The Miller and Keasbey families were two of the most prominent families in Morristown, N.J. during the second half of the 19th and early part of the 20th century. Jacob W. Miller, a lawyer, married the daughter of George and Louisa Macculloch, Mary Louisa, in 1825. The Macculloch's were another prominent Morristown family who built Macculloch Hall, a grand house situated on a large estate, and the two families shared the home for over three decades. Miller became a U.S. Senator in the 1840's and served as New Jersey's last Whig U.S. senator. After Jacob's death in 1862, Macculloch Hall and the lands were turned over to Mary Louisa Miller and she managed the property and conducted social events at the stately home. Just before her death in 1888, the Miller Estate Association was incorporated, conveying the estate and the Miller property on Morristown's Green to the heirs of Jacob W. and Mary L. Miller.
On May 19, 1888, the first meeting of the Miller Estate Association took place at Macculloch Hall. The Association was created "for the purpose of buying, selling, settling, owning and improving real estate and erecting buildings and other structures" according to the minutes of the first meeting. In addition, the Association would "hold, manage, rent and improve" lands and construct roads, and lay out building plots for the purpose of increasing the value and dividing the proceeds among the shareholders. Henry W. Miller, a son of Jacob and Mary, was elected president of the Association. Henry was a former U.S. Naval officer who went into the banking industry and served as Morristown's mayor. During the early years of the Association, the vast property of the Miller estate was divided, sold and developed and roads surrounding the property were expanded. Colles Avenue was lengthened and Boyken Place was extended, with the new extension named Miller Road in 1891, in order to "preserve the Miller name." By 1900, the Miller property on the Green at the corner of South Street and Park Place consisted of several buildings that the Association rented out to businesses. In 1904 the Association proposed a new building that was constructed soon afterwards on the Green property.
After Henry W. Miller's death in 1904, the Association went through some changes. Jacob W. Miller, Henry's younger brother and a former U.S. Naval officer and transportation businessman, became president but decided to use his shares in the company to purchase Macculloch Hall and retain it as his permanent residence. George M. Miller, another brother, used his shares to purchase another tract of the estate property, on Ogden Place, and both Millers soon afterwards resigned from the Association. By 1905, the sole properties of the Miller Estate Association were the buildings on the Green and Edward Q. Keasbey was named president. Keasbey was the son of Anthony Q. Keasbey, a prominent lawyer and property owner with offices in New York City and Newark. Anthony had entered the Miller family upon his marriage to Edwina Louisa Miller, a daughter of Jacob and Mary Miller, in the 1860's. The changes in the organization were newsworthy in the community and noted in The Jerseyman, a Morris County newspaper, in its edition of November 3, 1905.
The rest of the years of the Association's existence were typified by maintaining the property on the Green, the improvement of that property, and the collection of rents from the various tenants that occupied the buildings. By November 1920, the Association decided to sell most of the property owned by the company and in June 1922, the Association decreased its stock and by the end of that year had dissolved. Macculloch Hall remained in the Miller family when Jacob W.'s daughter, Dorothea Miller Post, took over the house after his death in 1918. The Miller Estate Association retains its historical importance as the neighborhoods on the current Macculloch Avenue and Miller Road were formed from the divisions of the old Miller estate lands. In addition, a social history of two prominent Morristown families is represented by the story of the Association.
The papers in this collection represent the records of the Miller Estate Association, the Keasbey Real Estate Association and records relating to other properties in the Miller family. The bulk of the collection consists of the records of the Miller Estate Association from its inception in 1888 until its dissolution in 1922. There are extensive minutes and financial records spanning the organization's entire history and papers relating to the Association's dissolution. Information concerning the development of property and buildings in the town can be gained from this collection, as Morristown developed at the close of the 19th and opening of the 20th century. The transactions of a prominent family can also be imparted by these papers which illustrate a way of life that has disappeared today. Researchers interested in the development of Morristown, business and real estate practices of the late 19th and early 20th century, social history and the history of the Miller and Keasbey families will find pertinent information in this part of the collection. There are also detailed financial records from the Keasbey Real Estate Association from 1895-1922 as well as papers relating to other Miller family property that include title searches, deeds, and facsimiles of wills and contracts.
The Miller-Keasbey Family Real Estate Papers are organized into three series.
This series contains the records of the Miller Estate Association, founded in 1888 and dissolved in 1922 and represent the bulk of the entire collection. There are two books of the official minutes, recorded from 1888 through 1920, that also include some financial statements inserted by the Association's secretary at the appropriate meeting dates. Book one includes the original by-laws and statement of purpose of the Association at its formation in 1888, in which the Association stated it would "hold, manage, rent and improve" the lands of the Miller estate. The property included the Miller homestead (known as Macculloch Hall today) and the large parcel of land surrounding it, as well as buildings on the corner of South Street and Park Place, on Morristown's Green. Minutes of the meetings of the directors and the annual shareholders meetings are included. These document the history of the Association, its shareholders, the selling and buying of land, building and property improvements, rent and tenant information and construction. In addition, some history of the Miller and Keasbey families is documented in the minutes as there are tributes to deceased members of the family and notes about the activities of family members. The minutes describe the selling and development of the former Miller estate in the late 1800's and the building of a neighborhood that still exists to this day. The extension of Colles Avenue and the extension of Boyken Place, which eventually became Miller Road in 1891, is documented in the first book of minutes. In addition, the Miller's buildings on Morristown's Green were maintained, rented out to businesses and a new building was constructed in 1904. In 1905 the family's homestead, now known as Macculloch Hall, was sold directly to Jacob W. Miller. The Association carried on with the ownership of the Green property under the tutelage of the Keasbey's until its dissolution in 1922.
The financial books of the Association are contained in this series. These include ledgers and a daybook documenting the financial history of the entire span of the Association. Indexes delineate the categories that are documented in these books: annuities, capital stock, dividends, expenses, improvements, real estate, profit, loss and rents. It is important to note that both the minutes and the financial records cover the entire existence of the Miller Estate Association and are a complete documentary and fiscal history.
Finally, this series contains the shareholders certificate book, which includes the original stock certificates issued to the members of the Association over the entire existence of the organization. When the Association dissolved in 1922, these certificates were returned and collected in the certificate book in their original order. The series also contains correspondence between the shareholders in 1922 on the return of stock certificates at the time of the Association's dissolution.
This series contains the financial records of the Keasbey Real Estate Association between 1895 and 1922. When Anthony Q. Keasbey married Edwina L. Miller, the two prominent families were joined and the Keasbey family was instrumental in the Miller Estate Association from its inception onwards. However, the Keasbeys also owned real estate in Newark and Essex County, and these properties and their fiscal history are documented in the ledgers and daybooks of the Keasbey Real Estate Association contained in this series. A building on Market and Broad Street in Newark was the key property of the Keasbey family as it dominates these financial records. The records in this series include information on: expenses, capital stock, dividends, securities, estate income, profit,loss, bonds and mortgages. Unfortunately, not much else is known about the Association and the books in the collection end in 1922, with no indication of the future of the Association.
The bulk of this series documents the Miller family property on Ridgedale Ave. in Madison, N.J. In 1904, the property was owned by several members of the Miller family and it was sold as a whole. The series contains the original deeds of property made during this sale. In addition, there are detailed title searches that were conducted on the history of the property during 1904. These documents include facsimiles of wills, deeds and contracts which document the history of the property from the late 1700's until the late 19th century. The series also contains maps of the property that were drawn up showing several different perspective views. One is a hand drawn copy of a 1779 map of the property. Finally, the series includes a title search on another Miller property in Chatham, N.J. that includes facsimiles of wills, deeds and contracts.
This material is open for research without restriction under the conditions of the North Jersey History Center archives access policy. Records may be copied for use in individual scholarly or personal research, however, as with all materials in the History Center, researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material from the collection. Material in the Miller-Keasbey Family Real Estate Papers may be photocopied, but because this material is a permanent part of the History Center's collections, researchers are advised to photocopy with care, using only the edge copier for bound material.
The collection was presented to the Morristown and Morris Township Library in 1973 by Mrs. George Munson, a resident of Miller Road, Morristown. Librarian Barbara Hoskins, who had extensive contacts throughout the community, accepted the collection.
Miller-Keasbey Family Real Estate Papers. North Jersey History Center, The Morristown and Morris Township Library.
Arranged by James Collins, Spring 2004. Finding Aid updated 2012.