Halbert Winchester Miller and Della Schaal Miller Family Papers

Halbert Winchester Miller was born to Albert Miller(1859-1909) and Lydia Antoinette Nettie Halbert (1873-1963) on August 4, 1887 on a farm near Tempe. His father, Albert Miller, was successful in business and owned the Arizona Merchantile Company in Tempe, was a director of the Tempe Irrigating Canal Company and the Tempe Produce Company, and was a stockholder in the Tempe National Bank. His grandfather, Winchester Miller (1835-1893) was the president of the Tempe Irrigating Canal Companay, a Maricopa County sherriff in the 1870s-1880s, a Confederate veteran, and trustee of Tempe School District Number Three. His mother, Nettie Halbert, was the daughter of Andrew Jackson A. J. Halbert (1842-1898). A. J. Halbert was Maricopa County supervisor (1882-1884), the ninth sheriff of Maricopa County (1887-1888), postmaster of Tempe (1892), a Confederate veteran, and second cousin to Senator Carl Hayden through his grandmother Eliza Halbert Davis.

Halbert Winchester Miller met Della Schaal (1887-1971) while they were students at Tempe Normal School. Halbert was the Tempe Normal School class of 1908 president and Della was the secretary. Halbert and Della graduated from Tempe Normal School in 1908. Della Schaal was the daughter of Otto Anthony Schaal(1844-1922) who was a Confederate veteran and Loucetta Green. Halbert married Della Schaal in 1910 and the couple had two children: Halbert Benjamin Miller (1913-1981) and Carl Anthony Miller (1916-2015).

Halbert started working for the State Department of Vocational Education as supervisor of vocational education in 1924 and was the director of vocational education from 1929 to 1931. Halbert earned a bachelor degree from the University of Arizona in 1929 and a Master of Science degree in Agriculture from the State Agricultural College of Colorado at Fort Collins in 1931.

After working in private business, Halbert Wichester Miller returned to vocational education as supervisor of Food Production War Training until 1946 when was named specialist in Food Conservation and Farm Mechanics. In 1957, he became Assistant State Supervisor of Agricultural Education and held the position until he retired in 1958. After retirement Halbert served as a consultant for Farm Mechanics in the state department of vocational education.

Halbert Winchester Miller served as member of the Tempe School Board and two terms on the Tempe City Council and Tucson City Council as well as eight years as treasurer of the Board of Regents of the University of Arizona.

Sources: Miller, Halbert Winchester bibliographic data, 1959 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11908389/della-miller https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11908394/halbert-winchester-miller https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11908250/andrew-jackson-halbert https://www.tempe.gov/government/community-services/tempe-history-museum/tempe-history/winchester-miller http://www.arizonahistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/upLoads/library_Lamar-John.pdf