General Notes

[basham.ged]
1900 Census Warren County Ky   E D 93/1
1910 Census Warren County Ky  E D 111/2
Kinfolk By Opal London Cox  Page 297
Info From Raymond M Basham Letter
Info From Harold Miller Letter
Family Biography Provided By David Franke Correspondence
The Basham family came from Norfolk, England. They lived in Virgin
ia f or a while and in Breckenridge County, Kentucky, before moving to War
ren C ounty. Elsie Rhea Basham was born 8 December 1894 in Richardsvill
e, Kentuc ky. She was the daughter of Lee Merta Richards and Bartlett Wash
ington Bas ham. She attended Western Normal School in 1910 and 1911. Whi
le a stude nt there, she participated in the move to the new campus on t
he Hill. S he seemed to enjoy her studies and also played basketball.
Russell Asher Miller was born 6 April 1892 in Green Castle, Kentu
ck y. He was the son of Josephine Isabelle Miller and Timothy Frogg Mille
r. E lsie and Asher were married 18 December 1912 and lived in Warren Coun
ty. E lsie was a teacher at the Green Castle School and Asher was a farme
r. O ne day, while Asher was clearing some new ground with a horse and p
lo w, a broken tree root snapped under the plow blade and stuck him, near
ly b reaking his leg. He vowed at that time to find a better way to ma
ke a live lihood. The Millers headed north where Asher secured employme
nt with the D odge Brothers Motor Company in Detroit. He also worked in In
dianapolis Ind iana, and Covington, Kentucky. Since employment for women w
as nill, Els ie spent her time with her homemaking chores, her needle craf
ts, music, a nd art. In 1928, the Millers decided to return to Kentucky. T
hey purchas ed ten acres of land in Richardsville and Asher built a gener
al store buil ding with living quarters attached. In 1929, the Depressi
on notwithstandin g, the Millers opened their store and began what beca
me a very successf ul business. The store inventory included items from fo
ods to farm materia ls, and gasoline to farm products, wearing appar
el to building material s, and gasoline to farm animals, as well as oth
er goods.
Elsie was appointed postmaster at Richardsville in 1935 and held that p
os ition until her retirement in 1952. During these years, she and Ash
er al so purchased and ran two farming operations. A family home was bui
lt on o ne of the farms. The livestock on the farms included horses, cattl
e, pig s, and chickens. Crops grown were tobacco, hay, strawberries and co
rn. A l arge vegetable garden was also an annual project. The Millers we
re acti ve in the Methodist Church, in community affairs and in school act
ivitie s. They loved their town and the people in it. The Millers were t
he paren ts of three children: Dorothy Lee was born 6 March 1925, Hoyt Rh
ea was bo rn 3 October 1932, and Harold Asher was born 12 June 1939. Els
ie Rhea Bash am Miller died 10 May 1953. She was fifty-eight old and a vic
tim of canc er of naso-pharynx. Russell Asher Miller died in his sle
ep on 2 February 1 983. He was ninety years old. "Families of Warren Coun
ty Kentucky", pag es 60-61 Provided by David Franke correspondence