William Miller, 15th (18th) Governor of N.C.-- Part 3

From NC Home site.

Born in 1783 and by 1805 was practicing law and was a large landowner.

In 1810, the governor appointed him attorney general.  Served in six consecutive General Assemblies, the last three as Speaker of the House as well.

On November 29, 1814, the North Carolina General Assembly appointed him as the 15th governor of the state.  He served three terms before leaving office.  (One source I've read says he was the 18th governor.  Wikipedia has a complete list of North Carolina governors and he is the 18th.  The 15th governor was David Stone.)

The War of 1812 was ending as he took office as governor, but he fully supported it and President Madison's policies.  Once the war was over, he was pressed by the general Assembly to buy a full length statue of George Washington.   Antonio Canova was  hired to make it in 1815 and it arrived at the statehouse in 1821.

That statue was unfortunately destroyed by a fire in 1831.

--Brock-Perry

William Miller, War of 1812 Governor of North Carolina-- Part 2

After the war, as governor of North Carolina, he lent his support to early efforts to establish a system of public education in the state.  He also helped improve internal state trade and transportation and a revision of the penal code and judicial system.

One of his appointees to the  bench was instrumental in the organization of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

After his terms, President John Quincy Adams appointed Miller as diplomatic agent to Guatemala.  He died of yellow fever en route to assume his new post.

It is believed he was buried at sea.

--Brock-Perry

William Miller, Governor of North Carolina-- Part 1: Supported Madison's Military Policy

From the December 10, 2020, Elizabeth City (NC) Daily Advance  "Week in NC History: William Miller, Governor during the War of 1812."

On December 10, 1825, former Governor William Miller died in Key West, Florida.

Born around 1783 in Warren County., Miller worked  as a private lawyer, the state's attorney general and a member of the General Assembly before first being elected as governor in 1814.  He went on to serve three terms in that post, and was the first to occupy   the newly completed Governors' Palace at the south end of Raleigh's Fayetteville Street.

Active on the national political stage, Miller supported the military policies of  President James Madison during the concluding weeks of the War of 1812 by ordering out additional militia units for potential service on the southern frontier.

--Brock-Perry