John Miles Edwards was born ca 1790/1800 or thereabouts. I'm not sure of his birth date, but I suspect he was one of the boys aged "under 10" (born ca 1790/1800) with his father on the 1800 census. He was born in Wayne County, North Carolina. He may have been much older, especially if he is the same John Miles who witnessed an 1801 deed from his father. I think you had to be 21 (or at least 18) to witness a deed, so if 21 then, he would be born ca 1780 or before. If 18, he was born ca 1783 or before.

John Miles is a proven child of John Edwards and Winifred Miles, and was apparently born out of wedlock. He used the "Miles" surname in the few records I've found. He may have began using "Edwards" after his father's death, for his two full brothers changed from "Miles" to "Edwards" at that time.

He may have been home with John Edwards for the 1800 census, for John did have three apparent sons in the "under 10" age group (born ca 1790/1800). This could be John Miles and his brothers Britton Miles and Samuel Miles.

On 13 May 1801, John Miles and Arthur Fulghum witnessed a deed from John Edwards to his son Isom Edwards. If this is the same John Miles, then he was older than I thought, and there is good reason to believe this is the same John Miles. (Wayne Co, NC Deed Book 7 Page 134).

On the same date (13 May 1801), John Edwards (his father) gave a deed of gift to John Miles, son of "Win. Miles", a 100 acre tract of land on the south south side of the Neuse River being part of a grant to William Miles dated 1779, later conveyed to John Edwards. Witnesses were Isom Edwards (half-brother) and A. Fulghum (probably Arthur Fulghum of the previous deed). This deed does not explicitely state that John Miles was John Edwards' son, but it is proven by his Will. (Wayne Co, NC Deed Book 7 Page 155).

On the next day (14 May 1801), John Edwards (his father) gave a deed of gift to Winifred Miles (his mother) and Britin Miles (his brother), and John Miles and A. Fulghum witnessed this deed. (Wayne Co, NC Deed Book 7 Page 135).

There is a record dated 17 Aug 1808 in the Wayne County Wills and Miscellaneous Records for a John Miles, it is an "Account" of John Miles presented by Page Jernigan. On the same date is an account of Elizabeth Miles by James and Elizabeth Folly. I don't know what these records mean. Accounts could be for estates of deceased persons, or for orphaned children, or even out of wedlock children. I'm not sure if this John Miles is the same John Miles who is a son of John Edwards, and I don't know who the Elizabeth Miles is. (Wayne Co, NC Wills and Miscellaneous Records Book 1 Page 96 and 114).

I don't know where John Miles was living for the 1810 census. There were no Miles households in Wayne County that year, and I did not find John Edwards listed either.

John was named in the Will of his father John Edwards (dated 1 Aug 1810) as "my sun John Miles".

That is the last record I have for John Miles. His brothers Britton Miles and Samuel Miles and their mother Winifred Miles all moved to Muhlenberg County, Kentucky around this time, and although it seems reasonable that he may have gone as well, I did not find any record of him being there, though I have not exhausted the records by any means.

I'm working on the assumption that John Miles began using "Edwards" as his surname around this time, just as his two full brothers did, so I've looked in various census indexes for a "John M. Edwards", and found a few here and there, but I have no real clue if any of these are the same person. For example, in 1830 I found a John M. Edwards in St. Clair Co, IL, one in Henry Co, KY, one in Lincoln Co, KY and no others (though numerous "John Edwards" everywhere).

In 1840, I found "John M. Edwards" in Shelby Co, IL and Montgomery Co, MO.

I found "John M. Edwards" in several states and counties in 1850, but none of them were the same person under study here.