(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is a two-part piece, and the second half will be published in an upcoming issue. The Luminary wishes to thank Doris (Claudfelter) Yeager for sharing her memories of her great-grandfather, as well as for providing some of the historical sources that were used in this article.)

In the early years of Montgomery, many factories helped to transition the town from a small farming village to a bustling industrial town.

Montgomery was the perfect place to achieve the American dream for early town resident, Robert “Rob” Milton Miller. He came to town and got a low-wage factory job and ended up owning a factory of his own.

Childhood wasn’t easy for Rob Miller. The details of his life were outlined in “Pennsylvania: A History” (Editor-in-Chief George P. Donehoo). He was born on May 2, 1866, in Freeburg, located in Snyder County. His mother passed away in 1868, followed by his father in 1872, leaving the six-year-old an orphan. The article doesn’t state who took care of the child, but the book records “Through kindness which was bestowed upon him he was privileged to attend Reid’s Public School, situated along Turtle Creek, Union County, until thirteen years of age . . .”

Rob Miller’s great-granddaughter Doris (Claudfelter) Yeager filled in some of the details of his life. She is a former Montgomery resident, and her grandmother was Edna Mae Miller, Rob’s second child. She said that Rob’s mother died in childbirth. She also added that after the death of his father, a nearby family by the name of Dreisbach cared for him, and arranged for him to get work on nearby farms.

The book went on to say that he stayed in Union County and spent the next three years laboring on different farms. He didn’t care for the work, and decided to try working as a clerk. He briefly worked in a general store in Winfield, but he didn’t care for that either. Miller went to work in Lewisburg for the railroad but still didn’t enjoy the work.

According to Dunahoo’s book, Miller married Flora Emma Dill of Williamsport.

Yeager said that her great-grandparents began their married lives in Allenwood and then moved to Montgomery.

Dunahoo’s book said they came to Montgomery where Rob got a job at Henderson & Hull.

Henderson & Hull was described as “the parent industry of Montgomery.” It was a planing mill that would get shipments of logs that had been cut and seasoned, and plane them into boards for carpentry and woodworking. The firm was situated at the site of the current Montgomery Post Office, between the two sets of railroad tracks (The Luminary, January 4, 2023).

Dunahoo’s book states that Rob and Flora raised a family of four children: Claude, Edna, Nellie, and Eva. The Millers attended the Evangelical Lutheran Church on East Houston Avenue.

Miller worked his way up at Henderson & Hull. He was employed in the sash department as a contractor. A few years after he obtained that position, the company closed down (Dunahoo).

In 1898, he was hired at Montgomery Table Works in the machine department, working as machine hand. Donahoo’s book reported, “by steady application to the same principals as before of doing the best he could at all times, in a few years he was advanced to superintendent of the plant and a short time later was taken into the firm as a stockholder and elected to the secretaryship.”

Miller was an innovative thinker and was granted a patent during his time working at Montgomery Table Works. According to the Montgomery Centennial history book, he was granted a patent in 1910 for an attachment for extension tables.

The Williamsport Sun reported on October 25, 1915, that “The Montgomery Table Works of which William Decker has been the sole owner, has been incorporated with a capital stock of $225,000. Robert M Miller, superintendent of the factory, and William Waltman, head bookkeeper, are now associated with Mr Decker as members of the firm.” In 1915, $225,000 would be the equivalent of $6,787,915.84 today.

After many years at Montgomery Table Works, Rob Miller and his son Claude founded the Miller Desk Company.