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From Commemorative Biographical Record of the Counties of Rock, Green, Grant, Iowa and Lafayette, Wisconsin, publ. 1901- page 400
JAMES MILES and JOHN F. MILES, highly respected retired farmers and money-loaners of Platteville, Grant county, are natives of Chester county, Penn., the latter born in 1829. Their parents, William and Hannah (PINKERTON) MILES, also natives of Chester county, reared as farming people, moved thence to Lancaster county, Penn., purchased a farm, and there passed the remainder of their lives. Of the seven children born to them, three died in the east, and four came West, viz.: Sarah, Louisa, James, and John Franklin. For a short time these four remained in Ohio, and then came to Platteville, arriving there April 25, 1846. At that time Platteville was a small mining village, the entire section being underlaid with lead ore. They reached this point by coming down the Ohio river and up the Mississippi, by steamboat, to Galena, Ill., and then across country by team, and here they all lived under one roof, the circle being unbroken until the death of Sarah, in 1895.
On first reaching Platteville James and John F. worked at coopering, in conjunction with farming, having purchased sixty acres of land, which they afterward increased to 300. Later the two brothers opened an office in the town, loaned money on real-estate security, and greatly prospered. They are now among the very wealthy men of the county, owning considerable property in the city of Platteville and elsewhere, and in the city own one of the finest homes on Pine street. The four members of the family who came to Wisconsin clung together in one family. Neither of the sisters married, and Louisa still keeps house for the two brothers.
In religion the MILES sisters and the brother James united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which they have liberally contributed of their means on all occasions. In 1900 the "Miles M. E. Sunday-school Library of Platteville" was established by his family, they putting in $500 cash as a sinking fund. In politics both of the brothers have affiliated with the Republican party, but have never been very active in political affairs.
The MILES family came to Wisconsin when it was a Territory, but were comfortably situated from the start, and escaped many of the hardships which their pioneer neighbors endured. They were always honest, industrious and frugal, and have ever enjoyed the respect and goodwill of their neighbors. While they were engaged in a business which often tends to harden man's heart toward his neighbor, they have never been known to oppress the poor, and many a man who is now prosperous and comfortable owes his success in life to their assistance and support in days of necessity and trouble.
This biography generously submitted by Carol Holmbeck