A native of New York, James Cutler Milliman was born on January 28, 1847. His mother died when he was but two years old and at the age of nine he left home and began working for his room and board. He enlisted in the 46th New York Volunteer Infantry when he was eighteen. Mustered into service in September 1864, he was wounded during the siege of Petersburg on September 30, 1864. Milliman was shot in his left arm, an injury which required amputation four inches above the elbow resulting in his medical discharge in December of the same year.

In 1865, Milliman (along with his father and brothers) moved to Iowa, settling in Harrison County. For two years he attended the University of Iowa and was a member of the Irving Institute before financial problems forced him to quit. Returning to Harrison County he taught school for the next two years. This led to the position of County Recorder which he held for eight years. In 1884, he established a real estate and abstract office in Logan, Iowa. He also served as the town’s mayor for six years. He was elected as a Republican representative to the 25th General Assembly. From 1898 to 1902, Milliman was Iowa’s Lieutenant Governor. In his later years, James Cutler Milliman moved to California. He died in Santa Monica in 1933.