Sarah Miller 1844-1933

Family- Grandson: Melvin Gladstein

Sarah Chai Miller was president of the Ladies' Relief Society from 1913-1926, and an especially learned Jewish scholar. According to Sam Margolis, much of the Jewish community in the early part of the 20th century lived in on or around Roxboro Street. The center of the community was the Jaffe house, and it was at the Jaffes that "Bubbie" Miller led the meetings of the Ladies Aid Society. Occasionally the meetings were conducted in Yiddish. Miller "ruled the roost with an iron hand." She was highly respected for her knowledge of Jewish law. The community often turned to her to resolve personal or marital disputes. According to Jewish historian Leonard Rogoff, she even issued a get (divorce) once. Rogoff points out that for traditional Jews, this "showed an extraordinary deference to a woman's authority."