HISTORY: John Miller [the son of Andrew and Delilah (Johnson) Miller and grandson of John and Cathy Creek Sandusky Miller] married a Miss Nancy Jones. He owned land east of Benton and they owned a farm that is now owned by Berton Bauer family. John gave the land for a church to be built near, and it was called Mt Zion Baptist Church. There was an apple tree near the house where John and Nancy lived, and their children played for hours under that old tree. John and Nancy were married before 1850; he was 27 and she was 17. By 1860 they had several children: Caroline, Sarah Angeline, Mary Elizabeth, James and Amanda. Nancy became ill and knew that she did not have much time and requested that she be buried under that old apple tree where her children had played so many hours. She wanted her children to be able to play around her grave. That was the first burial in the Mt Zion Cemetery, now called Miller Cemetery. [above history cited from: Written by Gayla Smith for the Spring 1993 issue of FACTS AND FINDINGS -- Publication of Frankfort Area Genealogy Society]

DIRECTIONS: Beginning at the Benton, Illinois square, take Route 37 north to the stop light at the intersection of Route 37 and Route 14;go east on Route 14 approximately 5 miles to the County road sign 1700E, State Highway 14 and 1200 N Long Prairie Road, turn north on a black top road to the first house which is on the west (located off the road facing south). The cemetery is south of the house. It can be seen from Route 14 -- You have to use the private driveway to enter the cemetery.

NOTES:There are approximately 75 markers present with many very difficult to read. We have matched the markers as carefully as we could so please let us know if we have made any mistakes. Also, we have not posted photos of markers that were completely illegible. If you know of anyone who had a marker and is supposed to be buried in this Miller cemetery, please let us know and we will consider posting all of the markers we that are unidentified to see if you can help us make a match. This listing was compiled from walking and photographing the present monuments in the cemetery; messages archived from the Franklin County IL list at www.rootsweb.com; published obituaries; Ewing Township Cemetery Association records and published information including 'Cemetery Inscriptions, Ewing Township, Franklin County, IL - 1997' from the Frankfort Area Historical Society.