Archief jhse-162 - Israel Miller family fonds

Israel Miller was born in 1892 in Kapulia, Belarus. As a young boy, he emigrated to America, first joining family in Boston, then working in the sweatshops of New York, then homesteading in Nebraska. He took the Canadian Government's offer of land for $10 an acre and settled in Alberta. He arrived in Alberta in 1914, choosing land near Alliance, 120 miles southeast of Edmonton. In 1918, he married Esther Waterman. Born in Romania, she came to Trochu, Alberta where her family homesteaded in 1908. Israel and Esther had six children: Evelyn, Ethel, Stan, Ruth, Mona and Clarice. In 1923, the family moved to Edson. There, Israel opened a "Gent's Furnishing Store," peddling clothing along the railway lines. They returned to Alliance in 1925, where Israel opened a general store. Esther died in 1933 of cancer. In 1944 the family moved to Edmonton, where Israel opened a clothing store in the northeast end, then a convenience store on Jasper Avenue. In 1950, he moved to Vermilion, where he opened a variety store and became President of the Board of Trade. He married Jennie Levy Marcus in 1957 and they moved to Edmonton in 1963. Israel belonged to the Beth Israel Synagogue, Histadrut, the I.O.O.F. Lodge and the Golden Age Club. He died in 1973, Jennie in 1976. Evelyn graduated in Commerce. Ethel married Ralph Allman and had four children: Danny, Esther, Philip and Lawrence. Stan married Miriam Levine, and they had two children: Joe and Monica. Miriam died in 1962. Stan re-married Esther Helman, and they had three sons: Jaimie, Charles and Andy. Stan died in 1991. Ruth married Harry Nolan. They had two daughters, Janice and Carla. Mona married Norm Witten, and had three boys: Mark, Stephen and Randy. Clarice married Ted Bell and had two children: Nancy and David.