I am looking for any and all information on my grandfather, John
Pierre Miles. He handled public relations for the FDR (the President).
Please take your time. I am much more interested in quality than
quantity or a quick response.

---

Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 07 Sep 2002 10:15 PDT

Hi ericr, 

No, don't give up. That’s not the end of the search!

But here’s something you can do to help us. Since John P Miles is a
fairly common name, maybe you can help us narrow down our search
somewhat.

First, how sure are you of his first name? Do you have written record
of it?  My thought is that someone with the French middle name Pierre
might have the first name Jean, which is pronounce like “John” in
French.

Now, take a look at these websites and see if any of the John P Miles
or John Miles fit anything you might know or be able to infer about
your grandfather. Specifically the approximate years of birth or
death, Also maybe the city, state or region where he lived.


NATIONAL OBITUARY ARCHIVES
[type John Miles in the search box at top]

http://www.arrangeonline.com/Obituary/SearchResults.asp?flg=OneBox

FIND A GRAVE
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gsr&GSfn=John+&GSmn=P&GSln=Miles&GSbyrel=all&GSby=&GSdyrel=all&GSdy=&GSst=0&GSob=n

SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH INDEX
[enter last and first name in the search boxes]
http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/


If that doesn’t work, perhaps you could approximate some dates for us
based on your year of birth and your parent’s year of birth (your
grandfather’s son or daughter). Obviously your reference to FDR does
narrow this down somewhat, but he could have been anything from age 20
to much older when he worked for FDR.

Anything you can add would help us find what you’re looking for. 

Thanks!

-K~

---

Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 05 Oct 2002 10:52 PDT

Hi ericr,

I’ve just been going back over some of the unanswered questions,
trying to wrap a few up, and I notice yours is still here but is due
to expire in a few days.  I’m wondering if there is anything further
we can do for you so that your question can be considered suitably
answered.

I realize you were looking for more detailed information on John P
Miles and that we may not have provided your money’s worth in that
regard. Unfortunately there just doesn’t seem to be anything else out
there. (Believe me, I’ve searched!).

Perhaps there is some other aspect of your family history we could
research for the price that you’ve offered (or remember, you can
change your price at any time before the question is answered.)

Please let me know if there is anything we can do. Our goal is to make
sure that you’re happy with the service you receive.

-K~

Do you have any information concerning date/place of birth or last
residence or any family names -- wife/father/mother -- or any other
jobs held?  As a PR person he may have had a newspaper background, any
info on that?

I have no other information at this time. Is this the end of the search?

Hi:

I tried the three links you submitted but without success. My mother
was born I calculate in 1932. She died when I was young so I don't
know where she was born but I would guess CA since I just found out
she attended the second grade there, perhaps in Santa Monica. I forgot
to say a little more: that my grandfather also handled PR for Sam
Goldwyn (the producer) and Clark Gable. So it looks like he spent some
time in CA at least.

The name comes from a newspaper article so I assume the spelling is
correct.

I just re-read the article and found that my grandmother's name was
Katherine Miles, if that helps. My mothers name: Sandra Miles Ressler.
She died in 1967.

Thanks for your help.

Hi again ericr,

Nothing yet on John Pierre Miles, but did find this which I thought
might interest you --

SANDRA RESSLER 
Born:  27 Apr 1931 
Died: Sep 1967 
Last Known  Residence: 92262 (Palm Springs, Riverside, CA) 
SS# : 573-40-7001
http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi

-K~

Thanks. I found out just now that my grandfather worked at Warner
Bros. Another small clue. (I have been e-mailing to my mother's best
friend, who just reappeared after more than about 35 years.)

You found my mother's information. I did not have that. Thanks. I
wonder if you could use it and move backward to her father somehow?

did you get my last comment? Any progress or are we at an end?

There is a John Peere MILES who died in California on 8 April 1943. 
His country of birth is listed as OTHER COUNTY and his birth date is
given as 4 June 1896.  Peere is very similar to Pierre and could
easily have been mistaken for it.  This information is from the
California deaths 1940-1997 on ancestry.com.  He had no social
security number.

Could this be the person you're seeking?

milamba-ga

Hi again ericr,

Ok, this is tantalizing, but maybe not your money’s worth, so I’ll
post it as a comment. You say your grandfather handled public
relations for actors in Hollywood?  Well, I’ll bet you a nickel he
wrote this   ---

------------------------------------

From: John P. Miles 
D.W. Griffith Corp. 
Hollywood, Calif.

Original press release by John P. Miles, circa. August 1928.

http://www.cinemaweb.com/silentfilm/bookshelf/7_dwg_1.htm


Now I’m not certain about their bibliographical notes, but it looks to
me like that press release appears in a collection entitled, “D.W.
Griffith Papers, 1897-1954” which is now on microfilm.  The
bibliography tells you which reel and image it appears on. --

John P. Miles, "D.W. Griffith's Twenty-Year Record," D.W. Griffith
Papers, 1897-1954 (Frederick, Md: University Publications of America),
1982, reel 16, images 4-6.


Maybe if you went through the microfilm yourself, you’d find more that
he wrote. To do that, you need The Library of Congress entry
information.

LC Control Number: 88890706  
Type of Material: Book (Print, Microform, Electronic, etc.) 
Brief Description: Griffith, D. W. (David Wark), 1875-1948.
D.W. Griffith papers, 1897-1954 [microform].
Frederick, Md. : University Publications of America, c1982.
36 microfilm reels ; 35 mm.

http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=20&ti=1,20&Search_Arg=D.W.+Griffith&Search_Code=TALL&PID=13862&CNT=25&SEQ=20020912182952&SID=5


So, I don’t know how much closer this gets you to your grandfather,
except that MAYBE in the privately archived collections of the actors
or studios that he worked for, there may be other press releases he
wrote.

I think I’ve exhausted everything to be had online, but I’ll check
back here occasionally to see if you’ve posted any new leads. Best of
luck in your search!

--K~

By the way -- the "Griffith Papers" appear to be available at many
University Libraries –

Univ of Iowa
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/ltfs/micro.htm

U of Toronto
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/robarts/microtext/collection/pages/griffthp.html

Berkeley
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/GriffithBib.html

and more ....

://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22D%2EW%2E+Griffith+Papers%2C+1897%2D1954

 -K~

Hi Eric:
I found that your grandmother's maiden name is Crawford, and your mom
was born in Los Angeles April 27, 1931. This still doesn't find your
grand-dad, but if someone had access to marriage records, possibly in
the LA area, they can cross-reference the grandma's maiden name
Crawford and the grandpa's surname, Miles.

http://helplist.org/usa/ca.shtml

You can find the people on the HelpList who will search county
records, obits, etc for free. I used to be a volunteer in Santa Cruz
County, and will say it's a wonderful service.

Hi:

Thank you for your continuing efforts.

This just came in the mail today from the American Film Institute in
CA, an obituary for John Peere Miles (The middle name I had - Pierre -
came from a 1967 newspaper article.)

The obituary reads (for April 14, 1943):

"John Peere Miles, 46, novelist, newspaperman and press agent, died
April 8 at the Veterens Hospital, Sawtelle, Cal., as an indirect
result of wounds sustained in France as a Marine in World War I. He
had been under treatment for several months.

Born in Belgium and educated in French and American universities,
Miles started his newspaper career on the New York Times and worked on
a score of dailes throughout the country. His film career began as
press representative for David Wark Griffith for whom he worked for
nearly five years, Later he was employed by practicaly all the major
studios in Hollywood. At the time of his death he was with United
Artists.

His widow Dorthy Miles, a member of the pubilicity staff at 20th Fox
survives."

Well, this seems like the man. The wife would have been his second,
Katherine Crawford Miles being the first.

Again: his daughter my mother: Sandra Miles Ressler, who died in 1967.

Any way to verify if this is my grandfather?  That would be enough for
me.

Sincerely, Eric