Thoughts and stories, by Pal

One of our ancestors who helped settle New Haven and Stratford, Connecticut.  Moses Wheeler was the first white person to live to be 100 in New England! MOSES WHEELER,  on the Allen/Wilson/Fairchild  Line   Coat of Arms        Moses Wheeler, immigrant ancestor, was born in England, very likely in the county of Kent, in 1598. The Wheeler family had lived there for over four hundred years. He saile d from London in 1638, when he was 40 years old, and settled in the New Haven colony. He was among the first to receive an allotment in that colony. There he married Miriam Hawley , sister of Joseph Hawley, one of the first settlers in the colony, and a very prominent man. He was expelled from the colony in 1648 because of a slight infringement of one of the Blue Laws, for which the colony was noted. According to tradition he had been away for several months, and returned on a Sunday. Forgetting the "Blue Laws" in his joy at his return, he k...

My maiden name was Miles -- I am Paralee Miles (Eckman) and my father was Orson Pratt Miles, my grandfather William Gustavus Miles, and my great grandfather Samuel Miles.  Each of their histories are in this blog, and can be found listed under their names.  Today I will give a brief history of the Miles (Myles) line back as far as we have information.                                               THE MILES FAMILY ORIGINS       The name is said to date back to the Roman Occupation of the British Isles in the 500's, and was originally Miles-itis, meaning a soldier – (hence militia, military, etc.)     It also is generally accepted that the origin of the family was in Wales, and from which all the families in other parts of the British Isles descended.     The first Miles (Myles) we know of is William Miles or Myles o...