Millard Fillmore was born on a farm about three miles east of Moravia, New York, on January 7, 1800.

Left: The cabin in which Fillmore was born in was torn down in 1852. A small roadside park on the state highway between Moravia and Summer Hill marks the approximate location of the Fillmore farm.

Right: In 1965, the Millard Fillmore Memorial Association used materials from a cabin dating to Fillmore's birth to construct a replica at Filmore Glen State Park, just south of Moravia.

The second of eight children (and first son) born to Nathaniel and Phoebe Fillmore, Millard grew up poor but determined. He only attended school for short periods, but still managed to learn reading, spelling, arithmetic, and geography. When was 14, Millard was apprenticed to a clothmaker whose treatment of the boy was so bad that it bordered on abusive slavery. At age 19 he was able to borrow $30 and buy himself out of the apprenticeship.

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New York

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SKC Films Library >> American History >> United States: General History and Description >> Revolution to the Civil War, 1775/1783-1861 >> Middle 19th Century, 1845-1861 >> Millard Fillmore's Administration, 1850-1853 >> Millard Fillmore

This page was last updated on January 08, 2017.