Irene was born January 10, 1896, the third of eight children born to Joseph and Rose Beavin Hinton of Kirk, Ky. Her early education was received in the local country school and her high schooling began at Mount Saint Joseph Academy in 1912. Irene entered the novitiate at the end of that school year and six weeks later on August 5, 1913, she received the Ursuline habit and the name Sister Miriam.
In September 1914, the Ursuline Sisters opened Immaculate Conception School in Earlington, Ky., and Sister Miriam was assigned as housekeeper. This was her first mission and she remained three years. Then she was assigned to St. Joseph School in Raywick, Ky., where she taught in that public school for seven years. Other assignments took her to the Ursuline schools of Kentucky located in Chicago, Calvary, Waverly, Knottsville, and St. Raphael where she often combined the duties of the classroom with those of housekeeping. While teaching at St. Raphael School, Sister Miriam and her sister, Sister Rosina, lived there together through the week and returned to Mount Saint Joseph on the weekends.
In 1935-1936, her second year at St. Raphael’s, Sister Miriam became seriously ill and was taken to St. Joseph Infirmary in Louisville. It was discovered that the roots of a tooth extracted several years before had never been removed. Poison had permeated her entire system but by the time her condition was discovered, the remedy was too late. After a period of intense suffering, Sister Miriam died on November 5, 1936. Two days later, Father Andrew Zoeller, chaplain, celebrated the funeral Mass and Father John Glenn, pastor of St. Raphael, delivered the sermon. Sister Miriam’s remains are buried in the convent cemetery. Among her survivors was her Ursuline sister, Sister Rosina.