HOOPER S. MILES, 1895-1964
State Treasurer, 1935-1963
Portrait by I. Hunner Parsons (c. 1963)
MSA SC 1545-1198
Hooper Steele Miles was born in Cambridge, Dorchester County, on January 27, 1895, the son of Alonzo Lee and Agnes (Hooper) Miles. Shortly after his birth Miles' family moved to Baltimore City. In 1913 they moved to Salisbury.
He was educated in the public schools of Baltimore City and graduated from the University of Maryland Law School in 1916. Admitted to the bar in 1916, Miles practiced law in Salisbury with his father. When his father died he continued the practice alone until 1925 when he formed the firm of Miles, Baily and Williams. He remained a lawyer in Salisbury until 1937.
In addition to his law practice, Miles was president of the Eastern Shore Trust Co. of Cambridge, Dorchester County, from 1932 to 1937. This bank was reorganized as the County Trust Company of Maryland. In 1961, after a merger with the Baltimore National Bank, it became known as the Maryland National Bank of Baltimore. Miles became director and executive vice president in 1937 serving in that capacity until 1948 when he became chairman of the board and chief executive officer. He was also director and member of the executive committee of U.S. Fidelity and Guaranty Co., director of Eutaw Savings Bank, and director of Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.
Miles was a Democrat, whose family had been prominent in Democratic politics on the Eastern Shore for several generations. In 1925 he was elected city solicitor of Salisbury and served until 1932. He was a member of the House of Delegates from Wicomico County in 1925, and in 1931 was a member of the state banking commission appointed to review banking laws and regulations. Hooper Steele Miles served as Treasurer of Maryland from 1935 until 1963. He was the author of The Maryland Executive Budget System, 1916-1941, which was published in 1942.
Miles was a member of numerous social and civic organizations. He belonged to the Elkridge Club, Merchants Club, Baltimore Country Club, and served on the Board of Governors of the Maryland Club. He was trustee of the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital and of the Roland Park Country School. He served as treasurer of the Johns Hopkins Hospital and as vice president of the Baltimore Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the American and Maryland Bankers Associations and of the Association of Reserve City Banks.
On February 20, 1919, Miles married A. Frances Williams, daughter of L. Ernest and Georgia (Todd) Williams of Salisbury. They had three children: Hooper Steele (?-1944), Mary Frances, who married Leonard M. Levering, Jr., and Catherine Louise, who married Wiley McPherson Baxter, 3rd.
Hooper Steele Miles died on March 8, 1964, at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Funeral services were held at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore. Burial was in Druid Ridge Cemetery in Pikesville, Maryland.
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