HENRY MILLER (aka Kreiser) ----- The Cattle King, and Father of Los Banos
Surnames: LUX, HILDRETH, SHELDON, NICKEL, STOCKTON, McCLELLAND, SCHOTTKY
Few among the names of those pioneers who did the big things in
helping to develop and build up California into the Golden State have
come to have half of the fascination of romance and the glamor of renown
such as surrounds the honored name of Henry Miller, the cattle king of
California and father of Los Banos, whose story is the narrative, like
that of a fairy tale, of the remarkable career of a man who industry,
intellect and integrity conquered one of the most promising, and in
truth one of the richest empires on the face of the earth. A butcher
boy in the days of his San Francisco youth, he won lands and amassed a
fortune above that of many a king, and was lord, not only of all that he
could survey, but of twice the area of the kingdom of Belgium. He
reached his ninetieth year, and it is safe to say that nearly
eighty-five of those years were periods of hard toil, and strenuous
activity.
Henry Miller was born in Brackenheim Wurtemberg, Germany, on July
21, 1827, and grew up a farmer's boy, familiar with country life from
early childhood. When fourteen years old, he had among other duties the
job watching over a flock of geese; but one day he walked home, leaving
the geese to look after themselves, and informed his astonished and
skeptical sister that he was through with that sort of slow routine and
was going out into the world to do something for himself. Two or three
years were spent in Holland and England, and then, setting sail for New
York, the ambitious young German was engaged as a butcher in the small
city even then the New World's metropolis. The discovery of gold in
California in 1848 attracted not only the attention of most of the
civilized world, but it seized hold of Henry Miller with such a grip
that in the famous Argonaut year of '49 he joined the hurrying throngs
trying to cross the Isthmus of Panama, and himself sought the new El
Dorado. Upon arriving in Panama, Henry Miller, then only twenty-two
years of age, discovered an exceptionally good opportunity for engaging
in business, and there formed a partnership with an American; but the
enterprise had been launched only a few weeks, when Miller was stricken
with Panama fever---a most serious malady at that time of inadequate
medical skill and attendance. When he had sufficiently recovered to
hobble down to his business house, he discovered that his partner had
swamped the business beyond all possibility of salvation, so that when
all the bills had been paid, Miller had sufficient cash to obtain
passage to San Francisco, where he landed in 1850, with just five
dollars in his pocket, and a walking stick in his hand. He was still
weak, from the effects of the fever, but he resolutely hobbled forth to
seek employment, and made it a point to call at every business house
along Montgomery Street. Usually, he met with disappointment; but
before the day was over, he had engaged himself to a butcher.
A young man of Henry Miller's natural and already developed ability
could not be expected to accept employment from another person very
long, and after the San Francisco fire in 1851, he leased a lot on
Jackson Street, erected a one-story building, and there opened a retail
butcher shop, and this unpretentious business store with its very small
stock but early openings and late closings became the cornerstone of the
Miller fortunes. He went down into the valleys below San Francisco,
purchased beef cattle and drove them into the city for butchering; and
in these journeyings about the country he became well acquainted with
the cattle-raisers of the state and their conditions. There were
several large competitors in the butcher business in San Francisco at
that time, and among them was one in particular, Charles W. Lux, who was
soon to appreciate Miller's capabilities. In 1857, Henry Miller visited
the cattle raising regions and quietly secured options on all the
available beef cattle north of the Tehachapi range, and when the
astonished buyers of his competitors appeared there were no beeves to be
had by them. This splendid stroke of enterprise, marked at that time,
enabled Miller to make his own terms with Lux and others, and
partnership with Lux was the immediate outgrowth of the puzzling situation.
The new firm entered the field vigorously, and gradually began to
acquire lands upon which to graze its herd, for when Miller & Lux began
their business as a firm, a vast domain of unfenced grazing land existed
in the great sweep of valleys and western slopes of the Sierra Nevada
range---in fact, millions of acres were unclaimed from the Government.
As the population increased, and the business of Miller & Lux expanded,
it became necessary to increase the acreage held for grazing purposes,
and Spanish grants were bought at prices that would astonish the
ranchmen today. A Square mile could then be purchased at a figure now
quoted for a single acre, and in those days even cowboy employees took
up Government land under the preemption, homestead and desert-land acts,
and after acquiring a title would dispose of it to their employers for a
few cents an acre. In this way, and by purchasing the rights of
discouraged ranchers, the vast and tremendously valuable Miller & Lux
empire was obtained. It required foresight to inspire the investors,
the power of looking ahead and discerning what so many others with equal
opportunities failed to discover; but it also required courage, nerve to
carry the deals through.
One of the most notable purchases made by this epoch-making firm was
the great Santa Anita rancho of 100,000 acres near Los Banos, which was
obtained from Hildreth & Hildreth with its vast herds, soon after Henry
Miller's advent in the San Joaquin Valley; and the Hildreth brand of
three bars, crossed through the center became the Miller & Lux brand for
many years thereafter. And whatever or where-ever the brand of Miller &
Lux was to be found, one might bank upon it that it represented a
desirable, superior quality, for the secret of the rise of Henry Miller
to the position of millionaire cattle baron was his remarkable knowledge
of cattle, and an equally remarkable knowledge of men.
It is stated that Henry Miller at one time had the ambition to own
the whole of California, but whether that be true or not, it is known
that he was never anxious to part with lands after he had once acquired
them, especially if they were suitable for grazing purposes, and he was
ever ready to invest all surplus cash in the purchase of land. It is
said, on the other hand, that Charles Lux at one time became frightened
at his partner's purchasing proclivities, and sought to retire from the
business. "Mr. Miller, we now have $100,000 in the bank in cash, and I
think that this is an opportune time to dissolve partnership. Let us
settle up." "You say that we have $100,000 in cash?" replied Mr.
Miller. "Well, wait until I return from this trip." When Mr. Miller
came back, Mr. Lux found that the firm had just invested in more land to
the tune of $100,000, for Miller could not pass up a good chance to
invest in acreage when the cash lay temptingly at hand. While Mr. Lux
was a good financier and office man, there is no doubt of the fact that
he was made a millionaire in spite of himself, and that he owed much of
his own prosperity to his more aggressive partner. He could not let go
when he wished to, and he remained a member of the firm until his death
in 1887.
Henry Miller reckoned his holdings by the square mile, not by the
acre, and a bit of evidence he gave in court some years
ago---entertaining reading today. "In taking it ranch after ranch," he
said, "In Santa Clara County it has a extent of twenty-four miles north
and south, and about seven to eight miles east and west. In Merced
County we have thirty-six miles north and south, and then about
thirty-two miles east and west. The Malheur property is an extent of
ninety miles northwest to southeast, and about sixty miles north to
south. Then comes the purchase of what we call the Todhunter & Devine
property. That lies in Harney County, Ore., and comprises over
seven-tenths of 125 miles north and south and about seventy-five miles
east and west, with a good distance in between. There is no doubt
whatever, however, that the amount of the Miller & Lux holdings have
been greatly overestimated. A special writer for one of the noted San
Francisco dailies gave an estimate of 14,539,000 acres, but behind these
astounding figures was a journalistic purpose of exaggerating, for with
ownership and leases combined, the total would not reach half of that
figure. The richest holdings are in Merced and Madera counties, and
amount to probably 350,000 acres. The Buttonwillow district will swell
the total by 200,000 more, and Fresno County and other districts will
probably increase the San Joaquin holdings to 700,000 acres, and there
are nearly 20,000 acres in the region of Gilroy, and other, smaller
tracts scattered over the state. The Miller & Lux acreage in the states
of Nevada and Oregon will bring the grand total up to nearly 3,000,000
acres. It is a common saying among stockmen that Henry Miller could
travel from the Idaho line to the Mexican border and camp on his own
land every night; and no other man in America ever has, or ever will
again, control such an immense acreage of agricultural lands. It almost
staggers belief that this tremendous empire was owned and occupied by
one man's interests, and was nearly all under his personal supervision.
Henry Miller was almost continually on the move in the years of his
health and activity, for he did most of his work in the days before the
automobile, though he was one of the first to import a fine French car.
He came to dislike the machine, however, owing to the rough roads he
was generally compelled to travel, and in rather short order he
discarded it again, and once more took to either his favorite buggy or
buckboard, in making his round of visits across the vast Miller & Lux
ranches.
In 1860, Henry Miller was married to Miss Sarah Wilmarth Sheldon, a
lady of culture and refinement, and two daughters and a son were born to
them. Henry Miller, Jr., died in his fortieth year, survived by a
widow, an honored resident of Gilroy. The youngest daughter, Miss Sarah
Alice, was killed by a runaway horse. Another daughter, Mrs. J. Leroy
Nickel, has resided at 2101 Laguna Street, San Francisco, and it was at
her residence that Mr. Miller expired, on October 14, 1916. George
Nickel, a grandson of the famous pioneer, has resided on the Ortigalito
ranch, eight miles to the southeast of Los Banos. The immediate life
estate was left to Mrs. Nickel and her husband, who had taken a leading
hand in the management of the Miller & Lux properties, and some $225,000
for surviving relatives of Mr. and Mrs. Miller, and $30,000 in smaller
amount to employees, were provided for by bequests in the will.
A notable achievement of Henry Miller was his organization and
control of the San Joaquin & Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company,
and not a few of his enterprises were productive of much benefit to
others, as well as to himself and near of kin. William J. Stockton, the
pioneer, who first became acquainted with Mr. Miller in 1872, soon
overcame his prejudices to great landholders and found that Miller was
performing a great service to other folks seeking to establish
themselves; the pioneer could go to his straw-stacks and get straw for
the asking, and to Canal Farm and get a cow; and such courtesies were
given to rich and poor alike. When the section from Los Banos to Newman
was in dire straits for water, Henry Miller, at a cost of some
$3,000,000 built a canal and delivered water to the people, without an
extra cent cost to them. He also made a present to the county of a road
built at an expense of $45,000, and running to the San Joaquin River.
He was born to rule, to lead, to point the way to others, and to get
there himself; he testified in court that during the hard times in the
five years following Mr. Lux's death, he made $1,700,000 a year, or
$8,000,000 in five years, an amount that seems almost incredible, but
which must be true. Henry Miller was of striking personal appearance,
and in his prime was a exact image of General U. S. Grant. He was
simple in his habits, and would tolerate no homage from anyone. Dr. J.
L. McClelland said, when Mr. Miller died: "He has endowed no colleges,
but he had given millions as he went along without exacting any pledge
of remembrance, or making any condition of publicity. There are
thousands of humble men and widows who can testify that his giving of
valuable land and goodly sums of coin has been in strict accord with the
Scripture admonition, "Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand
doeth." And Andrew R. Schottky, the distinguished lawyer, said: "I saw
a poor butcher boy coming from
Germany to California; I saw him accumulating vast acreages of land on
the Pacific Coast; I saw thousands of happy and prosperous homes on land
developed and sold by him; I saw no instance of colonists being
defrauded and impoverished by being placed on poor land at high prices.
Underthinking persons will perhaps censure him for his great wealth,
but the fair minded will think of the fact that in accumulating his
wealth, he developed land and took advantage of opportunity, but did not
crush and destroy men. When all is said and done, his was a life of
intense usefulness, and his contribution to the present and the future
of California is large. The words of Mark Anthony at the death of
Brutus are peculiarly appropriate at the death of Henry Miller: 'This
was a man!'"
Transcribed by Joseph Kral, from Eugene T. Sawyers' History of Santa Clara County,California, published by Historic Record Co. , 1922. page 351
HENRY MILLER HOME- Mt. Madonna- Clampers Site
RETURN TO SANTA CLARA COUNTY PIONEER BIOGRAPHIES