​Dr. Joshua A. Miller Jr., 1846-1901
Superintendent of the Insane Asylum
 
Originally buried in Rosedale Cemetery; moved to Greenwood 1920

(Generic image created using Bing AI)

Joshua Abston Miller, Jr., was born in Macon County, Missouri, on May 5, 1846. His parents were Joshua A. Miller, Sr., and Nancy Jane Turner. 
 
Joshua attended high school on the other side of the Missouri River in Brownville, Nebraska, with the intention of becoming a physician. Under the tutelage of Dr. William Arnold, he applied for and was admitted to the University of Michigan medical school in 1868. While a medical student in Michigan, Miller met and married Mary Crampton on September 21, 1869. Upon graduation in 1872, Miller opened a practice in Michigan.
 
In 1879, Miller traveled to New York to gain additional experience at Belleview Hospital. He then moved his family to Kansas City in 1882, where he helped establish a medical school at the University of Kansas City. He was for six years the head of orthopedic surgery there.
 
Perhaps the deaths of two of their young children had strained Joshua’s and Mary’s marriage to the breaking point. At any rate, she does not appear to have accompanied Miller when he moved to Prescott, Arizona, in 1888. On December 16, 1890, Miller married his second wife, Minnie Hume, in Prescott.
 
In 1892, Gov. N. O. Murphy appointed Miller superintendent of the territorial insane asylum in Phoenix. When Miller assumed his position, there were 87 inmates, some of whom had originally been sent to asylums in California. Having them back in Phoenix made it possible for family members to visit and see that they were properly cared for. It appears that Miller took his responsibilities seriously. He had the asylum grounds landscaped with trees and walkways. His wife Minnie, who was a nurse, served as matron.
 
In 1898, Gov. Murphy again appointed Dr. Miller to take over management of the insane asylum from outgoing superintendent Dr. Hamblin. This time, there were 177 patients. 
 
One of Miller’s accomplishments was to help found the Maricopa County Medical Society so that the 12 to 14 medical practitioners in the Salt River Valley could meet regularly to discuss new developments in their profession.
 
Scientific curiosity led to Miller’s interest in prehistoric societies of the American Southwest. In 1895, he was elected president of the Arizona Antiquarian Society, and in 1901 he conducted the first excavation of Pueblo Grande, a prehistoric site east of Phoenix. 
 
Dr. Miller was on his way to New Mexico on Saturday, July 19, 1901, to observe the annual Hopi snake dance at Walpi when he fell ill and had to get off the train at Flagstaff. Taken to a hospital there, he was diagnosed with pneumonia. He died on the evening of July 22nd. His body was returned to Phoenix for burial in Rosedale Cemetery.
 
© 2024 by Donna L. Carr. Last revised 12 August 2024.

​If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!

Dr. Carl P. Wormser, 1856-1903
Iowa Physician
 
Buried in Rosedale Cemetery, North Section

(Photo courtesy of Pioneers' Cemetery Association)

​Dr. Carl P. Wormser was born August 21, 1856, in Nijverdal, Overijssel, the Netherlands. He was the son of Hendrik Wormser and M. Arends. He arrived in the United States September 9, 1874, whereupon he became a resident of Michigan. Although two of his half-brothers entered the ministry of the Dutch Reformed Church, Carl Wormser attended Columbia College’s School of Medicine, graduating with the class of 1878-1879. Following graduation, he returned to Michigan where he married Helena Hoedemaker on March 8, 1881. Dr. Wormser then returned to New York to practice medicine.
 
Around 1883 he removed to Orange City, Iowa, and set up practice. There was a significant Dutch community in Orange City, and other members of the Wormser family had come to the area several years prior to his arrival.  Dr. Wormser’s practice proved prosperous and he invested some of the proceeds in real estate.
 
Dr. Wormser was an avid fisherman and, like a true Dutchman, enjoyed being near water. In 1892, he and three other businessmen from Orange City pooled their resources to purchase a summer cottage on Miller’s Bay where they and their families could vacation.
 
According to a local newspaper, by 1903 Dr. Wormser was suffering from Bright’s disease. Having disposed of his real estate holdings in Iowa, he hired a private rail car and left for Phoenix on November 25, 1903, in hopes that a warmer climate might prolong his life. The rental of the private rail car alone cost $1,195. Because his condition was so grave, he was accompanied by his wife, his three daughters, and two of his colleagues, Dr. De Lespinasse and Professor Soulen. Unfortunately, the trip was for naught as Wormser died in Phoenix of asthma on December 24th.  He was buried in Rosedale Cemetery.
 
His widow and daughters moved on to California where Mrs. Helena Wormser died May 28, 1904. Her remains were returned to Phoenix for burial next to her husband.
 
© 2017 by Patty Gault. Last revised 8 April 2020.

If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!

Dr. Scott Helm, 1862-1897
First Surgeon-General of the Arizona Territory

Buried in Porter Cemetery, Block 12

​Photo from Arizona Memory Project
 

A native of Kentucky, Dr. Helm was a graduate of Princeton College, Rush Medical College in Chicago and Heidelberg University in Germany. He was undoubtedly one of the best educated and respected physicians in Arizona. In 1891, he joined the National Guard of Arizona and was appointed surgeon-general, serving in that post for six years. During that time, he tirelessly promoted Arizona in medical journals as an ideal destination for sufferers of tuberculosis, arthritis and other ailments. He was also an active member of several fraternal organizations. 
 
In 1889, he met Miss Norma Jackson, a Southern belle who had come to Arizona for her health. They were married 12 February 1890. Unfortunately, even his expert ministrations could not cure Norma, for she died on 30 April 1891 at the age of 28.
 
In July 1891, Dr. Helm was accused by two other physicians of having performed an abortion on Alice White, granddaughter of Ira Stroud of Phoenix. The case went to trial and, in March 1892, Dr. Helm was acquitted of any wrongdoing.  Later in 1892, Dr. Helm married Miss Jane Beeler.
 
Helm loved horses, but he told friends that he would probably meet his death in a horse-related accident. His premonition came true on 8 October 1897. He was at the train station in downtown Phoenix when his fractious horse, Montrose, reared and fell, throwing Dr. Helm to the pavement. Dr. Helm died two hours later of intracranial bleeding. An impressive obelisk of polished red granite marks his grave, which is on the walking tour of Porter Cemetery.
 
© 2012 by Donna L. Carr. Last revised 11/17/2012.
 
​If you would like assistance researching our interred, you can find more information on our website. You can contact us at [email protected] at any time. Thank you for your interest to preserve the history of Arizona's pioneers!