John Mills was born on May 13, 1811, in Ohio, most likely in Eaton, Preble County. His father, also named John Mills, was a cabinet maker, and kept moving westward along the Ohio River by flatboat. By 1814 the family was living in Vevay, IN, then Madison, IN by 1816, then Charleston, IN by 1819, and then Salem sometime before 1826. Sometime around 1829 John Jr. moved to Delphi, IN, where he established a cabinet making shop and met his wife, Elizabeth. They were married in 1830. To fill in the rest, below are descriptions. One is written by Lawrence Kolber, in his biography of John Mills son, Robert, and the other is an autobiography written by Robert Mills himself.

"In 1832 John Mills enlisted with a Carroll County company and marched off to fight in the Black Hawk War. They got as far as Chicago when they met a messenger with the news that the war was over.
Shortly after this John Mills moved to Greencastle, Indiana in Putnam County. Here the rest of his family had started to establish themselves. Two of his sisters married in Greencastle. After a short sojourn he moved again to Terra Haute, Indiana. Although he was trained as a cabinet maker, John was restless and tried many other things to support his family including cattle dealing, jailer, gold miner, Post Master, and he once applied to be doorkeeper for the Illinois House of Representatives.
When Robert was about 4 or 5 years old his family moved to Charleston, Coles County, Illinois. John Mills became active in politics in Coles County. He ran for Justice of the Peace in 1840, Constable in 1843, and Coroner in 1844. He did not win any of these elections, but his political connections paid dividends later on.
Robert S. Mills brother of John ran a drug store in Charleston. He also ran for office in Coles County. In 1842 he won Justice of the Peace. In 1843 he was elected Probate Justice of the Peace, an office he held for many years. It is no surprise that Robert developed a life long interest in politics.
John and Elizabeth had three more children who were born in Coles County, Laura born about 1836, Charles born about 1845, and John born about 1847."

-- "The Life of Robert Augustus Mills and His Family" by Laurence L. Kolber

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"Perhaps I should have said before this that my father and mother, "met by chance the usual way" at Delphi, Carroll County, Indiana where father opened a cabinet shop in a log cabin erected for that purpose and he built another log cabin for a residence in 1829. He used logs 12 inches in diameter leaving the bark on, a puncheon floor, a clapboard roof, and unglazed window an open stick chimney, laid in clay and grass, a clapboard door hung on wooden hinges, a wood latch, "with the string hung on the outside" a lock made of a wooden button.
"Neither locks had they, to their doors, nor bars to their windows. But their dwellings were open as day and the hearts of the owners."
Longfellow
…
About that time [1836] there was a great lot of excitement for going west. When I was not quite five years old we set out in a sleigh on Feb. 21, 1836 and reached our destination at Charleston, Coles Co. Illinois next day at noon, where father had previously made a location building a small house and shop at the N. W. corner of the Public Square. At this place our family increased, from one, to ten. Six boys and four girls; Robert A., William B., Laura A., Thomas A., Esther A., Charles T., John B., Harvey E., California Diana and Clara L.
…
"The discovery of gold by Marshall in California in 1849 was causing people in our section of the country to become excited. My father left Charleston in the spring of 1850 with a party of neighbors for California. The trip required fully 6 months to make it overland. Father returned home in the fall of 1853 in order to accompany a number of families of men folks who had stayed in California. Not one of them, including my mother would consent to go West. Incidentally I had a sister born in 1850 before father had yet reached California, whom my Mother named California Diana.

In the fall of 1853 father had an offer to pilot a train of emigrants to Calif. and I was to accompany him. After we started, from Oakland on horseback to join the emigrant train at Council Bluffs Iowa, father was taken very sick and we were compelled to return home and give up the trip. Father never regained his health from this time on and he died Oct. 9th 1863 at 564 Ohio St. Chicago, Illinois, where we lived. Father is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Chicago as also my Uncle William B. Mills and his wife. My father was a Royal Arch Mason member of Western Star Lodge 240 Champaign, Illinois where I was "raised" April 2nd. 1860."

--Robert A. Mills, autobiography
Excerpts compiled by Reed Miller

Bio Contributor: Reed Miller (49801119)