ALICE ANNA MILEY

DOB: February 21, 1907
Beecher, IL USA

DOD: July 29, 1985
Los Angeles, CA USA

Daughter of Dr. Michael Miley & Anna E. (Manz) Miley

Sister to: Bernice E. (Albert A. Anderson Jr.), Mary E., Milton C. and Olive M. Miley

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Alice Miley was born and raised in Beecher, IL.

December 24, 1909 – Beecher Herald

FRACTURED HER ARM

Alice, the three-year-old daughter of Dr. and Mrs. M.R. Miley sustained a painful injury, Saturday. The little girl was endeavoring to climb from the baby carriage to the table, when she lost her balance and fell to floor. The right forearm was fractured in the fall. The doctor reduced the fracture and the little one is getting along fine.

 

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Dr. Michael Miley, Alice (Center) and Bernice Miley around 1909

One of my favorite stories is from Howard Paul’s Book: Reflections of our Small Town, published in 1995:

“The doctor was always interested in any new mode of transportation and when the invention of the automobile was announced, he was one of the first to order a Metz Runabout in 1909.

There were no such firms as garages and so he ordered the 14 separate packages, each costing about $25. Completely constructed automobiles were not available, and so the put-it-together-yourself kits were sold.

Dr. Miley read the instructions carefully and produced his car; however, he missed one important instruction. The chain that propelled the vehicle was installed backwards and, when the doctor started the car, it would only go in reverse.

Fritz Hinze, the town constable, told him: ‘You can’t go backing around Beecher. That’s against the law. Don’t see why you bought one of them newfangle things. They will never be accepted by the people.’

The doctor re-read the instructions and put the chain in correctly… spinning around town at three miles per hour.”

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Attended Bloom High School

1922-1925.

 

 

 

 

 

Alice wrote the following sonnet, published in the 1925 Bloom year book, page 122:

At sunset, when a few last rays of light
Yet find their way into my lonely room,
And darkness draws a veil before my sight,
Enveloping the weary world in gloom,
I think of happy days I spent with thee;
Of days when life and youth flowed in my veins.
And ever pain flows through the harmony,
Accompanied by mer’ry’s sad refrains.
The other friends I loved come back to mind
To add fresh grief to sorrows gone before;
For Death takes double, too, where love we find,
And saddens thoughts of those who are no more,
Yet love will reign supreme, till life is done,
For e’en Death knows that love and life are one.

(Editor’s note: we can’t be certain, but this sonnet may have been written for the loss of Alice’s twin siblings, brother & sister: Mary E. & Milton C. Miley, in 1913)

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We don’t have an obituary for Alice, but we do know this:

In 1926, Alice was a correspondent for the Beecher Herald.  We found a few obituaries written by Alice.

The 1930 census lists Alice living at home, single, with no occupation.

We can’t find Alice in the 1940 census.

(Editor’s note: her father, Dr. Miley, died in 1939, and Alice was at his bedside when he passed. Alice’s sister, Olive, was living with their mother, Anna, in 1940)

August 10, 1954 – November 16, 1954:  Alice went to Southhampton / Blackpool, England, on the “Queen Mary.” She was listed as a clerk/ typist. Her residence was listed as 1601 Eastlake Ave, Los Angeles, CA. (Editor’s note: Alice’s mother died August 21, 1954, so we must assume Alice was not present at her mother’s funeral)

 

In May of 1958, Alice & Olive went on a cruise together to Miami; San Juan, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

 

 

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Alice’s family members also resting in the mausoleum are:

Father & Mother: Dr. Michael Miley & Anna (Manz) Miley
Sister & brother (twins): Mary E. & Milton C. Miley
Sister: Olive M. Miley