Miles Park Romney

Miles Park Romney

was born on August 18, 1843, in Nauvoo, Illinois, during a time of significant growth and conflict for the early Latter-day Saints. His parents, Miles Romney and Elizabeth Gaskell, were English converts who had emigrated to Illinois. Miles grew up amid the expulsions from Illinois and the subsequent pioneer trek, arriving in the Salt Lake Valley as a child in 1850.

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In 1862, he married Hannah Hood Hill, and they began raising a family. Miles developed skills as a carpenter, builder, and public speaker. Church leadership frequently called upon his building expertise, sending him to establish settlements in St. George, Utah, and later in the Arizona Territory.

The Arizona Frontier and St. Johns

In the early 1880s, Miles was sent to colonize St. Johns in Apache County, Arizona Territory. The settlement was a volatile outpost, characterized by intense political and physical conflicts between the newly arrived Mormon agriculturalists and the established cattle ranchers, known locally as the St. Johns Ring. Miles was appointed sheriff of Apache County, a dangerous role that placed him in direct conflict with cattle thieves and outlaws.

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In addition to his law enforcement duties, Miles helped construct early community buildings and acted in local theater productions, bringing cultural activities to the remote settlement. His daughter, Isabell Hill Romney, married Dr. William Erastus Platt in St. George in 1883 and later joined the family in Arizona.

Migration to Mexico

In 1885, following the passage of the Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act and the escalation of federal prosecution against plural marriage, Miles chose to relocate his family to Mexico. Crossing the border into Chihuahua, he co-founded the settlements of Colonia Juárez and Rancho Dublán.

In Mexico, Miles constructed homes, established farms, and served as a community leader. His son Gaskell Romney was the father of George W. Romney, who was born in Colonia Dublán and later served as Governor of Michigan and ran for President in 1968. Miles's granddaughter, Clara Platt Goodman, became a prominent pharmacist and civic leader in Mesa.

Miles died in Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, on February 26, 1904, at the age of sixty. His life as a builder, lawman, and colonizer bridged the initial pioneer migrations and the creation of permanent settlements across the Southwest and Mexico.