Miller's Essence of Life
— A Southwick Time Machine Original
On a Tuesday, April 30, 1844, a grim discovery was made in the Connecticut River at Suffield.
A body had been found floating in the river.
Authorities believed the deceased was a man around fifty years old. He wore black pantaloons and a vest, but no coat. There was little to immediately identify him, though the contents of his pockets offered several clues.
Among his possessions were a pocketbook marked "E. F. P. Jeffreys'," a three-bladed knife bearing the name Perkins, a pair of silver-bowed spectacles, a half-dollar piece, and a vial labeled "Moore's Essence of Life," a popular patent medicine of the era.
As was customary, a jury of inquest was assembled to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death. After examining the body and evidence, the jurors returned a verdict of accidental drowning.
The body appeared to have been in the river for several weeks.
Beyond that, little else was known.
Officials posted a notice stating that friends or relatives could claim the man's personal belongings by contacting Albert Kent, Esq., of Suffield.
Soon, however, a likely identity emerged.
 |
| An artistic reconstruction of the personal effects found on the body. |
The body was believed to be that of David Miller, a 51-year-old bricklayer who had disappeared nearly a month earlier in West Springfield, Massachusetts.
On April 5, 1844, Miller had been attempting to cross the swollen Agawam River (today’s Westfield River) above the dam at Ashley’s Mills. Spring runoff had pushed the river to its high-water mark.
At some point, he lost control of his boat.
The current carried him over the dam.
He vanished beneath the water and was presumed drowned.
The Agawam River flows into the Connecticut River, providing a tragic but plausible explanation for how his body traveled downstream to Suffield weeks later.
David Miller had already experienced profound personal loss before his own untimely death.
One of his daughters had died in 1838. Around 1839, his wife also passed away, leaving Miller to carry on alone.
Yet the Miller family's heartbreaking association with drowning would not end with David.
More than four decades later, another drowning would occur in connection with the Miller family.
In February 1887, a young man about 19 years old who worked for David's son, Augustus Miller, attempted to cross a river opposite the Miller residence. The ice gave way beneath him, and he drowned.
— Uncovered and preserved by the Southwick Time Machine
David Miller
abt. 1793 — April 5, 1844
This article is based on original primary-source research, including official records, census data, Miller Family Genealogy, period newspapers, and directories.
Southwick Time Machine stories are living documents. Research is ongoing, and this account may evolve as new information comes to light.
Photographs accompanying this story are authentic, unless
otherwise noted. In keeping with historical preservation standards, some
of the images may have been digitally enhanced for clarity and detail,
without
altering the original subjects.
Forgotten stories like this one are uncovered and preserved through reader support.
Edited Out/Author's Additional Research Notes
Agawam River is known today as the Westfield River.
Ashley’s Mills is mostly spelled without the apostrophe.
The Ashley family's prominence in West Springfield, Massachusetts, stems from their status as one of the area's earliest founding lineages, dating back to 1639.
The dam was constructed in 1836.
Some sources say David Miller was a bricklayer, others say a mason.
Over the years, there were multiple drownings in the Agawam River. Mostly accidents, some intentional.
David Miller was born in Stafford, Connecticut, about 1793. His family migrated across the border to Wales, Massachusetts.
Cornelius Miller’s house, built about 1830, still stands in Wales, Massachusetts. It is a well-known local landmark at 14 Main Street.
David Miller married Esther Walbridge. She appears to have been from Stafford, Connecticut. They had a son, Augustus, who lived in East Willington, Connecticut.
David’s wife and his mother had the same first name.
Pelatiah Ashley of Ashley’s Mills died in 1842.
David’s brother, Cornelius Miller, was said to have given much of his attention to politics. As a politician, he was described as bombastic, windy, and self-conceited.
Moore’s Essence of Life is a late 19th-century proprietary patent medicine. The original bottles—typically transparent green or amber glass—are highly sought-after artifacts from the early days of apothecary and over-the-counter cures.
Businessman Justin L. Worthy purchased Ashley’s Mills, and it became loosely known as Worthy Mill. He also owned the Worthy Paper Company and the Springfield Printing Company. Worthy made many improvements to the Ashley Mills. He ground corn, wheat, and other grains. The plant steadily increased in value under his ownership. His son, Frank L. Worthy, took over management of the mill in 1885.
Justin Worthy also built the Worthy Hotel in Springfield. It was the city’s first steel-framed, fireproof building. Justin’s Worthy Paper Company had burned years prior.
David Miller was apparently an alcoholic who got sober after the untimely death of his wife. Folks said that David experienced a moral and social metamorphosis. He also transformed from irrational to rational.
In 1853, some workmen excavating for a basement on a bank of the Agawam River discovered a well-preserved skeleton about two feet below the surface. He was buried with a gun, screwdriver, chisel, a pair of shears, bullet mould, thimbles, a handful of pipes filled with tobacco, and a string of wampum. The teeth of a large animal were found next to him. The man was buried facing towards the rising sun. The gun barrel was decomposed, and the lock was well rusted.
A Patriotic Mob’s Blind Horse
In May 1861, shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, residents of Wales, Massachusetts, suspected Cornelius Miller and Zeno Farrington Jr. of tearing down a Union flag. Amid intense patriotic sentiment and anger toward Southern secession, a crowd of roughly forty citizens confronted the two men and ordered them to raise a Union flag before ten o'clock. When they refused, the encounter escalated into violence.
Farrington attempted to evade the crowd by seeking refuge at Miller's home. Miller's wife locked the house, but members of the mob forced their way inside. Miller reportedly resisted with a club and knocked several men to the floor before being overpowered. Farrington was seized and carried away. Because Miller was approximately sixty-five years old, he was spared a physical beating, but he was mounted backward on an old blind horse and paraded through the neighboring village while the animal was repeatedly struck to make it lurch and buck.
Farrington was subjected to the punishment known as "riding the rail," a traditional punishment of public humiliation in which a person was carried through town on a wooden rail while being mocked by the crowd. He was offered his release if he would cheer for the Union, but he initially refused. The men carrying the rail reportedly jolted him up and down as they proceeded through the village.
After Miller returned, Farrington eventually gave in and was compelled to wave a Union flag and cheer for all thirty-four states then in the Union. Witnesses described his cheers as weak and reluctant. Both men were then allowed to return home. Farrington later claimed that he suffered several broken ribs as a result of the ordeal.
Authorities subsequently identified at least thirty participants in the incident, many of whom were described as prominent citizens of Wales and members of local Methodist and Baptist congregations. Those arrested were each placed under $200 bonds pending court proceedings.
Miller and Farrington also filed civil suits against approximately sixteen of the alleged participants, seeking $3,000 each. Farrington based his claim on his injuries and mistreatment, while Miller cited the insults and indignities he had suffered.
The affair remained controversial. Critics questioned Farrington's injury claims after reports indicated that he returned to work within two days. Testimony also surfaced alleging that both men had expressed sympathy for the Confederacy and had stated that Northern men who took up arms against the South deserved to be shot. Miller later maintained that he had investigated the flag incident himself and had traced the destruction of the flag to two local boys.
Writing on July 29, 1861, Miller reflected on the controversy, stating:
"I... live in hopes the time may come that I can have the privilege of expressing my political feelings, and then I shall be placed on at least an equality with the African."
The incident illustrates the intense passions, divisions, and pressures that existed in New England communities during the opening months of the Civil War, when accusations of disloyalty could provoke both legal action and extralegal punishment.
Amazon may pay the Southwick Time Machine a small commission for any purchases you make when you access your Amazon account through any of the Amazon links on this page.