Gale was the eldest son of John Gale. His father, a descendant of the Gales of Scruton and Masham in Yorkshire, served under Count Mansfeld in the Low Countries (1622-1625), returned to England, and lived in retirement on his estate at Farnley, near Leeds, refusing a commission from the parliament on the outbreak of the civil war. His mother was Joanna, daughter of Miles Dodson of Kirkby Overblow, Yorkshire.
He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1666 and Master of Arts
Miles was born at Farnley Hall on 19 June 1647. in 1670. Having taken holy orders he was presented to the rectory of Keighley (1680), which he continued to hold until his death in the night of 2–3 January 1720-1721. He compiled and presented two manuscripts to Thoresby"s Museum in Leeds:
Memoirs of the Family of Gale, particularly of the learned Doctor Thomas Gale, Dean of York, and Christopher Gale, Esq., Her Majesty"s Attorney-general in North Carolina, 1703
A Description of the Parish of Keighley.
