Edward Miller - Master - Stratford Normal School 344 William Street Stratford, ON 1932
Edward Allan Miller, the son of Henry Miller and Mary Angeline Plyley, was born near Rodney in Aldborough Township, Elgin County, Ontario on January 28, 1895. His grandparents, Louis and Susana Miller emigrated from Germany in the early 1850s and settled into farming in Aldborough Township. Most of their sons including Henry followed suit.
Edward’s mother died twelve days after he was born due to complications. His widowed father married Katherine Brown in October 1897. The family grew to include four boys and three girls. By the 1911 census, sixteen year old Edward is listed as a farmer on the family farm.
He left the farm to attend the London Normal School to become a teacher. After graduating, he taught school for a number of years and even ventured to Northern Ontario for a time. He furthered his education at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph where he graduated in 1924. He continued his specialist training for teaching high school at the Ontario College of Education in Toronto. From there he joined the staff of Chatham Collegiate and in 1927 married Blanche Wright.
In 1930, Edward Allan Wright was appointed a master at the Stratford Normal School. He was hired to teach science, agriculture and geography. He had a difficult start to his career in Stratford as in December of his first year here, he became extremely ill with a life threatening disease and was unable to resume his duties for six months.
In 1932, he and his wife Blanche rented the newly built house at 344 William Street across the river from the Stratford Normal School. He later bought the house and lived there until 1939. As well as his teaching duties, Mr. Miller helped with the installation of the school’s radio station bringing an opportunity for the students to listen to current events and to classical music programs.
In 1939, Edward Allan Miller was appointed head of the science department of Toronto Normal School. In Toronto, he enjoyed being an elder in his church and was a member of the Masons as well as his teaching duties.
Edward Allan Miller died suddenly on October 27, 1946 in Toronto. He is buried in the Rodney cemetery near his childhood home.
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