Stamford History Talk: The Miller Excitement of 1843

Martin Kivell, former Education Director and Newsletter Editor for the Stamford Historical Society, will deliver a talk about The Miller Excitement of 1843, a time in Stamford history when residents who witnessed a kidnapping of a young woman did nothing to prevent it from happening.

On a frigid January night in 1843, Martha Blackwell Miller, 25, was taken from her Stage Hotel room by her husband, Charles Miller. He dragged her to a waiting horse-drawn carriage. Although she screamed for help, no one dared to interfere with galloping horses, and the carriage left town. The kidnapping, a major escalation by Charles to stop Martha from divorcing him, divided Stamford into two warring camps.

Kivell wrote an account of the event, which appeared in the Winter 2025/2026 issue of Connecticut Explored magazine. Free copies of the issue will be available during the talk.

Registration required.

Martin Kivell, also a blogger, has been published in City College of New York's Alumnus Magazine and Cracked.com.