Old Scotch Man

Known as Alex Hill, Alexander Hill was my 3rd great-grandfather. He was born August 1, 1809 in Leswalt, Scotland. Leswalt is in Southwest Scotland and across the water from Belfast, Ireland.

He married his wife Jessie (Jess) Wright in 1835 in Kirkholm, Scotland. I'm not entirely sure when they arrived but their first child, Jane, was born in 1838 in NJ. Their 4th child, Mary Ann, would later become Mary Ann Miles - my 2nd great-grandmother. The Hill's were early settlers to the Western Reserve (see my post about Archie Miles) and resided mostly in Euclid, Ohio.

Alex died in 1892 at age 83 in Cleveland, Ohio from "old age". He was buried at the now historic Monroe Street Cemetery. Alex purchased the plots for the majority of the relatives there.  He bought the graves of the "old" Miles' (his in-laws) " as my father called them. As a little girl I went a few times with my father. Most of the relatives don't have headstones but as I type this - I might send them a request to see if Alex has a stone they would photograph for me.

The gothic like gate house collapsed a few years ago. Luckily, a seasoned architect lives across the street from the cemetery and took the restoration project head on.  Construction is nearly complete and will be celebrated on September 21. The gatehouse will receive a plaque from the Landmarks Commission in addition to an Ohio Historical Marker. 

Legacy Names

Many moons ago it was quite popular to rename a child after a deceased child.

If your little Janie died at age 3, well then the next little girl that came around --- say, two years later? She would likely be a Janie too. This causes complications in record keeping for obvious reasons. It forces you to often guess which Janie is yours in the records.

My father's family is primarily buried in the historic Monroe St., Harvard Grove, or Erie St. Cemeteries of Cleveland. As we have such a common surname looking at the list of Miles' in the area is expansive.  A few years ago I found two unknown gems.

Matching them up with other family grave sites and cross checking the names:

Estella May Miles d. 1894 Age: 7 Diphtheria

Jessie Dixon Miles d. 1899 Age: 8 Croup

Estella & Jessie were my great-grandfather's younger sisters. He would have been in his early 20's when they both died. As a side note, I think it's possible Jessie's middle name of Dixon might be another branch of the family that I am not yet aware of.

I previously attributed my Great-Aunt Jessie's name to various family members - our great-great grandmother Jessie and her own mother Estelle. Alas, I think it's simpler than that.

My great-grandfather was sentimental. He named his only daughter in honor of his lost little sisters, he named her Jessie Estelle.