The Early History of Cape Girardeau, MO:1798 to 1803

George Frederick Bollinger who came from Lincoln County, NC established a settlement from a Spanish Land Grant in 1796 at which time Louis Lormier, Spanish Commandant appears to have promised a large grant of land on the provision that he would bring additional colonolists to the district. Bollinger returned to North Carolina in 1798 and brought back about 20 families to farm the land. Lands had been established by treaty between the US and Spain from 1795 and land grants were given only with the survey expense owed. History of Southeast Missouri in recanting the immigration:
"The journey was made in wagons. The company crossed the Missouri River at St. Genevieve on the first of January 1800, and proceeded to the Whitewater along which stream the made their settlements. In this colony were Mathias Bollinger, William Bollinger, Henry Bollinger, Phillip Bollinger, Peter and Conrad Statler, Joseph Neyswanger, Peter and George Grount, John and Isaac Miller, Frederick Limbaugh, Leonard Walker, and Frederick Slinkard. All were either German or Swiss and all spoke fluent German. "
The first listing on the Millers in district land records is from a hearing before the Board of Land Commissioners appointed to adjust the claims in the Louisiana Territory. According to the testimonies of Isaac Miller (son of John Miller) George Frederick Bollinger, and Joseph Neyswanger Bollinger all were settled in Cape Girdeau County by October of 1803.
Although the rest of the community was Swiss-Germans (the Millers were friends of Hans Peter Eaker) and were of Scotch-Irish ancestory. A monument erecterd to his memory in the Millerville Cemetary lists his birth as 1763, and by the Revolutinary War, he was listed in his early twenties. Lincoln County, NC was site of one of the most decisive battles of the War at King's Mountain fought just twenty miles fropm the Miller home. A deed from 1790 lists the property belonging to the"4th Company" and listing several Millers.
John Miller's wife was Martha Clay, the third child of Edward Clay, the brother of Reverand John Clay and Madalena Trabue. She bore him twelve children, eight boys and four girls.

Millersville and the Miller Family by Helen Miller Penzel Ritgerod & Henry Ritgerod. Published in Fayetteville, AR, August 1939 with special acknowledgement to Miss Hunter Miller who began collecting data in 1926.