Notes
This photograph was taken for a newspaper article published in the "Roanoke Times" in Roanoke, Virginia. The picture and article were published on May 22, 1955. This photograph shows Elvira Henry Miller (1850–1955), great-great-granddaughter of Patrick Henry.
Elvira Henry Miller, often referred to as “Miss Ella,” was born at Red Hill on October 9, 1850. She descends through Patrick Henry’s last son, John Henry (1796–1868), and John’s daughter, Margaret Ann Henry Miller (1827–1881), her mother.
In 1852, her family relocated from Red Hill to Lynchburg, Virginia. She was educated in private schools and attended Hollins College in Roanoke. She never married; however, she was involved in church, civic, and patriotic affairs and became a very prominent citizen of Lynchburg.
She co-founded and was a member of the Lynchburg Committee of the Colonial Dames and the Blue Ridge Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was also a member of the First Baptist Church of Lynchburg for 87 years, as well as the founder of the Church Missionary Society. She was also dedicated to the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation in the restoration of Red Hill, and was involved in the Patrick Henry Boys’ Plantation on the same estate.
The newspaper article features Miss Ella, who was recognized and honored by the Colonial Dames of America at its annual session on Friday, May 27, 1955, for her dedication. The session was held at the historic Wilton House, which was the Richmond headquarters of the organization at the time. Two Hepplewhite tables, replacing “two card tables in the parlor alcoves” listed in the inventory of Wilton in 1820, were given and marked with plaques.
Elvira Henry Miller was the oldest of her 12 siblings and the last to die. She died on July 24, 1955, at the age of 104 from a heart attack. Services were held at her residence by Dr. William W. Shrader, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Lynchburg. She was later buried at Spring Hill Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia.
This photograph was gifted to the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation on October 23, 2024, by Jane Gammon Shore (1942–living), a descendant of Patrick Henry, through his youngest son, John Henry. She descends through John’s daughter, Margaret Ann Henry Miller, through Margaret’s daughter, Rose Cabell Miller Gammon (1868–1954), and finally to Rose’s son, Dr. William Miller Gammon (1900–1970). Jane Gammon Shore is the daughter of Dr. William Miller Gammon.