Dr. Robert Miller

1806 - 1894  (88 years)

• Name	Robert Miller
  Prefix	Dr.
  Born	1806	, Ayrshire, Scotland   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Interesting	medicine, medical, epidemic, cholera
  Occupation	1861	Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  	Physician - Doctor - Dr.
  Residence	1861	Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  	Free Church
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-254804
  Died	16 Jun 1894	London, England
  Person ID	I254804	Generations
  Last Modified	28 Jan 2025

  
  

• Notes

  After the Dumfries Mills had been running for some time, Mr. Dickson, who found that his lands required all his attention, endeavoured to sell them to Mr. Shade. The latter was unwilling to purchase unless a guarantee was given for a specified number of years, that no lands would be sold in the village by Mr. Dickson for mills, stores, or other businesses which would enter into competition with his (Mr. Shade's) occupations. It is under-stood this condition was ultimately agreed to; at any rate, Mr. Shade purchased the mills, two hundred acres of land, covering what is now the most valuable part of the town on the west side of the river, and an additional hundred acres in the township. The deed was not obtained for these properties by Mr. Shade, until the 11th August, 1838, and in that document, the consideration money is stated to have been £2,500. In deeding the 200 acres to Mr. Shade, Mr. Dickson made the following reservations : (1) One lot to Dr. Robert Miller, corner west of Water and north of Main Street. (2) One acre to James Taylor, north of Main and east of Water Street. (3) One lot to Adam Ainslie, north of Main and east of Ainslie Street. (4) One lot to Isaac Sours, adjoining Ainslie's lot. (5) The school-house lot, corner of Church and Main Street. (6) The market-house lot on Dickson Street. Reminiscences of the Early History of Galt and the Settlement of Dumfries in the Province of Ontario, by James Young, 1880 Toronto: Hunter, Rose Pg. 47 _______________ MILLER, ROBERT. An account of the arrival in Galt of Dr. Robert Miller appears in James Young's Reminiscences of the Early History of Galt, A native of Ayrshire, and a graduate of Glasgow University in 1832, he obtained his licence from the Lieutenant Governor on the 9th. of August, 1832, and arrived in Galt on the 18th. A settlement of some 26 buildings, with uncertain prospects, may not appear to have been an ideal location to establish a practice, but the situation had improved since the time of his predecessor, Dr. Stimson. An influx of settlers had begun in the late twenties, many of them from Dumfries, Ayrshire's neighboring county. The presence of these countrymen may have influenced his decision to locate there. As the majority of these Lowland Scots settled on the land, a stable base for the future prosperity of the county was provided. This was in contrast to the Canada Company's policy in Guelph where the emphasis was on urban development. Miller was a short corpulent man, quick tempered, and emphatic and caustic in speech, he was described as a famous bleeder and blisterer, the therapeutic methods of the day. He was regarded as a competent physician, and won his place in the community during the cholera epidemic of 1834. He was a member of a small group of influential men who met regularly in a local tavern, but it does not appear that he ever sought or held an elective office. According to Young, he was one of the skips when the Galt Curling Club was placed on a permanent footing. In 1850 he obtained the degree of M. D. from the University of New York. By 1853 he had returned to London, England, where he established a practice. In 1860 he received the degree of Member of the Royal College of Physicians, London. He made six return visits to Galt, remaining for varying lengths of time, and conducting some practice on each, occasion. His last visit was in 1878, when he was 70 years of age. When he was 87 years old, he died in London on June 16, 1894. Dr. Alexander D. Campbell, Doctors in Waterloo County 1852-1925, 1986

  
  

• Sources

  [S1838] Census - ON, Waterloo, Galt - 1861, Galt 1861 Div. 4 Page 47.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 1806 - , Ayrshire, Scotland Occupation - Physician - Doctor - Dr. - 1861 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Free Church - 1861 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 16 Jun 1894 - London, England  = Link to Google Earth