Living Legend TimesLiving Legend T. Michael Miller: Writing and Breathing Alexandria's History |
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Photo by Nina Tisara
ALEXANDRIA, VA. - Nobody knows or has
written more about the City of Alexandria than former City Research
Historian T. Michael Miller. Miller has devoted 32 years to writing,
living and breathing Alexandria’s history and has served on the board of
the Alexandria Historical Society for 12 years in various capacities,
including president. |
“He
is the most published author about Alexandria’s past in history,”
said Alexandria Archaeologist Pam Cressey. “History is the
underpinning of everything we do in Alexandria, and he (Miller) has an
institutional knowledge of Alexandria that really is significant.” Historian William Seale, formerly of
Alexandria, who nominated Miller, said: “In writing the statement it
occurred to me (as a historian) that Mike's work will be read a century
and more from now and used by scholars and those interested in the
city's past. It is obvious, but he is at the core of the period of most
prolific historical research and production ever known in Alexandria.
Imagine that. Seems late in such a place that has been famous since it
was only 25 years old, but it's true. I think his interest in everyday
life makes his studies of the city unique and very modern in approach.
Before very recently most history has been written about the great and
powerful. He has included those, but has used public records to bring
back the world of Everyman, with diversity and even handedness.” Miller, now 61, joined the city as a volunteer in 1977 and worked with Cressey to excavate the site of the current courthouse in the 500 block of King Street. A native of Southern Maryland, Miller received a Bachelor’s degree in history from Alderson-Broaddus College and a Master’s degree in international relations from American University. His career included work at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare and the World Bank. “My father first brought me to
Alexandria when I was 12 years old, and he took me to the birthplace of
Robert E. Lee,” Miller said. “Alexandria was supremely beautiful and
captivating, with its brick-lined streets and beautiful architecture and
homes that lent themselves to being admired. And, it was the hometown of
Robert E. Lee and George Washington.” |
Miller’s
crowning achievement may have been in 1987 when he rediscovered
Freedmen’s Cemetery, where the forgotten remains of 1,800 freed black
slaves and their children were buried.
Located in the 1000 block of South
Washington Street, Miller discovered its location by reading 19th
century Washington Post articles and burial records. The Freedmen’s
Cemetery Memorial Park is expected to open this year. “I read one of Michael’s articles in
the Washington Post in 1997 that talked about the existence of an
all-black cemetery and that maybe it could stop the bridge from being
constructed. Without a doubt, without his help, I would not be here
today, or would many of the people who you see here (at Lloyd House)
have had their lives changed by him.” |