Forums will often ask, " Who is your most distant direct male ancestor? ". Abraham is mine (3rd Great-Grandfather) and he's also a brick wall.
As he is the most distant, I'm not able to say that Miles became our de facto surname, starting with him. His records alternate between Mills or Miles as a surname. Growing up, I was told the name was originally Mills but had been recorded incorrectly as Miles on documents. Instead of correcting it, one of the generations began using Miles exclusively. Miles is the surname we have used since circa 1850.
He was born circa 1814 in NY as Abraham A. Mills/Miles. I have no other details. In December 1835 he was present in Cleveland where he married Harriet Williams (b. circa 1815 in MA). Abraham & Harriet's children were (in age order):
Manson W.
Chas S.
Hernando de Soto
Franklin P.
William G.
Abraham & Harriet's marriage license from 1835 in Cuyahoga County.
All of the children, minus William, were born in Ohio. I am a direct descendant of Hernando. Before 1860, the family farm was sold off. Abraham disappears from official records while Harriet (and children) pop up in various locations. For example William was born in IA but there is no mention or records relating to Abraham. My Aunt & I have speculated he died sometime between 1855 - 1892 but further information (including a burial location) has never been found. Recently I learned of Franklin & William. As a result I've been attempting to trace possible descendants of them with the hope of obtaining more information.
Several years ago I found an old map of the Miles farm owned by Abraham & Harriet Miles in Cleveland. Below is a partial email string with my aunt. She is a genealogy librarian & is very helpful.
Unfortunately, I had great difficulty trying to determine where the farm was in modern Cleveland. I began reading the legal description online which kept mentioning Richmond Rd but provided no other tangible clues. As a side note: Going through property transfers and tax records I know he was Abraham A. Miles. Admittedly I have no idea what the A stands for. There was also a William Miles signing as a witness to Harriet's signature on various deeds. I have not made a connection yet. (I now believe this William was likely the son.)
Yesterday, I found a really neat Cuyahoga County Genealogy Page on Facebook which spliced several historic maps together. The oldest map was 1852 - the exact map I originally found the farm location in.
http://web.ulib.csuohio.edu/
1. Select " Greater Cleveland Historic Maps ".
2. In the upper right corner type in "Richmond Rd & Highland Rd" for the 2012 map. Zoom in on the area. Then click 1852 ( you may need to zoom out for it to load ). Look for "A. Miles", looks like he owned half a block.
3. I mapped it and it's about 4 miles down Monticello from the Roanoke Rd (where my paternal grandparents lived for about 50 years) house.
My Aunt & I have hypothesized that Abraham died, was then interred on the family farm. OR - he died during one of the family living stints outside of Ohio.
Aunt Linda summed it up perfectly, "If I could go back and talk to anyone in that family that has passed I's want to know the signifigance of Hernando Desoto Miles. The other names are pretty regular, but Hernando? Of course Sterlie is another odd name too. I never thought to ask my dad where the name came from. ".
Where art thou Abraham?
UPDATE FEBRUARY 14, 2014:
Two EXTREMELY promising DNA leads have surface regarding the Miles family. I'm in desperate need of another known Miles relative to test but do not have the funds myself. It appears Abraham's family is linked to a Miles family near Rathbone, NY and/or Vermont.
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