Removal1925, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California3, p 1 Age: 45
Burial30 Aug 1957, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, Los Angeles, California85,86
ResidenceMarysville, MI; Cleveland, OH; Santa Cruz, Pasadena, CA87, p 1
Residence1886 Carter Road88
Residence2218 Chatfield Dr, Cleveland Heights89
Residence2046 E. 96 St, Suite 6, Cleveland, Ohio83
ResidenceSanta Cruz; 1925-1929
Residence1550 Oakdale Street, Pasadena (1943)
Residence615 E California Blvd, Pasadena (1957)
OccupationSecretary-Treasurer, The Mills-Carleton Co. lumber business, 1886 Carter Road, Cleveland83
EducationUniversity of Michigan (Zeta Psi)
Individual Notes
• Codicil [to Nelson Mills Will] appoints son David W. Mills as joint executor with Myron W. Mills.
90, p 6,91, p 50, #172• SUIT INVOLVING OVER $1,500,000
[excerpts] A suit was begun in the circuit court on Monday afternoon which involves real and personal property amounting to a million and a half dollars. Myron W. Mills and David Mills, executors of the estate of the late Nelson Mills are the complainants, and Mary M. Mills and Hannah E. Mills, administratrixes of the estate of the late Barney Mills, are the defendants. The suit is a friendly one, and is begun for the purpose of winding up the co-partnership of N. & B. Mills.
Judge Law ordered that Myron Mills and David Mills continue the business, sell the property, and close the estate as soon as possible.
92• The marriage of Miss Maud Merrell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. G. Merrell, to Mr. David Williams Mills, of Marysville, was quietly celebrated yesterday. The ceremony took place at the home of the bride's parents, Commonwealth Avenue, and Rev. William T. Jaquess officiated. Only the immediate families were present. After the ceremony Mr. and Mrs. Mills left for a trip south, where they will pass the remainder of the winter.
93• David W. is vice president of the Mills, Gray, Carleton Lumber Company, and makes his home in Cleveland. He was married in 1909 to Miss Maud Merrell, of Detroit, and they have one son, Nelson.
12, p 684• The David W. Mills was a typical Great Lakes cargo vessel of the late 19th century. This wooden “steambarge” could carry over one million board feet of lumber. The vessel was originally named Sparta and was launched at Cleveland, Ohio on April 11, 1874. The vessel was renamed in 1910 after the manager of the Port Huron Navigation Company, the firm that owned the ship.
The Mills ran aground on Ford Shoals on August 11, 1919 in dense smog created by forest fires in Canada. Attempts to free the boat failed and it broke apart during a violent October storm.
94, p 2• Lived in Cleveland, Ohio, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Pasadena, Calif.
95• Resided at 14186 Euclid Avenue, East Cleveland.
1• D. W. Mills, of Northern Ohio Lumber & Timber Co., Cleveland, Ohio, on his recent visit to California stated his company handled principally southern pine and Douglas fir, with small quantities of California sugar and white pine and red cedar siding.
Mr. Mills says the general feeling is towards a better business than last year.
96, p 2• It is a good question why David W. Mills picked up and moved to California? I don’t know for sure, but I think I know some reasons why that might be the lumber business was changing…lumber products were becoming more mechanically produced, and that likely meant it became even more of a commodity-priced product. (The high margin days…were likely behind him…in a significantly developed and mechanized market like Cleveland. Plus, going into the 1900s…steel was king.) But in California…it was still highly undeveloped. And the lure of going west where you can lead in an immature market likely had something to do with it as well. He probably had a good payday too…and like all business owners, perhaps seized upon “an exit strategy opportunity.”
97• Mr. Mills, father of the injured young man, formerly was president of the Monterey Bay Lumber company, resigning several months ago.
13• Dear Beth
We arrived here Tuesday afternoon, Bertha having decided she would like to have another look at St. Cloud, something we had decided not to do when we left home. However, we are leaving for Duluth this afternoon and hope to be in Mackinaw Friday night and Leland early Saturday. Expect to leave Leland early next Monday and should be passing through Ogemaw sometime around noon that day and in Port Huron late afternoon.
A fine trip so far.
Love,
Dave
98• MILLS – Mr. David W. Mills, beloved husband of Mrs. Bertha Mills, father of Nelson M. Mills, grandfather of Nelson E., David W. and Donald C. Mills. Service Friday at 1:30 p.m. in the “Wee Kirk O’ the Heather,” directed by Forest Lawn Mortuary. Friends may send flowers to Stanford Convalescent Home, Palo Alto, Calif., or make contributions to the American Heart Assn.
99• David W. Mills
Funeral services for David W. Mills, 78, retired lumber executive and father of Nelson M. Mills, president of Pacific Outdoor Advertising Co., will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. today in Forest Lawn’s Wee Kirk o’ the Heather under the direction of Forest Lawn Mortuary. Mr. Mills lived at 615 E California Ave., Pasadena. He died Tuesday at Huntington Hospital, leaving his widow Bertha, his son Nelson, and three grandsons.
100
Census
• 1880 Census: Marysville, St. Clair, Michigan. Age 11/12ths, b MI.
101• 1884 Michigan Census: Port Huron Township, St. Clair, Michigan. Age 3, b MI.
102• 1894 Michigan Census: Port Huron Township, St. Clair, Michigan. Age 15, b MI.
103• 1900 Census: Marysville, St. Clair, Michigan. Age 20, b Jul 1879, MI. At school. Father b Canada (Eng); mother b MI.
104• 1900 Census: Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan. Age 20, b Jul 1879, MI. Student. Father b Canada (Eng); mother b MI.
105• 1910 Census: East Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio. Age 30, b MI. President, lumber co. Father b Canada Eng; mother b MI.
18• 1920 Census: Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga, Ohio. Age 40, b MI. Corporation official/retail lumber. Father b Nova Scotia; mother b MI.
19• 1930 Census: San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Age 50, b MI.Partner.Occupation Code 97 91: “Retail dealers: other specified dealers.” Father b Nova Scotia; mother b MI.
20• 1940 Census: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California. Age 60, b MI. Widower. 4 years of college. Has lived in same place 5 years.
106• 1950 Census: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California. Age 70, b MI. Married. Residing at 1550 Oakdale Street.
107
General
• The Wreck of the David W. Mills [excerpts]
The “David W. Mills” was a typical Great Lakes cargo vessel of the late 19th century. Measuring 202 feet by 34 feet by 13 feet, this wooden “steam barge” could carry over one million board feet of lumber. Built by Thomas Quayle and Sons Shipyard, the vessel was originally named “Sparta” and was launched at Cleveland, Ohio on April 11, 1874. The vessel was renamed in 1910 after the manager of the Port Huron Navigation Company, the firm that owned the ship. Captain Frank J. Peterson bought the “Mills” in 1919.
The “Mills” ran aground on Ford Shoals on August 11, 1919 in dense smog created by forest fires in Canada. Attempts to free the boat failed and it broke apart during a violent October storm.
108, p 2• I thought you might enjoy the knowledge that your family’s history is still actively operating in Cleveland. That’s just a great thing, I think. So I’m sending this note to share that.
NORTHERN OHIO [Lumber & Timber] is the oldest lumber company and sawmill in the State of Ohio, founded in 1864, and has been operating for 156 continuous years in downtown Cleveland. The Company (around 12-15 employees) is a wholesale, commercial lumber and building materials supplier…for Professional Contractors, not a retail lumberyard with walk-in homeowner customers. We’re still a sawmill…and cut custom heavy timber stock on a Mershon Timber Saw and an AM Timber Moulder-Planer, bought new at the time in Saginaw, Michigan — we assume by Nelson Mills — and installed here at NORTHERN OHIO in 1893. (Yes, they still operate on our Millhouse deck…we cut heavy timbers on them for other retail lumberyards and mostly commercial projects. I have attached some pictures of those machines. They were originally steam powered, but were converted to electric power in 1910.) We do other things now too…make heritage wood tabletops, doors, flooring, things like that. I joke that 156-year old companies have clearly learned to adapt. But that is totally accurate.
…with a lot of foresight and smarts, he [Nelson Mills] began assembling collaborative and timber supply partnerships (and shareholders in NORTHERN OHIO LUMBER in 1864 with Caleb Jewett and George Carleton) with multiple, local lumberyards and mills in what was then known in Cleveland as “The Lumber District,” riverfront land on a bend in the Cuyahoga River just upstream from Lake Erie called Scranton Peninsula. NORTHERN OHIO strictly milled and supplied lumber for other Yards, not the public. That didn’t stop him from also opening a local yard too though, N&B Mills. His son, David W. Mills (always signed his name DW Mills), was also a principal of NORTHERN OHIO up until the mid-1920’s or 1930’s when the company would eventually buy out all of the other Yards in the Lumber District.
We mention Nelson Mills in our history section. You can see it here:
https://noltco.com/about/#history109
Research
• find his will and probate in Los Angeles County.
Directories
• 1914: Resided at 1839 Forest Hill Avenue, East Cleveland. Secretary-Treasurer of the Mills-Carelton Co.
1915: Resided at 13112 Forest Hill Avenue, East Cleveland.
110, p 2 1923: Resided at 2218 Chatfield Drive, Cleveland Heights. Secretary, The Northern Ohio Lumber and Timber Co.
1925: same business. Residence: Fenway Hall Hotel.
1926: no listing in Cleveland.
110• 1926: Residence: 406 E. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, Calif.
1936: Residence: 692 S. Grand Avenue, Pasadena, Calif.
87, p 1• 1942: Residence: 1340 N Harper Ave, Los Angeles, Calif.
111
Spouses
Birth18 Feb 1881, Michigan City, LaPorte, Indiana112,2
Death27 Jan 1937, Pasadena, Los Angeles, California112 Age: 55
BurialForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, Los Angeles, California112
Residenceof Anthony, Kansas (1903)113
Death causeaortic aneurysm112
Individual Notes
• Father is Edward G. Merrell; mother’s maiden name: Helen Hoyt.
112• Middle name is Mitchell.
1• Clue for the marriage of Maud Mitchell Merrell and her first husband is the Marriage Certificate of David Williams Mills and herself: “and who has been previously married one time, and whose maiden name was Maud M. Merrell.”
114• Her second marriage.
18• Miss Maud Merrell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. G. Merrell, was quietly married on Thursday, to David Williams Mills, of Marysville. The ceremony was performed by Rev. William T. Jacquess, at the home of the bride’s parents on Commonwealth avenue, only the immediate families being present. Mr. and Mrs. Mills have left for the south, where they will pass the remainder of the winter.
115• Her residence at the time of her father’s death is Fenway Hall Hotel (4 Aug 1924).
116, p 2• Mrs. David Mills Died Yesterday at Pasadena Home (Santa Cruz Sentinel, 29 Jan 1937)
News has been received from Pasadena announcing the death of Mrs. David W. Mills formerly of this city.
Death was caused boy a heart attack and apparently Mrs. Mills had been in good health a few minutes before her passing.
Mr. and Mrs. Mills came to this city in 1925 and were prominent in the community life until 1929, Mr. Mills being connected as president with the Monterey Bay Redwood Company and was succeeded by J. A. Harris.
Mrs. Mills leaves to mourn her death her husband, son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Mills and their small son.
Mrs. J. A. Harris and Mrs. Frank G. Wilson will leave early this morning for Pasadena to attend the funeral services which will be held at Forest Lawn Memorial Saturday at 2 p. m.
3• MILLS – Mrs. Maud Mills, 692 South Grand Avenue, passed away Jan. 27, 1937. She was the beloved wife of David W. Mills, and mother of Nelson Mills. Funeral services will be held Saturday at 3:30 p. m. at the Wee Kirk o’ the Heather, Glendale. Forest Lawn Memorial Park Association, Inc., in charge.
117• Harold remembers very well the funeral of Maud Mills at Forest Lawn in 1937. It was pouring rain. Her death had been sudden and unexpected. She was small of stature, was high strung, and smoked heavily.
14, p 2• My former next door neighbor used to speak of Maude Merrell as they were about the same age and were cousins through the Halls as Charles W. Hoyt’s wives were daughters of Ezra Knapp and Mary Hall, the eldest child of General Isaac Hall.
118, p 1
Census
• 1895 Kansas Census: Anthony, Harper, Kansas. Age 14, b IN.
119• 1900 Census: Anthony, Harper, Kansas. Age 19, b IN. Parents b NY. Listed as Maud M Merrell.
120• 1910 Census: East Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio. Age 29, b IN. Parents b NY. Second marriage.
18• 1920 Census: Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga, Ohio. Age 38, b IN. Parents b NY.
19• 1930 Census: San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Age 49, b IN. Parents b NY. Age 23 at 1st marriage.
20
Marriage Notes
• Mills - Merrell.
The marriage of Miss Maud Merrell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. G. Merrell, to Mr. David Williams Mills, of Marysville, was quietly celebrated yesterday. The ceremony took place at the home of the bride’s parents, Commonwealth avenue, and Rev. William T. Jaquiess officiated. Only the immediate families were present. After the ceremony Mr. and Mrs. Mills left for a trip south, where they will pass the remainder of the winter.
93• Rev. William T. Jaques is pastor of the Trumball Ave. Presbyterian Church, h. 90 Avery Ave.
121, p 3• Married one year in 1910 Census.
18
Birth7 Apr 1876, Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana95, states 1877,23, day & month only,123, month, year & place,124,125, states 9 Apr 1876
Death13 Feb 1966, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan126, p 2 Age: 89
MemoCadillac Nursing Home
Burial15 Feb 1966, Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan126, p 2,127
MemoSection G, Lot 38; “next to Mr. Weber”
ResidenceHer residence in California started August 1941.128
Death causecongestive heart failure126, p 2
FatherJohn R. GOODIER (1837-1924)
MotherSarah ROSS (1850-1931)
Individual Notes
• Name given as Bertha G. Weber.
95, p 4• Arrived Port of New York, widow, 16 Jun 1938, from Naples, Italy.
125• We arrived here Tuesday afternoon, Bertha having decided she would like to have another look at St. Cloud.
98• Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything about Bertha after 1957. Neither Otto or Bertha are buried here in St. Cloud.
129, p 1• I remember the day she left vividly; we were waiting in the living room for her family/friends to pick her up. Not too much talk; seemed a little somber. And when, they arrived I was on the Oak Grove front porch saying goodbye. I thought they drove her to either Ohio or Michigan (I probably thought that because that were the Mills family came from).
I think it was a Saturday afternoon as Matsu's truck was out front. I didn't fully understand what was going on or who these people were. I sensed that we would never see her again and when it was over, Dad was relieved.
Sorry I can't remember more about the specifics; I was just too young.
Don
130• My recollection is that she moved to Florida.
131• Thanks, Don...I was not aware of this at all. I probably was up north at Stanford, so the timing would be in the fall of 1957 I surmise. Would you agree?
Dave
Reply from Don: Yes, I think it was in the late Fall; perhaps, late October or early November. It wasn't a cold day but it was not an Indian summer afternoon, either.
I believe Dad received a letter approximately 2 weeks after she left indicating she had settled in and was doing well. I don't think it came from her and to the best of my knowledge, Dad had very little contact afterwards. This closed a book for Dad.
Don
132
Census
• 1880 Census: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana. Age 4, b IN.
133• 1900 Census: Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan. Age 24, b Apr 1876, IN. Single. School Teacher. Father b OH; mother b PA. Daughter in household of John R Goodier.
134• 1910 Census: Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan. Age 34, b IN. Father b IN; mother b PA. Married 5 years, no children.
135• 1920 Census: St. Cloud, Stearns, Minnesota. Age 45, b IN. Father b IN; mother b PA. No children listed. Her mother, Sarah Goodier, living in household.
136• 1930 Census: St. Cloud, Stearns, Minnesota. Age 50. Listed as Bertha E Weber.
137• 1940 Census: St. Cloud, Stearns, Minnesota. Age 63, b MI. Widow. Has lived 5 years in same house.
138• 1950 Census: Pasadena, Los Angeles, California. Age 73, b IN. Married.
107
Marriage12 Apr 1941, Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada95, p 4; year only,23, p G34; year only,128, date only,139,140
Marriage Notes
• Mrs. Weber To Marry Former Local Resident
Interesting in today’s social news is the announcement from California of the approaching marriage of Mrs. Bertha Goodier Weber, St. Cloud, Minn., and David Williams Mills, Pasadena, Calif., former local resident. They will be married at a ceremony Saturday at Las Vegas, Nev. Mrs. Weber is well known in Port Huron. She has been a frequent visitor at the Stanley McFarland home. Mr. Mills is the brother of Mrs. Emeline Elliott, Huron avenue, and Myron Mills, Marysville.
The news was announced at a buffet luncheon Sunday at the home of Mr. Mills’ son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Mills, San Marino, Calif. The luncheon followed the christening of the Mills’ infant son, David William.
139• On Sunday, April 6, following the christening of their infant son, David William, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Mills of San Marino, California, entertained at a buffet luncheon honoring Mrs. O. L. E. Weber of St. Cloud. Announcement was made at the luncheon of the approaching marriage of Mr. Mills’ father, David Williams Mills and Mrs. Weber, which will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, April 12.
141