It was an off-the-cuff remark from my aunt in New Hampshire. But that off-the-cuff remark sent me on a detailed investigation.
And wow … I found out a lot.
Background.
As I prepared for this solar eclipse photography trip, I spoke with my Aunt Elaine – she used to operate the Golden Past Antiques store in the Wolfeboro / Center Tuftonboro area for decades. I told her that I planned to travel to San Antonio for the best eclipse photos possible.
She then told me that I might have family down there – specifically, relatives of my Grandpa Ben.
Wait … what?
Apparently Benjamin Miller had two brothers, David Miller and Melvin Miller, and in the 1950’s those Millers were involved in land development in the San Antonio area. They built several man-made lakes, including the property that is now known as Lake LBJ (President Lyndon Johnson bought the property after his Presidency ended).
Well, David Miller had three children, and my aunt Elaine told me that they may still be in San Antonio.
So … do you know what happens when Chuck Miller gets a nibble of information and wants more nibbles?
Of course you do. You’ve read this blog before.
Now it’s already difficult enough to find a specific “Miller” in San Antonio. I might have better luck trying to find a specific “Yoder” in Amish country. But I eventually did find some connections, starting with this obituary.
From there, I was able to find out that two of David and Helen Miller’s three children still live in San Antonio (another son lives in Rhode Island).
This is tremendous. For the longest time, I thought my Aunt Elaine was the only remaining living connection on my father’s side – and technically, the last remaining connection to my beloved Grandma Betty. Now I find out that there are several other connections in the Miller family. Oh, the stories they can tell me. Oh, the stories I can tell them.
Suddenly, this eclipse trip has expanded in importance.
And yesterday, on the final day of my San Antonio eclipse vacation trip, I met those family members.
We gathered for some Tex-Mex food and talked about the extended Miller family, where the family originated from in Europe (I had always thought it was Latvia, but there are some distinct links to Russia, maybe a few to Ukraine or another Eastern Europe nation), and why the family moved from New England to Texas (the ability to build new residential neighborhoods near man-made lakes and the like).
For example … I now know that I have a familial connection to a shoe store in Beverly, Massachusetts. Specifically … this store.
That is Alcon’s Shoes at 149 Cabot Street in Beverly, Mass. The business no longer exists, but the Alcon is Al Cohen, another family connection. So the more I look, the more I discover. For sure.
This is amazing. Straight-up amazing. And I can’t believe this is even happening.
But I’m enjoying every minute of it. And I want to lean more. For sure.
We all took a group photo together, and now I have a new photo for my photo album. Again … coolness all around. 😀
Chuck The Writer 
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