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Milliken, John Gaw Sr. and Hannah: Carbon and Hanna Old Timers

Images and notes from Robin Leedy with contributions from Bob Leathers

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John G. Milliken (Image from Robin Leedy, 2016)
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(back) Agnes, Margaret, William S, Robert (Swat), Anna, (front) Mary, Dorothy, John (father), Jean, Hannah (mother), John Jr. (Abt 1916) (Image from Robin Leedy, 2016)
​John Milliken was born in Newtownard, County Down, Northern Ireland to William and Mary Boyd Milliken.  On March 24, 1875, at the age of 21, he arrived in the US where he joined his older brother Robert in the coal mining community of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. After threats from the Molly McGuires, the brothers headed west. John settled in Carbon and older brother Robert continued to Rock Springs. 
 
While in Carbon he met and married Hannah Sutton.  Hannah came to the US as a young girl with her parents William and Anne Sutton. The family was from Foleshill, Warwickshire, England.
 
Hannah and John had 9 children. John was a respected man in the county who owned businesses in Carbon and Hanna. He served as the District 2 Road Supervisor, leading the development of key roads across southern Wyoming. (Robin Leedy, 2016)
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John and Hannah Milliken (late 1930's) (Image from Robin Leedy, 2016)

John ​Milliken's Livery Stable and Barn

Image and notes from Gary Milliken and Union Pacific Coal Company Employes' Magazine

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Hanna, John Milliken Livery, Stable and Barn (Gert Milliken Collection from Gary Milliken)

1919

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1919: John Milliken Twelve-Horse Hitch Grading Hanna Streets (Gert Milliken Collection from Gary Milliken)

1929

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John Milliken of Hanna (UPCCEM, June 1929)

1930

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Mrs Hanna Milliken (UPCCEM, Aug. 1930)

1931

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Hanna Old Timer John Milliken (UPCCEM, April 1931)
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Hanna Old Timer John Milliken (UPCCEM, April 1931)

1934

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Milliken Famil Reunion (UPCCEM, Aug. 1934)
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Milliken Famil Reunion (UPCCEM, Aug. 1934)

1942

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John Milliken (UPCCEM, May 1942)

Hanna Cemetery Records

Milliken, John
Link: Headstone: "1854-1942; Father"
Plot: 432
Age: 88
Note: One of Carbon County’s oldest pioneer residents passed away at his home in Hanna on Wednesday, March 18th. John Milliken was a real pioneer, and reached the age of 88 years at the time of his death.
Like many of the pioneers who settled in the United States, Mr. Milliken came from the land of the Shamrock, being born at County Down, Ireland, February 23, 1854, his parents William and Mary Milliken. He came to the United States in the fall of 1874, settling in Carbon, which was a frontier coal-mining town. Having learned to mine coal in his native country, he obtained employment in the Carbon mines, working there for six years. Subsequently he developed several business enterprises, staying there until the abandonment of the coal-mining operations in 1902. Like all early residents of Carbon, he was deeply attached to it, and liked to reminisce with the friends who lived there.
After leaving Carbon, Mr. Milliken and his family came to Hanna, where he carried on a transfer, livery, and automobile business; he also engaged in ranching and horse raising in the vicinity of Hanna.
On January 19, 1881, Mr. Milliken was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Sutton, who had moved from Illinois to Carbon.
Mr. Milliken is survived by his widow, Mrs. Milliken; three sons, John, Jr., W.S., and Robert S. Milliken, all of Hanna; and five daughters, Mrs. Thomas Hudson, Hanna, Mrs. Henry Cheesbrough, Elk Mountain, Mrs. H.H. Challender, Cheyenne, Mrs. Margaret Hill, Paris, Idaho, and Mrs. Oscar Peterson, Reno, Nevada, and to them our sympathy is extended.
Mr. Milliken was a kindly gentleman, and had innumerable friends in Carbon County, who will regret his passing.  (UPCCEM, May 1942)
Milliken, Hannah
Monument: "1863-1955; Mother"
Plot: 432
Age: 92

Hanna Basin Museum Website – A Connection To The Past