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Nimrod Johnson Miller (N. J. Miller) Nimrod Johnson Miller (circa 1844 – September 1881) Sheriff and Collector of Burnet County, Texas reported murdered in Indian Territory, September 1881.

Background. N. J. Miller was born in Bartow/Cass County, Georgia in 1844. [1] During the Civil War, he joined the 18th Georgia Infantry and was a 2nd Lieutenant in Company H of that regiment. [2] The 18th Georgia fought, among other battles, at Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor and Appomattox. Following the Civil War, N. J. Miller moved to Texas where he is listed in the 1870 Census of Burnet County. N. J. Miller was a member of the Texas State Police some time between 1870 and 1872. [3] In 1878, N. J. Miller was elected Sheriff and Collector of Burnet County, Texas. [4]

Disappearance. On the 26th of August 1881 Sheriff Miller, 37, left Burnet County, Texas in search of a man named W. P. Brown who was reported to be near Paul’s Valley in Indian Territory (modern day Oklahoma). [5] Sheriff Miller traveled to Indian Territory and was last sighted in Caddo; however, he disappeared thereafter and was never found. W. P. Brown was wanted for the murder of John Calvert, 27, in Burnet County. On February 16, 1876, John Calvert, son of Major H. H. Calvert, was sitting on his front porch when he was shot several times. [6] W. P. Brown was described as “28 years old, 5 feet 11 inches high, dark complexion, black crossed-eyes, awkward shape, weighs about 175 pounds.” [7]

Investigation. Shortly, after Sheriff Miller’s disappearance, the Sheriff’s nephew, Deputy Sheriff L. J. Conner of Burnet County, commenced a search for his Uncle. Deputy Sheriff Conner’s investigation revealed the following information: Sheriff Miller initially traveled to Austin, Texas where he was robbed but afterward recovered his money. Sheriff Miller left Sherman, Texas on August 30 and was reported to be in Dennison, Texas on September 1, 1881. He was last seen at Caddo, Indian Territory, purchasing a horse to travel to Paul’s Valley. [8]

Witness. In August of 1882, a man named Sam Paul claimed to have witnessed the killing of Sheriff Miller in Chickasaw County (I.T.) by a man named Sam S. Wood. Sam Paul stated, “Sheriff Miller was shot with an arrow and beaten by several suspects.” [9] Sam Paul was a member of the Lighthorse (American Indian Mounted Police) and constable of Pickens County in 1881. He was the son of Smith Paul, the namesake of Paul’s Valley (originally, Smith Paul’s Valley) and Ela-Teecha, Smith Paul’s Chickasaw wife. [10] At the time Sam Paul made his claim, Sam Paul was in the Fort Smith, Arkansas jail on an unrelated murder charge. [11]

Unsolved. Sheriff Miller’s body was never found and further information regarding his disappearance has not been discovered. It is unknown if the lead provided by Sam Paul regarding Sam S. Wood was pursued or whether Sam S. Wood ever existed.

Family. Sheriff Miller left a wife, Polly, and seven children. Sheriff Miller’s wife, Rhoda S. "Polly" Cox, was the daughter of Andrew McClure Cox and Anna Beard Cox, and was born in 1848 in Missouri shortly before the family moved to Travis County, Texas. She appeared as "Polly Cox" in the 1850 census, a two-year-old in her father's household. She and Nimrod J. Miller were married on June 17, 1868. She died on February 15, 1893 and was buried in Smithwick Cemetery. [12]

Sam Paul -- A few details. As a member of the Lighthorse, Sam Paul had arrested a young non-Indian on suspicion of harboring horse thieves. While on the way to jail, the prisoner took off and Sam shot and killed him. Some say that Sam Paul and three other policemen took the prisoner back in the bushes and were attempting to compel to the prisoner to talk when the prisoner was shot. Judge Isaac Charles Parker, U.S. District Judge presiding over the Western District of Arkansas, known as the “Hanging Judge” (see the movies “Hang ‘Em High” and “True Grit”), had warned the Territorial Marshals about the number of prisoners being held on minor charges who were shot while trying to escape. Sam Paul was convicted for the murder of the young prisoner and sentenced to federal prison in Detroit. [13] The information given by Sam Paul regarding Sheriff Miller was provided in an attempt to obtain leniency from Judge Parker. In 1884, U.S. President Chester A. Arthur granted Sam Paul a full pardon (he had served two years in the penitentiary). Sam Paul, however, lived to only 44 years of age, as his own son, Joe Paul, murdered him in December 1891. [14] Joe and Sam had been in an open feud for a number of years and there had been several shoot outs between the two. In a December 1890 confrontation, Sam fired six times at his son and wounded him twice. The son returned fire and hit his father once. Sam Paul was arrested but released at the time of the 1890 shooting. [15] Three years after Joe Paul murdered his father, a cousin killed Joe at the same restaurant where Joe killed Sam Paul. Two years after Joe’s murder, the cousin was found dead on the railroad tracks. Sam Paul had served in the Chickasaw House of Representatives and Senate, and was a candidate for Governor of the Territory of Oklahoma in 1890.