Miles W. Ramsey glass plate collection

This collection of photographic images were taken by Miles Welton Ramsey. He was born 11 Feb 1866 in Palmyra, Knox County, Indiana, and died 27 Dec 1942 in Sonora, Tuolumne County, Calif. His wife was Cynthia Ann Wilmot (1873-1973).


According to the family, Miles became interested in photography and bought a camera around 1905, probably when they lived in Spokane. Earlier, the family lived in Tekoa, Whitman County, Washington. Miles and Cynthia had married and started their family there in 1896. They moved to Idaho with their three children, they spent a summer on the St. Joe River shortly after the camera's purchase. One of the slides is of the Ramsey children aboard a hay wagon, and this photo was taken in that area.
The Ramseys enjoyed their summer and decided to homestead. The location they chose was on the shores of Jewel Lake in Bonner County. They received the deed to the 139-acre homestead on 27 Oct 1910. Their land was on or was very near the land where the Jewel Lake Barn now stands. In 1910, this area was officially labeled the Markham Precinct in the federal census. Some of the photos may be from there.
Some photos picture rough cabins, including the interior of one. These are cabins in various locations, now unknown, that belonged to Cynthia's father, Luther Wilmot, a colorful character who is noted in various Idaho histories. Luther moved around the frontier areas of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho a great deal. Other photos in this small collection are from unknown locations. For reasons unknown, Miles stopped taking photos. The plates remained with Cynthia Wilmot Ramsey until her death in 1973 in Olympia, Wash., then were inherited by her daughter, Helen Herschel Ramsey Patterson.