Miller taught school and studied law. He was admitted to the
bar and commenced practice in
Ripley, West Virginia the county seat, in 1871. He also served as mayor of Ripley in 1871. He became
prosecuting attorney for Jackson County and nearby
Wirt and
Roane counties in 1878 and served until 1890. He was chosen to be a delegate to the 1884
Republican National Convention. He was a member of the
West Virginia House of Delegates in 1890 and 1891. in 1892, his bid to become a judge of the State Supreme Court failed. However, three years later Miller won election to the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1899), he was not a candidate for renomination in 1898. He returned to the practice of law and also farmed. Judge Miller was appointed to the Fifth Judicial
Circuit Court of West Virginia, then elected to the court in 1902 and 1903 and 1904 served on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. He won election to the
West Virginia Senate and served from 1914 to 1918. ==Death and legacy==