For over a century, the Knights of Pythias Cemetery has held an unusual grave marker. Unlike the typical headstone, it was a large, smooth, pink granite boulder inscribed with a barely visible inscription: “In Adoring Memory of Jay.” But who was Jay?
In the late afternoon of November 25, 2006, longtime PCA volunteer Diane Sumrall was picking up trash in the cemetery. As she passed Jay’s boulder, she chanced to glance up at the underside of the stone. The setting sun was just at the right angle to reveal another faint inscription that had been hidden from view. It read “H. Miller.” Mystery solved!
Jay H. Miller was born in California on January 7, 1865, to James Miller of Tennessee and Susan Sawyer Miller. Mr. Miller seems to have died before 1870, as the 1870 census records only Susan, a seamstress, her son Jay, and her mother Abigale in Sacramento. By 1880, Susan was living with teenaged Jay and her new husband, John W. Hughes.
Jay Miller moved to Phoenix around 1887, where he began working for the newly established Maricopa & Phoenix Railroad. He eventually became the Maricopa & Phoenix Railroad’s commercial agent in Phoenix, responsible for running its freight department.
With increased responsibility came a better salary. Around 1892, Miller acquired a large lot at the southeast corner of Seventh and Pierce Streets. He hired C. J. Dyer to create a plat map and subdivided the lot into 10 individual smaller lots. By 1895, the Phoenix Street Railway system had been extended so it ran along Pierce Street in front of Miller’s property; easy access to the streetcar line must have increased its value and potential for development.
On the evening of September 7, 1895, Miller shared some drinks with companions at the Cabinet Saloon on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and Washington Street. Around 10 PM, he stepped out into the alley behind his office with a Mr. Conroy. A few moments later, two shots rang out and Conroy ran for help, saying that Miller had killed himself.
The Arizona Republican newspaper covered the coroner’s inquest in great detail. Almost 50 individuals testified about Miller’s activities that night, and several indicated that he sometimes seemed despondent and had spoken of suicide in the past.
Jay Miller was buried in the Knights of Pythias Cemetery. Since he had died intestate, his mother was his sole heir. Undoubtedly it was she who had the pink granite boulder inscribed with his name and installed on his grave as a tombstone.
- - by Diane Sumrall, Debe Branning, Derek Horn
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