Alfred Ross McMillan

Personpeople/alfred-mcmillan-1884.md

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name
Alfred Ross McMillan
aka
[A. R. McMillan, Doc McMillan]
sex
male
access
public
summary
Druggist of Tacoma, called "Doc," who with his elder brother Everett owned McMillan Bros., druggists, from about 1905 into the 1940s. In 1917, after Washington's prohibition law, police seized whisky, gin and alcohol from the firm's store at 1111 Broadway; he testified that most of it had just come in to fill prescriptions, the jury could not agree, and the case was dropped. Father of Lucille McMillan.
born
date
21 Jan 1884
place
Park Rapids, Hubbard County, Minnesota
basis
documented
confidence
proven
sources
[draft-wwii-alfred-mcmillan-1942, census-1900-tacoma-mcmillan]
note
His own WWII draft registration ("Park Rakids"); January 1884, Minnesota, in 1900. The 1910-1930 censuses say Wisconsin, an informant's error.
died
date
20 Nov 1966
place
Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington
basis
documented
confidence
proven
sources
[record-washington-deaths-mcmillan-frost]
note
Aged 82. Buried New Tacoma Cemetery, University Place.
residences
date
1900
place
Tacoma, Washington
basis
documented
confidence
probable
sources
[census-1900-tacoma-mcmillan]
note
In his parents' household.
date
1910
place
Tacoma Ward 8, Pierce County, Washington
basis
documented
confidence
probable
sources
[census-1910-tacoma-mcmillan]
note
Head of household, druggist. Attached in the Ancestry tree; not checked here.
date
1920
place
Tacoma Ward 1, Pierce County, Washington
basis
documented
confidence
probable
sources
[census-1920-tacoma-mcmillan]
note
Head of household, druggist. Attached in the Ancestry tree; not checked here.
events
what
Duck hunting, La Conner
date
Dec 1917
place
La Conner, Washington
sources
[newspaper-tacoma-times-mcmillan-bros]
note
His liquor trial was put off because he was duck hunting on the La Conner flats.
what
Bought a Kapowsin store
date
1912
place
Kapowsin, Washington
sources
[article-trade-journals-mcmillan-bros]
note
McMillan Bros. of Tacoma bought the Sargent drug store at Kapowsin (Pharmaceutical Era, 1912).
father
id
william-mcmillan-1841
basis
documented
confidence
proven
sources
[census-1900-tacoma-mcmillan, marriage-spokane-mcmillan-frost-1904]
note
In their household in 1900; his marriage record names "Wm McMillian" and "Helen Adams."
mother
id
harriet-adams-1848
basis
documented
confidence
proven
sources
[census-1900-tacoma-mcmillan, marriage-spokane-mcmillan-frost-1904]
note
In their household in 1900; his marriage record names "Wm McMillian" and "Helen Adams."
spouses
id
florence-frost-1885
basis
documented
confidence
proven
sources
[marriage-spokane-mcmillan-frost-1904, book-frost-1912-frost-genealogy]
married
date
23 Jan 1904
place
Spokane, Washington
basis
documented
confidence
proven
sources
[marriage-spokane-mcmillan-frost-1904]
note
He gave his age as 22; he was 20. Her grandfather and father lived in Spokane.

Lucile McMillan's father: the "pharmacist" of family memory, and with his elder brother Everett the owner of McMillan Bros., druggists, of Tacoma, from about 1905. Born at Park Rapids, Minnesota, in 1884, in Washington Territory by 1887 and at Tacoma by 1900; married Florence Frost at Spokane in 1904, at twenty.

The firm's story, from the Tacoma Times (record): a store in the Fidelity Building, 949 C Street, by 1909; a second at Thirteenth and C, "the prettiest drug store in Tacoma," opened in December 1910 with a soda fountain; a store at Kapowsin bought in 1912; free motorcycle delivery in 1915; a third store, at 1111 Broadway, bought in March 1915, "the brothers, E. E. and A. R." having been "in business here 10 years." In 1917 a balcony phonograph department, and in 1925 a music department of pianos, Brunswick phonographs and music rolls on the mezzanine (source). The firm was still trading in 1942.

"Alfred McMillan ('Doc')," as a 1915 column has him, played golf at Lakeside and was vice-president of the new Meadow Park Golf Club, and was a director of the Tacoma Speedway Association. On 1 October 1917, after Washington's prohibition law, police raided the store at 1111 Broadway and seized 157 quarts of whisky, 18 of gin and a barrel of alcohol. He defended himself: the trial was put off once because he was duck hunting on the La Conner flats ("Whether McMillan got any ducks it did not say"), and he testified that 120 quarts had arrived an hour before the raid to fill two weeks of prescriptions for the two stores. The jury could not agree, and in January 1918 the case was dropped.

No pharmacist's license has been found for either brother; the papers call him "druggist" and "proprietor." In 1930 a two-year-old "Alice McMillan" is listed in the household as a daughter; who she was is not known. He registered for the 1942 draft at Tacoma and died there in 1966.

In the censuses: Tacoma, 1910 Ward 8 (record) and 1920 (record).

Open questions

  • When McMillan Bros. was founded and when it closed (Tacoma directories, 1904-1950); whether either brother was a registered pharmacist.
  • Who "Alice," b. about 1928, was; his and Florence's obituaries; the meaning of "Ross."
  1. ---
  2. name: Alfred Ross McMillan
  3. aka: [A. R. McMillan, Doc McMillan]
  4. sex: male
  5. access: public
  6. summary: >-
  7. Druggist of Tacoma, called "Doc," who with his elder brother Everett owned McMillan Bros.,
  8. druggists, from about 1905 into the 1940s. In 1917, after Washington's prohibition law, police
  9. seized whisky, gin and alcohol from the firm's store at 1111 Broadway; he testified that most of
  10. it had just come in to fill prescriptions, the jury could not agree, and the case was dropped.
  11. Father of Lucille McMillan.
  12. born:
  13. date: 21 Jan 1884
  14. place: Park Rapids, Hubbard County, Minnesota
  15. basis: documented
  16. confidence: proven
  17. sources: [draft-wwii-alfred-mcmillan-1942, census-1900-tacoma-mcmillan]
  18. note: His own WWII draft registration ("Park Rakids"); January 1884, Minnesota, in 1900. The 1910-1930 censuses say Wisconsin, an informant's error.
  19. died:
  20. date: 20 Nov 1966
  21. place: Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington
  22. basis: documented
  23. confidence: proven
  24. sources: [record-washington-deaths-mcmillan-frost]
  25. note: Aged 82. Buried New Tacoma Cemetery, University Place.
  26. residences:
  27. - date: "1900"
  28. place: Tacoma, Washington
  29. basis: documented
  30. confidence: probable
  31. sources: [census-1900-tacoma-mcmillan]
  32. note: In his parents' household.
  33. - date: "1910"
  34. place: Tacoma Ward 8, Pierce County, Washington
  35. basis: documented
  36. confidence: probable
  37. sources: [census-1910-tacoma-mcmillan]
  38. note: Head of household, druggist. Attached in the Ancestry tree; not checked here.
  39. - date: "1920"
  40. place: Tacoma Ward 1, Pierce County, Washington
  41. basis: documented
  42. confidence: probable
  43. sources: [census-1920-tacoma-mcmillan]
  44. note: Head of household, druggist. Attached in the Ancestry tree; not checked here.
  45. events:
  46. - what: Duck hunting, La Conner
  47. date: "Dec 1917"
  48. place: La Conner, Washington
  49. sources: [newspaper-tacoma-times-mcmillan-bros]
  50. note: "His liquor trial was put off because he was duck hunting on the La Conner flats."
  51. - what: Bought a Kapowsin store
  52. date: "1912"
  53. place: Kapowsin, Washington
  54. sources: [article-trade-journals-mcmillan-bros]
  55. note: "McMillan Bros. of Tacoma bought the Sargent drug store at Kapowsin (Pharmaceutical Era, 1912)."
  56. father:
  57. id: william-mcmillan-1841
  58. basis: documented
  59. confidence: proven
  60. sources: [census-1900-tacoma-mcmillan, marriage-spokane-mcmillan-frost-1904]
  61. note: In their household in 1900; his marriage record names "Wm McMillian" and "Helen Adams."
  62. mother:
  63. id: harriet-adams-1848
  64. basis: documented
  65. confidence: proven
  66. sources: [census-1900-tacoma-mcmillan, marriage-spokane-mcmillan-frost-1904]
  67. note: In their household in 1900; his marriage record names "Wm McMillian" and "Helen Adams."
  68. spouses:
  69. - id: florence-frost-1885
  70. basis: documented
  71. confidence: proven
  72. sources: [marriage-spokane-mcmillan-frost-1904, book-frost-1912-frost-genealogy]
  73. married:
  74. date: 23 Jan 1904
  75. place: Spokane, Washington
  76. basis: documented
  77. confidence: proven
  78. sources: [marriage-spokane-mcmillan-frost-1904]
  79. note: He gave his age as 22; he was 20. Her grandfather and father lived in Spokane.
  80. ---
  82. Lucile McMillan's father: the "pharmacist" of family memory, and with his elder brother Everett the
  83. owner of **McMillan Bros., druggists**, of Tacoma, from about 1905. Born at Park Rapids, Minnesota, in
  84. 1884, in Washington Territory by 1887 and at Tacoma by 1900; married Florence Frost at Spokane in 1904,
  85. at twenty.
  87. The firm's story, from the *Tacoma Times* ([record](/files/sources/newspaper-tacoma-times-mcmillan-bros/)): a store in
  88. the Fidelity Building, 949 C Street, by 1909; a second at Thirteenth and C, "the prettiest drug store
  89. in Tacoma," opened in December 1910 with a soda fountain; a store at Kapowsin bought in 1912; free
  90. motorcycle delivery in 1915; a third store, at 1111 Broadway, bought in March 1915, "the brothers,
  91. E. E. and A. R." having been "in business here 10 years." In 1917 a balcony phonograph department, and
  92. in 1925 a music department of pianos, Brunswick phonographs and music rolls on the mezzanine
  93. ([source](/files/sources/article-trade-journals-mcmillan-bros/)). The firm was still trading in 1942.
  95. "Alfred McMillan ('Doc')," as a 1915 column has him, played golf at Lakeside and was vice-president of
  96. the new Meadow Park Golf Club, and was a director of the Tacoma Speedway Association. On 1 October
  97. 1917, after Washington's prohibition law, police raided the store at 1111 Broadway and seized 157
  98. quarts of whisky, 18 of gin and a barrel of alcohol. He defended himself: the trial was put off once
  99. because he was duck hunting on the La Conner flats ("Whether McMillan got any ducks it did not say"),
  100. and he testified that 120 quarts had arrived an hour before the raid to fill two weeks of
  101. prescriptions for the two stores. The jury could not agree, and in January 1918 the case was dropped.
  103. No pharmacist's license has been found for either brother; the papers call him "druggist" and
  104. "proprietor." In 1930 a two-year-old "Alice McMillan" is listed in the household as a daughter; who she
  105. was is not known. He registered for the 1942 draft at Tacoma and died there in 1966.
  107. In the censuses: Tacoma, 1910 Ward 8 ([record](/files/sources/census-1910-tacoma-mcmillan/)) and 1920
  108. ([record](/files/sources/census-1920-tacoma-mcmillan/)).
  110. ## Open questions
  112. - When McMillan Bros. was founded and when it closed (Tacoma directories, 1904-1950); whether either
  113. brother was a registered pharmacist.
  114. - Who "Alice," b. about 1928, was; his and Florence's obituaries; the meaning of "Ross."
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