Alexander Miles was born in Ohio, probably in [[Pickaway County]] near the town of [[Circleville, Ohio|Circleville]],<ref>1840 Federal Census for Circle Township, Pickaway County, Ohio, page 76</ref> in 1838<ref>{{cite book|last=Aubut|first=Sheldon T.|title=Duluth, Minnesota|year=2001|publisher=Arcadia|location=Chicago, Ill.|isbn=0-7385--1891-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5WjVeFKVKTQC&pg=PA29&dq=alexander+miles+elevator&hl=en&ei=3AuITa-_CY6ssAPH6LmNDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=alexander%20miles%20elevator&f=false|author2=Norton, Maryanne C.|page=29}}</ref> the son of Michael and Mary Miles.<ref>Death Certificate of Alexander Miles,Ancestry.com. Washington, Deaths, 1883-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.Original data: Various county death registers. Microfilm. Washington State Archives, Olympia, Washington.</ref> Miles may have resided in the nearby town of [[Chillicothe, Ohio]],<ref>1850 Federal Census for Chillicothe, Scioto Township, Ross County, Ohio, page 6</ref> but subsequently moved to [[Waukesha, Wisconsin]] where he earned a living as a [[barber]].<ref>1860 Federal Census for Waukesha village, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, page 40.</ref> After a move to [[Winona, Minnesota]], he met and married Mrs. Candace J. (Shedd) Dunlap, of [[La Porte, Indiana]],<ref>1850 Federal Census for Galena Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, page 231</ref> a widow with two children who was four years his senior and a native of New York.<ref>1870 Federal Census for Second Ward City of Winona, Winona County, Minnesota, page 8, lines 1-3</ref> Together they had a daughter, born in 1876, named Grace. Shortly after her birth, the family relocated to [[Duluth, Minnesota]].<ref>1880 Federal Census for St. Louis County (Minnesota) Enumeration District 92, Sheet no. 39, Lines 43-47 (2nd Avenue West, Village of Duluth)</ref>