“ Miller, while still a stone-mason, had observed the abundant fossils in the Jurassic shales on the shores of Ethie, but it was not until 1830 that he first obtained remains of fossil fishes in the Old Red Sandstone. ”

“ During the next few years he obtained employment as a journeyman mason in Edinburgh, Inverness and various other parts of Scotland. The writing of verses occupied his leisure hours, and in 1826 he sent to the Scotsman an “Ode on Greece” which was refused. It was not until 1829 that he met with his first success in the publication of Poems written in the Leisure Hours of a Journeyman Mason. These were printed and issued from the office of the Inverness Courier. Miller now turned his attention to prose and contributed many essays to the Inverness Courier. ”

“ The charm of this work was widely appreciated, as was also the natural sagacity shown in the descriptions and restorations of some of the fossil fishes. His Footprints of the Creator was published in 1849, and My Schools and Schoolmasters in 1854. He was engaged on the final proofs of his Testimony of the Rocks on the day of his death. During the last year of his life he suffered from inflammation of the lungs; and the strain of ill-health proving too severe, he died by his own hand in Edinburgh on the 23rd of December 1856. ”