizabeth, dau. of William Miller, Mercer & Draper and of Mary, his wife, Castle Street.

5. Will of William Miller, 13 April 1826. Lancashire, England, Lancashire Record Office, 1827.

6. Research notes of Admiral Francis Spurstow Miller, 1863-1953.

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