[13] Fillmore was relegated to menial labor, and unhappy at not learning any skills, he left Hungerford's employ.[14]
His father then placed him in the same trade at a mill in New Hope.[15] Seeking to better himself, Millard bought a share in a circulating library and read all the books that he could.[15] In 1819 he took advantage of idle time at the mill to enroll at a new academy in the town, where he met a classmate, Abigail Powers, and fell in love with her.[16]
Later in 1819 Nathaniel moved the family to Montville, a hamlet of Moravia.[17] Appreciating his son's talents, Nathaniel followed his wife's advice and persuaded Judge Walter Wood, the Fillmores' landlord and the wealthiest person in the area, to allow Millard to be his law clerk for a trial period.[18] Wood agreed to employ young Fillmore and to supervise him as he read law.[18] Fillmore earned money teaching school for three months and bought out his mill apprenticeship.