Abner MILES

Male 1752 - 1806  (53 years)


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  • Name Abner MILES 
    Born 21 Nov 1752  Brimfield, Hampden Co., Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Alt Surname: Mighell. Brimfield is near Concord.
    Gender Male 
    Died 26 Jul 1806  Richmond Hill, Markham Twp., York Co., Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Aged 54. Abner Miles, born in the State of Mass. 1752. Lots 45 East & West Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive.
    Buried Richmond Hill Presbyterian Cemetery Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Tombstone is noteably plain, white stone, strong.
    Person ID I661  John Willson, Piscataway, NJ and Ontario Family Tree
    Last Modified 14 Apr 2020 

    Family MERCY HAYNES
              b. 22 Dec 1746, Brimfield, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location
              d. 2 Feb 1843, Richmond Hill, Markham Twp., York Co., Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 96 years) 
    Married 4 Jan 1776  Brimfield, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Elizabeth BETSEY MILES
              b. 4 Apr 1785, Genesee Co., New York Find all individuals with events at this location
              d. 16 Apr 1858, Vaughan Twp., York Co., Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 73 years)
     2. Hannah MILES
              b. 4 May 1780, Brimfield, Hampshire Co., Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location
              d. 23 Mar 1858, Richmond Hill, Markham Twp., York Co., Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 77 years)
    Last Modified 20 Dec 2018 
    Family ID F481  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • . Abner Miles is the son of Submitt Munger (b. 1711 Jan 5, Guildofrd, New Haven. Conn.-1758 Jun 10 Brimfield, MA]
      & John P Mighell [Mighil, Mighill, b.1696 SUFFIELD, Hartford, Conn. 1775 May 16 Brimfield, Mass.)

      . 1779 Nov 11, Mercy Haynes married Abner Mighell. p.217
      . All these born to John & Submit Highell:
      Dorothy, 1721, John 1734, Stephen, 1736, Saml. 1738, Aaron 1740, Submit 1748, Thomas 1745, James 1748, Timothy 1750 Mighell. p. 76 & again p91
      ['Twins' in another generation: Aaron Mighaill, Twin, ch. Abner & Mercy Mighell p94 - which appears to be triplets! - PJA].
      Ref: Brimfield, Mass. Town & Vital Records.

      . Granted to 11 Persons, 50 Acre Lotts, which is supposed will draw about a 95 part of the Township each. The names of the Grantees are John Mighell.
      . Brimfield town was granted by the general court, in the year 1701, to a number of petitioners, inhabitants of Springfield. It was at first designated by the “Plantation adjoining Springfield;" but the committee, for the sake of convenience, as stated in the records, soon gave it the name of Brimfield. The town was incorporated in 1730, & included within its original limits the towns of Monson, Wales, & Holland. In 1722, a meeting house, 45 feet by 40, was erected, & stood more than 80 years. The records of the church were burnt in 1748, & some early interesting facts cannot now be ascertained.
      Ref: Historical Collections Relating to the History & Antiquities of Every town in Massachusetts. Geographical Descriptions. By John Warner Barber, Worcester, 1848.

      . 1789 Abner Miles, from Mass, Settled in 1789 in South Lima, Livingston Co., NY, also called Hamiltons Station, on RR Line. Mies became the owner of a large grant of land in the sharpe of a gore, the town was called Miles's Gore. In 1808 the name was changed to Lima, NY.
      Ref: Gazetter of the State of NY, Livingston Co. & History of Livingston Co.

      . 1789 Abner Miles came from Massachusetts & settled near Davison. Although not a permanent resident, when Abner Miles arrived to this vicinity he gave the first name with the settlement enjoyed, Miles Gore. Mr Miles, having purchased a triangular piece of land in company with Abner Mile's a strip of land. In 1789 the general sessions of Ontario County, established Charleston Twp. In 1808 this named was changed in Lima, in consequence of there being another town of the same name to which the letters of settlers were constantly going.
      Ref: Lima NY Recorder, pub. 1964 Jul 15.
      . 1818 June. Thanks giving ay Mr Mrs Abner Miles of Corltand came to spend the day with [sisters Mrs & Miss Foster of Syracuse] & Mrs Hall. [Miles descendants?]
      Ref: Tully Times Newspaper & Livonia Gazette, NY.

      . UCLPetition 18, M Bundle 2, C2191, p31
      To Lieut. Gov. John Graves Simcoe,
      Petition of Abner Miles, Respectfully shows that he is come int the Province to be a permanent settler, & has built on No. 13, Pays to be confirmed in said slot in the Town of York & also to have a grant of lot No. 14 to build on.
      Signed, Abner Miles.
      Envelope: Recommended for two its, Lots 13 & 14 in York Town. Read July 14, 1796, Entered inland Book B, page 121.

      . Miles Family & Miles' Hill /Richmond Hill.
      . "Before 1794 Abner signed" Mighells".
      In the spring of 1794, Abner Miles wound up his business accounts in Genesee area of western New York & attached himself to William Berczy's German settlers, who were moving from the Genesee country to Upper Canada. Abner Miles prospered during his few years in York. He worked as a contractor & lumber merchant, provided cartage services for the town, & invested in ships to import goods across Lake Ontario. He opened a general store on King Street, with a stock-in-trade of foodstuffs, liquor, clothing, tools, building supplies, & household goods - "everything every man wanted, from the Governor & his suite & the Garrison down to the newest arrival from the American Republic or from the Old Land."
      By early 1796, Miles had expanded his King Street premises to include a public house serving food & drink & providing lodging for travellers. His tavern attracted a varied clientele - John Stooks & family put up there in June 1797 before travelling north to their land at Richmond Hill - & quickly became a focal point for auctions, dances, masonic dinners, & town meetings. Miles himself was named a constable by the Court of Quarter Sessions, chosen overseer of highways for the town, & appointed quartermaster for the York Militia. Most important for the future development of Richmond Hill was the tavern Miles opened at the southeast corner of Yonge Street & Major Mackenzie Drive. It quickly became a favourite watering hole for Yonge Street travellers.

      . Tombstone of Abner Miles, Richmond Hill Presbyterian Cemetery. After his death on July 26,1806, Abner Miles was buried in a plot of land on Lot 46 West that later became part of the Richmond Hill Presbyterian Cemetery. The headstone stands today a few meters inside the cemetery's main entrance, part of a row of simple, flat stones marching off to the south. It is most fitting that the cemetery's oldest marked grave should commemorate the man who bequeathed his name to the infant community of Miles' Hill.

      Still, it was the Miles children who confirmed Abner's status as the "father" of Richmond Hill. The marriages of his daughters Hannah Miles to James Playter, Lucy Miles to John Langstaff, & Elizabeth Miles to John Arnold marked the founding of 3 families who were to play important roles in the community's subsequent history. Abner's 26 year-old son, James Miles, inherited his father's lands & business activities. James Miles built a substantial, 2 storey, Georgian-style frame home for himself on the southwest corner of Yonge Street & Major Mackenzie Drive. There he lived with his aged mother, saw his sisters marry, remained a bachelor himself, became the grand old man of Miles' Hill, & over the years divided much of his father's vast land holdings among his siblings, nieces, & nephews.

      Mary Gapper O'Brien, a well-to-do resident who lived south of the emerging hamlet, described a visit to [son] James Miles' house in 1830. "We found him with dinner prepared in the kitchen, a large room with an immense fireplace, wooden walls & 2 tables," she wrote. "The place was under the conduct of a very deaf old lady who was, I believe, his mother. He is himself a tall man of 50 & dressed in a worn homespun frock coat with a pocket bound round his head to relieve the pain of a headache. He received us in his usual composed & even manner."
      Miles seems to have been well liked by all. Mary O'Brien called him "very good & civil" & "very respectable," & a local historian described him as "eminently fair in all his dealings, selling his produce at or below the current market price." He maintained a public woodlot on the northwest corner of present-day Yonge & Arnold streets, where those in need could help themselves to a supply of firewood during the cold winter months.
      Ref: Early Days in Richmond Hill, 1930.

      QUARTER SESSION OF PEACE, holden in Town of York (Toronto)
      . 1801 Jan 13, Tues. Grand Jury, Abner Miles.
      . 1801Oct 14. Judges, W Jarvis, Wm Willcocks, J Ruggles & John Willson. Abner Miles Vs. John Everson. Indictment feloniously taking away a steer, from the yard of Abner Miles.
      . 1802 Apr 13, Grand Jury. Abner Miles. Robat. Henderson, York, Brewer stating on on 21 Dec he engaged Abraham Gordin to serve him until 1 May 1802, said A Gordon left her service without R Hendersons leave. Gordin called his defense, has nothing to allege to the contrary. A Gordin committed to prison for 1 month & fine 40 shillings.
      . 1803 Oct 11, Tues. [1] Forman, A Miles. inc. John Arnold, Robt. Marsh, Anthony Hollinshead, Daniel Cozens, Stillwell Willson. John Dexter VS Godfrey Philipsen, Assault & Rescue, Sentence $10. [2] Jury withdrew, adjournment to next day, Jury came into Court gave not Guilty Verdict of Jesse Ketchum VS Jos. Kendrick Assault., Abner Miles, Foreman.
      [3rd] Grand Inquest of present Sessions, certain Moses Martin of Markham Twp., Yeoman, & his family, consisting of a Wife & 4 children, were in very great Distress; that Moses Martin himself was in a Very ill state of health, that his head & face were almost Destroyed by a Cancer, that his Wife neglected both him & his family & that his children were naked & without Food. Markham Town Wardens Abner Mies & John Lyons to take inter their custody & possession ll the moveable property and chattels belonging to the said Moses Martin, consisting of 2 Oxen, 4 Cows, 2 young Cattle & unknown number of Several Hogs (number unknown); & to sell & dispose of t he whole or such part of the said Cattle & Hogs, as to them may seem expedient, & the proceeds of such to use & employ, in the providing of Food, clothing & other necessaries for Moses Martin & family. They are to render true & just account of their proceedings in the Trust.

      . 1804 Jan 10, Tues., Grand Jury, Daniel Cozens, Formant, jurors inc., Wm Hollinshed, Thos. Stoyell, John Arnold, Rot Marsh, Stillwell Willson & Abner Miles. Asa Jones. Vs. Abraham Asslestein, Assault & Battery, Verdict guilty, 1 shillings.
      . 1806 Apr 8 - Grand Jury, Abner Miles: [1] Relief of Rev. Elijan Bentley, Baptist church. [2] Jacob Comer (Cummer) VS. John & Eleanor McBride, his wife. Assault & Battery. John McBride not Guilty. Eleanor McBride guilty, fined £5 & committed to custody of Sheriff till paid, security to keep the peach for 12 months.

      Ontario Land Registry,
      Lot 45, Con 1 East Side Yonge, Richmond Hill, Markham Book 153, p75.
      . 1803 Mar 7, Patent, Crown, to Abner Miles, ALL190 Acres.
      . 1840 Nov 12, Indenture, Hannah Playter etal, to Elizabeth Arnold et all.
      . 1844 Mar 4, Bargin&Sale, John Langstaff Etui, to Lewis Langstall, £1000, All 190A.

      Log 46, Con 1 West Side Yonge Street, Richmond Hill, Abstract Vaughan, Book 171, p5-7
      [Now Arnold St. & Yonge St., Richmond Hill.]
      . 1803 May 14, Patent, Crown, to Abner Miles, All 210 ac.
      . 1840 Nov 12, Partition, Hannah Playter teal, to Elizabeth Arnold, [i.e. her sister] All Ac.
      . 1840 Jan 28, B&S, John Arnold & Elizabeth his wife, to John B Arnold, £1200, 204 ac.
      . 1842 Mar 12, B&S, John R Arnold, Arch Wright,£150, Pt Half ac.
      . 1849 Mar 22, Release [of Dowerage], Hannah Playter etal, to R E Burns, All Ac.
      . 1905 Jan 3, Grant, Blanche Evans,Geo D Green, Execors John Arnold, tochas & John S Kirkland, $4500., West 76Ac.
      1894 Jul 24, Grant, David Boyle, to John T Boyle, $1 & love, Water privileges in all
      . 1926 Apr 27, Gran, Blanche Evans, Geo W. & Adrienne Green, Blanche & Edith G J Evans, & Mary F W Mussen, to Arthur D Parker, $3000 & Premise, Part in all.
      . 1940 Jan 18, Grant, Accty. Supreme Court of Ontario, to Edith G J Evans & Madeleine M Zeller, Trustees John R Arnold, $1 etc.Parts in all

      Lot 36, Con 1 ESY, Markham, Book 91, p6
      . 1803 Sep 15, Patent, Crown, to Abner Miles, All 190A
      . 1808 Nov 21, B&S, James Miles, to John Langstaff, £250. All 190A.
      . 1887 Feb 21, Grant, High Court of Justice, Miles Langstaff, $309, West East Half
      . 1893 Feb 2, Quit Claim, Miles Langstaff, to Ralph L Langstt & Simeon Miller, $450, W Part 100 A.

      Lot 29, Con 1 ESY, Vaughan, Book 179, p82
      . 1798 Dec 14, Patent, Corown, to Asa Johnson, All 210 Arces.
      . 1798 Dec 27, B&S Asa Johnson et ux, to Abner Miles £312.10 210Acres.
      . 1832 Jan 20, B&S, James Miles, to John Arnold, 5 shillings, 210A.

      . 1806 Nov 29, Sat. - Death of Abner Miles.
      Abner Miles, an old time resident of York, had passed away, for all persons indebted to the estate of the late Abner Miles, of Yonge street, deceased, are requested to make payment without delay, or their accounts will put into the hands of an attorney for collection & all persons having demands on said estate are required to bring their several accounts, regularly attested, with 4 months from this date for payment. James Miles, Executor, Mercy Miles, Executrix.

      . 1806 Nov 27 Abner Miles his Abner Miles Inn sold to another former resident of the Genesee country, Dr Thomas Stoyell which became Stoyell's Tavern.

      . 1988 - Founders Day
      In 1988 The Society held a “Founders Day” in the Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church Cemetery. Many of the early settlers of the Richmond Hill area are buried there including Abner Miles who passed away in 1806.

      Transcripts by PJ Ahlberg. Thank You. - - - [1]

  • Sources 
    1. [S43] Ontario Land Registry Office.