Haley / Miller Family Collection

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William Haley and his wife, Lucinda Ewalt Haley, came to what is today's western Irving in 1857. The Haleys settled in the area of present-day Belt Line Road in Irving. Tom Haley, one of William's sons, established a farm near what is now the intersection of Esters Road and Northgate Road.

Always a champion of education, Tom served as president of the Irving School Board at the time the district built its first school building in 1913. Three of his daughters taught for many years in the Irving school system. Tom's brother, John, became one of the area's first doctors and later served as mayor of Irving.

Chaney Miller was born in 1854 in Kentucky. Sometime after 1880, he moved to the community of New Hope in Dallas County. He served six years as a Dallas county commissioner beginning in 1898. In 1904, he and his brother Fletcher moved to the newly established city of Irving in western Dallas County, where they opened Miller Brothers, a hardware and general merchandise store.

In 1908, they chartered Irving State Bank. Chaney served as Irving's mayor from 1917 to 1919 and from 1923 to 1927. He was also justice of the peace from 1929 to 1940. Fletcher was mayor from 1921 to 1922, at which time he moved to Dallas and established the East Grand Bank.

After the death of his wife Sarah in 1913, Chaney asked his daughter Florence Duckworth and her family to come and live with him. His son-in-law William Duckworth joined him in business, and Miller Brothers became Miller and Duckworth. Lora Anderson, another of Chaney Miller's daughters, also moved to Irving with her five sons in 1916.

The Haley and Miller families were brought together when Velma Duckworth, granddaughter of Chaney Miller, married Frank Haley, son of Tom Haley. The families were further entwined when C.C. Anderson, also a grandson of Chaney Miller, married Vera Haley, daughter of Tom Haley. C.C. Anderson became the city of Irving's first full-time employee in 1939. He remained with the city until his retirement in 1972.

The Haley, Miller, Duckworth and Anderson families played roles in the history of the area from before the inception of the city to the present time. The photos in this collection were donated to the Irving Archives by Sue Haley Huffman, great-granddaughter of Chaney Miller and granddaughter of Tom Haley.

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