Obituary of Nannie L Brand
Daughter of a Gainesville Hanging Victim
Below is an obituary of Nannie L (Miller) Brand. She died at the age of 88 years. Nannie was the eldest daughter of John and Martha (Sandusky) Miller. She was born on Bogard Mound, three miles northwest of Bogar, in Carroll County, Missouri, December 12, 1852. When Nannie was five years old, her mother died. Soon after the death of her mother, her father, who was a carpenter by trade, decided to move to Texas. Once in Texas, John built a cabin on his land in Cooke County, Texas. In the 1860 census, he can be found living on his land with all three of his daughters. Soon after 1860, the youngest daughter was returned to live with grandparents in Carroll County, Missouri.
To read about her father, John M Miller, click here.
Civil War broke out in 1861. Tensions in Cooke County were on the rise. John, suspected of Union sympathies, was one of the men rounded up by the mob and hanged along with 40 other Union sympathizing men. Read about the Gainesville Hangings, click here
The Miller daughters were left orphans when their father was tragically killed in the hanging at Gainesville, Texas in October 1862. As orphans, their father's estate was stolen and mishandled by the person who was supposed to provide them care and be the administrator of the estate. They were required to work for their keep and were mistreated. Also, they were never returned in a timely manner to their grandparents in Missouri until years later. Read about their tragic story, click here.
Nannie was 88 years old when she died. Her obituary tells of the trials and tribulations she suffered almost 80 years earlier as a child of a Great Hanging victim. The horrors of that time stayed with her during her entire life.
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Orphan Daughters of John Miller
