Miller, Charles Copeland, 1860-1935
Biography
Charles Copeland Miller (1860-1935) was born near Jackson, Louisiana. He is the son of Rev.
Almerin G. Miller (1813-1888), who served as Centenary College of Louisiana’s preparatory
department principal from 1848 to 1861 and again from 1876 to 1877. Charles C. Miller was educated
at Centenary College and graduated in 1883. From approximately 1884 to 1888, Miller lived in Lake
Providence, Louisiana, where he taught in public schools, worked as an insurance agent, served as a
parish surveyor, and edited The East Carroll Democrat newspaper. Miller next worked at Centenary
College of Louisiana and held the following positions: Professor of Chemistry, Geology, and
Mineralogy (circa 1888), preparatory department principal (1891-1896), and college president
(1903-1906).
During Miller’s presidency, the Louisiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South began
the administrative process of moving the college to Shreveport, Louisiana. In September 1906, Miller
and the faculty opened the campus for what became its last semester in Jackson, Louisiana. In
October, Miller was stabbed during a fight with Centenary professor W. F. Moncreiff. This resulted in
the student body leaving and the faculty resigning.
For the remainder of his life, Miller served as a pastor in the Louisiana Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church South, which he had joined in 1894. He served the following pastoral appointments
(some dates are approximate): Wilson (1896-1899), First Church in Alexandria (1900-1903), Baker
(1907), Lafayette (1908), Baton Rouge District presiding elder (1909-1912), First Church in Monroe
(1913-1915), Lake Providence (1916-1917), Morgan City (1918-1921), Keener Memorial in Baton Rouge (1922-1924), Franklinton (1925-1928), Vivian (1929-1930), Kentwood and Tangipahoa (1931).
Miller’s first wife was Martha Keller Miller (1859-1922); their children were Eugene K. Miller
(1886-1921) and Richard Almerin Miller (1892-1969). In 1929, Miller married Lillian Howard Magee
Miller (1873-1935).
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Charles Copeland Miller correspondence
Collection consists of letters addressed to Charles Copeland Miller (1860-1935), who served as president of Centenary College of Louisiana (Jackson, La.) from 1903 to 1906. A. Turner’s letter (1906 October 22) concerns the move of the college to Shreveport, Louisiana. A. Timon’s letter (1906 October 22) discusses the tuition of student Bert Kouns. Centenary professor W. F. Moncreiff’s letter (1906 October 23) reports student demerits.