Miles Reunion
Photo of Olive Thacker Miles and Berniece Miles Atwood during the early homesteading years!
Doug & Llyod Miles
As told by Douglas Miles 8/2017
In January 2, 1914 Olive and Edgar were married. Olive lived in Charleston, and Edgar in Peoa, Utah. They met while attending BYU academy High School in Provo Utah. They traveled to Mountain Home Utah by horse and wagon and by sleigh. There wasn’t any work besides the silver mines park city.
Olive said “I don’t want you to work in those mines.” Edgar said “I don’t want to.”
Olive said “Doesn’t your dad have that homestead in Mt Home?” “You bet.” Said Edgar, and he talked to his dad.
Olive and Edgar traveled to Mountain Home over Wolf Creek. Edgar’s father James Henry Miles traveled with them to make sure they got over the mountain. They left their wagon on one side of the mountain, then took a sleigh when the snow was deep.
They had a bed on top of their sleigh, a team of horses and a big old colt broke to ride that they took with them. Other people had been traveling the trails so the snow was trampled down, except it was April so the snow would get soft and they could sink in, so they traveled early in the morning while it was still frozen. The sleigh was quite high with the bed up on it, Olive was scared to ride up so high, so she rode the colt.
They got half way over the top the first day, a cabin was there they could stay in, there was a trap door in the roof so you could get inside when the snow was deep. They stayed there the first day. The cabin was right on top of Tabby Mountain where it comes over wolf creek. The road is the same road that’s there now. When they came they traveled until the snow got soft, then, they’d wake up in the middle of the night when the snow was frozen and they came to Hannah.
In January 2, 1914 Olive and Edgar were married. Olive lived in Charleston, and Edgar in Peoa, Utah. They met while attending BYU academy High School in Provo Utah. They traveled to Mountain Home Utah by horse and wagon and by sleigh. There wasn’t any work besides the silver mines park city.
Olive said “I don’t want you to work in those mines.” Edgar said “I don’t want to.”
Olive said “Doesn’t your dad have that homestead in Mt Home?” “You bet.” Said Edgar, and he talked to his dad.
Olive and Edgar traveled to Mountain Home over Wolf Creek. Edgar’s father James Henry Miles traveled with them to make sure they got over the mountain. They left their wagon on one side of the mountain, then took a sleigh when the snow was deep.
They had a bed on top of their sleigh, a team of horses and a big old colt broke to ride that they took with them. Other people had been traveling the trails so the snow was trampled down, except it was April so the snow would get soft and they could sink in, so they traveled early in the morning while it was still frozen. The sleigh was quite high with the bed up on it, Olive was scared to ride up so high, so she rode the colt.
They got half way over the top the first day, a cabin was there they could stay in, there was a trap door in the roof so you could get inside when the snow was deep. They stayed there the first day. The cabin was right on top of Tabby Mountain where it comes over wolf creek. The road is the same road that’s there now. When they came they traveled until the snow got soft, then, they’d wake up in the middle of the night when the snow was frozen and they came to Hannah.
Oscar Wilkins Hand Dug Well, nicely rocked
Grandpa Oscar Wilkins dug and dug and dug, to find water for a well. He didn’t have his well witched, but it was a really deep well, and he rocked the whole well. It was like building a rock fireplace. He did a very fine job of building the well and it’s on our Miles Cousin’s property, We will go see the well at the reunion.
Oscar Wilkins was an old man when he came out to the Uintah Basin. It was his second time of homesteading. He had one homestead in Peoa, People only had like 40 acres so he hurried and got right out there to the Uintah Basin when homesteading opened up. He was too old to do the work, but he had the 4 boys to do the work. He was High in the LDS Church. He figured out how to bring water from Moon Lake. He found the little lakes in the mountains he figured out how to store the irrigation water in the mountains and they had the water in 5 or 6 lakes up there. It took money. He went to the apostles and took one apostle up into the mountains, and showed him what was planned. They figured out how much money they needed, $30,000. The church loaned them the money.
The grazing they brought the water down into Mountain Home through is a big flat sagebrush filled field with lots of rock. When they got down a couple of miles from Mt. Home, to the waterfalls, it was Saturday night. Sunday morning They couldn’t wait to bring the water in, so, Edgar, Grandpa Miles and Grandpa Wilkins plowed a ditch from where it was to Mt. Home. As they went the water followed them. They plowed thought the sage brush and cobble rocks to the head of Fay’s (Fay Miles) field.
Oscar Wilkins was an old man when he came out to the Uintah Basin. It was his second time of homesteading. He had one homestead in Peoa, People only had like 40 acres so he hurried and got right out there to the Uintah Basin when homesteading opened up. He was too old to do the work, but he had the 4 boys to do the work. He was High in the LDS Church. He figured out how to bring water from Moon Lake. He found the little lakes in the mountains he figured out how to store the irrigation water in the mountains and they had the water in 5 or 6 lakes up there. It took money. He went to the apostles and took one apostle up into the mountains, and showed him what was planned. They figured out how much money they needed, $30,000. The church loaned them the money.
The grazing they brought the water down into Mountain Home through is a big flat sagebrush filled field with lots of rock. When they got down a couple of miles from Mt. Home, to the waterfalls, it was Saturday night. Sunday morning They couldn’t wait to bring the water in, so, Edgar, Grandpa Miles and Grandpa Wilkins plowed a ditch from where it was to Mt. Home. As they went the water followed them. They plowed thought the sage brush and cobble rocks to the head of Fay’s (Fay Miles) field.
Edgar said to Doug “Boy if I was a young man now, with all the work there is, I wouldn’t be sitting around, I’d be working!” He had the first car in the high country, and when they came, they started out with nothing, just their bed, horses and wagon. Grandma Wilkins got them some chickens, and then they had eggs. They could take the eggs to the store to trade them in for goods. They had setting hens that laid eggs. They also had a rooster and then they had some little chickens.
Sunday afternoon after church they drove over to the lake fork river to catch some nice trout, and they ate a lot of cottontail, they’re tasty. Sage chickens are good eating too, there were so many sage chickens that you could kill them with a stick. They planted a garden and had the setting hens. In April when Olive and Edgar came. There were two or three big herds of sheep Mr. Murdock and Mr. Clide were wealthy sheep men, they leased the country from the Indians to run their sheep on. Sheep will have one to three babies and one or two is ok, but not there is not enough milk for three lambs. Edgar would go get the bum lambs and raise them on cow’s milk. After 2 or 3 years, Olive and Edgar were making a good living with sheep, until they got their grade a milk cows going. They had the first car in the basin bought with money saved while making a living like this. There was a creamery in Altonah for the milk and before that, milk was hauled to Duchesne every day. Fay Miles hauled the milk for a while.
Sunday afternoon after church they drove over to the lake fork river to catch some nice trout, and they ate a lot of cottontail, they’re tasty. Sage chickens are good eating too, there were so many sage chickens that you could kill them with a stick. They planted a garden and had the setting hens. In April when Olive and Edgar came. There were two or three big herds of sheep Mr. Murdock and Mr. Clide were wealthy sheep men, they leased the country from the Indians to run their sheep on. Sheep will have one to three babies and one or two is ok, but not there is not enough milk for three lambs. Edgar would go get the bum lambs and raise them on cow’s milk. After 2 or 3 years, Olive and Edgar were making a good living with sheep, until they got their grade a milk cows going. They had the first car in the basin bought with money saved while making a living like this. There was a creamery in Altonah for the milk and before that, milk was hauled to Duchesne every day. Fay Miles hauled the milk for a while.
Story of tragedy and miracles over Wolf Creek Oscar Wilkins Jr.
One reason Olive and Edgar came over that way when the snow was hard, was they knew Edgar’s uncle, Oscar Wilkins Jr. (Brother to Hannah Elizabeth Wilkins Miles, Edgar’s mother) had been buried on top of the mountain in a snow slide. He headed to Peoa that same winter, and his team got stuck and he went around behind the sleigh backward to get out of the snow it was stuck in. He hooked up his team to the back of the sleigh to pull it out. The runners of the sleigh turned up in the front, in the back the runners are straight, the straight back runners dug into the snow and they figured that triggered a snow slide. Buried him, his team, and his dog. His Brothers and dad came to find him, couldn’t figure out where he was, so they knelt down and prayed and they camped till they could find him. They went to sleep and one of his brothers had a dream of the whole thing happening. He knew right where he was at, and where he would be. Just like he’d seen in the dream there was Oscar JR. Oscar Wilkins son. His sleigh, team and dog were there buried in the snow. Olive and Edgar lived in Oscar Jr’s cabin when they arrived in Mountain Home.
When Olive and Edgar got to the bottom of the Stock More, by Hannah, Grandpa James Henry Miles saw them safely there and then he went back to Peoa. Edgar rode back to the top of the mountain with him, then Edgar came on. Edgar and Olive took a wagon that was left at the bottom of the mountain from there onto Mt. Home.
Grandpa went back, then, during the day they rested in a hole dug in the snow, then came on when the snow had frozen at night.
As Olive and Edgar came down the road, all the people from Tabby, Peoa, Kamas, who had come to the basin, would see a wagon coming and run down to the road and insist you came to have breakfast or dinner, and ask about everyone back home! Everyone was really friendly and helpful with anything they could help you with. Olive and Edgar came on down the Duchesne river through Tabby and to Utahn, and turned North and went up through Talmage or Boneta to get there (they had two roads) The Talmage way had rock ledges to go up over if they went up Utahn through Talmage to Mountain Home.
They got to Mountain Home, and there was Oscar’s cabin (who was buried in the snow) his cabin was there for them live in.
Grandpa went back, then, during the day they rested in a hole dug in the snow, then came on when the snow had frozen at night.
As Olive and Edgar came down the road, all the people from Tabby, Peoa, Kamas, who had come to the basin, would see a wagon coming and run down to the road and insist you came to have breakfast or dinner, and ask about everyone back home! Everyone was really friendly and helpful with anything they could help you with. Olive and Edgar came on down the Duchesne river through Tabby and to Utahn, and turned North and went up through Talmage or Boneta to get there (they had two roads) The Talmage way had rock ledges to go up over if they went up Utahn through Talmage to Mountain Home.
They got to Mountain Home, and there was Oscar’s cabin (who was buried in the snow) his cabin was there for them live in.
Home Edgar Built in Mountain Home
Edgar’s home he built in Mountain Home. South of the Mountain Home store and across the road, Rose (Edgar’s sister Emma Rose Miles) and Buster Stevenson lived there, that was the house Edgar built in town. We’ll tour it at the reunion.
Edgar went ahead and dug him a well. Someone knew how to witch a well. He had the guy witch him a well, then they had water in their house.
Edgar went ahead and dug him a well. Someone knew how to witch a well. He had the guy witch him a well, then they had water in their house.
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