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KANAHWA COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA - BIOS: MILLER, Randall
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Submitted to the West Virginia Biographies Project by:
SSpradling@aol.com
September 19, 1999
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History of Kanawha County
George W. Atkinson
1876
p. 326-327
RANDALL MILLER
Randall Miller, better known in Kanawha as "Uncle Dock, the teamster," was
born at Goochland Court House, Virginia, on the James river, forty miles from
Richmond, about the year 1795. He was a slave, and had no means of knowing
exactly when he was born. The nearest that he can arrive at his age, is from
the fact, that he was nearly grown when the war of 1812 with Great Britain
took place. He was owned by Humphrey Paraish, and at the marriage of his
daughter with Willis McKain, uncle Dock became the property of the latter.
Mr. McKain moved to Charlottesvflle, when Uncle Dock was about eighteen years
of age, and hired him to the person who had the contract for building the
main building of the University of Virginia. He remained there three years,
and says that he saw President Jefferson nearly every day during that time.
>From Charlottesville he moved with his master, Mr. McKain, to Cabell county,
where he remained for about fifteen years. When about thirty-five years of
age, he was sold to Ezra Walker, who brought him to Charleston, and for
eleven years he drove a team for Mr. Frederick Brooks, during which time he
laid by a sufficiency of money, with which he purchased his freedom.
After he became free, he purchased a team, and drove a hack between
Charleston and the most celebrated mineral springs in the Alleghany
Mountains, during the summer seasons ; while in the winter, he did job work
with his team in and about Charleston. He is now too old to perform hard
labor, yet he is in good health, and does not seem to be very much
inconvenienced from his advanced age.
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