Miles A. Davis was born in a log house in Jerusalem, New York on March 5, 1843. He attended school for a few years and then took courses from a college professor. He learned printing in Olean and subsequently became a journalist, working for various newspapers in central and western New York, and eventually settling in Branchport. He studied the history of Yates County for many years.

Guyanoga was reputed to be a Seneca chief who was friends with George Washington and gave valuable intelligence to the Colonial army during the Revolutionary War. However, there is no mention of him in contemporary sources describing other prominent Indians of his time, and recent research suggests that he was fictitious (John Robortella"Guyanoga and the cider barrel" Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, June 6, 2010).