THOMAS MILLER was born 20 March 1754 in Goochland County, Virginia. He was the son of WILLIAM MILLER and MARY HEATH, who were wed 16 January 1741 in Northumberland County, Virginia, at her parents' home, and settled in Goochland County. WILLIAM MILLER was appointed sheriff of Goochland in 1741.
THOMAS would follow in his father's footsteps; he also became deputy sheriff, then sheriff of Goochland County. Eventually he became an attorney, and also was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He was a very wealthy and well-educated man. By the end of his life he owned numerous plantations in Goochland, Spotsylvania, and King William County. The Library of Virginia holds a large collection of THOMAS MILLER's papers.
During the Revolutionary War, at age 23, THOMAS MILLER served in the 1st Division of the Virginia Militia, Goochland County, from 1777 until 1781, with the rank of 1st Lieutenant. I was unable to find out whether he ever saw battle.
After the war-- and likely after receiving his education--THOMAS MILLER married CONSTANCE MASSIE on 28 December 1786 in Goochland. She was the daughter of Captain NATHANIEL MASSIE and ELIZABETH "BETSEY" WATKINS (see previous post). THOMAS and CONSTANCE settled on a plantation in Goochland and called it "LaVallee". He was frequently referred to as "Mr THOMAS MILLER" or "THOMAS MILLER, gentleman" in records. By the end of his life he owned numerous plantations besides LaVallee, according to his estate inventory: Woodville, Slab City (?) and Byrd, all in Goochland; Wormley House and Manskin Lodge in King William County, and Prospect Hill in Spotsylvania County.
In 2010, when I finally found a way to enlarge all the pages of his estate inventory so that I could read them, I was shocked to find that at the end of his life, THOMAS MILLER owned 159 slaves, all listed by name in the inventory, along with the plantations that they lived upon--which I transcribed in a blog post. You can read their names here.
THOMAS MILLER wrote his will on the 23 of April 1819. In it, he states that all of his plantations should be sold, with the exception of Woodville and LaVallee. No slaves were mentioned in the will, but were named in the estate inventory.
THOMAS MILLER, gentleman, died 7 May 1819, at LaVallee Plantation, and was buried there. His wife CONSTANCE was alive and enumerated in the 1820 census. While I do not have her exact death date, she likely is buried at LaVallee.
1st Lieutenant THOMAS MILLER is in the lineage of my maternal grandfather RB MARTINE.
Sources:
-DAR Patriot Index + website
-The Douglas Register
-Virginia Militia in the Revolutionary War by Joseph Thomas McAllister
-Library of Virginia
Have a great day!
Betty
© Betty Tartas 2026
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