John Wesley Miller's parents: Gaither Miller and Mary Ann Haynes

Gaither W. Miller (March 10, 1828-March 12, 1906, born in Courtney, N.C.) and Mary Ann Haynes (Feb. 1, 1833-April 9, 1896), whom he married on Sept. 26, 1855, lived in a big house in Yadkin County, N.C., which now belongs to and has been restored by relative Lester Miller. Mary Ann's father had given them 50 acres when they married, and Gaither added 50 more.

Their children, in addition to John Wesley Miller (June 8, 1868-Feb. 4, 1916), were Luther Franklin Miller (Sept. 10, 1856 or 1858-April 8, 1926) and Mary Alice Miller (May 15, 1877-).

Gaither helped build the first courthouse in Yadkin County.

During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers hid in the house. In 1861 or 1862, Union soldiers came there, and Gaither took his gun and hid down in the woods. He told his wife that she should yell if they hurt anyone and that he would then come out and kill them. The soldiers lifted the covers off of 5-year-old Luther, who was sleeping, but respected his mother's plea not to wake him. They left peaceably.

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Above, me, and below, first cousins David Edwards and Dee Ann Edwards, at the graves of Gaither W. Miller and Mary Ann Haynes Miller, our great-great-grandparents, at Flat Rock Baptist Cemetery near Hamptonville, in Yadkin County, N.C., in November 2011. Many other relatives, especially from the Gough side of the family, are also buried here. (See the lower posts with deeper family genealogies for more information.)

Below, the graves of Mary Ann Haynes Miller's parents, John Haynes (1815-1870) and Rebecca Shinn Haynes (1816-1862), also at Flat Rock.