Collection 2367 - A. W. Miles Family Records, 1882-1997
Creator:Miles, A. W. (Arthur Wellington), 1859-1933
Provenance Note:Personal and professional papers created or collected by members of the Miles family between 1882 and 1997 were donated to Special Collections by Elsie Miles of Billings, Montana on July 7, 1997.
Historical Note:Arthur Wellington Miles came to Montana in 1880 while serving as Army paymaster at Fort Keogh near present-day Miles City. Following his resignation from the Army, Miles started a hardware business at Coulson and, by 1882, opened a similar business in Billings. Later in that year he joined Colonel A. L. Babcock in creating the Bozeman firm, Babcock & Miles. During the winter of 1882-1883, Miles opened his first business in Livingston. By 1893 the partnership with Babcock was severed and Miles concentrated his business ventures in Livingston and its surrounding communities. His operations in Livingston grew to include the A. W. Miles Lumber and Coal Company, the A. W. Miles Land and Investment Company, and the A. W. Miles Company. The Miles name would also hold a majority interest in the Thompson Company and the Park Ice and Storage Company. In addition to these businesses Miles owned an extensive sheep ranch and held a controlling interest in numerous companies across Montana. Through the Miles Land and Investment Company, the Livingston Theatre, the Park Hotel, and the Miles Building were constructed.
Beyond business interests, A. W. Miles played an important role in state and local politics. He was elected and served two terms as Mayor of Livingston beginning in 1887. Between 1906 and 1909 Miles served as a state senator representing Park County.A. W. Miles married Idella M. Draper in 1885. Together the couple had four children: Louise Gertrude, Adena Josephine, Perry, and Daniel Nelson. By the late 1920s Daniel Miles took control of the companies as his father retired to Los Angeles, California. A. W. Miles died in 1933. Dan Miles continued operating the primary companies and other business interests including mining and ranching. Like his father, Dan Miles also played a significant role in local politics and civic organizations. In 1982, the A. W. Miles company was dissolved.
Content Description Note: The A. W. Miles papers include correspondence, business documents, land and legal documents, insurance and financial records, and personal articles relating to the family and the various Miles businesses.Subjects include real estate transactions, property management concerns, lumber and coal business, and Yellowstone National Park.
Contents
| Series 1 | Correspondence, 1888-1997 Personal and business letters to and from members of the Miles family |
| Series 2 | Literary Productions Speeches, fiction, diaries, and journals by members of the Miles family |
| Series 3 | Insurance Documents Insurance summaries, insurance policies, payment receipts, insurance registers, and related correspondence |
| Series 4 | Photographs Primarily unidentified photographs and an album with Yellowstone National Park images, ca. 1916 |
| Series 5 | Topical Files Memberships, memorabilia, scrapbook materials |
| Series 6 | Land and Property Documents, 1886-1975 Deeds, mortgages, land abstracts, titles, building surveys, and leases all pertaining to property owned by the Miles family and connected businesses |
| Series 7 | Legal Documents, 1882-1984 Land contracts, letters of patent, employment, purchase and sale contracts, wills, bills of sale and other legal documents |
| Series 8 | Financial Records, 1887-1982 Documents and material related to the family's personal and business finances. Included in this series are financial statements, tax documents, business and personal ledgers, rent books, bank statements, deposit records, promissory notes, expense records, wage books, stock certificates, and more. |
Series 1: Correspondence, 1888-1997
Letters to and from members of the Miles family. Much of the correspondence includes comments on the state of the various businesses controlled by the Miles family. Files in this series are arranged chronologically. At the end of the series are two files containing correspondence that is either incomplete or without a date.
- Box 1
- 1. 1888
- 2. 1893
- 3. 1894
- 4.1899
- 5.1900
- 6.1901
- 7.1902
- 8.1903
- 9.1904
- 10.1905
- 11.1906
- 12.1907
- 13.1908
- 14.1909
- 15.1910
- 16.1912
- 17.1913
- 18.1914
- 19. 1915
- 20.1916
- 21.1917
- 22.1918
- 23.1919
- 24.1920
- 25.1921
- 26.1922
- 27.1923
- 28.1924
- 29.1925
- 30.1926
- Box 2
- 1.1927
- 2.1928
- 3.1929
- 4.1930
- 5.1931
- 6.1932
- 7.1933
- 8.1934
- 9.1935
- 10.1936
- 11.1937
- 12.1938
- 13.1939
- 14.1940
- Box 3
- 1.1941
- 2.1942
- 3.1943
- 4.1944
- 5.1945
- 6.1946
- 7.1947
- 8.1948
- 9.1949
- 10.1950
- 11.1951
- 12.1952
- 13.1953
- 14.1954
- 15.1955
- 16.1956
- 17.1957
- 18.1958
- 19.1960
- 20.1961
- 21.1962
- 22.1963
- 23.1965
- 24.1966
- 25.1967
- 26.1968
- 27.1969
- Box 4
- 1.1978
- 2.1979
- 3.1981
- 4.1982
- 5.1986
- 6.1988
- 7.1993
- 8.1997
- 9. Correspondence Without Dates
- 10.Correspondence Without Dates
Contents | Special Collections
Series 2: Literary Productions, ca. 1923-1973
Contains speeches, fiction, diaries, and journals by members of the Miles family. Also included in this series are pamphlets, leaflets, newspaper and magazine clippings in which they were either collected or written by a member of the Miles family. Under the miscellaneous heading are speeches or pieces of fiction of which a complete copy is not available. Of particular note are the typed manuscripts of the two children's books written by Dan Miles. Box 6 contains bound materials consisting of diaries, journals, and appointment books.
- Box 5
- 1.Partial Biography of Edward H. Moorman
- 2.Newspaper/Magazine articles collected by Miles family
- 3.Northern Herd News
- 4.Newspaper/Magazine articles by Miles family
- 5.Published articles about Miles family members
- 6.Yarns of Yellowstone--Rough Draft
- 7.A Lamb's Tale--Rough Draft
- 8.Miscellaneous, incomplete, unsigned fiction and speeches
- 9.Speeches & Papers delivered by A. W. Miles
- 10.Speeches & Papers delivered by Dan Miles
- 11.A. W. Miles, Biography (2)
- 12.Dan Miles, Autobiographical sketch
- 13.Diary, 1922
- 14.Address Book, 1939
- Box 6
- 1.Diary, 1926
- 2.Diary, 1937
- 3.Diary, 1952
- 4.Diary, 1954
- 5.Address Book, 1973
- 6.Appointment Book, 1959
Contents | Special Collections
Series 3: Insurance Documents, 1891-1982
Series 3 contains all insurance related documents. Within the series documents are grouped into various subseries. These subgroups contain: Insurance summaries, insurance policies, payment receipts, insurance registers, and related correspondence. The summaries are compiled lists of policy coverage for business and personal interests and are filed chronologically. Policies, payment receipts, and correspondence are filed by company name.NOTE: It is likely that some insurance related correspondence will also be found throughout Series 1.
- Box 7
- Insurance Summaries
- 1.1911
- 2.1913
- 3.1914
- 4.1915
- 5.1925
- 6.1928
- 7.1951
- Insurance Policies
- 8.American States Insurance Co.
- 9.Clayton and Working Agency
- 10.Commercial Union Insurance Co.
- 11.Firemen's Insurance Co.
- 12.Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co.
- 13.Knoxville Fire Insurance Co.
- 14.Lloyd's of London
- 15.Lumbermen's Underwriting Alliance
- 16.Montana Life Insurance Co.
- 17.Montana Livestock & Casualty InsuranceCo.
- 18.The Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York
- 19.Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
- 20.Northwestern National Insurance Group
- 21.Reliance Insurance Co.
- 22.St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co.
- 23.The Supreme Lodge Knights of Pythias
- 24.United States Fidelity and Guaranty Co.
- Insurance Correspondence
- 25.Bankers Life Co.
- 26.C. E. Hildreth
- 27.Central Life Assurance Society
- 28.Continental Life Insurance Co.
- 29.Davis & Clayton Agency
- 30.The Equitable Life Assurance Society
- 31.Lumbermen's Underwriting Alliance
- 32.The Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Co.
- 33.Missouri State Life Insurance Co.
- 34.Montana Life Insurance Co.
- 35.The Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York
- 36.Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
- 37.The Supreme Lodge: Knights of Pythias
- 38.United Mutual Insurance Co.
- 39.United Agencies
- 40.Insurance Register, 1933-1934
- Box 8
- 1. Miscellaneous Insurance Documents
- 2.Worker's Compensation Documents, 1979-1982
- Insurance Receipts
- 3.The Bankers Life Association
- 4.Central Life Assurance Society
- 5.Continental Life Insurance Co.
- 6.The Equitable Life Assurance Society
- 7.Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Co.
- 8.Montana Life Insurance Co.
- 9.Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York
- 10.New York Life Insurance Co.
- 11.Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
- 12.The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co.
- 13.The Prudential Insurance Co.
- 14.Supreme Lodge Knights of Pythias
- 15.Royal Insurance Co. LTD.
- 16.United Agencies
- 17.Western Life Insurance Co.
Contents | Special Collections
Series 4: Photographs, 1916-1970
Includes one photo album and loose photographs taken from the early 1910s to the late 1970s. In most cases, no descriptions are written on the back of the photographs. Of particular note is the photo album which contains numerous pictures from the Livingston/Yellowstone area in 1916.
- Box 9
- 1.Photo Album
- 2.Loose Photographs, numbers #1-29
Contents | Special Collections
Series 5: Topical Files
This series includes files that do not necessarily fit into any specific category within this collection. Documents (partial or complete) that could not be labeled to fit a specific category were placed in the final two folders entitled "Miscellaneous." File 13 contains various pieces of Miles memorabilia. This includes a company calendar, blank checks, and business stationary.
- Box 9 (cont.)
- 3.City Business License, 1962, 1963
- 4.Yellowstone Park travel statistics
- 5.Rotary Club information
- 6.Woodmen of the World
- 7.Mining Information
- 8.National Parks Highway Association
- 9.Chamber of Commerce Certificate
- 10.Livingston Tennis Club Meeting Notes (bound volume)
- 11.Miscellaneous (A)
- 12.Miscellaneous (B)
- 13.Display Items
- Oversize Folder--Ancient Arabic Order Certificate
Contents | Special Collections
Series 6: Land and Property Documents, 1886-1975
Included in this series are deeds, mortgages, land abstracts, titles, building surveys, and leases all pertaining to property owned by the Miles family and connected businesses. Also included in this series are blueprints and maps marking property owned by the Miles Land and Investment Co. With the exception of the Building Survey folder, all documents are filed chronologically.
- Box 10
- 1.1886
- 2.1888
- 3.1889
- 4.1890
- 5.1891
- 6.1892
- 7.1893
- 8.1894
- 9.1895
- 10.1898
- 11.1899
- 12.1900
- 13.1901
- 14.1902
- 15.1903
- 16.1904
- 17.1905
- 18.1906
- 19.1907
- 20.1908
- 21.1909
- 22.1910
- 23.1911
- 24.1912
- 25.1913
- 26.1914
- 27.1915
- 28.1916
- 29.1917
- 30.1918
- 31.1919
- Box 11
- 1.1920
- 2.1921
- 3.1922
- 4.1923
- 5.1924
- 6.1925
- 7.1927
- 8.1928
- 9.1929
- 10.1930
- 11.1934
- 12.1936
- 13.1937
- 14.1944
- 15.1946
- 16.1947
- 17.1954
- 18.1955
- 19.1956
- 20.1958
- 21.1959
- 22.1960
- 23.1965
- 24.1966
- 25.1968
- 26.1969
- 27.1971
- 28.1972
- 29.1973
- 30.1974
- 31.1975
- 32. Building Surveys
- Oversize Folder--Gallatin/Absaroka National Forest Maps
- Oversize Folder--Park Hotel Blueprints
- Oversize Folder--Unknown Store Plan
Contents | Special Collections
Series 7: Legal Documents, 1882-1984
Series 7 includes land contracts, letters of patent, employment, purchase and sale contracts, wills, bills of sale and any other documents of a legal nature. This series is arranged chronologicallyfollowed with separate folders for wills, letters of patent, and meeting minutes.
- Box 12
- 1.Legal Documents without dates
- 2.1882
- 3.1884
- 4.1891
- 5.1892
- 6.1893
- 7.1896
- 8.1898
- 9.1899
- 10.1900
- 11.1901
- 12.1902
- 13.1903
- 14.1904
- 15.1905
- 16.1906
- 17.1907
- 18.1908
- 19.1909
- 20.1910
- 21.1911
- 22.1912
- 23.1913
- 24.1914
- 25.1915
- 26.1916
- 27.1917
- 28.1919
- 29.1920
- 30.1921
- 31.1922
- 32.1923
- 33.1924
- 34.1927
- 35.1928
- Box 13
- 1.1929
- 2.1930
- 3.1936
- 4.1939
- 5.1949
- 6.1952
- 7.1956
- 8.1962
- 9.1964
- 10.1965
- 11.1970
- 12.1972
- 13.1973
- 14.1974
- 15.1976
- 16.1979
- 17.1982
- 18.1984
- 19.Last Will and Testament, Daniel N. Miles
- 20.Last Will and Testament, Arthur W. Miles
- 21.Minutes, Stockholder's Meetings
- 22.Meeting Minutes, The Thompson Co. 1902-1911 (Bound)
- 23.Meeting Minutes, A.W. Miles Co. of Clyde Park, MT (Bound)
- 24.Letters of Patent, 1892
- 25.Letters of Patent, 1893
- 26.Letters of Patent, 1895
Contents | Special Collections
Series 8: Financial Records, 1887-1982
The largest series in the Miles Papers, this section contains all documents and material related to the family's personal and business finances. Included in this series are financial statements, tax documents, business and personal ledgers, rent books, bank statements, deposit records, promissory notes, expense records, wage books, stock certificates, and more. Boxes 14 and 15 are devoted almost exclusively to financial statements and are arranged in a chronological order. These financial statements are laundry lists of assets and liabilities of both business and personal affairs. At the end of this subgroup are cumulative and comparative statements covering numerous years and statements without dates. Although extensive, the financial records are often fragmentary and inconsistent. In many cases, loose papers were placed between the pages of the bound ledgers. These items were left in their original position inside the bound volumes.
- Financial Statements
- Box 14
- 1.1892
- 2.1893
- 3.1894
- 4.1898
- 5.1900
- 6.1901
- 7.1902
- 8.1903
- 9.1905
- 10.1906
- 11.1907
- 12.1908
- 13.1909
- 14.1910
- 15.1911
- 16.1912
- 17.1913
- 18.1914
- 19.1915
- 20.1916
- 21.1917
- 22.1918
- 23.1919
- 24.1920
- 25.1921
- 26.1922
- 27.1923
- 28.1924
- 29.1925
- 30.1926
- 31.1927
- 32.1928
- 33.1929
- 34.1930
- 35.1931
- 36.1932
- 37.1933
- 38.1934
- 39.1935
- 40.1936
- 41.1939
- 42.1940
- 43.1941
- 44.1943
- 45.1944
- 46.1945
- 47.1947
- 48.1948
- 49.1950-1959
- Box 16
- 1.Federal Tax Documents, 1916-1919
- 2.Federal Tax Documents, 1922-1926
- 3.Federal Tax Documents, 1928-1933
- 4.Federal Tax Documents, 1943-1947
- 5.Federal Tax Documents, 1975-1983
- 6.Montana State Tax Documents, 1895, 1916
- 7.Montana State Tax Documents, 1929-1935
- 8.Montana State Tax Documents, 1947-1949
- 9.Montana State Tax Documents, 1979-1982
- 10.Park County Tax Documents, 1896-1902
- 11.Park County Tax Documents, 1917-1919
- 12.Park County Tax Documents, 1920-1927
- 13.Park County Tax Documents, 1974-1981
- 14.Check Stubs (A. W. Miles Lumber & Coal Co.), May, 1976-1978
- 15.Check Stubs, 1975-1977
- 16.Bank Deposit Record Book, Oct. 1976-Dec. 1976
- 17.Bank Deposit Record Book, Sept. 1976-Dec. 1976
- 18.Bank Deposit Record Book, June 1976-Sept. 1976
- 19.Bank Deposit Record Book, Dec. 1976-March 1977
- 20.Bank Deposit Record Book, July 1976-Oct. 1976
- 21.Bank Deposit Record Book, Jan. 1977-April 1977
- 22.Bank Deposit Record Book, March 1977-June 1977
- 23.First Security Bank Statements, 1978
- 24.First National Park Bank Statements 1978-1982
- 25.First National Park Bank Statements 1928-1929
- 26.National Bank of Montana Statements 1912, 1915
- 27.National Bank of Montana Deposit Book, 1915
- 28.First State Bank Deposit Book, 1913
- 29.Stillwater Valley Bank (Ohio) Deposit Book, 1899-1901
- Box 17
- 1.Payroll Book, Jan. 1904-June 1908
- 2.Payroll Book, Dec. 1965-Oct. 1971
- 3.Payroll Book, 1975
- 4.Payroll Records, 1977
- 5.Payroll Book, 1977
- 6.Rent Book, 1909-1914
- 7.Rent Book, 1914-1917
- 8.Rent Book, 1916-1923
- Box 18
- 1.Trial Balance, 1922 & Rent Book, 1954-1966
- 2.Miles Land & Investment Co. Appraisement, 1936
- 3.Miles Land & Investment Co. Appraisement, 1939
- 4.Business Journal, 1930
- 5.General Store Ledger and Miscellaneous financial records, 1948-1971
- Box 19
- 1.Bills Receivable, 1887-1889
- 2.Bills Payable, 1887-1888
- 3.Bills Payable, 1890-1893
- 4.Bills Receivable, 1890-1899
- 5.Bills Receivable, 1900-1909
- 6.Bills Receivable, 1910-1919
- 7.Bills Payable, 1915-1918
- 8.Bills Receivable, 1920-1929
- 9.Bills Payable, 1920-1926
- 10.Bills Receivable, 1930-1939
- 11.Bills Payable--Ledger, 1916-1937
- 12.Bills Payable--Ledger, 1910-1925
- 13.List of Outstanding Notes
- 14.Notes and Bills Receivable--Ledger, 1909-1926
- 15.Curtis' Note Collection Register, 1904-1913
- Box 20
- 1.Park Ice & Storage--Account Book, 1927
- 2.Deposit Record Book, 1915-1920
- 3.Personal Expense Book, 1915-1916
- 4.Personal Expense Book/Ledger, 1916
- 5.Personal Expense Book/Ledger--A. W. Miles, 1899-1916
- 6.Personal Expense Book/Ledger, 1919
- 7.General Expense Book, 1957-1973
- Box 21
- 1.Cash Book, 1915
- 2.Cash Book, 1916-1917
- 3.Cash Book, 1917
- 4.Cash Book, 1914-1930
- 5.Cash Book, 1929
- 6.Cash Book, Jan. 1934
- Box 22
- 1.Ledger, 1916-1917
- 2.Ledger, 1922
- 3.Ledger, 1914-1918
- 4.Ledger, 1919-1921
- Box 23
- 1.Ledger, 1966
- 2.Ledger, 1967
- 3.Ledger, 1968
- 4.Ledger, 1969
- 5.Ledger, 1970
- 6.Ledger, 1971
- Box 24
- 1.Ledger, 1972
- 2.Ledger, 1973
- 3.Ledger, 1974
- 4.Ledger, 1975
- 5.Ledger, 1976
- 6.Ledger, 1977-1982
- Box 25
- 1.Ledger, 1924
- 2.Checkbook Record, Jan. 1923-Feb. 1927
- 3.Ledger/Cash Journal, Jan. 1914-1917
- Volume 1Invoice Record, July 1910-March 1911
- Volume 2Insurance Ledger, 1907-1968
- Volume 3Cash Book, 1919-1924
- Volume 4Cash Ledger, 1917-1918
- Volume 5General Ledger, 1913
- Volume 6Wage and Expense Ledger, 1978
Contents | Special Collections
Updated: 4/20/09
