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Miles Park Romney

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Miles Park Romney

1843 – 1904

The family tree from which Miles Park Romney sprang had its roots planted in English soil centuries before the family came to America.  They belonged to the middle class.  Miles Romney, father of Miles Park, married Elizabeth Gaskell.  Miles P. was the 5th child of seven children and 4th born to this couple.

Miles and Elizabeth, on their way to market, saw a group of people assembled on a street corner.  They were curious as to what attracted the crowd.  They discovered it was a religious gathering and that the preacher was a Mormon missionary from America.  They learned later that it was Orson Hyde, an Apostle, to whom they had listened.  This was in 1837.  In September, 1839, Miles Romney, his wife and son George were baptized. 

The family left England in 1841 to gather with the Saints in Nauvoo.  It took 51 days to reach New Orleans.  Miles Park Romney was born August 18, 1843, in Nauvoo, Illinois, a little less than one year before the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum.  Three years after his birth, the Saints were driven from their beloved city.

Destitute, the family sought employment among strangers in three or four places, finally finding temporary employment in St. Louis, Missouri, where they remained until 1850.  Then they were on the move again, this time to join the Saints in Salt Lake City, a distance of nearly 2,000 miles.  The hardships and trials of this journey no doubt had a profound effect in molding the character of this lad.  While a young, barefoot boy, he herded cows at the base of the Wasatch Mountains with other boys.  One of them was Joseph F. Smith, who later became President of the Church.

Because of the need to help support the family, Miles P.’s education was neglected.  He went to school but a few terms in his entered life.  In fact, he never entered a schoolroom after he was 12.  Yet, through his own efforts he became a well-educated man.

During the Johnston’s Army episode, he brother George was a captain among those sent by President Young to harass the federal army and keep them from entering the city.  Miles P., only 14 then, had great aspirations for military service and followed his brother several miles up the canyon east of the city, much to his brother’s displeasure.  No argument proved sufficient until Captain George thought of a scheme which worked.  He wrote a letter President Young asking that the boy be kept home.  He told Miles he had a special message for the President which should be delivered.  Miles accepted the mission proudly, having no idea of the contents.  He was kept home.

In those early days great stress was placed by President Young and other leaders upon the importance of early marriage.  At one time President Young said, “Let every man over 18 years of age take a wife and then go to work with your hands and cultivate the land or labor in some mechanical business or some honest trade to make a living for yourself and those who are dependent on you for subsistence.”  An ardent admirer of President Young, Miles P., at the age of 18, married Hannah Hill.  Just three weeks after the marriage, Miles P. was called on a mission to the British Isles.

On April 9, 1862, he left and on the 26th day of July arrived in Liverpool.  He labored first in the Manchester and London districts, and finally was made President of the Cheltenham Conference, a position he held until his release in April 1865. Miles P. had barley arrived in the mission field when called to speak.  He stood faced the audience, but not one word could he say.  He got up the 2nd time with the same result.  He did not give up.  The 3rd time words came haltingly from his quivering lips.  The audience may not have been much enlightened, but they would not forget.  The young missionary had achieved a victory that was of untold value to him in his ministry and throughout his life.  His fluent speech and magnetic personality, with his implicit faith in the Gospel, contributed to his success as a missionary.  During his mission he became very ill and was forced to go to a doctor, who told him he had but six months to live. But he did not give up.  Every night he prayed that he might be able to complete his mission and return to his loved ones.  His prayers were answered.

On the ship Belle Wood, on which he sailed for home, were a large number of Saints, organized into nine wards.  Miles P. presided over one of them.  In November 1865, on his return to Salt Lake City, he was greeted by his wife and daughter, Isabell, who was only two years old, and whom he had never seen.

In 1867 he entered plural marriage by taking to wife Carrie Lambourne.  In October 1867, with 157 other heads of families, he was called to settle St. George, where he was employed as a skilled workman.  He worked on the St. George Tabernacle which was completed in 1871.  When it was decided that a temple should be built in St. George, his father, Miles Romney, was appointed to superintend the work.  He was assisted by Miles P. On one occasion President Young in a public meeting thus addressed Elder Romney: “Brother Romney, would you like to go to Heaven?” The answer came, “Yes, Brother Brigham, I think I should like to go there.”  “Then,” said President Young, “You must join the Order and take charge of all the building in southern Utah.”  

On November 8, 1869, Miles P. was ordained a High Priest and set apart as a member of the High Council.  In September 1873, he married Catherine Cottam in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City and again, scarcely four years later, he married Annie W. Woodbury.  In 1875, he was called on a mission to the Northern States.  Part of the time he was appointed to preside over the Mission. He was gone 10 months, and baptized 33 converts.  On April 17, 1877, he was ordained Bishop of the St. George 1st  Ward.  He also served as Superintendent of the Sunday School and Stake Superintendent of the YMMIA.  On September 15, 1878 he was release as Bishop as his request.

In 1881 he was called by the First Presidency to leave St. George and settle in St. Johns, Arizona.  While there he acted as First Counselor to Bishop David King Udall and edited and published a newspaper.  He was a member of Dramatic Association and leading contractor and builder in this area.  But on account of trouble with land claim jumpers, and with the consent of the First Presidency, he returned with his plural families to St. George.  There, political conditions made it necessary to leave that section of the country.

After only three weeks, he left with his wife Annie and her three children for Mexico.  There they settled in Camp Turley on the Casas Grandes River, but moved with the camps to Old Town on the Piedras Verdes River and were among the first settlers of Colonia Juarez.  On June 15, 1887, when the Juarez Ward was organized, he became First Counselor to Bishop George W. Sevey.  One of his first cultural moves in this new community was to organize a Dramatic Association.  He was fresh from St. George where, according to reports, he “bestrode the theatrical world like a giant colossus.”  He was eager to reproduce some of his successes.  He wanted to set a standard for excellence in play production and introduce refugee settlers to a high standard of entertainment.

He and his boys made a stage for his plays.  On it were presented high classed dramas to an appreciative audience, the climax of which was Othello, in which he played the leading role of the swarthy Moor, a crowing to previous roles he had directed and acted.  He was ever the actor, rising to heights of oratory on patriotic occasions, thundering Gospel and moral teachings from the pulpit, dramatically acting as Marshal of the Day for national celebrations.  He led parades with plumes waving and sword flashing with military precision, and all done so enthusiastically that one was to wonder if the occasion was created for him, or was he created to make the occasion something special.  The fruits of his efforts are still alive in posterity rich with public speakers, dramatic coaches and play readers, all bordering on the professional.  All point back to his reverence for the spoken word and his love for pu0re undefiled speech.

Miles P. Romney had direct supervision over the building of the initial Juarez Stake Academy structure, which later became the elementary school.  One year after the laying of the foundation of the building, it was ready for occupancy.  By the turn of the century, Miles found his carpenter shop against the eastern hills too small to permit expansion necessary for his growing family.  He sold his holdings in Colonia Juarez, bought a huge tract of land on the eastern bank of the Casas Grandes River, and moved his families into homes built separately for them on this property.  Here he lived for the remainder of his life in relative comfort and affluence.  In 1902 he was appointed President of the Stake High Priest Quorum and ordained a Patriarch by Apostle Matthias Cowley. 

In February 1904, acting in his office as President of the High Priest Quorum, he went to Morelos.  His wife Catherine and son Vernon accompanied him on this trip.  The strain of the trip was wearing, and he was not feeling well when he left Sonora.  But they arrived home safely.  As he returned that night a strange feeling came over him.  Fearful he was going to die, he suggested that the rest of the family be sent for.  Before they arrived, he passed away.  His wives, having seen him miraculously restored to life once before, sent for the Dublan Bishopric who administered to him, but without results.  This was on February 25, 1904.  He was buried in Colonia Dublan.

High-minded ambition still lives in his posterity, many of whom have given further distinction to his name.  A grandson is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve , and a granddaughter is the wife of a member of the same Quorum.  Two sons and two grandsons have been Stake Presidents.  Two grandsons have in turn been Bishops of the Juarez Ward where he officiated as a Counselor.  Missionaries by the dozens have carried the Gospel to nations in honor.  Politically, a grandson was governor of a state and considered a candidate for President of the United States.  Another grandson is a millionaire farm implement dealer.  Others of his descendants are pioneering in colony orcharding, and packing and marketing fruit.  Their orchards have spread through the Casas Grandes Valley.  Another grandson operates a several million peso turkey processing plant.  One son is an author of note.  Another grandson is an internationally famous physical chemist with many distinctive awards for his contributions to the scientific world.  There are deans of universities, teachers at many levels,, as well as craftsmen and artists.  All of these display Miles P. Romney’s devotion to excellence. 

Ethel Romney Peterson, daughter

Stalwarts South of the Border, Nelle Spilsbury Hatch page 594

Miles A. Romney

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Miles A. Romney

1869-1939

Miles Archibald Romney was an early pioneer of Colonia Juarez.  He explored the unknown forests and the fertile meadows of the colonies and mountains and the land beyond, where the pioneers did their hunting of wild game.

The son of Miles Park and Hannah Hood Hill, Miles was born in St. George, Utah, on November 6, 1869.  He received his infant blessings from his father, who also baprized and confirmed him a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  His father ordained him a Deacon and years later conferred upon him the Melchizedek Priesthood and ordained him an Elder.  Later he became a High Priest.  He was faithful in attending to his spiritual duties.

Miles A. Romney’s grandfather, Miles Romney, was born in Dalton-in-Furness, England in 1806.  A carpenter who specialized in circular stair building, he emigrated to America.  He and his wife, Elizabeth Gaskell, were attracted by a street meeting conducted by Orson Hyde, one of the first Mormon missionaries to England, and in 1839 were baptized.  With other converts from Preston and Manchester, they sailed February 7, 1841, from Liverpool from New Orleans on the Sheffield.  They traveled by boat up the Mississippi River to Nauvoo, Illinois, where Miles worked on the Nauvoo Temple.  Their third son, born August 8, 1843, and named Miles Park Romney, was the father of Miles A. Romney.

Miles Park followed his father, Miles, as a carpenter and builder, as a missionary to England and as a colonizer in St. George, Utah. There, he assisted in building the tabernacle.   Miles A. Romney was faced with responsibilities to help his mother. She was a most courageous woman at that time, always willing and ready to make every sacrifice for the comfort and well-being of her family. This taught her son many lessons and sacrifice and leadership.

Soon after the return of his father, Miles P. was called by the First Presidency of the Church to leave his home in St. George to assist in building of St. John’s, Apache County, Arizona. Miles A., with his sister many, was to go with Catherine (third wife of Miles P.) and family to help establish a home.   The rest would join them later.  While in St. Johns, Miles A. assisted his father in building homes, fencing farm land, and preparing land for planting.  At times he also worked in his father’s printing office editing a paper known as The Orion Era.

Miles P. purchased a tract of 160 acres lying in the mountains west of St. Johns under a law that required the owner to maintain residence on the land over a period of years.  People were hired to remain on the property to fulfill the law.  During one winter Miles A., 13, and Thomas, seven, accompanied by Dick Moffett, were sent to guard the property.  Dick disliked the job and returned to St. Johns, leaving Miles A. and Thomas alone.  Land grabbers, thinking they would find no one on the property at that time of the year, entered the cabin to take over.  To their surprise, Miles A. and Thomas were there guarding the property.  After fixing their own breakfast, they left as unceremoniously as they had come.

Miles A. Romney was only 14 when his father was hounded by U.S. Marshals because of plural marriage.  His father left Snowflake, Arizona.  The next morning Miles A. saddled a horse, while his mother sewed all the money she had into his clothing and sent him to Snowflake with a letter to his father, telling him to keep out of the way.  Miles A. rode all day and part of the night.  He finally located his father who sent instructions back to meet him in Mexico.  Miles A. returned to St. Johns, little realizing the part he would have to take in the absence of his father.   One instruction given Miles A. by his father was to meet him in the Gila Valley with a team and wagon in two weeks.

Miles P. took part of his family by trail to California and thence southeastward through Arizona.  Miles A. and Will met their father in the Gila Valley at San Simon station.  They then all went by team and wagon to Mexico.

In 1886 Miles P. Romney sent his sons Miles A. and Will, with team and wagon, to St. Johns to bring Hannah and children to Mexico.  Miles A. accepted the responsibility and took the family from Arizona to Mexico over rough roads and through Indian country much of the way.  The family had expected to travel with the Skousen family, but when the time came to leave, Hannah and family left alone.  When they arrived at Nutrioso, New Mexico, a short distance from St. Johns, they were advised by friends not to make the trip as Geronimo, the Apache chief, and his band were on the warpath and they would be in great danger.  Hannah turned to her 16 year old son, Miles A., and said, “We will put our trust in our Heavenly Father.”  They left feeling certain He would protect them.

The night they left Nutrioso they were caught in a heavy snowstorm.  Miles A. helped wrap the children in quilts to keep them from the cold, while he and his mother walked along behind the wagon to keep warm.  Apache Hill, down which they must go, was so steep Miles A. and Gaskell had to fasten trees they had cut down to the back of the wagon to keep it from running over the horses.  Several times during the journey Miles A. and his brother removed shoes from the feet of the dead horses and nailed them to the hooves of their own horses whose feet had become tender.

It was a happy ending when they were met by their father and taken to an adobe shelter with a dirt floor and mud roof.  Miles A. did what he could to help his father lighten the burden of caring for a large family.  Many times he and his brothers helped herd cows for the neighbors for a cent and a half per day, per cow.  This gave the boys a feeling of independence and also contributed in a small way towards supporting the family.  Miles A. Romney spent many happy and memorable days as a youth in Colonia Juarez.

Miles Archibald, the oldest son of Hannah, was the only son of Miles P. Romney to live the principle of plural marriage.  His first wife was Frances Turley.  He later married three sisters: Lily, Elizabeth and Emily Burrell.  Miles loved and welcomed each child and gave all an equal opportunity.  While raising a large family they had their trials, but they likewise had their joys.  Many times deep shadows enveloped them because of hardships, but he never seemed discouraged and always carried on with an air that all was well.  He was a man with a tender heart but stern discipline.  Every member of his family recognized his work to be the law by which they must live.  In chastising or correcting his children, he would speak in a positive manner, but never with physical punishment.  I remember one rule he insisted on:  that no son or daughter under 18 years of age should leave home to spend the evening elsewhere without first getting permission.  The fixed hour for coming home was ten o’clock, except in the case of a dance, theatrical or other entertainment that would extend beyond that hour.  It was his idea that house parties should end by ten o’clock.  Should one disobey this standing law, a single glance from Father indicated it had better not happen again.  It would be difficult to say that these rigid methods would be effective in our society today, but they worked when the Saints were isolated from the rest of the world, especially when the Church encouraged such standards.

Soon after his first marriage he filled a two-year mission to the British Isles.  In other Church matters he was also prominent.  He was Stake President of the MIA from 1928 to 1937.  He was also Ward MIA President and for a number of years was a member of the Juarez Stake High Council.  Miles A. was known for powerful talks to the young people, explaining the problems of life and the results of sinful acts.  He was a man of wisdom and understanding.

He enjoyed the role of dance manager which he held for many years in the colonies.  He seemed to comprehend fully the psychology of youth.  He encouraged people to conduct themselves with pride and to have respect for their leaders. 

Miles A. Romney was a pioneer in public speaking and personality development.  He became famous by showing others how to become successful.  He mottos were:   “Believe that you will succeed and you will;” and, “Learn to love, respect and enjoy other people.”

He enjoyed working with people and was successful as a drama director, which he did for many years in the Juarez Ward.  Hours were spent adapting plays, selecting actors, directing rehearsals and supervising scenery, lighting and costuming.  He had a great imagination and vision of play production.  He could hold any audience and portray different emotions from deep love scenes to profound tragedy.  Miles conducted and took the lead at times in such plays as: As You Like it, Cousins, Smiling Through, Charley’s Aunt, Abies’s Irish Rose, Down Black Canyon, Lady of Lyons, The Charcoal Burner and The Silver King.  Many times I blackned my father’s hair with soot mixed with lard to portray certain parts, especially that of a young lover.

The Romney family was one of the first of the Mormon families to pioneer in Mexico.  The boys had many thrilling experiences, and Miles A. had the ability to tell them well.  Convalescing from a badly bruised foot, caused by a large steel beam getting out of control while working on the old wagon bridge that spans the Piedras Verdes River in Colonia Juarez, he had the urge to write several true life stories.  Two of his stories appeared in the early issues of the The Improvement Era:  “A Providential Escape,” and “Providential.”  These were later included in the book Pioneer Stories compiled by Preston Nibley.

Miles A. Romney was a contractor and builder, occupations in which he was very successful.  He worked on the Academy and many of the beautiful homes in Colonia Juarez.  He was a natural-born trader and buyer.  As a result he acquired much of the farming and orchard land adjacent to Colonia Juarez, from which he realized large returns.  Many carloads of apples would be shipped from his orchards to the interior of Mexico.  Miles A. Romney and Joseph T. Bentley kept the electric light company in operation in Colonia Juarez for the benefit of its citizens.  As watermaster for years, he stressed honesty and obedience to the water schedule and always respected the rights of others.

He dedicated the best years of his life to building the community of Colonia Juarez and met death in his early 70’s, as a result of acute heart disease, while in his sleep on November 29, 1939.

Celia R. Geertsen, daughter

Stalwarts South of the Border, Nelle Spilsbury Hatch, page 590