Originally from Virginia, Mills moved to Montreal at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861.
[1][2] Mills inherited a substantial sum from his father, who had been a plantation owner, but generally declined to discuss his previous career and asked that no obituary be published for him.
[2] The Irish Canadian newspaper reported that he had been a board member of every Protestant charity in Montreal,[1] and in 1879 he helped finance the establishment of a new hospital in the western end of the city.
[3] At one point, Mills offered $20,000 to the city to purchase bread for the poor, but attached so many conditions to the bequest that it was refused.
[5] McGill College and the Anglican synod established a pension of $450 per annum for Mrs.