PCA Archive
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
Help us uncover the story behind the gravestone. Who knows? Maybe you hold the missing piece.
.JPG)
