The owner of the Old Mill in Hobbiton at the time of Bilbo's Birthday Party, whose first name - if he had one - is never revealed by Tolkien. He was an opinionated fellow, ready to pass on tall tales, who was unpopular with Sam's father Hamfast. His fate is slightly ambiguous, but it seems that he died sometime in the years before the War of the Ring, with his Mill being inherited by his son Ted, who sold it to Lotho Sackville-Baggins during his takeover of the Shire.
Notes
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We have a definite account of Sandyman the miller in III 3001 (when he took part in an energetic debate in The Ivy Bush), but he is never mentioned after that date. By III 3018, the Old Mill had been inherited by his son Ted, so it seems that the older Sandyman died at some point between Bilbo's Farewell Party in III 3001 and Frodo's departure from the Shire seventeen years later.
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Sandyman's name is not specifically explained, but it appears to be a pun on his occupation as a miller, with the 'sandy' referring to the flour dust from his mill. If this is correct, then it implies that his family had been working the mill for some considerable time for it to give rise to their family surname.
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- Updated 6 October 2022
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