Zillier learned the printing trade and in 1857 started the National Demokrat a German language newspaper.
In 1863, 1864, and in 1913, Zillier served in the Wisconsin State Assembly and was a Democrat.
In 1886 and 1895, President Grover Cleveland appointed Zillier postmaster of Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Zillier died in Sheboygan, Wisconsin as a result of a broken hip.
This article about a Democratic Party member of the Wisconsin State Assembly is a stub.