Ira Miltimore was a prominent pioneer associated with the early settlement of Chicago, Illinois, and Janesville, Wisconsin. Born September 28, 1813 in Windham County, Vermont, he was apprenticed in New York to the millwright and machinist trades. In 1836 he moved to Chicago where his accomplishments included the construction of Chicago's first steam engine, flouring mill, grain elevators, and water works. He served on the Chicago city council from 1838 to 1845. In 1839, he married Margaret Betsy King (1819-1898) of Port Byron, New York, and they had five children.
In 1845 or 1846, Miltimore moved his family to Janesville, Wisconsin where he operated a quarry and led efforts to locate the Wisconsin School for the Blind there. He also served as an alderman for nine years. In 1862 he raised a company of volunteers for the Union army, was commissioned their captain and mustered into the 33rd Wisconsin Infantry, and soon led them into the battlefields of the Civil War.
He died June 9, 1879 in Janesville, Wisconsin.
