John Miles (abt. 1705 - 1791)

Husband of Hannah (Wilkins) Miles — married 17 Dec 1727 in Priston, Somerset, England

Descendants

Died 1791 at about age 86 in Englishcombe, Somerset, England

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Biography

John was born about 1705 and at this point we have no firm indication of where he was born, who were his parents and how he came to be living and working in the Englishcombe/Priston region in 1727 when he married Hannah Wilkins at St Luke Church, Priston. When they married on the 17th December 1727, they were no older than 21 or 22; possibly decided that they liked the feel of Priston and they’d settle in for the winter or longer. Hannah’s pregnancy may also have been a determining factor; she gave birth to their first child, John Junior, in July 1728 and his baptism was recorded both at Priston and Englishcombe. Their marriage in 1727 was the first “Miles” marriage recorded in either of these two parishes. It was only the 3rd marriage in Priston for 1727 – in fact their marriage was only the 3rd for the period between 1723 and 1727. In the same period, Priston had 15 baptisms and 9 burials, so I think that some home husbandry was seen as a good thing.

John and Hannah stayed in the area, moving between Priston, Inglesbatch and Englishcombe for more than the next half century, raising nine children and many, many grandchildren and great grandchildren. He died on the 5th October 1791 at the grand age of 86, and was noted in an obituary published in the Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette on 20 October 1791. "Lately died in his 88th year, John Miles senior clerk of the parish church of Inglescombe; he retained his mental faculties almost to his last moments and could read the smallest print without spectacles.”

Interestingly he was recorded as a pauper on the parish burial records which has prompted me to do some further research on sojourners, woollen burials and paupers.

Sources

Burial: Somerset : Englishcombe : St Peter : : "Parish Register" database, FreeREG (https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5818de2ce93790ec75b8d70d : viewed 31 Jan 2023) burial John Miles 05 Oct 1791

Marriage: Somerset : Priston : St Luke : Parish Register : "Parish Register" database, FreeREG (https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/58186155e93790eb7fb14826 : viewed 19 Jan 2023) marriage John Miles to Hannah Wilkins 17 Dec 1727

Burial: Somerset : Englishcombe : St Peter : : "Parish Register" database, FreeREG (https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5818de2ce93790ec75b8d70d : viewed 19 Jan 2023) burial John Miles 05 Oct 1791