The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1922-05-26

| This was IN 1891. MT. mllllkeH wa
then sixty-one years of age. He was
born in 1886 in small town in the
state of Maine. His father was {;
country store-keeper, a farmer ant
miller. He was adescendant Of
the sturdy Scotch stock who came tc
America as land of promise anc
who looked forward to the new home
as a place for development, and fol-
building. He thus came of the same
stock as largely did the people who
in after life he so.greatly' served in
this section. He was educated in the
village school. After a few terms ne
became the teacher of the school,
passing on to others what he had
learned of the three "R's" reading,
(w) riting and 'rithmetic.
In time the country store and the
mill of the father fell to the son.
Here he laid the foundation of his
future. career. The country store
where he commenced, did not much
resemble the great store in New York
where his career was closed. In the
former he sold everything from eggs
to dress goods; likely he drew all
the contracts between the farmers
and their tenants in his neighborhood,
and as a country merchant, it must
have been his duty to interpret the
law for his neighbors on all subjects.
Certain it is that he was frequently
called on to settle neighborhood dlf-
ficulties. One of these difficulties
which he liked to tell about was a
misunderstanding between Hiram
Brown and Mr.. Brown. Hiram came
to the store-keeper for advice, say
ing, "Seth, Mrs. Brown and I have
decided to divide the house. She cal
culates that I shall have the outside
and she will have the inside" But
Seth closed the country store long
enough to compromise the differences
between the two good people and per.
suade them to start again from the
point where they were before the
division of the house was approached
He gained, too, from his contact with
the people a large insight into the
selfshness and other traits of hu,
man nature. He liked to tell another
anecdote; A farmer and his wife had
come to the country store to buy q
birthday present for the wife, who
was named Maria. Everything in the
store was priced and much considera-
ton given to the subjejct, when the
husband finally "guessed" he would
take six yards of cotton cloth so
Maria could make him new night
shirt. His example in buying birth
day present for the wife is said to
be followed largely to this day by
some of his Scotch cousins in Due
West. The country store from the ex-
perience of it's keeper and on ac-
count of it's being the gathering
place of the neighborhood, thus be-
came the center of every kind of
business in the community and the
keeper became a distinguished per-
son there because of his proprietor
ship.
But Mr.. Milliken was not the kind
of merchant to be satisfied with what
other country merchants did and
were doing in other like communi-
ties. He had good judgment, he
knew how to make money. But ne
was more than this-he was man
of imagination in business-he had
the power of vision, the sine qua non
of success in any calling.
And because he was man of i'm
agination in business he decided to
put his ship out to sea, so to speak.
One day he bought a large amount
of potatoes from the farmers of his
community and instead of barterine
them in the community and in near
by towns, he shipped them to New
York, following by rail. The pota'
toes were sold at a profit. The visit,
or was impressed with the city. He de,
sired to investigate its possibilitie:
ana to see all Of the sights OF the
great city where so much of his later
L