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Presidential signatures and ephemera collection of Parker and Joane Miller, 1790-1956

 

Summary

Creator:
Miller, Joane
Miller, Parker
Abstract:
Collection of presidential signatures and related ephemera from 1790 through 1956.
Extent:
1 boxes One large archival box (approximately 1.25 linear ft.)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Presidential signatures and ephemera collection of Parker and Joane Miller, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL.

Background

Scope and content:

A single bound notebook with individual documents signed by the first 32 Presidents of the United States (George Washington through Harry S. Truman). All signatures and documents date from 1790 to 1956. There's also commemorative coins from the Franklin Mint that celebrates notable American history events. Many signatures appear on documents created either prior to or after the official term(s) of office of the President.

Biographical / historical:

Parker Everard Miller's family maintained homes in Ohio and Florida. During the 1920s, members of the family often spent their winter months in St. Petersburg. By 1930, they had moved into a large home in the Jungle Shores subdivision along the waterfront side of Park Street, about ½ mile north of H. Walter Fuller's Jungle Country Club Hotel (now Admiral Farragut Academy). Parker's mother, Mrs. Helen Miller, had started to collect presidential signatures during the mid-1920s and continued to acquire documents that were placed in this scrapbook as her son completed his studies at the Florida Military Academy and Clemson University.

Parker served in the military during the Second World War. He received two purple hearts for wounds acquired during the Battle of the Bulge. Parker married Joane in the early 1950s and he took possession of his mother's scrapbook and maintained it as a family heirloom. With his interests in numismatics and American history, he began to collect commemorative coins. Parker Miller passed away on 30 March 1997.

Acquisition information:
Joane Miller, a resident of Redington Beach and widow of Parker E. Miller, donated the materials in this collection in two separate accessions. In early 1999, the library received a single bound notebook with individual documents signed by the first thirty-two Presidents of the United States (George Washington through Harry S. Truman). A subsequent accession in August 2000 included a collection of commemorative coins from the Franklin Mint that celebrates notable events in American history.

Access and use

Terms of access:

None. The contents of the collection may be subject to copyright. Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.

Preferred citation:

Presidential signatures and ephemera collection of Parker and Joane Miller, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL.

Location of this collection:
140 7th Avenue South
St. Petersburg
FL
33701
USA