The Family › Woodall–Ramsay › Miles
William Asbury (Bill) Miles
1828–c. 1910
✦ direct ancestor — my children's 4×-great-grandfather
· Woodall line, the Woodall–Ramsay side
— their mother's people
Life
- Born
- 12 Apr 1828 · Franklin County, Tennessee, USA
- Died
- before 1910
Parents
MotherMary
Marriage & children
Laura Texanna (Teck) Miles (1858–1918)
Timeline
- 14 Nov 1851MarriedNancy Ann Kuykendall — Rusk County, Texas, USA
Records behind this page
Unnamed source
film 005782986, image 231 of 333; ark 61903/3:1:3QS7-L9QS-WNTP
read the transcript
WILL AND PROBATE READ ON THE IMAGE 24 Aug 2026 (register K309). Marshall, Texas. Probate Records 1909-1911, FamilySearch film 005782986, image 231 of 333, ark 61903/3:1:3QS7-L9QS-WNTP. The testator dictates an estate of about $25,000, directs that all realty be sold at public outcry, provides for a tombstone over the graves of himself and his wife, and gives the residue to be 'divided amongst my children equally, share and share alike'. ORDER OF PROOF FOR THE DEATH DATE: this record fixes death only as BEFORE the proceedings in a volume stamped 1909-1910, which is why the Death event is entered as 'bef 1910'. The often-quoted 9-10-1910 comes from SAR supplemental application 71449 (1950), which is DERIVATIVE; it has deliberately NOT been promoted to record grade here. WHAT THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT DO: it NAMES NO CHILD. James D. Woodall appears in it as INDEPENDENT EXECUTOR, and an executor is evidence of TRUST, NOT OF KINSHIP. It therefore does not evidence the link from [4] Laura Texanna Miles to this man, and no Proof flag may be set from it.
Research notes
Working notes from the research, kept verbatim — what was read, what it proved, what stays open. Many open with a line grading the parentage; what the grades mean.
Research note · 31 Aug 2026
AUDITED 31 Aug 2026 - HIS FIRST CITATION, AND A DEATH EVENT HE DID NOT HAVE. Until today [439] was entirely uncited (person, name row and events all zero) and carried only a Birth of 12 Apr 1828, Franklin County, Tennessee. He is now cited to his own will, probated Harrison County, Texas in 1910 and read on the image (K309).
DEATH ENTERED AS 'bef 1910', DELIBERATELY. The probate fixes death only as before the proceedings of a 1909-1911 volume. The 9-10-1910 date in circulation comes from SAR supplemental application 71449 (1950) and is derivative; promoting it to record grade would manufacture a precision the sources do not carry.
FROM HIS OWN DICTATED WILL: an estate of about $25,000; all realty to be sold at public outcry; a tombstone to be placed over the graves of himself and his wife; the residue 'divided amongst my children equally, share and share alike' - WITHOUT NAMING ONE CHILD.
MILITARY SERVICE CLAIMED IN THE WILL, NOT YET VERIFIED: 'First Miss Battalion Co. E. during the War with Mexico' and 'Co. E. 14th, Texas Calvary during the Civil War'. His tree birthplace of Franklin County, TENNESSEE fits the Kentucky-Tennessee-Mississippi-Rusk migration stream (K312) and makes a Mississippi unit plausible. DO NOT merge this service into his biography as fact until the compiled service record is read.
WHAT IS STILL NOT PROVEN: his link to his only child in the tree, [4]. The will names no child; James D. Woodall appears only as INDEPENDENT EXECUTOR, which is evidence of trust and not of kinship. F230 and F232 stay 0/0.
NAMED NEXT DOCUMENTS: the probate application / heirship recital in the same film; the estate sale deeds (the will orders all realty sold, and Harrison County deeds are in the FamilySearch full-text corpus); a Mexican War pension file, whose widow's application would ordinarily name the marriage and the children.
DO NOT WRITE 'William ARTHUR Miles' over 'Asbury' - see K311; the second carrier is undocumented. Full account: ancestry/woodall-ring4-sar-authorities-2026-08-24.md.
Elsewhere
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