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^KTE HISTo^
■f
ASM is My s
LIBRARY
AUG 12 1974
Vol. I No. I
OUARTERLY NEWS BULLETIN
October 1970
CXX3[XXXXXI3[IXX3CX]nCZXXXXXXX]l
C]
CD The first quarterly publication of the Ashley
CD Family Association, Organized August 29, 1970
C]
cixixxxxxxxxxxixxxxxxxxxxxx:
OBJECTS
To collect, preserve and publish material about
The Ashley Family in America
COL. ASHLEY HOUSE - 1735
■»■ "W
• m • »
9 •
! J
7'
ASKLE.YS OF AMERICA
October 1970
Fvom the
Editor* 8 Desk
The mailing list furnished did
not show titles (Mr, Mrs. Miss)
Sorry If the wrong guess was
made. Please advise correction
before next ma 1 1 i ng •
This is youp News Bulletin —
To succeed It must interest and
help ASHLEYS in the East, West
and all In between. Comments
will be appreciated.
Do you I Ike it?
How can It be Improved?
What do you I i ke best?
What do you like least?
What records or data can you
contribute?
Next pub 1 1 cat ion will come
out in January 1971. S E N D
your material new.
(See page 22)
Esther Ashley Spousta, Editor
PO Box 321
Rogers, Arkansas 72756
M'
»i
10
12
13
15
16
17
19
21
21
22
23
Vol. i No. I
CONTENTS
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING - Article In
"The Villager"
COVER STORY - Col. John Ashley House
ASHLEY HISTORY - Paper by R. Eugene
Ashley - 1938
1790 U.S. CENSUS - Comments,
Vermont, Connecticut, New York
TOWN HISTORY - Milton, Vermont
BIOGRAPHY - Silas Pickens Ashley and
Dr. Calvin Fillmore Ashley
BIBLE RECORDS - Beman Ashley and
Jonathan PrentIs
OLD LETTERS - Southern Ash leys
PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES - DAR Approved
Revolutionary Patriots
ANCESTOR CHARTS - Preparation
Ftobert E. Ashley Chart
MISSING LINKS - Queries
LATE NEWS FLASHES
GUIDE FOR CONTRIBUTORS
APPLICATiaj FOR MEMBERSHIP
News Bulletin published Quarterly, January, April, July and October.
Free copy with each membership. Extra copies $1.00 each
» /
CDCXICDDGCXXDCXXX:.
a c:
G PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE T
G c:
GCDCXjGCDCjGGGCXX:
Dear Cousins,
The f i rst meet I ng of the ASHLEYS OF MJERICA I s now h I story .
And what a history! With no less than eighty-six sitting down for
dinner and a considerable number of others who came for only part
of the day, we can safely estimate that over one hundred were In
attendance. The weather man must be an "Ashley" too, for he came
up with two beautiful days after violent thunderstorms the night
before.
Now as to the business decided upon - - - -
Name ASHLEYS OF Af^ERICA
Objects - - To collect, preserve and publish material about
the Ashley Family in America
Meni^erakip - Anyone Interested in our objects
Dues $3.00 per year, single membership
$5.00 per year, husband and wife membership
Officers -
President: Robert E. Ashley
68 Spring Hill Ave., Bridgewater, Mass. 02324
1st Vice President: John S. Ashley
1664 Main Rd., Westport, Mass. 02790
2nd Vice President: Paul C. Leonard
Howland Rd., Lakeville, Mass. 02346
3rd Vice President: Bradford F. Swan
15 Arnold St., Providence, R.I. 02906
Secretary: Marie Davis
Green River Rd., W i 1 1 i amstown , Mass. 01267
Treasurer: •^- Paul ine Ashley
Dr. Bra ley Rd., East Freetown, Mass. 02717
Publications Committee: Doris Ashley Lang
Washburn Rd., E. Freetown, Mass. 02717
Helen Gurney Thomas
107 Hillside Rd., Franklin, Mass. 02038
Susan Ashley French
PC Box 205, Assonet, Mass. 02702
News Bu 1 1 et i n Ed i tor Esther Ash I ey Spousta
PC Box 321, Rogers, Arkansas 72756
- 2 -
Page 2
Meetings * To be held annual ly, weekend r{i^;arest August 25
and In Southeastern Massachusetts.
Amendnente - By-^lcaoa - To be framed by publications Committee
and presented for vote (along with approval of above
officers) at next meeting.
It is planned to issue a greatly expanded . news I etter in
October, January, April and July - about 25 mimeo pages at first,
photo offset or other printing as soon as possible. Contributions
are desfred and will be welcomed in the form of abstracts of deecfs,
wills, traditions, information re: old homes and sites, news of. .
new births, marriages, etc., -- in short anything of Interest to
the Ashleys of America.
At the end of the morning session, a group picture was made in
front of the church and we hope to be able to include a print in your
next newsletter. Eighteen more people arrived for dinner than we had
reservations for, but those unsinkable ladies of the Scotland Church
simply held dinner up for twenty minutes while two went home for family
silverware and paper plates;
At the end of the afternoon session a spontaneous suggestion was
made that a collection should be made to start a treasury and the impromp-
tu offering netted some ninety odd dollars which was quickly and efficient-
ly taken care of by our new treasurer. Since then, more offerings and
some dues h^ye come in to further swell the coffers. This will help us
to get out our first enlarged newsletter;
On Sunday, eleven cars made a cavalcade tour of old Ashley sites
In Rochester, Freetown ahd Lakeville, ending up at Paul Leonard's farm
in Lakeville, where we enjoyed the triple treat of excellent refreshments
(both Black Ashley punch and Red Ashley punch), a tour of the over 200
year old house, and good conversation. Paul has big plans and has ob-*
tained promises of funds to restore the Old Ashley Cemetery in Rochester.
• * • • • •
As chairman of your first meeting, my only regret was that there
just wasnH enough tim* •fb talk as long as I wanted to with everyone.
I must also beg foigiveness for the stack of unanswered letters beside
me and also <or my failure to accept (as yet) the many Invitations to
visit that so many have offered.
Time will, I hope, correct ail these things.
<d'i 4^h
Robert E. Ashley
\
The
' *' 1
A w%Mf nt^poiNPr' Mtving Hm tawna of frt»«AQ«vn
•fid UktvMi h» lotu fc iigHm MoMdHMtfa ««iry ThtoAlty.
flSPTSUaSR S« 1970
Missing Link in
Copy of
f-runt Page Artule Appearing
In «ws»>c«pcr -THE VILLAGER"
Freetown, MJi^iacrtiisetts
September 1,-1970
• *'
■ • . !
"„ J.l
< *
lOUS
\ *
Once Owned Mo^t
of Cast Freetown
Uiridttr JoMpb Afktosr^ mio imrdiAiM
aft of East FiMtmm •arljr In tte 1700*1, tHtl
rmoMM t myMry tt ttM edoeluMoii d
tte Aral AM«yi of America maettacMMlA
BrMstwaUr, Sidurday.
AooordlAf to liiformafeloa vbldi waa 9rite>
MnkMDT flit famtly^ft first ]^raslMit df tht
assoolatioo, R6btrt8. AshliQrof Brtdpywtter,
a TlMiiiaa Atfiil«r it Stated liack to Use IflOO^C,
Bla naroa ftrat agvaara In hiatot? as.Uf!nf
laC&oiieastar, at Oapa*Ann,1ik463Q, i
m 1688 rtonrda mem that Utibart A4llif
livad In Ilia 60rli«Md«Agawam %tm.
Another AAla?, Edwardi:)ira8ballevadtdiha«i
baen In AmaHoa m.m'VbiitJto no diiaoei^
dants In Amarloa axeoiM maybe eome HaU
Inreed Tndiana.'" ' •
Moat of Itie Aaii}eye.in thta aree.«re
daaceuM iromi Jeeepli AAUnr i»lK>:piir«
cbaaed all of SaM Fraetovnk (itata Tlverw
tonX ptrt of Aeilalmel and* Roebe<ter« Tbesr
made tlieir home for feneratlcnai and etill
aome daacendanta oootlnue. In thla area
near Route 108» Morton aoed, Seat Frae*
tom, and Nortti Aveoya, Rodieater« IIm
Urat homt waa on iiropertr now owned
by tha New Bedford Water Works,
Used Spanish Money
To pordhtaa thla Urge tract of land,
tt Is sftld^ StMAiah money was uaad. It la not
known whare Joseph Aaiiley eam« ft^^i,
07 huw he ^ tt)a money but some Imi^lly
mambero were siu^pleknia of pirattng,
A8 6ketohdd out by tl^ uaaocltitlon^a
pracrtdentf It la probable that Joa(>ph Ackley
waa the ran of cr gr^r^frtaon of t3:e 'Hiomaa
Athl<»y already meneonad.
TxA the mydt'^ry st^ll remalna onaolimd
while many A^'lcye tftlU woodar how, or
eten If. they are related to others, liTlnt
... • . . I
In adnfiieaatetii Maseedidaetts or lAdaa
acetlared aerosa the nation.
. Asaodetton presldant . R<^rt AtfUey of
8$. Spring mu At^anae, .Brtdtenvater made
most of ttie trraagem^nts for^ Die -first
organisational meetlaf h4fld at. the Scotland
Trinitarlen Congragatlonal.Cb«irchUrmdke»
waten About 8S attimded, dinner wait.serred,
talks presentsd and Mftcers eleetedL Mr,
Ashley, the only AShley In Brldgewaler,
has been wcnrking on the fhAlly genealogy
for aaveral yeai^s*
Mr.. Ashley, who liso complied Aahlay
lenei^ogy and fimtly hi^Aorf, is a gradttite
of l^rocklon HIgtt. Miooi, Wentworthlnsdtate»
Photo MedtaSdibo]o(P)ipt^«Pby«M North-
ean tehodl of PhotogfsiJhy. He U an arthee*^
olotis^ colonial historian and genealogist,
Mott of his x\k he has wortM ss epro-
iesdiooal phobgrepher ind su^ 1^86 has
tieen 8 profeaepr and head of ttie depart*
meut of .photoipraphy of tha FrankUn tn*
stitute In Boston. . .
Others elected at the llrat meeting were
John 8L AShley pj pertmcwth, first iflce*
pjmaldent, B'rndfcffd Swaii bf FroTidenoe,
second vioe-presldant, Paul Leonard of Lake-
Tllte, third Tice-prealdent; Mr. and Mra,
Ken DsYls or Wllllamatown^ aacratary; Mr a.
Theodore Ashley of Freetown, tra&surer;
Mrs. Dorts Lang, Mrs. Helen Oomey Thomas
and Mrs. {insan AShley French, imbllsning
commlttae.
The group plans to work on pobliSMng
a bo()k on the Ashley family* Donatlona
were aecapted tn liau of xembersutp dues
and newslet^s will be sotit out An amiual
meeting la already being planned next year
towardfs the latter pari of Aupist.
Where Did Thsy
Get The Money?
Robert Ashley tdd the folIowlAg story:
'<The mysterious appearance of Joaeph and
Abraham Ashley In the CXd Colony at about
CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE
jjcvrm.r'xxrv w^
AV9V
in.^ VIX4ijAV3&R
Ashley Genealogy
C0N11N0E0 FROM PAGE ONS
1700 wUh s foodi/ iopplsf of SkMttilsh stlTor^
Yms Mvtr bdOD satSflfftetorily •xpltlned. Why
tfld Hmf purehiM esctenfltiv lands ta the then
remote !nl»d feetloo ef North Rochester? •
Why did Ihey for msiiy yetrs, seem to srotd
eontaet ^{h the dtll nd reUfloiis life of
the town? If (es ouuiy beUeve) they were
the sons or crtiidsoiis of Hiomts AJhley
tte respected factor of the PUgrlm's tradliic
post on the Keic4hec» then where had they
heen in the mesBtim<i»
<«The sncestry of their wlves^ Clis^beth
PerdTil ef rAlmovih and Snsenns White
of Plymouttt ^ «<xi^ traced. Why is their
orlgte so obscure? An agp^fate of oter
100 years and many fliousatids of dollars
spent has not provided an.ansmr.
Involved in Piracy?
panic they may have harted some rwaalnlDf
treasure near the East Preetown • North
Rochester bomdary.
It is also believed thst everycM by the
name of Ashley Uvlnf in the Southeastern
If assadiQsetts area has been proven to be
a descendant of Joseph ArtOey and his
wlte EUEaheth Perdval vphe settled in
Rochester near the NewBedftMrd waterworks
In 1700. 8ome of ttiese, doe to early cousin
marriafsSi are also deseendante of Joseph's
broOier Abraham's wife Susanna (White),
the fpranddanshter of Resolved White who
came over on ttie Mayflower in 1620,
Other Links
Missing Also
It has been considered tiiat they were
Involved In piracy, which hi those days
was looked upon about the same as booU
lenint in the 1920»s.
It Is suspected that the two AAley brothers
sailed with Captain WlUlam Kldl This Ship
captabi seemed to get more daring as his
experience gained, attaddnf all Alps re-
gardless of whldi flag It flew*
But as Kldd prc^essed -with his work,
law ofAcers started looking for him. Finally
when he stepped a^lhere In Boston, walking
Into a trap, he was arrested and put In
JalL Finally, Kldd wail hanged along with
other crew members*
When the news of Kldd had reached form»r
crew mem^rs who had been put ashore
earlier. It appears that they ''must have
been encouraged to lose themselves even
more completely and say nothing about their
travels and occupation or the origin of
their money/'
Some family members believe that In a
Several lines of descent are still not
available and some family menOiers fear
thai the information may never be gained,
even throui^ mote research. But there is
still hope for this family In ttie Bast Free-
town area tB many will probably turn up
at a reunion next year wondering Just how
they might be related to So and So Ashley.
About as attended the first meeting In
Biidgewater, Saturday. Another 20 traveled
a roitte through LakevlUe, East Freetown,
Rochester, and Aeushnet viewing aieai of
Interest to the Aihleys Including the Ashley
family cemetery off Morton Road, mu,
another smaller group viewed the recently
bolldoned remUnIr of the cellar of Abraham
Ashley Jr. R Is now dn lot 4S tn the Park*
hurst hom ) building developments.
Hie Sunday afternoon tour and two^day
affair concluded at the hom>) of Mr. and
Mrs. Paul Leonard on Rowland Road where
refteshmente were served.
COVER STORY
The historic Col. John Ashley house In Ashley Falls was the site of two events
that changed the course of history. Col. Ashley owned a young negro slave that
he had bought as a child and raised to be a house servant. When she "Mombett"
heard the Col. and his friends talking of the about to be adopted constitution
that made all men free and equal, and a little later had a bitter clash with
Mrs. Ashley, she ran away to the home of Theodore Sedgwick and pleaded with him
to go to law for her seeking her freedom. Sedgewick, although a close friend of
the Ashleys, took her case and won her freedom, thus establishing a precedent
more than 100 years before the Civil War, All parties seem to have remained
friends. In spite of Ashley's loss.
The second event occurred In the winter \772-73 when the leaders of Sheffield
drew up. In the Ashley house, the Sheff .^f ^ Declaration of Independence which
V
inaepengence ana preceaea Oy mcv. than ^ k'^ /»
Philadelphia on July 4, /776, ^^ HsI ^
America's first declaration of
^ears the one adopted In
ASHLEY
We ape alt deeply indebted to R. Eugene Ashley for much of what we kncta
about the As'ileys of Souiheaetem iilqasaahugette . Gene spent thirty years of
his. life gathering information fran various souraes, but did not live t6 oam'
plete thd work. On September 5 1938, about two years before his death, he
spoke at the 80th birthday celebration of hie fatlier Charles S. Ashley, and
sunmarizgd his work to that point. We give here his speeah in full on that
oaaasion.
"At this time I want to report to all of you my, further investigations
and work on the Ashley Genealogy during the past five years.- I have accom-
plished much, but have not reached the goal that f set out to get to, but If
I live long enough I hope to attain that.
Some very Interesting things have developed though during the past five
years.
In the first place,- I have been ab,le to establish that James Ashley,'
who was the forefather of Frederick W. Ashley, the Librarian of Congress,
was a son of Thomas Ashley, the' first son of our first Joseph.
Mr. Frederick W. Ashley had worked for over thirty years trying to establish
a connection with his line, "but was unable.to do so, until an attorney work-
ing for me, found the evidence In the Taunton Bristol County Probates, wherfe
It had been misplaced In the file of another James Ashley one hundred years
later. This started me on the further work on the Thomas line, which 1 had
never bothered much about. He had altogether f ifteen chl Idren that we know
about so far, and mosi of them went into Vermont and Canada, many of them
going from Canada to Ohio, as did. Frederick Ashley's ancestor James.
Frederick Ashley has written for me to use In the genealogy, when It Is
prepared, a fine article on the James Ashley line migrating to Ohio.
nos. iMot**s *»«ttr
I also wish to exhibit
a si Ihouette'Of the
Hon. Thomas Ashley, son
of Thomas., who was the
son of Joseph.
I also found In the
PJymouth records where
this Thomas was at
Canaan, Litchfield Co.,
Conn., in 1762, and
came homo to go on a
bond as guardian of
Isaac Ashley, a minor
son of Thomas Ashley,
his father. Evidently
Isaac was the only son
by the first wife,
Phoebe Freeman, who was
not of age at the time
of his father's deaths as Mary Gifford Ashley, the second wife, was bonded
guardian of all the rest of the children.
What was Thomas Ashley doing in Canaan, Litchfield County, Conn.? Why
did he go there?
It has always been stated, and my grandfather always told me, that
there was a relationship between Ethan Allen and the Ash leys, and I have
found In my work that there was a relationship by marriage, but I have not
checked it as yet; but nevertheless this Thomas Ashley, who afterwards
turned out to be the Hon. Thomas Ashley, went with Ethan Allen's brother
and settled the Town of Poultney, Rutland County, Vermont. He also was the
second man behind Ethan Allen on the stairs when Ethan Allen demanded the
surrender of Fort Ticonderoga, Benedict Arnold being the first man behind
Ethan A 1 1 en •
I have succeeded in the past five years in getting the work sheets of
the late Burton J. Ashley of Chicago, but was unable to get his finished
work, which has caused me many hours of painful, tedious work in trying to
assort the mass of material that he had accumulated. He had stamped each
and every sheet as having been "copied", which meant that he had a better
set, and I know that I could have done a lot better if I had been success*
ful in getting it. He also had hundreds of pictures of old Ash leys and
old Ashley Homesteads, which have been lost.
I have within the last two days found a proof that Thomas Ashley, the
first, (son of Joseph) wife, Phoebe Freeman, was a direct descendant of
Governor Thomas Prince ahd his wife. Patience Brewster, the latter a dau-
ghter of Elder William Brewster, who came In the MAYFLOWER.
I have also found tnat the earlier Freeman was a brother- In- 1 aw of
Mr. Beauchamp, in whose name Edward Ashley had the original patent of
land on the Kennebec River in Maine.
I have also found that a Gilbert, after Edward Ashley went home, was
In charge of the Kennebec Trading Post. The Gilberts were related to
Queen Elizabeth's governess, Mrs. Kate Ashley. The New England Historical
and Genealogical Register for the year 1850, Volume IV, under the heading
of The Gilbert Family by J. Wingate Thornton, says as follows:
'Queen Elizabeth's governess, Mrs. Kate Ashley, to whom she was fondly
attached, exercised the most remarkable influence over the mind of her
royal pupil from her earliest years. She was aunt to Sir Humphrey Gilbert,
to whom Sir Walter Raleigh was uterine brother, and was married to a rela-
tive of Anne Boleyn, the Queen's unfortunate mother. Queen Elizabeth
placed her chief favor and confidence In her maternal kindred to the end
of her life, and Mrs. Ashley's powerful influence was of great advantage
to her nephews'.
This may lead me to believe what Carrie Stevens Walter of San Jose
wrote In November 19, 1905, to Burton J. Ashley, that Thomas, Sr., was
descended from Lord Ashley of England, first Earl of Shaftesbury, by a
third wife, as near as we could trace \f, Margaret, daughter of Lord Spencer.
You will remember that the Earl -. Shaftesbury had a grant on the
Ashley River In South Carolina. ^
V
It Is my belief that Thomas Ashley, whom I think to be the grandfather
of Joseph and Abraham, was driven out of Maine when the Indians drove them
out at the beginning of King Phillip's War. I quote from the HISTORY OF
GARDINER by J. W. Hanson:
"On the breaking out of Philip's war, the Indians destroyed or drove
them all away. Gen. Joseph Sewall, to whom we are Indebted for these
facts, says — "The whole Kennebec country was deserted by the whites,
their forts, houses and mills were burnt, their improvements destroyed,
and the territory again left free for the roam of the savage, and the
occupation of his game."
The Ash leys, when they arrived in Rochester, started purchasing large
tracts of land by cash, in hard silver, and in many of the deeds it is
mentioned that they paid Spanish silver. In those days there was not much
actual money, and who else but buccaneers and fur traders could have had
real cash.
For your Information, I have now in the regular Ashley line 1049
families, and in the Thomas Ashley line 727 families. I also have in
the regular line 1713 individuals not Aishleys connected with the regular
line, and 1145 in the Thomas Ashley line; this making a grand total of
over 4,634 people; so that you see when this work is published it will be
quite a corrtprehensive genealogy, as thel"6 are thousands of the late gener-
ations which I have not obtained as yet.
I am very thankful for the help that everyone has given me, but I
am also greatly disgusted with those who simply do not pay any attention
to letters.
I have had a very thorough search made of the Registries of Deeds
and of probate records, and have accumulated a wealth of Information con-
cerning our ancestors, of which we may well be proud.
My work has been the means of connecting many families and straight-
ening out many lines. One of the most pleasant things that I accomplished
was for a Mrs. Louisa Ashley Grover of San Jose, California, who had work-
ed for many years, trying to connect her line back, and wanted to do it
before she died. I had the pleasure of straightening her out and receiv«
ed many thankful letters from her, and she died June 13, 1936. Roberta
met her.
Another case was Anna Ashley, who was a daughter of Perclval, the
Freetown records were incomplete and nothing could be found as to her
parentage, and we about here knew nothing about her, as she had moved
off away from here when she married Walter Durfee, and she died in
Castleton, Vermont* Then her husband moved to Western New York, and a
Mrs. Nora Wilhelm of Canton, Ohio, had worked on it for many years, but
the poor woman died before I had found the evidence, and she had made
her nephew, a young man by the name of W. E. Page of Rochester, N.Y.,
promise that he would carry on the work.
The way I found out about Anna being the daughter of Perclval, was
through Mrs. Nellie Robinson, who showed me a letter from Patience
Parker, who was Dr. Bradford Bra ley's wife, and daughter of Harriet
- 8 -
Ashley Parker, daughter of Perclval Ashley, which gave the children of
Perclval, and It said that Anna was Perclval 's daughter and she married
a Walter Durfee and moved to Vermont.
Captain Williams Ashley had dictated to Edward R, Ashley, April 7,
1868, a little memorandum about the different Ashleys, of which I had a
copy, and in that he stated that Abram had a daughter Anna that married
a Durfee, thinks his name was Ode, son of Captain David Durfee, and that
is the only record that I had of an Anna, so that you can see Captain
Williams Ashley was confused when -he dictated to his son E. R. Ashley.
Mr. Page was greatly delighted to get this evidence that straighten-
ed their i Ine out.
It was the funniest thing when I was talking to Mrs. Robinson
about it, it was an awfully cold day, and you know her house is not much
to get warm In, and when I told her the trouble I was having about trying
to place Anna, she said, *M think she was the daughter of Perclval, but
moved away and no one knew much about her; and I think I have a letter
upstairs that will prove It."
I thought to myself, my God, how will she ever find that letter In
this house; but she volunteered to go up and look for it, and bless my
heart the poor woman was not gone five minutes and she came down with
the letter in her hand, yellow with age; but it had the evidence that I
wanted, and since then I have been able to prove the same.
We have Ash leys spread all over the world and the job Is getting
tougher and tougher, but t hope to live long enough to publish a book that
that will be a credit to our branch of the Ashley family; and also to
connect our line back to Thomas of Maine.
If there is any Information that any of you want at any time I will
be only too glad to try to help you out, and If at any time you see any-
thing about Ashleys In the paper, if you will Just mall them to me I will
appreciate the same, or If you find any old Ashley pictures or records.
(The End)
THOMAS ASHLEY - MIscel laneous"
Court was 'to be holdeit the 3^ day of the weeke following the 20"*"*^ of May
next at the house of Thomas Ashley* (1652)
"That Thomas Ashley shall have liberty to keep an ordinary for naklng provision
to entertaine strangers and others for the I re refreshment paying for the same.
(1652)
"Thomas Ashley, Abram Robinson and James Smith were prosecuted for debt,
about 1641-2 (Ref. Putnams History Mag. 5-18)
There is a "Thomas" drowned in New Haven Harbor 1640.
There is a Thomas who is 26 years old in Boston In 1639.
(Geo. L. Randall - Search 1907)
- 9 -
CX3CXXX3CXXXXX:
C3 . a
G THE 1790 CENSUS [3
n r-]
CXX3CXXX3CX3CX:b
Mrs. Ruth Warren In her genealogical column, ''Titles and T^Ios" publish*
ed weekly In the ^4obile Press Rsglster, has a word of caution rabout accepting
the early census records of our United States as completftiy accurate. She
says:
"I have never accepted as "gospel" the Federal Census, at least, those
from the first In 1790 through the early 1800's. If we consider the .
difficulties facing the census taker and his means of transportation
into the hinterlands, he must have gotten some second-hand information
in many places simply because it was Impossible to reach the people
he may have heard resided in a certain area. He was paid for each
person tabulated, therefore, it was to his interests to record as many
people as possible.
For instance, in 1790, he was paid $1.00 per ISO persons in rural areas
and SI. 00 per 300 in towns over 5,000, or less than a penny per person.
In 1800 he was paid $1.00 per 100 in the country and SI. 00 per 300
persons in towns.
Consider the plight of the census taker, at the end of a trail and
he could go no further, yet, he had been told there were people living
beyond his reach. Mindful of the three*-quarters of a cent he would
receive for each enumeration, it is possible he took hearsay from
squatters who said they knew the nalnes and ages of the unreachables.
Misinformation or guesswork could account for variances In family names
and numbers which have puzzled many researchers of the early census.*'
The total population as returned In 1790 was 5,929,214 and the eatire
cost of the census was $44,377.00.
Mrs. Warren will pub 1 1 sb quer I es at no charge In her column. If you
have Alabama questions, you may reach her at the Mobile Public Library,
701 Government Street, Mobile, Alabama (36601).
On the following page are listed the Ash leys recorded In the 1790
Census in the states of Vermont, New York and Connecticut.
**Remember the days of old, consider the years of may generations.
Ask thy falher and he will show thee, thine elders and they
will tell th'^e".
(Moeee in the Book of Deuteronomy
32:7)
>;
- 10 -
UNITED STATPS FIRST CENSUS - 1790
II III I I II II II III III I 1 1 II I I ■ 1 1 II II
A. Free white males 16 Years & Upward inct. Heads of Famili
B. Free White Males under 16 Years
C. free White Females including Head of Family
D. All other Free Persons
E. Slaves
HEAD OF FAMILY
B
TOWN
COUNTY
STATE OF VERMONT
ASHLEY , Enoch
Elisha
Abner
Enoch
Stephen
John
William
Thomas
Zebu I un
Lemuel
Martin
Thomas
Zenas
Wiiliam
ASHLEY, Zaners
E I kanah
William
Stephen
Daniel
Noah
Elisha
John
Rogers
ASHLEY , Abreham
James
Abner
Joseph
Rachel
Jonathan
David
I
2
3
I
I
I
I
3
I
2
3
I
I
2
I
2
I
4
I
3
3
I
i
I
2
3
I
I
3
I
2
2
2
4
4
7
3
2
4
3
6
I
4
3
2
I
3
STATE OF NEW YORK
I
3
I
2
5
I
2
?
6
3
4
4
2
STATE OF CONNECTICUT
1
3
3
1
-
2
2
4
3
1
3
4
1
2
4
i
2
5
1
3
2
Milton
ft
Ch 1 ttenden
If
Hubbardton
New Haven
ff
ft
Pou 1 tney
11
Rut i and
ft
fft
If
ft
11
tf
ff
Barnard
Shrewsbury
Benn 1 ngton
If
ft
If
It
ft
Hart land
fi
Hocsick
If
Albany
fi
Coxsackie
fiensseiaerwick
Stillwater
If
ft
N
Canaan
fi
Columbia
ffi
New York City
North Ward
Westfieid
[T
New York
Wash i ngton
Litchfield
Hampton
ff
Litchfield
New London
Windham
ff
Pomfret
Windham
If
Windham
If
fi
- 11 -
c:
azrjDOixxxxxxxTxxxi
D
HJSTORY OF O
G a
CD MILTON, VERMONT C3
□ CD
CXDCDCIXXXXXXXXIDCDCXXD
The name Is supposed to Have been given to MHton In honor of the blind
author of "Paradise Lost", as many of the towns In New England and throughout
the east were named from English originals before the separation of the colonies
from the mother country.
Charter was grianted Jbne 8, 1763. The largest stream Is the Lamoille
River which takes a sinuous course through the town from northeast to Southeast,
Bnd has many tributaries.
Early settlements: Milton was first settled by William Irlsh^ Leonard
Owen, Amos Mansfield, Absolom Taylor and Tholhas Dewey, In February 1782.
Thomas Oewey was the eldest son of Major Zebedlah Dewey, of l\>ultney, Vermont,
who took an active part in the battle of Hubbardton and probably also In the
battle of Bennington. Major Dewey was born in Barrlngton, Mass. In 1726 and
was probably descended from one of the proprietors of Poultney. He was a great
lover of hunting. He died at Poultney on the 28th of October, 1804. Thomas
Dewey married an Ashley and moved to Milton on the 15 of February 1782, settling
on the farm now owned by Mrs. Lucretia B. Witters, about one and a half miles
south of Milton Falls. He was soon followed by his brothers Zebedlah and
Azarlah, and three sisters -^-» Beulah, wife of Ellsha Ashley, Anna, wife of
Samuel Murdock, and Kezlah, wife of Warren Hill and grandmother of Mrs. Witters.
Thomas and Zebedlah Dewey both died of the epidemic of 1813 ....
Enoch and Ellsha Ashley, brothers, came to Milton In 1784, the former
locating on a tract of land on the east road, which Includes the farm now
owned by Edward W. Allen and the latter east of Milton Falls on the comer ^f
the east and west and fiorth and south roads. Enoch, who served as first town
clerk, remained here until 1820, when he removed to Western New York, the place
of his death.
His son Beamaii was born In f^ultney In 1784, came here with his father,
married Lucy Prentiss and had a family of 10 children, 5 of whom are now living.
He died in September 1852. His widow survived him until 1865 when she died at
the age of 97 years.
Ellsha, as before stated, married Beulah Oewey and reared a family of 12
children, who are now represented In town by 5 descendants. Ellsha Ashley
built and for years kept a tavern In the house now owned by Rev. Johh. H. Woodward
* ■
Town Organization: The town was orgaTiized on the 25th of March I788>
Nilliam Irish being moderator of the meeting, by the election of the following
officers: Enoch Ashley, town clerk; Samuel Church, Elisha Ashley and Absalom
Taylor selectmen. Thomas Oewey Treasurer, Enoch Ashley Constable and Collector,
It was voted "that the Dower of Enoch Ash I ey hous sha 1 1 be the
Sine Post for this year".
- 12 -
MILTON TOWN (Continued)
On the 9th bf March 1795 ...Enoch Ashley were appointed a committee to
••Set a stake for *e center of the town'% and reported that they had set such
stake •'About two rods from the northwest corner of Alpheus Mansfield - lot 10
so called - being about 3/4 of a mile southeast of Mr. Oean^s Mills"«
The War of 1812: Following is the roil of a company of militia which went
from Milton Into the War of 1812 under command of Capt. Jonathan Prentiss ••••
Arch. Ashley, corporal; William Ashley, Corporal; Elisha Ashley, private. Arch
Ashley was present at the battle of Plattsburgh.
Hilton from 1825 to 1630: Officers for tiM year .1825. John Vf. Dewey,
Constable* Elisha Ashley Jr. road surveyor.
The oldest store in Hiltoti Village was built by George Ashley. who himself
kept it for some time. ......Among the other manufacturing concerns In the town
of Milton are the carriage manufacturing of Charles Ashley, who recently began
the making of all kinds of carriages and sleighs.
ft ' . •
Town officers I886t George Ashley selectman; C. S. Ashley, Auditor.
(End of Milton Town)
« * • * •
From: History of Chittenden Co,, Vt,
By: V, S, Beam - IB86 (Page $88)
CXXXXXIX3CIXXXD
G
C
□
dlOGRAPHY C3
a
OCXXXXXXXXXXXD
CALVIN FILU40RE ASHLEY, M.D., Ypslianti, Michigan, was* born in the town of Phelps,
Phelps, Ontario County, New York, Hay 30, 1816. His father, Thomas. Ashley,
was an early settler in that local ity.^ His antecedents settled in Conn, at
an early day having received large land grants from the. King of England. His
mother, Rachel (Woodward) Ashley was the daughter of Ontario County Pioneers.
She died when the subject of this sketch was but 3 years of age, and from
that time his hdme was with a sister who married about the time of his mother's
death.
r
His literary education was chiefly received at Lima Seminary at Lima,NeY.
There he also pursued the study of medicine two years with Or. William Butler.
He then went* to a medical college at Fairfield,. N.Y«, where he passed the
school year of 1839-40, the last session df that institution. The following
3 years were spent in teaching, and pursuing studies pertaining to medicinee
In the fall of 1844 he went to New York City and entered the medical depart*
ment of the University of the City of New York, from which he graduated in 1845.
The next year was spent at his home in recruiting h4s health.
In 1846 he came to Michigan and after visiting various places settled
near Wayne, where he remained two years. He then returned to New York and
• 13 -
BIOGRAPHY - C. F. ASHLEY, M.D . (Cont'd)
and spent some months in reviewing and studying medicine. In 1849 he came to
Michigan again. Intending to go further west, but was persuaded to stay In
Ypsilanti. Since then this city has been his home.
Dr. Ashley served as an Alderman from the first ward for one term, but
his profession kept him out of political life thereafter. He is a member of
the County Medical Society and was for some years connected with the State
and National Societies. He was a member of the original organization of
Odd Fellows In this city, but since Its reorganization has not been connected
with It. He Is a member of Phoenix Lodge and Excelsior Chapter of F. & A.M.
of this city and was for some years a member of Detroit Commandery No. I.
Reared In the Methodist Episcopal faith, he at the age of 16 united with
that church and has always remained with It. Dr. Ashley Is quite a naturalist
and has a fine collection of the birds of Michigan, collected and mounted by
himself. He is also Interested In bee culture and has an apiary of about
70 colonies. A life of kind acts and good deeds has won a warm place for
the Doctor In the hearts of a large circle of friends.
(The end) p^^,^. History of Washtenou County ^
Michigan - 1981
Editor's Note: Lineage Is C. F. Ashley^, Thomas*, Elkanah^, Thomas2, Joseph'
Dr. Ashley died May I, 1896 at Ypsilanti, Mich.
BIOGRAPHY - SILAS PICKENS ASHLY, a respected citizen and farmer of Lakevllle,
Mass. was born in this town April 4, 1813 a son of Noah and Ruth (Pickens)
Ashley. His paternal grandfather also bore the name of Noah. Noah Ashley
(2nd) and his wife Ruth became the parents of a large family of children:
namely, Jephthah, Silas P., Noah, Abiel W., Susan P., Elizabeth M., Earl S«,
Sarah, Josephus P., Levi L., and Abbie, all of whom are still living with
the exception of Abiel.
SilasPicken^ Ashley, who was the second born child of his parents, was ed-
ucated In the district schools. He remalhed beneath the parental roof until
his 25th year, when he began life for himself, turning his attention to agri*
culture as his main occupation. His present farm, which consists of about 60
acres, has been his home since 1844, and Is endeared to him by many associations
of his younger days. In addition to farming he has also dealt to some extent
in wood and lumber. In 1835 Mr. Ashley wedded Miss Phoebe E. Davis of Tiverton,
R.I. Seven children were born to them, and were named respectively: Phoebe J.,
Mary B., Clementine L., Noah, Isaiah, Silas Edmund and Abiel Davis, of whom
Noah and Isaiah have passed away.
His first wife dying, Mr. Ashley contracted a second marriage In 1857,
Miss Almira F. Dean, a native of Taunton, becoming his wife. Mr. Ashley is a
Republican in politics, having been a whig In the days of that early party.
He has lived to see many political and other changes during his fourscore and
three years of experience, and he has always been numbered among the reliable
and trustworthy citizens of his town.
Editor's Note: S. P. Ashley died
2 April 1897 at Lakevllle, Mass.
From: Plymouth County ^ Mass. 1897
Vol XVIII
- 14 -
/
' •••••'• ■■ -^ w 1,-. .,'t=«;
xxxxyjcxt •■••'•/•' y •■•.'• •
!3 U' topiiitt'ihiltf 194? wfmi tiblsa in ppaeMsion of
E.RECQROSI...G . Mevtha Aehley Boppin, Hilton, Vtmont,
T3 ' ''' Biblk nab U poeeoeaicnof tfaniel V, Aehl^,
XXXXXXl , Mghfiltd Lane, Darieri Conn, {06820)
ASHLEY 9 tBlE - Published H^^ Shisper Hardrng,^M». 97 South Third St.
Philadelphia,: 154^. '
Beeman Ashley was born April 24, 1784
Lucy Prentiss was born January 2^\' 1788 *v»t: •'
Married October 2, 1808 "» .v
. Children:
Lucy Ee Ashley was born at Milton, Nov* 26, 1809
Emily Ashley was born at Milton Sept. 16, 1811
Orson B* Ashley was born at Milton Aug. 14, 1813
Marcus Pe Ashley was born at Milton. I^r I day April 19^ 1816
George Ashley was bprn at Milton Ft* I day October 9, 1818
Jonathan P. Ashley was born at.St« Albans Suiie Nov* 26, 1820
Hemah Allen Ashley was born at St. AlbanS| Tues* Feb. 4, 1823
Sandford Ashley was bom at Mlltbn, Tues. Apr! I 12, 1825
Lucld4 A. Ashley was born at Mitton Sat. May 12^ 1827
Azro, Ashley was born at Milton Wed. Aug. 26^*329
Infant daughter was born at Milton Si^te iO^ 1832
Jonathan P. Ashley died at Milton Feb. 4, 1836
Infant daughter died at Milton, Sept. 14, 1832
Beemah Ashley died Sept. 23, I85;2
Liicy Ashley died May 6; 1883
.•>■ s.
•. •?:
«*##«#«« 9(ftft ft
PRfeNTIS
^ ,.-,^ortathan Prentis was born July r2^ 150
MbVgatet Daniels Was born Apr!*! 1g 13^
Jb0,dthan Prentis itrld Margaret Oanieis were Joined In marr^tage
April 8, 1772
6i Ibert Prentis wa« bo^h riovember 21/1773
Benjamfn Prentis was born July 29, 1775
P^9y prentis was born May 21, 1778
Edgcomb' Prent i s was born March I ) / - 1 780
Mercy PrenVfs was born January lO,' 1782
Jonathan Prentis was born November 29, 1783
Sally Prentis was born February 3,* 1786
Lucy Prentis was born January 24, 1788 -' • .
Joseph Prent 1$ was born April 11, 1790 *
Alvira Prentis was born October I, 1792
Jonathan Prentis died April 3, 1833
Margaret Prentis died December 2, 1824
Lucy Prentis died May 6, 1885
Marcus Prentis was born February 6, 1795
Auson (Anson) Prentis was born August 20, 1797
Marcus Prentis died October 31, 1813
Auson Prentis died October II, 1815
• 15 -
SOUTHERN A S H L E Y S •=
OLD LETTER - The follcwing ate extraota from' a teiter written at Barringlfin^
Hava Sootia^ August 18S3 iSn/ REV., WILLIAM WASHINGTON ASHLEY sent
to REV. WM. WASHINGTON ASHLEY JR. in)€tMWer to inquvriee re.
genealogy and hietovy of the Ashley family » Extracts were made
Dec. 6, 190S» letter at that time^ po^eesion of
Rev. B. Greeman Ashley of Ravenndi'()hi&' <
"We descended from an ancient English family which'^bOre the name in its present
shape. In the early settlement of America two brothers came over from England,
one of whom settled at Charlestown, S.C. and tH^ other going north. The Ashley
River near Charlestown, was named for the first, and from him sprung the Ashieys
of the South. The other is presumably the forefather of the numerous Ashieys
of the Northern and Central and Western States i" '.»
**l4y great grandfather Ashley, whose first name I db not remember lived to the age
of 105. I kn6w nothing of his wife nor of his famt lyexcept my grandfather and
two of his sisters. One of these sisters married James Forest; the other was
twice married, the 1st husband being a Sherman and the other a Thompson. There
were several children by Sherman but none by Thompsbrti' who was a planter.
«
Hy grandfather's name was JOSEFS who was a bold, active, educated man. In the
Revolutionary War he fought for Independence, but of hjhs-mi lltary career I have
no knowledge save that he went from Orange CountV, N.C. He was^i;thrice married,
but so far as I have ascertained all his offspring Werefrom hi^s first marriage.
When I knew him he was a very interesting old man and' aa honored member of the
Baptist Church. He died in Orange Co., N.C. . . •' )<0f his family there were
six sons and five or six daughters. The sons were EDWARD, NOAH, CAREY, JOHN,
RICHARD AND JOSEPH. Edward, the eldest of the famify was my father.
Carey, who had a large family, moved into Ohio when I was* a small boy and faded
entirely out of my recollection and knowledge. Joseph, who became a Baptist
minister, brought up a large tamily wit|i which he moved from N.C. to one of the
new States where I lost trace o* him and all begotten of him. Noah settled at
Kingston, Tenn. where he became a magistrate and a mdn of business. He was
twice married, but had only one child and that by hUf Irstfwife.
-' I
There being no school of high classical standing neAir ijs?€dwftrd. went to PowelMs
Valley Seminary, and I to Anderson Seminary . . .In thfe'^arly part of 1814 Edw.
joined the Claibourne Co. Volunteers apd went out In pursuit of the Creek Indians.
In Nov. of same year I joined . . . • We fought through the Indian country to
Mobile where I spent the wlntdr. I was one of the number who volunteered to go
to the relief of the fort at Mobile ^^fnt when It was besieged by the English.
The fort capitulated before w^ «»rrfyed and we being without provision nearly
starved to death. We re"fr«''ned. to Mobile after an absence of 10 days and were in
that city when the Battle of New Orleans was fought. We remained in Mobile until
the end of the y^* <For this W.W^A. received 2 grants of lend from the Gov.)
In the fjll of 1815 . . . set ap/art to the ministry of the Free Baptists. In
1820 ... I traveled thu the Eastern States to Portland and Eastport, Me. and
thence to St. Johns, New Brunswick and over the Bay of Fundy to DIgby, Nova Scotia
and down to Liverpool ... At Liverpoot I married Hannah Kempton 3- 1 5- 1 82 1
daughter of Samuel Dogget Kempton, a direct descendnat of Manassah Kempton of
Plymouth, Mass. who many times from 1646 to 1660 was elected representative from
Plymouth to the General Court of Plymouth Colony."
(Sote similarily of given names)
- 16 -
J
/^
ASHLEY
REVOLUTIONARY PATRIOTS
Desoended from Joseph Ashley whose service
and identity haxfe been established by DAR
NOTE: Application for membership In the National Society, Daughters of the
American Revolution may be submitted on new short forms if an appli-
cant Hes Into an approved line within three gonerations. The follow-
ing list of DAR approved ASHLEY Patriots, and their descendants may
expedite proving your line for membership in this Patriotic Society.
ELISHA ASHLEY^ (Thomas2, Joseph') (1757-1835) m Beulah Dewey
Private, Vermont - Served in Vermont Militia in Capt, Zebedia Dewey's Co.
1778 and 1781 and under Capt. Abishal ^4oseley at the Castleton, Vt. alarm
(4) Jesse Woodruff and Sally Ashley
(5) Solon Buck Bag ley and Beulah Woodruff
(6) James Miner Bag ley and Susan Mansfield
(7) Frank H. Intfeld and Julia Bag ley - DAR ji?45043
ENOCH ASHLEY^ (Thofrtas2, Joseph') (l750-cl820) m Phebe Owen
Prviate, Vermont - Served in Vermont Militia in Capt. Zebedlah Dewey's Co.
and in Capt. Israel Hurlbut's Co. and at the Alarm at Castleton, Vt.
(4) Beman Ashley and Lucy Prentiss
(5) Sanford Ash I fey and Caroline Haight
(6) Charles Sanford Ashley and Cora Belle Harris
(7) Sanford Harris Ashley and Josephine Caroline Strecker
(8) Winslow Clement Spousta and Esther May Ashley - DAR jy395322
PERCIVAL ASHLEY^ (Abraham^, Joseph') (1740-1822) m Anna Bishop
Lieutenant, Mass. - Served as Lt. In Capt. Joseph Morton's Co., Col. John
Hathaway's Regiment in Mass. line.
(4) Jethro Ashley and Lois Gifford
(5) James Ashley and Philena B. Leonard
(6) John Williams and Susan E. Ashley
(7) George H. Finney and Edith Williams - DAR ii^l 14829
(4) Jethro Ashley and Lois Gifford
(5) Alden Rounseville and Cornelia Ashley
(6) John Cudworth and Sarah Rounseville
(7) G. Delmar Dunbar and Carrie A. Cudworth - DAR jifl28l52
(4) John Ashley and Charity Sherman
(5) John S. Ashley and Mary G. Brown
(6) Joshua Bishop Ashley and Susan Sanderson
(7) Ellaphlne Ashley - DAR #15114 2
- 17 -
• . /
ASHLEY REVOLUTIONARY PATRIOTS (Cont'd)
' I • . .I _
• •■ • • . • .
NOAH ASHLEY^ (William^, Joseph') ( 1757-1839) m Ablga 1 1 Hoar
Priva+e, Mass. - Placed on pension roll; 1618 for two years actual service
as private in Mass. Line. In 1832 his pension was increased.
(4) Noah Ashley Jr. and Ruth Pickens
(5) Joshua McCully and Susan Ashley
(6) Thomas Jefferson Browne and Suth|e Adine McCully - JDAR #32812
4 •
(4) & (5) Same as above
(6) ChaMbsJ^ Skinner and Sarah K^ McCully
(7) Fred WHItam Mi I tigan and Norma .Lee Skinner.- PAR 1100868
THOMAS ASHLEY^ (Thomas^, Joseph') (1738-1810) m Zerli lab. Richards
Private, Vermont - Served \t\ Capt. Zebedtah Dewey's. Co* 1778. Member
of the Committee of Safety of Poultney, Vt.
■ ' ' • ■ •' . . .
(4) Zebu I on Ashley and Thankful Pond '
(5) Asahel Pond Ashley and Ursula WMIiams Woodcock
(6) Josiah Everett Stevens and Emdiine Ashley
(7) Wl 1 1 lam Walter and Carrie Stevens - DAR #321^70
(4) Jonathan Marshall and Phebe Ashley -
(5) Paul Marshall and Rebecca Smith
(6)t George Al fred I4arshal I and Del la Ma-i lony
(7) L. F. Phelps and Pauline Marshall ^ «DAR #59993.
• . ■ • *
(4) & (5) Same as above
(6) Joseph pryden Warren and Lucy Ann Marshall
(7) Cugy Rebecca Warren - DAR 119406
u
WILLIAM ASHLEY^ (Thomas^, Joseph') (1758-1828) m Phebe Howe
Private/ Vermont • Served several enlistments 1 777- J 78 1 as Pr I vatf.
Corporal and Sergeant in Vermont Mi title
(4) Hiram Burtch and Phi I'anda Ashley
(5) John Huff Mikesell and Phebe Burtch
ft
(6) Powel Garner Mikesell and Mary Cline Watts
(7) Adolph George Henning and Phebe Eliza Mikesell - DAR II 12523
(T) Mrs. Anna Burtch WkeseM Watklns - DAR -#11 2524
(7) Harley J. Ch I ttenden -and Lou Mikesell - PAR #10^3 1 6
(4) Same as above
(5) Asa Burtch and Catharine Miller
(6) John F. Burtch and Arlila Lucas
(7) Maxwell A. Arnold and Daisy G. Burtch - DAR 1133947
(4) George Washington Ashley and PoJIy Dickinson ; , .
(5) H6rry Ashley and Mary< Ann Smith
(6) John Marcellus'Govey and^ ElsIa Idel Ashley. - QSR |l002i6
(7) Frank A. French and LI 1 1 law Covey - OA R #95248 "^ '
.Vrf t *' /• •.
(To be continued)
T 18 -
O ANCESTOR TABLES CH •
n . n
C3aCXX3C3CXX3CX3C3
It is commonly known that people who are related through one family, line
are often also related through other family lines, sometimes more closely than
through the originally investigated line. The easiest way to exchange this
information Is through the use of ANCESTOR TABLES which are really skeleton
genealogies containing only the most basic facts about a person's ancestry
for as many generations back as you might want to carry It. We hope to pub-
lish as many of these as possible so that others with the same ancestors can
readily get In touch with each other.
To write your ancestor table, number It as follows:
«
1st Gen. I - I. Your name, birthdate and address.
I
2nd Gen. II - 2. Your father's natne, birth, death and principal residences
3. Your mother's " " . " " ' " "
3rd Gen. Ill - 4. Your father's father's name, birth, death and "
5. Your father's mother's " ". " " "
6. Your mother's father's " " ". " "
7. Your mother's mother's " " '^
II n
4th Gen. IV - 8. Your father's father's father's name, etc.
9. Your father* s " mother's name, etc.
10. Your " mother's father's name, etc.
11. Your " •' mother ?s name, etc.
' 12. Your mother's father's father's name ^ etp.
13. Your " " mother's name^ etp.
14. Your " mother's father's name, etc.
15. Your " " mother's, name, etc
Note that except for yourself (first generation), ai I males are even
numbers and all females are odd numbers. Also that any number doubled
gives the father of that number and any number dbulbed plus one gives the
mother of that number.
Anything unknown is left blank and indicates that the sub^ect(#l) Is
seeking that information.
Why not sit down right now and start your ancestor table, complete
what you can and send it in for publication. You will probably be pleasant*
ly surprised at the number of cousins you have who will help you^
■ • ' ' • %
See the Ancestor Table covering Robert. E. Ashley^ pur presijpent, on
the following page.
- 19 -
r >
V V.
•-1.
ANCESTOR TABLE: Robert E. Ashtey^ 68 Spring Hill Avd.^ Bridgewater, Mass. 02324
I I. Robert E. Ashley, 1913- Bridgewater, Mass.
II 2. Oscar Ashley, 1868-1914, Raynham, New Bedford, Brockton, Mass*
3. Ruth Ann Hasklns, 1873-1953, New Bedford, Brockton, Mass.
ill 4. Thomas Henry Ashley, 1827-1887, Dartmouth, Freetown, Raynham, Mass.
5. Susan A. Bruce, 1833-1923, Falrhaven, Freetown, New Bedford, Mass.
6. Eben Franklin Haskins, I847-I9>6, Dartmouth, New Bedford,^ Mass.
7. Mary Maria Dexter, 1853^1913, New Bedford, Mass.
tV 6. Thomas Ashley, 1783-1856, Freetown, Mass.
9. Rest Haskins, I7d3-bef. 1843, Freetown, Mass
10. Edward Bruce, 1799- , Scotland (came over bef* 1824) jsettled Freetpwn
11. Susan PIttsley, 1807-1863, Freetown, Mass.
12. Steven Haskins 2nd,, 1819- , Dartmouth, Mdi^s.
I3| Ruth Ann (Tucker) Brayton, 1826- , Dartmouth, Mass*
14. James Dexter, I8I4-I86I| Rochester, New BedWd, Mass*
15. Pamelia Dexter, 1815-1882, Rochester, New BAdford^ Mass.
V 16. Abraham Ashley, 1743-1821. Freetown, Mass
17. Hannah Crapo, 1753-1843, Freetown^ Mass
18. Anthony Haskins, 1750- , Middieboro, FrebtowH^ Ma^d.
19. Rest Crapo, 1753- , Itochester, Freetown, Mass.
20. Robert Bruce, b & d in Scotland
21.
22. James PIttsley, , Freetown, Mass
23. Merc y . _» • Freetown, Mass.
24. Ebenezer Haskins, , 1817, Dartmouth, Mass.
25. Luranah Pool, 1796- , Taunton, Dartmouth, Mass.
26. Benjamin Tucker 3rd, 1796- , Dartmouth, Mass
27. . Peace Borden, , Tivertown, Dartmouth, Mass.
28. Capt. Samuel Dexter, 1773-1856, Rochester, Smithfield, N.Y.
29. Mercy Keen, 1782- , Rochester, Mass., Smithfield, N.Y.
30. Johnathan Dexter, 1782- , Rochester, Mass.
31. Mary Stud ley, 1786-1841, Yarmouth, Rochester, Mass.
VI 32. William Ashley, 1708-bef. 1783, Ftochester, Freetown, Mass.
33. Elizabeth Ashley, 171 1-1745, Rochester, Freetown, Mass.
34. Consider Crapo, 1735- , Rochester, Freetown, Mass.
35. Mercy West, 1732- , Darlmouth, Rochester
36. Eliphalet Haskins, 1721- , Freetown, Mass.
37. Susan Hoyt,
38. John Crapo, 171 1-1799, Rochester, Mass.
39. Sarah Clark, 1714- , Rochester, Mass.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
(See Reverse Side)
« 20 -
ANCESTOR TABLE: Robert E. Ashley (Continued)
• •
VI (Cont»d)
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63
Slrblrnus Pool, 1753-
Levln a
Benjamin Tudker, 1741-
Sarah Barney,
, Dartmouth, Mass
'■ ! • -
• *
,• Dartmouth, Mass
, Dartmouth,: Mass.
Edward Daxter, 1730-1795, Rochester^ Mass.
Mary Babcock
3ohn K^en, 1744-1812, Rochester, Mass.
Mary Clifton, 1746-1822 . ^
David Dexter, 1749-1827, Rochester, Mass.
Sarah Allen, 1755-
> • r
■ >
• I
'»-.4;
^ .'*i
' i
* '
1 1
MISSING LINKS
This ie our QUERI SECTION and could become one of the
most valudble of our publication. Are you miseing a
vital link? Send in your problem - the answer might
be forthcoming. Keep queries brief and concise.
* '? *
Seeking grandparents of Peace BORDEN' (Int. Peace W. Burden of Tiverton) who
m. Ben. Tucker Jr. Mar. 30, 1820 at Dartmouth. Was dau. of Theophilus and
Ann Borden, b 1803 In Tiverton. Tucker d bef. 1844 and she m (2) Jerlmiah
Cornell, single, fanner, of Dart, son of John E. Cloe on Mar. 14, 1847.
R. e. ASHLEY, 68 Spring Hill Ave., Brldgewater, Mass. 02324 - : .
s .
Vanted Information on PITTS LEY family of E. Freetown. Name formerly PIggsley
or PIgalle (according to PauI'Gen.) Prob. from France bef. Rev. War. Served
with Minute Men* One branch of family were all albinos. Others raised
particular hell tn Freetown on occasions but mostly respectable.
R. E. ASHLEY, 68 Spring Hill Ave., Bridgewater, Mass 02324
VanUd descendants of Timothy ASHLEY b 7 Nov. 1789, Milton, Vt., son of Elisha
and Beulah (Dewey) Ashley. Moved to Tenn. or Ky. no further record.
MRS. W. C. SPOUSTA, PO Box 321, Rogers, Ark. 72756
»
Need daU of death of ENOCH ASHLEY b 25 Nov. 1750 at Milton, Vt. Moved to
western New York circa 1800. Old he remarry? Where \s he buried?
MRS. W. C. SPOUSTA, Pd Box 321, Rogers, Ark. 72756
l^TE NEWS FUVSHES
Brad Swan writes (Sept. 16, 1970) "I am off for Nepal and
Mt. Everest next week and so you won't be hearing from me
until November* - - •♦ Brad Is Drama Critic for the
"Providence Journal" and "Evening Bulletin". We also
knew that he was Active in the Appalachian Mountain Club,
and have read some of his articles on Mountain Climbing
in their pub I Ications — but Mount Everest ? ? ? ? ?
We are anxious to. hear more.
From Wi 1 1 iamstown, Mass. • -
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth 0. Oavis have
the honor of announcing the marriage
of their daughter Eloise Margaret to
Mr. Holger Jurgen Harrer on Friday,
the ninth of October — Manti Temple,
MantI, Utah. At home after Oct. 20
108 E. 500 South St., Provo, Utah
BEST WISHES to the happy couple.
/
\
And in Lakevitle, Mass. * - Paul and
WTffiona Leonard will celebrate their
fiftieth wedding anniversary, Oct. 24.
BEST WISHES to another happy couple.
I
Buzzy Ashley (Mrs. John S.) sends clipping from Miami Herald, Oct. 6, pg.
Florida police have issued nationwide alert for Virginia ex-convict names
HENRY THOMAS ASHLEY, 27» who has been charged wfth the murder of 5 people at
New Port Richey. Co. Sheriff Gaines warns Ashley is armed & considered ex-
tremely dangerous. Served sentence in Va. for grand larceny — Who is he ?
- 21 -
CXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX3
C3 a
G GUIDE FOR CONTRIBUTORS CD
CO ■' . ^ CD
CXXXXXXIXXXXXXXXX3
•■•*•■ . • • • . ■ ■ •■ -
.. ■ * . , .
t ■ . •
The aim of this publication \% to share/ infQnrtat(^on and Its success
depends upon the contributions received from each And^every one of y6u«
As you have climbed your family \t^^^ we know that you have acauired some
valuabfci data that might help another solve a problem. PLEASE SHARE ! !
m •
» • • -
• • •
Suggested materia Is. wan ted for publtcetion In ypyr News Bulletin are:
BIBLE RECX3RDS - Include the original owner of the Bible if possible^
present owner (name and address) and the name of publisher and dat6«
. ' ' ■ •« • • , .
OLD LETTER^ * Abstracts of letters containing historical Infohnatfon.
Be sure to Identify the' sender and receiver^ and who has possession.
• * *
TOMBSTONE INSCt^lPflONS - include the nttne and location of c^metet-y.
CHURCH REGiSTERS •* Include, naime 6f Church and its location.
• . . .» •• . •
OLd NEWSPAPER NOTICES ^ Obituaries^ rfiarHagesi births, from old, n«wpapers
could verify or solve a problem. Include name and location of paper
and publication date.
ABStRACts dp WILLS ^ Incliide location wriere recorded^ Book & page Kbs*
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES of prominent Ash leys • incliide SbiirQS.
r
LISTS OF DEEDS - Include where recorded and identify Grantor nti^f Gratitee
ANCESTOR TABLES * Start preparing yours now and we wl il;:pubMsh each .
quarter as many as we have space for. ' .
VITAL STATISTICS * Marriages/ deaths , births, letters of administration,
deeds and land grants, etc. * Include source (location, book & page Nos.)
*
Neither the off leers nor the association can. accept responsibility for
the correctness df material supplied us by our contributors, but we shall
make every effort .w.l: thin. our means to publish authentic' records. Please
help by document! fig the material you send us.
NOTE • - - While not imperative. It would expedite ACCURACY If material
submritted is ty pjsd . If you .spot an error, advise, the editor
In order that a correction may be made In the next Issue.
• • •
DEADLINE DATES '- - - Material to be pub I i shed must be received by the Editor
by DECENBER 20, MARCH 20, JUNE 20, or SEPTEMBER 20 to be Included
in the Quarterly Bulletin the following months. Material received
too late, will be he Id' over, for next l^sue. \,.Send contributions to
MRS. W. G. SPOUSTA, Editor, TO Box 321, RbjeH, ArKansas 72756
a •
- 22 -
UBRAUY
AUG 12 1974
Vol. I No. 2
QUARTERLY NEWS BULLETIN
January 1971
CAPT. STEPHEN ASHLEY'S TAVERN
Troy, New York
1786
ASHLEY FAMILY ASSOCIATION
Organ izod August 29. 1970
OFFICERS
President ••- — •- Robert £• Ashley
1st Vice President - - - — - • John S. Ashley
2nd Vice President - — - - - Paul C. Leonard
3rd Vice President - - — - - Bradford F. Swan
Secretary •-•---• ^Kenneth and Marie Davis
Treasurer -.-- paui (ne Ashley
Publications Committee Doris Ashley Land
Helen Gurney Thomas
Susan Ashley French
News Bulletin Editor - - - -Esther Ashley Spousta
^Kenneth Davis* name omitted In last bulletin
MEMBERSHIP
Anyone Interested In the collection, preservation
and publishing of material about the Ashley Family
of America.
DUES
(Payable each Calendar year)
$3.00 per year - - SIngie Membership
$5,00 per year - • - - - Husband & Wife Membership
Please make checks payable to ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
and forward to:
Pau 1 1 ne Ash I ey , Trees •
Dr. Bra ley Rd., East Freetown, Mass. 02717
Note: Since no records were kept of contributions at the
organizational meeting In August, It has been decided
to use this money as an "Initial starting fund** and
to operate on a Calendar Year basis • January I to
December 31. Therefore, DUBS are new payable for 1971.
We realize there will be some confusion since those
attending the organizational meeting who so generously
contributed to the "starting of a treasury", and those
absent that mailed In contributions, may have considered
their dues paid for 1971
Our official Membership Roll will start with those
paying 1971 dues.
ASHLEYS OP AHERICA
trom th$
Desk - - -
Thank you all lor the encour-
aging conments arM "limited**
material received. Your In-
terest and contributions will
be the criteria of the success
of our quarterly bulletin.
If you know of persons Inter-
ested In the Ashley. Family
Organization, please send me
their names and addresses.
This is how we will grow!
aOiatT - but If your 1971 dues
are not received by the 20th
of March 1971, we will be '
forced to remove your name •
from the mall I ng list. The
cost of this publication
prohibits further free copies.
*
New members will receiye alt
back Issues as long as they
last.
Next 8ul latin wl 1 1 be pub-
liahed In APRIL. Your con-
tributions will be appre-
ciated. SEND IN NOW!
KBttmr Ashley Spausta^
Editor
PO Boes 821
Rogeans Arkansas 7Z766
38
50
55
January 1971
Vot. I N6. 2
CONTENTS
25 ATTENDEES at First Ash I ay Raunlon
26 COVERED WAGON DAYS, from "Early
Fireiands Families'* by
Mrs. Ross Cherry
28 ■ COVER STORY - Capt. Stephen Ashlay*s
. Tavern, Troy, New York
30 , EARLY HISTORY - Highway from Peak
.Rock to Quittacas Brook, by
Robert E. Ashley
35 ANCESTOR TABLES - Harrlette ilord Park
and K&nneth Omner Davis
' 35 QUERY - Ashley-Oorr-OIcklnson
I J
ASHLEY FAMILY TREE - Five generations
by Esther Ashley Spousta
48 PERSONAL NOTES
a:. :»3
tSHIP ROLL
OBITUARY > Joseph Ashley, son of
Luther and Abigail (Pierce) Ashley
News Bulletin published Quarterly, January, April, July and Octobar
fr— copy with each membership. Extra copies $2.00 each.
ASBLEIS OF AMERICA - FIRST REVSION
August 29, 1970
t
PARTIAL LIST OF ATTENDEES - compMed from advance reservations. If your name
is omitted^ please notify the editor that we might have as accurate a registra-
tion as possible of the attendance at the organizational meeting of the ASHLEY
Family Association:
Robert E. Ashley, Bridgewater, Mass.
Elizabeth '*Lib'' (Gushing) Ashley
fonneth Fugere, Barrington, R.I.
Judith (Ashle\jFugere " "
Rev. Robert Mayhew, Bridgewater, Mass.
Irma Mayhew **
Kenneth 0. Davis, Wi II iamstown, Mass.
Marie (Antoninl) Davis *^
Roger P. Ashley, Springfield, Ohio
Mary Lou Ashley ^
John Sherman Ashley, Westport, Mass.
Anne "Buzzy" (Johnson) Ashley **
Anne Bus ley, Chichester, England
Edna Sowie, N. Dartmouth, Mass.
Doris (Ashley) Lang, E. Freetown, Mass.
Helen (Gurney) Thomas, Franklin, Mass.
Arthur Staples, Segregansett, Mass*
Lois Staples "
Helen L. Ashley, Acushnet, Mass.
Virginia (Ashley) Goff, Attleboro
Kenneth V. Ashley, New Bedford, Mass.
and two guests
Nancy Ashley, S. Dartmouth, Mass.
and three guests
Paul Leonard, Lakevllle, Mass.
Winona (Stevens) Leonard **
Susan (Leonard) Loom Is **
Mildred (Ashley) Karl, Falrhaven, Mass.
Lillian (Ashley) McGrath, Auburnham '••.
Joseph Ashley O'Brien, Greenville, 0.
Thomas O'Brien "
Elmer J. Keiser, Somerset, Mass.
Dorothy A. Reiser
William L. Phlnney
Harry A. Call
Barbara (Ashley) Quimette, S. Dartmouth
Claudia Fisher
Karl J. Ashley Jr., E. Freetown, Mass.
and five guests
Hazel (SowIe) Smith, N^ Dartmouth, Mass.
Earl Ashley -.,
Mildred A. Ashley, Middiebofo, Mass.
and one guest
i^eburn Hammond, Abinaton, Mdss«
Helena (Gilpin) Hammond
Chester W. Ashley Jr., Attleboro, Mass
and six guests
Theodore C. Ashley, E. Freetown, Mass.
Pauline Ashley *'
Barry French, Assonet, Mass.
Susan (Ashley) French ^
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Ashley
Mrs. Mildred Ashley
Edith Chase, N. Olghton, Mass
Kenneth Oakley, Randolph, Mass.
Alonzo Ashley, New London, (^nn.
Marie (DeSImone) Ashley *'
Marion G. Rogers, Wollaston, Mass.
William Barker Ashley, Maiden, Mass.
Mrs. William Barker Ashley ^
Amantha (Ashley) Paradis, New Bedford
and one guest
Harvey Versailles, Williamsburg, Mass.
'. (Goodelt) Versailles
Bradford Swan, Providence, R.I.
ft
If
aCXXXXXX3C3CX]CIX3CXi:iXX3CXXXXIX3
Plans are under way for the Second Reunion
of the Ashley Family in August of 1971.
Organize your schedule now in order that
you may be a part of this family get-together.
• I
MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW !
iacxxxxxx3na:xxx3Daaac3C3a:xxx3C3
1
2
2
3
2
2
Lj
2
2
- 25 -
COVERED WAGON DAYS
Excsrpt from "Early Flrelands
Fafflllies" compiled by
Marjorfe Loonis Cherry
Votume 11, THE ASH TREE
Chapter III, pages 1 6 thru 2 1
"Having now briefly reviewed the
story of my uncles and aunts and
reserving for later telling the
story of my father, let us go back
to the time when Warden and Susannah
Ashley left old Massachusetts and
took the witderness trail.
We have few historic facts as to actual
conditions among the descendants of
JAMES ASHLEY Just before thefr dlspers4on from the otd home region, but we
can be certain from general conditions that they could not treve been very
prosperous. Massachusetts was then an old settled land. It was nearly 200
years since the white men began to edge the Indians out of the rich meadows
along the rivers. The good farming lands, like the tobacco growing country
along the Connecticut, had long since all been occupied by earlier comers.
The hills were rocky; and life upon t^e stony farms was an endless struggle.
The James Ashleys, that consisted of two persons when established In Franklin
County about 1767, by 1816 had grown to eleven fanillles, about 40 persons.
Economic pressure began to scatter the tribe, rath -r than to compact |-f - {o#
there was abundant roan to escape on the north anb vi the west. The second
son, Calvin, seems to have been the first to seek >.. countries. Married In
Petham in 1797 we find him Jn Vermont In 1799, where his first son, Lyman
Ashley was born, "on the Green Mountains" May 13. 1799. L*t.->r Phllomon took
his northern trail (after 1806) but he and his tribe remained \n New England.
WasJ^lngton County. (Vermont). Simeon kept on Into Canada, and his descententt
for the most part there remained, a few of than coming Into the States in
later years. Leonard the youngest, tried his fortunes at Toronto, still
farther west than Simeon, who had settled at Bellvllte, Hastings County,
Ontario, but after a few years joined the larger part of the ctan then set-*
tied In Ohio.
Stories of the fair prospects In Ohio began to come through the forests to
New England, which had large Interests there. In the claims of Massachmetf^j
and Connecticut, whose loosely drawn and conflicting charters granted them
150 years before by the King of England In blissful Ignorance of geography,
gave these two states ownership (on paper) clear to the Pacific Ocean. '*T«
the South Sea" as the Charters said. Massachusetts abandoned her claim In
1769. In 1786 Connecticut gave up all claims to Ohio except a triftlog llttte
piece in the Northeast corner of the State, north of the 41° ot latitude,
reeching 120 mlt«s ms* fro» Ihe 5t84«- -Une-^etMM r«imsyl^nl« «otf Ohio,
- 26 -
containing 3,700,000 acres, more or less. This little piece of Connecticut was
called the Western Reserve. In 1792 Connecticut made a donation of 500,, 000
acres at the Western end of the Western Reserve to Connecticut, to citizens who
had suffered from the depredations of the British In the Revolutionary War.
After the esteemed Connecticut native Benedict Arnold turned traitor, the British
gave him command of some ships and men, and he amused himself sailing up and down
Long Island Sound, setting fire to towns and villages inhabited by his old neigh-
bors. The Ohio lands given to the sufferers by fire, were called "THE FIRELANDS",
situated In Huron and Erie Counties. If the sufferers didn't want to move Into
the wilderness, they could still take their allotments of "firelands" and sell
them at very low prices to people like the Ash leys who were keen to go.
In 1795 Connecticut sold all the rest of her Western ■ Preserve to the Connecticut
Land Company, an association of about 320 rich Connecticut men who paid the State
$1,200,000 for the 3,200,000 acres of woodland In Ohio. That is about 37-1/2 cents
per acre. The land company intended to sell It at a profit of course, to whomever
would buy.
«
I
There were certain red gentlemen living In the Ohio Wilderness, however, whose
claims to the woods and rivers antedated even the royal charters given by the
Kings of England. They had no Intention of moving west; they held firmly to
the belief that Ohio was still a "Land of the noble free", and that they were the
free. The perils of Indian warfare followed by the War of 1812 with Great
Britain retarded the settlement of the Western Reserve. It was not until 1815
that the machinery of the White man's law reached Into Huron County through the
establishment of a court. The next year you will remember that A I den Pierce
went to Ohio to judge for himself what was the truth of the reports ebout the
forest paradise. The next year Luther Ashley and his son Gilbert came on from
the East and were on hand to look out for Aunt Lucy Ashley Pierce and her fa:nily
while Aldon went back to Deerfletd to "round up" the Ashleys and lead them to
the new land of home.
One who has traveled over the rocky hills of New England, between the endless
stone fences made by heaping up wide rows of rocks collected from the fields,
can easily Imagine the picture Alden Pierce spread before his brothers-in-law.
I remember a walk I took In the hills west of New Haven, Conn. In the spring of
1886. Traveling along a lonely road I came to the most tremendous stone fence
I have ever seen - well .built wall about 7 feet high and about an eighth of a
mile long. I climbed up to look over. It was flat on top, about six feet wide,
made of the boulders and smaller stones culled from the field behind the wall.
Two men were at work planting corn. The whole field where they were planting
was still covered with loose stones, although that ground had yielded all the
materials for the wall, so near together that one could cross the field In any
direction without stepping on the soil. Probably for 150 years the owners had
been scratching some sort of a living out of the cracks and crannies between
those stones, generation after generation.
•
ftlhat wonder It Is that Alden Pierce soon mustered a caravan of Ashleys to take
the woodland trail, the Old Albany Road out of Deerfleldl What pictures he could
paint of the rolling woodlands and rich creek bottoms of the Fire lands - the
thick forests, the huge sycamores, the huge oaks, the sugar maples, 'the glcdes
full of wild game, the rivers thick with fish, and the air black with wild pigeons!
True stories too. Old I not see with my own eyes, when a small boy at Fremont,
the seines drpwing. fish by the wagon load out of the Sandusky River, Just below
tho Stoto sirool bi l<iQ& - flfly yoors aifter the Ashleyi» migrated? As a little
- 27 -
older bey did I not wada in the rapids Just below the dam, along with dozei)^
of Mv<;n and boys, capturing with ol+chforks, Iron raMs? clubs^ any sort of
.yeapon, tlie Ved horse^' and "suckers*' on thetr mad Journey to the spawning
places upstream? Haven't I seen huge flocks of birds on their way South In
the fall •* flocks miles long?
<i
What mattered it to the pioneer if fields were to be chopped and grubbed out
of the forests and thickets, if logs had to be rolled and burned i>efore the
corn could be planted, so long as one could bring down a fat deer by a shot
from the dooryard to furnish meat for the table, and a deerskin coat for the
back? If the forest had first to be exterminated before the ground would
yield bread; that ground would in the process of extermination of its burden
of timber, give up the materials for homes at the price of nothing but hard
work. One could put black walnut beams into his house, (such as were used for
Joists In our old house at Fremont) timber that would be priceless today.
No wonder then that Warden Ashley and Susannah Turner, his wife, heard those
voices from the west, nor that they gave up grubbing among the rocks, and pack*
ed their belongings and their six children (the oldest was I 7 and the youngest
5) into a covered wagon and left the beautiful old elm*shaded streets of
Deerfield for the far country where the primeval forest was to be bought for.
$2.00 an acre!
it was going to take six weeks to make the trip, so they knew they were sep<*
arating forever from their old friends and neighbors* There'^would be no more
going over to Mother *s in Leverett for a week or so. Ra i i roads x^re undreamed
of; the telegraph hadn't been imagined; the postal service did not mc 1st; Aunt
Lucy's telephone number would not be In the book for a long time to come* So
they tried to take aiong^es many of their kin as could be persuaded to go.
It would save a lot oi JK^nes i ckhess and lonljjiess If they could transplant"-* .,
their brothers and sisters and cousins as well as some of the rose bushes out <
of the old Deerfield garden. So Warden's family (himself and wife and six
children), Luther's wife and six children (Luther and his oldest boy were
already in Ohio), probably James, his wife and 4 children, with Lucy's
husband, A I den Pierce, as leader and possibly Susannah Turner Ashley's brother
Levi, (for his family were old*-time residents In Milan) set out from Deerfield
Nenty or more persons.
I wish we could follow their course as they moved slowly along the "Old Albany
Road" out of Deerfield, followed the Mohawk trail through the Berkshire hi its
and the Hoosac Mountains, and on into New York State. Perhaps they crossed
the Hudson at Troy on Ashley's Ferry (prior to 1785 Troy was known as Ash leys
Ferry) Perhaps they called at Ashtevs Tavern on River Street
at the corner of Ferry Street for Captain Stephen Ashley of
the Robert Ashley line had kept a famous old tavern there.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both stopped there in
May i79U It had a three $ided box sign that turned with
the wind, and bore this invitation, "C!ome, here Is Ashleys,^
Let us Call", and high above the street suspended from a
horizontal bar was a small gate, upon which was painted
in large letters, "This gate hangs high, it hinders none,
refresh, then pay, and travel on". ^ If our caravan passed
through Troy (and that was on their dTrect line) they must have crossed Ashleys
Ferry, but (^ptain Stephen Ashley, himself, was gone •* he died in 1814. We
know they passed through Buffalo, 300 long miles west of Troy, f dr .at Buffalo
they shipped part of their goods by lake boat to Huron and continued their
Journey in their covered wagons through the new settlemeats along the lake.
3CXX3CX3G
COVER
S T R I
XXXXI]
LJ
- 28 -
I wish we could camp over night with then on a few of the 40 nights or more
they spent on the Journey (It took 6 weeks). We may be sure the men and older
b0ys kept their eyes open for wild game as they traveled, so that the pot over
the campfire at night would hold a savory stew. The grownups walked most of the
way - it was easier than riding ever corduroy roads. Sometimes the grass at the
camping spots was scarce. Uncio Baxter toH me they had to cut down small trees
for "browse" for the cattle. Con't you smell the smoke of their campflres? Can't
you see the boys - little souts on the watch for everything of interest? What
V fun to roll up In a blanket and sleep out under the stars! The last few days
wfre no doubt full of excitement, for Huron County was still the wi Iderness.There
were a few clearings five or six years old, a few scattered families living In
log cabins. There were also bears, and a good many wolves.
There Is an authentic story of one of the neighbors escaping from a flock of 30
,^^ives by taking refuge In a cabin, where he was kept prisoner all night by his
'^blplng, howling pursuers who were hungry and yearning to taste him. That was in
'^^^ neighborhood of our Ashley settlement and later than their arrival on the
scene. My father told of hearing the wolves howling while he and other school
boys were on their way home from school In the winter evening. Father was not
born until seven years after the Ashleys arrived In Huron county, and he of
course did not go to school for at least 5 or 6 years more. There were wolves
In Huron County after 1830 according to the stories told at the meetings of the
old settlers.
Aunt Lucy Pierce had a son Alexander Pierce (my father's first cousin) who mar-
ried Polly Curtis of Leverett, a girl of 17, and brought her to Ohio In 1816.
They settled In Peru Township, the next town east of Greenfield. During Polly's
first summer in Ohio, she took her little dog and went through the dense forest
to visit her mother* I n- I aw in Greenfield. The family gave her some good eatables
to take home with her. When she was about a mile from her own cabin on the re-
turn trip, a huge bear put in an appearance, intent on getting a meal, either
cooked food, raw dog, or Polly Pierce. Polly decided she would try to save all
she had. So she caught up the dog, crouching In fear at her feet, and ran for
dear life with the provisions under one arm and the dog under the other. She
got home safe with a very slender margin to spare, for the distance between her
and the bear was small when she slammed the door In his face. Alexander Pierce
lived twenty years after that time, and Polly survived him by 29 years. She
died in Peru September 26, 1865 in her 67th year. She ?s said to have been a
r%re character with an Inexhaustable store of reminiscences of pioneer days.
She had 3 sons and one daughter.
#*#*»* END OF EXCERPT ******
itors note: All Ashleys named are descendants of James Ashley^ (Thos^ Jos')
who married Annette CaswelK The foregoing was written by Frederick William
shley^ (Geo^ Warden* James^)who was working on the Ashley Family History at
the time of his death in 1942 at the age of 80. He retired from the Congres-
sional Library, Washington, D.C. in 1936 - was author of several books.
We are grateful to F4ARJ0RIE LOOMIS CHERRY^ for preserving his material by
Including in her compilation of the "Early Flreland Families" which was bound
and presented to the OAR Library, Washington, D.C. In 1952.
MRS, CHERRY, now 82, is still an ardent researcher who has helped to perpetu-
ate the early history of the ASHLEY and related families.
• ?Q -
EARLY HISTORY
THE HIGHWAY FRQA PEAK RXK TO OUITTACAS BROOK
One of the more Interesting branches of Genealogy
Is the locating of the homesltes of our early
ancestors. Indeed, this Is a prerequisite of our
ever doing any archaeological work. We are very
fortunate to have papers of Eugene Ashley which
Include detailed Information fran the early
Rochester records showing the laying out of the
highway cat led "Bra ley Hill Road {Route 105) as
It passes through Rochester and giving in detail
the names of the 1746 owners of lands along this rbad.
-"- •■•.
The earliest records of the Plymouth Colony re: possible use of these lands
was as early as 1640/41, but It appears to haye been 1679 or later before any
settlers actually lived In Interior Rochester.
Indians, however, had been living and traveling through here for a very long
time. Some archaeologists say for as much as 9000 years. Whatever the time
was, tt was many times longer than from 1620 to now, and during this time a
very ancient trail was established leading from the present MIddleboro to the
present northern part of Falrhaven and New Bedford. This trail followed very
nearly the present Bra ley Hilt Road, according to a map In the Bronson Museum
of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society.
When the white men came, they naturally followed the trail on foot, then with
oxen and on horse back with only a little widening and trimming, and then In
1746 voted to make It a highway.
The following records are verbatim from the early Rochester Records with only
footnotes for clarity. The quaint spelling of the time Is preserved.
Robert E. Ashley
Brldgewater, Mass*
ROCHESTER TOWN RECORDS, Book 2, Page 165
• . •
Highway from Peaked Rock
Vote, March 31, 1746
At a Town meeting In Rocheater March 31, 1746 .
Voted that the select-
men of Rochester for the year 1746 be Impowered to lay out a highway fro m
Peked Rock hill to Quitecus Brook (I) & from John CI arks to said Brook (2)
with this proviso that the respective owners of tne land wilt assign it to
that use & the Town to pay for laying them out.
footnote (1) Braley Hill Road - Route 10 S
(2) Negua ttay (?)
- 30 -
A true copy of the Town Records of Rochester. - Exanlnacf
Recorded a second time that it maight stand with the ways, &c.
Signed by: Samuel Wing, Town Clerk
We the subscribers (3) to assign the land for the use of the within men-
tioned highways:
THOMAS ASELEI JOSEPH ASHLEI Ebenr. Clark
Benj. Terry Jr. Edmond Sheirman Elieha 'Preeman
Ebenr. Lewis Peter Crapo John Crapo
Bamabaa Hedge John Vittefield Peter CiKcpo Jr.
Ebenr. Semis (?) his X mark Thomas Vhittridge
Nehemiah Sherman Isaao Freeman William Hall
John Shoreman Roger Braley
Recorded by Samuel Wing, Town Clerk
Rochester Town Records, Book 2, Page 103 ~ TOWN MEETINGS
Highway from Peaked Rock to Middleboro
Layout : Rochester - November 17, 1746
We the subscribers laid out a highway beginning at a certain Rock called
and known by the name of the Peked Rock, a bound between Dartmouth (4)
and Rochester (5) & thence from said Rock N 8 degrees West 36 rods to
stake & from thence about North 7 degrees West 24 rods to Roger Bra ley's
Northwest corner bound of his homestead land; thence North 3 .degrees East
20 (29?) rods; thence North 12 degrees East 24 rods to Edmond Shalrman &
John Sheirman*s dividing line between them; & thence North 20 degrees
East 25 rods; thence East 43*^ (?) degrees North 20 rods over the Brook (6)
& from thence North 35 degrees East 10 rods to John Shelrmans Northwest
corner" bound this way from said Rock to said Shelrmans Northwest corner
bound I ayes on the west side the line run (?) & from thence North 28
degrees East 12 rods; thence North €^ degrees West to a white oak tree
marked; thence North 6 degrees West 40 rods to a white Oak tree Marked;
thence North 5 degrees East 26 rods; thence North 14^ degrees East 44 rods;
thence North 9j degrees East 64 rods to a tree marked, thence North 2^
degrees East 33 rods to the Northwest corner of the 6th lott of land lying
in Tomsons Purchls; thence North 12 degrees East 8 rods to a white oak
tree marked; thence North 13 degrees West 17 rods; thence North 25^ degrees
West 7^ rods to a walnut tree marked; thence l^oath 4 degrees West 24 rods
to a pine tree marked; thence North 6 degrees West 20 rods to a heap of
stones; thence North 16 degrees West 21 rods to a black oak tree marked;
thence North II degrees West 35 rods to a red oak tree marked, standing by
a muddy slough to the northward of ABRAHAM ASHLEY'S NEW DWELLING HOUSE &
thence as the way goes to Quitecus Brook, & there to stop.
Footnote (3) Residents along the road who gave land for the highway
(4) This part of Dartmouth is not^ Am^ahmt
(5) Oft iJi%da£m-t hcttunJaartf between Rochester Sl Freetown
(6) Ashley Brook
- 31 -
This road is laid from said Peked Rock to Qultlous Brook (?) 40 feet across
in width — on the west side the line runs from said Rock to the aforesaid
Brook, one half of said way to ley on the westerly end of the second, third,
fourth, fifth & sixth lotts & the west side of the nJnth lot of land lying
in Tomsons Purchls and the other half on the land adjoining to said lotts.
Roger Bra ley per order of Samuel Wing one of the selectmen
Recorded by Samuel Wing, Town Clerk
Ellsha Freeman ^ c i +«
Barrilla Hammond ) ^^"^^tmen
Voted to go to record with proviso the owners of the land allow it for that use
Rochester Town Records, Book 2, Page 168
Layout, Assignment, December 13, 1750 Rochester, December 13, 1750
Then we laid out a highway from the highway that leads from Dartmouth Peked
Rock to Quitecus Pond, and began where Rochester Road (9) began that leads
to Rochester Old Meeting House and was lald^out November 18th 174(6?) by
Rochester selectmen, and recorded on Rochester Town Records.
thence West 21 degrees North 23 rods; thence West 7 degrees North 7 rods;
thence West 14 degrees South 14 rods; thence West 21 degrees North 20 rods;
thence West 9 degrees South 88 rods to the northwest corner of
ABRAHAM ASHLEY Jr's land by Freetown line;
This highway lyes on ye north side of the line above described on THOMAS
ASHLEY *S land (lO) t*! I It comes to the line (It) between THOMAS ASHLEY
& JOSEPH ASHLEY Jr. , -
and between JOSEPH ASHLEY Jr . , i ABRAHAM ASHLEY Jr . -
and It lyes yet one half on one and the other half on the other owner of
said land and it Is laid out forty feet wide.
Noah Sprague ) r i a.
Fllsha Frieman ) Selectmen
We the subscribers owners of ye land whereon the above described highway
Is laid out do by these presents for ourselves heirs and assigns, assign
the same for the use of a highway forever.
WITNESS our hands this 13th day of December 1750.
THOMAS ASHLEY
Testees: El I sha Freeman ABRAHAM ASHLEY
Noah Sprague JOSEPH ASHLEY Jr.
Recorded per Sam. Wing, Town Clerk
Footnote (?) Quittaoas Brook between Great and Little QuCttacas Ponds
(8) North Ave. West of Braley Hill Road
(9) North Ave. East of Braley Hill Road
(10) N.W. Comer Braley Bill Road and North Ave.
(ID ?2 Roda^ or 1188 feet West from comer
- 32 -
. Rochester Town Records^ Book 2, Pngo 169
• • ■ *
Highway^ PeakQd Rock to Quitect's Pond, Highway from — -,
* ■ *
Lay-out y Assignment, December 15, 1750 Rochester, December 13, 1750
> * ■
Then we laid out a highway (12) from ye highway that goes from Dartmouth
Peked Rock to Qultecus Pond and began on the west side of said roade
at the southeast corner of JOHN WHITFIELD land;
thence North 40 feet; thence west 10 degrees north across said Whitf lelds
land to Freetown line, adjoining to Bllle Hall's land on ye south
and lyeth on ye said John Whitfield land 40 feet wide.
Noah Sprague )
E I i sha Freeman )
Se I ectmen
I, JOHN WHITFIELD of Rochester In ye County of Plymouth formerly a Draggoon
In ye Royal Regiment of Queen Ann, whereof my Lord Ralfe Earl of Stratford
was Colonel, do hereby with REBECKAH (Ashley) (IZ) my wife for ourselves
heirs and assigns give and bequeath the land whereon the highway above
described Is laid out to that use for the benefit of the publlck*
WITNESS our hands this 13th day of December A.D* 1750
Signed by JOHN WHITFIELD
REBECKAH WHITFIELD (by mark)
Testees: Noah Sprague
E 1 1 sha Freeman
Recorded by Sam Wing, Town Clerk
Footnote (12) Dr. Braley Road on Roohester side of Totm line
(13) Sieter of Firet Joseph and First Abraham Ashley
.-.- T H B END
On the next page is a map of the •'Highway from Peak Rock to Quittacas Brook",
taken from U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey map showing modern roads and town and
County I i nes •
The right side Is the Northwest corner of Rochester and is that part commonly
referred to in old deeds as "The Gore", The left side Is the Easternmost part
of East Freetown and was originally a part of Tlvertown, called "Tlvertown
Outlet". Acushnet was originally a part of Dartmouth, and Lakevllle was the
"Sixteen Shilling Purchase" part of Mlddleboro.
Of the eight cemeteries shown. Ash leys are known to occupy most and perhaps
all of them. Cemetery "A" recently discovered, is yet to be carefully ex-
plored and documented. Cemetery "B" appears on old maps but not on modern
ones. We would welcome Information from any cousins who might like to explore
and record gravestones from these two ?'mystery" cemeteries.
All of the first and second generations of Ashleys lived in this area.
- 33 -
■0 Morton Cemetery CEMETERY "A"
d) Ash fey Cemetery white Cewtery
Old Parish Cemetery Central Cemetery
Bra I ay Cemetery CEMETERY "B"
Scale: 2" - I Ml l«
□CXXXXXIXIXX3
CD C3
CD ANCESTOR TABLES CD
CD CD
CXDCXXDCXXDCXXXD
ANCESTOR TABLE: Harrietts Word Park (Mrs. Campbell)
2135 S.E. 76th Ave., Portland, Oregon 97215
I la Harrlette Emma Mord, 1914* Portland, Oregon
II 2. Sam Bassett Word, 1866-1944, Richmond, Mo*, Portland, Oregon
3e Ethel Viola Main, 1876-1964, Amboy, ilK; LaCrosse, Wis., Portland, Or
III 4e Thomas Mord, 1829-1884, Lebanon, Tenn; Richmond, Mo.
5e Emma Rebecca Cole, 1834-1897, Ohio, Richmond, Ito.
6e Sidney Albrey Main, 1856-1935, Lee Coa, ill; LaCrosse> Wise.
7a Harriet Estelie Dickinson, 1853-1919, Broome Co. N.Y.; Lee COa 111*
Lacrosse, Wise.
IV 8a John Word, cl798 - , Vaa, Lebanon, Wilson Co., Tenna
9a Elizabeth (Queries) Wesson, c 1798- ^ Va., Lebanon, Tenn.
lOa Zachariah Smith Cole, 1805-1886, MiBdTebury, Vt., Mad. Co. NY, MOa Utah
11. Lydia Ann Chi Ids, 1809- , Nelson, Madison Co. NY; Ray Co., Mo; Utah
12. Peter A a Main, 1819-1889, Broome Co., NY; Lee Co., III.
13a Phi la Ann Lewis, 1822-1900, Broome Co* NY; Lee Co. Ill; LaCrosse, Wise.
)4a Azariah Dickinson, 1811-1884, Bennington, Vt; Broome Co* NY; Lee Co. III.
15a MARY BORLAND ASHLEY, 1818-1876, New York, Amboy, Lee COa, Mia
V 16a John Word, 1738-1821, Va. Tenn (In Battle of King^s Mt.)
17. Fanny Collins, , d aft. J82i, Va. Tenn.
18. Roger Queries, - 1817, Va. Tenna
19a Nancy Trigg, c 1770 - , Vaa; Tenn.
20. John Cole, 1769- , Massachusetts, Vermont
21. Cynthto, .,^____
22a Ebenezer Chi Ids, cl772-i847, MasSa, Madison Co. NY
23. Paitience Tibbetts, c 1780-1826, Mass.; NY
*24. Lewis Main, 1786- , Willington, Conn.; Broome (3o. New York
25. Phoebe Albray, 1788- aft. 1855, Willington, Ct.; Broome Co., NY
26a Levi Lewis, 1796-1857, Susquehanna Ck>a, Pa; Lee C>Oa, III*
27. Sophia Banker, c 1802-1873, New York, Illinois
28a Richard Dickinson, 1781-1847, ? , Bennington, Vt.
29a Ruth Armstrong, 1785-1868, Bennington, Vta
30a JAMES ASHLEY, ? ? ? ? .
31. Eunice Dorr, *'''
QUERY *May flower line through John How I and
ASHLEY-DORR-D I CK I NSON
Parents of both and all data needed for James ASHLEY and his wife Eunice DORR.
She died 1856, where ? 7 Known children were: Mary Borland ASHLEY, b 26 Feb a
1818 (Bible Record), m (when and where) as 2nd wife, Azariah DICKINSON (he had
m (I) Harriet Hubbeil); and NICHOLAS B. ASHLEY, resided 1858 to 1874 in New
York Mills, Oneida &>., NY (according to annual reports of Am. Bible SocietyK-
Were there other children? Was Eunice connected in any way to the famous
DORR family, of Hassachusetts-whose progenitor wes Edward? "Grandma** Dickinson
(Mary Borl^and Ashley) told my mother that she had a dozen cousins who served
in the Civil War? ? Mrs. Campbell Park, (Address above)
- 35 -
ANCESTOR TABLE: Kenneth Omner Davis » Green River Rd*, Wf 1 1 iamstown,. Mats.
01267
*
I le Kenneth Omner Oavts, 1907- DesMoines, la; NY; N.J.; Mass.
; • • . . •
I
II 2., Geopjge E. Davis (1882- DeisMofnes» Iowa
3. ' Margret Lena Richards (IG|83-I963) OesMofnes^ Iowa
.1 . . .
• • •
III A. Edward Calvfn Davis (185*6-1925) Qulncy, 1 1 1; DesMolnes, Iowa
5. Joanna Gertrude Ashley (1862-1944) Springfield, 0; DesMolnes, Iowa
6. John Thomas Richards (1839-1906) Wales, 6.B.; Bevler, Mo.
7. Mary Jane Crockett (1845-1923) Spencer, Ind.; DesMolnes^ Iowa
IV 8. Edward 0>k Davis (1818-191 1) Baltimore, Md; Quincy, III. besMoines
9. Jane Clark Skinner (1821-1892) Cincinnati, Ohio; OesMolnes, la.
10. William Martin Ashley (1839*1921) Lincoln, III; DesMoines, Iowa
11. Emoline S. Chenoweth (1842-1864) Ohio, Logan Co., Ill
12. Richards
14 » John Jackson Crockett (1823-1860) Owen (>o., Ind*
15. Clarihda Griffith (1819-1888) N. Carolina
«
V 16. Paris (Perry) M. Davis (1790-1840) Phi ladelphia* Pa.
17. Elizabetli Johnson (1793-1867) Covington, Ky.
18. Phillip Skinner (_ ;-l867) QuJncy, IIU
19. Harriet Kel ly •
20. Joel Laomi Ashley (I8I6-I87I) New York} III.
21. Mary Ann Martin (1819-1897) Greenvi lie, Ohio; ill inois
22. Chenoweth
23.
24.
25.
26.
27
28. Wl i I iam Crockett (1809- _.) -Mnchester, Tenn.
29. Sal ly Bryant
30. J«h«-«ftfflth (1794- )BuHmgtCTn Kftns.
'ST. Elizabeth ( 1854- ,) Merom, Ind.; Burlington, Kans.
VI 'Sfl, Richard Davis (cl750*_) Philadelphia, Pa
33. Sarah Moore
34. Johnson (Gov. Surveyor)
35. Ann Phlfer ( ) b. Leipzig, Germany, m. 1792 Covington, Ky
36. Richard Skinner (Capt.) (1740-1779)
37. Jane Clark
30e
59.
40. Rev. Elisha Ashley (1796-1865) Ontario Co., NY; Merom, Ind.
i. Sally Baker (1798-1863) Herom, Ind;
12 to 55
36. Oavid Crockett (1766-1836) The Alamo, Tex.
57. Mary (Polly) FInley, ( -1818)
58 to 63
{
- 36 -
ANCESTOR TABLE: Kenneth Omner Oavis (Cont'H)
Vri 64 to 71
72 Richard Skinner
73 Sarah Britten
74 to 79
80 William Ashley (Capt) b 7 May 1758 Rochester, Mass. m at Poultney, Vt.
d 27 Dec. 1828, Oarke Co., Ohio
*8I Phebe Hone, b 19 Feb. 1761 New Marlboro, Mass. d 4 Jan 1833
Ithaca, Ohio
82 -to 101
102 John Crockett, be. 1752 - \
103 Rebedca Hawkins, b 1770
104 to 127 \
Si V
Vm 128 to 159
160 Thomas Ashley b 21 Feb. 1704/5 Rochester, Mass. d before 1762
at Poultney, Vt.
161 Mary GIfford, b Freetown, Mass
162 Nehem!dh Howe, b 13 Jan 1720 Marlboro, Mass. d Apr. 1777, Pouttney, Vt
163 Beulah Wheeler, b I Mar 1724 Lancaster, Mass, d 1799/80 Poultney, Vt.
164 t6 255
IX 256 to 319
320 Joseph Ashley n 25 Aug 1704 Falmouth, Mass. burled at Rochester, Mass.
321 Elizabeth Perclval b 10 Sept 1675 Sandwich, Mass. d c 1728
322
323
324 Peta'' Howe b Marlborough, Mass.
325 Grace Bush b Marlboro, Mass d age 74 yr. 7 roo. "7 da. (dau. of
Ablel and Grace Barrett Bush
326 Benjamin Wheeler, b 29 Sept 1693 Concord, Mass. d 1759, New Marlboro
327 Hannah b c 1716 d 1778
328 to 511
X 512 to 651
652 Obadlah Wheeler b 1650 Concord, Mass. d July 1672 Concord, Mass.
*653 Elizabeth Whit'? b 4 June 1652 Scltuate, Mass d 25 May 1714, Concord,
Mass. (dau. of Resolved White of the Mayflower
*May flower Lines Note: 652 and 653 can be traced back many.
more generations.
- 37 -
A5fJL£y J^AJvJJLy -rx££
Compiled by Esther Ashley Spousta, Editor
Several requests have been received by your editor to list the children
of the Revolutionary era ancestors to help beginners on their climb up the
"family tree". This Is a "big order" but we will endeavor to do Just this.
Your editor and her late husband have spent over 25 years collecting
Ashley data with the hope of publishing an ASHLEY GENEALOGY, descendants of
Joseph. Others before have started, but their work was interrupted before
completion.
Now that we have a Family Association It is hoped that all can pool their
efforts, eliminate repetition and hours of tedious research resulting In the
long dreamed of Ashley Genealogy.
The parents of Joseph, Abraham and Rebecca have yet to be proved. There-
fore for the tjme being, we are calling Joseph and his brother Abraham -
Generation One. We have no further data on Rebecca other than her marriage
to John Whitfield on Z5 Jan. |73l (Plymouth Deeds 40:129)
On the following pages we are showing descindants of Joseph through the
Fifth Generation. It is Impossible to Include all the family in one Issue,
thus this project will be continued in succeeding issues of the News Bulletin,
and after completing Joseph's family, we will list what is known of his
brother Abraham's famity.
It is obvious that there are many missing links. This is where each of
you con help. If you have additions, correc;tlons or questions, please write
the editor so that together we can publish an Ashley Genealogy as accurate
as possible.
REBECCA
SECOND GENERATION
2-i
I.
o
c
0)
I
o
o
0)
0)
THOMAS b 21 Feb 1704/5 d about 1762
(l) 16 Jan 1728/9 Phebe Freeman
m
(2) 19 Jan 1949 (int) Mary (Bodflsh) Gffford
Children:
(First wi^fe)
3-1
3-2
3-3
3-4
3-5
2-2 JETHRO
Thankful
Miriam
Elizabeth
Freoman
Thomas
3-6
3-7
3-8
3-9
3-10
John
Lenuel
James
Elkanah
Isaac
(2nd wife)
3-M Enoch
3-12
3-13
3-14
3-15
Lucy
Eunice
Elisha
William
b II Jan 1706/7 d
m 7 June 1728 Elizabeth Holmes
Children:
3-16 Fear
3- I 7 Pat I ence
3-18 Othnell
3-19 Noah
3-20 Nichols
3-21 Elizabeth
2-3
LU
Ul
CD
ID —
> —
Q. >*
10 (A
UJ o\
^ CO
O (M
o> c
n ID
in —
04
— f>4
E
<
£
Ui
O
WILLIAM b 12 Sept 1708/9 d about 23 Dec. 1783
m (I) .12 F9b 1732/3 Mercy AshJey (1st Cousin)
(2) 31 May 1746 Elizabeth (Macomber) RounsevIM*
Otildten:
(let Hf»)
3-22 Jephthah
3-23 Abram
\.
3-24 Ablah
3-25 MIcah
3^26 Noah
\
2-4
ELIZABETH b 4 Jan 1710/11
(I) 18 June 1730 Abtal Sprague
m
(2) 12 Feb 1732 William Ashley (1st cousin)
(3) I Dec 1759 Samuel Joy
CkiUbfon: (unknown)
2-5 ABRAHAM
b circa 1715 d before 1783
m (I) 22 Nov. 1733 Elizabeth Rogers
(2) 3 Nov 1736 (Int) Rebecca Whittredge
2-6
ChildMn: (^nd ffife)
3-27 Perclval 3-29 Mary
3-28 Lydia 3-30 Deborah
MARY b 12 Mar 1718/19 d 6 Nov 1778
Not married
3-31 Barnabas
3-32 William
2-7
JOSEPH JR b circa 1720/25 d befOTB IT79
m 3 Mar 1748/9 Elizabeth Swift
Children:
3-33 Lott
3-34 Phebe
3-35 Barnabas
3-36 Thankf u 1
3-37 Joseph
- 39 -
THIRD GENERATION
3-1 THANKFUL ASHLEY^ (Thomas^, Joseph') b 28 Jan. 1729, d _,.^____
m 7 Nov. 1751 Semuel Swift Jr., son of Samuel & Abigail ( T Swift
Children: Unknown
3-2 MIRIAM ASHLEy' (Thomas^, Joseph') b 14 July 1732, d
m Robert Whttcomb
Children: Unknown
3-3 ELIZABETH ASHLEY^ (Thomas2, Joseph') No further record
3-4 FREEMAN ASHLEY^ (Thomas^, Joseph') b d 1832 at Hermon, N.Y.
m 22 April 1771 at Dartmouth, i>4ass. Elizabeth Hammond
Children: Unknown
3-5 THOMAS ASHLEY^ (Thomas^, Joseph') b 5 June 1738, d 9 July 1810
m (I) about 1761 Zeruiah Richards, dau. Zebulon & Lydia (Brown) Richards
(2) at Poultney, Vt. Mrs. Beulah (Stearns) Dewey
Children: (All by 1st wife)
i. Phebe (1762-1831) m Jonathan Marshall (1762-1830)
Children: Nathaniel (1786-1840) m aetsey Peirce; Paul (1788-
1865) m (I) Rebecca Smith (2) Wdo Sector Marsh
(3) Ann Cochran; Levi (1792-1861) m (I) Jehannah
Sanford (2) Clarissa H. Smith; Lewis m Mariah
Sanford; James; Rachel; Rhode m John Hibbard;
Lucy (I796/7-I8I3); Martha (Patty) m Wm. Allen;
Mary (Polly) m Hiram Larkin; Nancy m McFarland;
Mariah; Phebe m Nathaniel Kimberly
\\. Charity (1766-1849) m Thomas Dewey son of Zebedlah Dewey
Children: Anne (1785- ); Rising (1787- ); John (1789- ) m
Emily Stone; Fanny (1794- ) m Loren Brigham;
Betsey Ashley (1807-1882) m Dr. John S. Webster
i i i • Rhode - Unmarried
iv. Zebulon (1767-1835) m Thankful Pond (1770-1839)
Children: Asahel Pond (1791-1876) m Ursula Holly Woodcock;
Polly (1792-1844) m Truman Strong; Harvey (1794-1810);
Alma A. (1797-1888) m Curtis A 1 1 en ; Sophrona (1798-
1847) m Samuel Denman Bouton; Clarissa Wyman (1805-
1870) m Daniel Streator Pond
V. Elkanah (1769-1803) m I annah Thompson (1775-1852)
vl. Abigail (1771-1835) m Benjamin Pond (1768-1814)
Children: Laverna (1788-1846) m Clark Rawson; Jared (1790-1856)
m (I) Betsey Peet (2) Statira Bartlet; Ashley (1792-
1827) m Luclnda Rawson; Nathan (1794-1878) m Rutllla
Mead; Lavina ( -1855) m Dr. Resolved Baker; Clarissa
vli. Prlscilla (1777-1836) m Dr. Rufus Partridge (1777-1851)
Children: Eliza b 1800; Sarah b 1806; John S. b 1819
vl i i . Amel lam ( I ) Cook (2) Jacobs
Children: Had one child by each
ix. Clarissa (1780-1802) m Dr. Solomon Wyman (1766-1857)
Children: Ashley (1801-1888) m (I) Mary Ann Damon (2) Elizabeth
Dinah Damon
X. Betsey (i784-l807) Unmarried
- 40 -
3-6 JOHN ASHLEY^ (Thomas^, Joseph') b 30 Aug. 1740 d 28 S«pt. 1817
n (I) Desire Thach3r (1745- ) dau. John & Lois ( ) Thacher
(2) Abigail Adams (3) Mrs. S^^rdh ( ) Freeman
Chltdrmi: (1st Wife'
i. Isaac m In Poultfiy, Vt. rj|C-l2
ChiWran; "HTrcn ir Hofiy Glljeri,- Luranea (1763-1339) m
Dor I us Srrong
ii. Noah (1776-1840) .n Crusiita i-bH (I70l-ie69:
Ckildxmi: Marchis Rucklin (tSOO-lBCS^ m (1) M^iy Allen (2)
Marlah riolmor; Stnpnen Holt (!603-l3S6) ir Nancy
Waterbury; <^ch3ah (1005-1829) m Peter l-lophni
■ Ryther; (^nthia Eliza (1807-1885) « Peter HophnI
Ryther (after Achsah's dearh); Lucy Ann (1810-
1896) m Henry 0. Wallace; John Holt (1811-1888)
m Mary Bertrlnda Case; Emily (1813- ) m Hiram
A. Cas%; Chauncey Commodore (1816- Tm Celine
Cornwell; Louisa (1818- ) m Suel TTlson; Sarah E.
(1821-1880) m Lyman Chauncey Hunger ford;
Manetta M. (1824-1826)
Ml. Alta (No further data)
iv. Desire (1785-1872) m Philetus Brooitlns (1784-1849)
Ckildren: Eliza (1824-1904) m (1) Daniel Merrill (2)
Alexander 6. Clemons; James (1810-1889) m
Sophronia Smith; Lucy (I8I5-I87I) m Robert Parks;
Emerilla ( -1888) m Win. 0. Clemons; Alfred (1820-
1873) m ^iFkarietta Lewis (2) Jane VanHorne;
Albert (1820- ) m Anoretta Hutchens; Laura (1829-
) m Melancthan Duel; Sally (1827-1854) m
Al^tander C. Clemons
Ckildren: (2nd Wife)
V. Cynthia (1787-1877) m Benjamin Franklin Leavitt (1785-1875)
Childxwi: Benjamin Franklin (1812- ) m Nelina Shaw; William
Ashley (1814-1869) m Electa Johnson; Asaph Wallace
(1816-1886) m Amelia Clark; Altha Zera (1818-1846)
m Warren Dewey; John Adams (1821- ); Harlow
Wellington (I823-J886) m Jenette mTi ler; Lucele
Elmina ( I 825- ) m Alexander Dods; Hasley (^rroll
(1827-1885/6) m Romanda Leach
vl. William (1780- ) m Deborah (Guernsey) Clark
3-7 LEMUEL ASHLEY^ (Thomas^, Joseph') b abt. 1741, d II March 1799
m Olive Wright (1745-1799) dau. Jonathan & Jemima (Whl-tney) Wright
Ckildeen:
i. Luclnda (1764- ) m Nahum Whipple
ii. Olive (1766 - ) m Aaron Blanchard
ChildP0n: Luclnda; Abel; Cephas; Warren; Aaron Jr; Seth
ill. Betsey (1769-1854) m Silas Shattuck (1766-1842)
Children: Fanny (1797-1840) m Aaron Crandall; Betsey (1801-
) m Joshua Rogers; Mary b 1805 m George Burl 1 1;
lames b 1807 m (Proline Chase; Matilda b 1809;
Foster b I8!2, m Louisa West; Oliver b 1813
iv. Jonathan (1771-1839) m Sarah Osborn (1769-1856)
Ckildrenz Luclnda b 1794; Jason (1796-1896) m Lois Graves;
Sarah (1798-1879) m Charles Wolcott (1795-1879)
Parma (1802-1843) m Calvin Boyden; Norris (1800-
1865) m Sarah Smith or Sally Ellis; Jonathan
(I804-I888).m Sarah Campbell; James Bell (1806-
1876) m Mary A. Morrell; Caroline (1808-1810);
Caroline (I8I0-I8I2); Hinckley (1814-1862)
- 41 -
3-7 LEMUEL ASHLEY^ (continued)
V. Sophia (1777-1858) m Ephrlam Shattuck (1771-1847)
0iildren: Charles b 1797 m Lucy Wright; Paschal b 1799 m Betsey
Lamphere; Harriet b 1801 m Harvey Lamphere; Sophia
b 1803 m Thompson Lamphere; Nohum b 1806; Patty b
1810 m Daniel Town; Lucia b 1812 m William Durfee
vi. Lemuel (1780-1834) m Mary Williams or Williamson (1783-1849)
Children: Louisa (1805-1893) m Willard Wilson; Lucy (1806-1807);
Joseph Jackson (1808-1872) m Clarissa D. Center;
James Madison (1810-1870) m Hannah Jewett; Seneca
(1812-1836); Caleb b 1814 m Hannah Ford; Alice b
1816 m Alvin Goff; Alden S. (1818-1894) m Sarah Pierce;
Aurora (1821-1886) m Brackett Twombley; Aurella
(1821-1821)
vii. Joseph b. 1782
viii. Benjamin (1785-1863) m Olive Pratt
Children: Had several - all died young
3-8 JAMES ASHLEY^ (Thomas^, Joseph') b 1740/3 d 1828
m Annett C^aswell (1736-bef 1824) dau. Jedediah & Mary (King) Caswell
Children: • .
I. James Jr. (1769-1837) m Rebeccah Sloan
Children: Salome (1799-1850) m William McKelvey; Joel H.
b 1805 m Jane McCammon; Col lister
ii. Simeon b 1787 m (3) Mary Nash b 1803
Children: (1st wife) Simeon; (2nd wife) William; (3rd Wife)
Mallssa b 1821 m Dr. John King Fairfield; Matilda
b 1822 m (I) John Helton (2) Silas Loucks (3) Josiah
Markham; Mary b 1823 m Benj. Reed; Margaret b 1827
m Josiah Parker Frasier; Catharine b 1830 m John R.
Sills; Annie b 1832 m Wm. Hamilton Ross; Hiram
b 1837 m (I) Pheobe Ann Mott (2) Agnes Maclndo;
Harriet b 1837 m John Mott; Harford b 1840;
Esther E. b 1844 m Henry Yager Cannlff; Cynthia b
1846 m Albert Louck; Chauncey D.; James D.
III. Calvin (1773/4-1854) m Matilda Munn
Children: Calvin M; Reuben; Lyman; Lucy; Orpha; perhaps more
iv. Levi
V. Luther (1775-1838) m Eunice Smith
Children: Gilbert (1801-1859) m Roxanna Ann Shoot; Nancy
(1803-1893) m Hiram Spencer; Dexter ( 1 804- 1 84 1/4) m
(I) Catherine 6. Halllday (2) Abigail Newberry;
Louisa (1806-1895) m Nathan Beers; Dennis (1810-
1892) m Lauranta (Lurany) Bliss; Harriet (1813-
1901 m Martin Smith; Emily (1816-1900) m Erastus
Smith Jr.; Smith (1822-1898) m Sally Call;
Abigail m Newberry (Question last child)
vi. Warden ( 1 777- 1 822) m Susannah Turner (1781-1855)
Children: Lewis (1799-1834); Caroline b 1802 m Abel Holiday;
Electa b 1804 m Jacob Town; Baxter (1806-1892) m
(I) Sarah Wilbur (2) Marcia Sturtevant; Elizabeth
(Betsy) (181 1-1877) m James Gamble; Levi b 1812 m
Susan Ferris; George (1821-1822); George (1822-
1905) m (I) Elizabeth Adams (2) Rachel Adams
- 42 -
3-8 JAMES ASHLEY^ (continued)
vU. Leonard (1791-1873) m Sarah McDougall (1794-1863
Children: Janies (I&I5-I88?) m Polly Lucretia Mc6ee; Stewart
Brown (1818-1998) m Harriet Haria Parker; Sarah A.
(1823-1898) m (1) David Skeels (2) Dean Kelfer;
John (1822-1898 m (I) Betsey Vaughn (2) Frances
S. Procter; Luther (1824-1853?) n Abigail Str Ingham;
Wtlllcm (1827-1903 m (I) Buiah MaIgs (2) Mary
White; Allen T. (1829-191 1) m Clbra T. Warner;
Mary K (1833-1897) m George W. Lewis; Joseph B.
t 1831 m Angel Ine Reamer (7); Hfnry Perry b 183$;
Daniel Webster (l8»-idb4t^^^ '-^''"^' -^-^'^J '^ <
vlll. Jalrus (Jarvis) ( ) m Dolly McDougall
Ckit4r0n: Annie m Webster; John; Wl 1 1 lam; Maria m
Falrchlld; James
Ix. Philemon (1785-1865) m Sylvia Keete (1789-1865)
Children: Stebblns (1810-1892) m Zlllah Foster; Ira (1811-
1889) m Nancy Matilda Glading; Sylvia (1812-1885);
Harriett (1815-1899) m Benjamin Franklin Mead;
Dexter (1818-1892) m Persis Bail; Nancy (1821-
1846) m George A. Thornton; Jane (1824-1842);
Malinda (1827-1896) m Solomon Hutchins
X. Lucy (I77I-I86I) m Alden Pierce
Children: Alexander m Polly Curtis; Alden Jr.; Martin;
Hiram m Rachel Ann Stevens; Betsey (1807-1827) m
Asahel Beach; Willard (1800-1847) m Nancy Curtis;
Lovina m William Smith
xi. Anna ( ) m Benjamin Glazier of Leverett, Mass.
3-9 ELKANAH ASHLEY^ (Thomas^, Joseph') b 13 June 1744 d 23 June 1803
m Amy Wood b 1749
Children:
\. Ebenezerbb 1771
11. Thomas (1773-1843) m (I) Rachel Woodward (2) Susan Ann Lindsley
Children: Betsey (1798-1674) m Warren BlaIr; Amy b 1801
(1st wife) m Daniel Lindsley; Lucinda b 1803 m Erastus
Seagar; Hannah m (I) Thomas Sprague (2) Daniel
Bird; Thomas (1808-1894) m Elizabeth Betsey
Darling; Elkanah b 1813 m Eliza Jane Roberts;
Harry b 161 1 m Anna ; ; .Ca^v<n fIJImore HBICrs
Children: C2iid Wife) David b lS!?2pDaniel S. (1824-1854) m^
Claranda Harper; Charlotte (1826-1892); LaFayette
(1828-1906); Susan Ann (1830-1830); Harriett
(1832-1844); Margaret (1834-1672) m John Spade;
(Elista b 1836 m Alex Crawford; Andrew A. (1838-
1840); Anson b 1841
III. Jonas (1775-1852) m Elizabeth Eaton (1780-1860)
Children: Jonas (1797-1862) m Sarah Hawks; Salmon (1799-
1862) m Leucine Lamphere; Horace (1801-1870) m
Louisa Lamphere; Ebenezer (1804-1843) m Mary Ann
Aumend; Almira (1806-1886) m Samuel Russell;
Clarissa (1809-1886) m David Aumend; Eaton b 1811
m Myra ; Elijah (1814-1850) m Wdo Mary (Aumend)
Ashley;TlTsha (1814-1894) m Eliza Glrard;
Elizabeth (1817-1820); Del I la (1819-1820); Phi la
Ann b 1821 m John Bonar; William Henry Harrison
(1824-1858) m Hannah Whitney
- 43 -
3-9 ELKANAH ASHLEy' (contlnuod)
Iv. Phlllnda b, 1778 m Scuthwick
CkildiMfn: Three girlSi beliclve one named Sylvia
v» Salmon b 1783, d at Hopewell, N.Y.
vi. Elkanah b 1786 d age 29 at Arlon Springs, N.Y.
vIK Sylvia b ^ d 1805 m Rufus Branch
3*10 ISAAC ASHLEY^ (Thomas2, Joseph') b 13 April 1747 d 17 April 1777
m Olive Howe (1750-1826) dau. Nehemlah and Beulah (Wheeler) Howe
0iildten:
\. Luranea (1768-1839) m Oarlus Strong (1761-1843)
Children: Lucy (1784-1801); Dau. (died); Orilla (1788-1855)
m Alfred Manning; Truman (1790-1870) m Polly Ashley
(dau of Zebulon); Polly (1793-1870) m Myron Dixon;
Augustus b 1795 m Sal lie Doolittte; Franklin b 1797
m Jane Kirkpatrick; Washington (1800-1878) m Sally
Johnson; Betsey (1802-1827) m Phllo Doolittle;
Harriet (1803-1847) m James Doolittle; Nelson b 1805
m (I) Elvira Keyes (2) Malvina Ames; Rachel Maria
(1809-1841) m Caleb 6^ Fairchitd
il. Silas (1772-1857) ro Jemima Joslin (1769-1857)
Children: Isaac ( -1882/8) m Polly Munger; William d 1850 m
(I) MartHa Wilson (2) Malvina Stevens; Elisha d 1884
m Olive Sprout; Artemus; Jabez (1804-1894) m Lola
Benedict; Lucredla; Alvin (1806-1890); Olive (1811-
.1898) m William Moulton; Silas m Laura Briggs
iii. Elisha (1776-1857) m Mrs. Hannah (Thompson) Ashley
3-11 ENXH ASHLEY^ (Thomas^, Joseph') b 25 Nov. 1750 d after 1800 in N«Y.
m Phebe Owen (1753-1798) dau. Elijah and Patience (Wright) Owen
Ckildten:
1. Mary (Pblly) (1774-1842 m Truman Fairchlld
CMldrm: Truman (1793-1849) m Eliza Bartlett; Lovina (1795-
1874) m Orson Bartlett; Phebe (1797-1886) m Erastus Hi
Hickock; Eliaklm (1801-1886) m Mrs. Laura (Montague)
Wetherby; Heman Allen (1803-1889) m Sarah Elizabeth
Torrence; Mary (1805-1887) m Zenas Crooker Wood;
Lucy b 1798 m (}orneitus Cunningham;
il. (^ndace (Candls) b 1777 m Luther Wlnslow .'..,:
Children: .Milone
iii. Abel (1779-1797)
iv. Lydia b 1781 m (I) Zaccheus Moorehouse (2) William Baxter
V. Cherry
vl. Beman (1784-1852) m Lucy Prentis (1788-1885)
Children: Lucy Elvira (1809-1867); Emily (I8II-I86I) m
Hawley Witters Jr.; Orson Beman (1813-1885) m
Palmyra Beach Hill; Marcus Prentiss (1816-1877) m
Hannah Marlah Henry; George (1818-1902) m Mary
Elizabeth Hill; Jonathan Prentiss (1820-1836);
Heman Allen (1823-1896) m Cornelia Eunice Tuttle;
Sanford Gadcum (1825-1867) m Caroline Height;
Lucius Allen (1827-191 1) m Mary Cuthbert; Azro
Buck (1829-1892) m Jane G. Warner; Dau. died;
- 44 -
3-11 ENOCH ASHLEY (continued) "^v
vlU Beulah (1787-1863) m (I) Ashley Somers (2) Ellsha Dewey
Children: (tst husb) Nathan b 1819 m Maria Manning;
Sarah b 1821 m Henry 01 en Smith
(2nd husb) Alzina b 1827 m Aiden King; Charles
b 1830 m (Cornelia Sarah Cota
vlti. OeAlton (1790-1866) m (i) Ruth Saxon (2) Nancy Smith
Children: (Mother not identified) Sarah m (i) Abirham John
Sticl<ney (2) Nicholas Webb; Elmira; Amanda;
Jane; Seymour Saxton b 1833 m Marietta Ford
Harlow; Oilferna; Polly
ix. Lois (1792-1835) m David Furman Forman (l794-_)
ChildP0t: Sarah Phidelia b 1818 m John Mm. Martin;
Mary Smith b 1821 m WMi. Needham; Hannah Mai lea
b 1825 m Calvin White; Jesse Miron b 1824 m
Dora Chase; Electa J. (1831-1835; Truman F. b\
1815 d about 1835; Infant died
x. Sal ley (Sarah) (1795-1862) m Levi Mansfield
Ckildreni Mary b 1820 m Laren Butler
xl. Luther b 1797
xii. Harry b 1794 m F>olly Richardson
3-12 LUCY ASHLEY^ (Thomas^ Joseph') d 9 Jan. 1823 m John Pierce
3-13 EUNICE AHSLEY^ (Thomas^ Joseph') b 26 June 1755 m (I) Thomas Wood
(2) Haskins
3-14 ELISHA ASHLEY^ (Thomas^, Joseph') b 4 Oct. 1756 d 30 May 1835
m Beulah Dewey (I76I-I85I) dau. Zebediah S Beulah (Jacltson) Dewey
Ckildrtn:
i. Sally (1780-1863) m Jesse Woodruff (1772-1836)
Ckildptn: Marl 1 la (1797-1893) m Phelps Smith; Ellsha A.
(1799-1649) m Nancy Clark; Harmon (1802-1675)
m (I) Prelina Loomis (2) Hannah Hurlburt; Beulah
(1805-1693) m Solon Buck Bagley; Lavinia b 1606'
m Sylvester Ward; Timothy (1810-1811); Luclna
(1611-1627); Sabrina b 1815 m Marquis Marr;
William (1818-1619)
11. Anna (1782-1823) m James Ives d abt 1820 Springfield, 0.
Childrtm: John (1602-1889); Lewis; Ashley; Susan; William
Ashley b 1613 m Rebecca Anderson; Robert; Lucy E.;
Ml. Luclna (1783-1876) m Lewis Lyon
0ti'Ubf«n: Sarah Ann m Zenas Wood; Henry m Elizabeth Mitchell
Iv. Azariah b 1785 m Lydla
Ckildptn: Julia re Whitney; Morton; William
v/ Archibald (1788-1861) m Harriet Howe
Children: Henry Lyon b 1825 m Mary Jane Brltton; Warren
Hill b 1828 m Helen Inda Yost; William b 1841 m
Attle Sherman; Cynthia m George Sherman
vi. Timothy b 1789 m Kendrick of Tenn,
vil. William (I792-I88I1
vii. Ellsha Jr. (1794-1875) m (I) Maria Pratt (2) Harriet M. Gaut
Ckildren: (Mother ^d^ identified) Ellsha; David; Zebediah;
Will Jem; Carlton <ia5<-ie57); Abbey (l8^0->840);
Abby (l3?7-!8:.9)
^ -45 -
3-14 ELISHA ASHLEY^ (continued)
Ix. Phlllnda (1797-1867) m Harr/ Everest
Ckildr«ni .Leonora (1819-1893) m Nelson Evarts; Zebadlah
Ashley (1823-1906) m (I) Betsey Ann Kellogg (2)
Augusta M. Warner; Benjamin (1832-1832); Lucia
b. 1833 m Orvllie Del Ivan Hason
X. Oav Id Dewey (1799-1865) m Olive Lewis
CHldetn: Beulah A. (1822-1864) m Sanford Evans; Azarlab J.
b 1824 m Eliza Jane Adams; Sarah Ann b 1828 m
Orran Granger; Charles Jerome b 1831; Clartnda H«
(1834-1846); Timothy W. b 1837 m Mary Shear
xl. Zebediah Dewey (1801-1876) m Charlotte Ward (1806-1885)
Ckildrmi: Ellen (1825-1876) m Needham; Herman W. (1627-
1828); William W. (I^5r-I872); Jededlah (1635-1865)
Irene m Jededlah Clark
xit. Oliver Landon (1805-1882) m Tryphosa Ann Stack (Stark)
Children: Luc tana Lyon (I 84 I -I 883) m Abraham Enmet Shearer
Ellen Francis (1850-1876) m Ervin Brown;
xiit; Malona L. (1806-1860) m Royal Sanderson d 1845
Ckildttn: Julia b 1831 m Henry McGee; William m Lucy Blake;
John; Leonora Everest b 1840 m George Oakman
* Hutchinson; George
■
3-45 WILLIAM ASHLEY^ (Thomas^, Joseph') b 7 May 1758 d 27 Dec. 1828
m Phebe Howe (1761-1833) dau. Nehemlah & Beulah (Wheeler) Howe.
CkildMn:
I. Phtiinda (1780-1857) m Hiram Burtch (1773-1820)
CkildrmM Eunice m Winders; l.orana; Phebe (1799-1869) m
JohirHuff Mikesell; Electa; Horatio Nelson m
Elizabeth Weaver; Sarah m Daniel Turner; Diana
b 1811 m John Griffith; Hiram; Asa b 1820 m
Catharine Ml I ler; El tza b 1820 m ( I ) CI Ine
(2) John B. Watts; Michael; Wheeler
it. George Washington (1781-1853) m (I) Polly Dickinson (2) Sally
Page
ChUdtmi: Eliza (1807-1648) m Sylvanus Young; Harvy (1810-
1611); Harry (1812-1889) m Mary Ann Smith;
Perry (1813-1873) m (1) Nancy Adelta Pendleton
(2) Jane Catherine Wilson; Polly (1820-1696) m
David Bronspn; Rodney (1821-1897) m (1) Lydia
Ann Shepherd (2) Mrs. Cassle (Carpenter) Tupper;
John Hector (1824-1853) m Charlotte Rose Weed;
Sally (1826-1854) m Earlman R. Hatch; Avollne
b 1829 m Simon. B. Hatch
lit. Loami (1784-1855) m (1) Rachel Baker (2) Mary Draubaugh
ChtldMn: Rheumllla TI807tI857) m Joel Hdw*; Baker (1608-
1839) m Rebecca Thomas; Phebe b 1810 m David
Thatcher; Sarah (1812-1859) m Allen Sharp; Mary
Ann b 1814 m (I) Ellas Arnold (2) Philemon Noble
Hart; Dewey (1816-1868) m Levi Mills; Polly S.
(1818-1863) ffl John Bachman; Pol ley Saphrona b 1819;
Leivona (1821-1860) m Lewis Wesley E^nnon; Merles
(1822-1864) m Sally Garner; Susanah (I&2i>-I890)
m John Walker Apperson; William Perry (1827-1902)
m Jemima Thatcher; Mahal a (1830-1891) m (I) Jacob
Vanmeter (2) Luther Price
- 46 -
3-15 WILLIAM ASHLEY^ (continued)
iv. William Howe (1786-1875) m (I) Betsey Thompson (2) Wdo Phoebe
Evans
Children: (1st wife) Maria (1808-1891 m Hiram Wetbrook;
WilU?ifr. Tiomfison (1810-1845) m Mancy Lorilla
Davis; John Giffcrd (1812-1883) m Polly Manvilie;
Wheeler Elisha (1814-1886) m (t) Hannah Hayden
(2) Elizabeth Reese; Riley (I8I6-I8I6); Henry
Perry (I8I7-I89I) m Sarah E, Davis; Jane (1819-
1866) m Thomas Love; Betsey B. (1821-1832)
Matilda (1824-1825); Mahala Ellen (1826- )
m James Thorpe Rouse; Phiiinda (I829-I83?r;
Lafayette (1832-1837)
v. Rheumllla (1789-1838) m Aaron Osborn (1781-1844)
Children: Nelson A. (1809-1884) m Mary Richmond; Lyman;
Emily (1812-1855) m Watterman Dalee; Jane (1814-
1884) m William Henry Gardner; Mary. Ann (1817-
1840) m Levi Thompson Reed; (^ndace Fidelia
(1819-1904) m David Curtis Stewart; Elial Lyman
(I82I-I83I); Elizabeth (Betsey) (1829-1860) m
Thomas 61 nn
vi. Phebe n792-l660) m (I) Amasa Mead (2) John Weed
Children: (1st husb) Angel ine m Abel Dodge; Lois Phllfnda
m David Case; Anistlne Vilette m Calvin Hills;
Catherine Phebe (1820-1904) m Frederick Morgan
Webb; Adelia Maria (1803-1892) m Andrew Hodgland
Reed; Alonzo
(2nd husb) Walter Tartulus (1826-1886) m Lydia
Ann Andrews; William; Charlotte Rose (1832-1876)
m (I) John Hector Ashley (2) (Seorge A. Robb
vli. Alanson (1793-1857) m Jane Bolton (1792-1876)
Children: Elizabeth (I8I9-I85I) m Elisha Byers; Sarah
(1821-1846) m James Jones Markwitt>; Alanson (1822*
1851); Phoebe Jane (1827-1898) m Richard Langston
Thompson; Anna (1828-1877) m Isaac Hercules;
Boltin (1831-1864) m Mary Ann Hercules; Mary
vlii. Elisha (1796-1863/5) m (I) Sally Baker (2) Wdo ^(Toles)Debra
Children: (1st wife) Joel Loami (I8I6-I87I) m Mary Ann
Martin; Julia Ann (1818-1875) m Thomas Kearns
ix, Harry (1798-1841) m Dorothy l^owers
Children: William Riley (1821-1893) m (I) Drusilla
Helphrey (2) Mrs. Anna (Helphrey) Woodruff;
Eliza Jane m (^leb Roberts; Elisha Wheeler (1820
-1904) m Sarah Joyce; Phillip; Daniel Long;
Elm Ira (1830-1894) ro Charles Perry Button;
Phoebe Ann d 1858 m Charles Hulse
X. Sardis (1801-1853) m (I) William Reed (2) Alfred Ayers
Children: (2nd husb) Jane (1824- ) m Barton Harlan;
Ashley b 1826 m (I) DeiTre Guest (2) Polly Ann
Adams; Mallnda; Eliza m Joshua Johnaway Bailey;
Joel Loami m Lavina Bragg; Alien; Harless;
RheumI I la m Richard Freeman; Wi 1 1 lam; Sal I ie
Ann m (I) William Bailey (2) Hickman
xl. Pamel (1804-1830) m John Hlgglns (1810-1875)
Children: Orange (1323-1893) m Rebecca Johnson Wright;
Thomas Wm. b 1825 m Isabella Wade; Ethan Allen
(1827-1891) m Sarah Locke
- 47 -
P C R S i^l A L 1^ T E S
1^
^
"^
*
VIRGINIA hUnlVt GOFF writes that
mountain cllnbing Is not new with
the Ashleys. She has In her posses-
sion a letter written in 1897 by
Henry Ashley to his sister Myra
Ashley Moore about his climb up
Pikes Peak. She has promised to
share it with us.
Has anyone heard from BRAD SWAN
since he scaled Ht. Everest — or
did he?
« » « M tt tt
Our first bulletin was listed on the
Periodicals Page of the Genealogical
Forum of Portland Oregon Bulletin - -
thanks to HARRIETTE WORD PARK (Mrs.
Campbell) editor - and an "offshoot
of the Ashley Tree".
4^ K K « » »
DID YOU KNOW - that during the early
17th century any formal observance
of Christmas was ruled out by the
rigid code of Puritanism? Yule
festivity was forbidden as emana-
ting from the Devil. And the Devil
was very much a personage In those
days. This rule persisted until
1661 when it was repealed. Probably
the influence of the Dutch and
German settlers had prevailed, and
their customs of Christmas feasting
and gaiety softened the hearts of
the strict Puritans.
CALLED HOME:
They sleep in God'e beautiful gatdan
In the eurtehine of pepfeat peace
In life a beautiful memory
Their abaenoe a eilent grief.
FRANK T. HOWLAND, 84, died Monday, Decem-
ber 7, 1970 at the Brockton Hospital
after a short illness. Born in Freetown,
Mass, son of the late Seth and Emily
(Ashley) Howland he moved to Bridgewater
as a child and was educated In the
Bridgewater schools. He was employed by
the Carver Cotton Gin Co. for over 40
years until his retirement In 1962.
Suvlvors include his wife Josephine,
and two sisters, Mrs. Ethel (Howland)
Ashley of Athol and Mrs. Sarah (Howland)
Tranmer of Bridgewater. Interment was
in Melrose Cemetery, Brockton, Mass.
EDWARD L. ASHLEY, 536 Hinman Ave.,
Evanston, Illinois died Oct. 26, 1970 at
St. Francis Hospital there. Born In
South Royalton, Vermont, Mr. Ashley was
graduated from Dartmouth Osllege. He
was principal of a high school in Vermont
and then became associated with the
Pullman (^. in the Boston and Chicago
offices, serving in a managerial capacity.
Survivors Include his daughters,
Eleanor of Evanston, Mrs. Robert F.
(Julie) Acker of Des Plalnes, III., a
son Prof. Gardner P. Ashley at Franklin
(Ind.) (Allege, and one grandson, James
6. Acker. Funeral services were held
Oct. 30 in the Federated Church of
Rochester, Vermont.
GENEALOGIST - One who traces back
your family as far as your money
will go.
:VEr.' TURKEYS WJW
the best cranberries
come from the bogs
near East Freetown,
Klass. - grown, and
picked, and trans-
ported by the
K. J. Ashley i Sons
Inc. The Ashley
brothers, James,
T.-.wOwcr« j.K. uiwrson. In addition to pick-
ing fifty acres of their own bogs, pick
another 100 acres for neighbors on a
contract basis ~ besides running a truck-
ing firm. Emerson Ashley designed and
built a mechanized water picker which has
Increased the yield and modernized the
picking operation. It Is a tricky but
Interesting vocation to grow cranberries
because temperatures must be watched
closely to prevent destruction of the
crop from frost. Ocean Spray has a
processing plant In MIddleboro where
most of the harvest goes. So-o-o — -
Look for ASHLEY cranberries processed
by Oceen Spray.
Mr. and Lrs. Karl J. Ashley Jr.
of East Freetown announce the
engagement of their daughter,
Alexis to Brian Blowers, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Shirl C. Blowers of
Watervltle, New York. Alexis and '
Brian are students at Springfield
Col lege.
Karl J. Ashley III, U.S.N.R. has
returned to electronics school
In Memphis, Tenn. after spending
the holidays with his wife Wendy
and his parents.
B/M 2/c Edward Ashley, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Karl J. Ashley Jr.
has returned from Rota, Spain
with his wife Jacqueline and
daughter Lisa after a three year
tour of duty In the Navy. His is
now employed at an electronics
firm In Stoughton.
Macolm G. Ashley of Howland Rd.
met with Lakevtlle Selectman
and secured a renewal license
for his business, "Ashley Used
Cars and Parts",
MEMBERSHIP LISTING
Starting on Page 50 we are listing members of ASHIEYS OF AMERICA who have
paid their 1971 dues. (See note on reverse side of cover).
A "Membership Number" is being assigned to each, and when reference Is made
to that person In future publications, this Identification number will appear
after the name; e.g. Robert E. Ashley (#1). This will facilitate exchange
of correspondence and identification of contributors.
We would like to show the lineage of each member who is an ASHLEY descendant.
Our records are Incomplete, and If this Information Is missing after your
name, please send your lineage to the editor, and It will be Included In
the next Issuo of the bulletin.
WEMBERSHIP ROLL
Hsfflbsr*
ship
No.
I
8
10
II
12
13
Name and Address
ROBERT ELLSWORTH ASHLEy' (7) and
Elizabeth (Gushing) Ashley
68 Spring Hill Ave.
Bridgetfater« Mass. 02324
JOHN SHERMAN ASHLEY (9)
1664 Main Road
Westport, Mass. 02790
PAUL OOOLEOGE LEONARD (8) and
Winona (Stovens) Leonard
Halcyon Farm, How I and Rd
Lakeville, Mass. 02346
BRADFORD F. SWAN (8)
15 Arnold St.
Providence, R.I. 02960
KENNETH OMNER DAVIS (9) and
Marie Frances (Antonlni) Davis
Green River Road
Wi 1 1 tamstown, Mass. 01267
THEODORE C. ASHLEY and
Paul ine Ashley
181 Dr. Braley Rd.
E. Freetown, Mass. 02717
DORIS (ASHLEY) LANG (8) and
fteymond L. Lang
Washburn Road
East Freetown, Mass. 02717
HELEN (GURNEY) THOM.<\S and
Benjamin Thomas
107 Hillside Road
Franklin, Mass. 02038
SUSAN (ASHLEY) FRENCH and
L, Barry French
The Villager, PO Box 205
Assonet, Mass. 02702
ESTHER (ASHLEY) SPOUSTA (8)
<Mrs^^W;C.) PO Box 321
Rogers, Arkansas 72756
WILLIAM PXKWELL ANDERSON (9) and
Mrs. Wm, R. Anderson
1969 Marshal I Ave.
St. Paul, Minn. 55104
ALO;>IZO ASHLEY and Mrs. Ashley
5 Manwaring St.
New London, Conn. 06320
EARL HjlCmSON ASHLEY (7)
178 Rr^hemboau Avo.
Providence, R.I. 02900
Lineage
[Oscar (6) Thomas Henry (5^) Thorns (4)
Abraham (3) William (2) Joseph (t)3
[Ralph Eugene (8) Charles Sumner (7)
Joshua Bishop (6) John Sherman (5)
John (4) Percival (3) Abraham (2)
Joseph (1)3
[Al ice Ashley(7) John Sherman Jr. (6)
John Sherman (5) John (4) Percival
Abraham (2) Joseph (I)
(3)
[Caroline Ashley (7) Rhodolphus (6)
John Sherman (5) John (4) Percival (3)
Abraham (2) Joseph (I) '
[Geo. Edward Davis (8) Joanna Gertrude
Ashley (7) m. Martin (6) Joel
Loami (5) Eltsha (4) William (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (DU
[Frank Harold Ashley (7) Marcus (6)
Marcus Tu II us Cicero (5) Abraham (4)
Percival (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (I)
[Sanford Harris Ashley (7) Charles
Sanford (6) Sanfcrd Gadcum (5)
Beman (4) Enoch (5) Thcs.(2) Jos,(l)
[Wm. Rockwell Anderson (8> Arthur
Con verso Anderson (7) r!ary Ann Wyman (6
Ashiey Wyman (5) Clarissa Ashley (4)
Thomas (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
[Phfllp Bcrwsrs (6) Farl Sears (5)
Noa'T (4) Noah (3) William (2) Jos.d)
- 50
Wo. Name and A'jdress
14 E^.RL HUTaniSON ASHLEY Jr. (8)
PO Box 154
Bristol, N.H. 03222
15 ELTON E. ASHLEY Sr, and
Mrs. Ashley
166 Or. Braley Rd.
East Freetown, Mass. 02717
16 MRS. GRA.NVILLE J. ASHLEY
206 N. Federal St. Apt. 122
Mason City, Iowa 50401
17 JOAN ASHLEY (8)
24 Stdlow R Apt 12-A
Brighton, Mass 02135
18 MRS. KARL J. ASHLEY Sr.
Or. Braley Rd.
East Fr3fto\''n, Mass. 02717
19 LUCY ASHLcY (7)
PO Box 1454
Sioux Fails, S. Oal(. 57106
20 MARGUERITE ASHLEY
17 Hobbs Road
Warwicit, R.I. 02889
21 MERWIN F. ASHLEY
26 Rune Stone Rd.
S. Yarmouth, Mass. 02664
22 RAYMOND ELLIOT ASHLEY Jr (8)
17 Stony Clover Lane
Plttsford, N.Y. 14534
23 RAYMOND ELLIOT ASHLEY III (9)
17821 S.W. 1 1 2th Ave.
Miami, Florida 33157
24 RICHARD C. ASHLEY
70 Arrowhead Way
Darien, Conn. 06820
25 MRS. TRACY HOLLIS ASHLEY Sr (7)
14 Dumond Place
Glen Head, L.i. N.Y. 11545
26 DR. TRACY HOLLIS ASHLEY Jr. (8)
14 Dumond Place
Glen Head, L.i. N.Y. 11545
27 RUTH MARJORIE (LOOMIS) CHERRY (8)
(Mrs. Ross) RR #2, Box 131
Monroeville, Ohio 44847
28 6MEN E. (ASHLEY) CHRISTENSEN (8)
Mrs. J.Holger Box 338
Bainbridge Island, Wash. 98110
29 GERALD A. COOPER
10861 N. Mason Rd.
Wheeler, Mich. 48662
30 GEORGE EDWARD DAVIS (3)
2807 Adams St.
Des Moines, Iowa 50300
CEarl H» (7) Philip Bowers (6) Earl
Soars (5) Noah (4) Noah (3) William (2)
JosRph (I)]
C Same as 114 2
Dames Alton (6) Marcus Prentiss (5)
Beman (4) Enoch (3) Thos (2) Joseph (1)
C.
i ) George L. Ashley ( ) George
Hale Ashley (1814-1868) John Ashley
(1777-1843) m Elizabeth Johnson
CRaymond Elliot (7) Abiel Davis (6)
Silas Pickens (5) Noah (4) Noah (3)
William (2) Joseph (i);|
CRaymond Elliot Jr. (8) Same as §222
CFranIt (6) Perry (5) George Washington (4)
William (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
CTraey Mollis (7) Same as #253
CGrace Darling Loomis (7) Augusta Maria
Beers (6) Louisa Ashley (5) Luther (4)
James (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
CFred H. Ashley (7) Francis Marion (6)
Joel Loami (5) Elisha (4) William (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
CJoanna Gertrude Ashley (7) William
Martin (6) Joe! Loami (5) Elisha (4)
William (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (1)
- 51 -
Member-*
ship
No.
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
Name and Address
Lineag e
CCora Belie Asitiey (7) Elisl^a Balder (6)
Joel Loami (5) Elisha (4) William (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
CAnnette Brown Ashley (7) Joseph Mylod (6)
Calvin (5) Luther (4) Noah (3)
William (2) Joseph (I)
CEarl Hutchison Ashley (7) Same as #133
MILDRED ASHLEY (KING) DICKEY (8)
(Mrs. Harris) 2136 Frlley Rd.
Ames, Iowa 50010
MRS. MARY ELLER
315 Riffle Ave.
Greenville, Ohio 45331
BARBARA (SMITH) ERICKSON (8)
(Mrs. K.H.) 345 Pine Hill Rd.
Westport, Mass. 02790
MRS. ANN H. (ASHLEY) FILES (8)
38 Mayfair Lane
Greenville, S.C. 29709
MRS CYNTHIA (ASHLEY) POLL IS
La Review Heights
Lakevilie, Mass. 02346
JUDITH (ASHLEY) FUGERE and
Kenneth Fugere
21 Western Ave.
Barrington, R.I. 02806
ETHEL ( ) FULLER (Mrs. Wm.E)
Box 51
Assonet, Mass. 02702
MR. & MRS. CLARENCE GARNER
300 W. Grangeville Blvd.
Hanford. Calif. 93230
MRS. PRESTON GIFFORD
PO Bx 56, E. Freetown, Mass. 02717
RFO 3, Box 200, Melbourne Beach, Fla.
MRS. ELIZABETH (ALBRIGHT) GLASKY (9) [Jessie Strong (8) Wilbur Strong (7)
Rt. I
Geneva, Ohio 44041
VIRGINIA (ASHLEY) GOFF (8)
(Mrs. A.S.) 56 Kelley Blvd
N. Attleboro, Mass. 02760
EDITH LOUISE (MOORE) GOODWIN (8)
(Mrs. H.R.) 14 Cherol<ee Rd.
Arlington, Mass. 02174
MRS. LILA (COBB) GORDON
1220 S. Hull St.
Montgomery, Ala. 36100
MR. 4 MRS. HOLGER J. HARRER
108 E. 500 South St.
Provo, Utah 846001
EDNA PAULINE (BLANKENSHIP) HOLMAN (8) [Clarissa Laury (7) Vienna Eliza
(Mrs. J.D.) 212 E. 16th St. Bouton (6) Sophrona Ashley (5)
San Bernardino, Calif. 92404 Zebulon (4) Thos (3) Thos (2) Jos
RUTH A. (BLANKENSHIP) HUNT (8) [ Same as #45
(Mrs. W.R.) 3151 Garden Ave.
Los Angeles, (^lif. 90039
Norman Strong (6) Polly Ashley (5)
Zebulon (4) Thomas (3) Thofflas(2)
Joseph (I)
[Chester Wins low Ashley (7) Noah
Earl (6) Earl Sears (5) Noah (4)
Noah (3) William (2) Joseph (I)
[Wm. Everett Moore (7) Myra Ann
Ashley (6) Calvin (5) Luther (4)
Noah (3) William (2) Joseph (I)
[John G. Ashley to N.Y 1768 to Ala.
1819, dau. Eliza Ann m Dr. John
Cobb
- 52 -
Member-
ship
N o, Name and Addresj
47 EDITH (GUNN) JENSEN (8)
(Mrs. E.R.) 1335 Grafr Ave.
San Leandro, Calif. 94^77
48 MR. AND MRS. DONALD KERN
Rigor HIM Rd.
Ghent, New York 12075
49 ARTHUR ASHLEY KINGSFORO
16 Ml i ton Road
W. Barrington, R.I. 02890
50 CARLETON L. KINGSFORO
The Rambles
E. Makefleld, N.H. 03830
51 MRS. CHARLES KINGSFORO
83 A Middle HlghMay
Barrlngton, R.I. 02806
52 MRS. FRANCES McMASTER MARTIN (8)
937 ^nbta St.
Toledo, Ohio 43610
53 MRS. ASENATH (ASHLEY) McCALL
Trimtown Rd.
North Scltuate, R.I. 02857
54 CORNELIUS H. O'BRIEN
328 (^Ippewa Or.
Greenville, Ohio 45331
55 JOHN S. O'BRIEN
370 Hickory Dr.
Delaware, Ohio 43015
56 JOSEPH A. O'BRIEN
III Ave. C
Greenville, Ohio 45331
57 THOMAS W. O'BRIEN
133 S. Vine St.
Celine, Ohio 45822
58 MRS. SHIRLEY (JOHNSTON) PARMALEE
136 Airline Road
Clinton, (k>nn. 06413
59 HARRIETTE (WORD) PARK (Mrs. C.)
2135 S.E. 76th
Portland, Oregon 97215
60 GEORGIA (FREEMAN) PATTEE (8) and
Merle Pattee
Box 13
Lake Preston, S. Dak:.
61 BARBARA (BOWERS) PHELPS (8)
(Mrs. Raymond
6906 Oakridge Dr.
San Antonio, Texas 78229
62 VIRGINIA A. SANTOS and Tony
31 South St.
Taunton, Mass. 02780
63 MRS. ROSE SHILT
RR 3 Westbrook Rd.
Brookville, Ohio 45309
Lineage
C3c)^sie Byers (7) Isaac Jackson Byers (6)
Elizabeth Ashley (5) Alanson (4)
Will lam (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
COennis McMasters (7) Mary Ashley (6)
Dennis (5) Luther (4) James (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
CEthel Viola (Main) Word; Harriet E.
Dickinson; Mary Borland Ashley;
James Ashley m. Eunice DorreJ
C(^eo. Vf. Freeman (7) ileien Maria
Ashley (6) Marcus Prentis (5)
Beman (4) Enoch (3) Thos (2) Jos.(l)
C Same as #14 3
- 53 -
ship
Ho.
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
Na'ne and AdJress
MR. AND MRS. ARTHUR 0. STAPLES
Segregansett, Mass. 02773
HAZEL SMITH (Mrs. Clinton)
79 Wilbur Ave.
North Dartmouth, Mqss. 02747
ANDREW DEAN SUMNER (9)
515 W. Scanlon St. .^
Culpeper, Va. 22701 ^ :.
JAMES E- TANNER (9» .
1302 Vanderbeck Laoe
Woodburn, Oregon 97071
MRS. THELK^ (ASHLEY) WALKER
5102 Douglas St:
Mas, Texas 752 IS
Lineage
MRS. HERBERT F. WHITE
23 A Bridges Rd.
Wllliamstown, Mass 02167
SALLY NYE WHITE (8)
658 Main St.
Acushnet, Mass. 02743
NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC
GENEALOGICAL SXIETY
101 Newbury St., Boston, Mass.
CJulta Delilah Reed (8); Amelia Parlor
.(7) Mary Jane demons (6) Sally
Brooktns (5) Desire Ashley (4)
John (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
CGrace Davis Morgan (8) Joanna Gertrude
Ashley (7) Mn. Martin .(6) Joel
LaomI (5) EJisha (4) William (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
CLIIburn Patrick Ashley;( ) John and
Kitty (Moon) Ashley ( ) James and
Lucy McCrary) Ashley ( ) John and
Elizabeth (Garrett) Ashley from S.C.
[Eugene White (7) Sara J. Nye (6)
Sally Todd Ashley (5) Abraham (4)
Perclval (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (I)
02116
THE END -
A THOUGHT FOR THE DAYS AHEAD
Quote from "The Prophet" by Kahili 61 bran
(kmtributed by Allen i Mccty Cooper
Sacpcmento^ Calif.
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's iong^ing for itself.
They come through you, but not from you.
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow.
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows may
go swift and far.
The Archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite.
And He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that files so.
He loves also the bow that is stable.
- 54 -
CIXX3CXXXX3CX3CI
c: CD
O OBITUARY n
ID CD
CXXDCDCDCXDCDCDCDCDC3
From the Scrapbcx>k of Almlra F. Ashley (wife of
Silas Pickens Ashley)
ASSONET VILLAGE, f^SS
Friday, September 14, 1888
Yesterday, Mr, Joseph Ashley, one of our most reliable men and highly
regarded citizens, a man whose hours in cheerful labor flew, and who
was remarkably addicted to minding his own business, at such an hour
as calls industriously disposed people to the labors of the field, went
out upon the bog to harvest his crop of cranberries. This bog Is upon
the Hon. Philip J. Tripp's farm on what until his death was his farm,
and of which Mr. Ashley had become the lessee. The bog Is not a work of
modern scientific art, but rather an old time relic of crude nature,
and is too retentive of water to afford the direct avenues to wealth.
Mr. Ashley probably suffered in his person, as all who invest there have
done in their pockets, from overplus of water. In short, he appears to
have become partially paralysed and fell In the wet fresh meadow, and
lay there nobody knows how long, but summoning his remarkable native
energies, he crawled to the upland, and there in utter exhaustion lay
until night, when the search instituted to learn his whereabouts found
him, he being speechless and nearly dead; and medical aid being summoned
declared all efforts to save his life would prove utterly useless.
Mr. Ashley was the sixth and youngest son and eighth child of Luther Ashley
and wife Abigail Pierce, and born in that ancient part of Middleboro, now
Lakeville, in October 1821. He was an early pioneer to California, being
of the gold hunters of nearly forty .years ago.
He was among those who were compelled to *'to be a law unto themselves" and
many stories of far less instruction, as well as of less general interest
got Into widely circulated print than those romantic tales he has confined*
to the knowledge of the few who were permitted to learn what truly con-
stituted his California experiences.
Contributed by:
Mrs. Louise Pickens Tanner
Winter Park, Florida
- 55 -
A ^ * I I ^ V
^51^
LIBRARY
AUG 12 1974
STATE HISTORrCAL tiOCIETY
Vol. I No. 3
(JUARTERLY NEWS BULLETIN
Apr 1 1 1 97 1
THE ASHLEY FLAG
ASHLEY FAMILY ASSOCIATION
Organized August 29, 1970
"THE DESERTED FA^N"
Author: Jane (White) Rounsevel|7
(IdenHfiaatione in Italica)
I started forth, with the Intent,
One fine and pleasant morn
To seek the old deserted farm
where Grandmother* was born.
^Sally Todd (Aahley) Nye
Through dewy fields I reached the spot*
Where the red school house stood.
And here a narrow cart track leads
Through a cool and fragrant wood.
^Uhere Dr. Braley Rd. turns from
eaat'-weet to novth-aouth
I follow this and soon emerge
To a sunlit, charming spot:
*Tls an old deserted homestead.
And time great change has wrought.
The cellar walls have fallen In
(The house has long been gone*)
The rose bush by the old door step
Droops lonely and forlorn.
^Rodolphna and John Aahley bought
plaoe^ dismantled house and
rebuilt on County Road
The spacious barn, in olden times
Filled to the eaves with hay.
The blacksmith shop* and row of sheds
Were long since torn away.
^Abrahan^^ Peroival^j A Abrahanr
were blaoksmitha. Bldg. aaid to
be 100' long. Abraham^ was
called "squealing^ Abram for
his very high pitched voice.
A heavy growth of timber stands
Where once were fields of grain.
Tall trees now grow around the spring
And all along the lane.
There's not a living thing In sight
No sign of toil or strife:
A hushed and solemn stillness reigns
Where once was teeming life.
The house lot still lies fair & green
As In the days of yore
When Great Grandfather Percival
Beheld It from his door.
(Coot
Along this path he must have gone
A soldier* faring on
To Join the brave determined men
Who fought with Washington.
^Percival served under Copt. Levi.
Rounseville at Lexington^ also Lt.
under Copt. Jos. Norton and several
other times. His father Abraham Jr^
held a comnission as Lt. under King
George the Third and remained loydl
to his King all his life. An early
'Generation Gap'^ .
in thoughtful mood I stroll about
The old neglected place.
Hallowed by pleasant memories
and a well remembered face.
I've listened in childish wonder
With round wide open eyes.
To Grandma's* tales of her childhood's home
And deemed it Paradise
^Sally Todd (Ashley) Nye
I picture a lassie flying
Over these pastures fair.
Without either saddle or bridle
Astride the old gray mare.
I see her climbing In winter
This hilt and sliding down;
And trudging forth to salt the sheep
Clad In her homespun gown.
And now with eager Interest
I scan each rock and nook.
When Just behind a clump of trees
I hear a singing brook.
'Tls Squlnn's!* I pry In pleased surprise
Where Grandma used to drive the cows
At night and morn to drink
^Sqt4am Brook on U.S. Geo. Survey
maps but "Squin's" to all Freetownere
"Twas somewhere near they washed the sheep
On pleasant summer days.
And with Joyful shout and laughter
The woodland echoes raise.
While musing. Idly, on the past
I see as In a dream,
A host of youthful ancestors
Vlho played beside this stream
on Page 59)
( ■
^ J*
" \
r • • • '
'"c.' (^'tl^ :..:.: : A ' ..^ ;
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
Pram the I
Editor'e
Desk - -
••To err Is human" and your
Editor is human. If you find
an error In any Information
printed, please notify me Im-
mediately, giving verification
for correction. Accuracy Is
of primary Importance for any
one doing research and for
posterity.
Thanks to those spotting an
error and to those sending
mater I a I • Your response has
been heart-warming and most
encouraging. Material re-
ceived after deadline date
will appear In next Bulletin,
space permitting.
I regret that the element of
time has prohibited me from
acknowledging all correspon-
dence received. However,
your communications are
greatly appreciated.
KEEP THEM COMING ! I
JUNE 20th Is deadline for
the July Bui letln.
Esther Ashley Spauata
Editor
PO Box 321
Rogers^ Arkansas 72756
Opposite
Page
58
60
62
67
68
70
70
71
72
73
73
74
• .• ! ■.-.
April 1971
Vol. I, No. 3
CONTENTS
• »
"THE DESERTED FARM' by
Jane (White) Rounsevell^
57 COVER STORY - The Ashley Flag
PRESIDENTS PROGRESS REPORT
OLD LETTER - Written In 1897
by Henry Ashley"
ASHLEYS WHO WENT WHALING - from
New Bedford (1809-1906)
END OF WHALING INDUSTRY -
Newspaper Article, March 1971
BIBLE RECORD - Harriet (Strong)
Ooollttle®
QUERIES - Reynolds and Ashley
HOUSE WHERE JOSEPH LIVED -
By Mrs. Judith Gurney
ANCESTOR TABLE - Gerald Ashley
Cooper (#29)
PERSONAL NOTES
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS
AUTOBIOGRAPHY - Augustine Lucas
Smlth^
MEMBERSHIP ROLL
Mmberahip » Anyone interested In collection, preservation & publishing of
material about the Ashley Family of America.
Duee - Single Membership $3.00/Year — Family Membership $5.00/Year
9mi8 Bulletin - Published quarterly, January, April, July and October
Free subscription with each membership. Extra copies $2.00 each
CDOCIXXXXXIXXXXj
L_
C3
a Co V E R STORY
;: THE ASHLEY FLAG
CXXXDC3CX3CXXXXXX3 ^ Robert E, AahUy m)
since showing the Ashley Whaling flag at our first reunion (as a part of
my collection of Colonial and early American flags) I have had requests to en-
large upon this subject of the flag of Captain Abraham Ashley's fleet so that
duplicates can be made for use on present day Ashley cruisers.
A large folding chart "Private Signals of the Whaling Vessels belonging
to the port of New Bedford** was published by Charles Tabor and Go. in 1837 and
shows Abraham Ashley 2nd (otherwise known as Capt. Abraham^, William^, Abraham^,
Joseph') had the ship "Saratoga", bark "Cachalot" and bark "Endeavor" at that
time. His flag was red and white as shown on the cover.
Copies of this chart are now very scarce but a fairly good reproduction in
color appears on pages 30 and 31 of the American Heritage book "Story of Yankee
Whaling". It Is also possible to get full size colored reproductions from the
"Old Dartmouth Historical Society and Whaling Museum" on Johnny Cake Hill, New
Bedford, for $150.
(^ptain Abraham had previously owned a part interest in the schooner "John
and Mary" of Assonet but had sold out before 1837. Perhaps at other times he
owned various interests In other ships. At any rate, on May 5, 1809, Abraham
Ashley 2nd, age 23, height 5*9", of 'dark complexion*, hometown given in one
place as Freetown, and in another place as "Sherman" (7), sails from New Bedford
as * Merchant* on the ship (or schooner) "Thacker". Then, after being at sea
for three years, he sailed his ship into the harbor of Baton Rouge, not knowing
war had been declared. He was captured and sent a prisoner to England. He must
have been released sometime before the treaty of Ghent for we find that he mar-
ried Cynthia Ta 1 1 man of Dartmouth at an unknown date and settled In Freetown,
where Mary the first of their eight children was born l»n January of 1815.
Captain Abraham and Cynthia are buried In the Dr. Braley Cemetery on
Dr. Braley Road. Their children were Mary who m. Marcus Baker; Abraham Tallman
who m. Wealthy Baker; Sylvia 6. who m. Ellhu H. Lawrence; Cornelius G. who m.
Emily W, Cobb, and 2nd Waltstlll Atwood; Albert; Cynthia; Clarissa who m.
Rodney Bennett; and Avis Tiltinghast who m. Charles Sidney Josselyn.
A simple way to make a copy on cloth or other material is to cut out the
flag, sew the edges, cover the A with a cut out letter, cover the other white
parts and then spray with a spray can of red paint. Repeat on the other side.
Of course if you are more ambitious, s^\t It of two colors of cloth.
foot cruiser "The Broad A
ir^'
cixxxxxxxxxxxxnixxi]
G PROGRESS REPORT B
n From your PRESIOEI0 Q,
LXXXXXX3
On February 28, 1971 your offlcert fwt at. tlw homa.
of Raul and Winona Laonard In Lakavtila (wa understand
ttiat Minona prefers to be called "Steve" for her maiden
nsM Steyenai) and -completed tentative plans for oar
second reunion.
Pir9t: It was voted to extend our sincere t^nks to Esther Ashley Spcus1«i for
her splendid work ion the Newslstter. We are most fortunate In having such a
careful and devoted worker as bo-Hi Editor and Printer. N* call attention to the
fact that her labors are Mlthout any rastunaratlon except perhaps what our early
deeds called - "for love and consideration".
S^oond: It was decided that In this 59(mi celebration of the first year of our
Pilgrim Ancestors, Plymouth would be an aotcetlent choice for location. Also,
that a Motor Inn where out of town iwnbers could stay under the same roof, with
air conditioning and excellent dining would be desirable. Hie new two ml I lion
dollar Governor Carver Motor Inn In downtown Plymouth was selected.
ThCreb The Program (Tentative)
Saturday
August Z8th
9 to 10 A.M. - Registration and coffee hour. Coffee and sticky
rolls "on the house". Come early and gam with your Cousins.
(For landlubbers - a gam was when two or more whalashlps met
at sea, and sailed in company for a day or two while the crews
visited and ganmed.)
10 to 11:30 A.M. - Business meeting followed by several short
talks on Interesting Ashley subjects, by various manbers.
12 Noon - Group picture In front of the Inn
12:30 P.M. - Luncheon - several choices (About $3.25 to (5^79)
tax and tip included. (^Ildrens portions about $1.00 less.
2:00 P.M. •<• Afternoon Session - Slide lecture by our own
Brad Swan who last fall climbed Mt. Everest (almost).
D B ' T HISS T M I S ! S !
idey
iust
August 29th
Afternoon trip to be arranged.
For those who can spend more than two days, there are any number of attractions
In and around Plymouth. Also mora research sources than you could exhaust In a
lifetime - - Mayflower Society Library - Pilgrim Hall Library - Registry of
deeds and of probate - and many mora - within a half ml le radius. Rochester
and Freetown within 20 miles.
Fourth: • A proposed Constitution and By-Laws was discussed and some changes
made. It will be printed In our next Bulletin and will be voted on August 28
Other items in the Works:
More research (s being done on Coats of Arms. We have found nearly 30
'^authentic'* C.O«A*s. for the name ASHLEY* Which one ts ours?
Archaeology - Many of the early homes ites In Rochester and Freetown have
lain undisturbed for centurieSf. since the last dwelling on those sites was
razed. We hope to organize some scientific *'digs" soon and may even ar-
range for classes in Archajsotogy for interested members. Meanwhile, If
this *'turns you on*' you might read 'Pilgrim John Alden*s Progress',
Archaeological Excavations In Ouxbury by Roland Wills Robbins, published
by The Pilgrim Society, priced $2.15. Order direct from The Pilgrim
Society, Plymouth, Mass. 02360. This Is practically a textbook on how to
excavate an old house site. Great reading too.
See you in August,
Bob Ashley, President
^mi»mmmmmm^0mmmt0m
>«m
!^«"»"*»
'THE DESERTED FARM" (Continued)
Some In the little graveyard* lie
Upon the old home farm:
While others sleep In distant lands
Far from It's sheltered calm.
^Ashley Cmnetery, iJarth Ave.
Rousing at length from my reverie
I leave these pleasant bowers
Impressed by God's omnipotence
Thift fleeting life of ours.
Author : J ane ( Wh I te ) Rounseve 1 1 '
i^te: The author was the granddaughter
of Sally Todd (Ashley) Nye^ and lived
on the Middleboro Road (Rt. IB) She was
the author of many poems about Freetown
and her fami ly.
In the above poem 'The Deserted Farm"
she describes a visit to the lands that
were purchased by Joseph I between
1760 and 1769, Lots 21, 22 and 23 of
the Pocasset Outlet, alt of the land
between the Morton Road and Or, t3raley
Road which was the home of Abrhanr. Jr^^
Perciva!'^, Abrah^r..^ Lnd Sally "^Q^d^*
Sally married Pardon Nye and they had
14 children, only two of whom died
before reaching a ripe age. Six went
to California in the gold rush.
Mass. Historical Collections state,
"Six persons by the name of Ashley
died in one house". Gravestone records
show it was this house. Perhaps this
was the reason It was deserted.
Another granddaughter of Sally Todd,
Or. Nellie (Brlghtman) Robinson, (her
husband was also a doctor) bought back
60 odd acres and bu i 1 1 a house near
the old place in the early I900's.
Her eider son was lost on a ship tor-*
pedoed when it left the Phlllipines.
Dr. Nellie was burned to death in the
house in the I930's. Her sons sold
the land to Goodhue & Chase the lumber
dealers who are the present owners of
that part of the land. Part of the
land Is now Ashley Heights, a new
housing development and part is the
home of Ted and Pauline Ashley.
Contributed by:
Doris Aehley Larg (U7)
^^
9
VIA
• THE 0. S. POSTMAN
ncDcxxDDCxnacixxxii
CD OLD LETTERS CD
D C
CXX3CX3CXXXXXXXX3CX
EXCERPTS ft'om a letter written by Henry Ashley (6) CaltHn (S)
Luther (4) Noah (3) Uillim (2) Joseph (1) to hie sister
Myra (Ashley) Moore. At the time this letter was written
Henry lived at 6Q9 E. High St.^ Colorado Springs ^ Colo, and
Myra lived in Taunton^, Mass.
January 8, 1897
Dear Sister & Co.
My birdie having gone to an auction of Jewelry and taken our oldest (Jennie)
along, leaving her baby (That's me) all alone and Carl having tired of my
society and being at present engaged In building a fire with some other kids
not so warm, I take advantage of the unusual quiet to pen, or rather pencil,
an answer to your letter of some time agone. I don't know whether ''agone'' Is
grammatical, but It sounds classic, so I use It. - -
i am doing the turning for two mills at present and hope to get in nearly full
time by so doing thJs winter • I expect to go to Wyoming by the first of
March The place Is called Grand Encampment. This Is great couhtry
out here and I have seen things I would not have missed for a whole stick of
Taunton herring!
Hold your brtoth and I will tell you of a few Ihings we have seen and of a
few places we havb been« We have left our beds at five In the morning and
Journeyed to Cheyenne Caiyyon. We have slowly winded our way 'neath the cool
shade of the mountain pines and In the glare of the midday sun. We have ex*
piored the blooming thing from stem to stern. We have gazed In silent awe up
the majestic heights of its rocky sides and have timidly approached the edge
of its rugged crags and gazed fearfully down its Jagged sides a thousand feet
and wished we were in Taunton!
We have climbed the rustic steps leading up the seven falls and taken our
solemn oath that Bunker Hill Monument Is not in It. We have seen the sweet
child of nature (girl) and the Intelligent man of letters climb their lofty
heights and gaze upon the silvery spray as It Jumped from.. crag to crag seek-
ing Its natural level hundreds of feet below and removing their cady and
$7 flower garden silently acknowledge the supremacy of their Maker. We have
seen the besotted boozer c^lmb to the top with unseeing eye and shaking knee
and taking a pint flask from his pocket throw back his head, place the bottle
to his lips and with the azure blue of the canopy above obscured by the yellow
tint of the fiery poison quench his ungodly thirst and staggering to the
friendly shade of some pitying mountain pine throw himself upon the ground
and sink into an unnatural sleep unconclous of the beauty of .his bedchamber,
unconscious of the war In Cuba, unconscious of the twittering, songsters as
they flitted from branch to crag above his head, unconscious of the possi-
bilities of Klondyke> unconscious of the roar of the falU. ..A poor lost soul
once some loving mother's Joy, now a victim of the demon Rum.
- 60 -
We have climbed another 5 hundred feet and depositing our lunch basket upon
the ground, revbrently approach the grave of Helen Hunt, Authoress, and while
the squirrels were swiping our dinner, wonder where she was at. For you see
she was not there, her husband having removed her sometime previously. Al-
though the signboards are still up directing you the way. It was here she used
to sit, thousarids of feet above the world (Col. Springs) when working out the
plot of some n^ book and here she desired to be buried.
We have roamed the streets of Manitou while the band played oni We have drank
of its sulphur waters and spit up 8 day matches. We have quaffed of Its Soda
Water and then spewed all over the Pavlllion. We have dallied awhile at the
Iron Springs and quenched our thirst and then took turns In sandpapering the
rust from our bodies*
We have hit the Cog Road for Pikes Peak and wished we fiadn*t before we got there
We were singing and laughing the first two miles but we didn't the last two. We
ate our lunch at the halfway house and washed It down with water from a mountain
stream, clear as crystal and cold as Ice, and then tolled on. We heard the cog
train coming up and stood aside to let it pass. We met It coming back and we
glided to one side and let it went. We saw apparently insurmountable hills
forminst us but we phased them. We got mixed up In a most terrific storm and
naturally got wet. After plugging throuh It for 1% miles we went back 2 miles
to a section house where we arrived at 11:30 PM and spent the rest of the night.
The man In charge built a fire and got us some hot coffee which was very good.
The females took off their shoes which were soaking wet and then peeled their
stockings and treated me to the most shameful display of legs It has ever been
my unhappy luck to experience and me and the poor devil of a section hand the
only men there. The display made him quite desperate and he actually proposed
to a Miss Jean Reid of Sioux City who visited us this summer. When she told
him she was already engaged to be married I Ml be blowed If the blamed chump
didn't go putting up to Min which made me real hot and I got dry awful quick.
Three of us continued our climb in the AM while two went back. The sun was
shining brightly and the dear little chippy birds were twittering gaily but we
were still 5 miles from the Peak and the steam not up on the elevator. We pas-
sed the bleaching skeleton of a horse which my wife said reminded her of old
man Hawse' tripe works over toward Raynham and she at once proceeded to get
homesick as it made her feel so Taunton. We wondered as each hill came Into
view if It would be the last, but it wasn't. We saw puke scattered all along
the track where, because of high altitude, people had thrown up, but we left
none of ours. We divided half of a sandwich between the three of us, the last
we had, % a mile from the top and felt refreshed. We could not climb more
than 30 feet without resting but we enjoyed the rest, also the view. We some-
times would walk backwards which seemed easier and when resting generally lay
flat on our backs. We all got blue about the mouth, nose and ears, but we per-
severed and at about I PM we reached the Peak, 14,127 feet above sea level. We
at once ordered hot coffee for which we paid fifteen cents a cup, but we did not
kick. We did not dare ask the price of a square meal as we had but f 12 with us
so we took it out In doughnuts at three for a dime. After resting we went to
the highest point and looked to the north, to the south, to the east, and to
the west. Dsnvsr to the north 80 miles we could see the smoke of. Pueblo;
50 miles to the scjth we could see quite easily, while Cripple Creek, Victor,
and several otiiar mining camps were In plain view to the west and north.
(Continued on Page 67)
61 -
y
HEIGH - HO
A-WHALIIIG WE SHALL
GO
nClXfo^^
ASHLEYS WHO WENT A-WHALING FROM
NEW BEDFORD from 1809 to 1906
CompMed from custom house records
now In the "Moby Dick Room" of the
New Bedford Free Public Library.
Submitted by Robert E. Ashley,
Brldgewater, Mass.
Whaling ships were always called "vessels", the term "ehip" being applied only
to a particular arrangement of sails. Thus, a vessel could be a "ship" on one
voyage and a "bark" on the next, etc. There ware four main types:
Brig ~ was a two-^nasted square sailed vessel
SofwonsT - could be two or three masted, but always had "fare" and "aft" sails.
Ship - was three masted with square sails
Bark - had square sails on the two forward masts and fore and aft sails on
the "mizzen" or aftermost mast.
Only a "landlubber" would call a vessel a "boat". A boat is any craft that can
be hoisted aboard a "vessel".
Officers and crew were never paid wages but sailed on shares called a "lay", the
Captain getting a large share such as l/IO and a greenhand getting perhaps 1/200
of the total final profit of the voyage. After an unlucky voyage a man could
end up with very little or even no money. <e.g. see Henry who got 80<.
On the following pages are listed the ASHLEYS who went a-whallng from New Bedford
from 1809 to 1906, complied from custom house records now In the Moby Dick Room
of the New Bedford Free Public Library.
ABBREVIATIONS
Acush - Acushnet
Ftn - Freetown
Lkvl - Lakevitle
Mad - Madison
Lub - Lubec
Midd - Middleboro
N.B. - New Bedford
N.Y. - New York
Roch - Rochester
Sher - Sherman
Taun - Taunton
W.lsl- West Island
Type Ship
Bg' - Bi^lgg
Bk - Bark
Sch - Schooner
Sh - Ship
Vs - Vessel
Name
ASHLEY
Abraham
Abraham
Abraham
Abraham
Abran
Albert B
Albert R
A. J.
Almon
Aim
Alaron
A I son 6.
Andrew
Andrew T
Antone
Antone
Charles
Age
Com-
Home plex*
Hght Town tlon
Color
of
Hair
*••
23
23
• «
31911
Ftn ' ' Ok
Sher Ok
I n
I I
25
N.B. Ok
■ I
» ^ '
. ■ )
.^ ' \
*•* w«
23
Ftn
• -
Benjamin
•
18
5»|0"
Taun
Lt
•
c.
-
-
-
-
Calvin
17
5'6%"
Midd
Lt
Calvin
22
5»6>s"
Midd
Lt
*i
Br
20 5»7%'' Ftn Lt- Lt
Lt
Br
Br
Vessel &
Home Port
Oate of
Departure
& Return
Rank A Lay
Sch "Thacker"
New Bedford
Sh "Thacker"
* *
6g "Ellas^r
New Bedford
Bg "Ellas"
New Bedford
Sh ••Minerva"
New Bedford
••Perry"
New Bedford
Sh •*Adm Blake"
Sippican
Bk "Pioneer"
New Bedford
Bk ••Cachalot"
New Bedford
Bk "Cachalot"
Sh •'Marcel la"
new deuTora
Bk "Marcel la"
New Bedford '
••Perry"
New Bedford
Bk ••Cachalot"
Mattapoisett
Sh "Heroine"
- Fa I rhaven
Sh "Com. Morris
New Bedford
Merchant
May 5 1809 Captain r/-i;
Jul 17 1819
Jun 21 1820
Jun 24 1820
Sep 9
Mar .3
Jun 8
May 26
May 5
Oct 24
Apr 28
Nov 6
Aug I
Sep I
186) -
Aug 10
Jul
1844
1847
1854
1857
1857
1857
1862
1864
1854
Capta i n
Capta i n
*
Boy 1/190
Greenhand
1/200
Oarsman
1/90
Managing
Owner (f-2)
1857 Managing Owner
Sold Foreign
1 858 Greenhand
27 1861 1/165
Aug 17 1858 Greenhand
Jul 27 1861 $42(5.94
Jun 8 1854 Ord. Seaman
May 26 1857 1/165
Dec 6 1851 Greenhand
1853 sold N.B. 1/135 (f-2)
1831
1 832
1868
1869
Jun 4
Feb 27
••May II
Dec 3
Bk ••Falcon"
New Bedford
Sh ''Emerald"
New Bedford
Sh ••Maine"
Freetown
Sh ••Montpeller"
New Bedford
Sh "Zepher"
New Bedford
Oct 25 1875
Apr 21 1879
May 19 1864
Lost
May
Jan
Sep
Oct
Dec
Cdmd
19
19
28
19
13
1834
1836
1839
1841
1845
1863
Greenhand
1/190
Footnotee: '
(1) Thia voyage ended at Baton Rovge in 1812 vhen Abvahamt not knowing a war
had been declared, eatled into Louieiana harbor held by the British. Be
wap orptured and taken prieoner of war to England where he eat it out in
an En^lieh oaiZ, He then returned to hie home on the oroeeroad between
Braley Hill Road and Morton Road,
(2) Veeeele owned by Abraham Aehley II A flying the Aahley Flag were the
ehip "Saratoga" and the barks "Caohalot" and "Endeavor",
- 63 -
Name
l-tome
Hght Town
Com- Color
pi ex- of
tlon Hair
Vessef &
Home Port
In
Date of
Departure
& Return
Charles 18 5'W N.Y, Dk BIk Sh "Draper"
Clifford W. 4/-3;-
David
David
E, R. - •
E- R. - -
Edmund
Edward
Edward
Edward R,
Elijah
Elijah
Elijah
£lmeh
25
21 3»8" Lkvl Dk
Enoch S. 21 5M0" Mldd Dk
Bik
Br
Frank
Frank
Frank M,
Franklin
Franklin
Franklin M -
George
George H
20 5*6" Mad Bl
Bl
I
I
.,Bk "Sunbeam"
New Bedford
May
Jul
Aug
Jul
8
10
21
24
I860
1864
1904
1906
Feb 20 1850
Jun 12 1863
^ "Wm. Hamilton" Jun 17 1840
■iNew Bedford '
oik "Pacific"
New Bedford Oct 13 1867
Sh "Reindeer" Oct 14 1856
New Bedford Oct 27 I860
,Sh "Gov. Troup" Dec 2 1862
New Bedford Jun 4 1867
Sh "Washington" Dec 14 1842
New Bedford
"R{ tan"
New jedford
Sh "Youey"
Freetown
Sh "Wm Wirt"
New Bedford
Bk "Emigraht"
New Bedford
Sh "ChlnaV
New Bedford
Sh "China"
New Bedford
$ch""Jarte9"
S i ppecah
Oct 19 1847
Apr 2 1850
Sep 30 1850
Jul i6 1853
Sep 30 1853
May Id 1856
May 31 1848
(Sw f'4)
Oct 5 1840
Nov 26 1842
Jun 10 1843
Oct 30 1845
May 6 1863
Aug 27 1863
Sch "Golden City Apr 28 1888
New Bedford Jul 30 1889
Sh "Rainbow" Sep It 1865
New Bedford Apr 20 1870
Sch "Wtti Martin" Nov 13 1879
Boston Sep 8
Sh "Rainbow" Sep M
New Bedford Apr 20
__ "Mary" Jul 21
New Bedford Mar 22
Sh "John How I and" Nov
New Bedford Apr 11
1780
1865
1870
1852
1855
6 1854
1858
Bk 'ndm Glfford" Aug 30 1858
New Bedford Nov 28 1863
Sh "Fab i us" Aug 10 1846
New Bedford Jan 8 1849
Sh "Fab i us" Jul 5 1844
New Bedford Feb 14 1846
Rank i, Lay
Asst. Mech
2nd Mate
1/40
Master
1/12
Captain
Greenhand
1/175
3rd Mate
1/65
1st Mate
1/20
Master per
^reement
Boat Steerer
1/75
Greenhand
1/180
Seaman
1/140
Salem
1/170
Boat Steerer
1/90
3rd Mate
1/49
Boatsteerer
Greenhand
1/195 $174
Footfiotet :
(S) Cliff oxd is th* painter and author of "The Jankee
"Ashley Book of Knots",
(4) Bark "Bnigrant" found bottom up off Frenoh Book, t
and area never heard from '
- 64 -
Name
George H
Henry
Henry
Henry
Henry J
Henry J.
Henry T
Hiram
Hiram
Hiram
Hiram
Horace S
liorace S
J.
J. H.
J. H.
Jacob
James
A^i Hght
Com- Color
Home pi ex- of
Town tlon Hair
18 5'5" N.B. Ok Br
18 S'S" N.B* Ok Br
19 5«5" Ftn
19 5'5" Ftn
Ok
Dk
16 5»5%" Ftn Lt
Horace L 25 5 '9" Ftn
Horace S 24 5 '4" Ftn
Lt
Lt
Ftn
28 5»9" Ftn
Lt
17 5'6" Ftn
17 5»8" Ftn
Jacob
-
- Ftn
-
James
16
5 •7" Roch
Lt
James
16
5'6>s" Roch
Lt
James
.
_ .
.
Br
Br
Br
20 5 •5-3/4" Ftn Dk Br
Br
Br
Br
Dk Dk
Dk Ok
Dk
Ok
Vessel &
H one For t
Sh "Fab i us"
New Bedford
Sh "Condor"
New Bedford
Sh "Batholomew
Gosnold" N.B.
Bk "Oak
Nantucket
Sh "Condor"
New Bedford
Sh "Condor"
New Bedford
Bk "Oak"
Nantucket
Sh "Mentor"
New .Bedford
Sh "Partheon"
New Bedford
Date of
Departure
& Return
Jul
Jan
Jul
Mar
Sep
May
Jun
Sep
Oct
Mar
May
Apr
Jun
Sep
Jun
Jul
May
17
8
7
7
14
27
10
20
8
10
29
13
10
20
4
17
24
1846
1849
1846
1848
1658
1862
1867
1869
1841
1844
1844
1846
1867
1869
1830
1830
1831
Rank & Lay
Boatsteerer
l/lOO $430.02
60<t (total
pay
Greenhand
1/200
Ord Seaman
1/150
Boatsteerer
1/90
Deserted
Sh "Mm Thompson Jun 15 1835
New Bedford Aug 31 1838
Sh "independence" Aug 29 I83i DiedUn
New Bedford
Sh "Mary"
New Bedford Lost 1833
Sh "Heroine" Jun 4 1831
Freetown Feb 27 1832
Sh "Mary" N.B. Dec I 1832
Sh "Gen Group" Oct 30 1841
New Bedford Apr 25 1844
Bk "Pacific" Jun 12 1865
New Bedford Oct 13 1867
Bk "Henry Tabor" Jun 14 1866
New Bedford Jun II 1866
Bg "Abbot Lawrence"
New Bedford
Bk "Willis"
Mattapoisett
Sh "Euphrates"
Apr 27 1635 Madagascar
Dec 9 1632
Lost
2nd Mate
1/48
Bk "Dragon"
New Bedford
Bk "Dragon"
New Bedford
Bk "Duraco"
New Bedford
Sh "HSeorge"
Freetown
May
Sep
Aug
Apr
Apr
Jun
Jun
Jun
Apr
Sep
Feb
Apr 9 1675
Nov 5, 1877
31 1859
12 I860
4 1862 tf^Si
15 1840
26 1842
24 1840
20 1641
21 1842
25 1844
14
14
1844
1646
3rd Mate &
Boatsteerer
1/50
Boatsteerer
1/80
Pootnotea :
(S) Skip "Puphratea" woe captured by the Confederate Cruieer "Shenandoah"
and httened during the Civil War,
- 65 -
•^■.
, ,^ • Cow- Color Oat« of >
Home pi ex- of Vessef'& Dbt>drture '
Name Age Hght Town tion " Hair Ttome Port & Return ' Rank A lay
James - - - -< - Sh 'londor^ Hay 29 1944 2nd Off leer
NewTgedford Apr I > 1846 1/42
James .. - - - . . . ■ .. Sh "Joii^ • . May U 1852 Gneennand
. . (Crev% Captain killed.) , 1/175
Jamies -. ! r . -• . - . - . Sh "PacJfTc?* Oct ;4 1852 Greenhand '"
Ne«r Bedford Apr : 7 J855 1^/200:. .X
Janies . 21 'S'e**. W.t,' Ok pk . Sth '"Ellen Rodfflbn*" May 14 1879 Gr^enhand •
rNew'Bedford. . Aug'l8l88a '..'v. '."J
JtrehP. - - . - . -- - • Sh "Oesdenoala?' Oct 26 »846^.eoy
' . : Mew Bedford . Jun 2 1849 ' 1/175
John - - Ub -' . - Soh. "WW Grazier" ^ May T |.^5 .; •'
Prevlncetown ' Jjul 2^-1905
JOMph •> t- • •< - . - Sh "Fene^on Aug 31 4842. Qreenhand. •.
•t«siw 'Bedford Cot M Ii944 1/180
Joseph - - - - -r S»^ VFenelon" ' / 5^44 'fioatsteere?." .
-New: Bedford Apr-,22 »84?. i l/92<:
Joseph : " - - - - -' Sh "SwFft" Jun 25 1«49 preeriNahd-
.New.;Bedforcj;. NOV' 26X852 , 1/119:; " '
Joseph a • .^ >- «. Sh "Oondor," . : May 29 •«8«4 and »<etlr > - .
... ' .Nev fiedfoW Apr 13 1.846.. ..1/42.,. "
Lorlng p. - - - - - Bk "Pamela May 8 1858 Boy
Prentiss" N.B. May 17 1862 1/225
Lorlng P 18 - Ftn it .. Ok Bk "Penny" . r ^un .13 ip6P ..:,'.,-. .
'New Bedford ' Ajpr 14' 1864 '
Mrcus - - - - - ■ - 3ch *'ein e ratd**-1t.B:WBy-t9 1864 Lost at Sea
MBrcfisH;. .,l^.o5*7". ; Uv^ Dk Br, Sfiti x"JaR|Bs'* May. 6 1863 ^ •« .— t
• Sipploin A^g 27 r863
Marcus 21 , - - ,M|dd, Dfc W .Sch »'Adin.Blfl«",May, .9j «8« .. + n
........ . . . . -Nw. Bedford- ..Oct . 8.1862 -. ,.- •,., •,,-,.,•.
Millard F - - -> - . - 6k "Mdrew", Qct J7 1866 Ord ^epm .
_ . . Newl|ted.fgr<l Mayp2<l867,., I/J.^?^ ;.
Nicholas 16 5*3%" Ftn It ^t Bg "Cha^ . May 21 1835, , Died, pt sen
' .. • • . Packet"i^.e.. fiar ^5 I837<i ^
Npph .19 5»9r . Ftn.: Lt Br Sh "H^rolftp" 4*ii' 2^ i^ ^r >: ". i ■".
Freetown Fp|> .14 ,J84I ....*..,..
Paul - - - - - 'BkVillls' Apr lb l86i Seeiiiafir
■•- ■■■'■■ .'.' mew Bedford- ' Sep -U i«6t -'•. IVI 001!:''' '
Rueben •< - - - > - Sh "Chlnfe* Jim 1^48^ '«r«ehhaiid'.
."••' ' New Bedford Oct 30 1845 1/175
Paul 14 4*9" Roch Lt Br Bg "Willis" Jun 14 1849
v^'- ' • • Rochester Aug 31 1840
Robert ..... Bk "Eag1«« NiB; Jun 5 jses v'UMtvii
Robert - - -. - r Sh "Adeline" Aug 29 186?
' ■ ' . .New Bedford" J(il2(S-|869' ; ' •
Robert - - - r - Sh "Adeline" N.B., Between 18W^^«'
Rufus - - - - -'"ek"Sun» Oct 5 '1858 Ord Seam
Matta|»li»b+t^ Ju 1^^0 18(50' ^t /1 40
SlMioen - - J - • - 5clS *John Oct 9 1867
Randolph" Ftn Aug 4 1869
Slmoh ~ . 18 5*7"^ ^tn Lt' ' • 8r Sh «Hero1 ne"' Juh 4* I83l-
" - •• -Freetown' Feb 77 .1832 •''"'
Tom (Taw) - ' - - =^^ •- - fik "Sarah*'' ' 'Aug 31 1846 '3rd fl»te
Mattapolsett Jun 27 1848
(fO U COtniKUEO)
- 66- *
Stons' New Department of Commerce
Order Ends Ofd Whaling Industry
lBd«io*imM«e kiMrta
CMttBMfdilaiatktt
B. fltaiiB MQ^ mkmdtptm
«n «H^a^ Bctnriac to faaot
te ntadt tt^-M aM Iht
Ite Oam «m nit «i flu
ttdaogmd ipMlit w fey fte
ijBltrlor Dif^arloMt km !)•*
trilk fli» imr
Blu«» Bnavbidk;
conq^anr, Iht M UMt Drih
JiD« Ci. opMllv aol fli 8«&
Avnelsc* Bv* ii aOKtod br
the order, lb compaoy mm
mt dufftor botti to Mnc to
vbadat thai art piwttnd an
dimi for wbB^ food and Ubri-
cadoKoibL
* nr IBB FMRTOia Croat vhali
l^( todoatiy provkU wa c far
caodtoo; 4dl for la«f^ bwwa
itat
taiprtrj.
■niMifr)* for parbmes.
1b ««rTy coIbbUI *!■
IMdM^itipMklBtkeiplMtVl
■ailed «ut of te Mav amflaal
poKt «( Ntar Budbrt ud Nan-
faSat. Md <Mn«d tht wU
vtllieaBnfiWNnBHipiitNrf' IMMI 8M« ««• 0»« * V**
tht utelat Ii 9m botti iMk «| 49'fUbMt. U M wl n
hMUddhamoaH.
tad to mIc Bwpi Kttm ta ni
iMtntiv* -tkkr^Jkk." Urn ID'
latad tad «f OVtata AhiA far
tl»c«hi|».«k«ta:IM «■! kta
SS^W ai f«ii«e»«il dia»
SV-njal^tat «( lAaUBg iitt
harpooo wXli tha ondoai^ fix
tn BAlPOm \$ ttnA tvm
a aUp loto a aurfadaf whda
and aniodaa toMa* flnanato^
tos a ULlha madiadliia baaa
aa oSkUvs ttat fo ia a UiJ ro"
iMetlana iwia aal ap aoAr M
Ifltoraattoaal ooaivoBUaa to aaia
vHbIOmB HlOClllO SvDl OBBDSBDlk
Dnrtaf tot evarcat jaar 4»
la topdag d» aidar« _
aaid that te liia Brat ttma to
aloml m yoaca aa lAdag
*I|M lafB bo ,4|M*l*f *^
vliak to aoir tU <oaat. al toa
iMtodSUtoad .
IBB OBDBE tril Ito pab-
Mid to toa Mml Bag!^
aad aOar tl diva far MOBMt.
Iha aaMtoiy vU toaaa « Baal
arder. B to a toDev a» to Ika
dbaettaa taaaad kit Baambar
bf tea btorlar Saeratoqr Wal-
tar J. BkhiL
ni Iba paal.'* 1» aaU.
*1baagMloaBHaa Md katMaii^
lOty bifo MBoaad mlmmf
Ibaa » dtttmat ipactoa af iriU
Uafroaiaarpbait''
•»•
rQm.th#TU»«a Daily Worlds Tulsa^ Oklahoma - Thursday march 4, I97i
t • »
. f
II M II
^m^mmtm
■^F*
LETTER FROM H. <<, ASHLEY TO MY^^A ANn' (ASHLEV^ MOORg - tCbrttlnueif fro* pag«'60
To tha East was an unbroken stretch of pralrta uhlla Colorado Springs s aaroad '
almost at our faat* although 16 oh 16 miles away« We then started back and found
the going down mbr^ tiring than going up and ire punched the toes out of all our
5tockIngsM)eforV reaching the bottom. We got home about ten thirty PN very tired
but St! 1 1 IJr the ring. We did not Kese much time getting to bed and the next
day we were very ^tlff. The next cfay after we were stiffer but we are all right
at the present writling knd are willing to make the' trip ai^ln if "soma of you wilt
come out and^tapkljb It with us. . • ; • «
I wl 1 1' Jet' you Idiow by 4«rd wNm!)* i go to Wyoming so you may feel sure of finding
me here in-ltie Bpring, untJI you hear fromme again.- ...
.,.:'. Your brother.
.1.
I.. . «
B •
H. W. Ashi«y
Contr I butdid. by : VI rg i n l« Ashi <ky GoiF f ( #4 1 )
• . • . . •
Note: Your editor also received a copy. of this same letter from Earl Ashley '
Wood C#J23) grac^dsoQ of H. W. Ashley. .He adds that h t s. grandfather ^ ,
Ashley was not only a 'Vather flowery writer.**/ but, was also "ha I anted
in painting' and jaopdcarvlng. He has In his possession a blrdseye
maple table that, afteiats to hU grendfatherV^ ablljty. ^ ^
Henry Ashley, writer of the above, letter, wa|i prqfpJAent Miong the first
citizens of tlie Grand Encampment, now known as Encampment, when It was
a twfMl^ mInJng town with thirteen saloons,.. a general .store ,^ and a r)
\b«nK/
^ 67 -
pprTTTTT TTrTTTim
Q Copied from th« 8tbl« of Harriot (Strong)
BIBLE RECORD P Oool Ittlo (6) Cturonoa Ashioy (9) Ismc (4;
John (3) ThcNMS (2) Joseph (Oj
Contributed by Elizabeth A. Glasky (#40)
Published by: who now has this Bible In her possession.
Mathew Carey, No. 122 Mrket St.
Philadelphia, Pa Note: (}opy Is verbatim with eKplanatory
Date: 1610 data shown In bta^mttd italiaa.
m
Inscription on Flyleaf:
**Harrlet Ooollttia h#r Book gtvon to her a short tlma bafora the daath of
har Mothar by har Farthar and Mothar 1839*
TrMman Strong his Book laft by raquast of his sistar Harrtat Doollttia on
har daath baad to him. Baquaathad by him to Norman M, Strong and his
hairs foravare Truman Strong**
MARRIAGES^ Paga 677
Darius and Luranaa Strong (Lutcama AMKUy (6) I^aas (4) John (8) fha9.(2) Jcb(1)
MS marriad tha llth Day of Oac 1783 in Roultnay Stata of Varmont by m. Word
Orrtlla Strong was marriad to Alfrad Manning Sapt 19th 1809 In POultnay St* of
Varmont e
Truman Strong was marriad to Polly Ashlay March 21st 1811 in Roultnay St of Vt
Polly Strong was marriad to Miron Otxon Sapt 1st 1812 In Wayna Township Stata
of Ohio
Batsay Strong was marriad to Phllo Ooollttia Sapt 28th 1818 in Wayna Township
Stata of Ohio
Truman Strong was marriad to Mrs Elvira Amas Sapt tha 2 1847
Franklin Strong was marriad to Jana KIrkpatrick Nov 5th 1818 In Chastar Town-
ship Stata of Ohio Knox County
Augustus Strong was marriad to Sally Doollttia May 6th 1819 in Wayna Township
Knox County Stata of Ohio
Washington Strong was marriad to Sally ۥ Johnson Oct 9th 1826 Mlddlabury
Township Knox County Stata of Ohio
Harriat Strong was marriad to Jamas Doollttia Nov 13th 1826 Mlddlabury Township
KhoK County Stata of Ohio
Rachal M. Strong was marriad to Calab 6. Falrchlld July 3rd 1828 Mlddlabury
Township Knox County Stata of Ohio
Harvoy A* Strong to Sal ly Matlar May 9th 1833
Ellsa Pe Strong to J. B. Llndslay (John Bssm Undat^y) Nov tha 24^ 1840
Morman M* Strong to Sarah A* Farquhar July tha 29, 1896
BIRTHS^ Paga 678 & 679
Darius Strong was born April 27th 1761 In Canaan Stata of Connactlcut
Luranaa (Aohtay) Strong was born Fab llth 1768 in Nawmar I borough Stata of
Massachusats
Lucy Strong was born Nov 9th 1786 in POultnay Stata of Varmont
Sacond Daughter to Darius and Luranaa Strong was born t8th of Dae 1786 In
Poultnay but diad immadlataly aftar It was bom
Orrilta Strong was born 24th of April 1788 in Poultnay Stata of Varmont
Truman Strong was born 7th of March 1790 in Poultnay Stata of Varmont
Pblly StroAg was born May 19th 1793 Tn P^ultoay Stata of Varmont
A!jgustus Strong^was bom Juna 24th 1799 In Poultnay Stata of Varmont
- 68 -
BIBLE RECORD (Continued) - BIRTHS, Page 678 & 679 (Conttnued)
Franklin Strong was born August 26th 1797 In Poultney St. of Vermont
Washington Strong was born March 27th 1800 In Poultney State of Vermont
Betsey Strong was born March 26th 1802 In Poultney St of Vermont
Harriet Strong was born Oct 19th 1803 In Poultney State of Vermont
Nelson Strong was bom Oct 24th 1805 In Poultney St of Vermont
Rachel Maria Strong was born May 8th 1809 In Poultney St of Vermont
Children of Truman Strong (and wife Hary ^olly^' Ashley Strong)
Harvey A Strong Dec the 21 1811
Truman C« Strong June the 19, 1817 (Pond Genealogy ahcwe January)
Ellsa P. Strong Jan the 15, 1820
Franklin P. Strong July the 13, 1828
Norman M. Sti^ong June the 8, 1832
»
(dkildren of Bormooi Hunay and Sarah (Farquhar) Strong)
Wllber Truman Strong Oct. 30th, 1857
Charles F. Strong December 7th 1862
Edwin & Franklin Strong May 6th 1865 ..
El da Strong Jan, 27th 1868 - t^8 -
N. M. Strong (Nomrnt Murray) married to Sarah A. (Ann) Farquhar July 29th 1856
DEATHS, Pages 679 & 680
Frank R. Strong died Sept 29, 1886
Charles Strong died April 15, 1898
Edwin K. Strong died November 8, 1910
Sarah A. Farquhar born 1831 July 1st, died 1870 March Ifth.
Lucy Strong 1st daughter to Darius and Luranew Strong who departed this life
Monday July 29th 1801 about 12 Oclock at night In the 17th year of her age
Ariel Strong departed this life on the first day of Dec 1813 about 5 Oclock In
the morning being In the 51st year of his age
Deac. Oliver Strong departed this life on the 9th of Jan 1815 about I Oclock
In the morning aged 74
Daniel Strong departed this life on the 19th of August 1816 being In the
47th year of his age. * * Hannah his wife died the March previous
Esther the wife of Oliver Strong departed this life June 8tti 1820 aged 47 years
Sally the wife of Augustus Strong departed this life Sept 3rd 1827 aged 31 years
Norman Murray Strong died July 7th 1908
Betsey the wife of Phllo Doollttle departed this life Nov lOth 1827 aged 25 years
Lois Strong daughter of Oliver & Lois Strong departed this life May 9th 1833
aged 66 or thereabout
Luranea Strong died September the 16th 1839. She was 71 years seven months and
5 days old
Polly Dixon died Ded the 1st 1850. She was 57 years six month & 12 days old
5 minlts past one oclock
Rachel Me Falrchild died April 27 1891 had she lived until the 8 of May she
would have been 32 but dearest sister thou art gon where I shall meet thy
form no more on earth
Feb 2nd 1871 Eliza P. LIndsley
Harry A. Strong 28th March 1872
Darius Strong February the 12 1893. he was 81 years & ten month 12 days old
Thomas Doollttle died March the II, 1893 he was 75 years & 9 months old
Harriet Doollttle died February the 21st AD 1897. She was 93 years 4 months &
2 days old. Swet is the scene where virtue dies
James F. Doollttle died April the 9, 1849 aoed
Candlce Strong died Dec the 16, 1856 aged 73 years 6 M
Polly Strong Jan 25th 1844
Truman C Strong Jan the 13, 1820
Franklin P. Strong April the I, 1851 (1841)
- 69 -
%©
CIXXXXXXXXXDO
c J ■
CJ SEARCHING FOR FACTS
CXDCXXXXXDDCIXX
Seeking parents of SARAH REYNOLDS of
HIddleboro b (?) d 61824-39, need dates.
m 25 Dec 1777 MiCAH ASHLEY^ (Wm^, Jos')
Children: Anna m Smith; Betsey m
Ablal Rousevllle; Sarah m Mn. Booth;
Abiah m Gammons; Thankful m. Geo.
Cummings; Judith m Tyron; Aldea;
Lucy ffl Geo. Cummings; Mellnda; Parmela.
1st dau. named ANNA •* is there a family
bearing? Son named ALDEN - Why?
Micah d 1805 - where buried?
Sarah m 2nd Micah 's brother Noah^.
You who descend from Micah^ or Noah^
can you help?
MRS. BENJAMIN D. THOMAS (#8)
107 Hillside Rd., Franklin, Mass.
02038
Desire Information on AUGUSTUS .
FRANK(LIN) ASHLEY^ and family, b
29 July 1835 at Acushnet, Mass. son of
Marcus T.C. Ashley^ (Abraham^, Percl-
val^, Abraham^, Jos.') and Almira
(Potter) Ashley. Left Acushnet about
I860 for San Jose, Calif, m. Sarah
(Sallle) . Children: Charles Wm.
b 30 Dec 1868 (may have drowned in
reservoir about age 12); Clarence
Augustus b 1871 (last heard from In
Virginia City, Nevada 1890-92.
MRS. RAYMOND L. LANG (#7)
Washburn Rd., E. Freetown, Mass.
02717
HELP WANTED
DEXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX3
Staples Street CE^ETERY at CD
East Taunton, Mass. is badly Cj
in need of attention. Last
fall I discovered the graves
1
O
:i
ID
ID
CD
CD
ID
ID
ID
[D
D
□
ID
ID
□
H
CXXXXIDCDCXXXIDCrXIDa
n
THE HOUSE WHERE JOSEPH LIVED [
nacxxxxxx3cx3L3cx3Gn
The Rochester Historical Society Is at-
tempting to locate where ALL of Its
early settlers lived. On their 1754
town map It was decided to put JOSEPH
ASHLEY on the present Snipatult Road
a 1 1 tt I e north of where 1 1 crosses
SnIptuIt Brook. There are two old
houses still standing here but we have
no reason yet to believe that either Is
THE HOUSE. It Is believed the actual
house of JOSEPH (purchased from
Benjamin Burge In 1709*) was botween the
two standing. Working on assuTiptlon
and educated guesses, we have put the
house on a knot I where a new house was
recently raised.
Contributed by Hj?e. Judith Gumey
Roaheeter Hietorioal Society
^PLYMOUTH CX). DEEDS, Book 12, p 215
Benjamin Burge to Joseph Ashley both of
Roch. Mar 15, 1709/10 "for 30 pounds
current money of New England • • .ail
my whole lot of land I yet have In ye
Gore in Ye Twnp of Roch aforesaid being
In number the fifth & Is part of ye shar
share of land which at first did belong
to my honored father Joseph Burge dec. •
etc
Samuel Prince J.P
Witness: Abraham Ashley
Ichabod Burge
Peter Blackmer
(Note) Since Joseph tMa already living
in Roaheeter for acme 8 to 10 yre. it
is believed this woe second house he
bought. Eugene Ashley said Joseph first
settled at southern end of Sniptuit
Pond and lived later at foot of
Braley Hill.
Robert E. Ashley
XXDCXXDCXXDCXXDCDCDCDCDCXDCXXXX
of:
John Macomber^ (John^, John') b 1681 Taunton, Mass. and hie taife
Elizabeth Williams^ (Nathaniel^, Richard') b 1686
They were parents of Elizabeth (1715-1815) who m 2nd WILLIAM ASHLEY^
Both have large slate stones, still readable. Area overgrown & neglected.
If you are a descendant of WILLIAM and ELIZABETH (MACOMBER) ASHLEY, they
are your grandparents too. Do I have any offers of HELP with this
Project? pteaae oontaat: Mea. Benj* D. Thomae (08) FrcoikUn, Maaa, 02038
CXXDCXXXXXXXXXXXDCXD - 70* - . CTTTXDCDCDCXXXXXXDDCXXD
□
ooncixixxixD
□ C3 GENEmTION I ;
□ ANCESTOR TABLE 12 |. (Sara Id Ashley Cioop«r (#29) 1908- Tuscola Co;, Lansing
□ CD • Wheeler, Michigan
CHXXXIXXXX3 I. Floyd Leverne Cooper 1909-1914 Tuscola Co. Michigan
1. WNma Arltne (Cooper) Rolf (Mrs. Floyd) 1913-
Gen ; Kingston .&. Lansing, Michigan
II 2. Curtis Wm. Cooper, 1883-1948, Kingston, Lans I r^, Wheeler, Michigan
3. Florence Olive Ashley, 1887-1957, Highland, Kingston, Lansing, WheJ»ler, Mich.
Ill 4. James Cooper, 1845-1931, Grenvllle Co., Ont. Kingston, Pontiac, Michigan
5. Eiiza Kinch, 1848-1928, Grehvi I le Co., Ont. •• " "
: 6. Daniel Augustus Ashley, 1857-1948, Chatham, N.Y., Highland, Kingston, Mich.
7. Elizabeth Dobbs, 1861-1940, Clio, Highland, Kingston, Detroit, Mich.
IV 8. Robert Cooper, 1812*1889, Notttnghamshire, Eng., Grenvt I le Co. Ontario
9. Mdry Wright, 1816*1852, England, GrenvMIe Co., Ontario Canada
10. William Kinch, 1815*1886, Cork Co,, Irelancl, Grenvllle Co., Ontario
11. Rachel Shatford, 1815*61861, Canada, Augusta Twp., Grenvllle Co., dhtarlo
12. Alden Ashley Jr. 1821*1880, Chatham, N.Y., Highland, Isabella Co., Mich.
13. Cornelia Cornwell, 1826*18867, Chatham? N.Y., Highland, IsabeMa Co., Mich.
14. John J. Dobbs, 1821*1912, Lebanan, N.Y., Highland, Clio, Flint, Michigan
15. Lcuica eee«'nan, ca 1850*1864, Chatham? N.Y., Highland, Clio, Michigan
IS.
(Jooper
17.
18.
Wright
19.
20.
Kinch
21.
22.
Shatford
23.
24. Alden Ashley, 1763-1856; Chatham? Columbia County, New Yorit
25. Ruamah Green (7) 1789-1868, Mew Yoric State, Chatham, Oolumbta Co. N.Y.
26. Wilber Cornwell, 1799-1877, New Yorlc State, 1844-1870 in Highland, Mich.
27. Siiva Mosher, I80>I878, New York State, 1844-1870 in Highland, Mich.
28. Abraham Dobbs, ca 1796- after 1850. 1850 Census, in Stuyvesant, N.Y.
29.
30. Beeman
31
VI 48. Noah Ashley, 1747-1615, Mass, Dutchess Co., Rayville, Columbia Co., N.Y.
49. ^Rebecca Iteynolds, 1754-1822, Filkintown, Dutchess Co., Rayville, N.Y.
VII 96. **Jethro Ashley, 1706/7- , Rochester, Mass., Nine Partners, Dutchess Go.
97. »«E 11 zabeth Holmes, Rochester, Mass. " " ""N.Y.
98. *«»Nehemiah Reynolds, 1709 after 1759, Greenwich, Ct., Nine Partners, N.Y.
99. »»«Mary Palmer (?) Nine Partners, N.Y.
VIM 192. Joseph Ashlsy, settled in Ftochester, Mass. soon after 1700
193. Elizabeth Perclval, b 10 Sept 1675, Sandwich, Mass., Rochester, Mass.
R»f0renoa: * Amei'ioan Genaalogioal Indtx, VoU S» p. IIB, Aihtyy, Reheeoa
(Reynolda)
- 44 oii08 Mgmoridl^ p,. ^1, Bolnma Pamity of Mawahfield, Maae,
.*** John Reynolds. (teSQif UaUrtxMt, Maaa.t Qreenaieh, Conn,
by Mevion J?. R^ifJ^Mt 1924
■■■■■'■ ■ . ;•;. i x^y . •'. •, :.■,;.■ ■ , •;• . ■• ••
I -
7
h
M /^
PERSONAL NOTES
BEYOND LIFERS QKWUKf
flmr4^9 on eprni gatm at Hm &nd
of Urn road
through ^Moh oaoh must go alonos
And tharo^ in a XUfltt wo. oannot ooo^
Our Fathor olabm uio oians
Bogond the goto your lovod ono
Hndo happinooo and root^
And thoro io oomfort in Hio thouf/ht
That a Looing Ood knowe boot.
ROSS CHERRY, MonrcMvHIe, Ohio
passed away January 31, 1971 « Born
19 Octobar 1893 at MJIan, Ohto^ ha
waa tha son of Buford and Laura
Susan (Spltlar) Charry.* Ha Is
survlvad by hts wifa, llarjorla
(Loomts) Charry (#27)
MRS. ETHEL E. (ELLIOTT) ASHLEY, 73
of S. Oartnouth, wtfa of tha lata
Mannath V. Ashlay, diad 2 March^
197 U Bom 30 March 1897 at Taunlon
dau. of Frad Fitch and MInnfa Warran
(Hathaway) Elliott, rastdad mstly
at Naw Badford, Mssp. sarving as
organist for savaral churcha? thara.
Sha la survlvad by a dau. Mrs*
Josaphlna (Ash lay) Thayar of Nan-
tuckat, two sons, Kannath Valantlna
Ash I ay Jr« (#88) of Rochastar, Mass*
and Jaroma D* Ash I ay of Naw York City,
four grandch 1 1 dran and a graat grand*-
child.
OR. miSSEU BLAINJE BRAMBLE* 67, of
Auburn, Mash. dl«d 27 July 1970. H«
««M born 9 Jan. 1903 pt PhlMlpsbMrg,.
Mont, graduato of WSC and U< of Oregon
Madlcal School end praetlead wadlclno
for many yaars. He Is survived by his
wife Marjorie Arl«tt« (Morion)
Branble (#96)
ON YOU TOP THIS? - Sixth from Joseph
Ashley (I) and Ninth frosi the Mayflower
Mrs. Abby Amsden (#75) a new member,
now 90 years young, fs able to boost
of an ASHLEY GRANOMOTHER bom In 1790,
(rhBoikfUl AtKUff^, MoA^, Villim^,
Jo»^^i • maerUd Osoi^ Cumdngp)
Abby Is eldest of 4 children bom to
Jason and Eudora (Hood) Ludlow Cunmlngs.
She M. Fayette Amsden and had one dau-
ghter Dorothy (Amsden). Lynch with whom
she now resides. Abby Jane (Cummtngs)
Amsden traces her Mayflower ancestry
thru the Ashley I Ine from Ihemat Jtopexw^,
Jchn Bog&n^t fftiaobeM A09«m'« EHaar
betfc ffiltUm^t mmOmth Maoonbn^,
. Modk ABhUy^, IfiahkfUl Atht^f^, Jaacn
Cuming9^t AiAif Aamdlufi*
RECENT ELE(n'IONS:
L. Barry French (#9) (3ol lector of Taxes
at Freetown
Susan 0. Franch (#9) and Ethal K. Fullar
(137) Library Trustaaa at Fraatown
John Laonard (son of Paul Laonard (#3)
Lakavllla Salactmane (Has B.S. dagraa
from Comal I, graduata studlas In
soil chamlstry)
Susan He Ashlay, wlfa of salactman
Elton A. Ashlay, .narrowly dafaatad
: for school post of Acuahnat, MasSe
NE^VSPAPER NOTICE
t
Mrs. Clarence Garner (138)" writes that
• recent headlines In their local paper
stated - **L0CAL SALVATION ARMY IS
WILLED $800,000.*' This bequest was.
by Mrs. Jessie Ashley* widow. of
Harless Ashley (188*6-1964)7, Arthur
McKlnney Ashley^, Harless Ashley",
Loam! Ashley^, William^, ThomasS
Joseph' . It is said that these
Ashleys lived almost like hermits.
- 72 -
□OCXXXXXXIXXXJCIXX]
D
G AOdlTIONS AND CORRECTIONS
a ^ a
cxxxxxxxxxxxxancTTi
ADDITION TO - "HIGHWAY FROM PEAK ROCK TD QUITTACAS BROOK, Jan, 1971 BiHIetIn
' ContributBd ^ Mp9^ ^idith Oumay
Cemstery "B" (awp f». 34) almost lost. Few people in Rochester" {[K>u Id be able .to
locate tt. It Is hidden in the woods, off a trail across .the streei^ ffom-where I
live. Many "occupants'* believed inoved to Central Cematery oh North Avenue.
■ • ■
A Mendair lady lies alone with a deep hollow next to her wher^' someone , perhaps
her husband was moved away (perhaps by hfs 2nd wife). A marker for a Caleb Pierce
"Lost oh a passage from Charlestown to New York in 1812**, his parents and three
Shews. These 7 stones complete the cemetery. (List Identified in Rochester Vital
Records ^ 6.R. 6 of Pierce Cemetery.
A Hasltell femtly burying ground on the east side of road where It winds through
the Quittecas Ronds» oe a steep hill almost across from the Indian Burying Ground
could be added to the map. Oametery '*A" is believed to be a Braley Family C>em.
and while confusing' since there Is already one listedj. It is stit I possible
«
(X)RRECTiOM * Kap on page 34, January 1971 Bulletin
#4 should read '*Dr. Braley Cemetery** rather than Just **Bra ley Cemetery*** There
are two cemeteries by the above name and each on a road by the senie name. The
first is near the Rochester I Ine and the 2nd near that of New Bedford & Dartmouth.
♦ • : r
Page 9» October
Last paragraph, last word * Patience Perker was the daughter of HANNAH Ashley
Parker - not Harriet.
AOOITtOH - Attwtdees at First Reunion (page 25 Jan. 1971 Bulletin)
Madeline Ashley, Oighton, Mass; Vema Ashley, and Oebra Ashley, Berkley, Mass;
Edith A. WhitMin, Lakevllle, Mass; Roger WInslow Ashley, M.O., Attlebpro, Mass.
□CTTTTIXXXITTTTTTTTTTTTTXTTTTltaaCTTTTTTTD
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AUTOBIOGRAPHPf of
f^m
AUGUSTINE LUCAS SMITH^ (Harriet Aaliley^e Luther*^ J
' ''" Thomas^t Josmphi)
a
**DoB*t know as 1 have any very striking peculiarities. When* I was 21 I went
to Kansas, was there during the year of 1856. Was in. several skirmishes
with the Free State Men against the pro-^slavery party or border ruffians as
they were called. Was with Old John Brown in one raid. Worked tn the free
State Hotel on Ellsworth House when tt was burned end the Free State print-
ing offices were destroyed, the type thrown In the Kansas River. Helped
pick tt out ifnd mould it into cannon balls that we shot at (>oi'. Tttus ahd
his coi^pany, when we captured thepf. Have served on the Board of Education
of DesMoines 6 years, was a member of the city council from 1902-1906, have
followed contracting most of my life. Served as 3rd Seargent In (>o. C, 123
Regt., Ohio Volunteer Infantry tn the late rebel lion.**
tMO CAN H£LJI> with more rveent data on ills fanlty? Need h\'s death date. \
He and his wife Cynthia Lufehe Pttker had chitdrenj Bartha b 5 June 1861; ^
Charles b 22 March 1866 m Mary Bailey; Martin b 4 March 1870m tHI«a C.
GitMore. ANY CLUES on these children?
(§10) tmmr ABhU^ Spomta
flmoB* Ctmtaet
a
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- 73 -
;3CXDCX3CX3C3CXXXXX3CXXI]
:d (IEMBERship rollc:
:: C3
:XX3CX3aC3CXXX3CX][:X3C3CXl
CORRECT I ONS ;
#2 JOHN SHERMAN ASHLEY (9)
#14 EARL HUTCHISON ASHLEY Jr
#21 MERWIN FRANK ASHLEY
#34 ANN H. (ASHLEY) FILES (8)
ADDITION OF LINEAGE:
if 6 THEODORE CHACE ASHLEY (8)
Sorry, we omitted his wife, "Buzzy" Anna
(Johnson) Ashley
New Address: 22A West St., Laconia, N.H.
03246
Correct Lineage to: Frank Merwin ( )
Dr. John J. Jr. ( ) John Jay ( ) John (
(^rrect Lineage to: Same as #14
#8
#9
#12
#15
#16
#18
#20
#24
#29
#32
#35
#36
HELEN (GURNEY) THOMAS (9)
( two 1 1 nes )
and
SUSAN (ASHLEY) FRENCH (9)
ALONZO EVERETT ASHLEY (8)
and Marie (DeSimone)
Ashley
CKarl James Glfford Ashley (7) James Glfford
Jr. (6) James Gifford (5) Jethro (4)
Percival (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
CWarren C. Gurney (8) Sarah Imogene Bra ley
(7) Horatio A. Braley (6) Patience Parker
(5) Hannah Ashley (4) Percival (3)
Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
Warren C. Gurney (8) William A. Gurney (7)
Lucy P. Chace (6) Lucy Cummings (5)
Thankful Ashley (4) Micah (3) Wm.(2)Jos(l)
CTheodore Chace Ashley (8) balance same
as #63
CLouis Everett Ashley (7) James Thomas (6)
James M. (5) Thomas (4) Abraham (3)
William (2) Joseph (1)3
ELTON ELSBREY ASHLEY Sr (8)CHarry Elsbrey Ashley (7) James Emerson Jr.
& Alice (Sutcliffe) (6) James Emerson (5) Percival (4)
Ashley Percival (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
MRS. GRANVILLE J. ASHLEY Cson of John Ashley & Eliz. Harmon from
Tennessee3
MILDRED (ASHLEY) ASHLEY(8) [Herbert Wilmart Ashley (7) James Emerson
(Mrs. Karl J.) (7) Jr. (6) James Emerson (5) Percival (4)
(Husband was father of #6) Percival (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (I)
MARGUERITE ASHLEY (7) CSame as #133
RICHARD CHACE ASHLEY (8) [Same as #143
GERALD ASHLEY COOPER (8) [Florence 0. Ashley (7) Daniel A. (6)
Alden Jr. (5) Alden (4) Noah (3)
Jethro (2) Joseph (1)3
MRS. MARY (COCHRAN) ELLER (9) [Martha Ann Howe (8) John Howe (7)
(Mrs. Denver Lowell) Loemi Ahhiey Howe (6) Rheumilla
Ashley (5) Loami (4) William (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (1)3
MRS. CYNTHIA (ASHLEY) FOLLIS (9) [Ernest Alonzo Ashley (8) Alonzo
Gifford (7) Thomas J. (6) Abraham (5)
Thomas (4) Abraham (3) Wm. (2) Jos (1)3
MRS JUDITH (ASHLEY) FUGERE (8) [Robert Ellsworth Ashley (7) Balance
same as #l3
- 74 -
137 ETHEL (KITOER) FULLER (8J
(Mrs. William Eddy)
#38 CLARENCE GARNER (8)
139 MILDRED (ROUNSEVELL) GIFFORO (9)
(Mrs. Preston W.)
#44 ELOISE MARGARET (DAVIS) HARRER (
(Mrs. Holger J.)
#49 ARTHUR ASHLEY KINGSFORD (8)
#50 CARLETON LAINW(X)D KINGSFORD (7)
#51 MRS. CHARLES N. KINGSFORD (7)
(Dorothy Leigh)
#53 MRS ASENATH (ASHLEY) McCALL (7)
#54. . CORNELIUS H. O'BRIEN (9)
#55 JOHN S. O'BRIEN (9)
#56 JOSEPH ASHLEY O'BRIEN (9)
#57 THOMAS W. O^BRIEN (10)
#58 MRS. SHIRLEY (JOHNSTON) PARMALEE
#62 VIRGINIA (ASHLEY) SANTOS (9)
#63 MRS. ROSE ( COCHRAN )SH I LT (10)
#64 ARTHUR CLIFFORD STAPLES (7)
#65 MRS CLINTON (HAZEL) SMITH
#69 RUTH EVELYN (STAPLES) WHITE (7)
Mrs. Herbert Francis)
tEdf'th. Irons (7) Helen Hatheway (6)
Susan Hathaway (5) Elizabeth "Betsy"
, Hatheway (4) Ablah Ashley (3)
William (2) Joseph (1)]
CGrant (Jarner (7) Barbara Al len Sharp (6)
Sarah Ashley (5) Loam! (4) William (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (DH
CPhillp Rounsevell (8) Jane White (7) Sara
J. Nye (6) Sally Todd Ashley (5) Abraham (4)
Perclval (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
10) CKenneth Oniner Davis (9) Balance same
as #53
CCharles N. Kingsford (7) Arthur Ashley
Kingsford (6) Sarah Ashley (5) Noah
Jr (4) Noah (3) William (2) Jos. (1)3
CJohn Croad Kingsford (6) Sarah Ashley (5)
Noah Jr. (4) Noah (3) Wm. (2) Jos. (1)3
CArthur Ashley Kingsford (6) Sarah Ashley (5)
Noah Jr. (4) Noah (3) Wm. (2) Jos. (1)3
CJames G. Ashley Jr. (6) James G. (5)
. Jethro (4) Perclval (3) Abraham (2) Jos. (1)3
CMary Howe (8) John. E. Howe ji 7) Loam I
Ashley Howe (6) Rhetjmllla Ashley (5)
. Loami (4) William (3) Thos. (2) Jos. (1)3
CSame as #543
CSame as #543
Doseph Ashley O'Brien (9) balance same as #54]
(9) CRaymond Whltmore Johnston (8) Julia
Agnes Anderson (7) Mary Ann Wyman (6)
Ashley Wyman (5j Clarissa Ashley (4)
Thomas (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (1)3
CErnest Alonzo Ashley (8) Alonzo Gifford (7)
Thomas J. (6) Abraham (5) Thomas (4)
Abraham (3) William (2) Joseph (1)3
CHarold Ck}chran (9) Martha Ann Howe (8)
John Howe (7) Loami, Ashley Howe (6)
Rheumllia Ashley (5) Loami (4) William (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (1)3
CCharlie Gerry Staples (6) Sarah Ashley
Noah Jr (4) f^ah (3) Wm (2) Jos (l)J
CFrlend of the Asfileys,^. Mayflower Desc.
Francis Cooke - Stephen;iHopkins -
George Soule - Richard Warren3
CSame as #643
(5)
EXCHANGES
#154 SOULE KINDRED
PO Box 1 146, Duxbury, Mass. 02332
#135 GENE. FORUM OF PORTLAND OREGON, Inc.
Governor BIdg. Suit** 320, Portland, Oregon 97204
#136 GENEA103IC.-.L DEPT, NEW BEDFORD FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY
New Bedford, Mass. 02700
- 75 -
HEW MEMBERS
Member-
ship
No.
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
Q\
82
83
84
85
Name and Address
Lineage
72 MRS AMANTHA ASHLEY (ARNOLD)AKIN (9) [Helen Ashley Gammons (8) Amantha
103 Chancery St.
New Bedford, l^ss. 02740
SETH KELLEY AKIN (10)
340 S. Normandie Ave.
Los Angeles, Cal. 90005
RICHARD S. ALLEN (9)
1545 Dale St.
San Oiego, Caltf. 95822
Borden Ashley (7) John Sherman Jr. (6)
John Sherman (5) John (4) Percival (3)
Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
CAmantha Ashley Arnold (9) balance same
as #72]
CPercy MelviMe Allen (8) Charles Howard
Allen (7) Elisha GNman Allen (6) Alma
A. Ashley (5) Zebu Ion (4) Thomas (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (1)3
MRS AB6Y JANE (CUMMINGS) AMSOEN (6) Dason Cunmings (5) Thankful Ashley
518 Grand Ave. (4) Micah (3) William (2) Joseph (I)]
Pawtucket, R.I. 02861
ARTHUR NELSON ASHLEY (8)
362 Harvard St.
Cambridge, Mass. 02138
CALVIN LEWIS ASHLEY JR. (8)
Box 152
Salisbury, New York 13454
CHARLES J. ASHLEY (8) and
Newby (Parrish) Ashley
788 Fa I rv lew Ave.
Annapoi is, Md. 21403
CHARLES W. ASHLEY (8)
Mr. and Mrs.
183 Tamal Vista Dr.
San Rafael, Calif. 94901
CHESTER WINSLOW ASHLEY Jr (8) [Chester Winslow (7) Noah Earl (6) Earl
CDavid Peirce (7) Chester (6) David (5)
Luther (4) Noah (3) William (2) Jos. (1)3
CCalvin Lewis (7) Joseph Mylod (6) Calvin
(5) Luther (4) Noah (3) William (2)
Joseph (1)3
CCharles Hartwell Ashley (7) Charles Henry
(6) Thomas Henry (5) Thomas (4)
Abraham (3) William (2) Joseph (1)3
CCharles W. (7) William Lewis (6) Baxter (5)
Warden (4) James (3) Thomas (2) Jos.(i)3
h Shirley (Snellgrove)
Ashley, 6 Daggett Rd.
Attleboro, Mass 02703
DAVID PEIRCE ASHLEY (7)
and Al ice B ( ) Ashley
369 Foch Blvd.
Mineola, L.I. N.Y. 1 1501
MRS ED STONE ASHLEY (8)
(Amel ia Palmer)
165 Elm St.
S. Dartmouth, Mass 02748
EDNA H. ASHLEY
14 Brookwood St.
Glen Head, L.I. N.Y. 11545
HAROLD ALLEN ASHLEY (8)
87 Pleasant St.
Raynham, Mass. 02767
MRS. HAROLD ASHLEY (8)
15 Friend St.,
Tauntoa, Mass. 02780
Sears (5) Noah (4) Noah (3) William (2)
Joseph (1)3
CChester (6) David (5) Luther (4) Noah (3)
William (2) Joseph (1)3
[Arthur Stone (7) Silas Edmund (6) Silas
Pickens (5) Noah (4) Noah (3) William
(2) Joseph (1)3
CCharles Warren (7) Noah Williams (6) Abiel
Williams (5) Noah (4) Noah (3)
William (2)' Joseph (1)3
CHerbert Wi Imarth (7) James Emerson Jr (6)
James Emerson (5) Percivai (4)
Percival (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
- 76 -
ship
No.
86
87
89
90
91
92
95
94
95
96
97
99
100
Nawe and Address. .
IMROID C. ASHLEY (7)
272 m. PiMsant St.
Athoi, Mass.. 01331 AM)
ETH6L (H0LMMO> ASHLEY (7)
HAROLD C* ASHLEY and
Gaaa S. Ashley
I Crockar St.
S. Oartaouth, Nbss. 02748
MISS HELEN L. ASHLEY (7)
L443 N. Main St.
Acushnat, Mass 02743
JAMES OAVID ASHLEY (7) and
Theiaa Nata (FJerastad) Ashley
e08 E. 33rd St.
Sioux Falls, S. Oak. 57105
WtfU. J/MES ASHLEY Jr. (8) and .
Grace R. (Raradis) Ashley
182 Or. Braley Rd.
E. Freetown, Mass 02717
KET'NcTH H. ASHLEY
14 Reynolds Ave., Randolph, Mass
KF:JCTH valentine ASHLEY (8) and
Jane K ( > Ashley
LI
CCharles Henry (6) ThoMS Henry (9)
Thosas. (4) Abraham (3) Mi (2) Jos (1)3
CBally Martha Ashley (6) J
Thos (4) Abrahaii (3)
M. (5)
(2) Jos (1)3
CWI I i la
Milli
Crapo (6) Wi 1 1 lam A (5) Capt.
(4) Mi (3) Abrahaa (2) Jos (I)]
Marcus Prentis (5)
(3) Thos (2) Jos (1)3
#63
(6)
II
(6)
(3)
, 02368
Citenneth Valentine C7) Joseph Mylod
Calvin (5) Luther (4) Noeh (3)
C Wllliaa (2) Joseph (1)3
Rochester, Mass 02770
MILUM) GDMMO EASTER ASHLEY (8)
8 Sturdy St.
Attleboro, Mass. 02703
MISS NMCY ASHLEY (9)
165 El« St.
S. Oartaouth, Mass
PHILLIP C. ASHLEY ( )
RMBlla ( ) Ashley
1212 Flint Hill Road, NllMlngton, Del. 19008
ROGER PATTON ASHLEY (7) and C^BTcy Al Ian Ashley (6)
Mm^ UMlse (Oonrad) Ashley Bonn (4) Enoch (3) Thos
31 Birch Rood, S
Springfield, Ohio 45503
IflNSLOH ASHLEY (9) and QChester Mlnslow Jr (8) Chester Wlnslow
02743
and
CEduerd Gay (7) Millard Flli
Calvin (5) Luther (4) Noeh
Nil lias (2) Joseph (1)3
CEdMmd Stone (8) Arthur Stone (7)
Silas EdMind (6) Sties Picltens (5)
Noah (4) Noeh (3) Mi 1 1 las (2) Jos.
(1)3
Allen (5)
(2) Jos (1)3
: • ^ z :
Berbers Olane (Staples) Ashley
15 Prince St.
Attleboro, Mks 02703
NtS. PAMELA (REISQ)) BEAULIEU (10)
2430 Riverside Ave.
SoMrset, Mass. 02726
OTTO H. BLAMCENSHIP (8)
109 W. Sixth St., Pratt, Ks. 67124
MMUGRIE ARLETTE (NORTON) BRAJ^LE (8)
(Mrs. R. B.)
Auburn, Mash. 98002
(7) Noah Earl (6) Carl
Noah (4) Noah (3) Milii
(5)
(2) Jos
(1)3
CDorotfty Asniey (9) Harold (8) harb»rt
Ni Inarth (7) JaMs Ennrson Jr (6)
James Eaarson (5) Parclval (4)
Percival (3) Abraham (2) Joseph ( I ) J
CSaae as #453
CPercy Frederick Morton (7) Ella
Arlette Hatch (6) Avallne Ashley (5)
George Mishii^ton .(4) Ml 1 1 Ian (3)
(2) Joseph (1)3
T? -
,-^
Member*
ship
No,
101
102
103
(04
105
106
107
108
109
110
III
112
113
114
113
116
il7
Name and Address
L I neage
MRS. ROSAMOND A. EMERSON
LyndonvMIe, Vt. 05851
KENNETH C. FOLEY
Rt. 2 Box 395
Monroe, Washington 98272
IDA BELLE (BLANKENSHIP) GAUT
(Mrs. Guy Robert)
4522 West Greenway Rd.
Glendate, Ariz. 85301
2ELMA (MORGAN) HOY (9)
(Mrs. Al l6nT
RR 2, Box 16
Adel, Iowa .50003
MR & MRS LOWELL ED HOY (10)
6134 N. Winchester
Chicago, III. 60626
GWENDOLYN (PATTON) INMAN (9)
(Mrs. Gerald 0.)
Daven port , I owa 52803
CFrlend of the Ashleys3
CSame as #453
CGrace Davis Morgan (8) Joanna Gertrude
Ashley (7) William Martin (6) Joel
Loami (5) Elisha (4) William (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (1)3
CZelma Morgan (9) Balance same as )fl043
[Ethel Morse (8) Elbridge E. Morse (7)
Adeline Spooner (6) Hannah Parker (5)
Hannah Ashley (4) Perciyal (3)
Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
CWilliam Gardiner (7) Wallace S (6)
Simeon (5) Abraham (4) Percival (3)
Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
CAIIce Ashley (7) John Sherman Jr (6)
John Sherman (5) John (4) Percival
Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
(3)
MILDRED (ASHLEY) KARL (8)
(Mrs. Roger T.)
55 Elm Ave.
Falrhaven, Mass. 02719
MARGARET ANN (O'BRIEN) KLEEHAMMER (10) CJohn S. O'Brien (9) Balance
(Mrs. John) same as #553
34 Paddy Hill Circle
Rochester, N.Y. 14616
RUTH EILEEN (STEVENS) LEFKOWITZ (9) CEdna Pauline Biankenship (8)
(Mrs. Sol) Balance same as #453
4522 W. Greenway Rd.
Glendale, Ariz. 85301
MARION (HEWIN) LEONARD (8)
(Mrs. Luke)
How I and Rd.
Lakeville, Mass. 02346
MARY G. (ASHLEY) MARKIS (8)
(Mrs. John A.)
1612 Prospect St,
Springfield, Ohio 45503
MRS LILLIAN (ASHLEY) McGRATH (8) CWilMam Gardiner (7) Wallace S (6)
51 Lake View Dr. Simeon (5) Abraham (4) Percival (3)
S. Gardner,, Mass. 01440 -..Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
MICHIGAN STATE LIBRARY
10861 N. Mason Rd., Wheeler, Mich. 48662
WALTER V. MILLER [Historian, Co. of Columbia, N.Y. 3
Germantown, New York 12526
KENNETH H. OAKLEY [Friend of the Ashleys3
24 Reynolds Ave. Randolph, Mass 02368
JOHN S. O'BRIEN Jr. (10) [John S. O'Brien (9) Balance same as #553
7310 Cujon Dr., Dayton Obio 45431
MARGARETTA M. (DOCKSTADER) PLEWE [Joanna Gertrude Ashley (7) William
(Mrs. H.L.) Martin (6) Joel Laomi (5) Elisha (4)
3911 S.W, 9th St. William (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (1)3
DesMolnes, Iowa 50315
[Charles Wilcoxson (7) William Lewis (6)
Baxter (5) Warden (4) James (3)
Thon.&6 (2) Joseph (1)3
- 78 -
Member
ship
No.
lie
119
120
121
122
»
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
Name and address
I I neage
CHarold Ashley (8) Herbert Wllroarth.C?)
James Emerson Jr. (6) James Emerson (5)
Perclval (4) Percl.val (3) Abraham (2)
Joseph (t)D
COorothy Ashley (9). Balance same as #1183
DOROTHY (ASHLEY) REISER (9)
and Elmer J. Reiser
211 Mohawk Rd.
Somerset, Mass. 02726
RONALD J. REISER (10)
117 Lynne Dr. Beaver Falls, Pa 15010
ROCHESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY INC. . •
North Ave., Rochester, Mass. 02770
MARJORIE (ROBINSON) SHOEMAKER (9) QOreal Fay Oockstader (8) Joanna Gertrude
(Mrs. George K.) Ashley (7) Wm. Martin (6) Joel Laomi (5)
703 Apache Dr. • Elisha (4) William (3) Thos. (2) Jos. (I)]
. Independence, Mo. 64056
RUTH (ASHLEY) SOKOL, Mrs. J.K.(8) CSame as #10]
2604 Simpson St., Evanston, 1 1 1 60202
HARRIET (ASHLEY) SOUZE (Mrs. Gilbert)
1745 Cot-'nty St., E. Taunton, Mass -02718
MISS EOMA SOWLE CFrlend of the Ash leys]
89 Wilbur Ave., N, Dartmouth, Mass. 02747
LOUISE (PICKENS) TANNER (8)
(Mrs. F..W,)
921 Lincoln Circle
Winter Park, Florida 32789 ^
MRS NANCY (LEONARD) THURSTON (9)
Box 317, Rt. I,
Half. Moon Bay, Calif. 94019
MRS MOLLY NYE (GAMMONS) TOBEY (8)
Rums tick Road
Barrington, R.I. 02806
MR. 4 MRS HARVEY VERSAILLES
PO Box 6, Nash Hill Rd.
Wll liamsburg. Mass 01096
MRS. CHARLES WALORON (8)
123 Davenport St.
Taunton, Macs 02780
HOWARD WENTWORTH WESTFIELD and
Irene O^adley) Westfield
82 Water St., Rehobath, Mass.
ROBERT L. WESTFIELD
592 North Rd., Sudbury, Mass.
MRS. CAROLYN WHITE
15 Friend St., Taunton, Mass.
EARL ASHLEY WOOD (8)
1923 Custer,
Laramie, Wyo. 82070
CJohn Ashley Pickens. (7) Clementine Level ia
Ashley (6) Silas Pickens (5) Noah (4)
Noah (3) William (2) Joseph (I)]
CPaul Leonard (8) Balance same as #3U
EAmentha Borden Ashley (7) John Sherman
Jr. (6) John Sherman (5) John (4)
Perclval (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
CFrlend of the Ashleys- Beth Is Cert. Gen.
Author of. Hathaway § of AmerlcaU
[Jane White (7) Sara J Nye (6) Sally
Todd Ashley (5) Abraham (4) Perclval (3)
Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
02767
01776
02788 y,;.. .
CJennle May Ashley. (7 t Henry OavJs (6)
Calvin (5) Luther (4) Noah (3)
William (2). Joseph (1)3
•I •
ft
ft
ft
ftftft.ftft.ftftftftfti(tftftftftftftftftftftftftftftkftftftf'ftftftftftftftft«
NOTICE JUST RECEIVED that on March 19, 1971 ANNA HELENA (W I LHELM) hteMASTERS
age 96, died at Toledo, Ohio. Born 22 June 1876 at Peru ' Townsh I p , Huron Co.
Ohio, daughter of Louis and. Barbara (Schonacker) Wi IheJm, marrl6d to the.
late Dennis McMasters', interred at Steuben Cemetery, Greenfield Twp, Huron
Qo, Ohio. She Is survived by one daughter, Frances (McMasters) Martin (#52)
two grandsons and five great grandchildren. . ^; '/
ft ft" ft^ ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ft ^
ftftftftftftftftft^. ftft. ftftft^ftftftftftft
ft
ft
ft
ft
ft
ft
ft
ft
ft
79 -
» •
•
^^SUL
LIBRARY
AUG 12 1974
0? AUiBiCA
Vol. I No. 4
QUARTERLY NEWS BULLETIN
July 1971
ANNOUNCING
OUR
SECOND REUNION
AU6UST 2S and 29, 1971
at the
GOVERNOR CARVER MOTOR INN
Plymouth, Massachusetts
(S«0 dttaiU inHdm)
ASHLEY FAMILY ASSOCIATION
Organized August 29, 1970
OFFICERS
President — - Robert E. Ashley
1st Vice President John S. Ashley
2nd Vice President Paul C* Leonard
3rd Vice President Bradford F, Swan
Secretary * - - - - - -Kenneth and Marie Davis
Treasurer — -- -•- Pauline Ashley
Publications Committee - - - Doris Ashley Land
Helen Gurney Thomas
Susan Ashley French
News Bulletin Editor — Esther Ashley Spousta
MEMBERSHIP
Anyone Interested In the coHoctlont preservation and
publishing of matorlal about the Ashley Family of America
CXI3C3CXXZXXXXXXXXXIXXIXIXXXXXXXXXXI3CXXIX:n
KNOW YOUR PRESIDENT
ROBERT ELLSWORTH ASHLEY, son of Oscar and Ruth Ann (Hasklns) Ashley was
born In Brockton, Massachusetts, on August 29th, In a house that was at
the exact Junction of the present Fall River Expressway and Pleasant St.
His father died when he was but four months old and he was brought up by
his mother and three elder sisters.
12 He was a commercial photographer until 1956 when he became an instructor
of photography at Franklin Institute of Boston. He Is now Professor and
head of the Department of Photography at Franklin Institute.
He is Interested In Archaeology, Genealogy and Colonial History, Is a mem*
ber of 12 historical societies, 6 professional societies including American
Association of University Professors and Society of Photograph Is Scientists
and Engineers.
On January 29, 1941 he married Elizabeth CusWng, daughter of Alberto Henry
and Emily Elizabeth (Holmes) Gushing. She Is a direct descendant of Mathew
Gushing who came to Hingham, Mass. in 1638, a 3rd cousin four times removed
of Abraham Lincoln, has 9 Mayflower ancestors, and after 25 years of .,
marriage it was discovered that she and her husband were fifth cousins
through Glifton and Deliverance Booles.
They have one daughter, Judith Elizabeth who married Kenneth Fugere. She
Is a first grade teacher and her husband Is In the pleasure boat business.
They reside In Barrlngton, Rhode Island.
The leadership ability of our president Is self evident by his instigation
and help in organizing Ash leys of America and his guidance through our first
year. We all appreciate you. Bob — and THANK YOU !
n
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cxxxxx3cxxxnrxxxx3cxxxac:3r.X3nnci:ix3cx3cxDC3cxxDCX3ciii::
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
- #
From 1^
Editor' 8
Desk " '
Your editor Is eagerly
awaiting August when she
hopes to meet many of you
who have made this publi-
cation possible through
your contributions.
Since Uncle Sam has
Increased the postage
again, may i suggest
each of you bring with
you clippings, letters,
or other material of
Interest to all Ash leys
for future News Bu 1 1 e-
tlns. All material
wi II be returned If
requested .
See you in August !
Sethgr AahUy Spouata,
Sditor
PO Box 321
Rogers, Ark. 72766
Cover
Back
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98
July 1971
Vol. I, No. 4
CONTENTS
KNOW YOUR PRESIDENT
PROGRAM - Second Reunion
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
ETYMOLOGY OF SURNWES - Ashley
PIONEER DAYS - Marcus Prentiss Ashley'
LEADER OF THE BAND - Lemuel Ashley^
MAYFLOWER CONNECTIONS - Two I Ines
of Generation One become Single
Ashley Line, Generation Two
REFERENCE MATERIAL
ANCESTOR TABLE - Clarence Raymond
Gamer (138) and Mildred Ashley
(King) Dickey (#31)
CORRECTIONS
ADDITIONS
PERSONAL NOTES
OBITUARIES
MEMBERSHIP ROLL
I
News Bulletin published Quarterly, January, April, July & October
Free copy with each membership. Extra copies $2.00 each.
- 80 -
PROGRAM
SECOND REUNION - ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
August 28 & 29, 1971
The Governor Carver Motor Inn, Plymouth, Mass.
(Formerly the Holiday Inn)
AUGUST 28 - Saturday
9 to 10 A.M. Registration - $1.00 per family group
Coffee Hour - Come early - chat with your cousins - look
over many displays of photographs, clippings, maps,
charts, & ether Ashley memorabilia on display In the
Banquet Room
10 to 11:30 A.M. Business meeting - followed by short talks by several
cousins on interesting Ashley sidelights. Have your
questions ready.
11:30 A.M.
12:30 Noon
2:00 P.M.
Even I ng
AUGUST 29 - Sunday
Morning
Afternoon
Group photograph In front of Inn. - Copies will be made
available of both this and last year*s groups.
Luncheon - New England Style - Seating capacity 175
(Menu on Reservation Fonn)
Bradford F. Swan climbs Mount Everest
SI ides and lecture
Group discussions or moonlight cruise
Open for Church or Sightseeing
Meet at Plymouth Rock for group tours
Motorcade throu North Rochester and Freetown If sufficient
advance reservations are made.
if^bM
0##
Send In your reservations
NgW on the forms enclosed so as not
to be disappointed !!!!!!
REMEMBER:
Room reservations are sent direct to Motor Inn
Luncheon reservations are sent to R. E. Ashley
- 81 -
As the time for^our second reunion nears.
It hardly seems possible that a whole
year has passed since those wonderful
two days last August. Our membership
has more than doubled, we have acquired
a fine editor for our excellent News
Bulletin, a healthy treasury, several
more hard working genealogists, and
most of all a great deal of new Informa-
tion, sent In from various sources, for
which we are deeply grateful.
Now about our coming meeting. We will be meeting at the Governor Carver Motor
Inn, at Plymouth, Massachusetts during the 350th celebration year of the land-
ing of our Pilgrim Ancestors, and at the height of the tourist season.
Therefore, I am constantly warned that early reservations are In order to avoid
disappointment. Please make all ROOM RESERVATIONS direct with the Motor Inn
as per the pink card enclosed. Should you not get In at the Governor Carver
Motor Inn, the Governor Bradford Motor Inn (owned and operated by same people
as the Governor Carver, and which has substantially the same accommodations
at a wider variety of rates) Is only three blocks away. Both are air conditioned
Rates: Gov. Carver - Singles $24 Doubles $30
Gov. Bradford - Singles $l8-$30 Doubles $22 - $30
(Higher rates overlook the harbor)
Campers will be pleased to hear that the new Indian Head Resort of Plymouth
Is now open and Is located about 12 miles south on Route 3-A.
Advance Registration and Luncheon Reservations should be sent directly to me
on the enclosed REGISTRATION FORM. The seating for the luncheon Is limited to
175 and I urge you to send your reservations In early. Reservations with
checks will be accepted In order received. Cousins mailing In reservations
after reaching the 175 limit will have checks returned. Lunch will be available
for the overflow In the adjacent "Hungry Pilgrim" restaurant - order from menu.
Our speaker Saturday afternoon will be our Third Vice President, Bradford Swan,
Drama and Art Editor of the prestigious "Providence Journal - Bulletin", and
an active member and writer for the Appalachian Mountain Club. Late last fall
he went to Nepal as a member of a team to cl Imb Mount Everest. Although Brad
was not one of those who reached the summit, he came so close as to make little
difference. Brad has slides and a lecture that we are all looking forward to
seeing and hearing. After this you will agree that some of the Ash leys really
"get around".
Saturday evening plans are still indefinite. Some have suggested leaving the
evening open for Informal groups and discussions. Another suggestion is to
have a moonlight cruise on the new 72* Diesel "Islander". We would welcome
your opinions and suggestions.
Sunday morning Is open for church or sightseeing. "Old First" the Church of
the Pilgrim Fathers is the stone church directly In back of the Motor Inn.
Be sure to visit Burial Hill for a spectacular view of Plymouth Harbor and to
examine the many quaint gravestones. On a clear day you can see Provincetown.
- 82 -
Sunday afternoon we plan to meet at Plymouth Rock for group tours. Mayflower M,
Mayflower Society House, built 1754 by Edward WInslow, grandson of the Pilgrim
Governor (who was a half first cousin to wife of the first Abraham Ashley), the
Sacophagus on Co(e*s Hill where at least one of our Mayflower ancestors, William
White is burled then if your feet hold out, there Is the Pilgrim Wax Museum,
Pilgrim Halt, etc. etc.
And/or - If you so desire - we can arrange a motorcade through North Rochester and
Freetown to visit graves and homesltes of the first Ashteys. Please write me
If interested.
We have arranged with the Plymouth Chamber of Conwnerce to mall each of you a
packet of Plymouth literature Including a map of Plymouth. The Governor Carver
Is about opposite the Sparrow House. The Governor Bradford Is on Water Street
In back of the Mayflower Society House.
f^MEKBER: Room Reservations - direct to Motor Inn
Iteglstratlon & Lunchoon Reservations - direct to me.
Looking forward to greeting you all.
Robert E. Ashley, President
68 Spring HIM Ave.
Brldgowater, Mass. 02324
Those arriving on Friday, August 27th, may bo Interested In THE PILGRIM
PROGRESS, Instituted by the Town of Flvrrouth In 1921 in honor of Its Pilgrim
founders, and which takes place every Frldpy at 5 o'clock. Each marcher
represents ooeof the Pil.GRIMS, man, woman, or child, who survived the rigors
of the first winter. The line of march leads up the first street (Leyden St.)
to the site of the Fort on Burial Hill, where the Pilgrims met for worship.
Of the fifty-one marchers the following persons represented have descendants
in Ashleys of America:
Elder Brewster - about 54 years old - one of the -
leaders of the Pilgrims In Scrooby & Leyden
John Howland - about 27 - servant In Carver
household. Married Elizabeth Tlltey
Francis Cook - about 38 - wife came over
In the Anne - many children
John Cook - his son about 13 years old
Mrs. Mary Brewster - about 50
Love Brewster - a boy about 9
Elizabeth Til ley — Richard Warren - Mrs. Susanna Whir-
Tp'wivqd White and George Soule _
ETYtlOiaGY OF SURMAflES
ASH - LEIGH - A lea or field abounding In Ash Trees
Upon receipt of data covering surnames from Mrs. Amantha Akin (#72), It
prompted your editor to combine this Information with other material received
and In file to briefly cover this subject.
Primitive personal names doubtless originated soon after the Invention of
spoken language, although the date of their first use Is lost In the darkness of
ages preceding recorded history. For thpusands of years thereafter, first or
given names were the only designations that men and women bore, and In the dawn
of historic times, when the world was less croweded than It Is today and every
man knew his neighbor, one title of address was sufficient.
Only gradually, with the passing centuries and the Increasing complexity of
civilized society, did a need arise for more specific designations. While the
roots of our system of family names may be traced back to early civilized times,
actually the hereditary surname as we know It today dates from a time scarcely
earlier than 900 years ago.
As early as Biblical times certain distinguishing appelatlons were occasion-
ally employed In addition to the given name; e.g. Joshua the son of Nun, or
Simon the Son of Jonas, or Judas of Galilee.
In ancient Greece daughters were named after their fathers, as Chrysels,
the daughter of Chryses; and sons* names were usually an enlarged form of the
father's, as HIeronymus, son of Hiero.
The Romans, with the rise of their civilization met the need for hereditary
designations by inventing a complex system whereby every patrician traced his
descent by taking several names. None of them, however, exactly corresponded to
surnames as we know them, for the "clan name", although hereditary, was given
also to slaves and other dependents. This system proved to be but a temporary
Innovation; the overthrow of the Western Empire by barbarian Invaders brought
about Its end and a reversion to the primitive custom of a single name.
The ancient Scandinavians and for the most part the Germans, had only In-
dividual names, and there were no family names, strictly speaking, among the
Celts. But as family and tribal groups grew In size, individual names became
inadequate and the need for supplementary appellations began to be felt. Among
the first employed were such terms as "the strong", "the hardy", "the stern",
"the dreadful in battle" and the nations of northern Europe soon adopted the
practice of adding the father's name to the son's, as Oscar, son of Carnuth, etc.
True surnames. In the sense of hereditary designation, date In England from
about the year 1000. Largely they were Introduced In Normandy, although there
are records of Saxon surnames prior to the Norman Conquest. Perhaps the oldest
known surname In England Is that of Hwlta Hatte, a keeper of bees, whose daugh-
ter was Tate Hatte.
By the end of the twelfth century hereditary n^^s had become commin In
England. But even by 1465 they were not universal. During the reign of
Edward V a law was passed to compel certain Irish Outlaws to adopt surnames:
"They shall take unto them a Surname, either of scfme Town, or some Colour, as
Blacke or Brown, or some Art or Science, as Smyth pr Carpenter, or some office
■ V - 84 - \
as Cooke or Butler". And as iate as the beginning of the ninteenth centruy a
similar decree compelled Jews In Germany and Austria to add a German surname to
the single names which they had previously used.
^4ost surnames may be divided Into four general classes according to their
origin. One of the largest of these classes Is that comprising surnames derived
from the given name of the father. Such names were formed by means of an added
prefix or suffix denoting either "son of" or a diminutive. English names termin-
ating In son^, ing, and kin are of this type as are also the innumerable names
prefixed with the Gaelic Mac, the Norman Fitz, the Welsh a£, and the Irish 0^.
Thus John^s sons became Johnsons; or Net 1 1 's sons became MacNellls, or Herberts
sons became FitzHerberts, or Rellly*s sons became O'Reillys, etc.
The second class are those arising from some bodily or personal characteris-
tic of their first bearer, apparently grew out of what were in the first instance
nicknames. Thus Peter the strong became "Peter Strong", or Roger of small stature
became "Roger Little" or "i^oger Small", etc.
A third class and perhaps the largest of all. Is that comprising local
surnames - names derived from and originally designating the place of residence
of the bearer. Such names were popular In France at an early date and were intro-
duced into England by the Normans, many of whom were known by the titles of their
estates. The surnames adopted by the nobility were mainly of this type being used
with the particles de, de la, or del (meaning of, or of the). The Saxon equivalent
was the word atte (at the) employed In such names as John Atte Brook, etc. A
vestige of this usage survives In the names Atwell, Atwood, etc.
While England enjoyed a period of comparative peace under Edward the Confessor,
a fourth class of surnames arose, names derived from occupation. The earliest of
these seem to have been official names such as Bishop, Mayor, etc. Trade and craft
names, although of the same general type, were of somewhat later origin. Currier
was a dresser of skins, Webster a weaver, Taylor, Barber, etc.
The name ASHLEY is believed to be derived from the third class - from the
residence of Its first bearers at a place of that name in England. It Is found
on ancient records in the various spellings of Aslegh, Asseley, Assele, Asslegh,
Asseleghe, Asshelegh, Ashlee, Ashleye, Ashlie, Ashly, Ashley, and numerous others,
of which the form last mentioned is that most generally used in America today.
Families of this name were to be found at early dates In the English counties
of Devon, Dorset, Chester, Norfolk, Suffolk, Warwick, Somerset, Northampton, LIcester,
Bedford and London, and were, for the most part, of the landed gentry and nobility
of Great Britain. The given names often found In the 13th Centruy are Thomas,
Robert, John, Henry, and Walter.
In Saxon lelgh, ley or lea signifies uncultivated grounds, a wood or clearing
In wood and in later times a meadow. Therefore It Is assumed that ASHLEY means
a lea or field abounding In Ash trees.
Elsdon C. Smith states Smith to be the most common name, Johnson second,
Williams third. Brown fourth and Ashley is ranked as 883.
Bibliographg: Bardaley - Engliah A Welsh Sutncmea; Finlayaan - SumameB & SivemamBSi
GruesB - Chats on Chriatian Vamea; Harriaon - Sumamaa of the United Kingdom;
Bughea - Ameriocat Anoeatry; Holmea - Direotoiy of Anceatral Heada of N.E. Familiaas
Lower - Diotionary of Family Namea; Smith - Amavican Sumamaa s Encyolopedia
Americana^ and othera.
- 85 -
%
PIONEER DAYS ,
MARCUS PRENTISS ASHLEY^
(Beman-Enoch-Thomas- Joseph )
HEEDS THE CALL OF THE
HI
^ Tl^Xcrfurniehsdlyy his grccndeon Jcome David Ashley
The following letters, the originals being In my possession, tell a chapter of
western migration. This first letter was penned by Marcus P. Ashley to his
family from Wlsonsln where six years later he moved his family from Medina, Ohio.
(Coincidental ly my daughter Joyce now teaches at Madison, Dane County, Wtsc.)
Mi Iwaukee
July 25, 1847
"I have arrived at this port safe. I saw Mr, Morton's folks only a
few minutes. They were all well. They are In a fine place, a beauti*
ful country. The Indians are plenty there.
I shall start for Jaynesvl I le at 7:00 in the morning by stage. I am
fine as silk. George Sibley Is here at this place. I had a hard time
on Lake Huron, a yery strong wind ahead on Lake Erie. We were struck
by a squall and almost upset. On Lake St. Clair we ran aground and
were stuck past an hour.
This Is all at present, hoping that all are well and cozy.**
At 7 o'clock P.M.
Arrived at 5:00 P.M.
Yours,
M. P. Ashley
Marcus P. Ashley, a cabinet maker by trade, turned farmer and left the woods of
Wisconsin for more open Iowa land In another land^seeklng expedition In advance
of his family of five. This second letter was written In pencil from north
central Iowa to his wife.
(
June 10, 1866
Boons Station
Mrs. Hannah Ashley
I am at Boonborough and all right. Wagoner and myself left the wagons at
Fort Dodge, Alty left Thursday morning and I on Friday. Tomorrow I start
for Monro Co. to look farther South. I can buy all the land that the whole
town wants from 2.25 to ten dollars per acre. 2.25 to six is the common
price for wild land within 2 to 5 miles from timber. Timber 15 to 35 an
acre.
I expect to be to Demolns tomorrow night, then I shall go to Monro Co.
I hear that land Is better and more timber and Just as cheap. So you see
that they say, land-looking Is Just like everything else, there Is some-
thing better ahead* I shall be home next week unless I go to Missouri.
(ContinuBd next page)
- 86 -
I shall try to see H.D. If I can. *Alty went to Ft« Dodge with me and
then went back*
Yours M.P.A*
Tell Genevra that there are lots of strawberries here and flowers and
lots of fish In the rivers. Thursday rained all day. Thunder and
lightning and rain all night. This is all that I think of now.
Father Ashley
*Alty no doubt refers to James Alton, his younger son, who was 24 at the time.
Since my grandfather had passed on 25 years before I was born, and my father,
(referred to as Alty above) died when I was but 14, the following excerpts from
obituaries help to recreate the migration to the west of my forebears.
From the RBPUBLICAN^ EauHXPden^ Icwa^ Man 2^ 1907
**GRANOMA*' ASHLEY GONE - Hannah Maria Ashley, more familiarly known as "Grandma**
Ashley . . . died • . . April 28, 1907. . . Hannah Maria Henry was born in
Onondaga County (Eagle Village) New York, April 10, 1820. Left without a mother
at the age of 5 years she was taken into the family of her mother *s brother
( 'Gardner) where she grew up till about 14 years old. When following her
father's family she emigrated to the state of Ohio, when she chose her elder
brother's protection and with his family made her home till the age of 20 when
she united In marriage to Marcus Prentiss Ashley of Miedina, Ohio, where they
resided till the spring of 1850. Her husband then having caught the western
fever they gathered together their little personal effects and with their two
boys and one girl made their way to Wisconsin where they settled among the
scattering oaks and marshes of Dane Co., 18 miles east of the capital city.
Here they continued to reside till the fall of 1866 when they sold their home and
In a covered wagon with a young daughter born to them In 1856 started for the
broad prairies of fair Iowa finding a home upon the open sea of waving grass in
the county of Grundy, camping on the open prairie from some time In the month of
November till lumber could be hauled a distance of 20 miles and a house erected.
Her life of house wife was completed In the year of 1879 upon the death of her
husband .... Before passing to her eternal home she bore the distinction of
the last survivor of the seventh generation of Gardners, descendants of George
Gardner, who settled In the state of Rhode Island during the old Colonial days.
Pram a Bawardsn Net)epaper
J. A. ASHLEY PASSES AWAY AFTER LONG ILLNESS - Came to Hawarden In its Infancy
and helped lay foundation for Its progress. James Alton Ashley • . . passed
away Saturday evening (1916) . . . was the son of Marcus P. and Hannah M. Ashley
and was born at Medina, Ohio May 26, 1842. At the age of ten he moved with his
parents to Waterloo, Wis. His father was a cabinet maker by trade and at an
early age James became an apprentice and was soon as proficient at the trade as
his father. Later his parents moved to Relnbeck, Iowa and located on a farm
near there In the year 1882 when the Northwestern railway was being
extended to Hawarden, he decided to locate here. He was made the local repre-
sentative of the Western Town Lot Co., an auxiliary organ I zst ion to the
Northwestern Railway Co. and was given full charge of their interests here.
(continued on page 101)
- 87 -
LEADEH OF THE 3AWD
L EMU EL A S H L E Y 3
(Thomas - Joseph)
Copy of article dated Movember 8, 1898,
presumably from a Barnard, Vermont Newspaper
(date! ine missing)
Contributed by: Gardner Pierce Ashley (#140)
BARNARD'S ONLY BRASS BAND: LOOKING BACKWARD
uuiiuel Ashley came to Barnard from Shaftsbury, Mass., in 1781 and settled
on what Is now called Ashley hill. More than one hundred years ogo this hardy
pioneer founded a family that afterwards became famous as musicians. The old
farm descended to his soh, Lemuel, and from him to his son Joseph Jackson, whose
family are still owners; so for more than a century the hill has remained In the
hands of the Ash leys.
Joseph Jackson Ashley was born in 1808, was a carpenter by trade and for
some years worked in the city of Steshua, N. H., where he marrlod and became
quite a noted citizen. His natural talent for music was cultivated to some
extent and he became a member of a brass band and a proficient player, both ^
with violin and bugle. While yet a young man of thirty-six he C3ne back to
Barnard and bought the old fann of his brother, James M., working part of the
time at his trade. He built the present residence of W. C. Danforth, which
has stood the test of more than fifty years and will still compare with modern
houses of recent date. Jack, as he was familiarly called, being the oldest
of his father's children {had tDo older sisters) who were all born musicians,
somewhere in the 40's organized and became the teacher of a brass band In
Barnard with headquarters on Ashley hill. The nucleus of this cor.ipiny Mere the
four Ash leys. Jack, Madison, Caleb and A I den, the only living sonss or Uncle Lem.
Added to these were the two Pelrce boys, Isaac and Ban I ah, who were adjoining
neighbors, and Thomas Wright, who lived on the creek road and ownod the original
Wright homestead where old Deacon Thomas Wright, his grandfather, waf5 captured
by the Indians in 1780 and carried a prisoner into Canada. This band first be-
gan to play for Its own amusement, but this being in the days of militia muster
and trainings, their services were always In good demand, not only for military
drills but for all great political gatherings.
I am more particular in describing this company because it was the first,
the last, and the only brass band that Barnard ever had and In all prob^.hllity
ever will have. In looking backward we can easily credit them with having given
the best all round martial music ever In town. Jack Ashley, the leader, or-
ganizer and teacher of this band, was, as I said before, a born musician and
also a born gentleman. The same will apply to his three brothers. Jack was
six feet tall, with broad shoulders, and would weigh 250 pounds. His plca^^jant,
open face and clear-cut feafjjres would readily give him a passpor+, >?nd rr»ake
him an ornament to any society. He was a great reader and his easy, fluent con-
versation made him exceedingly popular on all occasions. As a bugler he could
- 88 -
not be surpassed In the country around Barnard.
A I den Ashley played the second bugle and marched by the side of Jack, A I
was a trifle taller and quite as heavy as his brother. The two made a great front.
Following Jack and AlJen rrcrchad Issac and Banish Peirce, also two heavy-weights,
playing bass and tenor trombones. These Instruments were the old fashioned, long*
reach kind that require a good deal of room, and consequently made a good deal of
noise. The Pelrce boys lacked the musical talent of the Ash leys but performed
well their parts.
Next In order came James H., known as Mad (short for Madison) Ashley, and
Caleb, known as Cape. The tall, wiry, sinewy form and nervous temperament of Mad
Ashley well adapted him to playing the tenor drum, and what there was In this snare
drum had to come out when **Mad** handled the sticks. James M. was an open-hearted,
free, generous kind of man that made him too popular as Jack. No man, however bur--
dened with sorrow, but would get some relief from a visit with Mad Ashley.
Next to Mad marched Cape with the fife and it Is of him that I would partic-
ularly write. He could fiddle with the best, and played for all the Junkets for
miles around, but as flfer he was not surpassed in Vermont, so all acknowledged.
At a great muster In Royal ton where the drum corps had 20 flfers they all played
together. Cape was not appointed leader, yet as soon as the play began Cape's soul
entered Into the music and, like a bird his music soared above them all. It was
so clear and powerful he seemed to be alone. No other was needed. Again at
Middlebury one commencement time they played^ mixed with several other bands, and
here he was at once In the lead. All other instruments were compelled to follow
the splendid notes of that remarkable flfer from Barnard*
All of that fair band have gone over the river, with the possible exception
of Cape Ashley, who, at last accounts, was living with one of his sons In Tunbrldge
or Strafford. His teeth gone and lips dried, he fifes no more; but oould he hear
Jack, Alden and Mad his soul would still go marching on.
Behind Mad and Cape marched Tom Wright with the big bass drum. Tom had a good
ear for music, but made no great pretensions or flourishes, yet his perfect time
pleased Jack. Many an evening on Ashley hill this band, playing for practice and
Its own amusement, could be distinctly heard In Barnard village four miles away.
It is often said, and In this case perhaps with some truth, that what a man
sees and hears when a boy, lasts him through life as the best. It was my fortune
to hear the celebrated German band that played at the World's fair In Chicago, where
they charged a thousand dollars per day and all expenses for the music; also the
N.Y. 7th regiment band and another German company at Detroit's great exposition,
and again I have heard Hall and Gilmore's bands at Boston and still later the Green
Mountain band of i^ndolph as they played at Woodstock fair last fall, but the boyish
memory of Ashley's band can rw^er be effaced. How vivid the picture of the return-
ing company from the parade ground on the common as they marched down the street at
the close of a June training day to be dismissed In front of the big hotel! Five
or six marshals in front, generally riding those old Morgan horses, now extinct,
and.then Jack and Alden with bugles high In the air sending out blasts that would
bring everybody 1xi -the -sJ das of the street and almost wake the dead. They usually
played at the close a piece called "Ashley's Grand March"; this tune was as familiar
to us boys as "Old Hundred", In this there Is a solo for Cape,on the fife, and of
course ill eyos were turned upon that great flfer when his turn came. With head
thrown back aid gazing into the sky, locking to be ten feet high, he sent the screams
oi- tricot ^\ffi away and above us all, hitting every note so clearly that he seemed to
bH .:^i:.ylng for the edification of Hoaven Itself. The command was soon given to halt,
the music ceased, and we all returned to earth. When Cape shoved the fife Into his
pockel I was surprised .to see, ha i*a^ poly a common man. (continued on page 101)
- 89 -
11 A Y F L i; E R CONNECTIONS
HOW THE TWO LINES IN THE FIRST GENERATION BECAME
A SINGLE ASHLEY LINE.. IN THE SECOND GENERATION
By: Robert E. Ashley (H)
Much puzzlement has been expressed by the members about the fact that
although there were two Ashley brothers, and a sister. In the first generation
In Rochester, yet there Is only one line leading down to us, Joseph and
Elizabeth (Perclval) Ashley are §\ In every line of descent, so what became
of Abraham and his descendants, and of Rebecca and her descendants?
Let*s clear up Rebecca first. Ail we know of her Is that she married
her second husband John Whitfield "formerly of the Dragoons in the l%>yal
Regiment of Queen Anne, of which Lord Rolfe, Earl of Stratford, was Colonel"
sometime before 1731 for in January of that year Joseph Ashley deeded ten
acres to them "/or love and good wilV\ Plymouth deeds 26/129 shows this
land to be on the West side of Bra ley Hill Road about opposite Peaked Rock.
Whether they ever built a house or lived here is not known. There are no
further records that we know of on Rebecca and If she had any children by
her first husband, we would not even know their surname.
ABRAHAM, who appears to be the younger brother by perhaps as much as ten
years, was the first to appear in Rochester. He was born July 28, 1682 at a
place unknown, purchased land in Rochester on February 8, 1704 (old style)
from Samuel Prince of Sandwich for six pounds, and the next year at the age of
22 married Susanna White, age 21, who was the granddaughter of Resolved White
of the Mayflower, (f^l) This first purchase by Abraham was Samuel Prince's
"all of my half of ye seaond lot in ye Gore . . . on ye middle branoh of ye
Mattapoieett (river) near foot of Cedar 8toamp^\ Abraham made extensive addi-
tional purchases In Rochester and by 1746 had moved to a "new dwelling House"
on the east side of Bra ley Hill Road Just south of Quittacas Pond. (See
News Bulletin Vol. I No. 2, pg 31) He died before November 5, 1759 when his
estate was declared "greatly Insolvent", His second wife was Elizabeth Rogers
by whom there were no children.
Abraham and Susanna (White) Ashley had four children of record:
REBECXiA, born March 30, 1704 about whom nothing more is known.
MERCIY, born October 5, 1708, married her cousin William Ashley, third son of
Joseph and Elizabeth (Perclval) Ashley, on February 12, 1732 (o.x.) and thus
her line of descendants is the same as William^, Joseph'.
WILLIAM, born May 17, 1710 married his cousin Elizabeth, the daughter of
Joseph on February 12, 1732. He was her second husband as she had been married
to Abial Sprague about a year and a half before. William died, leaving her a
widow again for on December I, 1759 "Mrs. Elizabeth Ashley of Rochester
married Samuel Joy of Dartmouth". There Is no record of any children of the
three marriages. , . .
^ (see next page)
Footnote #1 - A printed iHeet enclosed explains hew you may Join the Society
of Mayflower Descendants throu descent from William ffhite, if yottr firct tlwee
generations are Joseph^, Williarfi. Abraharfi - or through descent of Willian
Brewster through Joseph^, Thomas^ aid third generation children of first wife^
and/or quite likely a number of others not yet discovered.
- 90 -
ELIZABETH Ashley^ youngest child of Abraham was born July 23,, 1711, and married
(guess who) her cousin Samuel White on March 14, 1733. They had two sons, William
and Samuel whose descondsnts are too numerous to mention here. She died on
January 26, 1776 and her gravestone. In remarkably good condition, may be seen
near the south end of the "Old Parish Cemet^try" on Braley HIM Road In Rochester.
Look for ^^Elizdbarth Jmite^^ perhaps the older.t "Ashley" gravestone.
We are reminded of a line from "Gone with the Wind" where Scarlett O'Hara Is
told that Asi^ley Wilkes will not marry her but will marry his cousin Helanie
Hamilton because the "Wilkes always marry their cousins".
Now we come to JOSEPH , the patriarch, the ancestor of ps all. Joseph Ashley
bom about 1670-75, married Elizabeth Perclval In Falmouth on August 25, 1704.
She was tho dc^ughter of James and Mary Ralnsford (Bassett) Perclval. James
Perclvoi Came from England to Virginia and later settled In Sandwich. He was a
Quaker end whc»n trouble developed with the Pilgrim Fahters of Plymouth, he re-
moved to Succanosett (Falmouth), where he was an original proprietor and extensive
landowner. Item 2 of his will says, "J will and bequeath to my dxughter Eliaabelk
Ashley my hlaak mare and three oowe and one bedd and beding to it tmd one pott".
It Is Interesting to picture Joseph and Elizabeth riding the black mare from
Falmouth to Rochester, leading the three cows (and the bedd and beding and one
pott) to establish our family.
Tradition has It that James was descended from Lord and Lady Perclval. Be
that as It may, there Is little doubt that he is descended from Richard Perclval,
the crusader, who died about 1194 and who Is burled In Weston, Somerset, England.
(Hey kids * you are descended from a real crusader!)
Elizabeth's mother was the daughter of Edward Ralnsford who came with the
Puritans In 1630, His home was on Ralnsford Island In Boston Harbor where his
signature carved on a rock may be seen today.
After Elizabeth died, Joseph married Mrs. Mary (Hall) Whltredge but there
were no children of this marriage.
Joseph's descendants are easily traced - for a start see article In News
Bulletin Vol. I, No. 2, pgs 3B thru 47, by Esther Ashley Spousta.
THE END
cxDacxDCDcixxxx:
REFERENCE MATERIAL tl
c:
CXX3CXX3CXX3C3CX]
AMERICAN HERITAGE MAGAZINE - April 1971
The April 1971 Issue of American Heritage Magazine contains an excellent article
on our collateral ancestor Mad Jack Perclval, 'Ttod Jack and tha Miesumariee''
Mad Jack Perclval is a descendant of Elizabeth (Perclval) Ashley.
- 91 -
□□C3CX3nC3CXXX3
□ CD
C3 ANCESTOR TABLE C3 I. Clarence Raymond Garner (#38)
C3
□ 300 West Grangevl lie Blvd.
□aCX3C3CX3C3DCX3 Hanford, California 93230
II 2. Grant Garner (1868-1953) Finchford, la, Mflltown, S.D., Hanford, Cal
3. Elsa (Elsie) Charlotte Swope (1776-1943), Iowa, S. Dak. '* "
HI 4. James Garner (1835-1920) Indiana, Iowa, S.D., Oregon, C!alif.
5. Barbara Allen Sharp (1837-1912), Ohio, S.O., Oregon
6. William Elza Swope (1834-1913) Ohio, Iowa, Stillwater, Okla.
7. Percy Jane Wood (1844-1888) Quebec, Canada, Ml 1 1 town, S. Oak.
IV 8. Job Garner (1795-1879) Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Mo., Iowa
9. Rebecca Jones (1799-1872) Pa., Ohio, ind., Iowa, Mo., Iowa
10. Allen Sharp ( 1 805/8- 1 90 1 ) Ohio, Iowa, Colorado
11. Sarah (Sally) Ashley (1812-1859) N.Y., Ohio, Ind., Iowa
12. David Swope (1800-61888)) Ohio , towa
13. Julia Ann Furr ( ) Virginia, Iowa
14. Ckmfort Wood (ca 1816-1897) Canada, Iowa
15. Charlotte Matilda Jane Cross (I8I7-I9I0), Ireland, Canada, Iowa
V 16.
17.
18. John Jones
19.
20. Daniel Sharp (ca 1784/6-1868) Tenn. Darke Co., Ohio
21. Elizabeth Albright (1788-1871) N.C., " "
22. Loami Ashley (1784-1855) Vermont, Ohio, Indiana
23. Rachel Baker (1788-1850) Vt.- Ohio, Indiana
24. William Swope (ca 1770- ) Germany
25.
26.
27.
28. John Wood (1780- ) England
29.
30. P. Cross (1790- _ Ireland
31. Elliott Ireland
VI 32 - 41
42. Philip Albright (1756-1825) Orange Co, N.C., d. Lewlsburg, Ohio
43. Christine Clapp (1759-1817) Guilford Co., N.C., d. Preble Co., Ohio
44. Capt. William Ashley (1758-1828) Rochester, Mass. Darke Co. Ohio
45. Phebe Howe (1761-1833) New Marlboro, Mass, Ithaca, Ohio
46 - 63
VII 64-83
84. Ludwig Albright (I73I-I8I0) Penn. Orange Co. N.C.
85. Anna Maria Keller (1733-1803) b. Orange Co., N.C.
86. John Phillip Clapp (1740-1798) Guilford Co., N.C.
87. Barbara Clapp (1742- ) Guilford Co., N.C.
88. Thomas Ashley (1704/5-61762) Rochester, Mass. Poultney, Vt.
89. Mary (Bodfish) Gifford ( ) b. Froetown, Mass.
90. Nehemiah Howe ( 1 720- 1 777 )Mar I borough, Mass. Poultney, Vt.
91. 3(=^ulah Wheeler (1724-1799/1800) Lancaster, Mess. Poultney, Vt.
92 - 127
- 92 -
VIM 128 > 171
172. George Valentine Clapp (1702-1773) Germany, Guilford Co., N.C.
173. Mary Albright (ca 1709- ) Berks Co., Pa
174. John Ludwig Clapp ( X Germany
175. Anna Margaret _^___
176. Joseph Ashley ( ) m 25 Aug 1704 Falmouth, Mass, d. Rochester, Mass
177. Elizabeth Perclval (1675-ca 1728) b. Sandwich, Mass.
178.
179.
180. Peter Howe ( ) b. Marlborough, Mass.
181. Grace Bush ( ) b. Marlborough, Mass.
182. Benjamin Wheeler (1693-1759) b. Concord, Mass. d. New Marlboro
183. Hannah (ca 1716-1778)
184 - 255
IX 256 - 361
362. Ablel Bush ( ) m 27 June 1688 Marlborough, Mass.
363. Grace Barrett " " "
364. Obadiah Wheeler (1650- ) Concord, Mass. m 17 July 1672
365. Elizabeth White (1652-1714) Scltuate, Mass, Concord, Mass.
366-511
X 512 - 729
730. Resolved White (1612/20-1690/94) Marshfield and Scltuate, Mass. m 4-8-1640
731. Judith Vassal I ( -1670) Marshfield, Mass.
732 - 1023
XI 1024 - 1459
1460 William White ( - 1621) m I Feb 1612 Lyden, Holland, d Plymouth, Mass.
1461 Anna or Susanna Fuller (ca 1594-1680) m i Feb 1612, Lyden, Holland
1462. William Vassal
1463 - 2047
NOTE: Nos. 730, 1460 and 1461 were passengers on the Mayflower
No. 1460, William was a signer of Mayflower Compact
No. 45 i5 descendant of Mayflower line
LTJOOOOOOD
C3 CD Page 36 - January 1971
C] CORRECTIONS CD
CD CD Since to date proof has not been established, remove from
CIDCDCXDCXXDD IV-U the Vo^in". it should read "JaokBon Cvookett" only.
Mark V-28 & 29 {Willim Crookett and Salty Bryant); VI-56 & 57
(Daifid Croekett and Mary Finley); and VI 1-102 & 103 {J<^tn
Croehttt and Rebeooa BaiakinB) as questionable until further prrof is established.
Eioise (Davis) Harrer (#44)
46 - January 1971
Under the children listed for III - Loami Ashley - correct spelling of "Deweu (181$-
1868 ffl. Levi HilU" to read "Dmou (1816-1868) m, Levi MilU"
Mary (Cochran) El ler (#32)
Page 59 - April 1971
Correct last paragraph from "Eer elder eon woe loot on a ehip . . " To read "Sir
youncrer eon Winfield, woe loot on a ehip ..." The elder son was George Nye
Robinson who died following an operation. He was a teacher In the Acushnet School
System and was not married. Winf ield, the younger son was married
Emma S. (Ashley) Randall (167)
- 93 -
cxxDcxxxiixnn
ANCESTOR TABLE
[3 I. I. Mildred Ashley (King) Dickey (Mrs. Harris)
2131 McCarthy Road, Ames, Iowa 50010
XDdCXXXXXXDCD
11. 2. Charles Monroe King (1868-1946) Marshall Cto., Iowa, Tama, Iowa
3. Cora Belle Ashley (1871-1948) Hartsburg, Illinois; Tama, Iowa
III. 4. David Simeon King (1845-1935) Illinois; Gi Iman, Iowa; BIrchtree, Mo.
5. iJiny (Madeleine) Sophronia Lukehart (1849-1923) 1 1 1.; Iowa; Birchtr6e, Mo
6. Elisha Baker Ashley (1839-1907) Darke Co., 0; Hartsburg, lit; Anthon, ia.
7. Martha Noel Shirley (1837-1916) Stamping Ground, Ky; III; Anthon, Iowa
iV. 8. John Henry King ( ) Died at Gilman> Iowa
9i Louisa Falk ( ) Died at Oilman, Iowa
10. George Washington Lukehart ( -1906) Gliman, Iowa
Hi Magdelaine (Lany) Fanner (1832-1924) Louisville, Ky; la.; Winnebago, Neb.
12. Joel Laomi Ashley (I8I6-I87I) New York (/); Lincoln, III.
13. Mary Ann Martin (1819-1897) Greenville, Ohio; Lincoln, ill.
14. William Roach Shirley (1814-1862) Scott Co., Ky.; Logah Co., III.
15. Elizabeth Dorothy Alsop (1819-1903) Kentucky; Logan Co., III.
V. 16 to 23
24. Elisha Ashley (1796-1865) Ontario Co. N.Y.; Merom, Indiana
25. SaJly Baker (1798-1863) Ontario Co., N.Y.; Merom, Indiana
26. William Martin (1780-1863) Pennsylvania; Greenville, Ohio
27. Sarah Lorimor, (1800-1855)
28. Archibald Shirley, Early In 19th century, probably Maryland
29. Esther Allen (1770-1855) Virginia (?); Kentucky; Logan Co., III.
30 . Spencer A i sop (1 785- 1 829( ? )
31. Judiath Carter (1785-1847) Virginia; Kentucky
VI. 32 to 47
48. William Ashley (1758-1828) Rochester, Mass.; Preble or Darke Co. Ohio
49. Phoebe Howe (1761-1833) New Marlboro, Mass; Ohio
50 to 61
62. Obadiah Carter (1755-1820)
63. Judiath Carter (1755- )
VII. 64 to 95
96 Thomas Ashley (1704/5- ) Rochester, Mass; Poultney, Vt.
97 Mary Gifford ( ) Freetown, Mass.
98 Nehemiah Howe (1721-1777) Marlboro, Mass.; Poultney, Vt.
99 Beulah Wheeler (1724-1799/1800) Lancaster, Mass; Poultney, Vt.
100 to 127
VIM. 128 to 191
192 Joseph Ashley (cal670-cal750) Rochester, Mass.
193 Elizabeth Perciva I (1675- ) Sandwich, Mass.
194 & 195
196 Peter Howe (1695-1778) Marlboro, Mass
197 Grace Bush (1696-1700) Marlboro, Mass.
198 Benjamin Wheeler (1693-1759) Concord, Mass; New Marlboro, Mass.
199 Hannah
200 to 259
- 94 -
IX. 256 to 391
392 John Howe ((I67t-I754) Marlboro, Mass
393 Rebecca Josiin (1672-1731) Lancaster, Mass.
394 Abiel Bush
395 Grace Barrett (1669-1739) died in Marlboro, Mass.
396 Obadiah Wheeler, b 1650/1 In Concord, Mass.
397 Elizabeth White, b 1652 In Scltuate, Mass.
398 to 51 1
X. 512 to 783
784 John Howe (1640-1676) Sudbury, Mass.
785 Elizabeth Ward (1643-1710) Sudbury, Mass.
786 Nathaniel Joslln (1626-1694) England; Marlboro, Mass.
787 Sarah King (1632-1706) England; Marlboro, Mass.
788 & 789
790 John Barrett ( -1711) m. at Marlboro, Mass.
791 Mary Pond, d 1711 at Sudbury, Mass.
792 Obadlan Wheeler, Bap. 1609 England; Will probated Dec. 20, 1671
793 Susannah first wife
*794 Resolved White, b ca 1614 Leyden, Holland; d p 1690; m 1640 Scltuate, Mass
#795 Judith Vassal I (cal6l9-cal670)
796 to 1023
XI. 1024 to 1567
1568 John How, d abt. 1678, lived Id Sudbury & Marlboro, Mass.
1569 Mary
1570 William Ward (1603-1687)
1571 Elizabeth (1613-1700) Marlboro, Mass.
1572 ThcTias Joslln (1591-1660) England; Lancaster, Mass.
1573 Rebecca Mar low, b England abt 1589
1574 Thomss King, b abt. 1605 In Dorset C^., England; d 1676 Marlboro, Mass
1575 Anna Ck>IIIns, d In Sudbury, Mass 1642
1576 to 1579
1580 Hiimphrey Barrett, (abt. 1592-1662)
1581 M.?ir/
1552 to 150'
ir&d Wllllesm White (Mayflower) d. 1621
1589 Susanna Fuller, b. abt. 1594 (controversial)
1590 William Vassal I, b abt. 1593
1591 Anna Kinge, b abt. 1593; marriage license Issued June 9, 1613
*May flower Line # Huguenot Line
cxx3aa:DCX3C]
c
C]
ADDITIONS CI
□a
Page 25 - January 197 1
Addition names of persons attending the first Reunion on
August 29, 1970 furnished by Virginia (Ashley) Goff (#41)
The six guests listed under Chester W. Ashley were
his wife Shirley Snelgrove (Currie) Ashley
Dr, Rogers Ashley and his son David
Thomas Atwood Ashley and wife Joan Evelyn (Gehrig) Ashley
Bradford Chester Ashley
Other names omitted are: Elton Staples and wife Miriam; Grace (Ashley) Marble and
daughter Eleanor; and Harold A* :Ash4ey *
- 95 -
itiss Alexis Ashley^ daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Karl James Ashley Jr. (#90) of
Dr. Bra ley Road, East Freetown, Mass.,
married Brian A. Blowers, son of Mr.
and Mrs. S. C. Blowers of WatervHIe,
New York, on Saturday, June 5, 1971.
The bride Is a student at Springfield
College, and the bridegroom Is a grad-
uate student at the same school.
« « « # «
Brian Jay Ashley, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Theodore Chace Ashley (#6) of Dr. Bra ley
Rd., East Freetown, Mass. was married
on June 6, 1971 to Miss Susan Schipper
of Norwich, New York.
ft # « # »
David W. Ashley, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Leon J. Ashley of 200 Court Street,
has been accepted at Virginia Poly-
technic Institute and State University
where he will major in Architecture.
A graduate of Plymouth-Carver High
School, he was also accepted at Case
Western Reserve University and at
Syracuse University. He has been a
member of the school band, interested
in drama, athletics, and is a member
of the Plymouth Rock Chapter of DefAolay.
« « K « ft
Mrs. Winona Leonard (#3) of Lakeville
will return to High School next year
to teach mathematics.
Mrs. Elizabeth Ashley of E. Freetown
will again teach Art at Apponequet,
in the Freetown-LakevI I lo Regional
School District.
- 96 -
GrXXlTXIGLlIX]
G PERSONAL MOTES O
D CD
CXXXXXXXXXXD
Robert Ashley Jr., son of Mrs. Robert
Ashley Sr., of How I and Road, Lakeville,
Mass. received his Bachelor of Science
Degree from the University of Massachu-
setts Sunday, May 30, 1971. His major
was Physical Education. Those attend-
ing this 101 st Commencement exercises
were his wife Mrs. Ashley, his mother
Mrs. Robert Ashley Sr., sister Susan,
niece Wendy, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence
Benoit, and Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Wood.
ft ft ft ft ft
Mrs. Grace Gorham Ashley and Miss Irma
A. Gorham of New Bedford, Mass. have
given a pair of wooden shoes, supposed
to have belonged to Myles Stand ish, to
the Mayflower Society House at Plymouth,
Mass.
ft ft ft ft ft
Mr and Mrs. Stephen
Ashley of Washburn Rd.,
E. Freetown, are the
proud parents of a son,
Christopher Peter, born
at St. Luke's Hospital,
New Bedford, on April
13, 1971. The maternal
grandparents are Mr.
and Mrs. Albert Foster
of East How I and Road, and the paternal
grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Theodore
C. Ashley (#6) of Dr. Bra ley Rd., East
Freetown, Mass.
ft ft ft ft ft
Harriette (Word) Park (#59) has two
photographs in her possession. One is
of a young man, light hair, collar & tie
vest and checkered or tween jacket, whlc
is signed ''GEORGE B. ASHLEY''. On the
back is "HOLLENBECK'S Photographic Rooms
Oneida, N.Y. and a blue stamp with face
of Washington. The other is a young man
with fairly full mustache and small tuft
of hair on chin under lip. On back is
written In same handwriting as above,
"ARPHAX ASHLET' and stamped HOLLENBECK'S
Oneida, N.Y. Pictures belonged to Will
Dickinson, son of Mary Borland (Ashley)
Dickinson. Will share with other de-
'^There are a tore that go out in the darkness
But whose silver li^ht shine th on;
There are roses whose perfume lingers
When tlie blossoms are faded and gone.
There are hearts full of light and of sweetness
When no longer their life current flows;
Still tl%eir goodness lives on with -tiie living
Like the souls of the star and the rose.
Lindsay K* Dickey died March 31, 1971 at
Los Angeles, California and was interred
In the Military Cemetery at Sawtelle,
Cal Ifornia.
Lindsay was a flyer in the Navy during
World War I and a commander of a flying
squadron for the Marines during World
War IK He retired as a Major USrC
He was born April 21, 1895 at San Bernar-
dino, Calif, son of Or. Clarence Dudley
Dickey and Julia A. Kearns. He Is rur-
vived by his wife Margaret Mary (Chlsholm)
Dickoy.
(Lineage: Lindsay K. Dickey (8) Julia
Kearns (?) Martha Ashley (6) Harles (S)
Loami (4) William (3) Thos. (2) Jos. (1)
and
Lindsay K. Dickey (8) Julia A. Reams (?)
Lindsay G. Kearns (6) Julia Ann Ashley (S)
Elisha (4) William (3) Thos (2) Jos. (1)
Word just received that Fred Tabor
Bullock, born October II, 1929, passed
away October 27, 1970. He is survived
by his wife Evelyn (Wood) Bullock,
three daughters, Cora lee and Amy, and
Mrs. Evan Bush, and one grandson.
Mrs. Sarah M. (Howiand) Tranmer, 74
of 596 Summer St., Bridgewater, Mass.
died April 24, 1971 at the hone of her
daughter, Mrs. H. A. (Natalie) Ross.
Interment was at the Mt. Prospect Ceme-
tery In Bridgewater.
She was born in Bridgewater, the daugin-
er of the late Seth and E. Martha (Ashley
Howiand. She attended Bridgewater school.'
and was a lifelong resident of the town.
She was a member of Gammons Memorial
Methodist Church.
In addition to Mrs. Ross, she is survived
by 3 other daughters, Mrs. Hazel Irving
of Bridgewater, Mrs. Winona Souza of
Seekonk, and Mrs. Shirley Fetrosky of
Sharon; two sons, Richard and El lery
Tranmer both of Bridgewater; 19 grand-
children, 18 great-grandchildren, a
sister Mrs. Ethel Ashley (#86) of Athol
and several nieces and nephews.
(Lineage: Sarah M. Howiand (7) E. Martha
Ashley (6) James M. (6) Thxirras (4)
/Graham (3) William (2) Joseph (I)
Lineage: Fred Tabor Bullock (8) Rosalie
A. Granger (7) Lucy Maria Ashley (6)
San ford Gadoum (S) Beman (4) Enoch (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
ASHLBl^ buried in Rounsevell Cemeterif^ East Freetam^ Mass. prior to 1850
Noah - d. Aug. 23, 1839 In his 82nd year
Abigail, wife of Noah - d. April 12, 1792, age 35
Jepthah, son of Noah & Abigail - d. Sept. t, 1810, age 20
Fanny, only dau. of Capt. *Simeon and Susan - d. April 18, 1816,
Sally Maria, dau. of ^Leonard & Prescilla C. - d. June 12, 1825,
^Elijah - d March 17 1821, age 20 y. 6 mo.
*Sally - d. Feb. 2, 1821, age 9 y. 5 mo.
^Children of Perclval Ashley Jr.
CUMMINGS - Thankful, wife of George, d. May 14, 1819 - 29 yrs.
Lucy, 2nd wife of George d. Dec. 13, 1850, age 55
((both Thankful & Luch dau. of Micha (3) William (2) Joseph (I)
age 10
3 yrs.
- 97 -
CXX3C3nCXX3C3CXXX3CXXX3
C3 MEMBERSHIP ROLL
C3 C
C3C3CX3C3CX3CX3C3C3C3C3GC3CX3C
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS
#4 BRADFORD FULLER SWAN (9)
#15 ELTON ELSBREY ASHLEY Sr. (8)
#38 CURENCE GARNER (8)
and Anna Charlotte (Price) Garner
#44 ELOISE MARGRET (DAVIS) HARRER (10)
#61
#87
#95
#113
#116
#123
#130
Correct lineage to read: Rodolphus
Ashley Swan (8) (Proline Brown Ashley
(7) Rodolphus (6) John Sherman (5)
John (4) Perclval (3) Abr. (2) Jos (I)
(Correct spe I II ng of father ' s name to
Harrj[e Elsbrey Ashley (7)
Add wife's maiden name
#50 CARLETON LINWOOD KINGSFORD (8)
DAVID PEIRCE ASHLEY (7)
and Alice Beatrice (Logan) Ashley
Correct spelling of middle name from
Margaret to Margret
Correct spelling of middiS name from
Lainwood to Linwood
Add wife's maiden name
EMMA S. (ASHLEY) RANDALL(8)
and Harold C. Randall
PHILLIP CONRAD ASHLEY (8)
and Pamela Jane (Snavely)
Ash I ey
MICHIGAN STATE LIBRARY
735 East Michigan Ave., Lansing, Michigan 46913
JOHN S. O'BRIEN Jr (10) Change address to
3801 Lujon Drive, Dayton, Ohio 45431
Correct surname from Ashley to Randall
and add I i neage - Same as # 1 5
Add wife's maiden name and add lineage
Roger Patton (7) Percy Allen (6)
Heman Allen (5) Beman (4) Enoch (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
Change address to:
HARRIET (ASHLEY SCUZA (9)
(Mrs. Gilbert)
HOWARD WENTWORTH WESTFIELD (8)
#131 ROBERT L. WESTFIELD (9)
O^rrect spelling of surname and add
lineage - Seme as 0\i6
Add lineage - Gertriide Ashley Kings ford
(7) John Croad KIr.gsfcrtJ (6) Sarah
Ashley (5) Noah (4) Noah (3) William
(2) Joseph (I)
Add I i neage - Howard Wentworth
Westf ield (8) balance same as
#130
- 98 -
NEW MEMBERS
Hembero
ship
No.
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
Name and Address
LI
CSame as #683
ARTHUR A. ASHLEY
E. 2805 18th, Spokane, Wash. 99203
ARTHUR S. ASHLEY and
Ann E. Ashley
129 E. Clinton St., New Bedford, Mass. 02740
DAVID M. ASHLEY (8)
Box 63, Star Route
Essex Junction, Vt. 05452
GARDNER PIERCE ASHLEY (7)
360 Walnut St.
Franklin, Indiana 46131
M. CARLETON ASHLEY
1875 Hubbard Rd., North Madison, Ohio
NORMAN EVERETT ASHLEY (8)
72 Maple Ave.
Swansea, Mass. 02777
ROBERT CUOWORTH ASHLEY (9)
15 N. William St.
Little Falls, N.Y. 13365
MRS. ROBERT N. ASHLEY
10 Lafayette St., Fairhaven, Mass. 02719
CHerbert Wl Imarth Ashley (7) James
Emerson Jr. (6) James Emerson (5)
Perclval (4) Perclvai (3) Abraham
(2) Joseph (l)D
CEdward Lester (6) James Gamer (5)
James Madison <4) Lemuel (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (1)3
44057
CMyron ThomaS (7) Noah.Wt 1 1 iams (6)
Abial Williams (5) Noah (4)
Noah (3) William (2) Joseph (i)D
COr. Robert C. (8) Calvin Lewis (7)
Joseph Mylod (6) Calvin (5) Luther
(4) Noah (3) William (2) Joseph (1)3
CUYTON BRIGGS (8)
c/o M. B. Hill
Baieu Creek, N.C. 27009
EDITH LEONARD (STAPLES) CHASE (7)
(Mrs. Harry Holmes)
194 Bow Street
North Oighton, Mass. 02764
MRS. LORRAINE COURTRIGHT
Box 191, LaVlta, Colorado 81055
MRS. VELMA BROWN (ASHLEY) DUNHAM (9)
Middleboro Rd.
East Freetown, Mass. 02717
CMary Esther Briggs (7) Esther Isabel le
Ashley (6) Noah (5) Noah (4)
Noah (3) William (2) Joseph (1)3
CCharlie Gerry Staples (6) Sarah
Ashley (5) Noah (4) Noah (3)
William (2) Joseph (1)3
CMarcJs Harold Ashley (8) balance
same as 1*73 also
CAnna Brown Ashley (7) James Gifford(6)
James Gifford (5) Jethro (4)
Percival (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
LESLIE C. DUNNINGTON
Orexel, Missouri 64742
MRS. RICHARD N. ELLIS
Maxwell Field Air Base, Montgomery, Ala. 36100
ALICE ELIZABETH (ASHLEY) FRANCOEUR (8) CCalvIn Lewis Ashley (7) Jos. Mylod (6)
(Mrs. Alfred)
Sol-E-Mar Apt 43, Sol-E-Mar Rd.
South Dartmouth, Mass. 02748
MRS. MILDRED (BRIGGS) HILL (8)
Baieu Creek, North Carolina 27009
MRS. GLENNA (ASHLEY) HUDSON
405 South Franklin,
Windsor, Missouri 65360
Calvin (5) Luther (4) Noah (3)
William (2) Joseph (1)3
CMary Esther Briggs (7) Esther Isabel le
Ashley (6) Noah (5) Noah (4)
Noah (3) William (2) Joseph (1)3
CVirgil Lee Ashley - Silas Lee -
Gilby K. - Uriah - John Jr. -
John b. ca 1755 N.C. 3
- 99 -
Member-
ship
No. Name and Address Lineage
154 MRS. JOHN HUIR
144 E. 84 Street, New York, N.Y. 10028
155 IRVING B. KELLEY
7532 Baylor Ave., College Park, Md. 20740
156 LUKE LEONARD (8) CAIice Ashley (7) John Sherman Jr. (6)
75 School Street John Sherman (5) John (4)
Middleboro, Mass. 02346 Perclval (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (1)3
157 GRACE (ASHLEY) MARBLE (8) CWItliam N. Ashley (7) Nathaniel
(Mrsi R. Winthrop) Caswell (6) Noah (5) Noah (4)
206 Palmer St., Noah (3) William (2) Joseph (DH
Somerset, Mass. 02726
158 MISS ELEANOR ASHLEY MARBLE (9) CGrace Ashley (8) balance same as
206 Palmer St. #157]
Somerset, Mass. 02726
159 MISS CAIVIY SUE MARTIN (10) [Richard Lee Martin (9) Frances
8070 Webster, McMaster Martin (8) Dennis McMaster
Lambertvllle, Mich. 28144 (7) Mary Ashley (6) Dennis (5)
Luther (4) James (3) Thos.(2) Jos. (I
160 MISS JANET LEE MARTIN (10) [Same as #159]
8070 Webster
Lambertville, Mich. 48144
161 DR. RICHARD W. MOORE
624 West 9th Ave., Albany, Oregon 97321
162 MRS. MALCOLM ( ) PIERCE
13 South Shore Drive, Peabody, Mass. 01960
163 MRS. ALICE R. PITTS
1213 BIythe Ave., Alexandria, Louisiana 71301
164 HARRY EARL RICHMOND (8) CCIara Maria Morgan (7) Eliza Emellne
136 East Ave. 37, ' Pond (6) Clarissa Wyman Ashley (5)
Los Angeles, Calif. 90031 Zebulon (4) Thomas (3) Thos(2) Jos (
165 MARION G. ROGERS
100 Southern Artery, Apt. 403, QuIncy, Mass. 02169
(July-Aug.) Fishervilie Lane, Westport, Mass. 02790
166 PRISCILU:C. (ASHLEY) ROSE and
Arthur Rose
14 Dean St., Taunton, Mass. 02780
167 Mr. & Mrs. ARTHUR L. ROSE JR.
Parker Terrace, Taunton, Mass. 02780
168 MRS. FRANK R. SPERRY
62 High Street, Chatham, N.Y. 12037
169 (CUMMINGS) WALKER (7) C Cunnings (6) Jason Cunmings (5)
(Mrs. Wm) Thankful Ashley (4) Mlcah (3)
3535 Alabama St. William (2) Joseph (i)]
San Diego, Calif. 92104
170 FREELA WEBSTER
222 Jefferson St., Decatur, Indiana 40733
171 MRS. ADA (ASHLEY) WHITEHOUSE (9) CCharies Ashley (8) Herbert Wllmarth
1130 Castlewood Place (7) James Emerson Jr (6) James
Owensboro, Ky. 42301 Emerson (5) Perclval (4) Perctval
(3) Abraham (2) Joseph (1)]
172 MARILY ASHLEY YELLE
8 Bailey St., Nashua, New Hampshire 03060
173 DAR LIBRARY
1776 D Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006
- 100 -
LEADER OF THE BAND (Continued from page 88)
Tho Ash leys were typ?cal Green Mountain boys as pictured In the history
of Vermont. Tall, robust $nd athletic, they were ready for any emergency.
Being great fox hunters theif knew all the runs and byways of wild gariie. No
tramp was too long for dogs 6r men. In the fall and first of the winter their
hounds could be heard almost every day, and the number of skins gave proof of
their great success.
Horace S. Ashley of Nashua, N.H., Is a son of Jackson, and In form^ fea*
ture and musical ability is a true son of the father. He Is a prominent busi-
ness man In that city and a builder by trade. He has been a member of the city
council and of the New Hampshire state legislature. His mother and sister are
residents also of Nashua, and it is this family that still owns Ashley hill.
The house is deserted, and It Is only a matter of t line when strangers will
pasture their cattle and sheep where once was heard the baying of hounds,
shouts of hunters, crack of the rifle, rattle of drums and notes of the bugle,
fiddle and fife.
Barnard's only brass band has long since passed Into history.
THE END
J. A. Ashley Obituary (Continued from page 87)
It was while in charge of this important department that Mr. Ashley early
demonstrated his keen business acumen, his ability to cope with big things
and his untiring energy In any enterprise which he undertook* To James A.
Ashley, perhaps more than any other man, Hawardon owes her early day victories
and \^er ultimate stability, a stability which finally led up tq her present
dcy prosperity. It was his foresight, his energy, his never fall -spirit which
wor the fight when Hawurden was fighting for har very existence
In the prime of his life, before his health begon to fall, he was undoubtedly
one of the most successful real estate men who over d^d business In low^.
He was a member of the first town council, afterwards may of the city, and In
all of these positions he gave faithful and efficient service.
In 1892 he was united in marriage with Miss Lucy Hibbard of Hereford,
Canada, who still survives him. To this union were born, Lucy, Helen, Warren,
and James, Helen dying In 1904. Two sisters also survive him, Mrs. V*n. Lane
of San Jose, Calif, and Mrs. D. R. Freeman of Greene, Iowa. He was ever
loyal to his family and to them the sympathy of the community Is extended."
K K # # K
Marcus Prentiss Ashley was born In St. Albans, Vermont April 19, 1816. W9 know
that he W3S fn Ohio In 1840. When did he leave his New England home and movo
to Ohio? Rocorrls show one brother Heman Allen Ashley also in Ohio and perhaps
It can be essumad the two brothers came together.
Does anyone hove more information about Marcus P. Ashley from the time he was
born in Vermont until we find him In Ohio In 1840? When did he leave Vermont?
How did he travel? With whom did he travel? I shall appreciate any help In
reconstructing the past of my grandfather.
JameB Dcarid Ashley (#89)
LIBRARY
AUG 12 1974
Vol . II No. I
QUARTERLY NEWS BULLETIN
^*??.-a^^*«»(N*i^<^Tv w
ASHLEY FAMILY ASSXIATION
Organized August 29, 1970
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
October 1971
From the
Editor 'a
Deak
Ash leys of America is stepping
Into Its second year of ex-
istence. More and more Ashley
descendants are becoming In-
terested In their progenitors
and their cousins of today.
We realize that we have just
scratched the surface, but
we could grow like Topsy if
all will spread the news of
our organization.
Increased membership is one
of our 1972 goals. Wont each of
you help our new Membership
Chairman by alerting her of
any Ashley descendants.
I appreceiate receiving the
material from many for the
News Bulletin. Keep It
coming as without your help
there could be no bulletin.
Esther Ashley Spousta^
Editor
PO Box 321
Rogers^ Arkansas 727S6
4 4 4 H 4 4
Neue Bulletin - Published
quarterly, January, April,
July and October. Free sub-
scription with each membership
Extra copies $2.00 each.
3
4
5
6
7
II
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
22
23
Vol. M No. I
C m E N T s
1972 OFFICERS
COVER STORY - Four generations
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE - "Feed Back"
ASHLEY CEMETERY - New Gate (Rochester)
SECOND REUNION - Synopsis
ATTENDEES - 1971 Reunion
MINUTES - 1970 Organizational Meeting
8 PL I MOTH PLANTATION
CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
ELDER EDWARD RAINSFORD - His Island
ECCENTRIC NOMENCLATURE
LAST WILL - Noah Ashley Sr.^
WARRANTY DEED - Canedy to Noah
Ashley Jr.^
ASHLEY OLD TIMERS - Hon. Charles
Sumner Ashley^ - Heman Allen
Ash ley 5 - James Monroe Ashley
PROBATE RECORD - Noah Ashley Sr.^
OBITUARY - Erne line Ashley Stevens^
PUBLIC SERVICE CLAIMS - Fredrick Co
ANCESTOR TABLE - Paul Coo I edge
Leonard^
21 QUERIES
PERSONAL NOTES
MEMBERSHIP ROLL
1972 OFFICERS
«
President - — - — - — --.- Robert E. Ashley
1st Vice President ------ — John S. Ashley
2nd Vice President Paul C. Leonard
3rd Vice President - - • Bradford F. Swan
Secretary •--•.----.- Marie A. Davis
Treasurer -------- m---- Nancy Ashley
Publications Committee ----- Doris Ashley Lang
Helen Gurney Thomas
Susan Ashley French
Membership Chairman ------- Marie A. Davis
News Bulletin Editor - • — Esther Ashley Spousta
1972 DUES ARE NOW PAYABLE
Note change in dues (BYLAWS * Article I - Sec. 1) voted on at Second Annual
Meeting, August 28, I97K There will be only one type membership with dues
at the rate of $5.00 per year. It was the concensus that since Individual
memberships received all the same privileges and materials as as husb&nd
and wife memberships, the dues should be the same. Membership listings will
be recorded by individual or by household, whichever way the application Is
received, and there will be one mailing of Quarterly News Bulletin and any
other material for each paid membership.
Please make checks payable to ASHLEYS OF AMERICA and forward to our new
treasurer:
MISS NANCY ASHLEY, 165 Elm Street, South Dartmouth, Mass. 02748
CD COVER STORY CD OLDEST and YOUNGEST Ashley descendants attending the
CD CD second annual Ash leys of America reunion were recognized
CDCDCDCXXXXXD at the morning session, August 28, 1971. Seated are
Mrs. Abby Jane (Cummings) Amsden (175) of Pawtucket, R.I.
who is 90 years young, beside her Is her great granddaughter Jennifer Smith,
age 5, standing are her daughter Dorothy (Amsden) Lynch, and her gradnddaughter
Linda (Lynch) Smith.
Abby Is only six generations removed from Joseph Ashley who married Elizabeth
Percival and settled In Rochester shortly after 1700, probably the least number
of generations removed from the first settler. Her grandmother. Thankful Ashley,
was born in Freetown in 1790. Mrs. Amsden traces her Mayflower ancestry through
the Ashley line to Thomas Rogers, a merchant of camlet, who came over with the
Pilgrims In 1620.
- 2 -
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
ROBERT E* ASHLEY (#1)
Our second reunion was a success In spite of
"Dor I a" and the weatherman giving us some
anxious mements. I appreciate the help of
the various committees that worked hard In
preparln9 for this meeting. Highlights of
the meeting recorded* on follow I hg pages.
I am prompted to talk about "FEED BACK'\ ^Webster defTnes'^Feed Back" as '^the
return to the input of a part of the output'^ to an educator or an editor It
Is the very welcome comments, questions and criticisms that enable us to know
how we are going over and the directions we should take.
For example, at the second reunion I was asked more than once about the possible
archaeological work that i had mentioned In the January and April News Bulletin,
and what progress was being made. I had to answer "none, because no one let me
know they were Interested, so I thought there was noonewho wanted to do this
work". Sorry about that. Feed back was too late for this year.
A very round about feed back conceri;ied material b^lng sent In and not published.
With any new publication the general pattern Is -^ very little material at first
and then too much. Your editor Is ina^ faced with an oversupply of some materials
and not enough of others, and must exercise the function of "editing", i.e.
selecting that which Is of Interest to the greatest number of members. We hope
you will all continue to contribute (that's what the news bulletin Is for)
but dont be upset If It does not appear at once. The same subject may already
be in the backlog and waiting. Then too, new and previously unpublished facts
are much preferred to that which has appeared in books unless those books are
very old or rare. And, as the Journalism teachers always say - - typing or
very clear writing Is a must. Dont forget to freely quote your sources; wills,
deeds, old letters, gravestones, etc.
Regarding a Coat of Arms - "The shorthand of genealogy" highly desired by all.
We are faced with an embarrassment of riches. There are nearly thirty Ashley
coats of arms, but we can not claim any of them until we find out who Joseph's
ancestors were. I refer you to Cleveland Amory's book "Who Killed Society"
where he says, in the old days in England there was a law that the manufacturer
of bogus arms should be docked of an ear. If the same law were to be now en-
forced In this country we would have a small army of one-eared businessmen
offering to research (?) your arms (?). This Is a very complex subject and
will be covered in detail later. Amory's chapter on "Cod Fish Aristocracy"
makes hilarious reading for genealogists.
It is not too eorly to start planning for our third reunion In 1972. While
the p I ea5:ant^ thoughts of our recent meeting at Plymouth are still fresh In your
mlt^, write me with suggest4oi>s.and ideas for our next year's program.
BOB ASHLEI
- ^ -
NEW GATE ON THE
ASHLEY CEMETERY
■
A new gate has been installed on the Ashley Cemetery
In Rochester, Mass., which is located about one quarter
mile West of Ashley Corner (Junction of North Ave. and
Braley HIM Road) with a temporary sign reading -
ASHLEY CEMETERY - Circa 1750
/
^■m
This cemetery Is the burial place of Joseph Ashley and many of his .descer\dants
through the mid 1800's. The dated stones remaining (1970) run from l7d8Vto
1858, however, about a dozen graves with plain fleldstone markers, fn the '
manner of the colonists before carved stones became available here, suggests
that If Joseph Is burled here then so are most. If not all, of the other early
Ash leys
Paul Leonard has contributed a sum of money for "some special purpose" and if
the date of i7$0 is agreeable^ We will have a more permanent sign made and
instal led.
The following Inscriptions, In the order of dates of death, are verbatim except
for the. poetic verses which are not given:
In Memory of ANNA wife of PERCIVAL ASHLEY who died April 13, 1788 tti her
43d year
HORIS C. son of Mr. JETHRO and Mrs. LOIS ASHLEY died Jan 2, 1807 aged
eleven months
MARY wife of JOHN ALLEN died Feb. 7, 1809 AE 32 years
Mr. JETHRO ASHLEY died Jan 5, 1814 AE 39
Mrs. MARY ASHLEY wife of Mr. ABRAHAM ASHLEY died March 26, 1816 AE 41
BISHUP son of Mr. BISHUP & Mrs. LYDIA ASHLEY died March 27, 1816 aged
7 years 4 days
WILLIAM H. son of JOHN & SUSAN ALLEN died Apr. i, 1816 AE 2 yrs 7 mos
Mr. JOHN ASHLEY died April 2, 1816 AE 54 (1816-1865 Vet. marker & flag)
ABRAHAM son of Mr. ABRAHAM ASHLEY died April 3, 1816 AE 13
SPENCER L. son of JOHN & SUSAN ALLEN died Oct. 27, 1821 AE 10 years
In Memory of Mr. PERCIVAL ASHLEY who died Jan. 13, 1822 in his 82 year
(S.A.R. marker & flag)
in Memory of Mr. JOHN S. ASHLEY who died Feb. 7, 1826 AE 35 yrs
(Roch. E.V.R. says "killed by a wheel of a wagon running over him")
In Memory of EPHRIAM LANDRESS who died Aug. 28, 1828 AE 29 years
In Memory of Mrs. LYDIA wife of Mr. BISHUP ASHLEY who died Sept. 7, 1828
AE 44 yrs (Next to the above is the base of a stone broken off with no part
legible but with 1861-1865 Vet marker & flag)
In Memory of ALMIRA dau. of BISHUP & LYDIA ASHLEY who died Sep. 24, 1833
AE 19 yrs
ABIGAIL wife of John Barns died Oct. 28, 1833 AE 37 yrs
In memory of CHARLES ASHLEY who died Jan. II, 1835 AE 24 years 28 days
in Memory of Mr. JOHN ALLEN who died Feb. 25, 1835 AE 59 years
ASENATH L. dau of JOHN & SUSAN ALLEN died Aug 2, 1837 aged 20 yrs & 5 mos.
HANNAH^ wife of JAMES ASHLEY vho died March 19, 1836 aged 25 years
- 4 -
(Continued on page 12)
SECOND REUNION
Place: The Goverfx>r Carver Motor Inn, Plymouth, Massachusetts
Date: August 28, 1971
Attendance: 83 members and guests (see page 6)
Robert E. Ashley, president, presided. Welcomed all and told of plans for day.
Marie and Kenneth Davis, Secretaries, read minutes of organizational
meeting August 29, 1970. Approved with minor changes (see page 7)
Pauline Ashley, Treasurer, reported a balance In treasury
Helen Gurney Thomas presented gifts of recognition to:
Oldest and Youngest Attendees V_ See Cover and
Highest total age of four generations attending ) Cover Story page 2
Esther Ashley Spousta for travelling greatest distance
Bob Ashley for outstanding service as president
Pauline Ashley for serving as first Treasurer
Constitution and Bylaws approved (see page 9)
Open discussion of purposes of our organization. All agreed that a printed
Genealogy should be one of our prime goals. Archaeology, Heraldry, repository
for Ashley historical items, items for Quarterly Bulletin, were among other
topics discussed. The need for growth in our organization was expressed and
it was approved that a Membership Chairman be appointed. Marie Davis (15)
agreed to serve in this capacity for the coming year. She will welcome names
and addresses of any Ashley descendants.
During recess for lunch all had opportunity to view many photographs and ex*
hi bits of interesting data pertaining to the Ashley family furnished by
Robert E. Ashley and Roger P. Ashley of Springfield, Ohio.
Highlight of afternoon session was a talk by Bradford Swan, 3rd Vice President,
and the Drama and Art Critic for the Providence Journal, covering his exper-
iences on an expedition up Mt. Everest. The object was to climb to the base
of Mt. Everest, which they did - up to an altitude of 18,000 feet. They were
30 days on the trail and hiked 300 miles. All enjoyed his interesting narra-
tive and the scenic and artistic slides taken along the trail.
A vote of thanks to our President, the officers and committees that worked hard
that this second reunion would be so successful.
- 5 -
•••^•v *.•
ATTENDEES AT SECOND ASHLEY REUNION
August 2$i, .1971 at Plymoutt>, Mass.
Amantha Ashley Arnold Akin (#72) and guest. New Bedford, Mass..
Abby Cummlngs Amsden (173) and dau. Dorothy Lynch, granddau. Linda Smith and
gr. granddau. Jennifer Smith, Pawtucket, R.I.
Alonzo Everett Ashley and Marie DeSlmone Ashley, New London, (^^• (#12)
Chester W. & Shirley Ashley Jr. and son Bradford, Attleboro, Mass. (180)
Earl Hutchison Ashley (113), Providence, R.I.
Amelia Palmer Ashley (Mrs. Edward S.) (#82), S. Dartmouth, Mass.
Karl James Ashley Jr. and Grace Paradls Ashley (#90) children Scott, Edward and
Jacqueline and guest Jacinto Baldo, East Freetown, Mass.
Kenneth Valentine Ashley and Jane K. Ashley (#92), Rochester, Mass.
Leon and Ruth Ashley (#180) and children Joyce and David, Plymouth, Mass.
Merwin F. Ashley (#21) South Yarmouth, Mass.
Mildred A. Ashley * and guest Dorothy Phlnney, Mlddleboro, Mass.
Madeline Ashley, Dighton, Mass.
Nancy Ashley (#94) South Dartmouth, Mass.
Robert Ellsworth Ashley and Elizabeth Gushing Ashley (#1) Bridgewater, Mass.
Theodore Chace Ashley and Pauline Baker Ashley (#6) and guest Mildred Ashley
East Freetown, Mass.
Edith Leonard Staples Chase (#146), North Dighton, Mass.
Kenneth 0. Davis & Marie Antoninl Davis ((#5), Wi 1 1 iamstown, Mass.
Kenneth & Judith Ashley Fugere (#36), Barrington, R.I.
Virginia Ashley Goff (#41), North Attleboro, Mass.
Roger T. and flildred Ashley Karl (#f07) Falrhaven, Mass.
Doris Ashley Lang (#7) and Ve*«« Ashley Dunham (#148), East Greotown, Mass.
Eleanor Ashley Marble (#158), Somerset, Mass.
Grace Ashley Marble (#157), Somerset, Mass.
Lillian Ashley McGrath (#112), South Gardner, Mass.
Charles and Shirley Johnston Parmelee (#58) and daughters Ann and Joan, Clinton, Ct.
Winona Stevens Leonard (#3), Lakeville, Mass.
Harold C. and Emma Ashley Randall (#87), South Dartmouth, Mass.
Elmer J. and Dorothy Ashley Reiser (#118) and guest Ruth L. Ashley, Somerset, Mass.
Marion G. Rogers (#165) and guest Eliza Beck, Quincy, Mass.
Antonio and Virginia Ashley Santos (#62), Taunton, Mass.
Edna L. Sowie (#124) and guests Florence Sowie and Hazel Sowie Smith, N. Dartmouth
Esther Ashley Spousta (#10), Rogers, Arkansas
Arthur C. and Lois Leonard Staples (#64), Segregansett, Mass.
Elton E. and Mrs. Staples, Chatham, Mass.
Bradford F. Swan (#4), Providence, R.I.
Helen Gurney Thomas (#8) Franklin, Mass.
Molly Nye Gammons Tobey (#127) and guest, Barrington, R.I.
Howard Wentworth Westfield and Irene Had ley Westfieid (#130), Rehoboth, Mass.
Robert Lynwood Westfield (#131), Sudbury, Mass.
Ruth Staples White (#69) and guests Louise Byers, Daniel Byers, Jeffrey Byers,
Amy Byers and Ann Elizabeth Byers, of Wi 1 1 iamstown, Mass. & East Flshkill, N.Y.
Note: We have endeavored to have an accurate attendance list but when so
many arrived at one -Klm<), wo vrould appreciate your help If we missed.
- 6 -
The first meeting of the family
organization, ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
was held In the Scotland Trinitarian
Congregational Church In Bridgewater,
Mass. on Saturday, August 29, 1970.
c:
MINUTES CI
First Organizational Meeting C
Approved August 28, 1971 £'
D c:
XXXXDCXXXXXXDCXXXDG
As people entered the meeting place, they were greeted at the door by
Mary Lou Ashley of Springfield, Ohio, and were given attractive name plate.
The meeting was presided over by Robert E. Ashley of Bridgewater, Mass.
The meeting was opened with the singing of America the Beautiful.
Marie A. Davis at the piano accompanied her husband Kenneth 0. Davis on the
violin.
Robert E. Ashley then proceeded to explain what the program for the day would
be. He then went on to explain and show the various flags under which our
Ashley ancestors served. They were:
The Union Jack (over 150 yrs. ago)
Green Mountain Boys
Bunker Hill Flag
Bennington Flag
The Ashley House Flag
After this Interesting talk, each person was asked to Introduce himself. Many
humorous remarks were made such as the one made by Helen Ashley when she said
that she liked her Ashley name so much that she never changed it.
Flags (replicas of the Ashley House Flag) were presented to the following:
To the person who traveled the greatest distance to come to the
reunion - ELTON STAPLES of Florida
To the youngest person present - DAVID ASHLEY, 7 years old, son of
Dr. Roger Ashley
To the oldest person present - PAUL LEONARD, 80 years old
We next heard from Beth Versailles who told us how the Hathaway Family started
their organization. She made many good suggestions and answered questions from
the f loore
Robert E. Ashley then made a tribute to the deceased Eugene Ashley of New
Bedford, Mass. acknowledging the great time, effort and money that Eugene
Ashley used to assemble a great amount of Ashley data.
Esther Ashley Spousta was also commended for the great work she has done and
is still doing on the Ashley Family Genealogy.
We were then asked to consider a name for the family organization, - to be
decided upon at the afternoon meeting.
It was unanimously agreed that the object of the family association was
"to gather^ preserve and publish Ashley Family InformatiorC\
The nominating committee to present a slate of officers at the afternoon
meeting was appointed comprised of Doris Ashley Lang, Helen Gurney Thomas,
and Winona Leonard.
- 7 -
The meeting was then recessed after which pictures were taken in front of the
Scotland Trinitarian Church. Aniong those taking pictures were Robert E. Ashley
and Roger Patton Ashley. A delicious lunch was served to about 86 people In
the Scotland Church by ladles of that church.
The meeting reconvened after lunch with over 100 people In attendance In the
Scotland Trinitarian Congregational Church, Bridgewater, Mass.
The election of officers took place and the following persons were elected to
office:
President - Robert E. Ashley
Vice President - John Sherman Ashley
2nd Vice President - Paul Leonard
3rd Vice President - Bradford Swan
Treasurer - Pauline Ashley
Secretaries - Marie A. Davis and Kenneth 0. Davis
Those present suggested many names for the family group; finally the name
ASHLBIS OF AMERICA was chosen.
The goal of the ASHLEYS OF AMERICA was again reiterated to be as stated In the
morning meeting - "to collect, preserve and publish facts of the Ash leys of
America".
It was decided that dues would be $3.00 per year for a single member and $5.00
per year for a family membership. Spontaneously donations were offered to
enrich the treasury. About $90.00 was collected.
It was agreed that the date for the 1971 meeting of the ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
would be set by the officers.
Mzrtd 4. DcayCa and Kenneth 0. Davie
Secretaries
- THE END -
/.<; /
PILGRIM SABBATH SERVICE
Pllmoth Plantation
August 29, 1971 V (^W^'^^^^Av^v/
Over a dozen Ashley descendants tooirpa?\t In the reenactment of^'^e^ ll$2| JfAaoe
Treaty between Pilgrims and Wampinoag lna|ans, and then Joined ' 'cs'^V vi?^"^??
Sabbath Service. Dressed in cosTum^s^-^#Ooined members of the >fe rt^' Me'l^Od I st
Church, the Mashpee Indian Churclr^and ^meinfelgrs of the How I and FamHy^hcJ
down a dusty street lined with ^^^A^t^^^us^^^^S^ounded by fende^^
could smell wood smoke, see fQpd^^pTOl< Srfd watch people carrying <
tasks of a 17th century farsfl^g-lfo^ i^^,
Just 350 yeara ago a group of Eff^ I T^hi^^Hpersecut for their re
sailed for the New World and ^^^^'•^^''i^f^^^ established a cj^on^
Pllmoth Plantation where they/ cou I d %)5^S^.,qn^^ wlthja^-f^
The full scale re-creation ov the vl I lage a^JfappSSrsS^^A^ fe
years of existence Is now neiring completion, "^rrftjL+S'-rCns^dered ^^epjfjhe
outstanding historical re-CTOatlons In the United States. \ v-
We thank Rev. Dr. Robert Bartlett of the 350th aTmfv©i=9ar*y conf^j^Ltt^S^OC^^ I
vlting us to. share In this unique experience.
• 8 -
CXDnCDCXXXDCXXXXXX:
13 CD
n CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS CD
Approved August 28, 1971 CD
CD
CDCDCXXDCDCDCDCDCDCXDCDCDCD
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I - Nam
The name of this organization shall be ASBLEIS OP AMERICA*
ARTICLE II - ObJeoU
The objects of this organization shal I .be to oolleot, preserue and publieh
material about the ASBI£I family in Amerida* >.
ARTICLE III - Meniberehip v^
>
Membership in this organization shall be open to any person who is interest*-
ed in furthering its objects.
ARTICLE IV - Officers
See. 1 - The elected officers of this organization shall be a President,
three Vice Presidents, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. A Publications Committee
(consisting of three members), a Membership Chairman, and a News Bulletin Editor
shall be appointed by the President, or other presiding officer.
See. 2 - The President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be
nominated at the annual meeting by the Publications Committee, and voted on by
the members.
See. 3 - Terms of office shall be for one year or until successors are
e I ected •
Sea. tf - In case of a vacancy in any off tee, the President or other presid-
ing officer shall appoint a replacement on a temporary basis.
ARTICLE V - Meetinga
See. 1 • The annual reunion shall be held each year, if possible, on the
weekend nearest to August 25th Cthe date of the marriage of our earliest proven
ancestors, Joseph and Elizabeth (Perclval) AshleyD. It shall be held In the
"01 de Colony" as defined by Governor William Bradford, that part of Southeastern
Massachusetts, I.e. Plymouth and Bristol Counties in Massachusetts, and that part
of Rhode Island formerly included In the Old Colony.
See. 2 - Special meetings may be called by. the President or other presiding
officer for the purpose of preparing for the annual jneeting or other business.
See. 3 - Chapters may be organized wherever Intet^est is shown.
ARTICLE VI - Amendnente
Amendments to this Constitution, or to the Bylaws may be made at any regular
meeting on a majority vote of the members present, provided due notice of such
amendment Is given In a previously published News Bulletin.
- 9 -
BYLAWS
ARTICLE I -DuB8
Sea. 1 • Annual dues shall be five dollars per year for each full
membership.
Sao. 2 - Each full membership shall entitle the holder to one vote and to
receive copies of the Auarterly News Bulletin of the year in which the member-
ship is taken out. Copies of back issues of prior years shall be available at
two dollars each as long as the supply lasts.
Seo. 3 - The dues of members Joining in the months of October » November and
December shall be credited to the next succeeding calendar year.
Seo. 4 - Minor children may be listed as an Associate Member by the payment
of a registration fee of one dollar. Associate Memberships shall not entitle
the holder to have a vote nor to receive copies of the Quarterly News Bulletin.
Sea. 5 - A membership year shall be from January first to December thirty-first
except as stated in Section 3.
ARTICLE II - ColUctUms
9
Every member of this organization Is encouraged to collect books, pamphlets,
records, original papers, deeds, letters, sermons, memoirs, biographical and
genealogical notes and treatises, family registers, epitaphs, autographs, maps,
newspapers, scrapbooks, volumes and collections of the antiquarians, and any
articles of historic value, both ancient and modern, which relate to the history
of the ASHLEY FAMILY IN AMERICA, and to take all possible care of such material
and to make such material available for publication in some form available to
all members of the organization.
ARTICLE III - FatPtoHo Soaietiee
Every member, who is so able. Is encouraged to assist other members to prove
descent enabling them to Join the patriotic societies such as Society of Mayflower
Descendants, Daughters (or Sons) of the American REvolution, Huguenot Society, etc.
ARTICLE IV * Neus Bulletin
Every member Is urged to contribute items of general interest to the News
Bulletin. Highlights and sidelights of the Ashleys are of special interest.
*'How to Search** and **Where to Find It" articles are much wanted. Also news items,
past and present, showing our failures as well as our successes.
ARTICLE V - Clippings
Every member is urged to collect birth, marriage, and obituary notices, and
any newspaper stories concerning Ashleys, and to mail them to the News Bulletin
Editor with the date and name of the newspaper.
ARTICLE VI - Genealogy
In order to compile material for the publication of AN ASHLEY GENEALOGY, every
member Is urged to complete his own line of descent and to send copies to the
President and to his Family Line Genealogist. The latter will assist members In
completing lines, keeping records, and continuing research on his particular branch.
Approved Auguet 28^ 1971
- 10 -
ELDER EDWARD RAINSFORD AND HIS ISUND
(Fwmiehed by Robert E. Aahley ffl)
Of Interest to ail Ashley descendants Is the following write-up by Edward
Rowe Snow, famous author of "The Flying Santa Glaus" and of many seafaring
books. The Edward Ralnsford referred to was the grandfather of Elisabeth
PoToival wife of Joaeph Aehley^. We regret that the storm Doria prevented a
side trip to the island during our second- reunion. Perhaps another year.
However, It Is well worth the trip If you are In the Boston area.
iiOtm WRJW' HAVIUlb TinSBAT. Hon^ A <t
^Myltary and Adventure*^
Rginsford Island
Old Burial Ground
■r BDmiVltO VE SNOW
Own Xom, wrtdDg to JAa WiaQinp la the vfa-
tar ot 1631; itquested that "Mr. Xaluford mty ba wb-
tmam^*^ irtth bate tar a lanu." Tbm^ Urn
PBrttn gomnmeat gava Elder Edmid Kalas!»d a
dun tilaitd ff elBVn acres fitnated betvcan Fad-
Epitapb «n Ralmferd'a tsland
dock^ aad Lopff Idandi, about atrea mills' aalllRni
Bosuml
Tm' nanjr jcan tt vu one of the Harfaor*! prettl.
est, hut In ttapreuBt ndaoui itate It ts hard^ ittrac*
Head stm centalM nuuy de-
U^iifui voAm and cant,
bawever, and die Blih BtuH
OB the eatfon iMe U a mU'
knom ludmadL TUt VbOt
alopei away on the Isslde to
lonn a flat area laiie eBoogh
lOr a basabaO dlamaod. Be-
tmaa tMi lead aad Weat
Head there ii a aano* itrlp
«t beach, Araeriy wide
eaotti^ tor a read but aow
barely passaUe at bl^h tide.
. Edward ]talns(ord.'.or Xaynafard as the name ms
senwtiBiu gelled, was the brother of Sir Bldiaid
Kalutord, Lord Chief Justice of the Kjii^'s Benrli. At
tHe date ef the Antlaomiaa Controversy, the Puritaai
declared Ralastod a heicUc and disarmed him. >
THE QUARANHNE hospital *as moved to Rains-
tari Island tnm Spectacle Island in 1737, but before
thUi Ae Island senas to ham 1»ei) used altter by the
lodana or the cdonUU as a burial ground. Aa iad-
dtot wUcb occurred many year* li^er oonfims thii
Idea.
Pr. 7.V.C. Smith. OB the Island In the iprfaig of
U», iTatehed a Ud setting Dp posts around snne yonDg
trees. Theboy drove Us crowbar into one of the many
tunkea piu and found a hnaum slmtl in a fairly good
suta of preservation. Smith believed tiiat Ute sunkea
pUs near the old fever hospital were ancieot graves,
but both histary and tradltiim are silent cooceming
them. _^
Smith was able to count about 500 graves in ISM,
and believed that with caretid exambiation perhaps TOO
could be IdenUfied. About this time a most unusual
iQaie grave was discovered containing a skeleton.
BESIDE THE ^eleUn was in Iron sword bllt, poa-
Mdy aacCestlBs the burid place ol that ancient Notse-
' .naa, Tborwald.
the Qnazantlae Station wa* moved fn»n Raiitf'
ford*! Island la 1S«. Dr. Smith, who later baeanie
mayor ot Bostoa,- spent much ct his time eogravlnE
hi&t(«lcal facts and pert proverbs on rocks all over Iha
Island. ' He was not alone, however, for tncre are
ecores.^f other signatures and messages In many
- MhrufN ^t^PS b^ to 1M7. Pertiaps, the oldest sig-
nature ts UiaTot Rdynsford, presumably written by the
man himself. ' '■ -
' I have spent many days on the island trying to d».
Cipher the various tnscriptltms on bodi gravestones and
. racks «n tb9 BboTK' On tiie BDutfawestem bluff, between
dia lectin of -^ old fever hoqtltal ot 1B3> and the
(ta.'nvaid, .riiAnd the foUowtDf e^tapb cut lota a
Nearby these gray nclB
Sndos'd in a box
UesHatttrCox
Vho died ot sraallpa
• > •
Ashley Cemetery Inscrfptfons (cont'd)
In memory of BISHUP ASHLEY JR. who died Nov. It« 1839 AE 23 years
MARY G. wife of ABRAM ASHLEY died Jan. 9, 1840 In her 49 year
LURA ANN 0. wife of CALEB A. KNAPP & Dau. of JOHN & SUSAN ALLEN died
Oct. II, 1841 AE 21 yrs
In Memory of JAMES ASHLEY who died at sea March 19, 1846 In his 27th year
(Roch. V.R. says son of Bishop & Lydia Hammond (Ashley) consumption at
sea ae 26 y. 3 m. 3d.)
ASENATH wife of ARCHIPPUS LEONARD died Jan. 12, 1848 In her 88 year
ASENATH C. wife of GALEN H. PIERCE born Dec. 19, 1799 died Oct. 22, 1849
ABRAM ASHLEY died Nov. 29, 1852 aged 80 yrs 10 mo & 28 days
SUSAN wife of JOHN ALLEN died Nov. 15, 1858 aged 74 yrs
ALONZO PEIRCE Co. E 5th Mass. Cav. (no dates) 1861-65 Vet Marker & flag
• •
Rochester V.R. also show the following burled here although there are no markers
BETSEY d. ABRAHAM Apr. 21, 1816 ae 5
THOMAS B. s BISHUP & LYDIA Mar. 23, 1816 ae 8 y 1 1 m
Notice that there are seven deaths here within a three week period In March and
April 1816. In the Mass. Historical Collection we find "A mortal fever appeared
In Falrhaven In September 1815 and spread northerly to Rochester. Between that
date and the following May, when the contagion ceased, 200 perspns died, as a
result of it. From Itovember I, 1815 to June I, 1816 (seven nonttiis) 63 persons
died in Rochester « a 49th part of Its population. The epidemic followed the
course of the river, tracing up the Acushnet and Mattapoisett.ftlvers toHhe
great poad In Freetown extending a little beyond the meeting house In North
Rochester. Six persons by the name of Ashley died in one house.''
This "spotted fever epIdemic'Vgives all the appearances of typhoid, and we note
in the "History of Acushnet" thftt In September 1815 at just about the time It
started, there .was a "great gale" on the 23rd "when the river rose ten feet .
above the high water mark. The bridges at Falrhaven and Acushnet were carried
away and aalt spray was felt as far inland as Mlddleboro". "Wells were ruined
by salt water at Mattapoisett". Could there have been a connection between this
hurricane and the Epidemic?
m t' •
Since Jtorth Avenue (or The Morton Road) the location of the Ashley Cemetery, was
laid out In 1750 on land belonging to Abraham Ashley Jr., the question arises
as to whether the road was laid out bMi4B the cemetery or was the cemetery
laid out beside the road? ? ? ? AND, since the earliest dated stone is 1788
but there being many of the old type field stone markers dating much earlier,
we feel that a marking ''ASHLEY CEMETERI - Ciroa 1760^' would be a fairly
accurate estimate of the date of origin of the cemetery. If we receive no
objections, we shall proceed to install a permanent sign for the gate of this
ASHLEY CEMEMTERY.
Robert E. Ashley #1
ECCENTRIC NOMENCLATURE
Rochester marriages (p. 129) Preserved Fish marries Abigail Clark Nov. 1788
Freetown records - Choice Valehtihe and Olive Blossom and Glove White and
Thani(ful Fr^ei^e-love and Oarkis Hope
Rochester Records - Fall If ear Hunter and Ivory Snow and Patient Spooner and
Mercy Tripp and Welcome Payne
Aldaberontophosphornia (Ek>wen) Fear I fig bur^ Parker Mills Cemetery, Wareham
- 12 -
□aGcxxxxxDcxxxxx:
G
[] LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF
CD NOAH ASHLEY SR.'
□ WIIIIam2, Joseph' G
G cn
GCXX3CXXXX3lXX3CX3CX:
From: Bristol County Probate
Records at Taunton, Mass.
Book 81 , page 71
Fuxmished by: Belen Oumey Thomaa #8
In the narfie of the Lord Amen. I Noah Ashley of MIddleborough In the County
of Plyrnouth and Comfr,onwoa I th of Massachusetts yeoman being advanced In life but
of sound and disposing mind and memory, calling to mind the uncertainty of life
and the certainty of death, do make and ordain this my last will and testament
as fol loweth:
First, I give my soul to God, hoping when it leaves this body it may arise
to dvtell with Angels of light. My body I commit to a decent burial by my
Executor hereafter named. As to the worldly property which the Lord hath bless-
ed me with, I dispose in the following manner.
Item - I devise give and bequeath unto the heirs of my son Luther Ashley
their heirs and assigns forever all the shares of land which I own
In the farm which my brother MIka Ashley late of Freetown died
seized of except two shares, one of which I bought of Lucy Ashley
now Lucy Cummlngs. Also one other share which I bought of
Wm. Ashley, except what I hereafter dispose of, said farm situated
In Freetown, County of Bristol, also I give unto the heirs of my
son Luther Ashley one undivided half of all the personal estate
which shall not be hereafter given away that I may die seized of.
Itrnn - i devise give and bequeath unto my son William Ashley his heirs and
assigns one half of all my personal estate not hereinafter disposed
of which I shall die seized of.
Item - i devise give and bequeath unto my son Noah Ashley his heirs and
assigns forever one half of all the swamp meadow land t own In the
farm formerly owned by MIka Ashley of Freetown aforesaid above and
below the dam.
Item - I devise give and bequeath unto my grandson Silas P. Ashley his heirs
and assigns forever one other half of all the swamp meadow land I own
In the farm formerly owned by MIka Ashley of Freetown aforesaid above
and below the Dam.
Item - I devise give and bequeath to my grandchildren Joshua Rowland, Almira
Howland now Almira Evans, Jeptha Howland, William Howland, Harrison
Howland and Franklin Howland Sixty dollars to be equally divided
between them to be paid In one year after my decease by my executor
hereinafter named.
And it is my will and I do appoint constitute and authorize my son William
Ashley to be the above Executor to this my last Will and Testament making void
all othors hoping It will be truly kept and faithfully preformed according to^
the true Intent and meaning thereof.
- 13 -
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this fifth day of
July, In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven*
Signed sealed published pronounced and declared by the said Noah Ashley as and
for his last will and testament In the prescence of us who at his request and
In his prescence hereunto set our hands as witnesses to the same.
W I tnesses : Oil ver Pe I rce Woah Aehley
Anna Pel rce
Job Pel rce
On October 4m 1839 William appointed administrator of the Noah's estate -
Noah then spoken of as "late of Fall River" ^^^^ Prob(0,».Jl^^^^mp^^ 16)
nnC3CX3GC3CX3CX3CX:
113 c;
□ WARRANTY DEED FROM C
C3 Zobulon Canedy to C
C3 NOAH ASHLEY Jr* C
C3 c:
C3DnC3DC3aC3aC3CX3C:
Oxiginal of thie Deed in poeeeaeion of
RUTH STAPLES WHITE #69
Who furnished us this copy
Know all men by these presents that I Zebu ion L. Canedy of MIddleborough and
county of Plymouth yeoman do In and for the consideration of eighty-five dollars
and fifty cents to me In hand paid by NOAH ASHLEY Jr. of town and county af fore-
said the receipt whereof I do bargain sell and convey unto the said Noah my un-
divided part of a lot of Ceder Swamp that I own jointly with the said Noah that we
hold by Deed from John Clark of Berkley and county of Bristol bearing date May 14
1833 and Is the first share In the Assonet Ceder Swamp so cat ^ and is bounded as
follows beginning at a white oak stump then on the line of the heirs of William
Canedy Esq. to John V. Crother Aliens corner that Is a ceder stake then by said
Aliens to a stake and stone In swampy land then by the upland to the road near
bel Is bridge so cal^.
To have and to hold the abbove undivided part to the said Noah and his heirs
and assigns for ever and I do covenant with the said Noah that I am seized In fee
of the afforegranted premlssis that they are free of all incumbrance that I have
good right to sell and convey the same and that I will warrant and defend the same
against the lawful I closing of all persons whatever in witness where of I the said
Zebu I on have hereunto set my hand and seal this twenty second day of October In the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty seven.
Witnesses: Salmon Snow Zebulon L. Canedy
Hopeste 1 1 B I sbee
and I Olive wife of the said Zebulon do rellnquls all right of dower in my above
named premises by my hand and seal.
Olive Canedy
Attest to Olive Candy: Silas P* Ashley
- 14 -
[XIXXX3CX3CX3CXX
[3
3 ASHLEY OLD-TIMERS
3
C3C3GCXX3CX3CX3CXX
HONO RABLE CK^>RLES SUMNER ASHLEY* ^ (Joshua B. - John Sherman - John - Perclval -
Abraham - Joseph)
John Sherman Ashley (#2), our first vice president, tells this story about his
grandfather, Charlie Ashley, who was mayor of New Bedford for 32 years,
Charlie was a great fishing enthusiast and often sailed down Buzzard's Bay with
friends for a days outing. Once during the nineties when his group was catching
a great many fish, another boat anchored nearby was catching none. So, when
they had finished, Charlie sent a man over to the other boat In a dory with their
remaining bait and the suggestion that they "try this bait with the compliments
of the Mayor of New Bedford". When the man returned he brought "thanks from
the President of the United States". It turned out to be President Cleveland
who was staying at the Summer White House at Gray Gables.
Some time later when Charlie suffered one of his very rare defeats at the polls
he heard that the postmastershlp was to be open In New Bedford. Traveling to
Washington he waited to see the President. When President Cleveland heard who
wanted to see him he was Immediately Invited In and the President told him his
bait had proven to be highly successful. "And now what can I do for you,
Mr. Ashley?" "Well Mm out of my job as Mayor and would like to be postmaster",
and President Cleveland answered, "by the time you get back to New Bedford you
will be Postmaster". Three years later, however, he was back In the Mayor's
office again.
Another of the Mayor's dally pastrhes was to feed the pigeons at City Hall steps
where they gathered at exactly 12:00 noon each day.
HEMAN ALLEN ASHLEY^ (Beman - Enoch - Thomas - Joseph)
Percy Allen Ashley (1874-1942) wrote Burton J. Ashley In the early I900's that
his father Heman Allen Ashley was not only a contractor, carpenter and builder,
but an Inventor as well. Heman Invented the "Ashley Mole Ditcher" and th3
"Ashley Co I ton Press" which were on exhibition at the Centennial of 1876. He
was a staunch member of the Second Lutheran Church, was tall and straight, and
did not use tobacco or liquor In any form. He was a greenbacker and populist.
After serving several months In the Civil War he was discharged at Vtcksburg,
Miss, and for a while he and his family lived In Indiana, but were forced off
their 600 acre farm and returned to Ohio.
Roger Patton Ashley (#96) a very active member of our organization. Is the
grandson of Heman, and like his father and grandfather before him, he Is
a good machinist and mechanic.
- 15 -
JAMES MONROE ASHLEY (Excerpt from the New Americanized Encyclopedia Britannica,
Vo. IX, pg. 264, published 1903 by The Saaifield Publishing Co.) submitted by
Alonzo E. Ashley (iff 12).
James Monroe Ashley, an American politician, born near Pittsburg, Pa. Nov. 14, 1824.
He edited the Portsmouth (Ohio) Dispatch, and later the Democrat. In 1849 he was
admitted to the bar, but never practiced, becoming interested In the Drug business
In Toledo. In 1859 he was elected to ODngress as a Republican, and served through
five successive terms. He held the position of chairman of the Territorial Commit-
tee, It being during this period that the territories of Arizona, Idaho and Montana
were organized. In 1869-70 he was Govornor of Montana.
{Editor^e note) In order to place James Monr6e on the family tree I found this ad-
ditional Information In Mitchell's Dictionary of Am. Blog.; History of Scioto Co.,
Ohio; and In my files: His education was acquired while a clerk on boats on the
Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Later he worked In printing offices and became editor
of the Dispatch ... .He served In Congress froih 1859 till March 5, 1869. He was
nominated for the 41st Congress but was defeated, and In 1869 was appointed Governor
of Montana.
He counted ancestors among the early English settlers of Virginia - the name of
C^pt. John Ashley appearing In the Virginia Charter of 1609. For nearly two cen-
turies the descendants of Capt. John Ashley resided in and near Norfork. One branch
of the family drifted to Pennsylvania and settled near Pittsburgh. His father
was John Clinton Ashley who married Mary Ann Klrkpatrlck, grandfather was Rev.
Benjamin Ashley, gr-grandfather William (?). James Monroe Is known to have one son
Charles whose grandson Thomas L. was a Democratic O^ngressman In 1955.
Note similarity of given names - - could our Joseph come from down Virginia way? ? ?
(CONTINUED from page J4) PROBATE RECORDS, Book 81, page III
October 10, 1839 - Taunton, Mass.: Hezeklah Mason, Ablshai H. Chace and Philip
Taber appeared and made oath that they would appraise NOAH ASHLEY'S estate.
Completed November 5, 1839 and Included:
I lot of land - about 48 Acres (woodland, old field and swamp meadow)
said land lyeth In Freetown and of which the County Road passeth
through - and the Rail Road passeth It all
Personal estate:
17 cords of wood % $3.00 $ 51.00
! 4-1/2 cords of soft wood % $2.00 9.00
I Note against Silas Williams 152.20
I Note against Thomas Lucas 53.30
I Note against William Ashley 153.00
I Note against William Ashley 105.00
I Note against Elbridge G. Ashley 59.67
I Note against David Ashley 196.26
I Note against Asa Pickens 28.39
I Note against Noah Ashley 79.31
I Note against Job Peirce 260.00
Notes against John F. Chace, Sumner Hinds
John P. Chace and Silas Williams 286.65 $1,433.78
Signed by He7ekioh Mac;nn« Fhlllp Taber & Abishal H. Chace - Appraisers
- 16 -
CIIIIIXIXIII3CXI3
CD
EMELINE DOUGLAS ASBLEJr^ Asdhel PondP, {2 OBITUARY
Zebulon!^^ Thomaa^, Thomae^j Joseph?- CD , w
□ EMELINE ASHLEY STEVENS^ ^
The follcwing clipping was from the San Joee CD
Daily^ December 31^ 1903 in the poeeeeeion of CIIXDCIIXDCIXXDCDCXD
Meruin F. Ashley (#21)
DEATH OF PIONEER WOMAN OF CALIFORNIA - PASSING AWAY OF MRS* EMELINE ASHLEY STEVENS
Deceased lady passed through the horrors of Panama riots In the fifties.
Intelligence has been received of the death in Los Angeles (California) on the
28th Inst, of Mrs. Erne line Ashley Stevens, mother of Mrs. Carrie Stevens Walter
and H# C. Stevens of this place (San Jose), Horace Stevens of San Francisco,
and Miss Augusta Stevens, Miss Alice J. Stevens and W. W. Stevens of Los Angeles.
Mrs. Stevens who had reached the advanced age of 80 years was one of the pioneer
women of (California who will be long remembered for the large hearted hospitality
and many sterling qualities that distinguished the noble women of those days.
She came by water to Marysville, California in 1856 to Join her husband who had
preceeded her two years. With her four little children she passed through the
horrors of the Panama riot in which a wild mob of natives attacked the steamer
passengers In the outer town of Panama and murdered many. For several hours
Mrs. Stevens with her children and two of their friends were barricaded in an
assaulted house finally escaping almost miraculously, when the death of the en-
tire party seemed inevitable. In the early days, Mr. and Mrs. Stevens were well
known and prominent factors in the business and social life of northern California,
and their circle of friends was very extended.
Mrs. Stevens came of an ancestry that was active In early Colonial days and In
the formation of our (Sovernment, her great grandfather Maj. Thos. Ashley was one
of the founders of the State of Vermont having been granted with some others the
Township of Poultney In 1761. Major Ashley was one of the famous Green Mountain
Boys and was second in command under General, then Colonel, Ethan Allen (a rela-
tive) at the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. Thomas Ashley's mother was a direct
descendant of Governor Thomas Prence whose wife Patience Brewster was a daughter
of Elder William Brewster who came in the first voyage of the Mayflower in 1620.
Mrs. Stevens' mother was directly descended from Roger Williams of Rhode Island
the well known pioneer of religious liberty In the (^lonles.
Mrs. Stevens remains will be brought from Los Angeles and Interred beside her
husbands at Oak Hill Cemetery. The funeral which will be private will be held on
Fr,lday Morning.
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS
Member #2 - Should be Anne (Johnson) Ashley instead of Anna
Member #124 - Edna L. Sowie, Friend of the Ashleys Is a Mayflower Descendant from
Francis Cooke, Stephen Hopkins, George Soule and Richard Warren
Remove Elmer Reiser's name from J 970 Attendees. and add Ruth L. Ashley
Pg. 90, July 1971 - re: John & Rebecca (Ashley) Whitfield - "whether they ever
built a house or lived here Is not known". Plymouth deed 34/141 shows they
had a house and I Ived here
- 17 -
n CI3
□ PUBLIC SERVICE CLAIMSCID
Taken from Fredrick County, Virginia
Court Booklet
Furnished by Mrs. Ross Cherry (127)
Page 18
Page 19
To Col« John Smith for I horse 15 hands high for Cont. use
To Thos. Edmonson for I horse 11 ha lids high, same use
To Robert Wood for 2000 lbs. hay for same use
Sept. 1782
To Peter Catlett for 3 bullocks
To Henry ASHLEY for pasturage for cattle
To Henry ASHLEY for 60 beeves
To Henry ASHLEY for 13 horses 2 beeves
To Will ASHLEY 13 days wagonage
To John Taylor for 33 gal Ions brandy
To Grace Parkins for (looks like 44 butter)
To Samuel Trobrldge for 27 flour
To Pol In Hodgin for 619 lb. flour
To Jacob Somirs for 225 lb. for bread
To Jacob Lindsay for 280 lbs
To Anthony Crum
To Meredith Hills ? for 8 days wagon hire
To Barnet Williams for 840 lbs. flour & 2 casks
To Barnet Williams for flour 480
To Barnet Wt 1 1 iams for 1 17 Bus
To John Samuels for 218
OCTOBER COURT 1782
To Robert Glimoner 60 bbl. corn
To Wm Vance for 125 oz. butter
To Thomas B. Mastln Esq frr 125 Gal whiskey & 10 d wagonage
To Thomas B. Mast in for 50 do bud
To Henry Canix (?) 6 days wagonage
To Wim. Campbell for shoeing horses
To Abraham Nuite (7) for flour & casks
To wm. Womack 23 bbis
To-Merdecal Bean for 216 lbs. flour
16 pounds
60 "
2 "
1-19-5
2
I
13
8-2
6
12
3-4
3-17
1-8-6
1-15
4
4-16
5-15
3
I-I4-I
3-3-7
30
18-4-13
18-19
14-7
3-12
24-6
12-3-4
10
1-19-6
This record is good as proof of military service in supplying soldiers of
Fredrfck County, Virginia.
TRADITION
Tradition tells of the old New Bedford sea captain (perhaps one of the many
(^ptain Ashleys) who was invited to speak to the school children about his
travels as first hand geography. All went well until at the end he said, **Now
boys and girls, I know your books tell you that the world Is round like a ball,
but I have sailed clear around It three times and I can tell from experience that
It Is flat as a pancake".
Bob Ashley
- 18 -
C3a:3acx3ci3cx3
13 C3
'J ANCESTOR TABLE C3 I. PAUL COOLEDGE LEONARD b May 28, 1890, Arl Ington, .Mass
"3 C3 m. Oct. 23, 1920 Winona May Stevens (desc. of
IXXX3nC3GC3C3C3 Anneke Jans, early Dutch settler In
New Amsterdam and prominent In early
Pumiehed by his daughter Colonial days)
nancy (Leonard) Tkuratan #126
II. 2. *John Wood Leonard (1855-1930) New Bedford, S. Dartmouth, Mass.
3. (I) Ada Rollins, stepsister) (e)^AIice Ashley (1861-1932) Acushnet, Lakeville
III. 4. *Capt. John Wood Leonard ( ) New Bedford, Mass. Salina, Kansas
5. (I) Phebe Corney (2) Sylvia Ann Tucker (1832-1876) Dartmouth, Mass
6. John Sherman Ashley Jr. (I8I7-I87I) Acushnet, Mass.
7. *Mary Purrlngton Nye (1825-1901) Acushnet, Mass.
8.
IV. 8. *Samuel Leonard (1791-1869) Middleboro,, New Bedford, Mass.
9. Hannah Taber (1788-1872) New Bedford, Mass.
10. James Tucker, Jr. (1807-1827) S. Dartmouth, ^ass.
11. Phebe Hart ftosher (1805- ) S. Dartmouth, MasV
12. John Sherman Ashley Sr. (1790-1826) Rochester, Mgss.
13. Mary (Polly) Gooch Brown (1796-1840) Rochester, Mass.
14. Pardon Nye (1791-1839) Falrhaven, Acushnet, Mass.
15. *SaHy Todd Ashley (1795-1878) Rochester, Acushnet, Mass.
■
V. 16. *George Leonard ( ) Middleboro, Mass.
17. *Mary Allen
18. Benjamin Taber (1766-1846) New Bedford, Mass.
19. (I) Rhobe Akin
20. James Tucker, Sr. (1777- ) Dartmouth, Mass.
21. Phebe Tucker (1722-1816) Dartmouth, Mass.
22. Joseph Mosher ( ) Dartmouth, Mass.
23. Ruth Lawton (1780- )
24. John Ashley (1762-1816) Rochester, Mass.
25. Charity Sherman
26. Jos i ah Brown ( ) Freetown, Mass.
27. Mary Gooch
28. Nathan Nye (1751- ) Rochester, Mass.
29. Lucy Bennett (1752- )
30. Abraham Ashley (1772-1852) Rochester, Mass.
31. *Mary (Polly) Purrlngton (1775-1816) Freetown, Mass.
VI. 32. Capt. Philip Leonard (1725-1785) Taunton, Mass.
33. *Mary Richmond ( ) Middleboro, Mass. .
34. ^Nehemiah Allen ( ) Middleboro, Mass..
35. «Ablah (or Bethia) Thomas ( ) Middlebdrp
36. Benjamin Taber ( - 1820)
37. Hannah Gardner (1737-1766)
38 & 39
40. John Tucker (1731-1820) (Dartmouth, Mass.
41. Rhode Wing (1741- )
42. Benjamin Tucl<er (1741- ) Dartmouth, Mass.
43. Silvia Ricketson (1742- ) Dartmouth, Mass.
44 4 45
- 19 -
VI. (continued)
46. Jonathan Lawton
47. Sarah
48. PerclvQi Ashley (1739-1822) Rochester, Mass
49. Anna Bishop
50. John Sherman
51. Ruth Alien
52 & 53
54. Col. Ja-nes Gooch
55.
56. Nathan Nye (1708- ) Sandwich, Cape Cod, Mass.
57. Sarah or Patience Perclval
58. Jeremiah Bennett
59. Chc.rlty Rounsevel I
60. Perclval Ashley (1739-1822) Rochester, Mass.
61. Anrsa Bishop
62. *Sartiual Purrlngton (1742-1789)
63. Patience Parker (1749- )
VI I. #64. Joseph Leonard (1692-1775) Taunton, Nlpplnlckett, Mass.
65. Charity Harvey (or Hodges)
#66. *Joslah Richmond (1697-1793)
#67. Mehitable Deane m. Feb. 6, 1745
68. James Al len
#69. *Mary Packard
70. Jededlah Thomas ( ) m. March 12, 1723
#71. *LoIs Nelson (1704- )
#72. Benjamin Taber (1796- )
73. Suscnnah Lewis
74 thru 79
#80. Joseph Tucker (1696- )
81. Mary htowland (1700- )
82. Benjomin Wing
83. Rhocia Rogors
#84. Abrcihanfj Tiicker (1718- )
85. Rebecca R«jssel I
#86. William RIcketson Jr. (1717- )
#87. Hannah Russel I
88 thru 95
96. Abraham Ashley (c. 1715-c. 1783)
97. (2) Rebecca Whittredge
98 thru 1 1 1
#112. Nathan Nye (cl665- ) Sandwich, Mass.
113. Mary
114 thru 119
120 and 121 (same as 96 and 97)
122 & 123
#124 Hezeklah Purrlngton (came to C^pe 0>d from Ktttery, Maine)
#125. ^Mercy Bates
126. Ellsha Parker
127.
* Mayflower Line
# More data ava If ab J a. f rum Nartcy Leonard- Thurston #126
- 20 -
LOOKING FOR CLUES
THURSTON, Mrs. Harry, Box 317, Rt. #1,
Half Moon Bay, Calif. 94019 - wants
data on TBVBSTON families In early
New England, especially the old Colony.
THURSTON, Mrs. Harry, Box 317, Rt. #1,
Half Moon Bay, Calif. 94019 - wants
to exchange data on FRASCISCO - TUTTLE -
SOB - BOGARWS families In New York State
or New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Noe
line is reputedly descended from
Anneke Jans Bogardus, early settler In
New Amsterdam, N.Y.
DUNNINGTON, Mrs. Leslie C. Drexel, Mo. 64742
wants parents of JAMES PETTON ASBl£y b. 30 Mar. 1825 at Carl Isle, Nicholas Co.,
Ky. d. 21 April 1904 at Carlisle, m. Rebecca KIncart, b 14 May 1829, d. 21 Apr.
1905. Hearsay Is that father was John Ashley (Sgt. Maj. N.C.) b. 1755,
d. 29 May 1858. Can this be proved? (Editor's note - Could father be John Jr.
Bee querie belou)
HUDSON. Mrs. Robert E. Sr., 405 S. Franklin, Windsor, Mo. 65360 - wants data on
fmWy of JOHN ASBLEY SB. b. circa 1755 N.C. d. cirt3a 1810. tHad SOS John Jr;
01794-1857/8) m. 1813 Elizabeth iJicntgomery. Who wore John Sr.'s parents?
Does anyone have name of John Sr.'s wife and were there other children?
HORTON, Mrs. C. J., Rt. I, Box 565-166, Benton, Ark. 72015 - wants Information
on OUVEB ASBLEY who m. Frances Cates; father bel leved to be John Ashley who
m. Artimlse Skinner; possibly were In Alabama.
WEBSTER, Mrs. Freela Dee, 222 Jefferson St., Decatur, Ind,
data on VILCOM M. ASBLEY of Ky. (1801- ) m. Bathsheba
Who were parents of Wllcom?
46733 - needs i.iore
In 1824 In Ky,
THURSTON, Mrs. Harry, Box 317, Rt. #1, Half Moon Bay, Calif. 94019 - Does anyone
have tnfonnatlon on maiden name of Martha m. 1st settler Henry Tucker
(1619-1694). They settled In Dartmouth In 1609 after persecution as Quakers,
May have come from Marshfleld, Duxbury or Plymouth with the Howland family.
Does anyone have the answers to these Queries 7 ? ?
CURRENT DOniES" of
ASHLEYS AROUND THE GLOBE
CURRENT ACTIVITIES - -
WEDOING BELLS TOLL AGAIN
Jam L, Ashley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Allen C. Ashley of 78 Laurel St.,
Falrhaven, was married July 17, 1971
to Louis V. Downing, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Cornelius V. Downing of Wrentham.
The bride graduated from Falrhaven High
School and Hew England Deaconess
Hospital School of Nursing. The Bride-
groom was graduated from King Philip
High School and is currently employed
at the V.A. Hospital, West Roxbury.
Frank ff. Ashley <7r., son of Mr, and
Mrs. Frank H. Ashley of East Freetown,
was married to Lois Dorothy Valentine,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Valen-
tine of 2706 Acushnet Ave., New Bedford
on August 14, 1971. The couple will
reside In East Freetown upon their re-
turn from a wedding rip to New Hampshire,
KEW ARRIVAL - - - -
We welcome to the Clan CEADD CONRAD
ASBLEI born June 25, 1971, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Ashley of Wilming-
ton, Delaware, and grandson of Mr. and
Mrs. Roger P. Ashley, of Springfield,
Ohio. We hear that Chadd has lots of
very dark hair and dark brown eyes.
SCOTT ASHLEY son of Karl Ashley Jr.
tied for first place when the Laker
Harriers ran to their second win In a
row over Hull High. Scott crossed the
finish line with time of 15:29 over
Apponequets course.
Hcofy Coohran Eller (#32) Is currently
compiling all Church records In Darke Co.
Ohio. She Is nearing completion of those
at St. John Luthern Church, which are
all In German and requiring clearing
through a transcriber. Slow going but
this data will be Invaluable for future
generations.
Clarence and Anna Gamer (138) have just
returned from a five-week trip to the
Orient. We are eager to learn more.
Poulpiey_t Vevmcmt celebrated their
200th anniversary on August 14, 1971.
Since this town was organized with the
help of seven of Joseph's grandsons,
the Ash leys were recognized for their
very active part in the towns beginning.
We have been advised that rubbings of
the tombstones In the old cemetery can
be obtained from the Jr. Division of the
Poultney Historical Society for $2.00
each unmounted, or $3.00 each for mount-
ed rubbings.
The KARL ASHLEY JR. family of Or. Braley
Road, Freetown, are hosts to Jacinto
Martinez, an American Field Service
student from Valencia, Spain. He is 17
and a Senior at Apponequet Regional High
School. About one' year of preparation
was required, including tests on the
English language, public speaking, per-
sonality and Intelligence, In addition
to extensive reading. His specialty
will be biological sciences. Scott
Ashley will be his brother for the yeac
helping him in every way to adjust to
the American way of life. In 1968 the
Karl Ashley family hosted Dawn MItal of
New Zealand, also an exchange student
under the same program.
CIIXIXXIIIX3CXXXXXDI
G MEMBERSHLP ROXL
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CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS
#149 LESLIE CROUCH DUNNINGTON
1162
1102 KENNETH C. FOLEY
Add I ineaqe - AlmedTa Jane Trlbby - Mary
Francis Ashley - James Peyton Ashley -
John Ashley
New Address: 133 Dr. Bra ley Rd.>
Edsi" Frdoi'own Mdss 027 1 7
#161 BETTY LOU (COLLINS) MOORE Add Lineage: Erdine Ashley - Peter Morgan
Ashley - William Ashley - Peter Ashley
RUTH ELVER (ASHLEY) PIERCE^ Add lineage - Archie Abie I Ashley (7) Noah
Williams(6) Abiel Williams (5) Noah (4)
Noah (3) William (2) Joseph (I)
Add lineage - William Cullen Roberts •
John Cherry Roberts - Elizabeth Ashley -
John - Nathaniel (?) of S.C.
Add lineage - Calverna Nelson - John Wm.
Nelson - Martha Jane Ashley - El loom M.
Ashley of Ky. b. 1801 m 1824 Bathsheba
#163 ALICE (ROBERTS) PITTS
#170 FREELA (HAYES) WEBSTER
NEW NENBuERS
#174 MRS. RICHARD L. AMOS
1006 Tongess Apts., Ketchican, Alaska 99901
#175 MRS. JOHN g. AN0ERS0N(9) Mrs. Ellis DeCann (8) Susie Ashley (7)
47547 Orangelawn Ave. William (6) Baxter (5) Warden (4)
Plymouth, Mich. 48170 James (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
#176 GORDON S. ASHLEY
108 Race St., Lexington, Miss. 39095
#177 HENRY C. ASHLEY (10) Henry Simeon (9) Warren King (8) Simeon (7)
19013 Chagun Blvd. Stephen (6) Stephen (5) Joseph (4)
Shaker Heights, Ohio 44120 Joseph (3) Joseph (2) Robert (I)
#178 HENRY SIMEON ASHLEY (9) Warren King Ashley (8) Simeon (7) Stephen
10 Knollwood Dr. (6) Stephen (5) Jos. (4) Jos. (3)
E. Longmeadow, Mass. 01028 Joseph (2) Robert (I)
#179 JOAN P. ASHLEY
207 Middle Rd., Falmouth, Maine 04105
#180 LEON & RUTH ASHLEY
200 Court St., Plymouth, Mass. 02360
#181 MILDRED ASHLEY (7) Chester Ashley (6) David (5) Luther (4)
50 North St. Noah (3) William (2) Joseph (I)
Middleboro, Mass. 02346
#182 ROBERT C. ASHLEY (II) Henry C. Ashley (10) Henry Simeon (9)
Warren King (8) Simeon (7) Stephen (6)
Stephen (5) Joseph (4) Joseph (3)
Joseph (2) Robert (I)
#183 WARREN H. ASHLEY (10) Same as #177
ROBERT C. ASHLEY (II)
Ice House Road,
Watertown, Ct. 06795
WARREN H. ASHLEY (10)
740 N. Main St.
West Hartford, Ct. 06117
- 23 -
#184 MARILYN (ASHLEY) BOEHN (ID Same as #182
33 Tobey Ave.
Windsor, Ct. 06095
1185 JANE (ASHLEY) COATS & Same as #94
Or. Thomas L. Coats
PO Box 517, Alpine, Texas 79830
#186 MRS. ELLIS DeCANN(8) Susie Ashley (7) William (6) Baxter (5)
2726 Burnham Rd. Warden (4) James (3) Thos. (2) Joseph (I)
Royal Oal^, Mich. 48073
#187 MRS. WARREN L. FINGAR
3375 Crooked Limb Court, Flushing, Mich. 48433
#188 CHARLES ROBERT GIRLING
12 Rockland St., Taunton, Mass. 02780
#189 ELOISE (ASHLEY) HORTON Myrtle Z. Ashley - Oliver - John
Rt. I Box 565-166
Benton, Ark. 72015
#190 ELIZABETH (WALKER) JOHNSON (8) Daughter of 1169
8233 Nathan AVe., Norfolk, Va. 23518
#191 JANE (ASHLEY) LANOU (II) Same as #182
200 St. Anftrews Blvd. Apt. 2208, Winter Park, Fla 32780
#192 CONSTANCE (WALKER) OEDEKOVEN Daughter of #169
Recluse, Wyoming 82725
#193 MRS. LAURETTA RUSSELL
PO Box 12103, San Antonio, Texas 78212
#194 NEIL B. WALKER (8) Son of #169
528 Brown Ave., Seekonk, Mass. 02771
#195 W. BRUCE WALKER (8) Son of #169
3051 Nute Way, San Diego, Calif. 92117
#196 EDITH (ASHLEY) WHITMAN (8) Alonzo Gtfford Ashley(7) Thomas J. (6)
Laksville, Mass. 02346 Abraham (5) Thomas (4) Abraham (3)
William (2) Joseph (I)
#197 MRS. AUDREY (ASHLEY) ZAVICK
60 Taos Rd., Altadena, Calif. 91001
MISCELLANE OUS ASHLEY NOTES (Furnished by Harrlette Word Park #59)
ASHLEY, John - Nat. Gen. Soc. Qtdp. V 51 p 90 "Early NY Wills"
File No. 836. Ashley, John 25 June 1729 (will not recorded)
NY Co. Surrogate's Office, Rm. 303, Hall of Records, NY City
ASHLEY, Peter - 1850 Census NY Oswego Co. Part f First War July 16, 1850
18 132 Peter Ashley ae 55 Carpenter
Margaret 55 b. Ct
ASHLEY, William 1850 Census - Otsego Co. Town of Westford
Dw 14 Fam 66 William C. Ashley ae 36 Mason b NY
Pol ly 36 "
Carlos 10 "
Lucy M. 8 "
Margaret A. 3 "
- 24 -
Vol. II No. 2
QUARTERLY NEWS BULLETIN
January 1972
TSE WILLIAM ALLBH ASBLEI HOUESTBAil
Aaushnatt Maaeaohuaetta
ASHLEY FAMILY ASSXIATION
Organized August 29, 1970
1972 OFFICERS
President Robert E. Ashley
1st Vtce President John S. Ashley
2nd Vice President Paul C. Leonard
3rd Vice President Bradford F. Swan
Secretary - -_---- Maria A. Davis
Treasurer ------------ Nancy Ashley
Publications Committee - - -Doris Ashley Lang
Helen Gurney Thomas
Susan Ashley French
Membership Chairman ----- Marie A. Davis
News Bulletin Editor - -Esther Ashley Spousta
Objects: To oollaot, preeetve and publieh material about the ASHL£I
FAMILS of Amerioa.
Membersh I p : Open to any peraon interested in furthering the C^jeote
of the Organisation
5.00 par Calendar Year
But - we hope YOU haven't
forgotten to pay your 1972 dues.
Sorry - but menders whose 1972
dues are not received by MARCH 1st
will be removed from the mal I Ing
list receiving the Quarterly News
Bulletin.
D N'T DELAY
Make checks in amount of S5.00
payable to ASHLEYS OF AMERICA.
Mal I promptly to:
Miss Nancy Ashley, Treasurer
165 Elm Street
South Darfmouth, Mass. 02748
ASH LEYS OF AMERICA
January 1972
from the
Sditor '8
Deek
HAPPY NEW YEAR '.
May 1972 be a prosperous and
happy one for each of you.
Please make one of your 1972
New Year's Resolutions - that
you will share your ASHLEY
data by sending material
to me for publication.
Our Bulletin can only be as
good as YOU make It.
Mall NOW to:
Eether Ashley Spousta
Editor
PO Box 321
Rogers t Arkanaaa 7 27 56
NEWS BULLETIN
Published quarterly In months
of January - April - July and
October .
Free subscription with each
$5.00 membership.
Extra copies may be obtained
by mailing $2.00 to the
Ed I tor
Vol. II No. 2
CONTENTS
26 K^JOW YOUR EDITOR
27 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
27 MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
28 BIOGRAPHY - Thomas Ashley^, Thos^ Jos'
29 ADRIFT IN THE PACIFIC
William Allen Ashley^
30 COVER STORY
31 OBITUARY - Alonzo GIfford Ashley^
32 TRIBUTE - Clarissa Wyman Ashley^
33 INTERESTING LETTERS
Re: Phllinda Ashley^
From: Colgate - Palmollve - Peet Co.
35 THE SPIRIT LAKE MASSACRE
Rheumllla (Ashley) Howe^
38 ANCESTOR TABLE -
Ruth Emily (Gloor) Flngar
39 1812 PENSION APPLICATION and APPLICA-
TION FOR REIMBURSEMENT
William Ashley
41 OUT OF THE PAST - Miscellaneous
43 PERSONAL GLIMPSES
43 POLITICAL REGISTER & CONGRESSIONAL
D I RECTORY
44 QUERIES
45 MEMBERSHIP ROLL
46 ADVERTISEMENTS
- 25 -
CIXXIXIXXXXXXXXIXXIXXIXXXDCXIXIIXXIIIXIIIX^
Kf^OW YOUR EDITOR CI
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ESTHER ASHLEY SPOUSTA, daughter of Sanford Harris and Josephine (Strecker)
Ashley, was born In Grand Forks, North Dakota where her father and mother
moved from Vermont and Massachusetts respectively.
She studied Architectural Engineering at the University of North Dakota
and the University of Minnesota. For several years she was employed as
a Wage Practices Engineer at Western Electric Co. In Chicago, where she
met and married Wins low Clement Spousta, who was a mechanical engineer
for the same company.
After Mr. Spousta's retirement, they moved to northwest Arkansas.
WInslow was killed In 1965 In a tragic accident while superintending the
construction of the Prairie Creek Boat Dock located on the new Corps of
Engineer's "Beaver Lake".
Esther has always been/a career;.glrl , but has found time to take an active
part In women's church work and patriotic organizations serving In many
offices. She Is listed In the 1970-1971 Who's Who of American Women.
She Is now design engineer and office manager for the Prairie Creek De-
velopment Company.
She has compiled and published two genealogies, one on the Strecker
family, the other covering the Spousta-Clpra families. She and her hus-
band have spent over 25 years collecting data on the Ashley family and
It Is her ardent hope to have an active part In publishing an ASHLEY
genealogy. Another recognized publication is the Arkansas Roster and
Register of Ancestors of all Arkansas DAR members, both active and Inactive
from 1893 through 1968, of which she was the comt>iler and editor.
An active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, she has
served as State Regent of Arkansas, and Is currently on the national
board as Vice President General. While State Regent, she organized a
Chapter in her home town of Rogers, which is named after her revolution-
ary ancestor, ENOCH ASHLEY.
We are fortunate to have her serving as editor of our Quarterly News
Bulletin of Ashleys of America.
Robert E. Ashley
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CXIXXXIIIXXXXXTTXTTTTTTTTTTXTXIXIXXXIIXI3
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[D
TOWNS AND COUNTYS named ASHLEY
Ashley County, Arkansas
Ashley, Illinois
Ashley, Indiana
Ashley, Michigan
Ashley, North Dakota
"■^ *sh!ey Falls, Massachusetts
*iley Creek, Utah
Ashley County, New Zealand
Ashley, Ohio
Ashley, Pennsylvania
Ashley, N.S.W., Australia
Ashley, Saskatchewan, Canada
Ashley Junction, South Carolina
- 26 -
FROM YOUR PRESIDENT
with little over six months to go until our third
reunion, I am sure you will all be Interested In
the great progress being made.
Tentative plans now call for a Saturday, August 26
meeting at the WHALING MUSEUM of the Old Dartmouth
Historical Society, 18 Johnny Cake HIM, New Bedford,
where we will be among the first to have the use of
the new theatre now under construction as part of the
museum ccmplwc.
In addition, Mr. Richard Kugler, museum director. Is arranging an exhibition
of the paintings of Clifford Warren Ashley' (Abiet Daoie^, Sitae Hakerte%
SodhTt Soah^, VilViam^t Joseph^) our cousin who was the well known artist and
author. This exhibit will open the night before the meeting and will continue
for the general public afterwards. Mrs. Sarah Ashley Delano, Cllfford*s widow
will Include paintings never before exhibited, as well as many that have been.
Additional pictures are expected from other sources. As far as we know, this
Is the first time that any family having a reunion will have such a remarkable
added attraction.
Morning and afternoon programs are yet to be selected, but so many good ones
are available that narrowing it down to what will fit into a single day will
be a problem. Sunday also Is still open. Luncheon on Saturday will pro-
bably be at the Wamsutta Club.
Our thanks to Nancy Ashley for her extensive leg work In Investigating the
above arrangements and'rtow - let's hear your desires regarding programs.
FROM YOUR MEMBERSHIP CHAIRMAN
It was unanimously agreed at our second reunion that one of our goals for 1972
should be to inareaae our membership. It was the opinion of all present that
to accomplish another of our goals - that of publishing an ASBLEI GBNEAL0G7 -
we need to contact as many living descendants as possible.
Enclosed are copies of an Introductory letter which Is being sent to all bear-
ing the name of Ashley or those known to be related to the family. Wont you
help by mailing these letters to someone you know to be an Ashley descendant?
It will also assist in our membership drive If you wilt send me names of Ashley
descendants In your area. Check your telephone directories, keep alert for
Ashley names In your newspapers, etc. end forward to me.
With your help we can grow.
MASIE A. DAVIS
CXXX3CIXID . •
CI
BIOGRAPHY G
C3 THOMAS AS HLEY'
CXXXIXX3 _ ,
(Thomas^, Joseph')
Copied from the VERMONT HISTORICAL GAZETTEER^ Edited by: Abby Maria Hememoay
Published in 1871, Burlington, Vermont - VOL. HI, page 978
THOMAS ASHLEY - The first that will attract our attention Is the bold and Intrepid
Thomas Ashley. He was a man of superior abilities both natural and acquired, and
was extensively employed In advancing the good order of the town. The proprietors
were so well satisfied with his services that they gave him 200 acres of land as
an acknowledgment of his kindness in promoting the good order of the settlement.
He was often a representative in the Legislature, Judge of the court of common
pleas. The State, then a British Colony, often committed to him Important business.
Thomas Ashley removed to Poultney In 1771* He was treasurer for a long time of
the Proprietors. He was a man of athletic and firm constitution, and of bold
and fearless spirit. He was the leading man of this settlement (Poultney) for
many years. For more than twenty years he was justice of the peace, and held
some of the most Important town offices. He was a representative of the General
Assembly In 1787, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1800 and 1801.
While a member of the legislature he would not let a member dodge the responsi-
bility of voting. An exciting question coming under trial by yeahs and nays,
a man took his hat and rose. Ashley, quick as the man was upon his feet, with
as loud a voice as became the man who followed next after Allen at TIconderoga,
calls out - "Mr. Speaker, I move no member be permitted to leave the room until
the quest Ton is decided." The man dropped back Into his seat; The house shouted.
In politics he was an unbending Republican. He was one of the original members
of the Poultney Library Association - in fact, he may be called Its Founder.
He was a great reader; after enjoying its advantages for a few years he often
remarked that he knew the situation of the old world as well as he did that of
his own farm.
He was the next man to Ethan Allen, as already noticed, that entered the old
Fort at Ticonderoga and stood at the top of the stairs as sentinel white Allen
entered the fort as commander. He was a great man of strong mind, retentive
memory and strict Integrity, and was ardent in his love of country - bold and
inteprld as a soldier, and greatly beloved In private walks of life. He died
July 9, 1810.
Perhaps never in the history of this town, has so large a concourse of citizens
been In attendance upon funeral services, as at his - with the exception perhaps
of Roll In C. Mallary and Joel Beaman. The citizens bore the remains of their
venerable and respected neighbor upon a bier, from his residence to the burial
ground In this village, where he was laid to rest beside his kindred and those
who had been the recipients of his hospitality, and had shared with him In tolls
and privation. In the early periods of our history. He exerted as great an In-
fluence as any man In town, while he lived.
ADRIFT IN THE PACIFIC
WILLIAM ALLEN ASBLEI^ (WilliottB^,
hrdhair, Ji
William^, Abn
JoBwph^)
Whaling Ship "CANTON"
By: Robert E. Ashley (ft) and
Helen Louise Ashley (#86)
Everyone kiK)ws the story of Captain Bllgh of "Mutiny on the
Bounty" fame. At least two movies have been made and -hvo
books written on the subject of how Bllgh and the loyal
members of his crew were set adrift In an open boat by the
mutineers and of his amazing 46 day, 4000 mile trip from
the Friendly Islands to Timor, Indonesia. Nordhof and
Hall wrote "Men Against the Sea" as a sequel to their famous "Mutiny on the Bounty"
which gives the whole story In great detail.
Not SO well known Is -Hte longer, 49 day, 3600 mile trip In open boats made by
William Allen Ashley, one of the 32 man crew of Captain Andrew J. Wing of the
whaling ship "Canton".
William Allen Ashley was born In Falrhaven, Mass. on September 10, 1833, the
seventh and youngest child of Captain Williams and Del ana (Alien) Ashley. It was
not surprising that he should take to the sea. His protection certificate Issued
August 7, 1852 describes him as 19, of Falrhaven, 5'^" tall, complexion light,
hair brown, eyes dark, a typical "black" Ashley. (See article on page 42)
Three days later on August 10, the whaling ship "Canton" 409 tons under the helm
of Andrew J. Wing, Captain, with William Allen Ashley as one of the 33 men aboard,
sailed from New Bedford for a voyage to the North Pacific. It was never to re-
turn. "Lost on a ree/ in Paoifia Ooean with actrgo of 1300 barratte of uhal» oil"
according to the report of the Commissioner of Fisheries.
Captain Wing was 32 and known to be an able master who always returned with enough
oil to place several hundred dollars In the pockets of each crew member. Round-
ing the horn and heading across the Pacific, they must have done very well In the
first eight months out, but on the night of March 4, fate was to Intervene with
a then uncharted mId-PacIfIc Island, now known as Canton Island after the whale*
ship that It wrecked. A strong wind was bowling them along at a good clip but
no one was worried for they were under reefed canvas, in a strong ship with an
excellent crew and captain, and - they thought - plenty of open water ahead. In
fact Captain Wing had gone to his cabin when he heard the lookout shout -
"Hard a-lee ... hard a-lee".
Dashing to the deck, he was too late for the ship was mortally wounded as It
ground onto the coral reef of the Island that nobody knew was there. Water poured
In and the gale forced the vessel on her beam ends. Captain Wing then shouted the
orders that would save the lives of the men even though the ship was doomed.
- 29 ■
(Continued on page SO)
The masts were cut away to prevent the "Canton" from turning turtle^ Now through
the night the men worked to save themselves and as much of the food and supplies
as possible. Four whaleboats, some fresh water and biscuits were all they could
sa I vage .
A few days later the four boats, with another strake added to give more height,
set out on what would total a nearly 4000 mile journey from their position In
the Phoenix Islands (see National Geographic Map #61, Sec. HiO) toward the
KIngsmlll Group, about 800 miles to the West. Captain Wing frankly told his men
that he was merely guessing about the nearest land as all of the charts had been
lost In the sinking, but the crew gave him a vote of confidence and were with him
to a man. Rations were short, one biscuit and one-half pint of water a day for
each man. Soon the 100 degree heat and the lack of water began to show Its toll.
One member of the crew plotted to kill the captain, but was foiled by another.
"A mate plans to do you In Captain", he said. Wing at once took away the knife
of the accused and had him sit next to him for better watching.
fot days the starving men rowed or sailed. If a wind offered. Then In the dark
of night, breakers could be heard on a distant shore - a welcomed sound for It
Indicated that land was near. The next day they landed, but although there was
water and rest for them, there was very little food. After resting awhile they
decided to push on another 3000 miles toward Guam. By dead reckoning, they
reached Guam where cocoanuts and turtles supplied the needed food, which at
first they ate raw.
After two months on this Island, a Swedish brig picked up the Captain and three
others taking them to Hong Kong. Other whaling vessels soon picked up the others
and all eventually arrived back In New Bedford.
CXX3CXj •■ Five of these men built homes In Acushnet, Massachusetts - the
C3 cover illustrates the home of William Allen Ashley at 1443 Main St
COVER CD Another was built by Thomas E. Bra ley two doors North now occupied
STORY Z2 by Braley's grand nephew. Captain Wing grandfather of Sal lie
n Nye White (#70) built his home at 858 Main St.. Alden T. Manter
CIXXXD and William BIsbee also built their homes In Acushnet.
William Allen Ashley married 14 April 1861 Hannah Howtand Crapo, daughter of
Philip and Hannah (Crapo) Crapo. They had one son, Williams Crapo Ashley,
born 1863 who married Ellen Louise Geggatt in 1886 and to them were born six
children, one of whom Is Helen Louise Ashley (#88), a retired teacher who lives
In the old homestead and operates the large fruit farm where the superb "Ashley
Peaches" are raised and sold. People come from far and near to buy these
peaches planted by the man shipwrecked a half a world away.
Helen Ashley remembers hearing her grandfather and Thomas E. Braley often dis-
cuss their days adrift at sea.
This early Ashley homestead Illustrated on the cover was built circa 1850-1855.
(The end)
- 20 -
ALONZO GIFFORD ASHLEY' (Thoras J.^, Abraham^ C3 OBITUARY C3
Thomas*, Abraham^, Wmiain2, Joseph') C3_ _□
From the Sew Bedford Standard
Dated Jamuxry SU 1911
KILLED AT HOWLANO*S - Alonzo 6. Ashley and LeRoy R. Howland walked to death -
Failed to see train approaching when they alighted from Taunton train -
Mrs. Ashley discovers bodies —
Alonzo 6. Ashley and his nephew LeRoy R. Howland were instantly killed at
Howiand*s station about 6 o'clock on Monday night as they alighted from a south
bound train.
The man and the boy were returning from work In Taunton and were going to
Mr. Ashley's home which is not far from the station. They started to cross the
north bound tracks and were struck down by the engine of the Boston train that
leaves this city (New Bedford) shortly before 6 o'clock.
Rowland's already has a record for railroad accidents, and the two lives added
to the number who have met death at the station near Myrlcks adds to it's repu-
tation as a dangerous crossing.
«
The train continued on it's way and none of the crew knew that the two men had
walked to their deaths. The New Bedford bound train started on after leaving
the two passengers at Myrlcks and undoubtedly the noise of the starting train
muffled the sound of the engine that was speeding towards Myrlcks.
• • . • _ • .
Mrs. Ashley, waiting at home for her husband, began to think something was
wrong when her husband did not arrive promptly at the usual hour. She waited
until the noise of the trains was heard no more and no one came. When she had
given the men ample time to reach home, she lighted a lantern and walked to the
station, a building by the side of the tracks with no agent or keeper.
There was no one at the station and she had passed nobody on the road. She had
heard the train slow down at the station and somebody must have got off there.
Swinging the lantern she walked along the track a short distance north of the
station and she saw the body of a man In the ditch that skirts the tracks. When
she bent over the body she recognized her husband dead.
She guessed what had happened and walked further looking for the boy. His body
she found In the tracks some distance away and she moved It to the ditch beside
her husband's. Then she went for help summoning the neighbors to assist her In
removing the bodies to her home.
Mr. Ashley was In his 41st year and was employed as a painter of automobiles.
The Howland boy, 16 years and 6 months old, worked In the Mason Machine works,
and lived with the Ashley family. He was the son of the late Lyman B. Howland
and Mrs. Ashley was Rose (Rosen la) Howland, sister of Lyman B. Howland.
Hr. Ashley is survived by a grown up son (Em4»t Alonao 1894'196S) and a
daughter (Bdith AaKUy Whitman #196) .
(Continued ort page 40)
- 31 -
rxiDCxixxixxx: ••
L
T R I B U T E to CI
DCIarrlssa Wyman AshleyCI
xxncxxxxDDcxDcx:
CLARISSA WYMAN ASHLEY^ iZebulon^^
Thmias^y 'Thomas^, Joseph?-)
b. 20 May V 1805, Poultney, Vermont
d. 2 March 1870- Rochester Depot, Ohio
m. 9 June 1828 DANIEL STREATOR POND
The following tribute to his mother was written by Stephen Decatur Pond and was
found In Burton J, Ash leys notes •
"Clarissa Wyman Ashley, my mother, was but seven years old when the family left
Vermont for the then great West the wilderness of Ohio. They bid farewell to
near and dear friends never expecting to see them again. They were on the road
six weeks before they reach their chosen home on the banks of Owl Creek In Knox
Co. (Ohio).
As soon as they got comfortable fix In their log cabin their attention was turned
to clear away the forest trees to put out the spring crops. By the time the corn
came In sight the squirrels were so thick that In order to keep It from total
destruction Clarissa carried two short boards and would clap them together to
f Irghten them away every few steps around the field. What would you think of
that young girls. Shortly after they got settled the pioneer Nursery man
Johnny S. Apple See as he was called, who had small nurseries scattered all over
pOpijttja.LJQt readily bought young trees and soon had a thrifty
'yfeuing" apple" orchard' gTO but the trials of pioneer 1 1 fe especially on the
frontier In war time, we of this day no nothing of. They were all fearful of
hostile savages as well as Brttlch soldier alt or nearly all able to bear arms
were In the field with Gen. Harrison, but when they herd the cannon twelve miles
away at Mansfield they rejised, because It ment victory; but no telegraph or
telephone, but In a short time the news of Comodore Perry's victory on Lake Erie
gave them a chanse to shout for Joy. Soon the war cloud for new settlers In
the West was lifted and brave boys came home to follow the persults of peace.
Then was the time when with economy and Industry the hills and valleys provided
abundance for the wants of the new settler. Mother was full of her recollections
of old Vermont home. Knew all the phrases peculiar to each old settler.
Thomas Ashley's was "Let us consider'^. She preformed the duties as wife and
mother In those pioneer times always had a helping hand for the afflicted.
Knew how to economize, nothing of any value went to waste. Her suffering of
last sickness dates from the birth of the twins. (2 July 1842). Her death
was peaceful and happy.
Her children will remember her crowning characteristic was an unflagging devo-
tion to the best Interest of her family. Was ever mindful of her duty to her
neighbors, as God had given her to see her duty. Always ready to drop the
tear of sympathy with those who mourned, and to give councel and good advice
to those In need. Especially to the weak and wayward of her own sex. The
writer hereof believes all who knew Clarrlssa Wyman Ashley will join him in
declaring the world was much the better for her having been In It. Though no
great beauty, yet with a grace and comeleyness of person that was good to see,
piercing black eyes and hair as black and glossy as the ravens wing which re-
mained thus, untarnished with gray, to the day of her death"
nnnnnnnnnnn
(The end)
- 32 -
:xiiiiiiiiixiD
12 O
Infopmtlon about CD INTERESTING LETTERS □
Philinda AshUy^ iHUiam\ CIIXIIIIIII3C3C3
ThcmouB^^ Joeeph^
August 8, 1909
Mr. Burton Ashley
Chicago, Illinois
Dear Relative,
I will procede to answer your letter. WM I tell you Phlllnda Ashley Burchs
history what I know. She had a great memory. Could tell every thing she read
when she was a child.
She married Hiram Burch when she was 15 years old and she had five children
when she left Harkarmer Co., New York to Chautauqua Co., New York. She lived
there till her eighth child was borned. Then they started down the Ohio River
on rafts, landing atClnclnatI, Ohio. Before they started down the river.
Grandfather Hiram Burch traded his money, some seven hundred and fifty dollars
on the Rackoon Bank at Clnclnatl and when they landed there the bank was
bursted so he lost all of his money.
Then they took there rafts down the river to Indlanla, a small trading place.
Then they rented a farm. The first crop of wheat he raised In Indlanla was
called sick wheat and they had to burn It alt up. The second fall, grandfather
died of tiples fever, leaving grandmother Burch with ten small children. In
the spring of 1822 grandmother took her children all except Uncle Hiram who
died of fever there to Ohio where she lived till she died.
Grandmother smoked a pipe from the day she was 14' years old till she died. She
was a Mormon. Never told any thing on ley what she knew was true. She never
was Ina tailing tall In no neighborhood. Never packed news. Anyone could be-*
lieve her..
Now, If you want grandmother^s picture, you write to Mrs. R. J. Walters, R.D. 2,
Box 8, Stockton, Cal. She has It for her mother was my sister. They are very
poor and send a small piece of money to have It drawn off If you want It.
Grandmother's death was caused by a fall.
I would like to know who's son you are or who was your grandfather. I saw four
of my greatuncies on the Ashley side. One greataunt on that side. My daughter
would like to Join the Daughters of the Revolution. Would you write back and
let us know If she can Join It. I will close, hoping to hear from you soon.
Mrs. Margaret A. Wlkle
42 Winnie St., Denver, Colorado
P.S. Mr. Frank B. Ashley, 1460 Grant Street,
Denver, Colorado - he may be a near relative
of ours.
- 33 -
Copy of letter
written on letterhead: COLGATE - PALMOLIVE - PEET COMPANY
Executive Off I cos
105 Hudson Street
Furnished by: Jersey City, New Jersey
Alonso E. Ashley (#12)
September 23, 1938
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Ashley
76 Harrison St.
Providence, R. I .
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Ashley:
We want to thank you most sincerely for your Interest In our radio
program, "Gang Busters".
These broadcasts are dedicated to the three-fold purpose of stimulating
greater public cooperation with law enforcement bureaus, paying tribute
to the heroism and tireless efforts of American police departments and
providing good radio entertainment.
We have noted that you did not like to have us mention the "Ashley Gang"
on our program. But of course. It was absolutely necessary to use that
term In dramatizing this story as these cases are based on true facts.
However, we do feel that no one will ever think you have any connection
with the Ashley case and after all there are thousands of families whose
surname Is "Ashley".
We do hope that you will be listening In every Wednesday night to this
program, which is made possible by the sales of our fine Palmollve
Shave Creams.
Thank you again for your Interest and for your kindness in writing.
Sincerely yours.
Roy W. Peet
RWP:LM Advertising Manager
- 34 -
THE SPIRIT LAKE
MASSACRE
March 8 and 9» 1857
In the spring of 1857, nine members of RHEUMILLA
(ASHLEY) HOWE'S ^ (Loami^, Willicarr^ Thomae^j
Joeephr) family were among the early settlers
brutally massacred by the WakpkutI Band of Sioux
Indians under leadership of Chief inkpaduta.
Full details of this horrible massacre are found In
the book "History of Spirit Lake Massacre" written by
Abble (Gardner) Sharp, the only surviving captive.
The following excerpts are about Ashley descendants.
page 48 * Joel Howe's family consisted of himself, wife (Rheumilla Ashley), and
six children; besides four married children who were not at this time membe
of his household, and only one, Mrs. Nobles, was In the settlement* He
settled on the east side of East OkoboJI, at the south side of the grove, . •
The names and ages of their children were as follows: Jonathan, aged 23,
Sardls, 18, Alfred 15, Jacob 13, Philetus II, and Levi 9. Alvin Noble, son-
in-law of Joel Howe, with his wife (Lydia Howe) an4<one child, some two years
old, and Joseph M. Thatcher, with wife and one Child, 7 months old, came with
the family of Mr. Howe, from Hampton, Franklin County. They were formerly
from Howard County, Indiana.
page 52 - The winter of 1856-7 was one ever to be remembered by the people of
Iowa and Minnesota for Its bitter cold weather, deep snow, and violent storms,
rendering communication between the different settlements almost Impossible.
Of course the settlers were Illy prepared for any winter, and much less for
such a one as this; for It must be remembered there was no lumber to be had
within a hundred miles, and all the provisions, of every kind, except what
might be captured from the lakes and groves, had to be brought a like distance.
Some cabins were yet without floors; the doors were made of puncheons, hung
on wooden hinges, and fastened with wooden latches. • . .
Page 56 - In order to understand the events recorded It is necessary to have some
knowledge of Inkpaduta, the chief, under whose leadership was perpetrated the
bloody massacre of March 1857 He supported himself by hunting and
plunder; leading a wandering, marauding life, the number of his followers
varying from time to time from fifty to one hundred and fifty. As I remember
Inkpaduta, he was probably fifty or sixty years of age, about six feet In
height, and strongly built* He was deeply pitted by smallpox, giving htm a
revolting appearance, and distinguishing him from the rest of the band. His
family consisted of himself and squaw, four sons, and one daughter. His
natural enmity to the white man; his desperately bold and revengeful disposi-
tion; his hatred of his enemies, even of his own race; his matchless success
on the war*path, won for him honor from his people, distinguished him as a
hero, and made him a leader of his race.
(Continued page 36)
Page 62 - In the autumn of 1856, Inkpaduta^s band went down to the lower valley
of the Little Sioux, where the first trouble with the whites began . . .
Several aggressions by the Indians and violent repulses by the whites are
given, as preceding the incidents, generally accepted by both Indians and
whites, as the immediate cause of the fatal catastrophe. It seems that one
day while the Indians were in pursuit of elk, they had some difficulty with
the settlers. The Indians claimed that the whites intercepted the chase.
There Is also a report that an Indian was bitten by a dog belonging to one
of the settlers; that the Indian killed the dog; and that the man gave the
Indian a severe beating. It Is also said that the settlers whipped off a
company of squaws, who were carrying off their hay and corn
Page 80 * (Second day) One day's carnage only sharpened the savages' thirst for
blood. Accordingly, at an early hour the next morning the braves, having
smeared their faces with black, which with the Sioux, means war, started
again on their work of slaughter. The four remaining families were busy with
their domestic cares, not dreaming of aught amiss, while these terrible
scenes were being enacted at their very doors. The Indians had gone but a
short d I stance on East Okobo j I when they met Mr. Howe , who was on h I s way to
my father's to borrow some flour. Him they shot, and severed his head from
his body, the skull being found, some two years later, on the southern shore
of the lake. . . Thence they proceeded to the house of Mr. Howe, where they
found his wife, his son Jonathan, his daughter Sard Is, a young lady, and four
younger children. They left only lifeless bodies here to tell the story of
their bloody work.
Page 81 - From here they went to the cabin of Itoble and Th&tcher, where were
two men and two women - Mr. and Mrs. Noble (Lydia Howe), Mr. Ryan (husband
of Rachel Howe) and Mrs. Thatcher, besides two children. With their usual
cowardice and hypocrisy, the Indians feigned friendship until they had
secured every advantage, so their own heads would be in no danger. Then by
concert of action, the two men were simultaneously shot.. . . They next
seized the children by the feet, dragging them from their mother's arms out
of doors, and dashed their brains out against an oak tree which stood near
the house. They then plundered the house .... after slaughtering the
cattle, hogs and poultry, they took the two women, Mrs. Noble and Mrs.
Thatcher - captives and started back to their camp.
Page 181 * After six weeks of incessant marching over the trackless prairie,
and through the deep snow, across creeks, sloughs, rivers and lakes, we
reached the Big Sioux (at about the point where now stands the town of
Flandrau) • • • Sometimes these undermined trees cling by their unloosened
roots, while their tops reach far into the stream, forming a "boom" across
the channel. Against this boom will accumulate a tangled mass of floating
timbers . . . thus forming a precarious but picturesque bridge, over which
one with clear head and steady step may pass with tolerable safety.
On such a bridge, we were to cross the now swollen waters. Mrs. Thatcher,
whose painful Illness and terrible sufferings have been alluded to, had now
partially recovered, and was complelled to carry her pack as before
As we were about to follow the Indians across one of these uncertain bridges,
where a single ml step might plunge us Into the deep waters, an Indian, not
more than sixteen years old, the same who snatched the box of caps from my
father, and who had always manifested a great degree of hatred and contempt
for the whites, approached us, and taking the pack from Mrs. Thatcher's
shoulders and placing it on his own, ordered us forward. This seeming kind-
ness at once aroused our suspicions, as no assistance had ever been offered
(Continued on page 3?)
- 36 -
J
to any of us • • • • When we reached the center of the swollen stream, as we
anticipated, this Insolent young lavage pushed Mrs. Thatcher from the bridge
Into the Ice-cold water • . • • She was carried down by the furious bolll^ig
current of the Stoux; while the Indians on the other side of the stream were
running along the banks, whooping and yelling, and throwing sticks and stones
at her, until she reached another bridge. Here she was finally shot by one
of the Indians • • • thus ended the tortures and agonies of Mrs. Thatcher.
Page 227 - • • and as Mrs« treble (Lydla Howe) and I were about to lie down to.
rest, a son of Inkpaduta, of the name of MakpLoahbtoman, or Roaring C^ouidt, came
Into the tent of the Yankton, and ordered Mrs. Noble out. She shook her head
and. refused to go • • • • Mrs. ^k>ble was the only one of us who ever dared to
refuse obedience to our masters. Naturally of an tndepiendeht nature, and
conscious of her superiority to her masters In everything but brute force. It
was hard for her to submit to their arbitrary and Inhuman mandates. . . .
all the reward she got for her show of Independence was heavier burdens by the
way, and a bloody death at last. No sooner did she positively refuse to comply
with Roaring Cloud's demand, than seizing her by the arm with one hand, and a
great stick of wood In the other, he dragged her from the tent. ... He
struck her three blows, such as only an Indian can deal, when, concluding he
had finished her, he came Into the tent, washed his bloody hands, had a few
high words with the Yankton and lay down to sleep. The piteous groans from
my murdered companion continued for half an hour or so — deep, sorrowful and
terrible; then all was silent . • . •
End of Excerpts
A monument costing the State of Iowa $5,000 now stands to mark the graves of
Rheumllla (Aishley) Howe and family who lost their lives In what was known
as Spirit Lake Massacre. Names of the Howe family all appear on the monument.
James D. Ashley #89 informs us that there Is a marker In north central
South Dakota where Abble (Gardner) Sharp, author of the above mentioned
book was finally released from captivity.
Other references to this tragedy may be found in
White Men Follow After by Hattle P. Elston (copyright 1946)
Athens Press, Iowa City, Iowa
Palimpsest — The Spirit Lake Massacre, published by the State
Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa - October 1962
Spirit Lake Massacre by MacKlnlay Kantor (author's idea In fiction
of historical facts * highly resented by some and to
others only a boring treatise with excessive verbage)
Gruesome as these excerpts may be, they do portray the perils and hardships
the early settlers encountered, the courage and stamina our forebears had
In order to develop these United States that we enjoy today.
Esther Ashley Spousta 110
- 37 -
:ixxiiixi:
"2 ANCESTO. {TABLE
:xxx3cixxii
(Mrs. Warren L.) RlJTH EMILY 6L00R FIN6AR #187
3375 Crooked Lfmb Court, Flushing, Mich. 48433
I I. Ruth Emily Gloor, b. 6-1 1-1897, Flushing, Mich.
11 2. William Gloor (1867-1938) Webster and Rochester, New York
3. Grace Lucretia Myers (1872-1907) Brownsville, Webster & Rochester, N.Y.
Ill 4. Jacob Gloor (1832-1919) Egg Harbor, N.J.; Webster & Rochester, N.Y.
5. Anna Hllbold (1842-1875) Webster, N.Y.
6. John Myers (1830-1907) Brownsville & Penfleld, N.Y.
7. Harriett Emily Finn (1838/9-1900) Brownsville, Victor & Rochester, N.Y.
IV 8 to 13
14. Calvin Finn
15. Louisa Harriet Ashley (10 Mar 1817 - 24 Feb. 1902) Battle Creek, Mich and
probably Webster, N.Y.
V 16-29
30. William Ashley, b. 1792, d. 19 Jan. 1880 - Hopewell, N.Y.
31. Lucretia Anson, b d. 1830
WHO CAJi HELP IDENT.IFY WILLIAM ?
MRS. WARREN L. FINGAR #187 is seeking information on William Ashley and his wife
Lucretia Anson. William born 1792 and died Jan. 19, I860, served in War of 1812
(see page 39) married January I, 1815 at Catskill, N.Y. Lucretia Anson, b
d. 1830. Believed to have hgd at least ;twd: daughters - Louisa Harriet #15 above
and Arvilla (see Application for -Reimbursement, page-40)
Arvilla Ashley b. d 1897 m.
and had children Caroline, Elizabeth,
and Charles Ashley (surname unknown). Elizabeth married Watson Spangle and had
four children: Henry who d. 1847; Elsie; Emmiai C. Brlnkerhoff; and Charles
Brother of Watson Spangle was Will Spangle who married Harriett Myers. Both are
buried !n Chaptn Cemetery near Canandaigua, New York. Incidentally there are
many Ash leys and Spangles buried In Chap in Cemetery, Rt. 88 near Canandaigua,
Ontario County, New York.
Legend has It that either through his mother or his wife, William Ashley was re-
lated to Thomas Jefferson. Can we find proof of this?
- 38 -
WILLIAfI ASHLEY
WAR OF Idl2
DECLARATION OF SOLDIER FOR PENSION
STATE OF NEW YORK )
County of Ontario )
CD
n PENSION APPLICATION
a
CXIIXIIXIIIIXD
Furnished by:
Mra. ftatren L. Fingar M187
On thU 21 day of March, A.D. 1871, personally appeared before me, Washington
L. Hicks, a Deputy Clerk of the Supreme Court, a Court of Record within and for
the county and State aforesaid, WILLIAM ASBLEI, aged 79 years., a resident of
Hopewell, County of Ontario, State of New York, who being duly swohn according
to law, declares that he Is married; that his wlfe^s name was LSUCRETIA ANSON
(now dead), to whom he was married at Catsklll, Green Co., N.Y., on the 1st
day of January, 1815; that he served the full period of sixty days In the
(i) military service of the United States In the war of 1812; that he Is the
Identical William Ashley who (2) was drafted In Captain John Vanbechter^s
company. Col. Post N.Y. Mllltia, at New York City ... at Harlem Heights on or
about I day of September, 1814, and was honorably discharged at Harlem Heights,
near New York on or about I day of December 1814; that (3) he was a private In
his said company. He lost his discharge many years since on duty In New York
City about 3 weeks all the rest of the time at Harlem Heights. Got 2 Land
Warrants one for 40 acres No. 26,608 .issued Nov. 3, 1851, another for 120 acres
Issued May 9, 1855 No. 1249, that he, at no time. during the late rebellion
against the authority of the United States, adhered to the cause of the enemies
of the Government, . . . .that he Is not In receipt of a pension under any
previous act; that he makes this declaration for the purpose of being placed on
the pension roll of the United States, under the provision of the act approved
February 14, 1871, and he hereby constitutes and appoints, with full power of
substitution and revocation, John S. Coe, of Canandalgua, N.Y. his true and
lawful attorney to prosecute his claim and obtain the pension certificate that
may be Issued; that his post office Is at Hopewell Center, County of Ontario,
State of New York, that his domicile or place of abode Is Hopewell, N.Y.
Attest: D. W. Casbrough and William Wood
WILLIAM ASHLEI
App 1 1 cant
STATE OF NEW YORK )
County of Ontario ) ^^
On this 14th day of March A.D. 1655 personally appeared . • . William Ashley
aged sixty two years, a resident of Hopewell, Ontario Co. in the state of N.Y.
who being duly soworn .... He further states that he has heretofore made
application for Bounty Land and received a Land Warrant No. 26,608 for 40 acres
under the Act of September 1850 which he has since legally disposed of and
cannot now return. He also declares that he has never applied for nor received
under this or any other Act of Congress any Bounty Land Warrant except the one
above mentioned. He makes this application for the purpose of obtaining the
Bounty Land to which he may be entitled under the Act passed March 3d, 1855,
and he desires his Land Warrant to be forwarded to the care of S. W. Salisbury,
Esq. Canandalgua, N.Y
WILLIAM ASHLEI
• 39 -
APPLICATION FOR REIMBURS EMENT
Re: William Ashley of
Hopewell Center, N.Y,
Furnished by:
Mr3. Weaken Fingar %187
U Arvllla Ashley, do swear that William Ashley, late resident of Hopewell
Center, County of Ontario, State of New York, died on the 19th day of January,
1880; that the decedent drew a pension, under Certificate No, 6378, up to the
4th day of December 1879, as formerly a soldier In the service of the U.S.;
that said decedent left surviving neither widow nor child under sixteen years
of age, and did not leave sufficient assets to meet the expenses of decedent's
last sickness and burial; and that said expenses are correctly enumerated In
the following statement, the names of the persons who rendered service or
furnished necessaries being given, with Items and amounts:
0. N. Crane
John P. Spangle
Coffin, burial, robe and service
DIgIng Grave
$34.00
2.00
Total $36.00
I further swear that the above Is a complete list of all the expenses of last
sickness and burial; that they were proper and necessary; that they were all
actually paid by me I therefore hereby make application for re-
imbursement under the provisions of Section 4718, R.S
The total value of all property of whatever kind, personal and real, left by
the decedent did not exceed (no) dollars and consisted of nothing • • . •
The decedent's last sickness continued uninterruptedly from December 29, 1879
to date of death and Its nature and degree were as follows: Parallsis . . .
My residence Is Hopewell Center, Co. of Ontario, State of New York . . .
(Affiant's signature) ArHlla Ashley
Attested to and notarized 12 March 1880
(The end)
i
OBITUARY of Alonzo Gifford Ashley
(Continued from page 31)
Tragedy seems to have dogged the heels of this family for In 1944 while
Ernest Alonzo Ashley^ S his wife were In Fall River, a forest fire
completely burned their home at Howland's as well as the fifteen room home
and barn of his mother who had been widowed In the train accident recounted
on page 31.
On August 10, 1954, Ernest Alonzo was seriously Injured In another train
wreck near the Fall River (k>untry Club, when the train he was riding to
the scene of an earlier wreck, was itself wrecked.
Note: Grandchildren of Alonzo Gifford Ashley^ who are members of Ashleys of
America are: Mrs. Virginia (Ashley) Santos if62 and
Mrs. Cynthia (Ashley) Foil is «35
(The end)
- 40 -
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OUT OF THE PAST
Copy of handwritten unda tad note found {n papers
of Nettle Josephine (Fisher) Ashley, wife of
Arthur Stone Ashley^ (.Sitae Edmund, Sitae Hokene^,
Soah^t Vodh^t Viltian^, Joeeph^), She was ■
Daughter of: Richard Arthur Fisher (1845-1930)
Aurilla Maria NIckerson. (1848-1896)
6r*dau. of: Richard Holly Fisher, Edgartown, Mass.
Jane Margaret Brown Anderson, b. London, dau. of
Capt. James Anderson
**Meinoir of James Anderson. He was born In 1822. His father, my great grand-*
father, was born In old freetown of Berwick-upon-Tweed. My great grandmother
was born In Ayeshlre - Belong to Dundee . She was rocked In the cradle by
Robert Bums the Poet, and her mother was the very person of whom he wrote
the song called '*Lass Gowie'*. In this book it tells about the mate
Richard Holly Fisher, my grandfather, in a voyage from the South Sea Islands
visiting the Anderson home and becoming engaged to one of the daughters Jane.
Captain James Anderson was a great sea-going man.**
Also in Nettie Josephine (Fisher) Ashley's papers was
found the following - IDont suggest you try it.
ASHLEY (X3MP0UNO
1
Alcohol :
•
■ • «
I Gal. 10 oz.
Capsicum (7)
.5
6\ L of Tar
.1 oz.
Spirit Turptlne
1
Origanum
.4
Guffl Camphor
1
Hemlock
.2
Sulph Ether
1
Cedar
.2
Chloform
4
Peppermint
.2%
(Above items fumtehad by Hanay Ashley ^94)
BDffAED WARREN ASSZSX^ (Edward R. 5, Williams*, Williams', Abraham2, Joseph')
was bom in HI lo. Sandwich Islands (now Hawaal) In 1864, and his brother
Granville Allen was born there in 1865. They were sons of Capt. Edward R. and
Adra C. (Braley) Ashley. Their father was a master mariner and made many great
voyages. Was 3rd mate of the "Roman" In 1847, 1st mate of the "Youey" In 1850,
master of the "Reindeer" In 1856 and of the "Governor Troup" In 1862. When he
retired he built a nice house In Acushnet at the comer of Robinson Road and
itorth Main Street which Is still standing though greatly changed by remodeling.
After the father died, the two brothers lost their money and Roland 6. Pray
built a house at the rear of the Captain's house. This house was divided In
half, each half being exactly alike, for the brothers never spoke to each other
• I
HARRIET ASBLEI^ (Baxter^, Warden*, James', Thomas^, Joseph') and her sister
Sarah married missionaries and went to India. One night she took a lighted^
candle and went up to bed. As she turned down the covers there was a deadly
poisonous cobra. Only the fact that she had the light of the candle saved her
from getting into bed with the snake. Harriet and her husband returned to the
United States about 1878. Sarah and her husband went to China where she died.
Does anyone have more Information on this family?
- 41 -
(Continued page 42)
CARLETON L. KINGSFORD (#50) remembers as a small child when sitting on his
grandmother's lap iSardh Aehley Kingefordr^ Noah^^ Noah^^ Witlian^, Joeephr)
that (i) she said her grandfather told her she was descended from a Lord,
(2) she had a relative named Jethro and he fell on the floor* His wife said,
'Vethro, Jethro, if you've dead speak and tell me of it", and (3) she always
accused him of "Jumping around like a plssmore on a hot skillet".
LEGEND OF THE "RED" AND THE "BLAC K" A SHLEYS (from Robert £• Ashley #1)
Two old but persistent legends concerning our early ancestors are the "pirate"
legend, which was covered extensively at our first reunion, and the "Indian"
legend which is constantly being offered from highly diverse sources.
Let us make it clear that when we say Red or Black we are not referring to skin
color or In any way meaning the modern use of Redmen or Blackmen. There are,
of course, many Ash leys who are full negros, descendants of the slaves held on
the old Ashley plantations In the South and some perhaps descendants of the
slaves owned by the Ash leys of New England. We do not refer to them.
What we do mean Is the story that an early Ashley said to be a redhead^ married
an Indian princess and that s<xne of their children had red or sandy hair, while
others had black or dark brown hair, Thomas Ashley of the Kennebec trading
post in Maine (moved to Boston 1658) who Is perhaps our first American ancestor,
had a wife named Joanna (no other name given) who died In Boston December 27,
1661. Could she have been the Indian Princess?
Certainly Edward Ashley of Maine was known to have lived with the Indians,
indeed that was why he was arrested by Myles Stanlsh and sent back to England.
But that Is another story.
If Joseph and Abraham of Rochester were grandsons of Thomas and Joanna, were
they one-quarter Indian? Is this where the Ashley "beak" comes from? Oddly
enough the "reds" would be taking after their English ancestor and the "Blacks"
after their Indian ancestor. Pure speculation, of course, and will probably
always remain so. Nevertheless, I am a "black" Ashley with two sisters who were
"reds" (blondes) and two who were "blacks" dark brown hair. What about your
family?
FRANCES McMASTER MARTIN (#52) has heard rumors that Walt Disney ties iQto the
Ashlev family through Alice (Cleland) Murphy' (Kate 6. Ashley^, Dexter^, Luther^;
James^, Thomas^, Joseph'). At one time someone sent Mr. Disney a picture of
Alice's sister Laura, stating that It was his aunt. Mr. Disney acknowledge
receipt of the picture and expressed his thanks. (k)uld he have been polite
and answered all mail that he must have received after achieving his fame,
or Is he truly descended from the Ashley Clan. Does anyone have further in*
formation on this?
(The end)
- 42 -
NEW
iferson
ARRIVAL
lito are happy to
announca tha arrival
of tUaORET MARZK IMiL«»^
daughter of Hot gar and
Eiolsa (Davis) Harrar #44,
granddaughter of Kenneth and Marie
Oavis 15, bom October I, 1971 at
Provot Utah.
CONGRATUt^TIONS to Harris and Mildred
(King) Dickey #31, who celebrated
their 50th i#edding anniversary on
January I, 1972.
WEDDINGqBELLS tolled for Cheryl Jean
Dlcl<ay , daughter of Charles and
Vivian (Brand) Dickey, granddaughter
of Harris and Mildred (King) Dickey
#31. On August 14, 1971 she was
married to Michael McKltrick. They
are at home In San Diego, Calif,
where '^Ike*' is finishing his navy
duty.
'9Aeiv is
dmth.
Xtm 9tan go
dowi to
Rioo upon ocmo
/Mxwp ohom^
And bright in Itoouen'e
Jmiolod ormm
Th^f oh(m foto vor maro.
Mrs. Mary Lubbock (Johnsoh) Ashley,
widow of Charles Marvin Ashley'^
(Sliohaadkorf^ Jpol Lomi^ nioha*,
Villicmfi^ Thcmao', Joooph^) passed
away August 21, 1971 at Correctionvi I le,
Iowa.
NANCY ASHLEY, our Treasurer had the
misfortune of breaking her left leg
on December 7th. Me hear she Is wel I
on her way to recovery and has used
these weeks of confinement profitably
working on genealogy. Incidentally,
we are happy that she wes able to do
so much "leg work** on our third re-
union before the accident.
POLITICAL REGISTER AND
DIRECTORY 1776-1878
»•.: ^;
tESSIONAL
Page 263:
(XESTER ASHLEY, b. Westfleld, Mass. June i, 1790 served as Senetor from
Arkansas in 1844
DELOS R. ASHLEY, b. Post, Arkansas, Feb. 19 1828 went to California in 1849
then to Nevada In 1864. Was elected representative from Nevada in
the 39th Congress as a Republican
HENRY ASHLEY, b. In Cheshire County, New Hampshire, removed to New York and
located at Catsklll. Elected representative from New York in the
19th Congress, 1823 to 1855
JM4ES M. ASHLEY, b. near Pittsburg, Penn November 14, 1824. Moved west.
Edited **The Dispatch** and afterwards **The Democrat** at Portsmouth
Ohio. Was elected a representative from Ohio in the 36th Congress
as a Republican. Was Governor of Montana Territory 1869-1870
WILLIAM H. ASHLEY was b. in Powhatan County, Virginia in 1778. Removed to
Missouri in 1808. Was Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 1820.
Wfeis elected a representative from Missouri in the 22nd Congress as
a Whig on a general ticket. Served from 1831 to 1837. d. near
Boonvllle, Missouri on March 26, 1838
- 43 -
CD
c;
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Q U E R I E S G
1CXIIIIIII3
MOORE, Mrs. Richard, 624 West 9th Ave., Albany, Oregon 9.7321 - i*ants Infor-
mation on PETER ASBI£I b, d. 8 1849 In Benton Co., Missouri. He was
married to Martha
Chi Idren:
William
b.
1626
•
Amanda
b.
1833
Sarah
b.
1835
Milton
b.
1839
Victoria
b.
1842
Edward
b.
1844
Lenora
b.
1846
and according to census record had the following
Kentucky
Missouri
Missouri
Missouri
Missouri
Missouri
Missouri
Peter Ashley and a partner, Edward Powers, ran a ferry across the Osage
River at Warsaw, Mo., and after his death his wife Martha sold her share
of the property to the partner. Deed Is date 1849.
Since first child was born In Kentucky, It Is to be assumed that Peter was
either born In Kentucky, or at least was married there. Does anyone have
any Information on Peter and-hfs parents?
PITTS, Mrs. Joe W., 1213 BIythe Ave., Alexandria, Louisiana 71301 Is seeking
Information on JOBN ASHLEY known to be In Wilinson Co., Georgia about 1819
at which time he gave Power of Attorney to Cull en Roberts, his son-in-law
for settlement of his affairs In Barnwell District, South Carolina.
He is believed to have had the following children:
Elizabeth m. Cull en Roberts
m. Ben (or Green) HI 1 1
Lucretia
Charles
John
Daughter
Daughter
Daughter
m.
App 1 ewh 1 te
m.
Sears
m. _
Crocker
(It Is said that all daughters had
same Baptist Minister to officiate
at their weddings. Name unknown)
whose will was probated In
2 more daughters
There Is Nathaniel Ashley who m. Elizabeth
1816, Barnwel I Dist. S.C. No proof that he was father of above John though
he Is known to have had children named Wilson, Joshua, John, etc.
This Ashley family Is reportedly from New England and am anxious to find
this connection. Who can help to solve this mystery?
- 44 -
#198
#199
#201
Mrs LUCY M. (ASHLEY) SISSON
Canedy St., Rose Point
West Wareham, Mass. 02576
8
MR. & MRS. DAVID GURNEY ASHLEY^
4060 Acushnet Ave.
New Bedford, Mass. 02745
#200 MR. & MRS. CARL R. ERLAND
Racine 6. (Madison) Eriand
II
[xiiixxxxixxxx:
c: N E W fl E M B E R S CI
G c:
CXXXXX3CXXXXXXX]
Harrle Etsbrey Ashley', Barnes Emerson Jr^,
James Emerson^, Perclval^^ Perclval',
Abraham^, Joseph'
Mflton Earl Ashley^, Arthur Stone^, Silas
Edmund^. Silas Pickens^, Noah^, Noah^,
William^, Joseph'
Helen Jolley'^, Hazel Pond^, Chauncy Pond"
Prlcllla Strong', Harvy Strong^ Truman
Strong^, Luranea Ashley^, Isaac^,
Thomas^, Joseph'
..^- and
Polly Ashley** (wife of Truman Strong),
Zebulon^, Thomas'^, Thomas^, Joseph'
,8
MRS. ZELLA (WHEELER) HER^JER° Edith i3eU (McMasters) Wheeler', Mary
(:trs. Clarence R.) '•' -— Ashley°, Dennis^, Luther^, James^,
p' 2. l>lbnrofivl I |0,OhIo 44847 Thomas^, Joseph'
1202
#203
.. #204
N.Y. PUBLIC LIBKAKY - 01 v. 6 Exchange
Grand Central Station
PC Box 2237
New York, N.Y. 10017
SOCIETY OF MAYFLOWER DESCENDANTS Exchange
Wins low Street
Plymouth, Mass. 02360
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY Exchange
Copley Square, Boston Mass. 02116
CCORRECTIOfIS and ADDITIONS
#74 RICHARD S. ALLEN Change zip code to 82102
#19 MISS LUCY ASHLEY Change PO Box to 1404
#94 MISS NANCY ASHLEY Change father's name to EDWARD Stone^
#31 MRS. MILDRED ASHLEY (KING) DICKEY Change address to: 2131 McCarthy Road
Ames , I owa 500 1
#51 MRS. DOROTHY (LEIGH) KINGSFORD Change street number to 83 Instead of 83A
#127 MRS. MOLLY NYE (GAMMONS) TCBEY Add street number 173 Rumsttck Road
#130 HOWARD W. WESTFIELD Change zip code to 02769
- 45 -
The Reverend
Jonathan iVshley House
by Amelia F, MUUr
nHU^m£T) BY
Ilic Hcrifaj^c Foiiiifladon
DEfiPHELn. M.VSSACHlISF-TrM
«ei-i. W>m ^c mmh*-.-.; « fi«nr!..l in.l how ai ih* rfffih «xi «f '!st «rfM tn 1 »S1. laii *Jp'M»5^
fMsvin «h4« l»i «h*«d .triiKi.«w aipiiwnu hi.HiUht mi It. ih^ (,r»< Amteita^ wd by Jni«<hM K-
w.rtl». ni»M< 'a? difriilttff. .hr«l» cwoi-nicttil In ihr Ircnch mxI InUii" Wjra. i/tJ (ht g^-wtii^ wcr-
ihfMir «• ihr fn«<i>li lini. In whrnrt be ihow? 10 fiwiin knrtl. Neflher f:uM V Mw s"«*|" ?''^'*
<l!r4 in \:xt. thai Inr h^r »r:. tioHir ipsifniinw hh dwfwlMHi wwiW r'*''J''/»'."l'»'* ?■ J^l™!™;
.rt il-ki liii j.*-n tiniliwl r^rtfwl K.-.i«* txMld he ai.ivril iii the liid. i.f hti 1m m IBM »*l *e^»e* ™
t<r,rir.|{ {;.!>io... l*Mr .il all ciHild he h»»-e foKioUl 'hai in »W8 his ol<l h»u«, rcMond »nd Kh-rtiWked.
wnaW l^i-iic oi7e of llie m.M Ireifiml I* \ tfinl i.iUK*in» U Old nefrfieW.
C»r'riG'«nf (tie iiw«n"r<cterm;i:%e muni rfihtieHMhiiftdredJiwi AiKv wwi. •* lfc« Bk a* *«
I^tTfcod JmiaitMn A*l« and hn dcMTrrUnii. ot ihr trriiltertwnl hiw.ir* nt the houM Md «f H>
rt«r(>mHi<i, iSr l!erM>|T FminJaiinn h*s puti'trheJ lhi> hntik.
•n.- Jtuhfii. Mr» Riiw A. Mil!er. hv Uv-d in l.;crfieid fm- Uieei. wan «ik1 (lai lonx bMB ■*'«'«";»
nt fiiUiijI 4<tli:ie<i<iic aiHl DrriiK-M )iiMnn. An thorr>.i;(:i ffcnmit il ihe Aihlrvt, •nil her icholuff
:iwri«''»-t»"'> '" »'"• »!nMit>"tie "^-h wdl >i!i.Ti.oeni«l hy r*«ily p«pei» %'ut jwl.lk- wroHj. riBphailie
her heUtf :h*< .wii* i!i>mi|^ »n a'tamtrs^ iJ lt» h'S'ir. >m an ul.t hiniw ud > *»la|P •»« '«*'T »"«•
VAbd aiMl ■>|t|>r>''1>ttu.
!rtii.i> »rl* unuriiKrauhi t'^A iiM|». toniie ithuiiicmi^In uXen epcctallv lor Ihe boul bj S^miM) am-
bcilain. aiid line liiitriiip •«! iliHHplam In CJilieti c;. firiffen. Curator o* l^raphir Art* at friMCten
I'luieititv. c.iiith ka ciijtivhMc Will ;iHlio(ai!«« tcki.
iJaor-ntw," I .»(K.T Rtmm) Size: 7" k. 10" $5.00
Th 1 s ~boo k -can -bfr-or<terqd from:
Historic Deerf leld Inc.
Deerfleld, Massachusetts 01342
At a cost of $5.00 per cc^y plus 35< a copy for postage. (Include I5« tax'
for all Mass. residents)
TTT TTTTTTTTT TTTTTTTTXTXUCXXIID
Mr. Donald Friary of Deerfletd, Mass. 0I342» Infonnas us that C3
the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association Is planning to C3
reprint the HISTORY OF DEERFIELD, which contains many references . C3
to the ASHLEYS of Springfield and Western Massachusetts area. £3
E3
Price for the 2 volumes will be $35.00 If Interested contact C3
Prepublicatlon price will be $25.00. Mr. Donald Friary C3
xx3a:i3i:3i33:ixiX3ciixxxxxxi:xxixx3a:ixxiiqc3
(c) 1972 ASBLEIS OF AMERICA - Vninoorporated Family Aeeooiixtion
- 46 -
LrBRARY
AUG 12 '974
Vol. II, No. 3
CUMnERLY NEWS BULLETIN
April 1972
OFFIClRS
President Robert E. Ashley
ls'^ Vlc^ Presldant John S. Ash'ey
2r.d V!ce President Prjul C. Leonard
3rd Vice Prc3\dcr*f Bradford F. Swnn
Socretnry Marie A. Davis
Treasurer - — Nancy Ashley
Publications Committee - Doris Ashley Lang
Helen Gurney Thomas
Susan Ashley French
Membership Chairman flarle A. Davis
,News Bulletin Ed I tor - Esther Ashley Spousta
MEMBERSHIP
Open to any person Interested In furthering
the objects of the Organization
OBJECTS
To col tect> preserve and publish material
about the ASHLEY FAMILY of America
DUES
$5.00 por Calar.dir Yoor - Make checks
payaole to ASMLCt'S OF AMERICA and send to
Miss Nancy Ashley, Treas.
165 Elm Street
South Dartmouth, Mass. 02748
- f3U -
V
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
^/^^rom the
Editor 'e
Desk
Spring lsT)urstlng out all
over - Redbud and Dogwood
adorn the hills.
As Mother Earth springs
Into action - Time now
we do the same.
Shouldn't we, the Ashley
offspring, keep In step
and rejuvenate our ef-
forts to forge ahead
with family research?
Your editor is anxious
to receive more data
to share.
Esther Aehtey Spouata
Editor
PO Box 321
RogerOt Ark, 7 27 59
April 1972
NEWS BULLETIN
PubHshed quarterly In'months
of Icsnuary, April, July and
* . October.
^ree subscription with each
$5.00 fflembership
Extra copies may be obtain-
ed by ma Ming $2.00 each
to the Editor
60
61
Vol. II No. 3
CONTENTS
48 KNOW YOUR 1st VICE PRESIDENT
48 COVER STORY
49 PRESIDENT"S MESSAGE
50 CEMETERY CLEAN-UP DAY
51 SILVER MINING TOWN - Nevada Austin
Ashley^
52 JOE'S RXKS - North Rochester, Mass.
54 WHO WAS D. THURBER WOOD'^
55 AN ASHLEY FARMER - Alden Ashley^
^ SCHOOL DAYS IN OHIO - Zebulon Ashley
57 WHALER OUT OF NEW BEDFORD - f I Im
58 PROBATED WILLS - Noah^ & Alden^ Ashley
59 A BUTTONED-UP YANKEE FROM SLAB BRIDGE
PROFILE - 9KN«y (Hathewa^) Hathaway
STAUNCH ASHLEY WOMAN - Abiah Ashley^
7
62 OBITUARY - Edmund Davis Ashley
64 IN MEMORIAM
64 TEXT FROM LOG OF WHALESHIP ARAB
65 PERSONAL GLIMPSES
66 LINEAGE ADDITIONS
67 NEW MEMBERS
68 ADDRESS CHANGES
- u- -
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LJ
L.J
LJ
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13
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KNOW YOUR FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
JOHN SHERMAN ASHLEY, son of Ralph Eugane and Rooerta Randall (Sherman)
Ashley was born In New Bedfordt Mass. on June 17, 1913, grandson of
the Honorable Charles Sumner Ashley (aee ooD^r atary) who was Mayor of
New Bedford for 32 years.
John was very early Introduced to genealogical research for his father
**Gene'* spent over 30 years and a great deal of effort and money compiling
material for an Ashley Genealogy, working In close conjunction with
Frederick W. Ashley, who was Librarian of Congress, Burton Ashley of
Chicago, Noah Ashley of Taunton, and many others who had compiled Ashley
data.
He was educated In the New Bedford Schools and at Tabor Academy In Marlon,
Mass. He served In the U.S. Coest Guard In Morld War II.
In 1941 he married Anne Vfyatt Johnson, daughter of Harold T. and Helen
Ann (Walker) Johnson of Hartford, Conn. John and Anne (she will answer
only to the nickname **Buzzy**) live In Westport, Mass. in the summer and
In the Bahamas in the winter, commuting between their fwo homes on their
fifty foot cruiser ^Broad A'*. The popularity of this friendly couple is
reflected In an old newspaper Item at the time of Anne's brother's
marriage when John served for his thirteenth time as best man, consid-
ered to be something of a record.
John's number one hobby and Interest, like that of many generations
before him, is fishing and the sea, and he has the trophies to prove It.
He has been associated In the Charles S. Ashley Insurance Agency, the
Ashley Ford Motor Sales, and Is currently President of the Hathaway Oil
Co. where his office Is a regular museum of Ashley seafaring memorabilia.
It is largely through his generosity of freely sharing the extensive .
records and documents of the Ashley Family that our Association has been
able to attain such a eealth of information and to grow to such an extent
In such a short time, and to the surprise of many a professional genea*
legist. Without John's help the "Ashleys of America" might never have
come Into existence.
Robert E. Ashley #1
Q
13
ID
ID
B
c:
c:
c:
c
COVER ^TORY This portrait of the fonner New Bedford Mayor, CHARLES SUMNER ASHLEY
(Joahua BUihop^, John Shnrnen^, John^, Pmnitfal^t Abrdhair, Joseph*)
wa» roturned to th« mayors office by Mayor John A. Markey on January 27, 1972
after a two-year absence. On hand to witness the unveiling was JOHN ASHLEY (see
above) grandson of the former mayor who was presented with his grandfather's
offipe chair found recently in City Hall
(Standapd-Timea Staff tfioto Ify Haiik Secman)
- 48 -
PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE
Your executive conmittea met on March 1 1
at the Wamsutta Club In New Bedford, and
we are happy to report the fol lowing pro-
gress on the THIRD REUNION:
Plaoe: The nmi> theatsv of the \fhal%ng
Muneien of the Old Dewtmouth
Biotorimzl Society^ Johnny Cake
Billt Nea Bedford, ttaeeaohuaette
Data: Friday Evening August BS, Saturday
AuguBt 26th <md Sunday tfie 27th
At 8 P.M. on Friday, the Ashleys are Invited to Join other guests of the museum
at a special prevue showing of the exhibit of the paintings of CLIFFORD WARREN
ASHLEY In the new gallery. The exhibit will open to the public the next day
and will continue for eight weeks after which It will move to another museum.
Saturday morning - REGISTRATION IFREE - but piok up your name badges) and a
get-acqualnted hour followed by Whaler Out of New Bedford", an award winning
film of the Russel l-Purrlngton panorama. (See page 57). A short business
meeting will follow at which the Secretary and Treasurer reports will be ap-
proved. (.Note: Theee reports iHll be published in the July Seus Bulletin and
not read at the meeting} .
Then - group plctares. He plan to divide the members Into five groups, one
for descendants of each of the five sons of Joseph and Elizabeth (Perclval)
Ashley. Such groups will be less cumbersome than one large group, and we plan
to have an annual award for the largest group. If you have lines of descent
from more than one son, you may appear In more than one group.
Dinner
Wamsutta Club, Corner of County & Union Sts.
club In America '
the oldest men's
Saturday P.M. - Main program. Dr. Maurice Robbins, director of the Bronson
Museum of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society will give an Illustrated
lecture on the archaoology of the LakevI I le-Freetown-Rochester area where our
ancestors first settled and where their descendants lived, and still live,
nearly two and three-quarters centuries later. Dr. Robbins Is a fascinating
speaker and his enthusiasm for the subject Is bound to be transferred to you.
Our Sunday afternoon tour will Include a visit to his present dig In LakevI lie
where members of the Society have been digging for the past twenty years and
have excavated Indian sites that are as much as 9000 years old. Since many of
the earliest Ashley homes were on lands now preserved as part of the reserva-
tion of the New Bedford water department, we believe It would be rare Indeed
to find another family with ancestral lands so fortuitously saved for posterity.
(Continued next page)
Sunday Morning - Across the street frcm the museum is the Seamen's Bethel, the
Whaleman's Chapol of Melville's "ftoby Dick". This, as well as the many nautical
flavored antique shops In the area, should oe a must on your program. Although
no regular Sunday services are held, one will bo conducted for the Ashleys If
a sufficient number will attend. Let's hear from you on this.
Sunday Afternoon • Tour of the Ashley country and Dr. Robbtns' dig. Details to
be worked out.
In other business, your committee voted to discontinue the renlstration charge
at reunions even though we will have to pay the museum $1.00 per adult for the
use of the theatre and museum exhibits. Thus, If you are a PAID UP member. It
will cost you noth I ng to attend except for mea Is. It was strong I y f e 1 1 that
attending ihe reunions should be a free prlvl ledge of membership and expenses
will be paid from the treasury. Be sure to allow yourself time to visit the
museum and the Ashley painting exhibit.
■ •
Arrangements were also made. for the better accommodation and entertainment of
out-of-state members.
It was voted that the committee approve the minutes of each reunion shortly
after the fact so that tney can appear In the October News Bulletin and serve
as a summary of the meeting.
Last year our attention was called to an error in the Memoir of R. Eugene Ashley
that appeared in Volume 95 of the New England Historic Genealogical Register
In whlr:h his third and fourth generations were confused. Your president has
been In contract with the N.E.H.G.S. and a correction of this 31 year old error
will shortly appear In the Register.
It was also voted to follow the N.E.H.G.S. suggestion to write our Senators and
Representatives, and If possible to attend a State House hearing on proposed
legislation to liberalize accessab 1 1 i ty of birth and marriage records in the
Commonwealth. Currently such records are open only to 1841. The proposed
petition would open the records to ail searchers to within 70 years of date,
and to members of legally Incorporated genealogical societies to even more
recent dates.
Finally, it was decided to investigate the possibility of having the Ashley
Cemotary and other sites of Interest to us, declared Historic Landmarks under
the Historic Sites Act of 1935. As such they would be given a plaque at a
ceremony and be automatically Included In the national register, which does
give some protection.
Robert B. Ashley §1
CIIIXXXXXIXXTTXXIIIIXIXIIIXIIIIIIIIIIIIID
CEMETERY CLEAN-UP DAYS
L-J
On Sunday, April 23rd at 10:30 AM (weather permitting) a group will begin P]
the clean-up and restoration of our cemeteries, starting with the CRAPO-
V.THITE-ASHLEY Cemetery at Quanapoag In East Freetown. If you would like
to help, and wo hope many will, meet us there any time from mid morning
until late afternoon. Bring your lunch - a saw - some clippers - rakes
etc. and most of all, your energy I It promises to be a pleasant day in
the open as well as getting a much needed Job done on graves of our
ancestors. Location: Near corner of Bulloc4< Road & Quanapoag Rd. In
E. Freetown. (See directione en page 68)
XTXIXXZTXXXTIXIIXX3 1 go -rTXXXXXXIXXXXIXII
AN ASHLEY IN A SILVER
MINING TOWN - - - -
Upttten by Sydney Aehley'
of Steep Brook, Fall
River, Maae. in 1986
"My father's name was
NEVADA AUSTIN ASHLEY. You
may wonder some about his un-
usual name.
My grandfather Job Borden
Ashley was in a si Iver mlntng
town In the Territory of Nevada
when my father was born. Some-
one he was with thought it to
be a good Idea to name him after
the place they were In. This
man agreed to have my father re-
ceive a handsome silver gift of
some sort. It so happened ttte
man was somehow or other never
heard of again.
My father never knew hew he came
by his middle name. It could not
have been for the town of Austin,
Texas, for It was too far away and neither of ttwm ever was there.
But after many years I got the answer Just by chance. I always listened to or
watched "Death Valley Days". One night the Old Ranger said 'The story tonight
coriC!»rns whst took place in a small silver mining camp in Austin, Nevada.'
There I had the question solved even If It was back end to.
My wife's name was Florida. When she was expecting the first, my sister said
she hoped It would be a girl so that we could name her Virginia and add one more
state to the list.
My mother's name was Mary Frances Wilbur. Her mother was Abigail Cleveland and
she was a cranky, contrary old thing anyhow. Those who dared called her the Old
~«he OevtI. NeverHieless she gave birth to fine girls. My mother was a saint
ail the days of her life.
My Mayflower line of descent Is:
9 - Sydney Ashley m. .Marie Florida Marceau
8 - Nevada Austin Ashley m. Mary Frances Wilbur
7 - Job ttortJen Ashley m. Wealthy WHson ■
6 - Jane Canedym. W) 1 1 lam J^^Mey " '
5 - WIN lam Canedy Jr; m. Mary Gooch Brown
4- - William Canedy m. Charity Leonard
5 - Elizabeth Eaton m. William Canedy
2 - Elizabeth Fuller m. Samuel Eaton
I - Dr. Samuel Fuller m. Elizabeth Bowen
(Continued on page 56)
JOE'S ROCKS
They're famous as the hiding place
Of one vfhose name was Joe:
Who vowed he wouldn't go to war
To fight for friend or foe.
And then when he was cal led upon
The enemy to beard.
To go and fight, the Britishers,
Joseph disappeared.
When officers came after him
He climbed the chimney flue.
And Abby Ann, his faithful spouse.
Didn't know what to do.
But when a knock emphatic came
She met them at the door;
And when they asked where Joseph was
She told them lies galore.
**Why Joseph, he has gone away *
He's gone to make a trade
With somebody on Betty's Neck
And won't be back I'm afraid
"Til after dark. If you can wait
He may be back right soon.
He has been gone some little time -
Since early afternoon".
While Abby held them talking there,
Joe fled In headlong haste.
Far In the woods, a mile or more.
In fear and dread he raced.
And there he 1 1 ved among the rocks
In a narrow eel 1*1 Ike cave.
Far out of sight of all his friends
With none to see him save
His Abby Ann, who carried him
Some food from day to day;
His comforts, they were mean and scant.
His bed was leaves and hay.
'Twas after dusk that Abby went
Suspicious folk to blind;
And cftcn o'or hor shoulder cast
A furtive glance behind
The entrance to Joe's hiding place
Was screened by twin oak trees.
That grew together near. the ground
Like unto Siamese.
Sometimes In darkness of the night
He stealthily went home;
But not unti I the vrar was o'er
Did Joseph freely roam»
The old frame house In which they lived
Was torn down long ago.
And on the site where once it stood
The trees and bushes grow.
And the old fashion rose bushes.
That grew around the door,
Are sending forth their tender shoots
As In the days of yore.
When Abby Ann dug round their roots.
With anxious loving care
They gaily bloom each year In June
And bravely flourish there.
ffritten by:
JANE (VETTB) ROUNSSVEU/
(granddocughter of .
Sally Todd (Aehley) Nye
Note: See poem in Vol. I, No. S
Quote: "Joe's Rock, In a picturesque
locality of North Rochester, near
the pumping station of the New
Bedford water-works, contains Joe's
cave, said to be the hiding place of
a fugitive of the Revolutionary era"
Pg 8S '9tattapoiaett and Old
Rochester''
by: Mary Ball Leonard
- 52 -
CD □
The poem on the opposite page and the CD JOE*S ROCKS \3
research on Its authenticity CD CD
CD North Rochester CD
Fwmiehed by: Doria Aehley Lang ^7 and CD CD
Robert E. Ashley U CIIIIIIIIIIID
Joe*s Rock Is a large formation of gtaclaly split and tumbled rock, about
1000 feet In the woods from the pumping station. Perhaps 100 feet or more
In diameter and about one fourth as high. It Indeed does have any number of
cave-* I Ike places that could be made Into adequate shelters. In the poem
**Joe*$ Rocks on the opposite page, Jane describes In detail the legend that
has been handed down, that It was a Joe Ashley Involved here.
"And there he lived among the rocks. In a narrow cell-like cave'* Is hard to
find but easily reached If you know where to look.
When Doris Ashley Lang loaned me a copy of "Joe^s Rocks'' some time ago with
the suggestion that I find out Just which Joe this was, I began a search of
all the records, that tasted over a year and produced nothing. The only
Joe Ashleys living during the Revolution were Joseph Jr. who Is fully ac-
counted for (and too old anyway) and Joseph 3rd who enlisted early and died
In the army at a very young age. A search of Joslahs, Jethros, and similar
names produced nothing* Then one day while going over the problem for perhaps
the hundredth time. It occurred to me that Jane said nothing about the
Revolutionary war, so why not try the War of I8I2» Mary Hall Leonard could
have made a wrong conclusion on that point.
Indeed, the more we think of It, the more likely 1812 becomes. This was a
very unpopular war and much more likely to have had an *'obJector" rtamed Joe.
Furthermore "his faithful Abby Ann" appears to have had a middle name as well
as a first name, and middle names were almost unheard of before about 1800.
Finally, he would simply have been called a Tory during the Revolution and
ordered not to leave his farm, as Abraham Jr. was.
A search of Ashleys of the right age In 1812 has produced a likely candidate
In the person of JOY ASHLEY, born September 22, 1784, son of John and Charity
(Sherman) Ashley, who would have been 28 In 1812. Eugene's records say,
"A blacksmith, lived at Sherman Ashley Corner, drank all the time".
MIddleboro death records say "Mr Joyin Ashley of North Rochester", and date
of death fits the Rochester records July 13, 1857. He Is burled In Ashley
CJemetery, North Avenue, Rochester.
There Is no record of any marriage to Abby Ann or anyone else. This could be
a missing record, as many are, especially If she died young, or it could be
that she was only his "Intended" and never really became his "spouse". There
Is an "Abigail, wife of John Bams who died October 28, 1833, ae 37 years"
In the Ashley Cemetery. She would have been 16 In 1812. Ck)uld she have de«
elded against marrying Joy?
The will of Joy's father, John Ashley (Blacksmith) and Charity his wife. Is
Interesting In it's strange treatment of Joy as compared to the other two sons
Thomas and John Sherman. The three daughters, Lydia (Biehcp), Anne IBraley)
and Charity, a minor and unmarried, get equal cash and movables according to *
the custom of the times, while sons Thomas and John Sherman get all of the
(Continued on page 63)
- 53 -
CHRONICLE - APRIL 15, IWI
Who was D. Thurber Wood?
In tlw conUnulDB dlKoulon w
to wtnOier or aMBtiilol Coun^
thotdd bulU a new courtbooM
aodJnU, and If U abodd, when
would tt In buflt, the nanM c<
Tfaurber Wo«d !■ fnqmntly
heud.
Who vat 0. Umber W«odT
Bt was tbe num who ooet
owMd ibe land ia Segresunet 00
which pnpooaati ti tbe new
courttwai* Dcm' have their eye.
Here ii aomflOilng mote about
hbu;
DanMlhuFbar Wood IMS bom
Marc!] 4, Ifr/S. He WM the aeo o<
Daniel T. Wood And Mary
Jooerblne Aihley Wood.
In i3», at rxe 26, ha rowrksd
May Florence Aadrewa, the
daugMer of DanM D. Aadrewa
and Mary Andrewt.
hir. Ai^rews la familiar to area
rtBi^xOa ai the owner cf D. D.
Andrew! tbre on Main Street,
DlKhtOD, whirli wai a fine
ejcample of ai. oM Htm country
etcre. ttm ntore Is cow known at
Dighton Red and WhUe Harkit.
llm em|^ had one cMld,
Dntrihy Woo4, bcm hi IRO, btd
che lived only for five yeara.
Thmbrr'tf fstier was a i£i)or
.03 long aa ibl^ laUed from
Dts^t^.□ port*, a miner during the
CaliT^nrila 6o>d rvh and flni^ a
carptattc In Uigbton from ms
Bi'i Thurber became lotneetcd
hi i±i srcn^tbor Aahley's farm,
the fum now owned by tbe
Cauidy.
He added to hit farming In-
come t^ st>i»K each year to Hw
.. Hacipshire and Vermont In
search of fine cattle.
When eeveral cattle can ttdl c<
eowa arrived at tbe South
INghtoo Btatloa Ma nnirioyeca,
with lh« he*p of neightxpfiood
' boys, drove ttiem to tho faim.
Sorce cf tiw fir.eet dMry cvM
w&Ti] sold to other farrseni trA a
mir'-J.<w wKre flau^biand U>r
nrut Ut hn vM &cji tJs cart
whi^ tio drsve tlmugh Digfaton
v:^: surrounding towsa.
r complained
about liia meat. It wm exeaDesit,
many older realdeiiu recall,
Aa Tlwrber grew older, Chariei
Scare assumed much o( the
deiivoy of meals and the Sears
family hdpcd in running the
bouse and farm as well.
Thurber then was ^e to take
bit wife May to Midne each,
sumrcer.
lliere be lived in a van wUeh
ha had nude t^ boxbig to an
automotrila chaasls.
Long before ttie d»y of trallen
and campers, Ti!urh(ir drove hk
van to Boothbay Harbor, Kia'ne,
near the (dd three masted sailing
vessels which stood U^ere unused
and he ond Mary travelled over a
pla/di to use the cabin of one
vessel tor laundry and toilet
purposes.
By day they went deep sea
fishing, turning over Qw fish to a
dealer and canner of fish.
At sanini2r's end be rode home
with a fine load of salted fish and
msiiy plAaeant memories..
Thivu^ the years Thurber
oflen nerved m town committeea.
In hit eariy days he served
aeveral terms, aa Sealer of
WeighU end Measures and
lubsequettly aa Inqwctor of
An)mals._
As Thurber bad no desceodasts
and was anxious that his Cam be
continued lor agriculture, he
willed It to the County at his death
May 1. 19U.
Atxxit two yean ago the Wood
farmhouse waa demoMied bii
the lind was put bito bay f arise
for tbe Aggie School herda.
Now Coun^ CommisslDiwn
would use the 100 acre farm as
the dte tor a new coarthouse.
Bond counsel baa ruled tb«y cm
borrow $300,000 agahwt a tMB
apin^atian of US mlUlon to
begin placnbg for a centralired
courthouse b:it only after tbe ute
has been acquired.
Itie proposed site is abODt l,ora
feet away from a strotch of road
that is planned for the new
DlgUoQ-BerUey .Bridge and wiD
jiAa up with Route 24 wfaeo it is
eora[rfeted.
Tbe land is on Oie west Ude of
Somerset Avenue sdjaeeot to tbe
Segreganset Post OSlce and ia
about one quarter mite souttiweat
of the Bristol County Aggie
School. It is bounded by prtvste
property on throe sidea.
AN ASHLEY FARMER
ALDEN ASHLEY^ (1783-1856)
(Noah Ashley"^, Jethro , JosephM
Fvamiahed by: Gerald Ashley Cooper
(#29)
Found at last, the exact location of the Alden Ashley farm^ It was about
100 acres on the Columbia and Rensselaer County line, part in the Town of
Nassau, Rensselaer County, mostly In the Town of Chatham, Columbia County,
New York, about one mile south of the Intersection of Route 20 East of Albany
and Route 66 which Is South through Chatham Township. It was one mile West
of the East line of Chatham Township, In an area still called **Ashley HIM".
Jonn D. avis
ter\3
. .udd fei^^"';j^ f ..enry P.H. Smith
RSSSSBLAER C0»
Benj.
Budd
V^s*-^'
•. . .■■•• " ■
7^ - ^
-•..♦••x.- •••••>■•.•■*■
A S M L E*Y- W I L.L
f. ..f^'J*- ^
xfS^^
to ^^\t y^^^
V ■
,.S .V
Si
ALDCii ASHLEY m Aiomafe
/
^
houae * *ibtzm
.'."i-y
f cemetery
"w<w?5-«
It
I
I
I
\
I
II
H
l»
* * ■.
COLUMBIA COUSn
Rensselaer Palmer
Win. E. Oliver
♦.•:-^</
1*1. E. Oliver
(perhape iMa Uxh^ was bought ,
fi^om Stephen- iPhebe Aahley -^
Apriia^UZi^^^A 1842)]$
'.vX .TX' •• ^-•.
• • • •
■ riff •
■ <•
Geo, Carpenter
Alden Ashley Jr.
jfi Cornelia Cornell
Jonathon Reynolds
m Nanoy Green
Scale: 3/4 Sq. Inch
five aarea
This map was drav/n from the description In the deed and shoi/s oivners of
adjoining land. Hore research may prove that Alden 's father, iloah Ashley
ov/ned the farm before him, and It Is possible that Alden Ashley was bom on
this farm on March 6, 1783. He died August 25, 185G and by the terms of his
win, tills farm of about 100 acres v/as sold flay 4, 1857 to George li. Palmer
and Lorenzo Humphrey for $2,875.00.
- 55 -
(continued next page)
The family burial plot on this farm has eleven rrarked graves. Eight are marked
with plain native stones, and three have narriiDs. on 1h(^.m*
The area In which this fafin Is located was In Renslaerwyck until Albany was
formed In 1683. Columbia County was fonr.od from Albany In 1756. In 1790
this area was In the Town of Cana:3n, Columbia County. The town of Chatham
was created March 17, 1795, having been erected from the Towns of Canaan and
KInderhook.
I have been told that the Rider's Mills Historical Association has authentic
school tax receipts signed by Noah Ashley In 1796. Other records pertaining
to this fami ly are:
The 1790 Census * Town of Canaan, Columbia County, New York
Noah Ashley 3-5-4
Elisha Ashley I - I -* 4 (Were they related?)
American Ancestry - by Thomas P. Hughes, 1887 - Vol. 2, p. 4 (#32)
ASHLEY, Henry A. of Chatham, b 1854 (m. Fidelia A. Burrows); son of
Abram of Chatham, b 1816, d 1882 (m. Lydia Ann Young), served In the
\tr.r of the Rebellion; son of Abram of Chatham, b 1789 d 1876 (m DeMlah
Beemcn); son of Noah of Chatham, b April 14, 1747, d Oct. 2, 1815,
(m Rebeccah )
I have copies of the Wills of Noah and Alden Ashley (see Wills on page 58) and
there Is no doubt that- they are my ancestors. (Gerald A. Cooper (8) Porenoe
Aehley Cooper (7) Daniel Aehley (6) Alden Ashley Jr (6) Alden Aahley (4)
Noah Ashley (3) Jethro Ashley (2) Joseph Ashley (I)
I believe Noah Ashley is the son of Jethro Ashley and Elizabeth Holmes of the
town of Rochester, Plymouth County, Mass. Jethro was In the Third Parish of
Rochester at the time It was set up, 1743 to August 1747. Noah was born
April 14, 1747, as yet we have not been able to find his birth recorded there.
Jethro Is believed to have taken his family to Nine Partners, Dutchess County,
New York about 1762. I have not been able to find his name on any roster there.
There was an Alden Ashley, a member of the Baptist Church In North East Precinct,
who signed a pledge to support the Continental Congress, canvass made In June
and July 1775. Alden Ashley also signed an order for his pay due him for duty
In Revolutionary War, on Dec. 6, 1784. A Jabez Ashley signed a petition for
land, as a late soldier on Oct. 25, 1776, land In Newbourgh, Orange County, or
Plattekill, Ulster County.
According to the John Reynolds Genealogy, Noah Ashley married Rebecca Reynolds,
daughter of Nehemlah Reynolds of Nine Partners, whose sons, David, Amos,
Nehemlah and daughter Mary (who married Solomon Finch) came to the RayvIMe
area of Chatiicm township In Columbia County, New York. ._. ..
((kmtlnued from page 51)
Sydney Ashley^ lives In the over 200 year old home at the corner of North Main
Street and Ashley Avenue In the **Steep Brook" section of Fall River. He wl 1 1
be the fourth and last generation to live there as the property Is now owned
by the Montaup Electric Ck>. Sydney sold It to the Company In 1961 with the
provision that he could live out his days there. Montaup Electric will tear
It down after Sydney's passing.
- 56 -
SCHOOL DAYS
IN OHIO
Pumiehed by: M^a. Win. E. Gtaaky
mo)
Polly Ashley^ (Zebulon^Thos.'-Thoe.^OBeph) and Truman Strong were married on
21 March 1811 In Poultney, Vt. and moved to Ohio in 1812 as did Polly^s father
Zebulon and family. The Ashleys and Strongs were granted land In Ohio by
Thomas Jefferson for service in the Revolution to encourage westward movement*
On the farm of my grandfather Wilbur Strong stood a school house started by
these early settlers. I attended this country school a half year - and dont
you know, that was the last year that they used that school. Thus you might
say I was the last descendant to attend the school my ancestors had started.
I have the school belt as we do not yet have a historical society to preserve
these things for future generations.
The farm I own today has always been In the Strong family since they came from
Vermont in 1812
About the film - - "WHALER OUT OF NEW BEDFORD"
The Whaling Museum in New Bedford has in Its collection the largest i9th
century panorama still In existence. These huge paintings toured the U.S.
and Europe and were extremely popular with those who did not have the op-
portunity to see the wonderous sights described by explorers and the
fortunate few who could travel. The original Panorama of a Whaling Voyage
round the world was one of the very largest of which there Is a record.
It was painted by Benjamin Russell In 1848 after a four year voyage on the
whaleshlp Kutusoff.
When the Panorama was put on special exhibition In I960 for the first time
in at least 50 years. It became evident that it would lend Itself admirably
to a motion picture based on the beautiful scenes of New Bedford harbor,
the Azores, Cape Verdes and the romantic islands of the Pacific Including
Tahiti, Hawaii, PItcairn*s and the Marquesas.
uu
Francis Thompson has produced a charming film which brings out the unique
primitive quality of the panorama. He has brought movement and excite-*
ment to a sti 1 1 subject which Is a delight to the eye as well as to the
ear. Instead of spoken commentary which accompanied the display, the
film has a singing score and sound effects sung and recorded by Ewan
MacColl, Peggy Seeger and chorus. Various musical Instruments associated
with the period supply the background music. The songs describe the
action and the faraway lands visited by the whalemen.
c
This Is the treat tn store for us at our THIRD REUNION! C
L.«l
n
- 57 -
I • •..
Excerpts from Wl I Is of NOAH ASHLEY & ALDEN ASHLEY
□ PROBATED WILLS □
□ a
FumUfmd by: Gerald A. Cooper *Z9 CIIIIIITTTl
NOAH ASHlfY Dated June 4, 18
Probated October
bom
Noah Ashley
Rebecca Ashley
CMldj^en:
Nicholas Ashley
Stephen Ashley
Albany Ashley Oliver
James Ashley
Jabez Ashley
Patience Ashley Finch
A I den Ashley
Rebecca Ashley We I don
Noah Ashley
Abraham Ashley
Elizabeth Ashley
Joseph Ashley
April 14,
April 22,
1747
1754
died October 2, 1815
August 8, 1822
June 25, 1771
June I, 1773
April 5, 1775
May 14, 1777
Sept. 20, 1779
Dec. II, 1781
March 6, 1783
Dec. 6, 1785
October 18, 1787
July 14, 1789
September 17, 1791
March 31, 1795
February 14, 1825
October . 1866
August 25, 1856
1876
From Will of ALDEN ASHLEY of Chatham, N.Y. dated January 14, 1853
Probal^ November 26, iB56 Book L, I .Dates
A I den Ashley born
Ruamah (Ruamy) Green Ashley
CkildMn:
Albania Ashley Roberts
Alvanta Ashley
Betsey Ashley Moeher
^Caroline Ashley Reynolds
Amy Ashley Hasson
Lewis Ashley
Gennond Ashley
Alden Ashley Jr.
Nf'itlson G« Ashley
Ncincy Mar I ah Ashley WIckham
Paulina J« Ashley
Frledenburgh
Floral le R. Ashley
Horatio R* Ashley
Mary Ann Ashley
*Sm!th F. Reynolds 1833
(grandson of Caroline and Alanson Reynolds)
March 6,
1783
Nov. 14,
1788
Dec. t8>
1807
Aug. \2p
1809
July 2U
1811
Meiy 15,
1813
Nov. 13,
1814
Oct. 31,
1816
Aug. 20,
1818
July 25,
1821
July 21,
1823
April 1,
1825
July 1,
1827
March 1,
1535"
Jan. 21,
1834
died
August 25, 1856
Sept. 16, 1868
March 22, 1832
Dec. II, 1835
1865
Nov. 5, 1880
March 27, 1849
(The end)
from
DIRECTIONS TO CRAPO-WH I TE-ASHLEY CEMETERY
If you approach from route 24, go through Assonet Village and take Slab
Bridge Road vfest to the Junction of Chace and Bullock Road. Follow Bullock
Road to Quanapoag Road. From Route 140 take Braley Rd east to Braiey's
corner, then left to Quanapoag Road.
- 58 -
A BUTTQNED-UP YANKEE FROM SLAB BRIDGE
By: Ethel Fuller §37 with additions
from Robert E. Ashley #1 and
Mrs. Louise (Pickens) Tanner if 125
Ambrose Dean of Assonet was in California In the i850*s err^)loyecl at Valentine
Hathaway 's ranch In Napa County. When riding Into Napa, the town, one morning
he was hailed by a far off rider with a shout of "Ship Ahoy". Being a button-
ed-up Yankee, Ambrose paid no attention, but the other horseman hastened to
catch up and shouted "Where you from?".
Ambrose still uninterested shouted back "Slab Bridge" thinking that would end
the matter. But back came the answer "Heave to, I We been there". That so
astonished Ambrose that he pulled up. The sailor had once put in at New
Bedford and a shipmate had taken him to his home at Slab Bridge for Saturday
and Sunday.
In the I840*s a wealthy Southerner had come to Freetown and bought up many
dcres of white pine woodland In the area east of the present State Forest.
Foh a number of years, William Richardson^s saw mill at Slab Bridge was a busy
place throughout the week, and a gay place Saturday nights. No one mentions
dances, but there Is a written report of Corn-husking bees. The home cooking
and the friendly young people had made "Slab Bridge" a pleasant memory for.,
the sai lor. He and Ambrose rode into Napa together and spent the afternoon
talking about New England. It was said that Richardson could cut a cord of
wood 'a day and yet never own any less cords of wood, the growth on his many
acres being at least one cord per day.
The Freetown History, on page 206, describes the Assonet River as flowing
from Cranberry Swamp northerly "crossing the northerly New Bedford road
(Slab Bridge Road) at Slab Bridge; so named because the bridge that crosses
the stream at this point was once made of slabs. Here are the ruins of an old
dam and a mill of some kind was undoubtedly once located at this point. It
next crosses the How I and road and here we find the ruins of the How I and saw
mill" And on page 196, "William Richardson came from the South to
Assonet and settled at Slab Bridge".
A man who was born in 1846 and who went to school at Slab Bridge from a home
on Slab Bridge Road writes (In 1922) "Now the school house and all save three
houses have disappeared". He remembers as a small child being left at home
one night when his mother went "to a husking bee at Bill Richardson's".
Footnotes: (from notes of Noah W. Ashley of Taunton, written 1907 and loaned
to Association by his grandson, Norman E. Ashley #142)
The children of William Ashley^, third son of Joseph Ashley' and his first
wife Mercy Ashley, dau. of Abraham', his cousin were:
Jephthah who never married and appears to have died In the Revolution
Abraham, known as Deacon Abraham who settled at Quanapoag and married
(1) Phebe Tabor and (2) Hannah Crapo
(Continued next page)
- 59 -
Wltllan^ marrivd second Etlzabeth Macomber* and ttMlr cbMdrsn war*:
MIcah who settled either at "Slab Bridge" or at "Backside", he married
Sarah Reynolds
**Ablah who married Elder PhllMp Hatheway and lived In the house still
standing on Main Street, Assonet, Just north of the cemetery opposite
the Congregational Christian Church where Elder Phillip Is burled
Noah who settled In the Sixteen Shilling Purchase part of Mlddleboro,
now known as Lakevllle, and built the house where our 2nd Vice Presi-
dent Paul Leonard now lives. Noah married three times - (I) Abigail
Hoar, (2) Lavlnia Howtand, (3) Mrs. Sarah (Reynolds) Ashley, widow of
his brother MIcah.
*Beecrd8 of t^ Hathaaay Family AaBoeiatlcH ahaa Sliaabtth
MaocmiMV to be a direat dgaomdant of Villian Thm Conqutror,
King of SngUotd 1068-1087,
**MM«e c^Mut Abidk on page_^„:i81
ELIZABETH "BETSEY" (HATHEWAY) HATHAWAY*
(AHdh Aehl0y^, Hllim^^ Joeeph^)
BETSEY HATHEWAY, born 12 Oct. 1780,
died 10 Oct. 1873, daughter of
Rev. Philip and Ablch (Ashley)
Hatheway married Edmund Hathaway
on 19 May 1799, son of Lt. Philip
and Lucy (Valentine) Hathaway.
According to Hurd*s History of Bristol
Co., Edmund Hathaway was the most
prtxninent man In Freetown - Shipmaster,
Shipbuilder, etc. Edmund died In
1832 and Betsey lived In Freetown as
a. widow until her death some 41 years
later.
Her portrait^. ap(tai-«ntly a charcoal
and chalk enlargement from a daguer-
reotype, hangs In the home of Ethel
Fuller (*37) In Assonet and shows the
hardy determination o< these third and
fourth generation women. eM>«t points
out that Betsey Is wearing a "false
front", a small dark wig under her cap,
while the hair at the sides Is white.
We are sorry that we are unable "Yq
reproduce a better copy of Betsey'-s
picture.
fumiehad by:
Mm, Loid99 PiokoM Tammr §126
n CD
, C3 STAUNCH ASHLEY WOMEN []
ABIAH ASHLEY^ C: ^____ O
. , CIIIIIIIIIIIII]
(William^, Joseph')
The doughty ABIAH ASHLEY was one of our most Interesting characters. Born
July 15, 1751, daughter of Will lam Ashley and his second wife widow
Elizabeth (Macomber) Rounsvll te. She died "out west" In 1843 In her 93rd
year. She married in Mlddleboro, 18 December 1777 Phillip Hatheway, who was
Elder (today we would say Reverend) of the First Baptist Church of Freetown,
and later became a Swedenborgian.
He served as a private and as a sergeant in the Revolution, guarding Boston
Neck and preventing the British from getting supplies or leaving the city
during the siege. He was the illegitimate son of Melettah Hatheway and
Rachel Hosklns, a servant In the Hatheway home In Dartmouth. (Rachel was
the deceased wife's sister). Rachel was sentenced by the (bounty Court to be
publicly whipped but there was no punishment recorded for Meietlah. No
record of the punishment being carried out.
Children of Elder Phillip and Abiah (Ashley) Hatheway were Noah who died at
age 27, Betsey who married Edmund Hathaway, and Persts Lysom who married
Benjamin Chase. Benjamin died In 1817 and Persis apparently returned home
to her parents in Assonet.
In 1839 Elder Phillip died and Ablah, now 90, went west with her daughter
Persis and her granddaughter Elizabeth who had married James Pickens. They
traveled by packet to New York and up the Hudson to Albany, then by canal
boat the entire length of the newly opened Erie Canal to Buffalo. From
there it was overland by covered wagon to Ottawa, Illinois, a distance of
some 1100 miles all told. Ablah lived in Ottawa another three, perhaps
eight years. Her daughter Persis also lived to be 98. An excerpt from
her obituary In the Ottawa Free Trader follows:
"September 17, 1881 - Mrs. Persis Chase, remembered as probably the oldest
lady in LaSalle County, who attended the old folks picnic in Ottawa a year
ago and sang a song with all the clearness and steadiness of a young lady,
died while on a visit to a relative at Fowler, Indiana on the iOth instance.
She had come to Ottawa from Freetown, ^4ass. In 1841 with her mother who was
then 90 years old and lived to be 98 (?) and lived with her son-in-law
James H. Pickens Esq. In south Ottawa, ever since. She had married young, &
In a few years was left a widow with two children and never remarried. She
lived to see her descendants to the fifth generation; had lived through
every administration of our government and remembers well when the death of
Washington was announced. She was a woman of more than ordinary intelligence,
tenacious of memory as of life, a close observer and therefore always in-
terested in the social circle. She had all her life enjoyed good health, and
was so vigourous and well preserved that she might have lived years longer
but for an Imprudence that brought on the fatal attack, although she main-
tained the full possession of her faculties to the last. "
- 61 -
;:lxxx.xxxx='
!] OBITUARY h EDMUND DAVIS ASHLEY^
O CD-
CX3CXXXIXX3 (Silas ErjttuKdP sil<XB Hckefie^, Noah^^
Noah^j IJillicsrfi^ Joseph^ )
Excerpts from "Standard-Times, New Bedford, Mass, - July 1936
Furnished by Nancy Ashley #94
NEW BEDFORD MAN WAS A LEADING EXPONENT OF CKMK PLATE ART: The advances made In
newspapers* pictorial reproduction in the last 50 years are recalled by the death
of Edmund D. Ashley, New Bedford artist and photographor for whom funeral services
will be held tomorrow QJuly 8(?) 1936]. Mr. Ashley was one of the premier expon-
ents of the chalk-plate art, through which an artist, with the aid of a stylus,
transferred to a sheet of chalk, superimposed upon steel, the outlines cut by the
artist wherever black lines or shadOngs were to appear, was in turn placed under
molten metal to form a printing plate In much the manner that some plates are
made today from papier mache matrices.
The chalk plate process, which illustrated hundreds of newspapers from the small-
est to the largest In the 1800's fell Into discard with the advent of the half-
tone method of photo-engraving, now universally used. There probably are no
more than two or three chalk-plate artists still plying their skill on American
newspapers •
Mr. Ashley, who made sketches at the famed Lizzie Borden trial In New Bedford,
kept pace with progress. When chalk plates were no longer In demand he turned to
camera, and rounded out 40 years with the Standard as a cameraman; No assignment
was too difficult for him.
For the last two or three years, Mr. Ashley, In falling health, had done free
lance work. One of his last jobs was the taking of pictures of Greater New
Bedford grammar school graduates In June. He also was official photographer at
the New Bedford House of Correction. His death, at 65, came early Sunday at
St. Luke's Hospital, following a shock.
BY THE WAY by C.G .
Reading of the death of Edmund D. Ashley, my mind went back to the first days
of my newspaper work In New Bedford. A year's experience as a reporter lay
behind me, but that experience had been with a paper that did not boast an art
department. One of my first assignments with The Standard was to go about and
see a lot of persons who were prominent In municipal politics, and attend some
political rallies - the city election campaign being In full blast then - and
write a feature story on municipal politics in New Bedford as It looked to a
stranger. I was awed by the assignment, but uneasiness turned to fear when I
was told: "An artist will be placed at your disposal". Now what the heck, I
thought, would I do with an artist who had never worked with one?
But It was easy. Because the artist was Ed Ashley, and he knew his business, and
was friendly and helpful, so that we got along swimmingly, and anybody who had
taken a superficial view of the matter would have believed I was a "journalist"
who never worked without an artist at his disposal.
(continued next page)
- 62 -
Meanwhile, I was Initiated Into the art of chalk-plate making, the process
used when The Standard first began to Illustrate Its news and feature stories.
A piece of sheet metal was coated with chalk perhaps a sixteenth of an Inch
thick, and with a graver Ed Ashley would make a line drawing, cutting away
the chalk where necessary. If he was making a portrait he worked from a
photograph. For other pictures he might use photographs or pencil sketches
he had made on the scene. Once the plate was etched, a cast was made from It
In type metal, and this cast went Into the form. When photo-engraving came
into general use, the chalk plate went Into the discard. Instead of being a
photographer, sketch artist and engraver, as In the early days, Ed Ashley
devoted most of his time to new photography. But not until he had turned
out a lot of good work by the old process, and was recognized In this part of
New England as one of the best In his trade.
THE BIRTHDAY CLUB - He had the knack. In the chalk plate days, of being able
to work even when he had company, and because of the fact we boys of the
news department, once the last edition was out of the way, were In the habit
of gathering In Ed's room at the end of the hal I, to watch him at his work,
to swap experiences, and to talk shop. And sometimes, if truth be told, to
play vingt-et-un with tobacco tags for chips. Out of this association came
a group of fellows who called themselves the Birthday Club. Composed origin-
ally of members of the Standard and the Mercury staffs. It came to Include
some outsiders, of whom two were Judge James P. Ooran and the late Louis E.
Walker of Taunton, then tenor In the Unitarian choir of this city. Whenever
a member's birthday came around, we would have a dinner somewhere and
celebrate It. For each dinner there would be a set of steins, with lettering
and pictorial design appropriate to the member whose birthday It was; and
Ed Ashley's Important contribution was to decorate these steins, which re-
mained with us as lasting souvenlers of a congenial association.
WRIle his work was chiefly black-and-white sketching and photography, he
had no mean skill In water colors. Even as I write this about him, one of
his pictures comes to mind - a marsh scene near Padanaram, with two stacks of
salt hay, and over all An automnal haze - a picture full of feeling and
indicative of true artistic talent.
For Ed Ashley, the last photograph has been snapped, the last picture painted.
But he lived to be the sole connecting link between the chalk plate era of
newspaper illustration and the modern photo engraving. And when the older
newspapermen of New Bedford recall the old days, Ed Ashley plays a prominent
part In their reminiscences.
(The End)
JOE'S ROCKS {Continued from page S3)
land, tools, etc., and are charged with the care of Joy.
"I give to my son Joy Ashley $10 out of my estate with a privilege In my
house to live in, also one bed and bedding, with a place to set his bed to
lodge in, also a privilege In my blacksmith shop and tools to work with and
when sick and unable to labour to be supported and provided for by my two sons
Thomas and John Sherman Ashley with clothing, provisions and medicine necessary"
Could It be that Joy had ruined his health while living at Joe's or Joy's Rocks?
All cumulative evidence to be sure, but If we allow for missing records* poetic
license and a lack of anyone else to fit the place, then we may have found Joe.
Would appreciate hearing from anyone with more facts or theories.
- 63 -
CD □
3 IN MEMORIAH O
There are stave that go out in the darknecs
But whose si'lver, light shineth onj
There are roses whose perfimie lingers
When the blor^scme are faded and gene.
There are hearts f»dVL of li^ht and of sweetness
Ifhen no longer their life aurrant flews;
Still their goodness lives on with the living
Like the souls of the star and th^ rose.
DR.J. KENNETH SOKDL, noted urologist,
died March 20th of a heart a1*tack while
on vacation with his family In the Bahamas.
A doctor In Chicago since 1937, Dr. Sckol
was a member of several honorary uro logi-
cal soclatles. Including the North Central
Urologlcal Society and the American Urolog-
Ical Society and was formerly president of
the Chicago Urologlcal Society. A member
of the staff of Wesley Memorial Hospital
for more than 25 years, on faculty of
Northwestern University Medical School,
and a significant contributor In the
urologlcal field, writing for many medical
publications. In the 1950S Dr. Sokol
was a member of a team of doctors who were
Instrumental In bringing the use of radio-
active gold to Its prer^ent high state of
efficiency In the treatment of prostatic
cancer. He also worked closely with the
Planned Parenthood Board of Chicago and
was an adviser to that group In promoting
the safe utilization of male sterilization.
Dr. Sokol Is survived by his wife, Ruth
nee Ashley {ff\22), a daughter Jane, and
a son Richard. Your editor Is Ruth's
only sister.
CXIXXXIXIIXXXDCIIXXXXl
TEXT from l og of whal eship ARAB
Published by the Whaling yhiseum
Hew Bedford^ Massachusetts
RUTH AMANDA (BLANKENSHIP) HUNT (#46)
died In January. Services were held
In the Little Church of the Flowers
on January II, followed by Interment
at Forest Lawn. She was born In
Bedford, Iowa, was a past Regent for
DAR, and Organizing .Regent of the
DAC and a member of Atwater Park
Baptist Church. She Is survived
by her husband, Wei ley, a daughter
Mrs. Clarissa VIets of Atwater, a
son James Daughterty, four grand-
chlldren and nine great grandchildren.
Her Sister^ Ida: Belle (Bianenshlp)
Gaut (#103) and brother Otto H.
Blankenship (#99) are active members
of Ash leys of America.
HAROLD C. ASHLEY (86) passed away on
January 25, 1972 and Is burled In
South Cemetery, Orange, Mass. He
Is survived by his wife Ethel (Howland)
Ashley.
ISAAC L. ASHLEY Jr., 87 of South
Dartmouth, Mass. died Jan. 22, 1972
after a brief Illness. He Is sur-
vived by his wife Ethel, a daughter
Mrs. Virginia Stevens, a granddaughter
and great grandson. A native of
New Bedford and lifelong area resi-
dent, he was a retired artist.
[XXXXXXXXXXIXX3CXXXXXX]
Ship ARAB In the Gulph of the Red Sea -
Tuesday, July 18, 1843: - First part heavy gales from S.S.W. heading S.E. under
reff fore sale close reff Main Topsail & Main Spencer. Mid part the Same our
crew In perfect good health eating at the Rate of 8 bis of Meat a month In this
warm weather besides Bread and other things to numerous to mention. This day
Practice I ng on the Flute and reading my Letters which I received from Home for
the 50th time with cheers my drooping Spirits a little whllelylng here In this
dismal weather with no prospects of being any better In reading my letters
today It was quite Laughable to read over their Excuses In writing to us. one
says I have not got any news to write another that my pen Is poor and It is
getting late the children Is troublesom I have no time to write & a
- 64 -
(Continued on page 66)
Comedienne Phyllis D) I ler has has a
$4,000 reconstruction Job on her
face« but her famous cackle has been
left untouched. Is she abandoning
her standard role as a harried wife?
"Absolutely not," she says. "I'll
still project the same Image when
performing. I'm not deserting the
housewife. I'll Just be showing her
It isn't a sin to look better." The
work by her surgeon, DR. FRANKLIN
ASHLEY Includes a face lift and a
nose Job. Miss Dlller also had her
teeth straightened.
Bottybjood AP S-B-19T2
FRANK ASHLEY of the Louisville
Courier-Journal Is written up In
Time Magazine, January 24, 1972
In connection with his Investiga-
tion of federal appropriation to
create Jobs was being spent in
Boonevllle, Owsley Co., Kentucky.
have you heard?
A story entitled "Whiff of Pine" appeared
in a recent issue of tfie Sunshine Magazine
written by Nova Trimble Ashley of Wichita,
Kansas. Is she part of our ASHLEY clan?
«««»««««
VIRGINIA ASHLEY GOFf^ #41 was one
of the lucky persons to purchase
an old pew from the Mul lein HI 1 1
Church In Lakevllle, Mass., being
sold to Increase their building fund
for expansion of the church. Many
Ashley, WInslow, Canedy and. Staples
ancestors are burled In cemetery
adjoining the church.
ROOOLPHUS ASHLEY SWAN of Seneca
Fails, New York retired last August
from GTE Sylvanla Electric after
42 years service. A professional
in the electronics field, he is
widely known In Europe, Mexico and
South America as he Is In the U.S.
He and his wife Rhoda look forward
to returning to New England, having
purchased a home in Wolfboro, N.H.
He Is the brother of our 3rd Vice
President, Bradford F. Swan.
NANCY ASHLEY (#94) has thrown away
her crutches. The broken leg Is
atmrwhos good as new.
Jaclntho Martinez, American exchange
student staying with the Karl James
Ashley Jr. family In Apponequet cele-
brated his birthday In February.
CAITLIN ASHLEY, daughter of L. Barry and
Susan (Ashley) French <#9) arrived Jan.
16, 1972. Maternal grandparents are
Theodore Chace and Pauline (Baker) Ashley
(?6).
Descendants of William Ashley and his
wife Pbebe Howe are very distantly ro-
tated to Brigham Young, president of the
Church of Latter Day Saints and founder
of Salt Lake City, Utah - viz.
r
JOHN HOWE ( -1687)
(Came to Amer' 1636)
John (1640-1676)
John (1671- )
Peter (1695-1778)
Nehemiah (1721- )
Phebe (1758-1828)
m Wm. Ashley
1
Samuel (1642-1713)
Samuel (1668-1731)
Peter («I698-I756)
Phlneas (I735-IBI7)
Abigail (1766-1815)
m Or. Joseph Young
Brigham (1801-1877)
IXXIXIIXXDCXJ
C3 LINEAGE ADDITIONS
CD
#138 ARTHUR $• ASHLEY (9)
#179 JOAN P. ASHLEY (9)
#48 DONALD FRANCIS KERN (8)
#165 MARION 6. ROGERS
PI ease add these lineages to your membership
roll. If you can assist In filling In any
blanks it will be appreciated.
Edward Stone (8) Arthur Stone (7) Silas
Edmund (6) Silas Pickens (5) Noah (4)
Noah (3) William (2) Joseph (I)
Clifford Forrest (8) Edwin Forrest (7) Marcus (6)
Marcus TX* (5) Abraham (4) Perclval <3)
Abraham (2) Joseph (I)
Francis M. KprnH?) Lydla Ann Reed (6) Mary
"Polly" Ashley (5) Abraham* (4) Noah (3)
Jethro (2) Joseph (I)
John Rogers and Nellie M. Gushee
Jarlus Gushee and Elizabeth White Ashley
Capt. William Ashley and Delano Allen
(Who can help on this lineage?)
#166 PRISCILLA LOUISE (ASHLEY) ROSE (9J^.:
Mrs. Arthur L. Sr,
-Harold Wi Imuth Ashley (8) Herbert
Wl Imuth (7) Jamers Emerson Jr. (6)
James Emerson (5) Perclval (4)
Perclval (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (I)
#167 ARTHUR L. ROSE Jr (10)
#193 MRS. LAURETTA RUSSELL
#168 LUCINDA (ASHLEY) SPERRY ( )
Pried I la L. (Ashley) Rose (9)
Balance same as #166 above
A friend - lineage of 1 SIster-ln-law
Ruth Virginia (Manning) Dickinson ( )
John Ashley Minn log 4 Augusta Pee^ey Russell
Wilt lam Richard. Manning K Virginia Ashley (cousins
Nathaniel Ashley & Caroline Clay Marshall
William Ashley and Mary Raines
Nathaniel Ashley and Jane Williams
Wi I t lam Ash-ey and
John Ashley and Mary (lived In Anson Co.
N.C. where he d. 1759)
Witlard Creighton Ashley ( ) Henry ( )
Abraham Jr. ( ) Abraham ( ) Noah ( )
(jloah was the son of
?)
Ship ARAB - Continued from page 64
thousand other things What would they say If they were here toss to and fro
by the Waves beating against our frail Bark where It takes one to hold the
Inkstand another to brace while one is writing. they might then lay down their
pen and Say that It Is improbable I Cannot write. Think of this Friends
when you sit down to write to your Friends who are absent from home.
(The end)
- 66 -
#202
#203
#204
#205
#206
#207
mS, FORREST IVAN ASHLEY
34 Roosevelt St.
Acushnet, Mass. 02743
CIIIIIIII]
G C3
G NEW ME^4BERS C3
c: CD
CIIIIIIIXD
Harry F ( ) Henry G ( ) James ( )
MR & MRS MARCUS H. ASHLEY (lOMarcus Harold Jr (9) Marcus Harold (0)
Keene Road Frank Harold (7) Marcus (6) Marcus T.C.
East Freetown, Mass. 02717 (5) Abraham (4) Perclval (3) Abraham (2)
Joseph ( I )
DON RUST ASHLEY
130 West Locust St.
Boonvllle, ind. 47601
LLOYD STERNE ASHLEY { )
3314 N.W. 23rd Court
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla 33311
Mr & Mrs ROBERT FRANCIS
PATRICK ASHLEY
195 Valley Road
Schenectady, N.Y. 12309
MRS. C. V. VAN DYKE
405 Coconut Isle,
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla 33301
Leonard ( ) Lafayette L ( ) Alvis M ( )
Francis M ( )
Elbert Fletcher ( ) Addison Sterne ( )
Francis William ( ) Francis ( )
#208 Mr & Mrs JOHN BOSWELL ASHLEY (8) Charles Hartweli (7) Charles Henry (6)
21 Blackstone Ave. Thomas Henry (5) Thomas (4) Abraham (3
BInghamton, N.Y. 13903 William (2) Joseph (I)
#209 MRS GRACE EDITH (ASHLEY)
MISULIS
690 Hudson Ave.
Albany, N.Y. 12203
#210 MR WHEATON WILBAR
62 Tyler Terrace
Newton Centre, Mass. 02159
#211 MRS. J. HOWARD ASHLEY
1300 Bayard Park Drive
Evansvllle, Ind. 47714
#212 Mr & Mrs DAVID P. HART
Lena May (Ashley) Hart
Rt 3, Box 5072
Port RIchey, Fla. 33568
#213 Mr & Mrs ANTHONY F. NERO
Doris (Ashley) Nero (9)
II Joslen Place, Hudson,
Hudson, N.Y. 12534
Jerman Ashley ( ) Jerman ( )
A friend
Jacob B ( ) William ( )
Charles Wesley Ashley ( ) Matthew Gurley ( )
Alvts Wesley ( ) Francis M ( ) William ( )
(seorge Nester Ashley (8) Louis Frisbee (7)
Charies (6) Abram (5) Abram (4) Noah (3)
Jethro (2) Joseph (I)
- 67 -
#214 MRS. FRANK ASHLEY
515 N.E. Jackson St.
Roseburg, Oregon 97470
1215 Mr & Mrs CHARLES H. ASHLEY ( )
Old Baltimore Ptke« R.0.2
Newark, Delaware 1 97 1 1
#216 MR CARLETON ASHLEY ( )
30 Masterton Rd.
Bronxvllle, N.Y. 10708
CIIIXIIXIIXI3
CD a
G CHANGE IN ADDRESS CD
□ n
CIIXXIIXXXXX]
#74 RICHARD S. ALLEN
Francis William b i I856» Frodsham,
Chesire, England
Charles Henry ( ) William Henry ( )
Allen ( ) Wit I lam Frank ( ) Marion
Walker ( ) Judge John ( )
Change Zip Code to 92102
#175 MR & MRS JOHN 6. ANDERSEN Change street number to 40547 Orange I awn Ave.
Correct spe 1 1 1 ng of name - AndersEn
#77 CALVIN LEWIS ASHLEY JR. Change town 1o Salisbury Center
#177 HENRY COOMES ASHLEY
#182 ROBERT C. ASHLEY
#97 ROGER WINSLOW ASHLEY
Change street to CHAGRIN Blvd. Zip to 44122
Change town to Oakvi I ie. Zip to 06779
Change to 51 Oockray Rd., Wakefield, R.I. 02880
#25 MRS. TRACY HOLLIS ASHLEY Sr. Change to Cortland Housing Authority #9007
51 Port Watson St.,
Cortland, N.Y. 13045
#200 MRS. CARL R. ERLAND
Add - 1068 Digby Lane, Mount Vernon, Wash. 98273
#39 ms, PRESTON W. GIFFORD Change to Rt. I, Box 2e9A, E. Freetown, Mass 02717
#191 MRS. JANE A. LANOU
#52 MRS. FRANCES M. MARTIN
#53 MRS. ASENATH A. McCALL
Change to 226 Paipon St.^ Hoffman Estates, III.
60172
Change to 3424 Douglas Rd, Apt. 2
Toledo, Ohio, 43606
Add Rt. 3, Box 235 Zip 02857
#62 Mr & Mrs. Antonio Santos Change to 458 N. Main St., Raynham, Mass. 02767
;fl22 Mrs. J. Kenneth Soto I
Change Zip Code to 60201
#!70 MRS. FREELA D. WEBSTER Change Zip Code to 46733
1972 ASHLEYS OF AMERICA - Uninoorpcvated Family A^sooiation
ASail¥S
vol. M No. 4
CUARTERl.r NEWS BULLETIN
July 1972
ASHLEY FAMILY ASSOCIATION
Organ I led August 29, 1970
Saturday
August 26th
Sunday
August 27th
12:30 noon
2 PM
Homing:
Afternoon
THIRD ANNUAL REUNION
ASBLSXS OF AMERICA
Date: August 26 & 27» 1972
Place: THE WHALING MUSEUM of The Old Dartmouth
Historical Society
18 Johnny Caka Hill, New Bedford. Mass.
PROGRAM
• Registration {Free adniaeion to Museum for members and
thetr limtedlate families - paid by association)
Guests welcome - $1.00 per person Museum admission
Anyone arriving after 10 AM must pay regular admission
Welcome by Mr. Richard C. Kugler Museum Director
Film - "Whaler out of New Bedford"
Business
Dinner - Wamsutta Club (reservatloRS please)
"Archaeology at the Crossroads - by Dr. Maurice Robblns
Program at "The Seamen's Bethel"
Motor tour of old Ashley sites - Rochester, Freetown,
and Lakeville ending at "Wapanucket #8".
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
From yout 'fmatrated" Editor:
Carpenters, painters, plumbers, etc*
Jumping over each other trying to
complete my new home. Sold old
house * had two weeks to move
after 21 years In same spot (and
a full basement too).
Being a "pack«-rat^ genealogist,
hand I -^rafter, etc. It was a monu-
mental task.
Move complete -* house Incomplete.
Can't find anything and am I
confused I
I t f
This explains the delay In answer-
ing your many letters.
Note: NO CHANGE In mailing
address
Keep news bulletin material
coming In.
Bather Ashley Spouata
Editor
PO Box 321
Rogers^ Ark. 72756
July 1972
Vol. II No. 4
COilTEriTS
70 Know Your 2nd Vice President
71 Presidents Message
72 ASHLEY SCRIMSHAW PIN
73 ASHLEY CEMETERY - Rochester, Mass.
75 LOOKING BACK - Ablngton Tragedy
76 COVER STORY
77 NEWS ITEM (1908) - Capt. Wallace S.
Ashley (6)
78 UNIDENTIFIED ASHLEYS - Columbia Co, N.Y.
79 ASHLEY GANG
83 AMY'S HIOE_AJ*AY
83 CLEAN-UP DAY - Crapo-White-Ashley Cem.
84 COAT OF ARMS
87 NEW MEMBERS
89 CURRENT NEWS
90 OBITUARY - David C. Ashley (6)
News Bulletin published Quarterly - January, April, July and October
Free subscription with each $5.00 membership
Extra copies may be obtained by mailing $2.00 each to the Editor
- 69 -
□
fm
Paul received his early education In the Old f4orth School, built and do-
nated to the city of New Bedford by his grandfather, John Sherman Ashley.
Ji His aunt, Mary I. Ashley, taught there for over forty years. Later, Paul
ID attended Moses Brown, the Chauncey Hall School In Boston, and M.I.T.
D
On both Ashley and Leonard sides, Paul goes back to the earliest settlers
of New England, among them Peter Browne, who came on the Mayflower In 1620.
The Leonards, who pioneered In the Iron Industry and established the first
forge In America, go back to William the Conquerer, 1066-1087, and Alfred
the Great, 871-901. All of this Is recorded on a fascinating large chart
JJ.J that Paul has In his home, and which he let me photograph. I might add that
from entirely separate, reliable sources I have found other data saying
Alfred, the only English King to be called "the Great" was the earliest
known Ashley ancestor,
Paul has spent much of his life as a very successful farmer and lives In
the house built by the first Noah Ashley, grandson of Joseph, over two hun-
dred years ago. ..;..•' He gave part of his land to the Freetown-
Lakevllle Regional District on which has been built the Apponoquet High
School and where presently a new Middle School is being constructed, which
will serve the two towns.
Nearly fifty-two years ago, on October 23, 1920, Paul married Winona
"Steve" Stevens of South Orange, New Jersey, They have four children:
Nancy Tucker (#126) who married Harry Thurston; Ruth Nye who married John
J. Kendall; Susan Cooledge who married Eliot Putnam Loomls; and John Wood
who married June Hall.
Paul and Steve are a delightful couple to know, and Paul adds "This 200+
year old house of mine Is always open to anyone who wants to see It".
Paul has done some remarkable work In restoring the old cemeteries In
Lakevllle, and we might all do well to copy him In the other towns.
We are grateful to the Leonards for their preservations, restorations
and abundant hospitality.
Robert E. Ashley
[XXXXXXXXIXXXJCXXXXXXXIXDCXXIXXXXIIIXIIIIXID
=3 KNOW YOUR 2nd VICE PRESIDENT
ID PAUL COOLEDGE LEONARD (#3), the son of John Wood and Alice (Ashley)
Leonard, was born In l^w Bedford, Mass., on May 28, 1890. He was the sixth
.J of their fifteen children who Included Faith, Hope and Charity, Matthew,
13 Mark, Luke and John, Gorome, Paul, Ashley, Ruth, Mary, Sylvia, Alice and
ID Sally.
c:
CD Both Ashley and Paul served In World War I; Ashley as Combat Flying Of-
G fleer In the Signal Reserve Corps, stationed In Georgia where he died of
ID the flue In 1918; Paul as Instructor and Admission and Academic Recording
ID Officer In the Aviation Section of the Signal Reserve Corps, U.S.A., sta-
tioned In the Aeronautical School at MJ,T.
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- 70 -
:d
:d
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
I am looking forward to seeing many of you at our
Third Reunion the end of August. See schedule on
back of cover.
The Friday evening preview of the Clifford Ashley
painting exhibit has been cancelled. Due to schedul-
ing difficulties with other museums that were to
receive It after the Whaling Museum, it has become
necessary to hold the exhibit later In the year.
However, some Ashley paintings may be seen at the
Museum, The New Bedford Free Public Library and In
the main office of the Hathaway Oil Company.
Please note that the association Is paying the ad-
mission charge to the museum for all members and their
immediate families If they register before 10 AM.
All late-comers must pay their own admission. We
welcome guests but they will need to pay $1.00 for
the museum admission.
We believe you will enjoy the new facilities at the Whaling Museum which will
be explained by Mr. Richard C. Kugler and the film "Whaler out of New Bedford"*
a 24 ninute movie in sound and color of the largest 19th century panorama in
existence. More details appeared In the April '72 News Bulletin.
We will keep our business session brief and shall not read reports that appear
in this bulletin.
Group photographs by descendants of the five sons of Joseph and descendants of
Roberl of Springfield will be taken Just before dinner. If you fall In the
unidentified class - we plan a picture of this group also.
We urge you to send your dinner reservations together with your check as soon
as possible to facilitate planning. Use the enclosed reservation form and
malle to our Treasurer, Nancy Ashley, 165 Elm St., S. Dartmouth, Mass. 02748
The afternoon program on Saturday promises to be most Interesting. Your name
badge will give you free re-admission to the Museum. Or. Maurice Rcbbins who
Is Director of the Bronscn Museum of the Mass. Archaeological Society, Mass.
State Archaeologist and a foremost authority on the early history and pre-'
history of the Old Colony will give an Illustrated lecture "Archaeology at the
Crossroads". Or. Robblns points out that we who are living today are the last
people who will ever find or see undisturbed sites or artifacts of our ancestors
or of the Indians who preceded them. Since his forte is the very area where
our earliest ancestors lived, we ..should all bo prepared to recognize, understand
and wherever possible preserve thse things for posterity. Dr. Robblns is a
stimulating spoaker with a fascinating and little known subject that should be
of especial * interest to the Ash leys.
- 71 -
Sunday morning we are all Invited to a program at the "Seamen's Bethel" on
Johnny Cake Hill opposite the Whaling Museum. This Is the Whaleman's Chapel
of Melville's "Moby DIckV Founded by the New Bedford Port Society whose
object was to protect the rights and Interests of seamen, and to furnish them
with such moral. Intellectual and religious Instruction as the board of managers
should deem most desirable, the "Seamen's Bethel" was opened on May 2, 1832
for divine worship,
Sunday afternoon there will be a motor tour of old Ashley sites In Rochester,
Freetown and Lakevllle, ending with a visit to "Wapanucket #8" an active
archaeological dig In MIddleboro. Dr. Robblns and the Mass. Archaeological
Society have been excavating Indian villages here for many years. Some of
these sites are on top of other sites and date back as far as 9000 years.
My thanks to all committees working on this our erd reunion and all Indications
are that It will be better than ever. DO PLAN TO COME. See you In New Bedford
on August 26 and 27. -
Robert E. Ashley (H)
THE ASHLEY SCRIMSHAW PIN
Would you like to own a priceless heirloom for the
future?
Mr. Ned Jones, scrimshaw artist of Falrhaven, has designed
designed a special Ashley flag pin for us. On an
oval of whalebone, one Inch by 3/4 inch high, he
has engraved the Ashley flag In color. Each pin
In Individually made and has a find gold clasp.
Several will be worn at the coming meeting and orders will be taken by
Mrs. Amantha Ashley Arnold Akin
103 Chancery St., New Bedford, Mass. 02740
Best of all Is the special price. Have you priced any scrimshaw lately? If so
you wilt be pleased to hear that these pins will be only $15 through August 27.
After that date - price will be $20.00 (a pccrt of which will go to the
aaaociation treasury).
WARNING: Since they are each hand crafted, be sure to allow at least a month
for delivery. You may order anytime from Mrs. Akin at the above address ,_or
look at samples and order at the reunion.
NO orders accepted unless accompanied by REMITTANCE for the full amount. Check
or money order - no cash please.
- 72 -
ASHLEY CEHETERY
North Avenue, Rochester, Mass*
Report by: Roberb E. Aehtey (#1)
May 20, 1972 - On the evenfng of May II
several members of the Ash leys of America
met with the Board of Appeals of the
Town of Rochester at the Town HalK
We understood that a petition for a vari-
ance had been asked to build on the lot
East of the cemetery, at a distance of
ortv 10 feet from the wall Instead of the 40 feet required by law. Since
this Is a large lot, cleared for building but not laid out, we had entered
an objection, feeling that there was plenty of room and no need to build so
close to the cemetery. It turns out, however, that the variance asked for was
not for that lot or a new building but rather for an extension on a one car
attached garage on the lot on the West side where a home has been for several
years. It further turned out to be 17 feet from the back corner of the ceme-
tery and not 10 feet from the side as originally understood.
We also learned, however, that a search of the deeds Indicated that the cemetery
was originally a quarter of an acre and not Just the area inside the walls as
supposed. Assuming the quarter acre to be a square, it would have included about
15 feet outside of the existing walls. Our attention was called to the fact
that at the nearby Third Parish Cemetery, there Is one grave that Is actually
outside of the walls. With so many new factors to consider, we asked for and
were granted a two week extension for further study.
The condensed data now appears to be as follows:
The first Joseph Ashley purchased all of this area on April 21, 1719. We don't
know the date of the earliest burial but it must have been by 1727 or earlier,
the death of Elizabeth (Perclval) Ashley, Joseph's first wife, having occurred
before that date. Since there was no other cemetery In the area (the Third
Parish was not established for another 20 years * hence the Third Parish Ceme-
tery) it is reasonable to assume that she was burled here, as were perhaps others
before her. The burying ground Is not mentioned In early deeds as It was all
Ashley property anyway.
In the latter part of the last century, the surrounding lands ieft the hands of
Ashley descendants for the first time and the deeds from here on all read,
''excepting and reserving about one quarter acre 'used as a place of burial and
known as the Ashley burying ground**.
In the early I900's, Helen A. Brightman Robinson (Dr. Nellie - another Ashley
descendant) bought back about 57 acres and lived there until hor tragic death
in the fire when her home burned about a decade ago. Her only heir, Nathen
Winfteid Robinson of North Carolina, sold the surrounding property to Goodhue
and Chace In 1963, and development of the area began. The deed to Goodhue and
Chace states "to the boundaries of the stone wall'' and the lots as laid out
use this as the cemetery boundaries #
- 73 -
A revisit to the cemetery leads us to believe that the stone walls are probably
still where they wera originally built. They are 70' on the West side, 75*
aci*cs5 tiie buck and 77* on the, East side.
We also think It unlikely that thore are any graves outside of the stone wall,
althc'igh we would like to resei've tha privilege to probe the ground for a
rei^sonable distance outside 1he walls in a search for possible gravestone
fragments.
In view of the foregoing study, and the different conditions of the appeal
for the variance, and In tho Interest of better public relations for the
Family Association, we think that the original objection should be withdrawn.
May 30, 1972
At a special meeting held at the home of Paul Leonard in Lakeville on May 24th,
It was decided to hold to the original decision to oppose the variance to
build closer than the legal limit to the Ashley Cemetery. With time running
short it was decided to attend the meeting of the appeals board on the follow-
ing evening to present this decision that we would hold to our objection.
This was done.
Paul also offered to furnish a sign for the cemetery similar to the ones now
being placed In the Lakeville cemeteries by him. This will be erected soon.
He also suggested that we should raise a furld for perpetual care on the
cemetery and $75 was pledged at once. We will solicit additional money from
among the members, and are sure It will be forthcoming.
The arguments of the abutter, Gerald Sllva, were too numerous to mention but
perhaps the most significant was the statement made publicly before the group
and heard by many, that he would, "tear down the stone wall and build a
fireplace if he couldn't have the variance".
RESULT ; The Board of Appeals at the Rochester Town hall denied the variance.
Further sea^c^rrhg of the deeds reveals that the cemetery may Include as tnuch as
15 feet of land outside of the stone wall. We are checking further on this.
Who owns these old burial grounds? We Just don't know, however, legislation
passed by the General Court a few years back enab I es the towns to take them
"by gift, purchase or eminent domain" as has been done In Lakeville. As the
towns Rochester and Freetown have not yet acted, we suppose the cemeteries stttl
belong to the he Irs, the "ASHLEYS OF AMERICA".
At any Tate, we have started to raise a fund for the perpetual care of the
First Asftley Cemetery In Rochesler. As statedabove, Paul Leonard Is contributing
and arecting signs. These do provide for a degree of authoritative protection
and offset the appearance of abandonment and neglect.
If any would like to help us In the "clean-ups" or the "fund" for perpetual care
plsaf>5 gtjT In touch with Bob Ashley (#1), Nancy Ashley (#94), Dot Lang (#7)
and/or David Gurney Ashley (iff 1 99).
Robert E. Aahley (§1)
- 74 -
ABIW3T0N LOVE STORY
TURNED TO A TRAGEDY
Headline from the Brockton Dclly
Enterprise - December 30, 1907
Ficrrtiehed by: Robert E. Ashley (%1)
Obituary of EPITH MILDRED ASHLEY®
(1890-1907) (Fred G. - CharUe
Churahitl - Jireh - Thcmae - Abraham -
Willixm - Joseph)
DEATH FOR A REJECTED WOOER AND HIS YOUNG SCHOOL GIRL SWEETHEART
Ablngton, Mass. Dec. 30 - Edith M. Ashley, the youngest daughter of Mr, and Mrs
Fred G.. Ashley of Thaxter Avenue, a member of the senior class at the High School,
17 years of age, was fatally shot below the heart on Saturday evening. In the
rear of the Dunbar school building, by Samuel T. Stetson, Jr., of Rockland, son
of Samuel Stetson of that town, who a minute or two later turned the revolver
upon himself and fired two shots Into his own body and expired almost Instantly.
Miss Ashley was taken to the Brockton Hospital, where she lingered until death
came to her early Sunday afternoon. The bullet was extracted but It left a
mortal wound.
The girl did not rally sufficiently before her death to make any coherent state-
ment. Saturday night. Just before being taken to the hospital, she said to her
mother: "Sam said to me: M did It and I'm sorry. Oh, why did I do It! What
made me kl 1 1 you?"
Stetson had been wrought up by the gIrMs rejection of his love and return of
his presents, coupled with the fact that work had been slack In the shoe factory.
Medical Examiner Osgood found that Stetson had shot himstef twice, once In the
breast and once In the pit of the stomach. Either wound would have been fatal.
No autopsy will be held.
Dr. J. P. Stedman, who attended Miss Ashley at the hospital, located the bullet
very near the skin and extracted It. It had entered the body under the left
breast, was presumably deflected by a corset steel and took a diagonal course
to the back,
"MAMA, SAf^ HAS SHOT ME!" - People In the vicinity of the school building about
8:30 o'clock heard a report of revolver, followed by a woman's scream and a
little later two more reports were heard. Samuel Drake, living ODposlte the
building, hastened to a nearby telephone and sent word downtown that sameone was
shot and to send an off I cor up there. The mother of Miss Ashley, who had left
about ten minutes before to go to a market, leaving both of the young people In
her home, heard the scream. She thouqht she recognized the voice as that of her
daughter, and being not far from the building ran over there toward the scream-
lr.g girl and said "Edie, Is that you?" And the reply came, "Oh, Mr.ma, Sam has
shot me I"
(Continued on page 77)
- 75 -
COVER STORY d
CIIXXXXDCXXXXXXX]
C3
c:
EAST FR6fp:0VMa)NGRE3^T{QKAL CHfi CHURCH
East Freetown, Massachusetts
Furnished by: Doris Ashley Lang (#7)
Source: Research by Mrs. Granville Allen
The church home of the Ash leys from 1831 to present day. Though the present
butldtng Is tittle over 100 years old, the church was established in 1831.
Notice of 1st meeting read Nov, 9, 1831 - The Christian brethren met In the
school house #13 for the purpose of forming a church and the following persons
came forward and agreed to take the New Testarfient for their rule of faith and
practice: Hezeklah Mason • • • James Ashley • . • ' The school house was ht
Mason's Corner beside a dwelling house still standing.
At a meeting held Nov. 27th, 1831, Bradford braley, for many years a well-known
country doctor - was chosen to keep the records of the church, a position he
held for many years. The records thereafter were kept by James Ashley . • .
Meetings were held monthly In the old school house or In private homes and are
recorded as meetings of prayer and exhortation'. The names of persons desiring
to become church members were brought before these gatherings and an Investigat-
ing committee appointed to consider their moral character
In March 1832 It was thought expedient to build a house for public worship. It
Is recorded as 'Now they thought proper to proceed In the building of a house for
public worship and adopted the following articles and constitution: *We the under-
signed to hereunto set our names for a pew In said houde, which pew shall not
exceed $27.00 and be paid In lumber of material for said house as Is wanted.
Shall be delivered by April 1833. A part of said lumber to be made by said
pew owners. The house shall be under the care of above named church for meetings
Sabbath schools and always free for funerals. The proprietors shall have liberty
to Invite any minister of regular standing to preach In said house providing It
does -not"' Infringe on previous appointments of the church, nether shall the
church make any appointment to Infringe upon the proprietors appolnftnents.
The pew owners became virtually and legally, by a law established previous to
1845, the owners of the church aad by legal document these pews were transferred
as the owners desired. One iramber, James White, giving by deed a pew to each of
his six children. The^o pews were box like shape, with doors- fastened by brass
hooks and seats of scich height from the floor that crickets became a needed
article of church furniture If anyone was to be comfortable. The old-fashioned
whale oil lamp was the first method of lighting. These lamps were placed In
wall brackets and the glass reflectors made of crystal cut In Intricate patterns
were objects of admiration to the younger members. The house was a barn- 1 Ike
structure, similar to many Quaker churches still seen In the country, without
belfry or any addition to relieve Its severity. All woodwork was modelled by
hand and the frame work mortised with long wooden pins made by the church car-
penter. The house was not always heated, but contained two Iron box stoves, one
on each side, the necessary fuel being contributed by the members.
The leather covered Bible from which selections were feed for many years, con-
tains this Inscription - ^'presented to the second Christian Church In Freetown
by the females, Feb. 7, 1835. So they read In the Book, In the Law of God,
distinctly, and gave the sense and caused them to understand'* (Neh 8:8)
Several years Koter this book was laid aside and a new Bible presented to the
^**^^* - 76 « ((continued an page 86)
NEWS ITEM
Copied from: NEW BEDFORD STANDARD
July 1908
Pwmiehed by: Robart E. Aahley (M)
CAPT, WALLACE S. ASHLEY* of this city, who has been
whaling for Vat par I so owners for a number of years,
has wrl-tten a letter to friends here. In which he
tells a story of peculiar hard luck. While off
Galapagos Islands he saw whales In Banks bay and lowered five boats. His men
killed 15 sperm whales, several of which were of good size. An unfavorabte
shift of the wind made It necessary for him to leave the bay for the night,
as there was no favorable anchorage. Returning the next morning he found a
current had taken the whales through a passage between two Islands In which
the sea was so heavy on the rocks that no boat could follow. So 300 or 400
barrels of oil of the value of $4000 or $5000 was lost.
Capt. Ashley stated that his catch to June 27 Aggregated 320 barrels of sperm
oil, and he was bout going for humpbacks, with which he expected to fill the
ship before returning to Valparlso. Capt. Ashley Is now In ayimand of the
bark Pescadora. Mrs. Ashley Is with him on this cruise.
pt. Watlaoe S. Aahlay (Simeon-AJtnTdhcan-Peraivat-Ab:
Znd Catheiri,ne Gardiner Kelley^ the Mve. Ashley mentioned above,
Mra. Mildred Ashley Karl (#107) and fira. Lillian AehUy MaGrath (0112)
are granddaughtera of Capt. Wallace .
ABINGTON TRAGEDY (Continued from page 75)
Mrs. Ashley was the first one on the scene, quickly followed by others, and
Miss Ashley was taken to her home a short distance away, and Drs. Hutchinson
and Stevens were called. A little later she was taken to the hospital. Others
hastened to the scene of the shooting and found the body of young Stetson on
the concrete walk about four feat from the steps and the revolver on the steps.
Life was almost, if not entirely, extinct. Medical Examiner Osgood viewed the
remains and the relatives at Rockland were notified and later In the evening
the body was taken to that town by Rice's undertaking team.
GIRL GAVE BACK HIS GIFTS - Stetson was an edgetrlmmer. Is about 20 years of
age, and was employed at the Alden factory and earned good wages, but had been
out of work as It was slack the past few weeks. He has roomed at Hotel Elms
since last July and has taken his meals at a restaurant. Before living here
he lived with a married sister at Rockland. He Is spoken-of by those acquaint-
ed with him as being very quiet and reserved and they are surprised that he
should have done such a thing. He has been very attentive to Miss Ashley,
being at her home nearly every day or evening and often eating a meal with the
family, who looked upon him as a welcome visitor. For the past two weeks he
has been at the home a ^reat deal and on Sundays they would go to Rockland to-
gether to attend the Baptist Church where he was accustomed to go before coming
here.
- 77 _ (ContimiBd next page)
ABINGTQN TRAGEDY IContinued from page 77)
On Saturday evening Miss Ashley left her home to do some errands, and he evidently
met her on the street as he was seen near the home behind a tree, evidently waiting
for her, and they were seen by several together. He accx>mpanted her home, but
when he found others in the house he seemed to be displeased and would not go in«
Some conversation took place on the piazza of the house, and It is supposed that
she told him, for some reason that he must not come there any more and she gave
him back a diamond ring that he gave her for a birthday present, with some other
things, which he threw into the air. Some of them were found later but not the
ring. He proposed to her that they go and meet her mother, who left on her errand
while they were there, and talk It over and they brought up where the shots were
fired.
DEED PROBABLY PREMEDITATE - There is evidence that he had planned the shooting
after brooding over the girl's change of sentiment toward him and his despondency
because of lack of work. He had carried a revolver for some time, and the weapon
had been cleaned and oiled within a few days
WAS IN DISCOURAGED MOOD - It is said by some who know Stetson that he was out of
money and discouraged and at noon while eating at Bennett's made the remark that
If King (meaning the factory superintendent) did not set him at work soon he
could see his finish. Those who knew Miss Ashley are certain that there must
have been a very good reason for her giving back his presents, as she thought
well of him and liked his company. Stetson placed the revolver so near himself
when he fired that his vest was scorched The scene of the shooting
was visited yesterday by many people, but there was nothing to be seen, as
the janitor of the building had cleaned up the blood that was upon the concrete.
The matter was the talk of the town and nothing but expressions of sympathy
were heard for the girl antf her family.
WOULD GRADUATE IN JUNE - Edith Mildred Ashley was the youngest tn her family and
a general favorite with the young people. Her death comes also as a blow to
the senior class of the (Abblngton) High School, of which she was a member, and
she was looking forward and already preparing for her graduation In June next.
Her age was 17 years, 5 months, and 5 days. She Is survived by a father, mother
and sister Edna, who with a grandmother constitute the family. Miss Ashley was
a member of the Y.P.S.C.E. of the Congregational church and her sister Miss Edna
Ashley, is a soloist in the choir of the church. Both attended the Sunday school
and were much interested In the work of the primary department.
(THE END)
UNIDENTIFIED ASHLEYS in Columbia Co., New York Pumiehed by Gerald Cooper (
af29)
1820 CENSUS, Town
of
LIv
Ingsion
Abraham Ashley
45 years or over, wife, same
Thomas Ashley
m.
f.
26/45 sons: 1 16/26; 1 0/10
16/26, 10/16, 2 0/10
Armpnt Ashley
m.
f.
26/45, 2 0/10
16/26
Solomon Ashley
m.
f.
26/45
2 16/26 no
/
EdCtore Note: Beaetuse of many inquiHau i^egaxding
the "Aehtey Gang" pori^Kcyed on Gc-ic, ''we-tferi the
following artiole %a being printed i/i. few paxtf^
AN ELECTION-DAY THREAT SHOT DOWN FROM AMBUSH
IN THE WILD AND WOOLEY DAYS
Author; Baynard Kendrick
Fumiaked by: Mra^ David P. Bart (U212)
On November I, 1924, Sheriff Robert C. Baker of Palm
Beach County, arranged an ambush on the old wooden
bridge crossing the Sebastian River on FlorIda*s East
Coast.
Although Baker was unable to be there, the ambush took
place four days prior to the sheriff's re-election and
wiped out the last of the "ASHLEY GANG" - John Ashley;
Hanford Mobley, his nephew; Ray Lynn and Clarence
MIddleton, the last dregs of a mob that had terrorized the entire state for
nearly ten years. This neat shoot*out with o Ford-load of bloody bandits,
carrying four Winchesters and eight revolvers, brought considerable criticism
of the lawmen involved.
Letters flooded the papers: ". . , I have never seen a more generous and open,
big-hearted family of people In my life . . . always ready to feed fiie hungry
. . . that was the Ashleys, those desperate people of whom you have heard so
much and of whom John was one. The same I commend Into the charge and keeping
of Him who is the Judge of the quick and the dead . . . Rest In Peace."
This eulogy for lawbreakers left me confused 44 years ago! I am more con-
fused today!
Pa and Ma Joe Ashley were a quiet, ignorant peaceful pair of Illicit distill-
ers In the Caloosahatchee River Valley during the latter years of the 19th
century. There, while not busy mashing mash or attending to the multifarious
duties necessary to operating a good, clean stitt, they manufactured babies
until they were blessed with a brood of five fine sons - John, Bill, Ed,
Frank and Bob - and four comely daughters. Pa's heritage to his sons was a
fear of God, a burning hatred of the law, and the ability to shoot the eye
out of a flea.
When Henry Flagler started pushing his railroad south from St. Augustine,
Pa Joe Ashley moved this brood of trigger-happy cretins over to the lower
East Coast, where they were employed as wood-choppers In the railroad camp
at Pompano.
This was in 1904, and John, then a boy of II, was recognized as second only
to his father as a sharpshooter. Edmund Rodgers, later to become Bill Ashley'
father-in-law, said of John: "I believe be was the best shot I ever saw . . .
I have seen him ride along in a wagon, take his revolver and shoot off the
head of a quail, off-handed 20 to 30 yards". Maybe the other four boys had
not Inherited quite so much of Pa Ashley's skill, but as time went on both
citizens and law officers, seeking a long and peaceful life, decided it was
- 79 '
the better p:^rt of valor to keep out of the Ashley famHy's range.
John Ashley first hit the hsadlfner. as FlorMa-s "Pawnee BIN of the Day" when
on Dec. 29, 1911 - some 2?5 miles northwest of For! Laud^rcJale - a large digger
dredge, cutting a csna! to Okc-echobee, fcroujht up -the body of a Seminole Indian.
Sheriff 600. B. Bafor (father of Sr;erlff £x.^b Hoker) of J-he recently created
Palm Beach County, quickly estob 1 5 r.^-.od the Idoniih/ of the IndJ-in as thot of
DeSoto Tiger, a tranpar. He had been shot In tha back of the ho^d. Jimmy
Gopher, another Indian comp.^nfvon of Dr^Soto iJgnr and Ashley ?n their trapping
an alligator hunting, told Deputy btheriff S. A. Barffeld of Pahokee, that
Ashley was the last man seen wllh SoSoto Tiger.
Sheriff Baker quickly discovered th^t fhe otter skins had been sold by John Ashley
alone to GIrhnan Bros. Miami for $1200.00. The previous night, Ashley had been
arrested for recklessly displaying firearms In a house In the redllght district
of West Palm Beach. He had Jumped a $25 ball and departed for parts unknown.
Deputies Barfield and Bob Hannon were walking along the Dixie Highway, near
Hobe Sound - seeking a passage through the heavy growth of palmetto, to the
point where It was believed Ashley was In camp - when they suddenly found them-
selves gazing Into a couple of pistols held by John Ashley and his brother. Bob.
John kept them covered while Bob disarmed them and ordered them to return to
Sheriff Baker with a parting Insult: "Tell him not to send any more chicken-
hearted men with rifles after us or they are apt to get hurt!"
John was unconcerned about the episode. He was reported to have boasted he,
"woilld Just as leave kill and Indian as a buzzard". His reluctance to enter
court was due less to his fear of being tried for the murder of DeSoto Tiger,
than the apprehension of being found guilty of selling Indian bootleg shine
to get him drunk. Whatever the cause, he vanished for three years to a cooler
climate In the Pacific Itorthwest, where he apparently engaged In some honest
labor - taking time out only to crack a bank crib In Canada, or at least so
he boasted.
Then, bowed down with nostalgia, he returned to Florida In 1914 and gave himself
up. Meanwhile, his devoted family had settled down In the vicinity of Gomez,
a whistle stop some 15 miles south of Stuart. There they had populated the
countryside so effectively with kith and kin and friends of their Ilk that the
State's Attorney, John C. Grammling, saw Immediately the futility of trying
to pick an unbiased Jury.
Shortly after the trial began, Grammllng started an argument for a change of
venue, requesting that Ashley be taken to Miami (Co. seat of Dade County) for
trial. By this time It was dark and the court adjourned until the following
day so the arguments for a change of venue were not completed.
Deputy Sheriff, Robert C. Baker (the son of Sheriff George B. Baker who died
In 1920) was County Jailer. Ha was on good terms with John Ashley and consid-
ered him an exemplary prisoner. Consequently, no other guards had been provided
to assist Baker and Ashlsy was not handcuffed when Bob Baker started back to tlie
County Jail with his charge In a pouring rain.
At the Jail, Mrs. B?)ker met her husband with a plate of hot supper which she
and Pa Shley had left for his son. John's father, brothers and several reSctlves
had attended the trial and wore all, without exception, burned up at Grarrn^ilng^s
double-cross by asking for a change of venue. As It turned out, so was gentle
John.
" 80 ^
Jailer Baker's home was only a few steps from the JalU and the Jail was en-
closed by a 10 foot fence of chicken v;ire. Baker, without examining the food
for files, handed the plate to Ashley and unlocked the jail door, over which
a strong electric light was burning. It was In that Instant that he learned
his father's warning iK^t to trust the Ashleys was perfecfly true. John hit
hin In tiie face with the plate of hot food and dashed off Into the darkness.
He ducked around the corner of the building, about 10 feet away, and was
Immediately out of view. Bob Baker squeezed off a couple of shots toward the
sound of running footsteps; but, by the time his eyes were freed of the grits
and gravy, John Ashley was long gone. How he scaled the 10 foot fence has
never been established. Bob Baker said, "He simply melted through It," which
Is probably as good an explanation as any.
The Ashley crime wave slacked off for the balance of 1914, except for the at-
tempted hold-up of a passenger train on the Florida East Coast railroad. In
this John was said to have been assisted by brother Bob and Kid Lowe, a bank-
robber and goon from Chicago, who was In Florida for his health. The "Great
Train Robbery" turned out to be a mistake, because the boys never got together
on who was to stand guard and who was to rifle the passengers and mall car.
This foul-up should have taught the Ashleys that crime does not pay without
proper planning^ but somehow It didnt. Maybe they were Just a hard luck gang,
for all their capers seemed to lack finesse and end In some kind of tragedy.
Could be they were Just naturally dumb.
On Feb. 23, 1915, John Ashley and Kid Lowe, aided by a new young recruit,
Clyde Caldwell, stuck up the bank at Stuart - an amateurish Job that netted them
only $4300. For their getaway, they commandeered a car from Frank Coventry
(one of the customers who was standing nearest to the door) and forced him to
drive them out of town. This robbery was most costly to John Ashley. Driving
away over the bumpy roads, he was accidentally shot by Kid Lowe. The bullet
lodged In his right Jaw and destroyed the sight of his left eye, a wound that
was directly responsible for his apprehension. Realizing his need for medical
treatment, he failed to seek the safety of the Impenetrable ^glade and was
quickly overtaken by Sheriff Baker and his posse In the woods about 12 miles
southwest of Stuart. Kid Lowe and Caldwell were not taken. (It Is well to
note here that Frank Coventry, who had been forced to drive the commandeered
car, was mysteriously shot to death 10 years later In 1925, one of several such
satellite victims of the Ashley gang)
With John's recapture, a change of venue was granted and he was taken to Miami
and lodged In the pokey which was equipped with $50 worth of new locks and
chains to keep the killer of DeSota Tiger. This, of course, was years before
the Miami Jail went upstairs to the 26th floor.
The family swore they would free him. On the afternoon of June 2, 1919, Bob
Ashley walked Into the house of Jailer Hendrlckson (Immediately adjacent to the
Jail) shot him In cold blood. In the presence of his wife and took his keys.
Bob Ashley bolted out of the door and was only a few steps away when Mrs.
Hendrlckson grabbed a shotgun and pulled the trigger. The gun failed to fire.
Bob Ashley leaped on the running board of a passing delivery truck and, holding
his rifle on the driver, T. H. Duckett, ordered that he be driven to the ccunty
noad. Mr. Duckett, although facing death, managed to stall his truck and
brought it to a stop within a few feet of Miami Police Officer Robert RIbtett,
who h^d pursued in a car driven by Will Flowers. A dramatic shootout resjft'^d
In which officer RIblett, although mortally wounded, managed with one last shot
to finish off Bob Ashley.
- 81 -
Although John Ashley was actually convicted of "Murder One" by a jury on April 6,
1915 and sentenced to d€3th, "fhe trial soniehcw mfscarrled. He languished In
Jail until November 19! 6 when hfs lawyers suceeded In having the murder charge
nolle prossed. He was returned to West Palm Beacii to stand trial for the much
more serious charge of robbing the Stuarr bsnk. Needing a little time to think,
he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to \7^\/2 years in prison. They welcomed
him with open arms at Ralford on Nov. 25, 19! 5. He found the food and accommoda*
tlons below par and stood them for 17*1/2 months before escaping from a road camp
with Tom Maddox, a notorious bank robber. In the summer of 1918.
A fugitive from a chain gang, for the next three years John's activities centered
on rum»running« He was known to have operated three moonshine stills In isolated
sections of the north end of Palm Beach County, and aided by Kid Lowe, his brothers
Ed and Frank, and other members of the gang, he operated a very fast camouflaged
fishing boat and ran liquor from BImlnl.
Forays of the gang under the alternate leadership of Clarence MIddleton, another
Chicago recruit, and Roy Matthews, a much feared Junkie, were confined largely
to high-Jacking boats and automobile loads of hootch. The Ashley gan became
more feared than the federal enforcement agents.
Another recruit was Hanford Mob ley, a son of John Ashley's oldest sister, who had
grown up In an environment of law-breaklng, moonshine making, bootlegging and
gun-toting. Frail and effeminate In appearance, Hanford's efforts to emulate
his uncle might have been laughable, except for the ever present menace of a
brace of 38's which he knew how to use most effectively.
Later, Ray Lynn, an escapee and Joe Tracey, a graduate cum laude of Ralford and
half-brother of Laura Upthegrove, became active members of the gang. It Is be-
lieved that John Ashley first became acquainted with Laura, self-styled "Queen
of the Everglades" while he was running liquor from BImlnl and distributing It
from his camp on Peck's Lake, an impenetrable mangrove Island In Manatee Bay at
Salerno. Laura's credentials were good. In addition to Joe Tracey, she had a
brother "Buddy" Upthegrove serving a five-year prison stint for robbery. Laura
with her dark, unkempt hair, tawny weather-beaten complexion, prominent cheek-
bones, squinting sharp black eyes and generally sloven appearance, was far from
being any gun moll movie queen. Yet, all through his career of crime, John
Ashley apparently loved this amazon.
Laura would appear suddenly, direct the delivery of a load of bootleg liquor and
melt again Into the 'glades until another sortie was necessary. Always armed
with a .38 revolver - which she carried belted and strapped to her hip - Laura •s
rare appearances In public were drametlc. Ever on the alert for the "law" her
warning saved the gang from crpfvre many times. In an unllghted car she would
drive through the wocds - follov^'ng a blazed trail known only to Ashley's
followers and sound the alarm when capture seemed Imminent. She had a great
Influence over the Ashley gang.
f
John was picked up quite accidentally In Wauchula with a load of liquor and return-
ed to RaTford !n iun^ 1921 • While John was planning his third escape, Ed and
Fronk V^l.iey loft BImlnl on Oct. 21, with a boat loaded down to the gunwales
with liquor. A bad storm hit them and they were never heard of again.
(To be onnoluded - Oot. 1972)
- 82 -
: AMY'S HIDE-AMAY
«
THE CAMPER"S DREAM
If your camping rig Is less than 19 feet In length, you
should give serious consideration to the excellent camp-
ing area between Mew Bedford and East Freetown known as
"Amy*s Hide-away". It Is near East Freetown nearly
opposite the Crapo*White-Ashley Cemetery on land once
owned by William (2) Abraham (3) Thomas (4), etc.
It accommodates 40 units and offers ail the desired
conveniences Including flush toilets, hot showers and
an on the premises grocery store. Outdoor activities
Include swimming, recreational play field and a child-
ren's playground. One of the main advantages Is that
it is a short drive to the Cape Cod Canal with its
striped bass fishing and other tourist attractions of
the upper Cape.
The New Bedford area Is rich in 19th century tradTtion as It was a leading
whaling port and boasts many maritime museums. This being the site of our
THIRD REUNION In August, It Is a suggestion to you campers who will be plan-
ning to attend the Ashley Reunion.
"CIEAN-UP day a t CRAPO-WH I TE- ASI ILEY CEMETERY, Ouanapaug, East Freetown^ Mass.
April 30, 1972 miling helpei^ may oontaot Sol M'.iUy)
We have a picture of Helen Gurney Thomas, Doris Ashley Lang, tlancy Ashley and
Elizabeth Ashley uncovering the long burled gravestone of Deacon Abraham Ashley
(Wllllaf.i2, Joseph'). Next to this was found the stone of Hannah (Crapo) Ashley,
his second s'Ife. On the other side was a plain fleldstone marker which Is
probably the grave of Phebe (Tabor) Ashley, Abraham's first wife. Just beneath
the grass this earlier grave was thickly covered with rocks in the manner of
early burials to prevent wolves from digging them up. ;
All stones have been re-erected and Rev. War markers and flags added. Also re-
stored and re-erected were stones of William Ashley, son of Abraham, also son . •
James and wife Mary S. Howard, and her mother Catherine Howard. A number of
West stones were also restored as well as some Cummlngses, GIffords, Phllllpes
and White. Two Crap lots were cleaned up and that of MiiiachI White restored ex-
cept for a large granite stone too big for us to reset.
Some records obtained about 30 or more years ago reveal there are many more
graves not yet discovered, including Thomas and Rest (Has kins) Ashley and
many more Reynoldses. Our David Gurney Ashley (*M99) who Is a registered
surveyor, has surveyed the cemetery and Is making a chart of the known gravesltes.
"(k>nslder Crapo and his brother Peter Crapo 2nd were partners In a lumber and
sawmill at 'Quampog* where a forge formerly stood called Babbitt*^ Forge. Their
sawmill was partly In Freetown and partly In Dartmouth. At one time Abraham
Ashley and the widow Mereba Hathaway were partners In the mill" iCevtain Comeov--
Brere). Abraham Ashley was a private under Capt. Levi Rounsevllle and later a
Lt. In Capt. Nathaniel Morton's Co., Pope's Regt. (National Arahiveo)
- 83 -
i%*«i
C A T - F - A R H S
In a news letter that I ma] led In December
of 1968 prior to the forming of our
present association, I reviewed the
origins of Heraldry and presented some
of the 19 Coats-of-Arms for the name
ASHLEY that appear In the generally ac-
cepted authority "'Burke's General Armory",
t also pointed out that we can not claim
any of them until we find the parents of
Joseph Ashley'. Also» that It is quite
possible that we never will find this
missing link, although we feel pretty
sure he was either from the Ashleys of
Maine or the Ashleys of South Carolina.
Like many another family association, none
of us are happy about this, and like so m
-. .J many others, we would like to select one
..^Sui^li ^"^ '^^" ''*' ^^''^ " '''9^1'*' Of" wrong. It's
The two following manuscripts present the
rwo best arguments for both the ROBERT
ASBLEX of Springfield arms (A silver
shield with a rampant black lion wearing a gold crown) and #1 and #4 portions of
WED AJtTHONY ASHLEY-COOPER arms (a si Iver shield with three black bul Is and
gold horns and hooves) We will have big enlargements of these and other ASHLEY
arms at the August reunion. Notice that the colors are the same in each case
and that the rampant lion also appears in the #2 and #3 sections of the arms
of Lord Anthony Ashley.
Someone who knows us very well has facetiously auggested that since Lord Ashley's
arms have seven bulls and twelve lions - that with so much bull and so much
lyin - it must be the one for the present Ashleys. Glad I didn't aay that.
New England Historic Genealogical Society - Manuscript #5.6. Ash 13
Robert Ashley family of England and Roxbury, Mass, by Bowdoln Square Baptist
Church: Robert Ashley came from England and located first at Roxbury, Mass.,
where he remained until about the time when Mr. Pynchon and his company moved
to Springield. There are 19 coats of arms for the name Ashley. Robert was
the first Ashley who came over to New England. He brought wlfti him his family
coat-of-arms. By It his descendants In New England can find their relatives
In England. He took the oath of allegiance In Mass. with two of his sons,
Johnathan and Joseph In 1672. His children were born at Sprinfleld.
(Pg. 61 HInman Settlers of Conn., 2nd Ed.)
This is the apgutnent favoring the Rampant blaok lym
COAT-OF'ARMS (Ccntinu^d)
N.E.B.G.S. - Mannaovipt # G Ash 2226 - by Mabels E. Joint author with Mary
Kingeley Aehley Caspar (1S43)
The Ash leys are originally fran V/tltshIro, whore they possessed the manor of
Ash lev at a very early period*
DLNSDICT ASHLEY, of Ashley, living In the reigns of Henry Ml and Edward I,
(1216-1304) was the great-great-grandfather of . . .
ROBERT ASHLEY, flourished under Henry IV and his two Immediate successors.
( 1399-1461 )• He married Egldla, only daughter and heiress of Sir John
Hamelyn by Joan Plecy, by whom he acquired the manor of WImbourne Saint
Gllds^ in the County of Dorset, and had a son and successor • . •
EDMUND ASHLEY, living In the time of Edward IV, (1461-1485) who married
Margaret daughter of Robert Turgis, and was the father of . . .
hHJGH ASHLEY, of WImbourne Saint Giles, who died April 29, 1493, leaving by
Elizabeth, daughter of Raynold Welwyn, of Sussex, a daughter who married
Stephen Wallop, of Over Wallop, in Hampshire, ancestor of the Wallops
of Portsmouth, and a son and successor . . .
HENRY ASHLEY, Esq., of WImbourne Saint Giles, who married Radegar, daughter
of Robert Gilbert, of Somersetshire, and had Issue as follows:
Henry died In 1549 and was succeeded by his older son
* !• Henry (Sir), his heir
!!• Anthony, of Damerham, who married Dorothy, daughter of John Lyte,
Esq. of Lyte^s Carey, In Somersetshire, and had 3 sons, viz:
^^ I. Anthoney, who suceeded his cousin at WImbourne (see below)
II. Robert, shosen M.P. for Dorchester, 39 Elizabeth: d.s.p:
III. Francis (Sir) Knight of the Middle Temple, married Anne
Samwayes, leaving an only daughter and heiress, Dorothy,
who married Danzell Lord Holies
*SIR HENRY ASHLEY, of WImbourne Saint Giles, M.P. born 1519, knighted at the
coronation of Queen Mary, October 2, 1553: married Catherine Bassett, dau.
of Sir John Bassett, Knight, and was succeeded at his death In 1588 by his s^
SIR HENRY ASHLEY, Knight, of WImbourne Saint Giles, gentleman pensioner to
Queen Elizabeth: married Anne, daughter of Lord Burgh, and had four daughter:
and three sons, all dead s.p., whereupon the family estates passed to his
cousin. . •
**SIR ANTHONY ASHLEY, of WImbourne Saint Giles: sat In several Parliaments, and
was highly distinguished by the favor of Queen Elizabeth: was Secretary-at-
War In her reign: was created a baronet In 1622: married 1st, Jane Okeover
Cokalne, by whom he had an only daughter and heiress . • •
ANNE who married Sir John Ox>per, Baronet, and conveyed the Ashley estates to
the (}ooper family, by which they are still possessed (Sir Anthony Ashley-
Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury). Sir Anthony Ashley married, 2nd a lady named
Philip, but they had no child. He died January 13, 1628, and es he left
no male heir the baronetcy was extinct. . . (until re-established below)
ANT HO NY AS HLEY -COOPER, EARL OF SHAFTE SBURY
R I cha'^d Cooper, succeed l*ng his father and brother In large estates In Sussex
and Southhampton, augmented these possessions by the Manor of Paulett,
which he purchased In 23rd Henry VIII from Sir Amicus Paulett, Knight. He
merrled June, dau. of John KIngsmlll of SIdmaster, Southhampton, and dying
May 8, 1566 was succeeded by his oldest son . . .
- 85 -
COAT-OF-ARMS (Continued)
SIR JOHN CXWPER, M.P. In 1586, from Whitchurch, Hants: married Martha Skutt,
dau. of Sir Anthony Skutt of Stanton Drew, In Somersetshire: and dying In
1610 was succeeded by his only son . • •
SIR JOHN COOPER, 1st Baronet, of Rcckbourne, Southhampton, who was created
Baronet July 4, 1622; he married first Anne, dau. and sole heiress of Sir
Anthony Ashley, Knight, of WImbourne Saint Giles, Dorsett, by whom he had
two sons and a daughter; he married secondly Mary, relict of Sir Charles
Morrison and dau, of Baptist Hicks, VI count Campden, but had no other issue.
He died March 23, 1631, and was succeeded by his elder son • . .
SIR ANTHONY ASHLEY-COOPER, first Earl of Shaftesbury, born July 22, 1621. He
was made Baron Ashley, of WImbourne Saint Giles, Dorsett, April 20, 1661;
became a member of the "Cabal" administration; advanced to earldom by titles
of Baron Cooper of Paulett, Somerset, and Earl of Shaftesbury, April 23, 1672;
the following November he was made Lord High Chancellor of England.
(For more on Sir Anthony Ashley-C-oper see any good encyclopedia)
The Arms of Ashley which WILLIAM HOLBROOK ASHLEY brought with him from England
are the same as those In quarters I and 4 (upper left and lower right) of the
arms of the Earl of Shaftesbury. All the members of the later generation of
Ash leys above-mentioned, and all the descendants of the Earls of Shaftesbury, are
accounted for of record: and since William Holbrook Ashley, born 1819, was the
sixth eldest son of an eldest son named William, the connection of his family
with the Ashleys of WImbourne Saint Giles would be several centuries ago.
Tnis ia the argument favoring the three black bulla)
Moat preaent Aahleya favor this deaign
We will discuss the Ashley Coat-of-Arms during our business meeting and decide
whether to adopt one of the 19 or do further research before establishing one
for use of our association.
Robert E. Aahley (fil)
COVER STORY (Continued from page 76)
Search of records reveal that the land the first church stood on was given by
Samuel Macomber to the founders of the church, to hold forever and the only
proviso being that In no wise should the land ever revert to the heirs. In
1887 the need of a more comfortable house of worship located In the central
part of the community became urgent. The hearty cooperation of church members
together with the financial aid and Interest of many friends resulted In the
church that stands today. Todays church was dedicated April II, 1888, built
on land given by Alphonzo Braley and Granville S. Allen. Designed by Prof.
C. Franklin Edmlnlster, built by Abiah S. Ashley, contractor, the cost of the
building and furnishings was $2,720.00 of which $2,245 was pledged by 137
subscribers. Supplemental funds were obtained by an oyster supper, a quilt
raffle, a postal card puff, etc.
Today, still holding the New Testament as their rule of practice, this little
church stands, as It stood one hundred years ago, for the upbuilding of the
cause of righteousness rather than that of creeds.
1971 Current Ashley members: Brian J. Ashley, Charlene Ashley, Mrs. Harrle
Ashley, Mrs. Frank H. Ashley, Frank H. Ashley, George W. Ashley, Mrs. Tfceodore
Ashley, Stephen Ashley, Mrs. Stepehn Ashley, William H. Ashley
CONGRATULATIONS to Marie Davis (#5)
As a resu I t of her dill gent work on the
membership drive we are happy to welcome
the following new members.
CIXXXIIXXXXIIXX3
c: NEW MEMBERS □
cxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:
#217
#218
#219
#220
#221
#222
#223
#224
#225
#226
#227
#228
#229
May Fisher Ashley Knowles (8) Arthur
Stone Ashley (7) Silas Edmund (6)
Silas Pickens (5) ^k>ah (4) ^k>ah (3)
William (2) Joseph (I)
William R. Ashley Sr. ( ) Charles H. (
William Henry ( )
MR & MRS WILLIAM S. RAWLS
(Hope Knowles9}
234 W. Wi I low Grove Ave.
Phliadelohia, Pa. 191 18
MR & MRS WILLIAM R. ASHLEY JR
iOI Laurel Lane
Wilmington, Del. 19804
MR & MRS ALLEN OWEN COOPER (9)
6081 Holstein Way
Sacramento, Ca I . 95822
MRS. FENTON STANLEY ( )
(Bonnie Jean Dixon)
622 McBee St.
Malvern, Ark. 72104
OR & MRS CHARLES ALLEN ASHLEY () Allen ( ) William Frank (
Lakeview Drive
Cooperstown, N.Y. 13326
MR & MRS JOSEPH RAYMOND ASHLEY
102 W. Sprlngvailey Ave.
May wood, N.J. 07607
MRS D I ANNE ASHLEY PER- LEE (10)
2805 N. Lexington St.
)
Mona Hazel Owens (8) Rose Ashley (7)
Francis Marion (6) Joel Loami (5)
Ellsha (4) William (3) Thos (2) Jos.d
Maggie Ashley Dixon ( ) Jessie Jordan
Ashley ( ) Willis G. ( ) James ( )
Walker ( ) Judge John (
William Ashley ( ) Howard
)
)
Marion
( )
(8)
(5)
Arlington, Va. 22208
HARRY L. THURSTON ( )
Box 317, Rt. #1
Half Moon Bay, Cal. 94019
JUDITH ASHLEY AKIN (II)
226 N. Windsor Blvd.
Los Angeles, Cal. 90005
(Aseooiate Member)
Robert Paul Ashley Jr (9) ftobert Paul
James (7) Mn. Martin (6) Joel Loami
Ellsha (4) William (3) Thos (2) Jos (i)
Oesc. of Dorothy Ashley b 1687 at
Boston, dau. of Edward Ashley and
Mary Hoiiowel I
Seth Kelley Akin (I) Amantha Ashley
Arnold (9) Helen Ashley Gammons (8)
Amantha Borden Ashley (7) John Sher-
man Jr. (6) John Sherman (5) John (4)
Percival (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (I)
MR & MRS JAMES RUSSELL ASHLEY(7) Edward Everett (6) Dr. James (5)
4010 Gait Ocean Drive Or. James (4) Percival (3) Abraham (2)
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla 33308 Joseph (I)
303 Evandale Rd. )
Scersdale, N.Y. 10583 ) Address from May I to Nov. I
MRS. JIM B. HIX
312 Dunn Way
Golden, Co\o. 80401
MR & MRS FRANK DONALD ASHLEY (9)
22 Brook Street
East Longmeadow, Mass. 01028
MR & MRS FREDERICK HARRISON ASHLEY
Maiden Bridge, N.Y. 12115
Widow of Charles F. Ashley, II
Frank Smith Ashley (8) Marvin Weeks (7)
Joseph (6) Capt. Stephen (5) Rev.
Joseph (4) Samuel (3) David (2)
Robert (i)
( ) Henry Dorian ( ) Charles ( )
Calvin (?) Silas (?) Ezra (?)
- 87 -
#230 MR 4 MRS ROBERT PAUL ASHLEY JR (8)
510 Lincoln St.
RIpon, Wise. 54971
#231 MR & MRS ELTON E. STAPLES (7)
1540 Waterwitch Drive
Orlando, Fla. 32806 (winter)
96 Lakeview Dr.
Chatham, Mass. 02633 (summer)
#232 MRS AUBREY L. SPARKS ( )
(Thetis Ashley)
1180 Maywood N.W.
Warren, Ohio 44485
#233 MR & MRS EDWARD EVERETT ASHLEY 1 1 1
2604 Arlington Blvd.)
Arlington, Va. 22204) Winter
Box 442 Indian Lake, N.Y. 12842
#234 MR FRED MULLER JR. (8)
1536 Vinton
Memphis, Tenn. 38104
#235 MRS VERA MAY (ASHLEY) BELL ( )
1086 Bryden Rd., Apt. II
Ck>lumbus, Ohio 43205
#236 DR & MRS DONALD FRANZ ASHLEY ( )
13020 LIndo Lane
Lakeside, Cal. 92040
#237 MR &*MRS GEORGE H. ASHLEY Jr ( )
Taconle St.
Ck>pake, New York 12516
#238 MR & MRS >^ORACE WALTER ASHLEY ( )
1404 W. LIndley Ave.
Philadelphia, Pa. I9I4I
#239 MR & MRS ARMANO R. BOUCHER
CNorma Ruth Heff ley (9)3
1851 Monterey Drive
Lincoln, Nebr. 68506
#240 MR & MRS L. MICHAEL HAGER
CVIrglnIa June Ashley (10]
Islamabad (ID) Oept. of State
Washington, D.C. 20521
#241 MR DWIGHT S. ASHLEY ( )
3411 Martha Custis Dr.
Alexandria, Va. 22302
#242 MR JAMES CRAIG ASHLEY ( )
4560 Campus Ave.
San Diego, Cal. 921 16
#243 MR CASSIUS WILLIAM CUMMINGS (7)
698 School St.
North DIghton, Mass. 02764
#244 MR & MRS EMI L F. DAHLQUIST
(Alethea Ashley ( )j
31 Morgan Park
Clinton, Conn. 06413
#245 MR & MRS E. McKINNOM WHITE
CEIIzabeth Juctetia Ashley ( )]
388 Porter St.
Melrose, Mass. 02176
Robert Paul Sr. (7) James LaomI (6)
William Martin (5) Joel Laomi (4)
Ellsha (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
Charles Geary Staples (6) Sarah Ashley (5)
Noah Jr. (4) Noah (3) William (2)
Joseph (I)
(8) Edward Everett Jr (7) Edward E. (6)
James (5) James (4) Perclval (3)
Abraharh (2) Joseph (I)
"cLottie Virginia Ashley (7) Edward
E. (6) James (5) James (4) Perclval
(3) Abraham (2) Joseph (I)
Aionzo Carleton Ashley ( ) Thomas
Jefferson ( ) Obidah ( )
Clyde Leslie Ashley ( ) Marcus
Morton ( )
George H. Ashley Sr. ( ) Chauncey ( )
Arthur Edward Ashley ( ) William
Henry ( )
LaVetta CVanHorn) Heff ley (8)
Printiss Monroe VanHorn (7)
Joanna Josephine (Hart) VanHorn (6)
Mary Ann Ashley (5) Loami (4)
William (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (i)
Robert Paul Ashley Jr (9r Robert Paul (8)
James LaomI (7) William Martin (6)
Joel LaomI (5) Ellsha (4) Will lam (3)
Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
Dwight Ashley Jr ( ) Dwlght Sr ( )
William ( ) Richard ( )
Silas Aubrey Ashley ( ) Silas Aubrey ( )
Silas Emanuel ( ) John 0>leman ( )
John ( )
William Cumnings (6) Jason Cummings (5)
Thankful Ashley (4) Micah (3)
William (2) Joseph (I)
Harry Francis Ashley ( ) Henry ( )
Frederic Bunning Ashley ( ) William B ( )
- 88 -
Organization of our FIRST CHAPTER
for Ash leys In the Hudson, N.Y.
area Is In the planning.
Doris A, Nero (#213) Is con-
tacting Ashley descendants In
that area — We shall be anxious
to learn of the progress.
GC3CIIIXX3:XXXX3:i
o o
11 CURRENT NEWS ITEMS O
:i o
C3CXXXXXXXXXXXX3
JUDITH ASHLEY AKIN (#222) Is our youngest member of
Ashleys of America. She was born on April A, 1972,
daughter of Seth and Janice (Johnson) Akin (#73). Her
paternal grandmother Is Amantha Ashley Arnold Akin (#72)
She and her parents are enjoying their new home at
226 N. Windsor Boulevard, Los Angeles, Cal. 90004.
EDWARD P. ASHLEY, son of Mr. & Mrs* Karl Ashley (#90) received an associate
degree In applied science for electronic technology, evening division from
Wentworth Institute, Boston on June 17, 1972
SUSAN ASHLEY, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George H. Ashley of Copake, Connecticut
received an associate In Arts degree. Liberal Arts from Dutchess Community
College where she was a Dean's list student for two semesters.
EDWIN P. ASHLEY, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph D. Ashley, Herkimer, New York,
Is now taking his boot training at the Naval Training Station, Great Lakes,
111. He Is a graduate from Drury High School and attended Berkshire Community
College In PIttsfleld for two years prior to his enlistment.
MRS. CLARENCE GARNER (#38) of Hanford, California attended her class reunion
at Pittsburg, Kansas the end of June and Is now visiting relatives In Illinois.
MR AND MRS. KEN 0. DAVIS (#5) of WI 1 1 tamstown, Mass. are spending the summer
In Utah visiting their daughter and family, Mrs. Holger Harrer (#44)
MRS. LI LA (COBB) GORDON (#43) passed away recently. We have no further In-
formation.
WILMA ARLINE ROLFE (Mrs. Floyd A.) passed away April 17, 1972, age 59 years
4 months, at the Extendicare Facility, Lansing, Mich. Death was caused by
Amvotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. She and her husband are Interred In Greenwood
Cemetery, Fowlervllle, Mich. WI Ima carried on the genealogy work after the
death of her mother In 1957, and later when health did not permit her to con-
tinue, her brother Gerald Cooper (#29) picked up the threads and Is doing
outstanding work on that branch of the family.
ADDITION: Please add the following Information to membership #169. Should
read: Margaret L. (Cummlngs)WWalker (7) Herbert S. Cummtngs (6) Jason
(Mrs. William E. Cummings (5) Thankful Ashley (4)
3535 Alabama St., San Diego MIcah (3) William (2) Joseph (i)
Calif. 92104
- 89 -
CXXXXXXXI
a c:
n OBITUARY c;
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DAVID C ASHLEY^
(Abram Jr^ - Phrdhan^ - BocO^ - Jethaxr - Joeephr)
Fumiehed by: Gerald A. Cooper (§29)
The following resolution was found In the papers of Wtllard C. Ashley^ (Henry A^
Abram Jr. s Abraham^ Noah^ Jethros Joe.) (1882*1933) of Chatham^ N.Y. concerning
his uncle David C. Ashley b In Chatham 31 May 1839 and killed In the Civil War
5 April 1864 at Compte^ Louisiana. Quote:
At a regular meeting of Ocean Engine and Hose Co., No. I held at their house
August 1st 1864 the following preamble and resoluslons were unanimously
adopted:
WHEREAS, the report of the death of Ord. Segt. David C. Ashley, Co. P. 2nd
Veteran Cavalry N.Y.S.P. a former member of this company has been most pain*
fully confirmed by an authentic announcement of his demise. He was killed
while charging the Rebels across a bridge at the village of Compte eight miles
from Gran Ecre In the Stale of Louisiana in the Red River expedition under
Gen. Banks, on the 5th day of April 1864, and
WHEREAS, while bowing In humble submission to this especial dispensation of
the Inscrutable Will we are pained to realize the loss of one whose long
association with us has deepened evry Sentiment Into the warmth of earnest
attachment.
RESOLVED: That in the death of Segt. David C. Ashley the sorrowful realiza-
tion Is brought home to evry member of this Company that the Spirit of Its
most zealous friends and warmest supporters has returned to Him who gave It.
RESOLVED: That while we deplore the loss df one upon whom the opening of
early manhood were Just casting the golden prom is of eminence and honor we
would not forget the glory which surrounds him In the grave of a hero and
patriot.
RESOLVED: That although we were deprived the privilege of paying him the
last sad tribute of respect by attending his funeral In a body we have the
sweet assurance that he was surrounded by those whose affections he had
entwined around him by his Meritorious conduct receiving worthy commenda-
tions from his Superior officers for his Skill and courage and with pride
we refere to the attatchment which he has secured from his comrades by his
unvarying kindness.
RESOLVED: That to the Relatives of the deceased we tender our heartfelt
condolence In their bereavement and Implore for them the tender consola-
tion of Him who holds In His hands the lives and destinies of all.
RESOLVED: That a copy of the foregoing preamble and resolutions be trans-
mitted to the family of deceased and published In the Chatham Courier.
Seal: Ocean Fire Engine Chas. A. Belden^ Foreman
April 18^ 1859
Boee Ccmpany Samuel Bright^ Secretary
A £^
^
M 1 ::=■■«
Vol. Ill No. I
IJUARTERLY NEWS BULLETIN
October 1972
'•"^ARY
AUG 12 1974
''"'^ <»»«6ffl;«««eTv
ASHLEY FAMILY ASSXIATION
Organized- August 29, t970
1973 OFFICERS
President Robert E. Ashley
1st Vice President John S. Ashley
2nd Vice President ------ Paul C. Leonard
3rd Vice President - - Bradford F. Swan
Secretary Aniantha Ashley Akin
Treasurer Nancy Ashley
Publishing Editor- Esther Ashley Spousta
Membership Chairman - - Marie A. Davis
SUES ARE NCH PAYABLE .
Membership dues In the amount of $5.00 are now
due. DO NOT let your membership lepse.'
Please make checks payable to ASHLEYS OF AMERICA,
and forward to our Treasurer:
MISS NANCY ASHLEY
165 Elm Street
South Dartmouth, Mass. 02748
REMEMBER TO VOTE!
To preserve the democracy our forefathers fought for It Is
the duty of each and every United States Citizen eligible
to vote, Irregardless of party affiliation, to express
themselves at every election. He who ehir^ his duty, has
no right to aritioiee.
ASHLEYS OF AMEiRICA
October 1972
From the
Editor ^8 desk
One of the prime purposes
of our organization Is
RESEARCH - to share data
and assist Ashley descen-
dants to climb the family
tree.
Seldom do we receive a
query, and even more
seldom do we receive an
answer.
•
Scan our membership list
and associated lineages.
Can you furnish more on
a line?
Do your part to help
bui Id our Genealogical
Data File- Someday we
wi 1 1 publish the
Aehley Genealogy and
we want It as accurate
and complete as pos-
sible
Alway anxious for more
bul let In material .
Bother Aehley Spoueta,
Editor
PO Box 321
Rogers, Ark, 727S6
2
3
10
II
13
14
15
17
19
20
21
21
22
Vol. Ill No. I
CO vN TENTS
KNOW YOUR 3rd VICE PRESIDENT - Bradford Swan
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
COVER STORY
5 THIRD REUNION - Summary
5 CEMETERY CLEAN-UP
7 ASHLEY CEMETERY RECORDS - Rochester, Mass.
8 TREASURER'S REPORT
1909 ROBBERY - Henry C. Ashley (9)
DAWN OF TRUTH - by James Russell Ashley
BIOGRAPHY - James Peyton Ashley and
father John Ashley
GENEALOGICAL PITFALLS
ASHLEY GANG - Conclusion
ATTENDEES AT 3rd REUNION
VITAL STATISTICS - Freetown, Mass.
PERSONAL NEWS
QUERIES
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS
NEW MEMBERS
News Bulletin published Quarterly - Januay, April, July and October
Free subscription with each $5.00 membership
Extra cop I es may be obta I ned by ma 1 1 i ng $2 . 00 each to the Ed { tor
CXXXIDCXIXXDLXXXXXZXXXX^LXXXXXIXXXjnCXXIXXXX:
KNOW YOUR THIRD VICE PRESIDENT
BRADFORD FULLER SWAN (i^4), son of Rodolphus Ashley Swan and Anna Nye
Fuller, was born In New Bedford, Mass on October 27, 1907. Ho attended
New Bedford public schools and graduated from Yale with honors In 1930.
During his college years he skippered Eugene Ashley's yacht *'Eli".
After working for newspapers In New Bedford and Worcester, Brad went to
the Providence Journal as a re-wrlte man In 1937. Five years later he
became "theatre critic" and today Is Theatre and Art Editor.
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Brad, however. Is far from a "bookworm". He Is an outdoors man too.
An ardent mountain climber, mostly In the White Mountains, the Appala-
chian Mountain Club conferred corresponding life membership on Brad
last year for his contribution to mountain safety In starting the
leadership workshops 14 years ago, and for his work as editor of
G "Appalachia", Its semi-annual publication.
LJ
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Brad chalks up two '^ first aaaente^^ In the Canadian Rockies, made the
Grand Canyon of the Colorado on a rubber raft, been twice to the South
Pole, - and to celebrate his 63rd birthday, hiked some 300 miles to
reach 16,200 feet on Mt. Everest.
Now a widower. Brad was married In 1938 to LI la Locher McVay (d. 1965),
They had no children, but his branch of the Ashley family Is being
carried on through a niece and nephew, who both have children.
Robert E. Ashley (§1)
He recently served as president of the Rhode Island Historical Society;
was elected this past summer to be one of Rhode Island's two represen- [
tatlves to the Association of Yale Alumni, and for more than 25 years ^
has been a trustee of the Yale Library Associates. He has been active £
In organizations supporting the libraries of Brown University and the f
Swain School of Design.
A writer. Brad has written and published many articles on Rhode Island
history, with Roger Williams and the 17th Century as his specialties.
His books Include a biography of Gregory Dexter, a London printer and
friend of Williams who became an Important figure In early Providence,
and a survey of the beginnings of printing In the West Indies - a
subject on which he was the lecturer at the John Carter Brown Library. /
Is a member of the American Antiquarian Society, the Bibliographical
Soc ety of London, and several bibliographical and book-collectors*
organizations. Was awarded the honorary degree of "Doctor of Humane
Letters" by Rhode Island College In 1966, and the same year was awarded
the Providence Art Club Medal.
cxxxmxxxxxxxxxxixxxxDcxixxxxxxxzxxxxiii'
- 2 -
YOUR
PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE
Robex^ B. Aehley (W
As wfl flftt*r our third year, we can look back on another well-attended reunion,
an ever growing membership Mst, a healthy treasury balance, a considerable
amount of cemetery Improvement work done, and a growing file of excellent
bulletins. We can look forward to many more years of the same and - soon we
hope - our first book - an "ASHLEX GENEALOGI, Desoendanta of Joseph emd Abraham
Aahlay of RooJwBtert Mass." Also contemplated Is a reprint and updating of the
1896 ASHLEY GENEALOGY, The Descendants of Robert Ashley of Springfield, Mass,
We ore also happy that we are now getting some "feed-book" )coniplalnts If you
prefer) that will help us to shape our course for the future. Aside from the
obvious ones of our last reunion - Inadequate air cooling In the new theatre
<whlch we suspect was only because It was not turned on until the last minute)
and poor projection of the movies and slides (resulting from poor operation of
first class equipment) - we have received some very good Ideas that we hope you
wl 1 1 comment on.
It has been widely suggested that since the main purpose of a reunion Is to get
together for conversation, meeting our other members, etc., we should devote
more time and opportunity to the social side. Good suggestion - and we especial-
ly like Buzzy's ()f2) suggestion that we meet on Friday evening for dinner,
followed by one good after-dinner type speaker (on the light side) and an even-
ing of conversation lasting as late as you please.
Then Saturday morning could be devoted to our regular programs (some members
have volunteered their services) followed by a luncheon. The afternoon could be
left open for more visiting, comparing of notes, etc. The Sunday program, which
has seldom been well attended, would be dropped.
Another advantage of the above arrangement would be to those who must travel for
to get here. Travelling on Friday afternoon and returning on Saturday afternoon
would mean only one night away from home Instead of two. It would also eliminate
those empty evenings for out-of-town members. YOUR (XMMENTS _ Please!
Then It has been pointed out to us by our sister organizations that It would be
wise for use to INCORPORATE as a non-profit corporation. The cost Is tow and
the advantages are great, e.g.
1. We would be able to make savings on postage and state taxes on purchases.
2. Members could deduct their dues and some other expenses from income taxes.
3. Members wishing to make contributions of money, property, books, papers,
and many other things, could effect substantial Income tax savings.
4. Individual members would be safe from possible law suits (especially
nuisance suits) for fancied libel In our publications, personal Injuries
at meetings, cemetery repair work, etc. Only the corporation could be
sued.
(Contimied on page 4}
- 3 -
5. Most of all would be the aspect of permanence of the Organization, Insur-
ing a succession of offlcership and responsibility for funds and safe-
keeping of Important papers, etc*
All of this for only $25.00 Incorporation fee (plus a nominal attorney's fee) and
then $5,00 per year thereafter. May we have your thoughts on this matter.
I am Indeed honored to serve again as your President and shall do everything
within my power to guide our Organization, that we may progress forward with
fruitful results.
CXX3CXXXXX3CXXX3
c: COVER STORY
Dcxxxxxixxxxx:
Robert E. Ashley (W
LI
::
.3 The cover reproduction is the Coat of Arms which
ID Francis Bacon Trowbridge chose to adopt for the
1 Robert Ashley family from Springfield, Mass.
However, he stated that he would not put himself on record as the authority for
the use of these arms by descendants of Robert Ashley, as he had been unable to
prove that the Settler sprung from that family. It was taken from a painting
which was owned by one of Robert's descendants for over a hundred years. It Is
the arms of Ashley of Lowesby, County Leicester, England, and Is: Argent a lion
rampant sable crowned or.
It was decided at our meeting that we shall continue to research our nineteen or
more Coats of Arms, hopeful of eventually pinning down the right one for our
fami ly.
It helps to hear of troubles of another family association with similar difficulty.
From the ^'Edsonlan", a publication of the Edson Family Association, Col. C. A.
Edson, editor, states.
"WARNING: I have received many Inquiries regarding an outfit named 'Halbert's
Inc.^ of Bath, Ohio, who profess to furnish and Edson coat of arms for $2.00.
I consider them to be a racket. While there are elements of truth In some of
their material, there are definite falsehoods In some of their claims."
Col. Edson goes on to refer to his earlier writings concerning the English "College
of Arms" and the family's Invest I eat Ions In that area. He states that the one
offered by Ha I berths Inc. Is grotesque and bears no resemblance to the real Edson
arms. He continues,
"I am Informed that by mid May of this year they (Halbert's) had distributed
16,000,000 letters. The local Post Office (Bath, Ohio) which had been closed,
now has 130 employees, and the Post Office reports that they received as many
as 23,000 orders a day. They presumably have made millions In their apparent
racket, but an "escape clause" In their literature prevents the Post Office
from stopping them . When I wrote them" says the Col. "pointing out some of
their false statetnents, they simply, after a time, returned my letter with no
defense or explanation. I would recommend Ignoring any communication from them."
Well said. Col. Edson! We hope that all Ashleys, and others, may profit from
nis thorough Investigation.
(The end)
- 4 -
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA THIRD REUNION
August 26-27, 1972
Whaling Museum of the Old Dartmouth Historical
Society, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, Mas
IXXDCXiXXIXXI
I] S U M M a'r Y
"D THIRD REUNION
I]
CXXXXXXXXXX]
From minutee of Amantha A. Akin (#72), Acting Secretary in absence of
Marie A. Davis, (if 5) Secretary
Mtetlng convened at 10 AM with Robert E. Ashley,(#l) President presiding.
Richard Kugler, director of museum, welcomed members, and gave a brief history
of the museum. New Bedford museum Is one of the largest In America devoted
to local history, concentrating Its Interest on the whaling Industry, with
related artifacts - the largest such single display In the world.
(Recomnended as a must for anyone visiting this area)
Film - "Whaler Out of New Bedford."
Lunch - At Wamsutta Club (onoe the home of James Arnold who later gave money
for Arnold Arboretum) Excel lent meal and time for chatting.
Business - Treasurer's report (See page 6)
Coat of Arms (See Cover Story page 4)
Incorporation (See President's Message page 3)
Election of Officers (See Cover Back)
Announcements: Pictures taken
Tour on Sunday Including Old Ashley Cemetery
on North Ave., Rochester (See page g)
Speaker - DR. MAURICE RDBBINS, director of the Bronson Museum of Massachusetts
Archeologlcal Society told about the land "hereabouts" and Its people
long before the Ash leys or other white people came. With diagrams,
maps, drawings, pictures and a wealth of Information, Dr. Robblns
traced the development of the area from the Ice age, and fascinated
his audience with views of the material found at various diggings.
WANTED - WILLING WORKERS
The weekends of October 8 and October 22
are three-day holidays. We hope to do
some work on cemeteries, especially the
Old Parish Cemetery In Freetown where the
earliest dated ASHLEY stone Is located.
/
I
- 5 -
Elizabeth Ashley , daughter of Abraham who
married Samuel White Is here. We suspect
there may be others as many stones are down
and covered with leaves, soil, etc.
JOIN US on those Sundays or Mondays In the
beautiful October weather. Bring your lunch
shovels, clippers, rakes, etc. p^^ ^xaat time
Call Bob Ashley - Bridgewater 697'-6761 or
Nanoy Ashley - Dartmouth 992^2275
POINTS OF INTEREST
ON TOUR CONDUCTED FOR ATTENDEES OF 3rd REUNICN
Sunday, August 27, 1972
Pteomad and oonduoted by DoHe Ashley Lccng (If?)
Starting from Lunds Corner to
ACUSHNET CEMETERY - (Main St. about a mile an left side) Ashley Stones - many
reset by Paul Leonard. (Leave cemBtevy, turn rights go to
bridges first right - atraight up Middle Road to)
^MARCUS T, C. ASHLEY HOUSE - Built about 1714. *S. of Abram & Mary Purrlngton Ashley
(TakB firet left and continue to first right to Braley Bill Rd^
Rt. lOS * take left to)
WILLIAM A> ASHLEY^S HOUSE « Helen Ashley's present home - peach orchards (See Jan. '72
' but letln) (aontinue on past Dr. Braley Rd. to)
OLD PARISH CEMETERY - Stones of Elizabeth (Ashley) and Samuel White
(continue to four comers (North Ave.) to)
SITES OF OLD ASHLEY & WtilTRIDGE HOUSES - (take left at four comers to)
ASHLEY CEMETERY - Meet "natives" here.
SITE OF OLD ASHLEY HOUSE - In Parkhurst Development
LOCATION OF JOHN ASHLEY'S ACCIDENT - at Buck Carrier's Corner
" (took to North Ave.^ take left to Middleboro Rds go straight and
around sharp curve to Mason Rd.^ take right, continue to old
Rt. 140, take left to
ROUNSEVELL CEMETERY - on the right. (take right out of Cemetery to bridge, turn
left on Washburn Rd. continue to)
SITE OF HOUSE OF SUSAN (ASHLEY) AND SAM. BROWN - dau. of Abram & Mary Purrlngton
~" Ashley - on right next to church, (continue on to)
HOUSE ON HILL - research being conducted on this house (continue on to)
Site OF JCSgPH MYLOD ASHLEY house - where Grange Hall now located on right oppo-
""" site Pond. Next
HOUSE OF COL. SIMEON ASHLEY - built In I700's. Son of Perclval & Anna (Bishop)
Ashley. He moved to New York c. 1820. Next
HOUSE OF DR. JAMES AS HLEY - son of Perclval & Anna (Bishop) Ashley. He also moved
foUew York, but lived In this area, possibly Edmlnster's
house which Is on E. Howl and Rd. (TcAe left at curve to)
PERCIVAL ASHLEY JR - J. EMERSON ASHLEY HOUSE - with cemetery In back. Cemetery
badly In need of care. Across street. Marker - one corner
of "Proprietor's WaY" under tree, (turn around and go back
to curve, take left, continue to)Pa
PAUL LEONARDS HOUSE - See July '72 bulletin Ueaoe Paul's, go straight to Pierce
St - High School on left, take right to Rt. 118, take left
near the comer on Rt. 118 on right is)
A. DAVIS ASHLEY'S HOUSE - (continue to Highland Rd., 1st road on right, take right
LUThER ASHLEY^ S HCUSE"^ on right of bridge, (continue to
CEMETERY - on left side of road (continue on to
HIND'S PLACE - being remodeled. An Ashley m. Hinds, (continue to end (Pond),
take left, then next right, continue to Vaughn St. and stop
"THE DIGS" - an active archaeological dig In Middleboro, where Dr. Robblns and
the Mass. Archaeological Soc. are excavating Indian villages.
Sites date back as far as 9000 years.
(END OP TOUR)
" D -
GRAVE STONES IN THE OLD ASHLEY
CEMETERY, ^k^^th Avenue, Rochester
(Lieted in Ovder of Death Datee)
GCXXXXjGCIjCXIXXIIXX3
13 ASHLEY CEflETERY
12 Rochester, Massachusetts
ID
CXIXXXX3CXXDCXXXXXXX
FIRST TWO GENERATIONS ; There are no marked stones here for generations I & 2,
However, there are rows of plain f leldstone markers of the type used by early
settlers, and these could be for our first Rochester American ancestors.
Plymouth deeds 14/252, April 21, I7!9 show that Joseph Ashley' (and Joseph
Prince) purchased this entire tract from MIddleboro on the NoV^th, to
Acushnet on the South, and from Freetown on the West, and extending about
a mile to the East. This tract of about 2-1/2 square miles extended along
the entire present stretch of route 105 through Rochester, and Included
roughly about 1/2 mile on each side of the road which was then an Indian
trail. It Is reasonable to suppose that they are all burled here.
ANNA (BISHOP) ASHLEY, first wife of Perclval' (Abraham2, Joseph') d. 1788
ae. 43. This ie the earliest dated stone.
HORIS C. ASHLEY^ , son of Jethro* (PerclvaP, Abraham^, Joseph') and Lois
(GIfford) Ashley, d. 1807 ae. II months
MARY (ASHLEY) ALLEN^ , wife of John Allen d. 1809 ae. 32. She was dau. of
Perclval^ and Anna (Bishop) Ashley
JETHRO ASHLEY^ , son of Perclval^, d. 1814 ae 39
The nextTeven deaths oaour uithin a three week period during the
great ^^ Spotted Fever Epidemic".
MARY (PURR I NGTON) ASHLEY w of Abraham* (PerclvaP, Abraham^, Joseph') d
March 26, 1816, ae 41
BISHUP ASHLEY^ , son of Bishop* and Lydia (Hammond) Ashley d March 27, 1816 ae 7
WILLIAM H. ALLEN , s of John and Susan (Leonard) Allen, d April I, 1816 ae 2
(After death of Mary (Ashley) Allen^ above, John Allen m Susan Leonard
JOHN ASHLEY* (Perclval^, Abraham^, Joseph') d April 2, 1816 ae 54 (a soldier
in Revolution on several oampaigns. Married Charity Sherman)
ABRAHAM ASHLEY^ son of Abraham* (Perclval^, Abraham2, Joseph') d April 3, 1816
BETSEY ASHLEY^ , dau. of Abraham* d April 2lr 1816
THOMAS B. ASHLEY^ , s of Bishop* and LydIa (Hammond) Ashley, d March 23, 1816
ae 8 (stone missing)
The above epidemic wiped out l/49th of the population of Rochester
SPENCER L. ALLEN, s of John and Susan Allen d 1821 ae 10 (bro. of »n. H. above)
PERCIVAL ASHLEY- ^ (Abraham2, Joseph') d 1822 ae 82. (A minute man, he answered
the alarm of April 19, 1775. Later a Lieut, and served on several campaigns
in the Revolution)
JOHN SHEfyiAN ASHLEY^ (John*, Perclval^, Abraham2, Joseph') d 1826 ae 35
(Killed by the wheel of a wagon running over him - Rochester records. This
happened on the North side of the Dr. Braley Rd. at the curve cbout I mile
north of the Dr. Braley Cemetery)
EPHRIAM LANDRESS , d 1828, ae 29 (Nothing more is known of him)
LYDIA (HAMMOND ASHLEY , wife of Bishop Ashley* d 1828 ae 44 (The base of
a stone next to fits is probably that of Bishop^)
ALMIRA ASHLEY^ dau of Bishop* and LydIa (Hammond) Ashley d 1833 ae 19
ABIGAIL (ASHLEY) BARNS^ , wife of John M. Barns d 1833 ae 37 (She was dau. of
Abraham^ and Itary (Purnngton) Ashley)
((kmtinued on page 8)
- 7 -
CHARLES ASHLEY^ (Bishop^, Perclval^, Abraham^, Joseph') d 1835 ae 24
JOHN ALLEN dT835 ae 59 (Bueband of Itaey^ (Ashley) Alien)
ASENATH L." ALLEN d 1837 ae 20 (Decu. of John cmd Susan (Lsonocrd) Alien)
Vimim <i fmi) ASH^ET w I f e of James G Ashley^ (Jethro^, Perclval^, Abraham2,
Joseph l^) d 18^196 25 (Jams Clifford Ashley^ built the house at Ashley
eonwp in 1844, It is said that he wore a white beaoer hat at all times)
BtSHOP ASHLEY^ Jr d Nov. 1839 ae 23
MARY G. (BRSwN) ASHLEY wife of Abraham Ashley^ d 1840 ae 44 (Mary Goooh Brwn
called Folly, was IReahan 's second wife. Bis first wife Mary Purrington,
was also called Polly)
LURA ANN (ALLEN) KNAPP, wife of Caleb A. Knapp and dau. of John and Susan
(Leonard) Allen, d 1841 ae 21
JAMES ASHLEY^ (Bishops, Perclval^^ Abraham^, Joseph') d at sea In 27th yr. 1846
ASENATH LEQInard , wife of Archlppus Leonard d 1848, ae 88
AsENATH c. "PTERbE wife of Galen H. Pierce d 1849 ae 50
abrw ASHLEY* ^ <Perclva|3. Abraham*, Joseph^ d 1852 ae 80 61 privaU in fktr
of 1612. Blacksmith, called "Squealing Abram" far his very high pitched voice)
SUSAN (LEONARD) ALLEN wife of John Al len d 1858 ae 74
ALONZO PIERCE, husband of Luclnda Ashley^ (Thomas', John*, PercIvaP, Abraham^,
Joseph') fCto, E Sth Mass, Coo., Civil War, served for 2 years as a corporal
in U,S, Coo,) Sots: A strange tale has Alanao as a colored slave of the
Ashleys %iho was given his freedom for his war service. Easily proven false
by his war record. White, a carpenter from Boston, he married Ludnda 21
years before the Civil War,
(The end)
CIXXXIXXXXXI3
U TREASURER"S REPORT C3 ASHLEYS OF AMERICA FINANCIAL STATEMENT
CD C3 (September 15, 1971 thru September 19, 1972)
CXXXXXXXXXXX3 Sanoy Ashley (094) Treasurer
CASH ON HAND
INCOME
DISBURSEMENTS
Savings Account
$
937.69
Checking Account
92.44
TOTAL
$
21.00 -
$'
1,030.13
1971 Dues
1972 Dues
979.00
1973 Dues
7.00
Scrimshaw Pins
16.56
Donations
10.00
Cemetery Fund
10.00
1 nterest
39.57
Reunion Luncheon
13.52
TOTAL
$"T
,096.65
IS Balance (9*15-71)
.1.^
481.35
$
1,578.00
Bulletin
$
276.40
Membership Drive
48.25
Statements & Postage
21.24
Gene. Helper Ad
5.00
Reunion Expense
119.50
M 1 see 1 1 aneous Expense
77,48
TOTAL
HAND
$
$
547.87
BALANCE ON
o
1,030.13
EXPRESS DRIVER BEATEN AND ROBBED IN
EMPLOYER'S BARN
FiKm the Brockton Enterpriee - April 5, 1909
Furnished by Robert E. Aahley (M)
TWO MEN ATTACKED HENRY C. ASHLEY AND GOT AWAY WITH
OVER $25
THREATENED TO BRAIN HIM WHEN HE WAS DOWN AND AT
THEIR MERCY, BUT RELENTED WHEN HE PLEADED FOR
HIS LIFE
After a desperate struggle lasting a hiaf hour»
HENRY C. ASHLEY (Benry Collina Aahley^. Witlim J."
G&orge i.^, William^, faber^^ Ahrdham^, »n.% JoaA)
of 15 Herrod Avenue, a driver for the Joslyn Express Co.,
was overcome by two men Saturday evening at about 7:30 In
the J. P. Morse barn on May avenue and robbed of between $25 and J^g In cash.
and $35 In cash.
Ashley was badly bruised and used up, especially about the mouth, where hts two
assailants thrust their hands Into his mouth In efforts to gag him. His back
was slightly hurt. At one time his assailants stood over him with an Iron bar
four feet long and two Inches In diameter, threatening to brain him, but desist-
ed, declaring they were human after he besought them not to strike him with the
bar. "I've got a family to support", he pleaded.
Despite the almost total darkness In which the battle for the roll of money
was fought Ashley retained his presence of mind sufficiently to recognize, he
believes, the names and voices of the two men. These names and descriptions
as near as he was able to give them, were In the possession of Police Inspec-
tors Grace and Morey within 15 minutes after the express driver was able to
give the warning of the bold robbery by crawling to Harold Morse's house, 250
yards distant, at North Main and Snell streets, where the girl phoned to
Mr. Morse.
Mr. Ashley Is a trusted man of the Joslyn Co., and at the North End his special
work Is the handling of cash on delivery parcels. He Is permitted to take his
week's pay out of his day's collections at noon Saturdays and this was done
Saturday, when he gave his week's earnings to his wife, or the thugs would have
obtained a bit more than $50.
Ashley told his story, one of the most thrilling In recent tales of crimes In
Brockton, to the Enterprise.
TWO MEN WAITED IN THE BARN - - "I drove Into the barn at shortly after supper
time. The barn was In darkness. I never expect to find a lantern burning
there. When I got In, the two men were there. I could make out their forms
because of lights back of windows on the East side of the barn. They said
'Hello' pleasantly and I replied 'Hello". I unhitched the horse, put him In
the stall, and took the harness Into the harness room to hang It up. Both
doors, rear and front of the barn and several windows were open.
(Continued on page 10)
As I reached up to the harness peg one of the men darted through the door and
leaped onto my back. The other swung In front of me and grabbed me by the
throat and attempted to get one of his hands over my mouth. I dropped the
harness and began to f fght right off thinking that by the way they went at me
It was far from a Joke. We struggled around quite a few minutes before they
got me down bu eventually one of them gave me the leg and I went down In a heap,
with both of them on top. I held as hard as I know how to one of themi and got
sort of a vice grip with my crossed legs on one of the arms of the other fellow.
I remember that part when we first struck the floor. Then we rolled and fought
and threshed about the place. I don*t know now that I yelled for help, but as
near as I recall It, I only made a remark once In awhile In reply to their mutter-*
ed curses. I was too busy to shout much. One called the other 'Jack' repeatedly
and one of them finally got me sort of winded and held me down while the other got
an Iron bar that I knew was standing near and raised It over my head.
THREATEO TO KILL HIM - "Get out of the way Jack until I smash head In;
we'll put him out and finish this Job, one of them declared. I begged of hiro not
to strike; that I had a family to support and a blow from that heavy Iron would
surely kill me. Then one of them spoke to the other and said "well, we're human'.
Then they went at me again trying to get Into my pockets and It was only a short
time before they had the money, for I was all In. They were both fairly heavy,
nearly as big as I am, and It was hard work as I was down on the bottom of the
pile most of the time, trying to get up as well as defend myself. Then they were
trying to get something Into my mouth and their hands banged my lips and face so
I had all the agony I wanted. One of them kicked me In the back towards the
last of It. It was only after much pain that I was able to make my way to
Mr. Morse's house and tell the girl there to send word to Harold Morse of the
company . "
As soon as Mr. Morse got word he telephoned to the police and the Inspectors re-
sponded In the auto and carried Mr. Ashley home. He was too far overcome to walk
home unaided. The May Avenue barn Is situated some little distance from Horfh
Main Street near Albion Street. The so called John F. Morse barn Is really a
barn of the Joslyn Express Co. The barn Is a considerable distance from any house
(The End)
CXX3CXXXI3CXID
o t:
n :> PAW^OF TRUTH CI
o c:
CXXX3CXXXXXX]
/^MBS'BUSSELL AgBiPJ (#226) Is the author of
(nany poems with deep meanings. From time to
time we will Include some of them In our
bulletin. The following poem Is entitled
"SIMPLICITY"
May I walk In the simple way. This and every other day.
Simplicity Itself profound. Is so very seldom found.
May I be as when a child - Open face and open mind;
Clear all my debris away. Mountain of complexity.
Give me room to breathe again. Clean full breaths and pure;
Let me see the good around. See things simple, straight and sure.
CHRIST taught In simple vein. Thoughts as pure as summer rain;
Paul and John of simple birth. Their ample wisdom left on earth;
Give It forth In truth unvarnished. Simply, humbly and ungarnlshed.
Teach us all to walk again. In simplicity.
J .K. A.
Dawn of Truth No. 4
- 10 -
JAMES EEYTOri ASHLEY
AND FATHER - JQHN ASHLEY
CXIXXXIXXI3CX3CD
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
cxxxxxxxxxxxx:
Fumisked by: Leslie C. Durnington (iUCS)
HISTORY OF BURBON, SCOTT, HARRISON AND NICHOLAS COUNTIES OF KENTUCKY
By Perrln - page 400
''Captain James P. Ashley who followed the county seat through all Its mutations
Captain of the night patrol at Bedlnger's mill. Blue Licks, and Elllsvllle,
came along with the balance of the town of Elltsvllle and settled for life
In Nicholas County, Kentucky. He was born In Culpepper County, Virginia
about the year 1780, came to Kentucky about 1800 (Editor ^8 note - thie is
in error - it was Copt. James ' father John who was bom in Virginia and
migrated to Kentucky - Copt. James was bom and died in Nicholas Co.j Ky.
We assume that the following sketch covers James' father)
He stopped for a time at Paris; then went to Mason Co., and engaged In work
as a carpenter with a Mr. Robin Clark, at stocking plows. He then built a
boat on the Ohio River, loaded It with plows, and In partnership with Matthew
Throckmorton started for the Southern market. Landing at New Orleans, and
finding the market extremely dull, they shipped their valuable cargo to
San Domingo, the largest well-known Island of the Bahamas, lying about fifty
miles to the southeast of Cuba. Throckmorton went with the cargo and died on
the Island, a victim of yellow fever. No return was ever made for the cargo,
and as there were no steamboats In those days, Ashley and the rest of the
crew were compelled to return the long and tedious Journey by land. Arriving
at home he went directly to Clark, whom he owed for the plows, and worked
for him by the day'.s work until the whole debt of fifteen hundred dollars was
paid. After this he came to the Blue Licks and built several mills for old
Major Bedlnger."
"Captain Ashley was an eccentric character, we might say an oddity. He drove
no less than sixteen droves of hogs to Virginia, the last of which severely
crippled his finances. Often when he had returned from his trips. If any one
asked him If he made money, he would reply, ^No, about come out even - but I
had a d — d sight of fun'. That he was a man of high principle and punctili-
ous sense of honor, let his great plow speculation prove. How many of those
who are in these last days squandering the hard-earned money of too-conf I d I ng
friends, will go to those whom they Justly owe and make such full and ample
restitution as he did? Captain Ashley lives among the countless dead In the
Old Shiloh Cemetery. Sleep on, brave heart, and above thy green and grassy
grave may violets spring."
MILITARY RECORDS
Commonwealth of Ky., Dept. of Military Affairs, Frankfort 40601
ASHLEY, James P. Private, Mexican War (1846-1847
Co. "I", Second Regiment Kentucky Foot Volunteers
ASHLEY, James P. Captain, Civil War (Union) (1862-1865
Co. C, Seventh Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry
(Continued on page 12)
- II -
r^iLJT AR Y R<^.CORD S (continued)
National ArchTves and Records Service, Washington, D.C. 20408
CIVIL WAR: A - 7 Cav. - Ky James P. Ashley, Capt., Co. ''C" 7 Regt.
Kentucky Cavalry. Appears on Co. Muster Roll for Jan 8, Feb.
1863 - Promoted from 1st Lt. Fob. 6, 1863 - Now at Frankfort,
leg broken. (Leg broken by kiak from horse Feb. 2j 1863)
General Services Adm., National Archives, Wsshlngton, D.C.
Resigned as Captain of Co. "C" 7th Regiment, Ky. Volunteer Cavalary
December 29, I8S6
TALES PASSED DOWN THROUGH KINFOLK
The Captain and his wife Rebecca KIncart had problems. Her father, brothers and
most of the KIncarts were rebels or confederats. The story goes that the KIncarts
dldn*t have too much against the Captain, except he was a damned Yankee. The
confusfng thing about the situation they could not understand because he was a
native In that part of the country. He owned staves (one colored gentleman
stayed with the Captain and his family after the war the remainder of his life)
Rebecca was a KIncart, was born a southerner. Her family to a certain extent
had reasons to tolerate her, because she was one of the family and loyal to
her husband. The KIncarts had troubles of their own. They could not let their
sympathy go too far In Rebecca's direction because of the possibility of being
branded as traitors or In sympathy wllti the North. Rebecca got herself In this
mess and she was In It up to her neck, but was not to blame. When everything
was added up the answer proved one thing. All the heart aches, hardships,
bloodshed and there were plenty of them In that section of the country, not all
but a large percent fell on the shoulders of that Infernal Inlaw, bull headed
Yankee Captain.
Captain Ashley came home under a secret furlough to visit his wife and six little
daughters, ranging from a few months to eleven years In age.
Elizesa Jane "a wee tott" b 9 Mar 1864 Roseanna Leuicus (3 yr) b 21 July 1660
Elizabeth Tharton (6 yr) b 29 Jan 1858 Laura Isabela (7 yr) b 7 Aug 1866
Lucy Ann (9 yr) b 3 Sept. 18S4 Mary Francis b 26 Sept 18S2
(son Villim J. b 17 May 18S1 d 19 July 1852
There were three other children bom after the war: Nancy (Kate) Datherine
b 6 Sept 1866, Loretta (Dula) b 9 April 1868, Janes Haroey b 21 Dec 1872
They lived on their farm located on Stony Creek, In Nicholas Co., Ky. a short
distance from the present county seat town of Carlisle. The Confederates re-
ceived Information the Captain was supposed to be at his home. They has been
trying to capture him for some time and decided this was a perfect setup, for
he was suppoeed to be alone. The Confederate detail was discovered by the
Ash leys before they surrounded the house and Capt. Ashley went out the back
as the rebels came In the front.
The troops encircled the house and Rebecca entertained them by going from
room to room and nook to corner saying or calling In a rather loud voice so
ail of the soldiers could hear, "Lay low, Ashley, lay low". In that way my
great gransmother kept the Confederate soldiers searching In the wrong places
long enough for Captain Ashley, my great grandfather to escape capture.
The conclusion of this short story ends with a heroine as well as a hero.
(Conilnued on page 18)
- 12 -
Copied from: THE MAYFLOWER QUARTERLY
August 1968
Author:
Mrs. Robert M. Sherman
CXXXXXXXXXXXXXX3
o o
GENEALOGICAL PITFALLS C
Old Meanings of Words
CXDCXIXXXIIXXXXI]
It !s difficult to persuade those who have not used original documents that
spelling was a rather casual affair from I620-I820. Words and even names were
spelled the way they sounded to each writer. In a single deed, a man's surname
may be spelled several difflerent ways. Indeed, not until about the Civil War
did there suddenly appear to be a "right" and a "wrong" way to spell words, and
relatives started feuding over the "correct" way to spell their family, names
Even the terminology expressing family relationships was not as precise as today
and the genealogist who applies only modern meanings to the terms cousin. In-law,
junior, and spinster can draw some very wrong conclusions. Here are a few
examples of the use of these terms, taken from the Colonial period:
COUSIN: - although we usually apply the term rather strictly today to the child-
ren of our aunts and uncles. In the early days of our country, cousin often
meant nephew, niece, or an even more distant relative. Perhaps this sort of
meaning survives today among persons who share the same remote Immigrant
ancestor, or merely descend from fellow passengers on the Mayflower and yet
address each other as "cousin".
IN'-LAW: - a relationship produced by law, rather than by nature. Thus a man's
father-in-law was either his wife's father or his own mother's new husband.
It Is rather plain when a 14 year old boy chooses as guardian his "father- In
law", that step-father Is meant. The terms son-in-law, etc., had the same
dual usages.
JUNIOR: - one of the most misleading of all terms, for although we limit Its
use today to the man whose father bears the same name, 200 years ago It meant
merely the younger man in town bearing that name, be he cousin, nephew, grand-
son of senior, or even no relation at all* As middle names were virtually
unknown until the 1800s, and towns often had several families of the same
name, tbose who also carried the same first name were bound to become difficult
to distinguish. They lessened the confusion for themselves (but not for us)
by labelling the elder man Sr. and the younger, Jr. When Sr. died or moved
from town, Jr. stopped using the title. When a third of the same name appeared
in town, this again altered the order. Visualize, If you can, the town of
Wallingford, Conn., where five men, all bearing the name of John Hall, lived
at the same time. They were called, from eldest to Youngest, Sr., Jr., 3rd,
4th, and 5th without regard to their family relationship. If 3rd died or
moved from town, 4th and 5th then became 3rd and 4th ard so on. One may even
find deeds where a man refers to himself as "Jr., formerly 3rd." Could there
be a more confusing situation.
The author has seen a wi 1 1 In Plymouth, Mass. where a man named Samuel referred
to his sons Benjamin, Jr., Samuel, Jr., and David. Samuel Sr. may well have
had a brother In town also named Benjamin, thus Samuel's sons must be called .
Jr. to avoid legal confusion. -'
SPINSTER: - even more experienced genealogists say this moaning has not faced
them, so perhaps it Is a Massachusetts phenomenon, however, the author has
- 13 -
(Continued on page 14)
found enough examples using the term to mean "a woman who spins*' rather than
the popular "an old maid" (both are Webslcr definitions) to prove that Is not
an error. We had spent some time checking wills and deeds searching for various
female Mayflower descendants who had married, and found documents describing
women of those very names as spinsters. At first we passed them up, but finally
found proof that these were the women we sought. Here are two examples we have
CO 1 1 ected :
Plymouth (Mass) Co. deeds 36:144 - Adam Hall and Sarah Hall, wife
to the said Adam and we Mary Sherman and Abigail Sherman • • . the above
said Adam yeortan and Sarah, Mary and Abigail apinaters^" sell land to
Cornelius White, Jr. of Marshflled, 28 March 1744.
Plymouth (Mass) Co. probate 40:234 - "I Deborah Reed of Weymouth In
the County of Norfolk, spinster . . . give to my sons Seth Reed, Noah
Reed . . . five daughters ... II April 1804 . . . presented as last
will and testament of Deborah Reed late of Ablngton, widow, deceased . . .
r
BROTHER - may mean brother-in-law, church brother, or step-brother, etc,
UNMARRIED - this term may only mean that the person ^s spouse Is dead, that he Is
presently unmarried. This usage continues today In land records and even occurs
In the deeds conveying the Wins low House In Plymouth toe the General Society.
A final word to sum up, don't draw cons I us Ions about ancestors without knowing
the facts. You may climb the wrong family tree!
The End
C3CXjCXXIX3GCX]
THE ASHLEY GANG
cxxxxxxxxx:
CONCLUSION - from Vol. 11^ No. 4 - page 82
In September 1922 Hanford Mob ley, becomingly attired In a white shirtwaist, black
skirt, and picture hat with veil, led the gang In knocking over the Stuart bank
for the second time. The take was better than the $4500 In 1915 but Mobley and
MIddleton were picked up by the Plant City polIt::e at 3 A.M., and Mathews, who
had fled to Georgia was nabbed In Griffin about a week later but not for bank
robbery. . he didnt have a proper license for a car full of liquor he was driving.
Meanwhile, the restive Hanford Mobley along with Matthews and MIddleton, were
slowly demolishing the Palm Beach County jail In efforts to escape. The young
Sheriff Baker, who had trailed the trio over 500 miles, arranged to have them
transferred to the Broward County Jail at Fort Lauderdale, under the care of
Jailer Fred M. Powell who was afterward replaced by W. W. Hicks {another ncme
to he watched). Quick as a wink, Mobley and Matthews were sliding down tied-up
blankets from the Jail roof and were loose again.
MIddleton, for some reason, refused to Join them and was subsequently sentenced
to 15 years. While at Ralford he met Ray Lynn, John Ashley and Joe Tracey.
Tracey was released when his sentence expired. He then helped Lynn and
MIddleton escape from a road gang at Marianne, and shortly after John Ashley
took French leave for the third time - no one knows how.
In November 1923 plans were completed by John Ashley, Joe Tracey, Ray Lynn and
Clarence MIddleton to knock off the bank at Pompano, In memory of the fact It
had once been John's boyhood town. Tracey did the driving In a taxi stolen from
- 14 - (Continued on page 16)
I • Amantha A. Akin
2. Mrs. Abby Amsdan
3. Dorothy Lynch
4. Linda Smith
5. Jennifer Smith
6* Helen Thomas
7. Alonzo E. Ashley
8. Marie Ashley
9. Charles H. Ashley
10. Al Ice Ashley
1 1 . Beatrice Ashley
12. Bertha Ashley
13. Gerald Murphy
14. David G. Ashley
15. Jacquie Ashley
IS. F. Donald Ashley
17. Mrs. F. Donald Ashley
18. Jerome D. Ashley
19. John B. Ashley
20. Margaret Ashley
21. Marie Ashley
22. John S. Ashley
23. "Buzzy" Ashley
24. Karl J. Ashley, Jr.
25. Grace Ashley
26. Edward Ashley
27. Scott Ashley
28. Jacqueline Ashley
29. Kenneth V. Ashley
30. Jane Ashley
31 . Leon Ashley
32. Dorothy Ashley
33. Made I tne Ashley
34. Mrs. Mildred Ashley
35. Mildred A. Ashley
36. Dorothy Phlnney
37. Mrs. Edward S. Ashley
38. Nancy Ashley
39. Robert E. Ashley
40. Lib Ashley
41. Judy Fugere
42. Ken Fugere
43. Ted Ashley
44. Paul Ine Ashley
45. Roger P. Ashley
46. Mary Lou Ashley
47. William R. Ashley, Jr.
48. Catherine Ashley
49. Mrs. Henry R. Bollinger
50. Edith L. Chase
51. Emil F. Dahlqulst
52. Alethoa Pah I qu 1st
53. Velma Dunham
5A. Virginia Ashley Goff
acixxixxixxxixxx:
O ATTENDEES AT 3rd REUNION C
o c:
(ixxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:
55. Mildred A. Karl
56. Roger Karl
57. Lillian McGrath
58. Edward McGrath
59. Doris A. Lang
60. Mrs. Paul C. Leonard
61 . Susan L. Loomis
62. Lucy Loomis
63. Eleanor A. Marble
64. Grace Marble
65. Doris Sshley Nero
66. Terry Nero
67. TImmy Nero
68. Renee Nero
69. Marlon G. Rogers
70. Mrs. Clinton S. Smith
71. Edna L. Sowie
72. Mrs. Florence SowIe
73. Elton E. Staples
74. Miriam Staples
75. Bradford F. Swan
76 . Mo 1 1 y Nye Tobey
77. Gustav Wtedeman
78. Hettle WIedeman
79. Howard Westfleld
80. Irene Westfleld
81. Robert Westfleld
82. Mrs. Herbert F. White
83. Dr. Maurice Robblns
84. Mrs. Maurice Robblns
Attended Meeting Only:
85. Helen Ashley
86. Ethel Farmer
87. L. Barry French
88. Susan French
89. Ruth Howard
90. Virginia Santos
91 . Chartene Sisson
92. Roger Sisson
93. Roger Sisson, Jr.
94. Darlene Sisson
Attended Luncheon Only:
95. Ashley Clark
96. Zelma Ashicy Clark
97. Oddette Clark
- 15 -
a Negro at gunpoint In Lantana. The Negro was presented with a bullet to talce
to Sheriff Baker with love and kisses and a message that John would meet him in
the Everglades* This token really got under Baker^s skin. Lynn and Middieton
carried two .AS's each, and John an automatic rifle. The Job went off smoothly
netting $23,000. The Negro's taxi was found where the gang had promised to
leave it, but the gang had vanished into the *g lades again.
By February 1924 -* what with paper walled Jails, snide presents of bullets and
insulting messages - Sheriff Robert Baker had had It up to his tonsils. After
the heist at Pompano the gang had become more daring than ever and continued
their hi-* Jacking and piracy of liquor- laden boats. They had planned a wholesale
ov3rseas raid on the liquor dealers of Bimini, which was only broken up by chance
when Charles T. Helsley (another name to remember) a resident of Stuart, happened
along an old dock at Salerno and noticed Bay Lynn seated in a boat that had been
stolen from Helsley. Lynn was armed and Helsley only escaped with his life by
outtalking him. The raid was pulled off, but the details of It were always
sketchy. The morning of the raid the British Express Boat had taken $250,000
in cash from Btmtnt to the bank In Nassau.
After two weeks of scouting through snake infested swamps In February, Baker and
his deputies smoked out Pa Ashley's still and hideout In the 'glades. A night
raid was staged with a posse, half the size of a company of Marines, headed by
Deputy Sheriff Fred Baker (no relation). Pa Joe Ashley's dog gave the alarm
Just at daylight. When the smoke had cleared away. Deputy Fred Baker was dead,
and Pa Joe Ashley was dead, shot though his head and fallen across his gun.
Laura Upthegrove, who had been In a tent with John had a few buckshot In her,
but John Ashley, who knew a back exit, escaped without being Injured.
The killing of Deputy Baker and Pa Joe Ashley happened in February 1924 and
Bob Baker and his deputies kept continually on their trail until the following
ttovember covering about half the East Coast of Florida. Hanford Mob ley had re-
turned rUrom California and Joined the gang again. Four days before election.
Baker learned the Ashley gang was going to Jacksonville to rob a bank somewhaer,
then return and kill him and his deputies In the courthouse after he was elected.
It was then he arranged the ambush at Sebastian that finally ended the Ashley
story.
Of those names noted more or less as innocent bystanders who were caught up in
the malignant currents which flowed around the Ashley Gang - this Is what became
of them: FRANK (X)VENTRY forced to help them escape In his Ford at Stuart was
shot to death by Jesse Quinn, who got life for it in 1925. CHARLES HEISLEY, who
recognized his stolen boat at Salerno was shot to death in the door of his garage
in Stuart in 1925 by 0. B. Padgett who got life for the killing. W. W. HICKS,
Jailer at the Broward County Jail when Mob ley and Matthews escaped got life
for the killing of Clarence Barber in 1925. LAURA UPTHEGROVE finished her
brilliant career with a bottle of Lysol In 1927. When Joe Tracey,one of thd
last of the ^ang, tricked his way out of Ralford by promising to reveal the hiding
place of $110,000 loot, the Tampa Tribune of Aug. 8, 1926 asked plaintively:
"Joe Tracey broke faith with the officers? What Is coming over the criminals
of fair Florida? Business men and public off Iclals sometimes neglect their
pledges, but who ever heard of a we 1 1 -organ I zed, high-class bandit and killer
breaking faith with off lers". The whereabouts of the loot, which he*d promised
to reveal, or any other plunder ot the Ashley gang Is still a mystery.
Note: Bayncmrd KendHck^ a veeidont of Leeaburg^ id the author of 17 booka
46 novelettes cTid IflO short atoriee. Be hoe been a student of
Flori-da hictory throughout his life.
- 16 -
ASHLEY BIRTHS, DEATHS AND MARRIAGES
From records of Freetown, Mass. at Assonet
Extracted by: Frederick W. Ashley of Washington^ V.C.
(deceased) with additions from data of
Mary Phillips Herbert
CXXXX3CXIIXIX:
o c:
n VITAL STATISTICS C
CD c:
cxxxxxxxxxxx:
BIRTHS
Apr,
May
Oct.
Dec.
Mar.
Aug.
Feb.
Feb.
June
Oct.
Aug.
Sept.
Date
17,
15,
29,
5,
17,
4,
16,
16,
15,
22,
26
Oct. 9,
Sept. 10
Jan. 23,
Dec. 16,
Mar. 9,
June 6,
Nov. 12,
1804
1806
1808
1810
1813
1815
1818
1821
1822
1826
1821
, 1824
1826
, 1822
1825
1825
1822
1825
1826
Child
Jlreh
Abraham
Leonard
James
Hiram
Nicholas
Hannah
Noah
Thomas
William
Reuben
Charles P.
Catherine H.
Mercy
Alfred L.
Edward
George Lee
Susan G.
Mary C.
Parents
Thomas and Rest Ashley
U ft ft
tt
If
ti
ti
If
If
fi
ft
ft
If
If
If
ft
fi
fi
It
11
II
II
If
II
II
It
II
James and Mary Ashley
11 If ft
if
If
ft
Abraham and Thankful Ashley
ft II It
Leonard and Hannah Ashley
Wlliiam and Sarah Ashley
II
II
II
II
II
II
DEATHS
Dec. 4, 1843 Hannah Ashley, wife of Dea. Abraham old age 86
MARRIAGES
Dec.
3,
1766
Mary Ashley
Apr.
15,
1780
Hannah "
Dec.
10,
1883
William *'
Apr.
17,
1777
Barnabas
Dec.
25,
1778
Thankf u 1
Nov.
25,
1790
Susannah
Nov.
1,
1792
Anna
May
10,
1795
Mary
Dec.
25,
1798
Enoch
Feb.
28,
1802
Thomas
Mar.
12,
1805
Simeon
Feb.
25,
1827
Jlreh
Oct.
25,
1829
Abraham
Oct.
25,
1797
Rebecca
Nov.
29,
1798
Anna
July
20,
1803
Betsey
Aug.
10,
1806
Sarah
Aug.
18,
1836
James
Apr.
15,
1838
Sylvia G.
11
II
It
II
to SImeen Babbitt (by Thost Gilbert Esq.)
to Elijah Parker (by Rev. Abner Lewis)
to Elizabeth White (By
to Rebecca Ashley
to Dan Col tins
to William Allen of. Dartmouth
to (name of groom torn off)
to John Al len of Rochester (by Rev. J Lawrence
to Eunice Hasklns **
to Rest Hasklns "
to Susannah Rousevllle (by Rev. P. Hatthaway)
to Sarah Clark (by Rev. James Taylor)
to Nancy Hathaway (by Rev. James Taylor)
to Israel Washburn of N.B. (by Rev. P. Hathawa
to Israel Smith (by Rev. Phillip Hathaway)
to Ablel RounsevI I le
to William Booth (by Rev. John Lawrence)
to Phllena Leonard (by Rev. Wm. Shurtllff)
to Ellhu H. Lawrence (by Rev. Bart Cushman)
(continued on pg. 18)
- 17 -
MAPJRIAGJSS^ Recorded at Freetcwn^ Maes (Cont'd)
Jan. \2p 1843 William H. to Joannah H. Barnaby (by Rev. James Taylor)
(of Fall River)
.May 21, 1843 Thomas to Polly Slmrnons (wdc)(by Reb. B. Collins)
May 5p 1844 Catherine H. to John W. White or F.'i!rh:!iV3n (by E. H. Tripp)
MA RRIAGES copied In Freetown records from records of other towns
Aug. 2T, 1761 Perclval to Anne Bishop of Rochester (by N. Spraguo)
Jan. 3, I7S9 Tabour to Nancy Phillips of Dart, (by Rev. Daniel HIx)
INTENTIONS
Sept, 9, 1773 Henry Perkins of Dartnouth and Anna Ashley of Freetown
Dec. 13, 1771 Benjamin Hath and Deborah Ashley both ot Freetown
May I, 1772 Henry Perkins of DartnK>uth and Ablah Ashley of Freetown
Jan. 21, 1768 Elijah Braley of Rochester and Lydig Ashley of Freetown
Nov. I, 1794 Abrsm Ashley and Polly Purlnton, both of Freetown
Mar. 9, 1795 John Allen of Rochester and Mary Ashley of Freetown
July 12, 1783 Perclval Ashley and Serah Oliver, both of Freetown
Aug. 23, 1783 William Ashley and Elizabeth White both of Freetown
Dec. 14, 1732 John Ashley of Freetown and Charity Sherman of Rochester
Jan. 14, 1783 Abraham Ashley and Hannah Craoo, both of Freetown
Dec. 2, 1780 Noah Ashley of Freetown and Abigail Hoare of MIddleboro
Apr. 4, 1775 Edward Hackett of Freetown and Phebe Ashley of Freetown
(The end)
from
Another story handed down from generation to generation about Capt. Ashley tells
that a detail of Co. "C" 7th Ky. Cav, under confwnand of Capt Ashley was on rcuttna
patrol. They encamped near the bank of LIcken River In Ky, to be near wster. It
was early on that bright and lovely morning - everything seemed very peaceful. The
horses were tied to the picket line, the men had finished their chores and were
cooking breakfast of black coffee boiled In river wator, salted sow belly (tk^^
hoi'led the meat to get as much ealt from the fat then fried with fl^^jcake made
of commeal and ixiter) . Cornnieal wes often covorecl with water to separate it
from the weevil before It was cooked.
Capt. Ashley commented on the peace and quiet, and about that time several rifle
shots were heard. All the camp seemed to explode t^^o excltem-^nt and confusion.
Guards on outpost were surprised and retreated to the canp. Horses frightened,
broke loose and scattered In all directions. Soldiers grabbed what they could
carry easily, levlng their breakfast and retreated to places of hiding. Capt.
Ashley followed suit, taking wha1 was easy to cerr/ and ren on foot to the river.
His saber proved a burden so ha quickly hid it and swam the river. The Rabols
carried out a surprise attack on the camp. However, "Johnny Reb" was attracted
Tore to breakfast tijan pursuing the "Yankeys", It was not as dangerous as swap-
ping bullets with the enemy already concealed In the brush.
Both details were on patrol and were not prepared for a pitched battle, Capt.
Ashley quickly gathered his men for a counter attack and crossed the rive and
retrieved material that was lost, along with his saber.
(The end)
- 18 -
(AP release)
BOUGHTON^ England
A local court fined
MARY ASHLEY $12 for
refusing to tel I
police her age after
stopped for speeding.
"Womens ages should
be closely guarded
secret" said Mrs.
Ashley, wife of an
engineer. "It cost
me 5 lbs. ($12) but
ft was worth every
penny to draw atten-
tion to petty of-
ficialdom" Private-
ly she admits to 25.
(fumiehed by
Alcnzo F. Aehley
# K K K # K
NEW ARRIVALS
John Spencer Jr. and Benjamin Davis
Ashley (twins) born July 30, 1972,
are sons of John Spencer and Elizabeth
Ashley of Freetown, Mass.
Maria Ashley, born August 30, 1972,
1st child of AT-3 Karl J. and Wendy
(Darling) Ashley of Oxnard, (iailf.
and grandchild of Mr. and Mrs. Karl
J. Ashley Jr. of E. Freetown (#90)
Brian Scott Blowers, born Sept. 12, 197
1972, 1st child of Brian A. and Alexis
(Ashley) Blowers, grandchild of
Mr. and Mrs. Karl J. Ashley Jr. (#90)
MARRIAGES
Thomas E. McKIe and Darlene Bogardus
were married In May, honeymooned In
Nova Scotia, and now at home In
SI Ingerlands, N.Y. Thomas Is a
grandson of Mrs. Grace E. (Ashley)
MIsulls (#209)
Peter K» Ashley of Freetown and
Carmen A. Costa, of Acushnet, were
married In Freetown, Mass. on
August 26, 1972.
MISS MARY ASHLEY, formerly of Masons
Island, recently celebrated her I 00th
birthday at the Masons Island home of
her nephew, William Hartman. Miss
Ashley, who v/as born In New Britain,
lived on Masons Island for 50 years be-
fore moving to Mystic Manor 2 yrs. ago.
J( 4 H 4 J( J( 4
ROCHESTEBs Maaa (Aug. 22^ 1972)
Selectmen this week voted to have Atty.
Richard W. Paul I of Marion and Arthur
C. Thompson, surveyor, Marlon, do title
examinations and surveying for six
cemeteries In town. They Include
Hillside, Woodslde, ASHLEY, Union,
Sherman and Old North Rochester, Towns-
people two years ago voted $2,000 to be
used for this purpose.
^ ^ # ^ K ^ #
BROCKTON ENTERPRISE - Sept. 9, 1972
Eaet Freetcwn: Mrs. Mary C. (Brtndle)
Gurney, 72, wife of Warren C. Gurney^
died at St. Luke's Hospital Sept. 8,
1972, after a short Illness.
Born In New Bedford, she was the dau-
ghter of the late John and Margaret
(HIbberts) Brindle and had resided In
East Freetown for 58 years. A former
librarian at the James White Memorial
Library, she was a 50-year member of
the E. Freetown Grange, and honorary
member of the E. Freetown Woman's Club
and an active worker for the Red Cross
and the New Bedford Council of Girl
Scouts of America.
In addition to her husband, she Is sur-
vived by a daughter, Mrs. Benjamin
(Helen) Thomas of Franklin (#8) and a
granddaughter Mrs. Melanle O'Nell.
Interment will be In Chace Cemetery,
East Freetown.
(Continued on page 20)
- 19 -
DR> FR^ K HN ASHLEY, a surgeon at the
UCLA niedTcal center In Los Angeles per-
fonwd surgery on entertainer Ann-Margaret
who was seriously Injured In a fall from
a stage platform. The actress-*dancer-
singer fell 30 feet from a stage platform
at the Sahara-Tahoe Hotel In State line,
Nevada, suffering five broken bones In
her face, a broken Jaw and left arm, a
cut knee and a chipped tooth. A hospital
spokesman said she had lost feeling In
her face, but was expected to recover.
(Dip. Ashley ie the ecma surgeon who did
Phylie Diller'e faoe^lift)
LEON T. ASHLEY (1180) was recently I n-
stalled as Worshipful Master of the
Plymouth Lodge AF and AM. Worshipful
Arne M. Erickson was Installing officer
who was presiding master of Plymouth
Lodge when Leon first Joined the lodge.
(The end)
F RANKLIN A. AS HLEY, former president of
the now defunct Vernon Court Junior Col-
lege In Newport, R.I. Is being sued for
more than $400,000. The suit charges
that Mr. Ashley, his wife Lucille, and
others caused Vernon Court to make pay
ments, purchases and provide services
"To or for them or on their behalf" or
that benefited members of their families.
It charges that "No goods or services
were furnished" the college and that the
payments or purchases were unauthorized
by the school and were "Improper, Irreg-
ular and In fraud of the rights of credi-
tors". Vernon Court opened In 1963 as
a profit-making Institution and occupied
27 buildings on a 65 acre campus. It";
enrollment reached a peak of 500 students
In 1965, but by last fall enrollment ..id
dwindled to 157. The school closed joo
January 25, 1972, the date the col lege
filed a bankruptcy petition. (Ccat cmyone
identify Pvahktin A. Ashley?)
IXXXXXXl
□ QUERIES C3
CXIXIII3
CAN ANYONE FURNISH DATA ON THE FOLLOWING?
WILLIAM R. ASHLEY, Jr . (#218) Is seeking Information on WILLIAM HENRY ASHLEY,
born August 5, 1838, d. October 30, 1890. Place of birth not known, but It
Is said he was a ship's carpenter when he came to the Wlllmlngton, Deleware
area about 1863. He married Theresa J. Lynch, date unknown.
FREELA DEE WEBSTER (#170) seeking parents of WILCOM (Welcome) ASHLEY. Listed In
1850 Census of Grayson Co., Kentucky as being a farmer, 49 years of age, born In
either Missouri or Kentucky. Census lists wife as Bathsheba, ae 48, and eight
children ranging In age from 6 to 24. It Is believed that In 1830/32 the family
lived In Indiana.
VILLI AM DALE ASHLEY (#252) seeking parents of ELMER ELLSWORTH ASHLEY who married
Izetta ^^_^_^_ . Descendants now live In Ohio.
^. S. G. D. CARLTON (#248) seeking parents of John Riley Ashley who married
Ann Prultt. It Is believed that they died near Galsden, Alabama.
I AMES MANSFIELD ASHLEY ill (#253) anxious to continue line beyond great grandfather,
JOHN CLINTON ASHLEY who m Mary Ann Kirkpatrlck. The names Bonjamln and William
are possible clues.
(The end)
^ 20 -
Editor's Note: A vote of thanks should be given
Marie A. Lewis ^ our Membership Chairman
who has worked diligently on the project
of increasing cur membership.
C3C3CXXXXXXXXXX]
n
C]
C]
REPORT OF MEMBERSHIP
COMMITTEE
CXXXXXXXXXXD
C3
The membership committee has been most fortunate In receiving the cooperation
of many members who have sent In lists of names of prospective members.
We have sent out over 400 membership Invitations to almost every state In
the Union.
As of August 8, 1972 we have added 39 members by this method. Statistically
speaking, this Indicates we reach 10 new members from every 100 Invitations.
We feel a \0% return Is very good. It Is recommended that we continue
sending Invitations to potential members.
Plans are still In the making for forming chapters In various areas to enable
Ashleys to gather during the year for sharing of material and social get-
togethers. Many living a great distance from eastern Massachusetts where
our annual reunions are held, could benefit from a chapter closer home.
This program hinges on a few willing volunteers to call the first meeting
in an area.
As we grow In membership, so shall v/e grow In knowledge thus bringing nearer
one of our goals - that of a published ASHLEY GENEALOGY.
Marie A. Davis (ffS)
Membership Chairman
Vol II, No. 3 (pg. 58) - CORRECT *SmIth F. Reynolds
to read son (not gi^andson) of Caroline and
Alanson Reynolds
Vol II, No. 4 (pg 88) ADD lineage for
cxiixxxxxxxx:
1:3
ADDITIONS AND
CORRECTIONS
CXXXXXXXXX]
THETIS (ASHLEY) SPARKS (#232)
Andrew WInfred Ashley (6) Andrew White
Ashley (5) William Washington Ashley (4)
Edward (3) Joseph (2) William (7) (I)
Vol II, No. 3 (pg 66) - ANSWER TO QUERY - Complete lineage of
MARION G. ROGERS (#165) (7) TJellleM. (Gushee) Rogers (6) Elizabeth
White (Ashley) Gushee (5) Cc?pt. William
Ashley (4) Williams (3) Abraham (2)
Joseph ( I )
- 21 -
□NEW MEMBERS □
cxxixxxixxxxxx:
1246
1247
#248
1249
#250
#251
#252
#253
JANE ASHLEY (KETCHUM) BOLLINGER (10)
(Mrs. Henry R.)
74 Ferris Lane»
Poughkeepsle, N.Y. I260(
MR & MRS CHARLES ROBERT ASHLEY (II)
4724 Amsden Ct.
Ashtabula, Ohio 44004
)
EDITH MARIE ASHLEY CARLTON (
and Mr. 6. 0.
Rt I Box 61
Hens ley. Ark. 72065
MR & MRS EDMUND D. ASHLEY (8)
202 Wilbur Street
New Bedford, Mass* 02740
JEROME DAVIS ASHLEY (8)
53 George St.
South Dartmouth, Mass. 02748
THE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
Church of Jesus Crist of Latter- day Saints
107 South Main Street
Salt Lake City, Utah 841 1 1
MR & MRS WILLIAM DALE ASHLEY ( )
1634 Hlllbrook Ave., S.E.
North Canton, Ohio 44709
JAMES MANSFIELD ASHLEY III ( )
3327 Pel ham Road
Toledo, Ohio 43606
Bertha (Mason) Ketchum (9) Jane (Ashley)
Mason (6) James Ashley (7) Roger (6)
Joseph (5) James (4) Joseph (3)
David (2) Robert (I)
Sanuftt ltot.fe. Atniey (lO) Robert Roll In
(9) Lucteus Samuel (8) Samuel III (7)
Samuel Jr. (6) Samuel (5) Daniel (4)
Samuel (3) David (2) Robert (I)
Joseph Riley Ashley ( ) John Riley ( )
John RI ley ( ) (from Aldbcma)
Edmund Davis Ashley (7) Silas Edmund (6)
Silas Pickens (5) Noah (4) Noah (3)
William (2) Joseph (i)
Kenneth Valentine Ashley (7) Joseph
Mylod (6) Catvin (5) Luther (4)
Noah (3) William (2) Joseph (I)
Chauncey Murl Ashley ( ) Elmer Ellsworth
Charles Sumner Ashley ( ) James
Mansfield ( ) John Clinton ( )
Benjamin ( ) - (7) William
© 1972 A3ELSI3 OF AM5RICA - Uninoorporatad Family Aaooaiation
- 22 -
^
©# AilMllJSA.
Vol. Ill, No. 2
QUARTERLY NEWS BULLETIN
January 1973
LIBRARY
AUG 12 1974
JUCtETY
ASHLEY FAMILY ASSXIATION
Organized August ?9, 1970
1973 OFFICERS
President --- - Robert E. Ashley
1st Vice President - - - — - John S. Ashley
2nd Vice President Paul C. Leonard
3rd Vice Presldeht Bradford F. Swan
Secretary ---- Any^thq Ash|.ey Aklrt
Treasurer -- — --.-- — '•' Nancy Ashley
Publishing Editor - — - - Esther Ashley Spousta
Membership Chairman - - - - — - Marie A. Davis
CIIXIIXIIIIIIXIXIIIIIIXIXIID
FINAL NOTICE
Membership dues In the amount of $5,00
now due and payable !!!!!!! t !
Please make checks payable to:
Ash leys of America
MISS NANCY ASHLEY, Trees*
165 Elm Street
South Dartmouth, Mass. 02748
Dues not received by March i, 1973
will delete your name from our
mailing list.
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
January 1973
Prom
ths
Editor 1$
A word of appreciation
to a 1 1 those who have
sent material to your
Editor for publication.
Have you written our
President regarding
your preference of
days for our fourth
Reunion? IP I ease
do so as it Is hoped
to choose the best
time for everyone.
She 1 1 be watch I ng the
mails for more material
for our next bulletin.
Bather AehUy SpouBta^
Editor
PO Box SBl
ItogwB^ Ark. 72766
Vol. Ill No. 2
CONTENTS
24 OnSANIZATION OF CHAPTER NO; I
29 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
26 THREE GENERATION CHART
27 20th CENTURY HISTORY - Mrs. Ross Cherry
Ruth Marjorle (Loomts) Ch.rry®
29 COVER STORY - Honorable Thomas Ashley^
33 CHURCH RECORDS - First Christian Church
Dartmouth, Mass*
34 MISCELLANEOUS
35 OLD CORNER STORE - Assonet VI I lege,
Freetown, Mass.
36 LOOKING BACK - Clifford Warren Ashley^
37 MONTANA - James Monroe Ashley
39 OLD LETTER - Robert Paul Ashley*
42 OLD LETTER - Noah Wl 1 1 lams Ashley^
43 MHAT'S COOKIN with the ASHLEYS
44 NEW MEMBERS
NEWS BULLETIN published quarterly In months of January - April - July - October
FUSS subscription with each $5.00 membership
Extra copies may be obtained If available by mailing $2.00 for each issue
direct to the Editor,
- 23 -
ANNOUNCING -- - -
ORGANIZATION OF CHAPTER No. I
Ashleys of America
Chapter No. I of ASHLEYS OF AMERICA was organized on
October 15, 1972 at the home of Mr. 4 Mrs. Anthony Nero,
II Joslen Place, Hudson, New York, by our Membership
Chairman, Mrs. K. 0. Davis.
Ashley descendants from Hudson, Maiden and Ghent, New York and WI 1 1 lamstown,
Massachusetts were present for the organizational meeting. Officers elected
were:
Mrs. Anthony Nero (#213) - President
Mrs. Donald Kern <f46) Secretary
Mrs. Davis gave some high-llghts of the Ashley ancestors and discussed the
purpose of the meeting. All present discussed their relationship, their
memories, their genealogy and the vicinity of Ashley HIM end the old cemetery
where Noah Ashley (1747-1815) Is presumed to be buried.
Mrs. Nero reported on the Ashley Reunion held In August held at New Bedford,
Mass.
It was voted to have two meetings a year, one In May and one In October. The
next meeting will be at the home of Mr. and Mrs. K. 0. Davis In WI 1 1 lamstown,
Mass. and all were urged to contact Ashley descendants In the area before the
next meeting. It Is hoped that Individual chapter meeting get-togethers will
Implement the overall purpose and objects of the Ashleys of Amerlcal organiza-
tion.
Members present were: Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Davis (#5), Mr. and Mrs. Frederick
Ashley (i((229), Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Nero (#213) and children Torrance,
Timothy and Renee, Miss Betty Ashley of Maiden Bridge, N.Y. and
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Kern (#48)
The meeting adjourned at 4 P.M. with a special thanks to Mr. and Mrs.
and children serving as most gracious hosts.
Nero
MARION KERN, Secretary
PRESIDENT'S H€SSA6E
Robert E. Ashley (§1)
One of the mosf amazing things about our Association Is
the ever increasing rate that new data Keep turning up«
Many members send me extensive material and photocopies
of their research, all Items for which I am extremely
grateful.
The largest Item to date Is, of course, the four large
cartons, of books consisting of 247 bound volumes, from
the library of R. Eugene Ashley, turned over to me by
John Sherman Ashley (#2). These books filled both the
Interior and the trunk of my car twice, necessitating
. two trips to get them here*
I am now having them appraised and will seek an Insurance policy for them,
although It Is clear that these plus my own nearly equal number of books, and
the three file drawers of family group sheets cbuld never really be replaced.
About six years ago. Brad Swan (#4) turned over on "permanent loan** a chest
full of data sheets, these being duplicates of Genets work and of all those
who preceded him.
This brings me to the main point. Our steadily Increasing membership means
a steadily Increasing number of Inquiries from members who expect, and are
entitled to, extended replies. The trouble Is the time It takes to copy
"everything on my line** or similar request. Yet I believe that every member
has a right to all Of this Information. The problem Is - how to furnish It.
I therefore am proposing a new publication to be In addition to our bulletin.
This would be a temporary genealogy (mimeograph, offset, or similar Inexpensive
looseleaf form) which would begin by turning the clock back some 50 years and
publishing Gene's work exactly as he left It. We would then Issue supplements
from time to time with proven additions and corrections as presented by our
members.
Such an arrangement should be relatively Inexpensive and would ultimately cost
the Association very little If anything, as the Initial cost would be relm*
bursed by the purchase of the copies by interested persons.
As soon as It Is deemed reasonable complete and accurate, we would be ready to
publish a Genealogy In book form.
Since It seems more and more likely that most of the American ASHLEYS were
first In New England, and since it is also In these pre- revolutionary years
that most of the uncertain lines appear, I am offering the chart on page 26
as a starting point. If anyone has other Information or Ideas on these
early generations PLEASE SEND IT IN.
Do not overlook the Impwtance of old letters. Often valuable information
can be obtained from them. Wont you share yours?
- 25 -
TENATIVE CHART - New England Origins • ASHLEYS OF AMERICA •
All nanes are of Ash leys who lived at the tines and places shown but names In
brackets CH are not yet proven to be related. For simplicity dates of births,
deaths, and marriages and wives names are not Included. Only male lines of
descent are carried. Name In parenthesis ( ) after daughters Is married name.
We are starting with JOSEPH and his brothers and sister as first generation.
Numbers preceding name Indicates generatfon and descendants number: e.g.
3-29 Indicates Third generation, 29th child.
2- I THOMAS
Children: *3-8 James
3-1 Thankful (Swift) 3-9 Elkanah
O
m
ID
XI
LU
"^
iS ic fS (^ ^ uj
^ 4» CO
i5^^ o
j§l
(8£
' B
rt
tf)
I VI c
C 10
c
I ex
^ O Z XI
s
.s
Gl
6
O)
in o ja so
M
A
UJ
on
I
1-
ri t
2-3
2-7
3-2
3-3
*3-4
3-6
*3-7
2-2 JETHW)
Miriam (Whltcomb) 3-10 Isaac
Elizabeth 3-M Enoch
Freeman * *-
Thomas
John
Lemuel
3-12 Lucy (Pierce)
3-13 Eun Ice (Wood )X Has;
3-l4Ellsha •^'"*'
3-15 William
*CMore proof needed^
3-16 Fear 3-19 Noah
3-17 Patience (Van Erd) 3-20 Nichols
3-l8 0thnell 3-2 1 E i i zabeth
WILLIAM
Chi.ldr0n:
3-22 Jephthah
3-23 Abram
3-24 Abiah (Hathaway)
3-25 MIcah 3-26 Noah
2-4 ELIZABETH (Sprague)(Wm. Ash ley) (Joy)
ChiliSrtn: Unknown
2-5 ABR A HAM Jr
CfnXdran: 3-30 Mary (Johnson)
3-27 Perclval 3-31 Lydia (Braley)
3-28 Deborah (Heath) 3-32 Simeon
3-29 Williams 3-33 Rebecca (Barnabas
Ashley)
2-6 MARY (not married)
JOSEPH JR.
Chilclren:
3-34 Lott
3-35 Phebe (Hackett)
3-36 Barnabas
3-37 Thankful (Collins)
3-38 Joseph 1 1 1
2-8 REBECCA
2-9 MERCY (m Mn. Aehley #2-3)
2 -10 WILLIAM rm. Elia, Aehtey n-4)
2-11 ELIZ/».BPTH (White)
Note: 1-4
JOHN appears In records of 3rd Parish of Rochester
but nowhere else.
- 26 -
pixxixxxxixx;
RUTH MARJORIE (LOOMIS) CHERRY^ [] 20th CENTURY HISTORY C!
(Grace Deri Ing^, Augusts Mcrla Besrs^, [] C"
Louisa Ash I ay 5, Luther^ James3, Thomas2, CXXXXXDCXXXXXX!
Joseph')
By: Bather Ashley Spousta (§10)
A common fault of all of us doing research on genedlogy, is to bury ourselves
fn the past^ We are so eager to learn of our forbears, that we somet I mes over-
look the ASHLEYS of today.
Marjorle Cherry (#27) Is one of those descendants we are very proud to claim
on one of the branches of our "Ashley Tree". I am making no attempt to write
a complete biography, only to tell you one or two of her outstanding contribu-
tions.
Quite by accident many years ago when visiting Judge Williams house, the clean-
er brought back a wedding gown of Mary Cannon Lockwood. As they talked about
Mary Cannon, a petite lady little over four feet tall, who married Mr. Lockwood
in 1810, Mrs. Cherry had an Inspiration. Why not give a program on the early
women of Erie County, Ohio and model the clothes of the day. And thus started
a vocation which has brought her much acclaim.
She did not go about this work lightly, but was diligent In her research for
historical authenticity. After having collected the facts, her nimble fingers
created the costumes, and finally she was able to narrate her pageantry In a
most interesting and fascinating manner. The following excerpts from various
papers give., you an idea of her success and variety of subjects covered:
Bcwling Green Sentinel^Tribtme
•'Lady Of Fashion" - a pageant depicting the history of women's clothes from
the cave woman to the lady of today. It explains why women had thread and
needle before there was any cloth to sew on. It shows the first Merry
Widow hat 4000 B.C. from a land where there were no widows. A spectacle
that is colorful, amusing and Instructive. Mrs. Cherry then came to the
stage in a lovely red velvet gown of the Elizabethan period, autSientfc In
every detail from the Jeweled sleeves to the tiny mirror attached to her
girdle. The audience was captivated by her easy informal delivery and
followed her eagerly as she explained the costumes."
Nonoalk Reflector^ Feb. 12^ 1936
"Flags of America" A patriotic program showing the development of our flag
from Columbus' time to the World War. "The Pageant Is the product of the
versatile mind of Mrs. Ross Cherry - - - -"
Akran-^Beaeon Journal ^ Oct. S^ 1938
' "Sa a Naral" - a program of Indian music. Mrs. Cherry evoked the primitive
life with translations of chants and songs that until recent years were
burled In the little known Indian laguages. The author grew up In the
country of the Arapaho and learned many of these as a child. Also the
winter and fire dances which are Included, (all In costume)
- 27 -
Ashland Timee'-Gazette^ Apr. 20^ 1939
^Poetic Ladles of America" A Pageant-Recital of American women who wrote
poetry'. For each period, Mrs, Cherry appeared in a costume representing
the typical dress of that time, "*
Laudenvills Tunea^ Daa. 2^ 193 8
"Christmas"' Gives a brief history of the Christmas play and the carols that
were written for It, These are sung by ladles In Old English Costumes In
the style of the madrigal,
«
Toledo Tim^BM Feb. 1939
*'Old Erin" A program of little known Irish songs and legends In costume,
Mrs, Cherry has more than 200 authentic costumes, some of which will be
on display In the pageant,
SanduelQf Stax^Joumal^ Nov. 17^ 1987
^The Wedding Ring" A pageant giving the history of the wedding ring from the
marriage market of Babylon to the first all white wedding gown, **Roman>
Greek and Druid bridges wore bright purple, blue and flame colored veils.
The Quaker women went to their weddings In gay, green aprons,
Bcwlina Gpeen SentineUTribuneM Feb. 20^ 19 89
^'Mrs, Cherry has made a name for herself In Historical Pageantry; her
^Mothers of Erie County* was bought by the Cleveland Plain Dealer In 1932
and presented In Cleveland Public Auditorium at the Theater of Nations
program. The American Magazine purchased her pageant built around the
McGuffey Readers In honor of the McGuffey Centennial"
The above are but a few of the notices commending her work. Her pageants were
a moving picture of a period of time showing the changing taste of women for
clothes, music and poetry with their Interesting lives woven Into It,
Works of art - yes, so much so, that In 1950 she was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts, the 2nd oldest Literary Society In England, At that
time she was one of only 6 women In the United States to have that honor.
It Is my understanding that the costumes for "Lady of Fashion" are now on display
In one of the museums In Kentucky,
But this has been only one facet of Mrs, Cherry *s talents and accomplishments.
Her Interest In genealogy has Inspired her to preserve our early history and
she has compiled and published at least 57 bound volumes of genealogical and
historical works, which can be found in libraries from coast to coast.
Her research did not stop at the base of her own family tree - she has reached
out to help others by copying and compiling cemetery records In Ohio, assisting
In abstracting the wills of Huron County, an active worker In the Flrelands
Museum - and far too many more accomplishments than space here allov/s us to
relate.
Ruth Marjorle (Loomis) Cherry now In the t^;f Wight years of her life, who will
celebrate her 84th birthday on February 17th, can look back with pride at her
many accomplishments,
CONGRATULATIONS to you, Marjorle Cherry ! ! !
- 28 -
THOMAS ASHLEY'
fThomas (2) Joseph (l)J
BoBed en raritinga of hie eon Elieha
by Rob^re E. Aehley il
iKOVER STORY C3
IIXIXXIIXXIII3
A 3 2 I
In the year 1854, Ellsha Ashley^ (Thomas , Thomas , Joseph') then a man of
seventy *e I ght years, wrote an article which was published In the Rutland Herald
In March 1854 and was headed THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN OF POULTHBI.
Mr. Ashley was born In Poultney, In the year 1776, was a son of one of the first
settlers and, at the time he wrote, probably knew more of the history of the
town than any man then living. He says:
I
"The first settlement of Poultney was begun April 15th, I77|, by Ebenezer Allen
and Thomas Ashley, They commenced some twenty rods south of where the turnpike
bridge now Is In West Poultney - Allen a little west, and Ashley a little east -
the river then running some twenty rods north of where It now does,"
"They erected a shanty for Allen, who brought his family wl+h him. Ashley re-
mained one month, erected a shanty for his family, which was done by setting
four crutches In the ground, placing poles on top, and covering the roof and
body with bark. He cleared some land and raised sufficient corn to b^ead his
family of seven. He then returned and brought his family. Allen had a son
born the same year, the first white child born In Poultney, Allen remained a
few years, sold out and moved to Grand Isle, Ashley remained In town, and on
the same farm until his death, which occurred In 1810"
"Several families followed the saae season, Elijah and John Owen, Issac Ashley
and Nehemlah Howe - and soon others Including John, Elkana, Ellsha, Enoch and
William Ashley, all brothers of Thomas and Issac Ashley - and others all of
whom were driven off by Burgoyne*s Army and Indians In July of 1777*"
From Mr. Ashley we get the names of all who settled here from April 1771 to
June 1777. During this time, a little over six years, Mr. Ashley says, "The
town was settled slowly due In great measure to the troubles with New York
about titles to the lands, so that non located here but the most bold and
fearless spirits, and they were all, without exception, extremely poor".
The last proprietor's meeting, before adjourning to Poultney, was held In
Canaan, Conn, on the 23rd day of February 1772, and that the meeting was ad*
Journed to meet at the house of Heber Allen (brother of Ethan Allen) In Poultney
on the third Tuesday of April 1772,
All of the Ashley brothers were bom in Rochester^ Mass. and although no oon-^
nection has ever been proven between the Old Colony Ashleys and the Berkshire
Ashley s, it seems signifioant that the elder brother j Thomas^ should settle in
Canaan^ Conn, a tofM only tiDo miles across the state line from Ashley Falls ^
Mass. where the Col. JoJm Ashley house is looated. Rot much farther away, over
the New York line, we find Dutohess and Columbia Counties whire the "Nine
Partners*^ area was located, and where the Uncle Jethro Ashley^ relocated. The
father of the seven Ashley brothers died in Rochester, Mass. in 1762. Thomas
of Canaan, the elder broWter, was made a bended gucardian of his brother Issac
before going to Poultney, and soon the five remaining brortitere followed.
- 29 -
/ • f
Extracts from oarly town meetings In Poultney:
"Voted to lay out a road from the Governor •s farm, between Thomas Ashley's
farm and Ebenezer Allen*5# north as far as needful".
"Vote that Thomas Ashley and Ebenezer Allen may lay out 100 acres of lend In
their own right on any of the undivided lands In said Poultney^ this liberty
Is on account of these men coming first to town".
And In June 1773 - "We have covennanted as follows:, for to bare our equelle
part In giving, one fifty acres of land out of our undevlded land or cays, to
be payd In some sort of Murchantabel.l Speesheys our Equalety, for the settle-
ment of a midwife. If those that <Jont bare their part In land., ;they are to
pay there part to thoee that let the land gow, and the Speeshay for to be
paid In three months". Among the signers were John; Elkanah, Enoch, Thomas
and Issac Ashley. ' .
Mrs. Beulah (Stearns) Dewey, who later became the. second wife of Thomas Ashley,
was for many years the mid wife and was a familiar figure, riding her gray pony,
sidesaddle, around the town on her errands of mercy.
At the Centennial Celebration of the Town of Poultney on Septembec 21, 1861, Henry
Clark, Esquire, delivered an address and said: "In common with all of the early
settlers of Vermont, those In Poultney endured severe privations. and hardships.
None but those who saw, suffered and endured can form an adequate l.dea of the
same. They ail, at first, built log houses. In some cases, families moved Into
those houses before the roof was on, even- I o- winter. Many furnished themselves wit
with bedsteads, tables and chairs made from poles and slabs, and put together with
no other Implements but the axe and augur. For a f Ifeplace, a stone buck was
built up, and a hearth laid at one end or one side- of the house, with such stones
as they could get from the land. After the flr^t year, with a little corn, they
raised wheat, and some kept a cow, which ran In the woods, for the first few
years they had to go to Manchester to mill, some thirty ml les distant. Soon a
mill was built at Pawlet, by a Mr. Fitch; this shortened the distance to mill
by about one half, 'which was considered 6 great convenience'. Nehemiah Howe
had the first §rlst mill In Poultney, whibh was erected at the falls, where the
east village now Is, some little time before 1777."
'Mt will now seem Incredible that many of the settlers went to the Manchester and
Pawlet mills on foot and carried their grain and flour to and from on their
shoulders; but such were the facts, and we have one Instance In which a man took
a hundred pounds of Iron on his shoulders, carried the same to Manchester and
then carried home to Poultney, tho equivalent In meal. It was not regarded as
an unusual feat at that time".
At a town meeting on March 6, 1775 - Issac Ashley was elected Constable, and
John Ashley, Tithing Man. Thomas Ashley and two others were appointed surveyors
of highways.
Thomas Ashley was closely connected to Ethan Allen by marriage. It was during
these years, 1771-1777, that the Green Mountain Boys acquired such fame by the
successful resistance to the New York claims and In the taking of Fort TIconderoga,
May 10, 1775. Ethan Allen, as all the world knows, was the leader In these ex-
ploits which changed the course of history. Thomas Ashley was the first man
behind the two leaders, Allen and Benedict Arnold (prior to his turnlning traitor,
Arnold was a capable and honorable officer) In entering the fort, and It was
Thomas Ashloy who stood guard at the head of the stairs when Allen entered the
- 30 -
of the commander and demanded the surrender 'Mn the name of the Great Jehovah
and the Continental Congress". The rest Is well known of how the guns of
Ticonderoga were hauled over land In the dead of winter and set up by George
Washington on Dorchester Heights, thus driving the British out of Boston.
Mr Clark continues: "Another thought now occurs - Ethan Allen was as honest
a man as ever lived; his brother Heber, his cousin Ebenezer, and the seven
Ashley brothers - were models of honesty, patriotism, and devotion to the
Interests of the new community. But It Is also known that they all ravored
Atheism to Christianity. It Is well known that the prevailing Influence In
the western part of town for the first half century was Infidel In character.
We only know from well authenticated facts, that an Infidel sentiment was
created and prevailed, and remained years after the Aliens and elder Ashleys
were In their graves".
We have uncovered some additional facts which may provide good reasons for
their antl-Chrlstlan feelings. In the year 1790 the "old Poultney Library"
Association was formed with Thomas Ashley being the prime mover. Membership
shares'were sold at $1.50 per subscriber and with dues of 12-1/2* per two
months. The library became large and flourishing with the meetings well at-
tended. Several of the most distinguished sons of Poultney have referred to
the library as one of the best and most awakening Influences of the days of
their youth.
The most Influential members of the association and thus the ones who had the
most to do with the selection and purchase of books had embraced a form of
religion called Deism. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson^ Voltaire and
many other leaders of the time had become Deists; a personal form of religion
which holds that the work of God can only be seen In Nature and not In Biblical
Revelation. Since Deists do not support any church, the ministers Rev. Kendrick
and Rev. Leonard, who came later, were much disturbed by the books that the
Ashleys and their friends were buying. Through their Influence, a vote was
obtained to sell the old books and use the money to buy new ones. Kendrick
and Leonard were present at the auction and purchased every book which offend-
ed them. They then took them to the home of Rev. Leonard and committed them
all to the flames. (Shades of Savonarola!)
Where Kendrick and Leonard went after this Is not known, however, "many have
spoken of the demise of the old Poultney Library with regret and many have
censured the people of the town for permitting It to godown, and have gone so
far as to treat the fact as evidence of the decline of our people".
In 1797 Lorenzo Dow, a famous Evangelist and Itinerant preacher, after visiting
the area, wrote the following In his Journal: "At Clarendon and at Castleton
the society were watching over me for evil and not for good. These two places
I visited, likewise from house to house; next to Falrhaven, where I met with
hard speeches; then to Poultney, where there was no regular preaching. Here
lived a yourgwoman whom I began to question about her soul, but met with cool
answers. 'Well,* said I, MMI pray to God to send a fit of sickness upon you.
If nothing else will do, to bring you to good, and If you won't repent then,
to take you out of the way, so that you shall not hinder others''.
Said sh6,<, Mf you Ml pray for such things as these you can't be the friend you
pretend to be to my soul; and I'll venture all your powers', and was much
displeased, and so was her mother likewise. The whole family began to grow
outrageous toneards me, which occasioned me to go seven ml les late at night
- 31 -
for the sake of family quietness." With religion presented In this fashion It
Is hardly surprising that the Aliens and the Ashleys «s well as many of Iha
othor leading men of the times, should turn away from It.
In later years It appears that such extremeism was reduced, for Ellsha Ashley
became a member of the Baptist Church where he was a leader for a half century.
Issac and John also became members, but Thomas, however, was f\e>/sr reconciled
and opposed the doctrines of Christianity for the rest of his life.
Although the taking of TIconderoga and the part played by the Ashleys In that
affair Is well documented In the history books so that we do not need to repeat
It here, there was another exciting episode less well known. This concerns the
flight of the women and children from the town before Burgoyne's invasion.
In the summer of 1777, the British sent General John Burgoyne with 10,000 troops,
a large number of Indians and some Tories down Lake Champlain toward Albany
where they were to Join up with another force In an attempt to divide the colonies.
A call to arms was Issued by the Green Mountain Boys and every man In Poultney
responded except one who was an Invalid. They met the enemy at Hubbardtown
where there was a brief fight, but the odds were too great and the Americans
were forced to retreat and scatter.
A messenger was sent to Poultney to warn the women and children of their danger
and that they must flee at once to the south. The messenger arrived on a Sunday
morning when many were assembled In the log school house for a service. There
were thirteen mothers and their families In Poultney and they all left at once^
some not even visiting their homes first.
•
Among these women were Mrs. Thomas Ashley (Zerulah Richards) and also Mrs.
Beulah (Stearns) Dewey, the woman who was later to become Thomas' second wife.
There was also Mrs. Nathaniel Smith, who was the widow of Issac Ashley, and
a number of other Ashley relations.
Mrs. Ichabod Marshall had nine children ranging from three months to fourteen
years. She gathered them all up and together with what she thought they could
carry, prepared for the long march to Bennington. They had a horse but It was
allowed to raom free In the woods and there was no time to search for him. When
about ready to start she heard a whinney at the door and there was the horse.
With saddle and bridle she soon had him ready for the Journey.
By evening the fleeing mothers and children had reached WM lard's tavern In
Paw let where they asked the landlady for food but were refused. When the land-
lady left the room, one of the women opened a cabinet and found there was plenty
of bread, which she quickly distributed to the children.
When they reached Pownall, Mrs. Zebedlah Dewey, who had assumed the role of
leader, asked the landlord of the tavern whether he was a Whig or a Tory. Told
that it was none of her business, she replied, '*lf you are a Tory, we shall go
on. If not we will remain'*. The house proved to be full already, however, so
the women and children were quartered for the night in a log meeting house.
During the night one of the women detected sounds of footsteps outside, and on
looking out saw several Tories and British soldiers who apparently were planning
to break In. But Mrs. Zebedlah Dewey stood up boldly for "women's rights".
Pretending there were soldiers within, she called for the "men" to load their
gunz. She remembered she had seen a gun In the house as she entered and noisily
running the ram rod down the t>arrel as If loading It, she ran the muzzle out
- (Continued on page S4)
A Sketch of Elder Daniel Htx
with the
HISTORY OF THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
In Dartmouth, Mass. for 100 Years
By: S. M. Andrews
Flemished by Esther A. Spoueta (#10)
CIXIXIXIDCXXXXX3CX3
CHURCH RECORDS C3
CXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX3
Page 60
- April 23, 1788, In Freetown he (Elder Hlx) writes . . . the con
verts here were ABRAHAM ASHLEY, WILLIAM ASHLEY, TABOR ASHLEY,
MARY ASHLEY ...
May 21 In MIddleborough ANNA ASHLEY
Sept. 28 at the Lewis Meeting House SARAH ASHLEY
Oct. 7 at John Hinds - a person named ASHLEY
March I, 1794 - REBECCA ASHLEY baptized
July 26, 1795 In Freetown - MEHETABLE ASHLEY
We have a paper
. . . at this tl
dismissed.
Nov. 3, 1803
Aug. 21, 1804
Aug. 2, 1808
Sept. 22, 1811
Oct. 6, 1811
Oct. 29,
Nov. 3,
Dec. 12,
July 23,
Sept.
dated June 18, 1795 showing names of members living and dead
me Abraham Ashley was deacon In place of Alexander Mason,
LIST OF CONVERTS
1811
1811
1811
1812
. 1812
M I dd I eborough
Furnace
Dartmouth
It
Freetown
Dartmouth
It
Freetown
tl
WILLIAM ASHLEY
NOAH ASHLEY
JAMES ASHLEY, BETSEY ASHLEY, HANNAH ASHLEY
STEPHEN ASHLEY, JAMES ASHLEY
LEONARD ASHLEY, BETSEY ASHLEY
LUCY ASHLEY
ABRAHAM ASHLEY JR., WILLIAM ASHLEY
JEPTHA ASHLEY
HANNAH ASHLEY
PERCIVAL ASHLEY
Page 127 Deacon Abraham Ashley died In the first part of December 1824
«
Page 132 Deacon Tabor Ashley died March 7, 1829
Page 147 List
Nov.
Before 1825
tl
II
June 2,
Before I
July 7,
March 5,
Before I
March 3,
Before I
Jan. 4,
June A,
April 4,
March 5,
Before I
1838
825
1827
1825
825
1838
825
1837
1842
1840
1825
825
of church members living In 1829 who joined from 1825 to
2, 1844
Abraham Ashley, deacon, died June 1870
Almeda Ashley - dead
Elizabeth Ashley - dead
George Ashley - dead
Hannah Ashley - dead
Hannah Ashley - dead
Hope Collins Ashley - withdrew Sept. 7, 1844
James Ashley * died 1839
Jefferson Ashley - withdrew Nov. 4, 1843
Leonard Ashley dismissed with letter Nov. 6, 1852
Malora Crapo Ashley withdrew March 1845
Phebe Founce Ashley
Rachel Davis Ashley
Rebecca Ashley died In Faith Jan. 25, 1827
Stephen Ashley - dead
• 33 -
(Continued next page)
CHI liORc-JOPOS (Cont'd) •
Juno 2, 1838 Susan Ashley - dead
July 2, 1842 Sybil Ashley
Before 1825 Tabor Ashley, deacon - died Feb. 22, 1845
March 7, 1829 Warren Ashley - dismissed Nov. 1837
Before 1825 William Ashley - died April 5, 1830
April 16, 1842 Phebe Ashley Shaw - dismissed wit-h tettetr 1874
Page 188 - Marriages In DartfTouth, Mass .
Jan. 22, 1783 Abraham Ashley & Hannah Crapo both of Freetown
Jan. 3, 1799 Tabor Ashley of Freetown & Nancy Phillips
July 18, 1816 Tabor Ashley of Freetown i Elizabeth Wordell
Dec. 21, 1817 Abraham Ashley 3rd of Freetown & Thankful Allen
June 17, 1821 William Ashloy and Sarah Collins
Dec. 4, 1822 Stophen Ashley of Freetown & Sybil Bullock
Dec. 5, 1822 John Edmlnster of MIddleborough & Betsey Ashley of
Freetown
Nov. 2, 1823 Henry Davis of New Bedford and Mary Ashley
(The end)
COVER STORY (Contd)
the window, which accomplished her purpose. Mrs. Marshall later said, *'lt would
have done your heart good to see those redcoats run".
In the morning they continued on to their old homes In Massachusetts and Con-
necticut. Some must have remained In Bennington, however, for Mrs. Marshall
also related that they visited the Bennington battleground where, of course,
the Yankees had fared much better than they had at Hubbardton. Soon the defeat
and surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga put an end to the hostilities In this area
Finally, from the Dewey family history, we find that after the death of Major
Zebedlah Dewey, his wIdow> Beulah (Stearns) Dewey resided with her son Azarlah
at the old homestead. Sometime In the early part of the century, Mrs. Dewey
and Mrs. Marshall, being widows, were called upon by Thomas Ashley, a widower,
with the question: "Mrs. Marshall, do you wish to change your condition?",.
"No Sir", she replied, ''but my sister does". Thomas now put the same question
to Mrs. Dewey who said yes and so they were married.
Thomas Ashley lived but a few vears after this and after his death Mrs. Beulah
(Stearns) Dewey) Ashley returned to live at the old homestead with her son
Azarlah. She died In 1820 at the aga of 83. At his funeral, Thomas was
referred to as "The Father of Poultney".
(The end)
HISTORY OF BROCKTQ H
BrIdgewater onco had a prominent irian named "Porley Gntes".
In old North BrIdgewater (now Brockton) ^ht"^r^ w.^s once a population of le^.s
than Z(:0 people, all of v-'hor"* woro ei^fher Howords or Packer cs. Al! that li
except one man - His ^^amo, w?,& lioword Packard .
(The end)
- 34 -
OLD CORNER STORE
Assonet Village, Freetown, Mass.
Account Book loaned by Kenneth V. Ashley §92
Excerpts by Robert E. Ashley M
Kenneth Valentine Ashley (.092)(he was born
on February 14th), the only Ashley still
residing In Rochester, Mass., has loaned us
an Interesting account book of the Old Corner
Store of Assonet Village, Freetown, Mass.
This store was opened in 1810 by Earl Sampson end
John Hinds. The firm was dissolved the next year by
the death of Mr. Hinds. Capt. John Nichols was taken
Into partnership by Mr. Sampson and continued to do a
lucrative business for many years; people coming in
from far and near for supplies. About 1820 a new
building was erected and it was during this period
that the following accounts were made In the book that
we have been studying. The time is from Sept. 17, 1829 to March II,
Tuesday HIRAM ASHLEY
Nov. 10,
1829
Nov. 19 THOMAS ASHLEY
I Jack knife
4r lb., tobacco
I7«
8«
(Sivcan died on whaling
voyage - ie buried in
Itadaaaaoar)
Dec. II ABRAM ASHLEY 4th
I hair comb I3<
4 lbs 6 oz cheese 44<
% bushel apples 254
10 lbs pork $1.00
I pr boys shoes SI. 00
I rum 3<
(Thomas lived at
Quanapaug near
Crapo-f/hite^Aeh ley
Cemetery)
35J-
t9«
$1.17
25«
6<
22<
25<
pr be I lows
1 peck salt
28 lbs flour
t pail
Tobacco
2 qts N. rum
2 lbs shot
(Prb. refers to Abrcofif
the son of Thcmas abovet
who m. Ifcmay Sathaaay)
bee. 17 JAMES ASHLEr"
*Pearlaah, a refined
potash ttsed in soap
making
l-3/a yds broadcloth $6.19
I pr thin shoes $1.28
4 lbs sugar 50<
* lb tea 33«
1 lb pearlash* IOC
5 lights 6x8 glass 20<
2 qts gin 2I<
4 lbs cut nails 36«
% quire paper I K
I almanack 6<
(Prob. 8 of Abr Cum, Jos)
who m Mary Howard. Both
buried in Crapo Cemetexy)
Nots: We reset their
stones last Spring
Dec. 14 LEOfJARD AShLEY 3rd
2 qts gin 22*"
I yd red flannel I 58<t
l-V lbs tobacco $1.50
6 segars 34
i lb candles I7«
4 lbs pork 404
(m 1st Catherine Boyt
Znd Mehitable Tiedale)
- 35 ■
mm.
CXX3CXXXXX1
LOOKING CD VENTURES of CLIFFORD WARREN ASHLEY'
n A f 1/ n i/<b\e\ Oavls^, Silas Pickens^, Noah*
""^•^ g Noah^, Will Iam2, Joseph')
CXXXXXXXXX3
From Collection of Noah WMIIams Ashley of Taunton
Loaned by: Normcm E. Aehley (#142) of Sixxnoea
AN ARTISTES DEAL IN OLD FURNITURE
Clifford W* Ashley, the artist, has always had a bad case of "collector's Itch".
It led hfm far afield not long ago to the Island of Jamaica, where he went Into
the old furniture business at wholesale* The result of his visit was a schooner
load of antiques that filled a warehouse when landed at Providence and brought
collectors from all over the state. He tells an amusing story of his experiences
In the June Scrlbner's. His business methods were unique,
• *
"We opened a second repository at No. Ill Barry Street and hung out a shingle
bearing the legend *Old mahogany furniture bought, not sol<l.
Hours 8 to 9 A.M. only^
(I always steered clear of the word * ant I que* for It's magic has penetrated
even to the Carlbs.) Then I advertised In the papers for furniture. Replies
to the advertisements came In by the first mail and t had Harry make a
letter box to receive the matter. Unfortunately the postman would not use
It, and the neighbors misunderstood It*s purpose and used it to post their
letters In. So Harry at last put It Inside and cut a slot through the door.
On some mornings when I arrived there was a crowd before No. Ill Barry St.
which overflowed the sidewalk and even on occasions filled the street to the
opposite side. Many brought articles upon their heads from there-was-no-
telllng-what distances. Others left their addresses that I might give them
a turn. A negro once arrived with a sofa upon his head which weighed all of
100 pounds and would not even put it down until the price was decided on
and the money turned over."
NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT
C. W. ASHLEY COLLECTION OF RARE COLONIAL FURNITURE
Over one thousand pieces gathered in Jamaica, B.W.I,
after the earthquake, and brought tn a sailing ship
to Bristol, R.I. The collection Includes many
carved high post bedsteads, bed steps, several sets
of dining chairs, a number of unusually large dining
tables, sideboards, tea tables, bookcases, cupboards,
presses, cabinets, etc.
Nov offered for sale at The Old Sugar House, Bristol, RJ.
(Note: Above not dated bitt believed to be after January
the date of the eartJiquake mentioned)
- 36 -
ASHLEY'S (
INFLUENCE ON \ ^ f^ j p^
WDflTANA S
Clipping submitted by: V^
Donald F. Aehley, M.D. 01236) '
and son Jeff
N A
When a recent clipping from the Columbus News, Montana, was received from
Dr. Ashley, your editor was motivated to do a little digging to learn more
about James Monroe Ashley who played an Important part In naming Montana.
Dr. Ashley's son Jeff, a medical student at L.A., spent the summer of 1971
working at a hospital In Columbus, Montana. He was so Impressed with Montana
that he still subscribes to the newspaper, and ran across the article copied
from Stamps Magazine of October 1971, and sent It on to his father.
The article states that the name "Montana" was first suggested as a name for
Idaho Territory by JAMES M. ASHLEY while a member of Congress from Ohio, and
chairman of the Committee of Territories during the 37th Congress in 1863.
The name Idaho met with more favor and was adopted by a vote In Congress.
Aishley again introduced the name Montana In the 38th Congress when the forma-
tion of a new western territory cut from Idaho, Dakota, and Washington was
being considered. The name was accepted with the approval of the Congress when
Montana Territory was created on May 26, 1864. The word "Montana" taken from
the Latln-Spanlsh means moimtaine or movntainoua . The article goes Into
detail about the spelling and varlou postmarks.
It further states that James M. Ashley was defeated in his try for election to
Congress In 1868 and the following year President Grant appointed him Territor-
ial Governor of Montana. Who was this JAMES M. ASHLEY ? ? ? ?
From data received Thomas L. Ashley of Watervllle, Ohio, who served as Congress-
man from Ohio In 1955, and great grandson of James Monroe Ashley, and from
Appletons Cyclopedia of Amer. Blog. p. 110 this Is what we learned.
JAMES MONROE ASHLEY was born 24 Nov. 1822 near Pittsburgh, Pa. and later lived
In Toledo, Ohio. His father was John Clinton Ashley.
«
A HISTORY OF SCIOTO CO. OHIO (Vol I pa 288)
Jamea M. Ashley j b. Pittsburg^ Pa. Nov. 24^ 1822 son of John Clinton and
Mary Ann (Ktrkpatrlck) Ashley. His colonial ancestor was Capt. John Ashley
of London, England, whose name appears In the second Virginia Charter of 1707.
His great grandfather, William, was master's mate In the navy during the
Revolution. His grandfather. Rev. Benjamin Ashley, was a Baptist Minister.
James M. Ashley removed to Portsmouth, Ohio In the spring of 1826. He was
married In 1851 to Emma J. Smith of Portsmouth, Ohio. They had 3 sons,
James M., Henry W., and Charles S. and ono dau. Mary, wife of Edward Ringwood
Hewitt of New York City.
- (Complete histpry of James M. Ashley In this Vol.)
- 37 -
A HISTORY OF SCIOTO CO. ^ OHIO (Vol. 2 pg 645)
JOHN CLINTON ASHLEY, t). May 14, 1800 In Norfolk, Va. His father Was Rev.
Benjamin Ashley a Baptist minister. His grandfather was William Ashley, masters
mate In the State Navy of Virginia during the Revolution, These were all
descendants from Capt. John Ashley of London, England whose name appears In
the second charter to the Virginia Colony In 1609 and whose descendants came
to Jamestown, Va. In 1635.
In 1820 he married Mary Ann KIrkpatrIck of Alleghany City, Pa. She was born
Oct. 25, 1800 and died Oct. 26, 1861. They had three children.
(See complete history In this volume)
APPLETONS' CYCLOPAEDIA OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY (Vol I, pff llO)
JAMES MONROE ASHLEY, congressman, b. near Pittsburg, Pa. Nov. 14, 1824. His
education was acquired while a clerk on boats on the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers. Later he worked In printing offices and became editor of the "Dispatch",
and afterward of the "Democrat" at Portsmouth, Ohio. He then studied law, and
was admitted to the bar of Ohio in 1849, but never practised. Subsequently he
settled In Toledo where he became Interested In the wholesale drug business.
He was elected to congress as a republican in 1859^ and was re-elected four times
serving continuously from Dec. 5, 1839 till Mar. 3, 1869. He was four times
chairman of the committee on territories and It was under his supervision that
the territories of Arizona, Idaho and Montana were organized
The End
OLD CORNER STORE (Continued from page 27)
Feb. 5, 1830
NOAH ASHLEY Jr.
m. Ruth Pichma
I comflter
I almanack
^ lb powder
I jb shpt
I gal. W.i.
% lb snuff
rum
34«
6«
ll«
I3«
40«
69
15 lbs 10 penny nails $1.35
I pr thick shoes $1.50
I gal N. rumm A4€
:v7T
iS ASHLEY
~1 chest lock
I doz buttons \lt
3 spl thread 9^
1 whip 30«
2 lbs 14 oz butter 48«
I doz buscit 13^
14 lbs codfish 49«
(Went to sea aa young moat
fammr later
His father built house
Inhere Paul Leonard new lives
j_
(per lame son - referring
to ^lame Jim" who had
hurt l*ig in a aharooal
pit S limped thereafter
WIDOW ABIGAIL
1-3/4 yds shirting
I4«
ASHLEY
% fb tea
33^
(Prob, Abigcdl (Caamll)
,
% lbs sxtuff
6f
Ashley widow of
•
1 gal molasses
34*
Noah Spd
This list goes on and on and refers to everyone then living In Freetown
or nearby at the time, all trading In this ISO year old supermarket
(The End)
- 38 -
L.U
ROBERT PAUL ASHLEY^
(James^, Wm. Martin^, Joel LoamM,
Elisha4, WI 1 1 fam^, Thomas2, Joseph')
CXXXX3CXXXXXXD
OLD LETTERS
C3CX3C3C3CXXXXXXX]
C3
13
13
13
C3
Excerpts from letter written October 3, 1941 by Robert Paul Ashley° to
Fay Fern (Ashley) Foley^
Fuxmialied by: Uarie A. Davis (#5)
Dear Aunt Fay,
I have read and re-read your very absorbing "report'' on the family history.
You have read the couplet that memorializes the Lowells and Cabots:
•'Here's to good old Boston
Home of the bean and the cod:
Where the Cabots speak only to Lowells
And the Lowe I Is speak only to God
That ancient gentry now would ring In their cerements, may they rest In peace:
but some of the Ash leys ought to go to Kings Chapel and dust off a pew for us.
After all, the Beacon Hill Brahmins are about passe in these parts anyway.
Your letter moved me deeply and I am very grateful for It. The time may come
In the not too distant future when many more Ashleys than myself will owe you
a debt of gratitude for the work that you have expended In our behalf.
Not the least Interesting part of your letter were the Intimate details you
have given me of your family and you have every reason for your sense of pride
In the accomplishments of your children.
I have no doubt that Aunt Josle (lira. Frank Dockatader) and yourself are
equally curious to know something about me and mine. At the risk of talking
a little bit about mysolf but entirely with a due sense of obligation to my
Dad's memory, I will give you In some detail the story of my life. If It re-
flects some credit on h!s memory then you will excuse the first personal
pronoun.
You may know that our home v/as broken up around 1900 when my mother took my
sister Gretchen and me East and parted company with my Dad. We v/ere then
living in Vandal la, Ml. and I was about 10 years old I recall hfm
as having sandy hair, blue eyes and with a slight limp. Naturally enough,
my mother has exerted a tremendous Influence
Very early she exerted a very lively Influence on my imagination and especially
she built In me a confidence that I would amount to something. What really
counted, however, was the fact that she made me believe It so as time v/ent on
I developed a considerable personal confidence and this was manifested In
almost everything that I have undertaken.
When we left Vandalla, III. we moved to Baltimore, Md., to be near ^^other's
relatives. I had only been In Maryland several years when I was chosen trom
among a large group of contestants to enter McDonough School, McDonough, Md.
I was known as a "free pupil" - all my expenses of education and living being
- 39 -
paid to graduation In 1907. It Is Important for me from here on to speak of
personal achievements, and I hope you will pardon my frankness. (You want
ferithers on this bird as well as flesh)
.In my senior year at McDor.ough, I won all the prizes offered - Debator*s, Readers's,
Orator's, Essayist's, and also first prize for ringing the bells In the Chapel
Carillon. In addition, I was commandent of the battalion and captain of both
baseball and football teams, and I wos editor- I n-chfef of the wjekly publication.
More especially, howsver, I was awarded as a special mark of distinction, a
scholarship to Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va. Here again this
scholarship paid all my expenses; tuition, living expenses, etc. to graduation.
I got my B.A. degree In 3 years In 1910. I was a member of the gym team, tennis
team, and I was Ed I tor- In-Chief of the "Southern Collegian**, the college monthly
I Iterary magazine.
^V luck must have been running well because once more I got another scholarship to
Johns Hopkins University where I had expected to take my Ph.D. In English literature.
However, I suddenly decided that the easy going life of cloister and gown did not
fit my temperment so In the midst of a seminar on the subject of Walter Savage
Lander and the romantic poets of the period, I decided to come down to earth and
go Into the Insurance business.
Before I tell you about my business career let me add a footnote or two. After
graduating from Washington and Lee, I became Interested In my college fraternity,
i was editor of the magazine for 15 years. Subsequently vice president and presl«
dent of the National Organization for 5 years, (see page
Now you will want to know how I kept the wolf from the door. Well, I will admit
that there have been times when the wolf has gotten his nose right over the
threshold, and I am afraid that If the New Deal keeps on, the wolf and I will be
bosom pals. At any rate, I have been In the Insurance business all my life and
I am today vice president of the Liberty Mutual Insurance Co, with which company
I became associated In 1920. ......
Now for the domestic statistics. My wife was Ethel Rice, daughter of a Methodist
Minister of the f Ire-eating variety. We have two boys. Bob Jr. and Donn Langdon,
both boys are chips off the old "Charlie McCarthy". Here Is a subject that I can
really get wanned up on. I have two of the greatest guys for sons and they ere
also bosofn pals. I have never heard either of them say a harsh word to the other
and they will give each other their shirts, to use a colloquial expression.
Bob (#230) Is the older, being 26. He Is a graduate of Bowdoln College, A.B.;
Harvard, M.A.; and has one year at Harvard towards his Ph.D. He graduated from
Bowdoln a Phi Beta Kappa, was editor of his college newspaper and Inter-col I eg I ate
tennis champion In the State of Maine. For his accomplishments In tennis, Bowdoln
awarded him the only major sport letter ever awarded for tennis. He Is now teach-
the American and English novel and the drama at Colby Jr. College for Women, New
London, N^H. This past summer he added to his tennis laurels by winning the
Eastern Maine Singles Championship. He Is married and has a beautiful daughter,
4 months old.
Donn Is 19. He entered Mass. Institute of Technology one week ago and will
specialize In research chemistry. He seems to be a nut about that subject and
has been ever since he was small enough to have the first toy chemistry set.
I • *
- 40 -
That set has grown to one of major proportions In our cellar; the house has
been blown up several times with no damage except odors, reminiscent of desl-
cated eggs. He also Is quite athletic, played on the High School football
team, was a member of his championship relay team and Is a golfer In the
low eighties. During the past 3 or 4 years we had worked very hard to get him
Into the Naval Academy, but without success.
There you have the story. My mothar Is still living at the age of 75 and
still Independent. . .
Cordial ly yours.
Robert Paul Ashley Sr.
From: The Carnation^ March 1941 #3
Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity Bulletin
BUILDERS OF DELTA SIGMA PHI - Robert Paul Ashley, Zeta
Delta Sigma Phi honored Robert Paul Ashley with election to the national
presidency at the Atlanta, 6a. convention In 1931. He served In that capacity
until the Mackinac Island Convention In the summer of 1935.
But Robert Paul Ashley was part and parcel of Delta Sigma Phi long before that.
He became an active In old Zeta Chapter at Washington and Lee University In
1909. Upon graduation In June 1910, he was awarded a fellowship at Johns
Hopkins University In Baltimore. It was while at Hopkins that he became In-
terested In the Insurance business. And, It was coincidental that It was
Insurance that was accountable for his meeting "Dutch" Defendorfer, also In
the same profession, who quickened his Interest In Delta Sigma Phi In 1914.
As Bob relates, "It's a long story, but 'Dutch' had a vision, and I discerned
It too. We Journeyed to Philadelphia In December 1915 where 'Dutch' was
elected business manager and I was elected editor of THE CARNATION. The
Fraternity was founded In 1899 In New York City, but It was really born In
Philadelphia in December of 1915. From that date. Delta Sigma Chl's progress
was continually upward and forward. In the June 1916 CARNATION I listed 13
Chapters, although I doubt If they were all really active. The rest Is so
much detail - full of romance, struggles, problems and final fulfillment".
Bob lists as his concrete accomplishments for the Fraternity the following:
1. Created the new CARNATION of which he was editor from 1915-1925. The
cover design was carried out under his direction by C. W. Jaqulsh,
now deceased.
2. Originated and created the Sphinx.
3. Created the present Coat of Arms
4. Created the Fraternity flag. He states, "You will recall how that came
about. The Board met at the Wlllard In Washington and a committee on
the flag reported no progress. It Is my recollection that I thereupon
drew a rough sketch of the flag, designating the colors, which was
adopted and Is In general use nowV.
5. Revised and co-ordinated the ritual In Its present form In 1924.
6. Elected first vice-president at Raleigh In 1921
7. Installed Alpha Beta and Alpha Omlcron chapters.
- 41 -
CIXXXIIXX3CIIID
OLD LETTER U Letter written by NOAH WILLIAMS ASHLEY^
n (Able) Williams^, Noah*, Noah^
CXXDCIXXXXXXIX] Wl 1 1 Iam2, Joseph' )
to MERCY WILLIAM (ASHLEY) SNOW^
Pumiehad by: tlopman E. Ashley (Jephthah^, Noah*. Noah^
(#142) William^, Joseph')
Dated: April 1911
Cousin Mercle,
I make another move. We had quite a snow Sunday April 9th. From 2 to 3
Inches on the ground. Snowed most of day.
Mica Ashley married Sarah Reynolds. (That Is where Aunt Sarah Staples got her
name. She wanted the Reynolds buf Grandmother Ashley did not think much of the
Reynolds). Aunt Sarah as you remember her, was wife of Uncle Charles Henry
KIngsford. He died and she married Elbrldge Gerry Staples, my mother*s uncle.
Mica married Dec. 25, 1777 - supposed to have died 1805 - property divided by
his widdow 1807 had I boy 8 girls. Abraham born 1743, died 1821. He was the
oldest. MIcah 2nd, Ablah comes 3rd| great grandfather 4th and last. Great
grandfather Noah 1757 - Aug. 23, 1839, age 82 yrs. First wife Abigail Hoar,
birth unknown, death April 22^ 1792, 35 years old. Second wife Lavlna
Hbwiand, find no record of birth or death. Third wife was MIcah's widdow,
hci record of birth or death 6s yet. I have hunted cemeterys far and near
biit no find.
Great grandfather Noah had brothers and sister. First Luther, 2nd William of
Steep Brook, Noah our grandfather was 3rd, 4th Abigail, 5th Jeptha.
Luther married Abigail Pierce, do not know as to number of children but he had
one son Luther who lived on Mullen HIM nearly across road from Mullen Hill
Meeting House and cemetery where grandfather and grandmother were burled.
Mullen Hill Luther had 3 daughters: Abigail, Theodora, and Artbella - think
no boys. Luther Tiwirr led Aunt Abigail Ashley's sister Theodora Caswell but
her father was Nathani^l.CabWQi | .(oailed Uncle Nat). Abigail married Phillip
Philander Pierce. No children. He Is a ii^scendant of Ablah Ashley who married
Rev. Phillip Hathaway. He Is dead. She lives at My ricks. Theodora married
a Henry Kleth and lives at MIddleboro. He died 20 or 3 years ago. \ mmi
over to see her Thursday April 13. Found her sIcR abed under care of nurse.
She had one boy and one girl. I think that Is all. Aribelta never was married.
Lives at old homestead In Lakeyllle, Mass. That cleans up Grandfather's oldest
brother's family as far as I know.
Now comes Wt 1 1 lam Ashley of Steep Brook. Had 3 boys. Job and WI 1 1 lam. I
lost name of the other. Job had one girl and one boy. I was acquainted with
girl. The last time I saw her she was going to New York to live. She married
a Jenkins (2nd husband) I think. The boy I think lives at Fall River or
Steep Brook. William had one boy and one girl. Do not know anything about
them. They sailed In a higher class than the average people. Both married.
The other son I know nothing about. Abigail I have given you her record In a
previous letter. She married MalachI Howland. Jeptha d. Sept. I, 1810 at
Steep Brook, 20 yrs. old at his brother William's. Burled at E. Freetown, side
of his father. Grandfather Noah was 3rd child. Gr. grandfather Noah died at
William Ashley's at Steep Brook.
^2 "^^ ^* ASHLEY
GEORGE EDWARD DAVIS, father of
Kenneth 0. Davis (05) celebrated
his 90th birthday on October 31,
1 972 . C0N6RATUUT I ONS !
NEW ARRIVAL - Richard James MancinI
was born May 5, 1972, son of
Richard and DIxanna (Klngsford)
Manclnl, grandson of Arthur Ashley
Klngsford (#49) and great grandson
of Dorothy A. Klngsford (#51).
WEDDING BELLS rang on Dec. 24, 1972
for Mary Jayne Ashley, daughter of
Tracy Hoi I Is and Mary El Izabeth
(Johns) Ashley (#26), granddaughter
of Mrs. Tracy H. Ashley Sr. (#25).
PROMOTION recorded In the Oct. 2,
1972 "American Banker" for
LEE C. ASHLEY. Mr. Ashley began
his banking career In 1930, In
1958 was named senior vice prest-*
dent and cashier of the First
National Bank, Denver, and Is
now appointed Executive Vice
President of this bank. He Is
also treasurer and a director of
St. Luke's Hospital and vice
president of Boys Clubs of Denver.
tte, has been a trustee of the
Gates Foundation since 1970.
Does anyone know what branch of
the Ashley family he comes from?
RECOVERING Is Robert Allen Cooper,
son of Allen and Mary Cooper (jS^2I9)/
Bob suffered severe injuries last
April in a 30-foot fall In a moun-
tain canyon. We all wish him a
Speedy recovery so that he may
return to Law School •
WITH THE ASHLEYS
In the November 1972 Issue of "Steel
Labor", Thomas R. Ashley was listed
as a recipient of a $2400 Scholarship,
presented at the Labor Institute at
Kent State. WHO IS THOMAS ?
MARY COCHRAN ELLER (#32) advises that
the St. John Luthern Records In Darke
County, Ohio are complete and a bound
edition has been sent to Ohio State
Museum, the DAR Library in Washington,
and their local library. She has
generously offered to check the records
for anyone upon request asking that
they please enclose a self -addressed
stamped envelope with their inquiry.
ROBERT E. ASHLEY, our president advises
that the following old books have been
loaned to Ash leys of America:
Genealogy and correspondence of
NOAH W. ASHLEY of Taunton, loaned
by his grandson Norman E. Ashley
(#142)
Account book of Abner Wood & Son
who had a forge at Stillwater In
MIddleboro on Black Brook. Dates
are from Oct. 28, 1790 to April 22,
1796 and show many Ashley transac-
tions. Loaned by John Sherman
Ashley (#2)
The District School Record of
MIddlebury Township, Ohio from
Oct. 17, 1834 thru FebT 14, 1880.
Also contains some Ashley deeds.
Loaned by Elizabeth Glasky (#40)
Account book of old general store
in Assonet Village from Sept. 16,
1829 thru Mar. II, 1830. Loaned
by Kenneth V. Ashley (#92). See
excerpts on page
- 43 -
;XXX3lXXXXXXXII]
;: NEW MEMBERSn
XIXXXDCXXXXXXXD
#254
#255
#256
#257
#258
#259
#260
#261
#262
MR & MRS EDWARD L. ASHLEY
(Lttitan B.)
Main Street
Cotuft, Mass. 02635
WILLIAM SWASEY HATT, M.D.
1852 Hillvlew St.
Sarasota, Florida 33579
RICHARD EARL ASHLEY
41 Chtpman Park,
MIddlebury, Vt. 05753
MR & M^S DAVID R. CHI HICK
(El leen Ashley)
19 Byron Drive
Basking Ridge, N.J. 07920
ELLEN SWAN FISHER (10)
(Mrs. Robert)
19377 Halsted St.
Northrtdge, Cal. 91324
LaVETTA V. (VAN HORN) HEFFLEY
Mrs. Henry S. Sr.)
1901 Monterey Drive
Lincoln, Nebraska 68506
LaVETTA LINDA BOUCHER (10)
1901 Monterey Drive
Lincoln, Nebraska 68506
MR & MRS ROOOLPHUS ASHLEY SWAN
P.O. Box 959 (9)
Wolfeboro, N.H. 03894
MRS. ELEANOR RADER 6URSMITH
13825 12th Ave. S.W.
Seattle, Wash. 98166
Edna Evitts Swasey ( ) Will lam Pray
Swasey ( ) William Martin Swasey ( )
Benjamin Bowden Swasey ( ) Nancy
Martin ( ) Elizabeth Bowen ( )
Sarah Ashley who m. 1720 to
Nathan Bowen (1697-1776)
Forrest Henry Ash I ey ( ) Dayton E 1 1 sworth ( )
Edward ( ) Edward ( )
Same as j(^256
Rodolphus Ashley Swan Jr. (9) Rodolphus
Ashley Vwan (8) Caroline Ashley (7)
Rhodolphus (6) John Sherman (5)
John (4) Perclval (3) Abraham (2) Jos. (I)
(8) Printiss Monroe VanHorn (7) Joanrta
Josephine (Hart) Van Horn (6) Mary
Ann Ashley (5) Loami (4) William (3) '
Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
Norma Ruth Heff ley (9) LaVetta VanHorn (8)
PrIntIss Monroe VanHorn (7) Joanna
Josephine Hatt (6) Mary Ann Ashley (3)
Loamt (4) Wm. (3) Thos. (2) Joseph (1)
Jr. Rodolphus Ashley Swan (8) Caroline
Ashley (7) Rhodolphus (6) John
Sherman (5) John (4) Perclval (3)
Abraham (2) Joseph (I)
Wilson Ward Rader ( ) Mordecal James
Rader ( ) Mahala Ashley b. 6 1820 W. Va.
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS
Changes of Address: #19 Miss Lucy E. Ashley, 3901 S. Marlon Rd«
Sloux Falls, S. Dak 57IC6
#26 Dr. Tracy Hollls Ashley Jr., 190 Mineola Blvd.
Mtneola, L.I., N.Y. II50I
#45 Mrs. J. D. Holman, 4522 W. Greenv/ay Place
Glendale, Ariz. 85306
Addition: p. 17, Vol III, No. I Oct. 1972: Add name of husband I.e. Anna Ashley
m. Walter Durfee Nov. I, 1792
Change of Address: #38 Mr & Mrs Clarence Garner, 245 W. Earl Way, Hanford
Hanford, Ca. 93230
- 44 -
^•^11
'^
Vol. Ill, No. 3
(JUARTERLY NEWS BULLETIN
April 1973
AUG 12 '974
Commemoiating 200th
Anniversary of first
"Declaration of Independence"
Drawfl op st Cd. AiMey HeoM.
Cat. lata AaU<r K««a ■ ITU
ApfMved at toWR meeting
9)effield, Matsachusetti
January 12, 1773
02J3H
.^
ASHtEY FAMILY ASSOCIATION
Organtzad AugiKt 29, 1970
• «
•• V
FOURTH ANNUAL REUNION
AUGUST 2 5th
WAMSUTTA CLUB, NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS
Tenatlve Program
9 to 10 AM Registration and coffee hour
10 to 11:30 AM Progress reports and business meeting
»•
12 Noon Luncheon
2 .to 4 PM Speaker -^ To be announced
6:30 PM Dinner followed by speaker (to be
announced)
MAKE PLANS NOW TO ATTEND !
IXXDCXIIliXXXXXXXIXXXXIXIIXXIIXXXXXIXDG
13 /^*.r_>v ASHLEY SCRIMSHAW PIN
.D \. I*^*^*^ y^ We have been advised that Ashley Flag Scrimshaw
12 ^"'--— -''•''^^ pins are still available and can now be had as
ID tie-plns as well. Price ,$ 15.00 each
ID
.D This priceless heirloom was designed by Mr. Ned Jones, scrimshaw
ID artist of Falrhave^ especially for us. They are oval shaped
^D whalebone I Inch x 3/4 Inch with the Ashley flag engraved In color.
D Each pin Is Individually made and has a fine gold clasp.
.D Order yours NOW and wear at the Reunion.
.3 Order from: Mrs. Amantha A. Akin
13 103 Chancery ST., New Bedford, Mass. 02740
CD
3
CXXXIXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXIXXXXXXXX3C3CXXX]
ASHLEY3 OF AMERICA
April 1973
From ycut
Editor's
dtek
Our pr«sld«nt advises that
wa need the following
to complete our files:
New England Historic
Genealogical Register
Vols. 42» 43, 44, 45
and
Jan. Oct. and Index
of Vol « 46
Me have extra copies to
trade (not sell) of the
following:
N.E.H.G.R. Apr. '28;
Apr. '29; July '32;
Oct. »4I; Jan. '65;
Apr. July, Oct. '66
and Index to Vol. 103.
also
Early Vital Records of
Rochester, New Bedford,
Taunton, Dartmouth, &
Bridgewater
What do you have to
trade? Please write
to our president,
Robert E. Ashley.
SEND lOm BULLETIN
COPI dirsat to ms!
EB-tii9P AehUy Spouata,
Editor
PO Box 321
Rogers, Ark, 72756
Vol. Ill No. 4
Cover
Back
46
47
49
51
52
53
54
56
57
58
59
COTENTS
FOURtH ANNUAL REUNION
ASHLEY SCRIMSHAW PIN
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
46 RESTORATION - "Old Parish Cemetery"
SHIPWRECKED CASTAWAYS - Crapos and
DeMoranvll ies
COVER STORY
PARISH REGISTERS - Marshf leld,
Gloucestershire, England
BIOGRAPHY - Col. John Ashley
POEM - Aunt Hannah's Last Visit
WANT AO
QUERY - Sarah Ashley
OLD RELICS • A. D. Ashley's Red
Sea Balsam Bottles
COLONIAL BOUNDARIES - New Hampshire
Grants
60
CORRECTION
61
VITAL STATISTICS
- Massachusetts Towns
65
PERSONALS
•
66
NEW MEMBERS
News Bulletin published Quarterly - January, April, July and October
Free subscription with each $5.00 membership
Extra copies may be obtained by mailing S2«00 each to the Editor
- 45 -
EXECUTIVE COMMITTE REPORT
Several proposals and suggestions have been received from the members^ all
which have been given consideration. Since some would involve a revision tn
our By-Laws, we are presenting them to you for consideration and ccmrnent,
!• That an additional optional class of membership be "Life Membership*'
at an amount suggested as $100.00.
2. That the regular class of membership dues be raised by an amount to
be determined at the next business meeting.
3. That the name of the Publications Committee be changed to Executive
Committee to be more In keeping with the duties they are actually
performing. It Is suggested that three directors be elected rather
than appointed and that all elected officers and directors make up
the Executive Committee, responsible for handling business of the
organization between annual meetings.
4. That Information requested by non-members (I.e. Realtors, Attorneys,
and others who stand to profit) be issued to them only at a nominal
fee and no longer be furnished free of charge, it would be understood
that this would not affect members, regardless of the reason for their
Inquiries.
5. That the possibility of reprinting the Ashley Genealogy, Descendants of
Robert of Springfield, by Francis Bacon Trowbridge, be considered
together with possibilities of financing.
6. That an Honorary Chaplain of some denomination be named for the Ashley
Family Association and that prayers tn some form be said at the opening
of each and all meetings
7. That a slogan be added In our newsletter at the end, middle or some
place, "A Family that Prays Together Stays Together".
Your Executive Officers and Publications Committee are unanimous In recommend-
ing action be taken on the first five suggest I pns.
The consensus on Items 6 and 7 were that they are not reasonable because:
a. That "mandatory" prayers are contrary to the freedom of religion
guaranteed by the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution and that
no one should be obliged to take part In any religious ceremony.
b. That after a search of many constitutions of similar groups. In no
instance was It found such rules requiring prayers by members
c. That at our 1st meeting In Bridgewater In 1970 when Invited by
Rev. Mayhew to take part In a Sunday morning service and breakfast,
only 2 or 3 attended.
d« That at our 2nd nesting In Plymouth, 1971, we were Invited by
Rov. Bartlett to take part In the Plymouth Plantation Ssrvlce In
costume, and only 6 or 7 took part.
(Continued on page 48)
- 46 -
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Your Executive Coi^lttee met on March 18th at the home of
Nancy Ashley In South Dartmouth to evaluate suggest lofif
from our members and to make plans for our 4th annual
Reunion*
Analyzing the proposals of members regarding our forthcoming
Reunion, iie found that the most common requests, In order of
their frequency, were:
1. That more time be allowed for socializing
2. That the meeting be held all In one day under one roof
3. That the programs be as much ^'Ashley Genealogy" as
possible
After thorough consideration of all suggestions your Executive Board have set
up the time (August 25, 1973) and place (Wamsutta Club, New Bedford, Mass.)
for our fourth annual Reunion. £Kie inHdB 0oV0r fcfjf dstatls.
It was felt that the 2-1/2 hour space between the afternoon and evening pro-
grams and the "open end" following the evening session will give more time for
socializing.
The Mamsutta Club was a near unanimous choice for location as It Is spacious,
atr conditioned, and has plenty of free parking. The excellent service and
food that we had last year made It an obvious favorite.
The program suggestion Is more difficult to fill. How much can we talk about
ourselves? However, we have several excellent speakers on closely related
subjects "In the works*' and will announce them In the next bulletin.
Other matters of I nterest to a 1 1 are :
A PRELIMINARY INDEX of the Ash leys descended from Joseph and Abraham of
Rochester, Mass. has been completed as a first step In compiling our genealogy.
It gives the generation, year of birth and death, father's name and spouse(s)
name of every descendant In our records. Since we have only a limited number
of copies of this 60 page Index, we have sent them only to those whom we know
are actively working on genealogy. If you think you can use one In your work,
drop me a line and I* II send them out while they last.
RESTORATION OF OLD PARISH CEMETERY on Braley Hill Road In Rochester, Mass. Is
to begin on Sunday, April 30th at 1 1 A.M. (See page 48 for detaiU)
COL. JOHN ASHLEY'S HOUSE in Ashley FaHs Is being featured on a commemorative
cachet for the 200th anniversary of Sheffield's Declaration of Independence.
(See Cover and Cci}er Story on page 61 for further information and hoia oopiee
oan be obtained)
PROPOSED BYLAWS CHANGES have been reviewed by your Executive Board. (See
page 46 covering ahangee and your board 'e reoommendationa)
- 47 •
EXECU TIVE COHHITTF E REPORT (Cont'd, from page 46)
e. At our 3rd meeting In Mew Bedford, 1972, a special service at the
Seamen's Bethel was arranged and NCONE sh-owed up.
The lack of Interest In planned church services at our Reunions has meant
that your President has had to write throe letters of apology. It Is felt
tl^at this very strongly indicates thaf at our annua) Reunions the Ashleys
are not Interested.
However, your committee certainly has no objection nor do any of the members,
to having a few words at the opening of our meeting by a clergyman should he
be present as a member - but NEVER should prayer be a requirement written
into our ByUoM*
In accordance with Artlile VI - Amendmente changes to our Constitution and/or
Bylaws may be made at any regular meeting by a majority vote, provided due
notice has been published In our Quarterly News Bulletin.
We ask that you consider the suggestions listed above and let us hear your
viewpoint. In our July 1973 Bulletin we will list the changes that will come
up for vote at our Fourth Annual Reunion.
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E S T R A T I
"OLD PARISH CEMETERY"
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On Braley Hltl Road In Rochester, Mass.
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Weather permitting, we will start work parties
at "Old Parish Cemetery" on Sunday, April 30th,
beginning at 11:00 A.M., and continuing every
Sunday thereafter as long as needed, or as long □
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YOU ARE INVITED to bring your lurch, garden n
haols, etc., and enjoy the outdoors and at the f]
' same time be helping with a much needed project. ^3
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This cemetery rfas next to the Third Parish Meeting House of Rochester,
woe bounded by the Asbieys and related families In the early ITCO's.
We expect to find m^ny burled stones, and perhaps reveal some unknown
relatives. COME to work, or just stop by to look.
Contaot Robert F. ABhtey .
for information
CI3CTIXXXTXTTXXXTIXXIII3rXXX3CXTXIIIXIIII3CDl
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,B
SHIPWRECKED CASTAWAYS
THE CRAPOS AND DeMORANV I LLES who became
ASHLEYS In the I700»s
Fi'rnished by: Robert E. Aehley (ifl)
Among the names early Intermarried with the
ASHLEYS are the Whites, Shermans, Crapos and
DeMorcHvl I les. Since the first two are of
the English stock like the Ash leys, we will
cover here the latter two who are of the
French Huguenots (Prenoh Proteatants driven out
of Franoe by Cardinal Riolielieu). Peter Crapo and Louis DeMoranvMIe, the
first In each line, were both - according to legend - shipwrecked castaways
on Cape Cod In the late i600's.
From H. H. Crapo* s excellent two volume ^'Certain Comeoverers" we find It un-
likely that the name Crapo exists as such In France; that "Johnny Crapaud" was
a generic term for a Frenchman as "John Bull" was for an Englishman and later
"Uncle Sam" for an American; that Crapud Is pronounced Crapo with the accent
on the last syllable; and that a crapaud Is a toad, in the early records
Peter called himself "Pierre*' which was written Pier, Pero, Peroo, Perez and
other ways, so that perhaps In the end he gave up and called himself Peter,
Perhaps his original surname was equally mangled by the yankees until he
wrote It CRAPO.
All agree, however, that he was Just a boy when he survived the wreck of a
French ship from Bordeaux that was lost off Cape Cod about 1680; that his
elder brother Francis was captain and that he (Francis) returned to France
promising to return for Peter, but was never heard from again.
Now Pierre, being a minor, was "put out" under Indenture to another Frenchman,
Francis Coombs, who kept an "ordinary^' (a tavern) at "The Green" some miles
north of the present town of MIddleboro. By thrift and hard work, Peter Crapo
saved enough to buy 20 acres of land In 1703 at the southern end of Sniptult
Pond, and the following March, twenty acres more.
Then on page one of the Rochester Records we find ^^Perez Crapoo Dae married
Penelabe White hie wife the Slat day of May, 1704". Penelabe was a sister of
Susanna White who married ABRAHAM ASHLEY, brother of Joseph. This was Just
the beginning of two centuries of business and social relations between the
families ending at the "CRAPO-WH I TE-ASHLEY CEMETERY" In East Freetown.
Peter and Penelope had six sons and four daughters. The eldest daughter,
Susannah, married Louis DeMoranvMIe. And here we turn to the DeMORANVILLE
genealogy for some even more remarkable happenings.
Legend says that Louis DeMoranvIlle was born In Paris, France, and was a young
officer In the army at the age of 19. One morning while walking in the garden
he saw his new stepmother punishing his little sister and becoming enraged,
pulled out his sword and knocked her bonnet off.
- 49 -
To escape a worse punishment, he was put on board a French man-of-war sailing
from Bordeaux to America. The captain of this ship was Francis Crapaud, and
he had taken aboard with him, against his parents wishes, his little brother
Pierre, aged 12, as cabin boy. This vessel was wrecked off the shore of Cape
Cod In the 1680 *s, and the Captain, cabin boy and three other men were the
only survivors.
A rhyme repeated by the descendants goes:
*'Louls DeMoranville and Louis Voteau,
01 Peter Jucket and Francis Crapeau"
suggesting that these may have been the names of the survivors. All French, all
once common, and all survive In some form today.
The castaways eventually arrived at Plymouth, the captain returning to France
promising to send for his brother, but was never heard from again.
This genealogy now repeats the early life of Peter Crapo, but adds that at the
time of the marriage of Peter and Penelope, Louis DeMoranville made a vow never
to marry until he could marry a daughter of Peter Crapo - which 26 years later
he did. Louis thus gained a father-in-law younger than himself, and a wife
Susannah Crapo, who must have been some 25 years his Junior.
Such marriages were common In those days for we find In the "History of Old
Scltuate" that Chief Justice William Cushing as a young lawyer visiting the
Phllllpses of MIddletown, Conn., was chlded about his single blessedness at the
age of 22. Turning to the cradle where the baby Hannah Phillips lay, he said,
"I shall wait for this young lady to grow up and make her my wife". Twenty
years later they were married.
It was while Louis DeMoranville was waiting for his future wife to grow up that
he built and cleared an exceedingly nice farm for those days and built thereon
a wall so wide that a team of oxen could be driven along the top of It. Al-
though the farm has long since reverted to woodland, the wall nearly 300 years
old can still be seen In surprisingly good condition In the woods off Quanlpaug
Road In East Freetown, Massachusetts.
A deed dated 1773 refers to Louis as "lately deceased" and If the legend Is
true, he must have been between 100 and 110 at the time of his death, over
50 at the time of his marriage and over 70 at the time his 13th and last child
was born.
At any rate, we know that his son Louis DeMoranville Jr. died In Cazenovia, New
York at the age of 110. He had been In the Revolution where he had lost both
arms In battle, but had hooks arranged so that he could hoe his garden and do
many things. All of Louts senior's sons except Chaumont, the eldest, and all
of his sons-in-law were In the Revolution. Some were minute men and answered '
the Lexington Alarm of April 19, 1775.
As for the latter days of the farm, primogeniture seems to have been the rule
as only the eldest son In each generation remained there, while the younger
sons sought their fortunes elsewhere.
(Continued on page 52)
- 50 -
CXXXXXXXX3CXIIXD
^ • Q^ CD
The commemorative x7a(?/iet on our cover was CD COVER STORY CD
Issued Jointly by the Sheffield Historical O CD
Society and the Berkshire Museum Stamp Club, CIIIXX3CXXIXIIXD
for the 200th anniversary of Sheffield's
"Declaration of Independence" v/hich was passed unanimously at a town meeting
January 12, 1773.
The cachet contains a drawing by Earle Gllllgan, Sheffield home designer and
builder, of the Ashley House, where the document Is believed to have been drawn
up. The owner of the house, built In 1735, was Col. John Ashley, one of the
leading citizens of Southern Berkshire. The classic Colonial structure Is
now owned by the Trustees of Reservations, which also controls adjacent
Bartholomew's Cobble. A larger reproduction of this famous house was used
as a cover on our very first Ashleys of America Bulletin,, October 1970
The Sheffield "Declaration" which predated the national Declaration of Indepen-
dence, resembled that historic delineation of grievances, but fell short of
proposing severance of the colonies from British rule. The original now rests
In the town records. Now available Is a verbatim copy of the Sheffield
Declaration with commentary by Mr. f^organ Bulkeley, a naturalist, essayist and
columnist, showing 14 resolves with striking similarities to the Declaration
written Sg years later by Thomas Jefferson at Philadelphia. Mr. Bulkeley feels
that since the Sheffield document was drawn up In the panelled ballroom of
the Ashley House, and since the Colonel was the respected town patriarch,
selectman and moderator for 43 of his 70 years, that It seems reasonable to
suppose he was the author or at the very least, a co-author, of this Declaration
that Jefferson seems to have drawn on so heavily In 1776.
The Trustees of Reservations Is appealing for funds to preserve the ASHLEY
HOUSE at Ashley Falls and to Include the nearby Bartholomew's Cobble reserva-
tion. The drive Is for $167,500.00 of which $135,000 has been pledged as of
March I, 1973. Here Is a chance for Ashley descendants to assist In a very
worthy Ashley cause. If you wish to make a direct tax deductable contribution
(as some have already done), send your contribution to:
Cobble-Ashley House Fund
515 Holmes Road, Plttsf leld, Mass. 0I20I
Because of the many InqulMes received your president has prepared a packet
which contains the Sheffield Declaration with Mr. Bulkeley^s comparisons
a copy of the cachet and a photograph of the Ashley House. A contribution
of $3.00 or more will entitle you to a packet. All money received will go
to the Ashley House Fund. Address your requests to Mr. Robert E. Ashley,
68 Spring Hill Ave., Brldgewater, Mass. 02324.
Bartholomew's Cobble was recently named the State of Massachusetts Second
National Natural Landmark, the first being Gay Head Cliffs, Martha's Vineyard.
It Is recommended that you make a special effort to visit Col. John Ashley's
House and Bartholomew's Cobble on your vacation this year.
^A cachet^ for those of you who are not stamp collector e^ is a
specially prepared envelope postmarked at a special post office
on a certain date as a soiwenier.
- 51 -
lXxxixxxxxx:
C3 c:
C3 PARISH REGISTERS CI
CD c:
cxxxxxxxxxx:
THE PARISH REGISTERS
Marshfie!d, Gloucestershire, England
Printed at ths Private Preaa of Frederiok
Avthup Crisp - 1893
Pago 90 - Ano Dowl - 1635
1635
1636
1636
1639
1639
1641
1646
1662
1663
1664
1670
1670
1673
1676
!676
1679
1682
1688
1688
1690
AC dni
1632
XXVO Octo:
Xinjo die Septomb
XVjo die MartlJ:
eode die
eodem die
eodem die
XXIXO die MartlJ
Au3 18th
ffeb: 25th
Jan: 14th
Jul I J 29
Eodem die:
April 22
Ncvemb: 25
Novemb : 1 9
Aug: 24
Apr: 25
Octob'" 18
Nov: 19
Sept: 28
XVIijO Mai J:
baptz: fult Elizabeth ftllla Nicholas Ashley
IV
tf
tl
Sepult:
baptz:
11
IV
}t
IV
vv
Hsnna
E I ! zabeth
Anna
Alice
Anna
II
fi
11
V7
II
Thomas Ashley
NIckt Ashley
NIcholalJ Ashley
NfchI Ashley
NIcholalJ Ashley
Carol us Reeves et Margarett Ashley nupti fuerunt
Petrus flllus Petri Ashley Sepultus est
Robert y® son of Peter Ashley and Mary his wife Baptz.
Elizabeth wife of Nicholas Ashley was buried
Baptlzata: fult Maria fllla Petri Ashley
Sepultus fult Nicholas Ashley
Baptlsata: fult Ellsabetha fllla Petri Ashley
Sepult fuit Nicholas Ashley
Bapttsat: fult Nicholas fit - Petri Ashley
" Anna fllla " "
Anna Ashley - Sepult
Bap. fult Susan: fll: Robert et Martha Ashley
Seupult: fult Petrus Ashley
Georg: flit RobertI et Martha Ashley - Baptz^
Baptles Thomas Ash 1 1 fllta Ned Is Ashtl
THE END
SHIPWRECKED CASTAWAYS (Cont'd from page 50)
The descendants of the first Louis are numerous and spell the name DeMoranvMle
DeMeranvI I le/MoranvI I le, Ranvllle and Ralnville^ as well as other variations.
Surnames of wives and husbands of the second generation are Hasklns, Pierce,
Lombard, Spooner, Roussvllle, Taber, ASHLEY, Simmons, Russell, and others.
Only a cellar hole and the great wall hidden by woods remain today but a
map published between I860 and I8&0 shov/s a house there with occupant
J. Crapo, showing that the last one to live there was a descendant of
Peter Crapo as well as Louis DeMoranvl I le.
Nearby Is Crapo HIM, the Crapo-White-Ashley Cemetary, the remains of the
Crapo-Ash I ey-Hathaway saw mill etc. The last remaining Ashley In Freetown
was **Aunt NelT* who lived alone In her home at Quanlpaug until she was 101.
She died In a Lakevllle nursing home on September 22, 1968 at the age of
104 years, 10 months and II days. Less than a year later her home was
burned to the ground by vandals.
THE END
- 52 -
WHO WAS COLONEL JOHN ASHLEY
Piamiahed by: Esther A. Spcueta (HO)
IXIXXIIIXIXD
BIOGRAPHYg
CXXXXXXIXXX3
Col. John Ashley was born 2 December 1709 In Westfield, Mass.^ son of
Capt. John Ashley^ (David^^ Robert^ of Springfield) and his second wife
Mrs. Mary (Whiting) Sheldon.
John's father had been sent out from Boston In 1722 to buy land from the
Indians and to establish two townships In what was then a wilderness. The
lower of those two townships became Sheffield In 1724. Eight years later
John, his son, having graduated from Yale College In 1730, moved to this area
after his admission to the Hampshire Bar In 1732.
John drove his cattle from Sheffield to Claverack Landing (now known as Hudson,
New York) the trip taking about four days and nights. It was here In 1733 or
1734 that John Ashley, then 24 years old, met Hannah Hogeboom (Hoogebaum), the
daughter of Pleter Welse and Jannetje (Miller) Hogeboom, She was a native of
Holland. In 1735 they were married and John brought his bride to Sheffield
where he had already built a house.
In this house they raised a family of one son and three daughters. It Is of
special Interest to note that Frances Bacon Trowbridge, author of the Robert
Ashley Genealogy, published In 1896, was the gr*gr-gr-*grandson of Col. John
through the daughter Jane.
John Ashley rose to distinction as a lawyer; was an extensive land owner and
merchant; and became a man of large wealth. He held title to large tracts of
land in the Housatonic Valley and a farm at "Kbnkepof' three miles east of
the river - he owned sawmills and gristmills In Sheffield, and rights In the
Iron ore beds at Salisbury, Conn. John early took an active part In the
management of town affairs. On May 22, 1735, "Obadlah Noble and Ensign Ashley
were made choyce of to Dool out Drink" to the labourers for the raising of
the meeting house when It is convenient, and likewise to sell Drink to
Strangers or Town people, and also to receive the money. He was a leading
member of the First Congregational Church In Sheffield.
John Ashley became a colonel in the army and led the First Foot Company of
Sheffield to the relief of Stockbrldge and Pontoosuc in the French and Indian
war. He commanded men that went to Fort Edward In 1757 for the relief of
Fort William Henry. In the battle for American liberty, "he arrayed himself
on the popular side" and continued a firm and consistent Whig throughout the
war.
(^1. Ashley was patriarchal In appearance, of middling size, and domestic
habits. He commenced life with a reasonable capital, which he increased by
industry and good management. He became a gentleman of great wealth for
time and locality and left a large estate including about 1000 acres of finely
cultivated land, most of which he had held from Its first settlement.
Col. Ashley and his wife were buried In the old cemetery In Sheffield center,
and their graves are marked by handsome white marble monuments on which appear
the following Inscriptions:
- 53 -
This monument Is erected to perpetuete the Memory of
Col. John Ashley
Who departed this llfeSeptember 1st 1602 In the 93d
year of his age.
"Virtue alone has majesty In Death, and Triumphs most/
when most the tyrant frowns; Earth's highest station
ends In 'here he lies,' and 'dust to dust' concludes
her noblest song«
"Sacred to the Memory of Mrs. Hannah Ashley, consort of
Col. John Ashley Esq. who died June 19 A«D« 1790
In the 78 year of her age.'*
But why, you ask, Is the house of CoK John Ashley "special" and why should It
be preserved. First, the Ashley IHouse is one of the oldest In western New England.
Secondly, two particular events occurred In the Ashley House that deeply affected
the course of regional and state history. The first was the Inauguration of a
suit by a Negro slave for her freedom. Elizabeth Freeman had been bought by
Col. Ashley as a child and ra(sed as a house servant. In the late I760's, when
Massachusetts was about to adopt a new constitution, the details of the document
were freely argued and discussed by Col. Ashley and his friends. The Negro
servant girl heard the talk and when, a little later, she had a bitter clash
with Mrs. Ashley, she ran away to the home of Theodore Sedgwick. She pleaded
with Sedgwick to go to law for her on the basis of the new constitutional clause
declaring "that Manklnde In a state of Nature are equal, free and independent".
Sedgwick, though a close personal friend of Col. Ashley, saw logic In her argu-
ment and started suit for her freedom. They won the case and won a subsequent
appeal. Elizabeth Freeman was the FIRST SLAVE IN AMERICA TO WIN FREEDOM by
legal suit. That case abolished slavery In Massachusetts.
The second event occurred In the winter of 1772-73 when the leaders drew up in
the Ashley House, the "Sheffield Declaration of Independence. It is called
AMERICA'S FIRST DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FROM ENGLAND. It preceded by more
than two years the more famous Meckienberg Declaration In North Carolina.
Much history was made In the Ashley House, and the marvel Is that this house still
stands. Thanks for this are due to two men and their wives. Mr. and Mrs.
Harry N. Brigham of Boston and Mr. and Mrs. Edward Brewer of PIttsf ield.
Mr. Brigham, a great-great«grandson of Col. Ashley, bought the house In the
early I930's. He moved It from Its original site, opposite the Ceorge Fitch
house, to a site a quarter of a mile away on the Ashley Fal Is-TaconJc, Conn.
road, still a part of the original holdings of Col. Ashley. The house was
sound and not greatly altered from Its original pattern, so sound that most
of the original plaster Is still intact. The old paneling was cleapod, the
old windows duplicated. A new central chimney was built, but on the same
foundation stones that had been In the original cellar. A new wing, perfectly
In keeping outwardly but modern as a city apartment inside, was added as living
quarters. The original house was kept as a kind of museum.
In 1946 when Mr. Brigham died, Mr and Mrs Brewer bought the house which had once
belong to Mr. Brewer's father. Mr. Brewer, though no relation to the Ashleys,
grew up In the Ashley House* He also had a keen sense cf history and an ap-
preciation of the past. Th« Brewers c^M&d to the collections and added
(continued on page 56)
- 54 -
AUUt HANNAH'S LAST VISIT
By: Jane (White) Rousevel 1^ (Sarah J. Nye^, Sally
Todd Ashley^, Abraham^, Perclval', Abraham^, Joseph')
(AIbo eee pg. 59, Vol. I, No. 3)
Fwmiahed by: Doria Ashley Lang (if?)
"What? Another story? Dearie me!
Now I wonder what It wilt be!"
"Tell us about that Great Aunt, you know.
Who went off and was lost In the snow,"
"That happened before my day you see.
Grandmother (fl) used to tell It to me,"
Aunt Hannah (f2) was along In years.
Seventy- five or so.
When she want forth to spend the day.
Some ninety years ago.
"Aunt Hannah" grandma said to her,
"I wish you wouldn't go.
I see a snowbank in the east,
I think It's goln ter snow."
"Nonsense, Sally!V Aunt Hannah scoffed,
"The sun Is shinning bright
And If It should come on to snow
They'll keep me through the night."
"I promised Polly (f3) I would come
And spend the day with her.
You know when winter once sets In
I never wanter stir."
Clad In her newest homespun gown.
Stout shoes upon her feet.
With quilted hood and padded cloak
Her outfit was complete.
Down thru the old burnt lot she went
Her knitting on her arm.
And then she crossed the sheep pasture
Upon the Perkins farm.
And now her way led thru the woods.
It was a mile or more,
The roads were naught but cart tracks then
That ox teams traveled o'er.
The squirrels chattered overhead
And scolded as In wrath.
She heard the bluejays raucous
note,
A rabbit crossed the path.
At last she reached her Journeys
end (f4)
And Pol ly cordial ly
Invited her to come right In
And have some pepper tea.
"You must be cold and tired to
After so long a walk,
I'll hang the kettle on the crane
And then we'll have a talk."
They talked of neighborhood
affairs
And how their tongues did run!
They talked about the quilting
bee
And yarn that they had spun
TIM suddenly Aunt Hannah cried;
"Sakes alive! It's snowing!
I'll go and get my things right
on
It's time I was a goln"
They begged of her to stay a 1 1
night
But she was obdurate;
"It atnt a snowing hard" she
sa i d ,
"I'll get home fore It's late."
But In the woods It darker grew
It was a bitter night.
And colder, fiercer grew ttNisdorm
And filled her heart with fright.
(Ck>ntlnued on page
(fl) Sally Todd (Ashley) Hye^, Abrdham^, Fercival^, Abraham^, Joseph^
ff2) Hannah (Ashley) Parker^, Peraival^, Abraham^, Joseph^
(f3) Polly was Mary (Purrington) Ashley, wife of Abram, sistet^in^lm to Hannah
(f4) Near present Ashley Heights
- 55 -
COL. JOHN ASHLEY (Cont'd, from pag»
antique household and farm equipment.
The house stands on a seven acre plot within a stone's throw of Bartholomew's
Cobble, which at one time was a part of Col« Ashley's holdings. As a museum
of regional history It attracts a constant flow of visitors. As an example
of early 18th century architecture, the Ashley House Is a classic. Its upstairs
study, so-called, where Col. Ashley and his aasoclates discussed and often
determined public affairs, has been called one of the best complete rooms of
the period now extant. The whole house, from outside walls to Interior finish.
Is close to perfection, wisely and carefully preserved.
It seems most fitting that the house of a prosperous man, a distinguished man,
a leader In every sense and a maker of history - the house of CoU John Ashley
should be a public monument, not only to Col. Ashley, but to those who came
after him and to the history of our hopes and our dreams and our highest
purposes.
The End
AUNT HANNAH'S LAST VISIT (Cont'd, from page
In fear Aunt Hannah looked around. And there they found hier In the
Her mind was In a daze; spring,
I'm afraid I've took the Old Swamp Road, Her knitting by her side;
and I'll go back a-ways. Upon her face a peaceful look
As though she Just had died.
I'll sit me down on this old stump
And think what I must do. They bore her body tenderly
I oughter be most home by now. Back to the old home door
I'm tired and sleepy tool Where she went forth so happily
A few short months before
That winter snow came fast and deep.
It made for her a tomb, **Her time had come". Grandmother
And overhead the giant trees said.
In ghostly silence loom. The Lord guided her way.
And to the pearly gates above
Aunt Hannah found her way.
Hannah Ashley was born 13 March 1763, daughter of Perclvai and Anna (Bishop)
Ashley. On 3 February 1781 she married Elijah Parker In Old Church near
Mason's corner by Rev. Abner Lewis. Hannah died In 1857 and Elijah died
before 1873. Both are burled at White Cemetery, Keene Road, Rochester, Mass.
There Is no marker. To this union were born 13 children.
The End
CXIUIIXID
O C3 Mrs. G. 0. Carlton (#248)
n W A N T E D C3 Rt. I Box 61, Hens ley. Ark. 72065
O C3
CIXX3CXXIX3 Is a col lector of picture postcards. If you have
picture postcards of your area, why not put a Jiote
on one and mall It to Mrs. Carlton. Like all "hobbyists" It would mean a
great deal to her to Increase her col lection, and especially from far off
places.
- 56 -
SEARCHING FOR
PROGENITORS OF
SARAH ASHLEY
Query from: William Sbxiaey Hatt, MD^ PA (§255)
1852 Hillview St., Sccrasota, Fla.
33579
I am anxious to learn the parents of Sarah Ashley who married Nathan Bowen
and lived In Marblehead, Mass. I have done considerable research which I
am sharing with you below - but still no proof of parentage of Sarah.
BOWEN FAIilLY:
Nathan b. abt
1697 m. abt 1720 SARAH ASHLEY
d. 23 Dec
1776 ae 79
Chi Idren:
Ecii^ard
b.
. 30 Dec 1720
Mary
9 Oct 1722
Sarah
7 Dec 1724
Nathan
17 Dec 1726
Ash 1 ey
8 Jan 1728
Sarah
16 June 1730
Abigail
12 Feb 1732/3
Elizabeth
27 Feb 1734 m. Knott Martin 1756
Anna
3 May 1737
Hannah
6 Sept 1740
Nathan m. 2nd
on
18 Nov. 1741 Mrs. Hannah Harris
one child Hannah b 8 July 1743
m 3rd
on
27 May 1764 Mrs. Mary Boden
Nathan Bowen was probably the most Inf luenclal man In Marblehead^ except
for the minister. He was Justice of the Peace, Notary, Teacher and
astronomer. As Justice of the Pease he held a position similar to that
of Trial Judge. In his office he would hear cases and give sentence.
From his window he could see his sentence being carried out In the town
stocks, which stood across the way.
Nathan purchased "The Norden House" on Glover Square, Marblehead, Mass.
which still stands today. It was presumably built between 1657 and 1686
by Col. Norden, and bought by Nathan Bowen May 4, 1732. At that time the
estate consisted of the dwelling house, barn and slaughter house.
Capt. Bowen had his office In that part of the house next to the street.
He died possessed of the house and land - he devised his mansion house,
barn and house I and to his widow Mary Bowen during her widowhood and then
to his children Edward, Ashley, Sarah, Abigail, Elizabeth and Anna. Some
say he left the front part of the house to his daughter Elizabeth (Bowen)
Martin, and the back part to Ashley Bowen, his son.
Ashley Bowen went to sea as a young man and he kept a diary. He also
made some sketches which are owned by the Marblehead Historical Society
and v.'hich hang In the lower hall of the Lee mansion. A zerox copy of
- 57 -
tho dfary Is In the Society's file,
BOSTON BIRTHS, BAPTISMS, MARRIAG ES, & DEATHS I 630- I 699
(In Library of the Essex Instltutay
Sarah of Edward and Mary Ashley born 22 pel?. 1696 (Town pg 226)
Sarah Ashley bp 8 Aug 1698, First Church (pg 239) ^ .
Johanna, wife of Thomas Ashley deceased 27 Dec 1660 (pg 8^1). '.
Thomas Ashley m. Hannah Broome, wld« last of Jan. 1661 by Thos Oa^fbrth of
(^mbrldge (pg 82)
Children of Edward and Mary Ashley:
William, of Edward & Mary Ashley, b 24 June 1673 (pg 131)
Edward Ashley bp 9 days II mo«. First Church 1676 (pg 146)
Dorothy of Edward & Mary Ashley b II July 1687 (Town p 172)
Dorothy of brother Ashley aged about I week bp 17 July 1687, First Church
Esther of Edward & Mary Ashley b 25 March 1690 )pg 180)
Mary of Edward & Mary Ashley dyed II July 1690
Mary of Edward & Mary Ashley b 13 Apr 1693 (Town pg 200)
Mary Ashley bp 17 Apr 1692, First Church (pg 205)
Sarah of Edward & Mary Ashley b 22 Feb 1696 (Town pg 226)
Sarah Ashley bp 8 Aug 1698, First Church (pg 239)
Children of Thomas and Mary Ashley
Mary of Thomas and Mary Ashley b I Sept 1681 (Town pg 154)
Thomas of Thomas & Mary Ashley b 3 Dec 1682 (pg 156)
Ann of Thomas & Mary Ashley b 17 Sept 1684 (pg 162
Joseph of Thomas & Mary Ashley b 7 April 1689 (Town pg 183)
Joseph of Thomas & Mary Ashley dyed 12 March 1690 (Pg 192)
Anna of Thomas and Mary Ashley b 8 Jan 1690
End of quote
I am also vitally Interested In a ship called '* ASHLEY" Does anyone have Informa*
tlon on this? According to Mr^ P. Chadwick Smith of the Peabody Museum, there
was a fishing sloop named ** Ash ley** which was probably named for Ashley Bowen.
Arnold Martin was Captain from 1773 onwards. The **Ashley** may be the hospital
boat that was used during the Small Pox epidemic ferrying cattle to Cat Island
(now Chlldren*s Island) and was nlck*named **Noah*s Ark".
Can anyone help Dr. Hatt prove the parentage of Sarah Ashley, his gr-gr-gr-gr-gr-
grandmother? -^he End
A. D. ASHLEY*S RED SEA BALSAM
In answer to two letters sent to the newspaper Inquiring about old bottles
bearing the name A. D. Ashley's Red Sea Balsam, the following reply was
printed:
"YouVe right. We promised another graph on A. Davis Ashley, patent medicine
man, carriage maker and real estate entrepeneur. He was born In New Bedford
In 1851 and died here June 4, 1917. He was a fourth cousin once removed, of
former New Bedford Mayor Charles S. Ashley."
- 58 -
CXXXXXIXXXXXI3
c: CD
COLONIAL BOUNDARIES [3
n
WILLIAMS HISTORY OF VERf^NT - Vol. 2 CXXXXIXXXXXXXD
NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS
1640 French began settlements at Montreal
1635 English began settlements at Springfield, Mass.
1670 English began settlements as far up as Deerfleld
1698 Col. Fletcher, Governor of New York made a grant to Godfrey Delllus,
a clergyman at Albany on the east side of the Hudson River from the
"northermost bounds of Saratoga to Split Rock" about seventy miles In
length and In width about twelve miles. This was vacated In 1699.
1716 The General Court of Massachusetts made a grant In the southeast part
of what Is now Vermont, containing more than one hundred thousand acres^
but not until 1724 were any settlements begun within the bounds of that
state. The Governor of Mass. then built Fort Dummer. This was the
first settlement.
1731 The fort at Crown Point was built by the French. This part of America
then, of course, became the seat of war. Vi/hen the French arid Indian
wars terminated In the reduction of Canada, the frontiers were no
longer menaced by the Inroads of the French and depredations of the
Indians, and the prospects for peacab I e settlements became flattering
and the lands were explored and sought after by speculators and
adven"l"urers.
Among the most attractive lands was that lying between Lake Champ lain
and the Connecticut River. Encouraged by the prospects, many persons
were disposed to attempt their fortunes by settling or speculating In
those lands and made applications to the Government of New Hampshire
for grants as this territory was generally supposed to fall within the
limits of that government.
The Government of New Hampshire desiring to encourage these applications
was always ready to make grants and Issue charters, whenever a sufficient
number of persons appeared and advanced the purchase money and paid the
customary fees. Nor could the purchasers be apprehensive that any
controversies should arise. In as much as the charters purported to come
by the authority of the King of Great Britain under the signature and
seal of the appointed Governor of New Hampshire, then one of the royal
provinces.
The boundary line between Massachusetts and New Hampshire had long been
In dispute and was not settled until the year 1740. The survey
establishing this line ran as far west as a point twenty miles east of
the Hudson River, and the Government of New Hampshire therefore natur-
ally concluded that Its jurisdiction extended to a line twenty miles
east of said river. The King of Great Britain had repeatedly recommend-
ed to the Provincial Assembly of New Hampshire to make provision for
the support of Fort Dummer and thereby recognize this fortress as being
within the jurisdiction of the New Hampshire province.
- 59 -
1749 Banning (7) Wentworth, Governor of the poevlnoe of New Hampshire made
a grant of a tovfnshfp six miles square, twenty miles east of the
Hudson and six miles north of the Massachusetts State line and named
1+ Cennlngton.
1754 For four or five years several other grants were made west of the
Connecticut River, when In 1754 hostilities began between the French
and English In America, until the year 1761 when Hie war had termin-
ated, the Governor of New Hampshire Issued no less than sixty grants
for whole townships and within the space of but two or three years
had granted and chartered no less than 138 townships within the
territory of what Is now the State of Vermont and their extent was
from the Connecticut River on the east to a line twenty miles east of
the Hudson River. The state of New York wishing to have the profits
which were accruing to the Government and Governor of New Hampshire,
became alarmed and Jealous.
1664 To go back one hundred years, Charles II made an extraordinary grant to
his brother Duke of York, after whom the present state of New York Is
named - ^all the lands from the west side of the Connecticut River to
the east side of the Delaware Bay" covering lands that previously had
been granted to the provinces of Massachusetts and Connecticut. The
grant was full of Inpalpable Inconsistencies, and If examined for Its
correctness geographically speaking, the boundaries were contradictory.
Indefinite and Impossible. The gran carried no power to govern a
province, nor even to establish a colony to be governed.
It was on this blundering transaction of Charles II that New York Province In
1760 laid claim to the territory covered by the New Hampshire grants. Lt.
Governor Colden, theref<>re. In 1763 Issued a proclamation asserting the validity
of this grant and directed the sheriff at Albany to return names of all persons
who had taken possession of any of the lands lying In the territory lying west
of the Connecticut River.
The Governor of New Hampshire In 1764 put forth a counteractary proclamation
declaring the grant of Charles II to be, as It really was, obsolete, and that
the Jurisdiction of New Hampshire extended as far west as the states of
Massachusetts and Connecticut.
THE END
CORRECTION - Vol . 1 1 1 , No. I - page 7 (Grave Stones In old Ashley Cemetery)
Dot Lang (#7) has furnished more Informatloh on Ephrlam Landress. Please note
that Ephrlam Landress was born 1799, died Aug. 28, 1818. He was the first
husband of Ma re I a Ashley, dau. of Abraham and Mary (Purring ton) Ashley. She
m. 2nd Simon Pierce of N.E. Marcia was b. 25 Dec 1799. Marcia & Simon had
Sarah A. Pierce who m. May 1859 Burrage Y. Warner, son of J as. & Nabby (Buttrick)
Warner of Falrhaven, Vt. Burrage was b. 15 July 1828 In Vt. and d. 9 Feb. 1888
In Acushnet. He was first owner of Eureka Flour Mills In New Bedford, was
Sgt. In Civil War, Co. A, 2nd Mass. Vol. Cavalry.
- 60 -
VITAL RECORDS OF O vital statistics G
MASSACHUSETTS TOWNS CXIXIIXIIXIID
(Compilations In Boston Public Library)
Furnished by: Robert L. Westfield (#131)
Editor's Note: These records are of great assistance to Researchers not living
in New England and thus do not have easy access to such data.
DARTMOUTH - BIRTHS
Ashley ALPHONSO R, son of Richard C, farmer, & Rachel C*, of Dartmouth -
In Dartmouth, 16 March 1844
CHARLES 6. son of Richard C, fanner, & Rachel C. In Dartmouth
15 May 1849
ELLIN ELISABETH, dau of Edward, farmer & Harriet - In Dartmouth
18 Oct. 1848
EhWALINE F. (~); wife of James M. - 22 Jan. 1827 (GR 2)
HANNAH H, Mrs (?) - 1824 (on stone beside William J.) (GR 2>
JAMES M. - 29 Dec. 1811 (GR 2)
MARCXIS, son of Joslah, farmer, & Malora of Dartmouth - In Dartmouth
Oct. 1844
WILLIAM J. - 1843 (GR 2)
; dau of Stephen L. farmer & Phebe A. - Dartmouth 19 Apr 1849
DARTMOUTH - MARRIAGES
Ashley ABIAH - see Annah
ABRAHAM of Dartmouth & Phebe Taber of Dartmouth - Int. II April 1767
ABRAHAM of Freetown & Hannah Crapo of Freetown - 22 Jan 1783 iPR I)
ABRAHAM 3rd of Freetown & Thankful I Allen of Dartmouth - Int
21 Nov 1817 (PR I: m 21 Deo 1817)
ANNAH (duplicate: Ablah) of Freetown & Henry Perkins of Dartmouth
Int. 25 Sept. 1773 (duplicate: 27 April 1772)
BETTEY of Dartmouth & Nathan Jenne of Dartmouth - Int. 3 May 1760
BETTY of Freetown & John Edmlnster of MIdbr. - 5 Dec 1802 (PR I)
CHARLES P., single, 25, farmer of Dartmouth; b Dartmouth, son of
James 4 Mary of Freetown, & Betsey (Int. Betsy) Russell 22 of
Dartmouth, b Dartmouth dau. of Humphrey & Betsy of Dartmouth -
18 Nov 1849
ELIZA, Miss, of Dartmouth & John Fance (Int. Faunce) of Dartmouth -
13 March 1831
ELIZABETH of Rochester & Sam 1 1 Joye of Dartmouth - Dec 1759, Int.
I Dec 1759
EUNICE of Dartmouth & Thos Wood of Rochester - Int. 13 Aug 1773
FANNY (Int. Fanney) W., Miss of Dartmouth & Isaac F. Terry of
Dartmouth - 18 July 1841
FREEMAN of Dartmouth & Ells. Hammond (d) of Dartmouth - 22 April
1771
HANNAH of Dartmouth & Geo. N. S locum of Dartmouth - 27 June 1837
HIRAM of Dartmouth & Miss Ellz. Ann Ryder of Dartmouth - Int. 12
Aug 1842
(See page 64 for references)
- 61 -
.« t.
I
■1
DARTMOUTH - MARRIAGES (Cont'd)
Ashley JEFFERSON o Freetown & Miss Hope Collins of Darhnouth - 27 Feb. 1831
J I RAH of Freetown & Sally Down In of Freetown - In Freetown 29 May 1842
JIREH of Freetown & Miss Sarah Clark of Dartmouth - Int. 20 Jan. 1827
JOSIAH H. (Int. L) of Dartmouth & Melora (Int. Merala) Crapo of
Freetown - 31 July 1841
L0WRIN6 single^ 23^ farmer, of Dartmouth b Dartmoutht son of
Stephen & SybU of Dartmouth, & Phebe Ann Faunce, 23, of
Dartmouth, dau. of Thomas - 22 Dec« 1847
LUCY F. of Dartmouth & Abraham Pet roe (Int. Pierce) 2nd of
Taunton - 14 Oct. 1832
MARY (Int. Marcy) olf Dartmouth & Simeon Babbet of Dartmouth - In
Freetown 3 Dec. 1766
MARY, Miss of Dartmouth & Henry Davts of New Bedford - II Oct 1833
(PR I -^ m 2 Bav 18S3)
PHEBE P. 20, of Dartmouth, b Dartmouth, dau of Stephen & Sybi I of
Dartmouth & Job L. Shaw, single, 26, trader. of New Bedford, son
of Job & Amy of New Bedford - 13 Jan 1848
REBECCAH of Dartmouth & Game I eel Spooner of Dartmouth - Int 23 May 1763
RICHAfV) C. of Dartmouth & Rachel (Int. Miss RachaeJ) C« Davis of
Westport - I n Westport • I 6 Aug I 842
STEPHEN of Freetown & SIbbel Bullock, resident of Dartmouth - Int.
16 Nov 1822 (PR I; Sybil Bullock -* m. 4 Deo 1822)
SUSAN G. Miss, of Freetown & Homphry (Int. Humphrey) Russe4l Jr.
— ir-irnr-.r-ir-»r-irn5f,-0jp,^uth - In Freetown 23 April 1843
SUSANNA of Freetown, & Mkn. All In (Int. Allen) of Dartmouth - In
Freetown - 25 Nov 1790
SUSANNAH of Dartmouth (Int. Freetown) & Sam I Joy Jr. of Darhnouth -
13 May 1755 (BCM: Suscmnah Ashley of Dartmouth i Scml Jay Jr.
of Dartmouth)
TABER of Freetown & Ellz. Vfordle (Int. Wodei) of Dartmouth - 18 July
1816 IPR I: Tabor Ashley of FrestoiM i Elis. ffodell of Dartmouth)
TABOUR (Int. Taber) of Freetown & Mancy Phillips of Dartmouth -
3 Jan 1799 iPR I: Tdber of Frsetoun)
THOS. of Freetown & Polly Simmons of Freetown - in Freetown 21 May
1843 .
WARREN of Dartmouth & Miss Hannah Rider of Dartmouth - II May 1828
WM. of Dartmouth & Sarah Collins of Darhnouth - Int. 30 Apr 1 1 1821
{PRI m. 17 June)
DARTMOUTH - DSATB8
Ashley JAMES - 1839 (PR 44)
MARY C. dau of William & Sarah - 28 Oct. 1831, Ae 5 (GR 2)
REBECCA - 25 Jan 1827 (PR 44)
TABOR, Ddacon - 22 Feb. 1845 (PR 44)
WILLIAM - 4 April 1830 (GR 2) - 5 April 1830 (PR 44)
MONSON - BIRTBS
Hoar ABIGAIL, dau. of Reuben Hoar, bapt In Monson, Mass - 18 Dec 1768
« I* ■ »••
»
(See pags 64 for }^fereneee)
' •.'>•*.'. .
- 62 •
M I DOLEBOROUGH - DEATHS (ftcm a private oompilation)
Ash I ey
Gravee at
New Ckuroh-
house at
B&aahjood
Nem.
Gazette
LAURETTE, dau, of Luther, In Lakevllle - 28 Dec. \B55
_ Ae i ! yrs, 8 mos, 2 days, of lockjaw (Hem. Gazette)
rHAKIviA!! C. wife of Earl - 8 July , 1848, Ae 24 yrs, 17 days
(LUTHER - 13 Feb. 1830, Ae 48 yrs
(CHLOE. wife of Lu+her - 6 Nov. 1804, Ae 23 yrs
(ABIGAIL wife of Luther - 27 Jan. 1845, Ae 64 yrs
(WILLIAM - I Oct. 1835 In 24th yr
UUD'.TH, 41 fe of David - 27 July , 1847, Ae 37 yrs
( PHEBE E. wife of Silas, In Lakevllle - II Aug. 1856
( Ae 42 vrs 9 mos
( MR. JOYIN,' In North Rochester - 13 July 1857, Ae. 74 yrs
( ANNIE B. dau of Earl S & Harriet in Lakevllle - 29 Feb.
( I860, Ae 7 yr
( SARAH, wife of Jlreh In Taunton Precinct - 13 March 1861,
( Ae 35 yrs
( CARRIE M. dau. of Cornelius - 17 Sep 1862, Ae 6 yrs 8 mos 20 <
( MARY A. wife of Charles of MIddieboro & dau. of Zebulon
( Shaw of Lakevllle - d Lakevllle 3 Jan 1868, Ae 29 yr 6 mo
EMILY W. - 26 May 1868 Ae 44 yrs (Coffin plate)
NEW BEDFORD - BIRTHS
Ash I ey
ANDREW J. (In lot with Mary J.) - 9 March 1833 (GR 9)
BETSEY B., dau of Abraham & Mary G - 7 April 1835 (GR 9)
BRADLEY M. husband of Mary E - 1830 (GR 3)
DANIEL C. son of Simeon, housewrlght & Eliza (Caswell)
of New Bedford - in New Bedford - I Jan 1844
DAVID M. husband of Emily J. Lockwood - 1843 (GR I)
DELIA M. (— ) wife of Silas E. - 1846 (GR 3)
EDWIN M. son of Warren, farmer & Hannah Ryder of New Bedford
in New Bedford - 13 Oct 1845
EMMA J. dau. of Rodolphus, blacksmith (b Freetown) 8 Ruth
Parker (b. New Bedford) - II Dec. 1849
EMMA L. dau of Thomas, innkeeper & Lucretia S. Theayer of
New Bedford - In New Bedford - 4 Aug 1845
FR,'\NKL1N M. - 12 Nov. 1835 (GR 1)
HANNAH (— ) wife of Warren - II March 1807 (GR 1)
HENRY T. "husband" - 5 Aug. 1849 (GR 9)
HOPE COLLINS (— ) wife of Jefferson - 1806 (GR 1)
JANc C, child of Job B., grocer & Wealthy of New Bedford
5 June 1847
JARVIS T. (on stone with Mary A.) - 12 Oct. 1821 (GR 12)
JEFFERSON, husband of Hope Collins - 1801 (GR 1)
HANNAH S. Mrs (?) (in lot with Charity S. Cushman 1836) - '
1811 (GR 1)
JOSHUA B. (on stone with Susan) - 8 Sep 1820 (GR 1)
LORING (on stone with Phebe A.) - 1824 (GR 1)
LOURANIA FRANCIS (--) wife of Rodney F - 1849 (GR 1)
LOVISA W. Mrs ('/) (on stone with Sarah C.) - 1840 (GR 1)
LUCY J. dau of Warren, farmer (b Dartmouth) & Hannah Rider
(b Dartmouth) of New Bedford - in New Bedford 7 Sept 1848
MARIA C. dau of Simeon, housewrlght & Eliza Caesley of New
Bedford - 31 May 1846
(See page 64 for referenoee)
- 63 -
NEW BEDFORD - BIRTBS
Ashley
MARY A.
MARY E.
MARY J.
(Cont'd)
■
(-►-) (bh stone with Jarvis T.) -
Kl ngsf ord
to Dec 1830 (OR W
(~) wife of Bradley H - 1837 (OR 8)
(— ) wife of Andrew J. - 7 June 1846 (GR 9)
REBE A. Mrs (7) (on stone with Loring) - 1824 (GR 1)
REBECCA wife of Wilson S. Reynolds & dau of Deacon Taber and
Elizabeth (— ) Ashley • 17 Feb 1827 (GR 12)
ROBERT E. son of Joshua B, Blacksmith & Susan Sanderson of
New Bedford - In New Bedford - 15 Nov. 1849
RODOLPHUS (on stone with Ruth) - 19 May 1818 (GR 9)
RUTH (-«) wife of Rodolphus - 8 Sep 1818 (CSi 9)
SARAH C (on stone with Lovlsa W.) - 1835 (GR 1)
SUSAN Mrs (?) (on stone with Joshua B) - 31 Aug 1824 (GR 1)
SUSAN C. dau. of Joshua B.» blacksmith & Susan Sanderson of New
Bedford - In New Bedford - 28 Feb 1844
THOMAS CLARK child of Thomas, boarding house of New Bedford *
2 May 1847
WARREN husband of Hannah - 12 March 1807 (GR I)
WILLIAM W. son of Joshua B., blacksmith & Susan Sanderson of
New Bedford - 20 June 1846
^__^^ dau of Rodolphus, blacksmith & Ruth of New Bedford -
18 Sep 1847 (probably Ruth Anna)
^^^^^^^^ son of Thomas, trader (b New Bedford) & Lucretia Thayer
(b. Conway) of New Bedford • In New Bedford - 5 May 1849
JOHN C. son of Charles H, printer (b England) & Sarah (Ashley)
(b. MIddleborough) of New Bedford - !n New Bedford 26 July 1849
NEW BEDFORD - MARRIAGES
Ash I ey
CAROLINE B., 23, of New Bedford, dau of John S & Mary 6. and
Andrew 6. Wing, single, 27, mariner of New Bedford, son of
Stephen & Ruhamy - 13 April 1848
CATHERINE of New Bedford & George J man of New Bedford - 14 May 1840
HANNAH of Freetown & Joseph Keene of New JBedford * tnt 13 Aug 1811
HANNAH P., Miss, of New Bedford & Siocum Allen of New Bedford -
In Dartmouth - 2 Jan 1642
HIRAM of New Bedford & Caroline Hoyt of New Bedford - int. 23 May
1835; "Hiram Ashley forbids".
JAMES of New Bedford & Betsey Rounsevetl of New Bedford - 3 July 1803
JETHRO of New Bedford & Lois GIfford of New Bedford - 16 March 1800
("1801" written In pencil; Int. 7 March 1801)
JOHN S. of New Bedford & Mary Nye of Falrhaven - Int. 6 April
JOSHUA B. of New Bedford & Susan Sanderson of New Bedford -
23 Oct. 1842
LUCINOA of New Bedford & Alonzo Pelrce (int. Pierce) of New
Bedford * In New Bedford - I Aug 1840
MARY of Dartmouth & Henry Davis of New Bedford - Int. II Oct
(to be continued)
1842
1823
ReforencM:
GR 1 ^
GR a ^
(inoomplete - eee later bulletina)
Graveetone Record • let Pariah Cem.^ Neu Bedford Rd.^ Rooheeter
Centre^ I4a88.
Union Cem. Rochester ^ Uaee.
ft
99
- 64 -
KEEPING UP WITH THE
ASHLEY CLAN
We have been told that Clifford Warren Ashley's
paintings scheduled for exhibit at the Whaling
Museum last year, and then plans changed, are
now scheduled to be shown there soon. It Is
hoped they will still be on display In August.
We regret to report that -
Wayne L. Whitman, 79, of Precinct St.
Lakevllle, died January 28, 1973 at
St. Luke's Hospital In Mtddleboro.
He was the husband of Edith I.
(Ashley) Whitman (#196). E3orn In
Plymouth, Vt. he had been a resi-
dent of Lakevllle for 32 years.
He was a retired silk finisher,
formerly employed at ther Mount Hope
Finishing Co. In DIghton. He was a
former custodian for the Lakevllle
Town Hall. He attended Lakevllle
Church of the Nazarene.
in addition to his widow, he Is sur-
vived by two daughters, Mrs. Harold
(Verna) Ashley of Berkely, and
Mrs. Russell (Dorolhy) Lawrence of
Rochester; f Ive grandchi Idren, six
great grandchildren and several
nieces and nephews.
# # ^ ^ # # #
Mary E. (Kelley) Ashley of Belmont,
Mass., died Jan. 26, 1973. She was
the wife of the late Thomas Woodbury
Ashley, and mother of Mrs. David
(Elizabeth) Gardner of Concord,
Thomas A. Ashley II of Belmont, and
Mrs. James (Priscllla) Jackson of
Baldwinsvl I !e, N.Y. Services were
In tho Payson Park Congregational
Church, Belmont.
)f « # # 4( ^ #
Bernicu (Phllbrick) Freeman, wife of
Oar re I Freeman^ iGeo. Freeman^, Helen
Ashleu^j Marcus Prentiss^ ^ demands Bnooh^
Thoe.^j Joseph^) died Nov. II, 1972 at
DeSmet, S. Dak. Besides her husband
she Is survived by four children.
^ ^ ^ ik ^ ^
Paul Coo I edge Leonard (#3) our 2nd Vice
President, underwent surgery at St.
Luke^s Hospital In MIddleboro on
March 19, 1973. We wish him a speedy
recovery
¥t ¥t ^ .* ^ ^
John Sherman Ashley (#2) and Buzzy, our
1st Vice President are at this time on
a 66 day Circle Pacific cruise.
# ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Amantha Ashley Arnold Akin (#72) our
secretary was recently photographed
with a snow scraper. While she has
been writing the column (A. A. A. says
"Look what I found") for a good many
years, this Is the first time her
picture has appeared In the column.
« 4( 9f ^ # ^ #
Mrs. Jennie Ashley of How I and Road,
Lakevllle, Mass. is recovering at her
home following surgery at the Eye and
Ear Infirmary In Boston.
^ ^ # ^ « « #
Police Chief Harold Ashley and Patrol-
man Harold Ashley Jr. made print In a
recent newspaper article covering a
Berkley Drug Raid.
# # ^ # # # ^
- 65 -
MORE ABOUT THE TODAY ASHLEYS
"Forty Great Years" was the theme of a
testimonial honoring Benjamin D. Thomas
(#8) of Franklin and Freetown, retiring
as superintendent of schools In Franklin.
Born. In How I and, Me., educated In the
local schools and a graduate of Castlve
Normal School ho bagan his teaching
career In Hudson and How I and, Maine.
Among the statistics listed at the event
was the fact that In his 18 years at
Franklin the school polulatlon grew from
1600 to 5500 students. Salute to you
Mr. Thomas.
« )( # H « 41
A newspaper query lately answered the
question of where Is Lady Sylvia Ashley
today. (Ahs.) Sylvia Hawkes, a British
acress of the films In the early I930's,
was married to Lord Anthony Ashley,
Douglas Fairbanks, Lord Edward Stanley,
Clark Gable and Prince Dmitri DJorJadze.
Now approximately 70 years of age she
resides In Los Angeles and feels free
to travel now that her dog, a Chihuahua,
has passed on.
The Identity of Robin, Adams, and Sloan
who write a column In a California paper
are Patricia Newcomb, formerly Marilyn
Monroe's press agent, Roberta Ashley,
and Liz Smith who write for Cosmopolitan.
In the January 15, 1973 Issue of the
American Banker It carried a notice
that Richard S. Ashley had been elected
Senior Vice President-operations of the
Fidelity Union Trust Co. of Newark.
Wedd I ng be 1 1 s rang for Doug I as E •
McKle and Carolyn Buzo In January, '73.
After honeymooning In Cape Cod, they
are at home In Albany, New York.
Douglas Is a grandson of Grace E.
(Ashley) Mlsulls (1(^209)
« « H » 41 «
NEW ARRIVALS
Mary Beth Foil Is arrived on Jan. 26th
at Union Hospital, Fall River. Her
parents are Donald E. and Cynthia
(Ashley) Foil Is of Lakevllle, and
grandparents are Mrs. Jennie Ashley arid
Mrs. Lucille Foil Is.
Jamie Lawrence Gross arrived on Feb. 20
In North Adams Hospital. His parents
are Lawrence H. and Marc I a (Ashley)
Gross Jr. of Wt 1 1 tamstown. Grandparents
are Mrs. Jennie Ashley and Mr. and Mrs.
Lawrence H. Gross of Adams.
CXXXXXXXX3
a a
U NEW MEMBERS CJ
n CD
CXXXXXXX3CD
The continued success of our organization lies
within our membership. If you know of an
Ashley descendant Interested In perpetuating
Ashley History, please notify our membership
Chairman, Mrs. K. 0. Davis, Green River Rd.
Wl 1 1 lamstown, Mass. 01267
#263 CRAIG S. ASHLEY
Box 106 Babson College
Wellesley, Mass. 02157
#264 Mrs. Alvreta I. Buck ( )
22344 Paraguay Dr.
' ^ Saugus, Cat . 91350
Sidney John Wheeler ( ) Byron E. Wheeler ( )
Delora Jane Ashley ( )
(c) 1973 ASHLEYS OF AMERICA • Unincorporated Family Association
• 66 -
'ij
Mi
Vol. Ill, Na. 4
QUARTERLY NEWS BULLrTIN
July 1973
LIBRARY
AUG 12 1974
«T*1t HJSIOtoMj. «««"
ASHLEY FAMILY ^SaOCtATlOK
Orsanlnd August 29, 1970
GRANDMA'S WASHDAY 'RECEET
Years ago, a Kentucky grandmother gave a new bride the following '*receet'*
for washing clothes. It appears below Just as It was written and despite
the spelling, has a bit of philosophy:
1. i)iit fire In backyard to heet kettle of rain water.
2. set tubs so smoke won*t blow in eyes If wind Is pert.
ft
3. shave one hole cake lie soap in bllln water.
4. sort things, make three piles. I pile white, I pllecullard,
I pile work britches and rags
5. stir flour in cold water to smooth then thin down with bllln water,
rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, then bile. Rub cullord,
don't bile. Just rench In starch.
6. st>read ted towels on grass.
7. hang old rags on fence.
8. pore rench water in flour bed.
9. scrub porch with hot soapy water.
■ ■ ' •
10. turn tubs upside down.
11. go put on clean dress, smooth hair with side combs, brew
cup of tee, set and rest and rock a spell and count blessings.
(Hang this up above your automatic washer and dryer
and when things look bleak, read It again)
FOURTH AHNUAL REUNION
AUGUST 25 th
WAMSUTTA dLUB (Corner County & Wi M lam Sts.)
CONE
New Bedford, Massachusetts
COME
COME
:iXTTTTTTXTTTTXXXXX3CXXXXXXXTTTTTIXIX:
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
July 1973
*^ From your
Editors
Desk
Your editor
"goofed" .
The N.E.Reg I sters are not the
property of our organization,
but the personal property of
our president. Sorry.
Do keep your eye trained for
accuracy when reading our
bu 1 1 et I n • Whenever you
find errors In material pub-
lished * PLEASE DO send in
the correct data and your
proof for. same. Only thus
will we get the actua I
facts for our genealogy.
Be sure to check the queries
this time and see If you can
help with the answers.
Esther AshlBy Spouata^
Editor
PO Box 321
Rogers^ Ark. 727S6
•
Vol. Ill No. 4
CONTENTS
1
68
Cover Story
69
Presidents Message
70
Program - 4th Annuan Reunion
72
CEMETERY RECORDS - 01 Parish Cemetery
Rochester, Mass.
73
OLD LETTERS - Frederick W. Ashley to
Noah W. Ashley
75
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH - Abraham Ashley Jr.
77 BIOGRAPHY - Clifford Warren Ashley
79 QUERIES
81 EARLY ASHLEYS - Samuel Perry Ashley^
Dr. James Ashley^
65 CURRENT ASHLEY NEWS
87 CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS
88 MEMBERSHIP
News Bulletin published Quarterly - January, April, July & October
Free Subscription with each $5.00 membership
Extra copies may be obtained by mailing $2.00 each to the Editor
- 67 -
n r n V F R tD .
|j u V f t i\ J.-J j^jgg QP PRISCILLA (ASHLEY) PARTRIDGE^
;] 03 (ThomoB^^ ThcmoB^^ JcBeph^)
Poultney, Ventont
This picture taken in 1964 by Ken and Marie Davis (15) was at that time said
to be the second oldest house In Pou I tney,. Vermont, still In use.
They were told by old time residents of Poultney, that Thomas Ashley^ (8h$tah
of ThomoB in Jamoaey 1973 Bulletin^ page 29) built this house for his
daughter Priscllla who married Rufus Partridge. Purely speculation, of
course, but this could have been the birthplace of the three children
known to have been born to Rufus and Priscllla,
PRISCILLA ASHLEY
b. 19 June 1777
d. II July 1836
m, 19 February 1798 Rufus Partridge
Children:
Eliza b. 22 October 1800
Sarah b. 9 July 1806
John S. b. 28 June 1819
Ten years ago this house was being used as a Catholic Rectory. We trust
the house Is still kept In good repair and will stand as an Ashley
monument for years to come.
DOES ANYONE KNOW the progenitors of Rufus Partridge and/or what became
of the three children? ? ? ? ?
PARTRIDGE
We know that George Partridge came from Kent (^unty, England to Duxbury
In i623 on the ship "Anne". In 1638 at Duxbury he married Sarah Tracy,
dau. of Stephen and Tryphosa (Lee) Tracy
We know that there was a Nathaniel Partridge living in the late I700*s
We know there Is a printed genealogy of the George Partridge family
published in 1915.
Anyone who can help to Identify Rufus Partridge, please write your editor.
- 68 •
PRESIDENT'S
trOU^Ll So Glad f o Kn^w
MESSAGE
••t Plans for our 4th
annual Reunion have
been final Ized.
The Ash leys are a
sociable group - *
or perhaps It Is
Just that we like
to talk a lot* Whichever It Is^ we are ansipering your most common
suggestion - - that more time be allowed for conversation^ with
longer spaces between sessions. (800 ppogrcm onn$sgt paga)
The Wamsutta Club Is a very **comf ortab I e" place and we have
scheduled some Interesting programs. Whether you can stay for the
whole day or only for some parts of It, we think you will enjoy
yourself. DO COME
f f
t
We had hoped that the exhibition of paintings by Clifford W. Ashley^ (Ablal
Davis^, Silas Pickens^, Noah^, Noah^, Wililam^, Joseph') would still be on
display at the Whaling Museum on August 25th. Itowever, it will be In New
Bedford only until July 9 and will then go to the Brandywine River Museum at
Chadd*s Ford, Pa., where It will remain from August 4 through September 16.
If your trip to the reunion takes you near the Wilmington-Philadelphia area,
you might want to stop off to see the exhibit there.
An excellent catalog of the exhibit Is available from the Whaling Museum,
18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, Mass. 02740. It contains 69 fine quality
reproductions of Clifford's paintings, some in full color, a considerable
number of his drawings and an excellent biography. About 100 pages, 8% x 10,
Price $6.00. Please order direct from the Museum - NOT from Ashleys of America^
iMore about Clifford W. Ashley on page 7?)
By August 25th we should be able to use our new name "Ashleys of America,
incorporated". We thought we would have It before now, but the wheels of the
law grind slowly.
In regard to the proposed changes In the Bylaws given on pages 46 and 48 of
the April 1973 Bulletin, your executive committee's recommendation to vote
"YES" for Items I thru 5, and "NO" on Items 6 and 7, have been widely accepted
except for Item 2. This Item, to raise the regular membership dues, has come
in for some criticism on the ground that It Is not needed at this time aad it
might cause us to lose members, especially those who can not attond tho meet-
ings and therefore have only the publications to show for their money. There
Is much to be said for this thought. DO re-read the proposed changes and be
prepared to vote on them with a minimum of discussion thereby saving time for
more interesting things.
if you arrive by car and come thru the western part of Mass., we suggest you
stop off at the Col. John Ashley House in Ashley Falls, and the Parson
Jonathan Ashley House in Deerf leld - both handsomely restored. The same may be
said for Fort T?conderoga where Hon. Thomas Ashley and other Ashleys helped in
the taklr^ of the fort on May 10, 1775.
See you In August,
- 69
Robert E. Ashley (§1)
Date:
P I ace :
PROGRAM .
FOURTH ANNUAL REUNION
August 25, 1973
Wamsutta Club - Corner of
County and Will iam Strwts,
New Bedford, Mass.
10:30 to H:00 AM '
lt:00 AM
11:30 AM
- 9 to 10:30 AM - In SoHh LoUnge - RegUtratlon
and Coffee. Pick up namo badges and vtev
soma Ashley pictures on display.
(il.OO par parson club use fee)
■ Welcome by Robert E. Ashley, President
Two short anecdotal biographies of Ashleys
1 * Barnabas Ashley of Ftochester, Mass. a real
"Yankee character"
2 - LcndAshley, the Tenth Earl of Shaftesbury and how
his ancestors rose to the peerage In the reigns
of Henry the Eighth and Elizabeth the First
Progress reports and business meeting
Cocktails
LUNCHEON - In tha Main Dining Boom Price: $4.00 ea.
Chilled Cape Cod Cranberry Juice
Chicken Salad Platter with Asparagus Spears
Sliced Tomatoes and Hard cooked Egg Wedges
Chocolate Ice Cream Roll with Fudge Sauce
Rolls and Butter - - - Beverage
Xn th0 North lounge
"Migrations to end from New England by our Early
Ancestors" - — - - - Mite Aiwie Borden Harding
We are fortunate In having Miss Harding, Associate
Editor of the New England Historic Genealogical
Register. The "Register" Is the oldest and most
prestigious genealogical publication In America and
perhaps In the world, having published continuously
since 1647. Miss Harding Is an acknowledged expert
having spent a lifetime as a professional genealogist.
If your ancestors moved to the South, West or North,
you may find some Important answers at this session
Question period to follow.
PROGRAM ^Continued)
5:00 PM Cocktails
6:30 PM DINNER - In the Main Dining Room Price: $6.00 ea.
Chi I led Jel I led Consomme
Baked Sugar Cured Ham with Champagne Sauce
Candled Sweet Potatoes
String Beans Amandine
Chef *s Tossed Salad - Wamsutta Dressing
Iced Melon
Rolls and Butter Beverage
7:30 PM DR. JORDAN FIORE, head of the Department of History
State College at Brldgewater^ will speak on
'^LizBie Borden'^. This popular and often amusing
lecture on the world* s most famous murder mystery
Is of special Interest to us as many Ash leys are
distantly related to the Borden family.
0on*t miss this!
GENERAL INFORMATION
RESERVATIONS for Luncheon and/or Dinner must be made by not
later than August 18. Please mall check direct to:
Miss Nancy Ashley, Trees*
165 Elm Street
South Dartmouth t Mass* 02748
(The prices listed Include tax and gratuity.)
WAMSUTTA CLUB RULES - Members and guests are reminded of the
rules as set forth by the Rules Committee as follows:
'Jackets shall be worn at all times by men while on
the main floor and when in private dining rooms.
Shorts shall NOT be worn in the Club with the exception
of the Squash Courts and Cellerette. The 'no shorts*
rule also applies to women using the Club"
PARKING - Ample parking space is provided on the grounds
HAKE YOUR PLANS NOW TO ATTEND!!!
- 71 -
OLD PARISH CEflETERY
ROCHESTER, MASSAQHUSHTS
Furnished by: VoHb Ashley Lcmg (§7) and Robert B. Ashley (%!)
Also called The Third Parish Cemeteryi or the Bennett Cemetery, Is located
one-half mile South of Rochester Four Corners on route 106, Bra ley Hill Poad.
(See Ashley BuL Vol. I No. 2, pg 30 • The Highway from Peak Rock to Quittacus
Brook) This plot Is about 300 feet long and perhaps I /3rd as deep, surrounded
by a stone wall and mostly In oak woods. It is Just north of the place whore
stood the first meeting-house In North Rochester, erected "between the cross-
road by Thomas Ashley's and Whitfield's".
The Ash leys were Instrumental in establishing this parish as eight columns of
fine print In Kurd's History of Plymouth County, pgs 975-979 will show. See
also "Mattapoisett and Old Rochester" by Leonard et al.
Some excerpts from the latter - "The first meeting-house In North Rochester
stood about a mile westward from the present structure, in the northwest
angle of the town. It's frame was raised November 17, 1748, with the sturdy
exertion of many men (including Joseph, Abraham, Jethro, Thomas, Joseph Jr.,
William and John Ashley) aided by some West India rum as the custom of the
times demanded. It was a poor structure, built hastily because winter was at
hand and a place of shelter for the ark of the Lord was sorely needed. Yet
it was used as a place of worship for more than forty years when It's timbers
were given to the man who would tear them down and carry them away, which lot
fell to Mr. Abner Wood and his son Zenas."
The first minister was Rev. Thomas West who was born on Martha's Vineyard In
1708. He was a graduate of Harvard and worked as a Missionary on the
Vineyard before coming to Rochester. He has been described as "eccentric"
and "devoted to prophecies". Two of his sons also gained distinction In the
ministry, one being Rev. Samuel West pastor of the Hoi I Is Street Church In
Boston. Rev. Thomas died In 1790 and Is burled In the Old Parish Cemetery.
The second minister was Rev. David Gurney who baptised Marcus Morton and Polly
Morton on Sept. II, 1791. The chief Interest here Is the fact that Marcus
Morton became Governor of Massachusetts, gaining his election by a majority
of only one vote.
The third was Rev. Calvin Chaddock who also established an "Academy" in North
Rochester which did good work In educating our early ancestors. His pastora+e
and the Academy came to an end ip 1805.
After this the North Rodiester church went through two short pastorates with
Rev. Ichabod f^ialsted and Rev. Wl I (tarn Utley.
CContinued on pg 83)
- 72 -
Written by: FREDERICK W. ASHLEY of
Washington, OX.
to:
NOAH W. ASHLEY of
Taunton, Mass* 1906-7
CD n
a OLD LETTERS O
CXIIIIIIIIIIIIX3
Pumiehed by: Hov/nan E. Ashley (§142)
Edited by: Robert E, Ashley (§1)
The following Interesting series of letters written some 56 years aao to
to Noah W. Ashley^ (Ablal WllllamsS, Noah*, Noah^, William^, Joseph^) grand-
father of Norman E, Ashley contain data worth sharing. We have extracted
the more Interesting parts from eight letters and have left out only the
discussions and speculations about ancestors and possible relationships that
have since been cleared up. To repeat those parts would only tend to confuse
the Issue. What remains shows the state of the genealogy at that time and
leaves some clues and unanswered questions for us all to work on*
132 S Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.
12-30-1906 and 11-12-1907
Mr. Noah W. Ashley
59 Harrison Ave.
Taunton, Mass.
Dear Sir:
Thank you for your prompt and full response to my recent Inquiry. I am very
sorry I missed seeing you in Taunton last fall. My time then was quite llmitec
and I felt that I must push on to Middleboro where I found clues that finally
led to my writing you. I hope to visit Massachusetts again before many months
and if so I should like very much to meet you.
I should also like to have an Interesting biographical details as to yourself,
your father, grandfather, etc. as to occupations, places of residence, offices
held If any, etc. Such matters add very much to a mere list of names and
dates. I understand that your great grandfather saw long service In the
Revolutionary war and that he lived for a time In New Hampshire. . . .
I found out some time ago that there were still a few Ash leys (my father had
eleven children of whom ten grew up) My last mall brought me five letters on
the subject, one of them 22 closely written pages of names and dates from
St. Lawrence County, N.Y. ...
I have not heard from Josephus Pickens (Ashley) in reply to my letter but I
take It that he means to answer. I have written twice to Charles L. McCuily
of Ottawa, III. but have had no answer. I have had a good long letter from
Mrs. J. H. Pickens giving the facts as to her family which I wanted. I have
had correspondence with Burton J. Ashley going back over 20 years . • •
R. Eugene Ashley, son of Mayor Charles S. Ashley of New Bedford has promised
to send me a lot of information regarding their branch ....
(Continued next page)
- 73 -
EXTRACTS FROM FREDERICK W. ASHLEY'S LETTERS (cont'd)
Jethro AsMoy of Segregansett has sent me some Information which Is going to
be useful In straightening out the Perclval Ash leys of whom there are several
In the record. I also have heard from Moses E« H. Ashley whose name you
sent me« He Is one of the Perclval line. # • •
I have lately been successful In getting the names and dates of 73 descendants
of Ablah Ashley your groat-grandfather's sister. They are widely scattered,
but I have not yet got trace of any of the descendants of MIcah • . •
I have lately come Into possession of a copy of an old record narrated by
Captafn Williams Ashley In 1856 to his son who took It down. In this he says:
"Will lam Ashley 1st - Brothers Joseph, William and thinks Thomas (Tkie is an
error. Winian was in no way first. Be was eeocnd ganeration and was Srd
eon of Joseph who ie earliest Aehley eettler in the Old Colony). "Brothers,
Joseph, William and thinks Thomas" (Also Jethro^ Abraham Jr.^ Blizabeth and
Hary) . "Joseph ffr.) was father of Barnabas. William was father of Mike (tiiodh)
Noah and Abraham that lived at Quonlpog. Noah lived In Rocky Woods. Mtke
lived near Slade Bridge (Slab Bridge) Mike married Sarah Runnels (Reynolde)
and lived and died In E. Freetown, had 6 or 7 daughters and two sons. Noah
married Abigail Hoar, went West, had Luther Jan 1782, William Apr. 9, 1783 at
N dew) Salem, returned to Freetown Furnace had Noah 1787, Abigail 1789,
Jethro 1791 and died at S. (at eea)
. . . The grandfather of the lady you met at Cottajge City was Tabor Ashfey, who
had sons Warren, Richard, Albert W. and others. (Hany others^ he had 21 cMldran
in all)
• . . My latest Information, derived from the old records at Plymouth, Is to the
effect that Joseph Ashley had a brother Abraham and a sister Rebeccah there.
(In Plymouih?) It Is probable that their father came over from England. No
reoorde have ever been found to oonfiim thie * that they acne direotly over.
It ie more likely that they aame from Maine or perhape
. . . Unless you were financially Interested In the City Hotel (in Taunton)
I won't pretend to be sorry about the fire; but I can't understand how the
loss could have been $10,000 unless part of the Taunton Green was destroyed
with It and Included In the loss. Positively the City Hotel Is the worst In
my experience.
• . • I have written to Mrs. John Moore of Attleboro as to Calvin's children
and to Mrs. Doan of Monte I lo . • .
I am glad to have your Interesting account of your excursion to E. Freetown.
. • . about some of the Ash leys you mention. Anna Ashley who married a Bra ley
was b. Aug. 22, I802« She was a sister of Mayor Ashley's grandfather. She
was a daughter of John Ashley and Charity Sherman. Her nephew Joshua Bishop
Ashley was Mayor Ashley's father. Joshua Bishop Ashley was a son of her brother
John Sherman Ashley who was b. May 3, 1790.
The Sherman Ashley whose tombstone you saw was another party, not the John
Sherman AShley Just mentioned. Sherman Ashley was an Illegitimate, born
March II, 1796. He married Emily Westgate In 1840. You saw her tombstone also.
(Continued on page 76)
- 74 -
ABRAHAM ASHLEY Jr.
FAIR SECRETARY BECMHE INDIAN AGENT In 1870
FumUiud by: (hrald A^ Coaptr (92$)
During the 129th annual Columbia County Fair held
th« week of August 28. 1969, the following Item
was one of many on the history of the Fair printed
In the Chatham Courier of Chatham, New York. Quotei
At the annual meeting of the Columbia County
Agricultural Society held In 1660, Abraham Ashley Jr.
of Chatham was elected Secretary.
Mr. Ashley was a young mrn then and aside from being Interested In ihB
Fair, was extremely active In the affairs of Ocean Fire CcmpAny No. I. In
fact he held several offices In that organization.
Two years later the 128th New York State Volunteer Infantry Regiment frorr
Columbia and Dutchess Counties was being organized and Mr. Ashley offered Itis
services which were gladly accepted and he was named Regimental Adjutant with
the rank of First Lieutenant. He remained with his regiment until March 1963,
when he was discharged In New Orleans for physical disability.
Apparently he had resigned as Secretary of the Agricultural Society early
In 1862, as E. Backus of Chatham succeeded Ashley at the annual meeting held
In January. .
In 1866 however, he was re-elected to that office once more although a
study of the minutes of the Society for that year shows that his handwriting
had decidedly changed and was no longer in the bold manner it had been before
his military service in the Civil War. He continued In this position for
two years when ha was succeeded by J. P. Hogoboom.
Mr. Ashley was later appointed Indian Agent In the Government Service
and he served for some time In the Indian Territory, now the State of Oklahomt
His son, Frisbee Ashley of Chatham, who dl«d only a few years ago, resided
with him as a boy In the Territory. Later the elder Ashley was transferred
to Texas as an Agent and he died there at Port Aruthur.
The late George Ashley, who conducted the Western Auto Store on Main
Street, Chatham, was his grandson. (B^liw thU G9org9 wom gr^grandaon)
End of Quote
RifarenoM: Amerioan Arusattr}/, Vol. 8j p. 4
Pcmily raoorda of Willard C. Aahlay, CAothom^ ff.JT.
Abram^of Chatham, b. 1816 d. 1882 m. Lydia Ann Young - son of
Abram^of Chatham, b. 1769 d. 1876 m. Delilah Beeman - son of
NoahSof Chatham, b. April 14, 1747 d. Oct. 2, 1615 m. Rebecca Reynolds
Jethro^ of Rochester, Mass. b It Jan t706/7 n Elizabeth Holmes
iOMph' of Rochester
EXTRACTS FROM FREDERICK W. ASHLEY'S LETTERS (Continued from page 74)
, « « I have within a week got tracl< of all the names and dates of the children
of Dr. James Ashley who went from East Freetown to New York State In 1811.
;.; . Some of. his grandsons are living in New York City and some In Missouri.
. . • k) rega.rtl to Brother Randal I of New Bedford iC. J. Bandatl wob a prc^
^ fSe$i<mal geMaiogist of that time. Tke HatJuMoy Fanily Aseoa. also reports
they. Buffered the loee of some fcmily doauments oe Mtl ae financial lojses
<t^iru dealfnge lA'th ^Brother'^ Bmiall) I have had some correspondence with him
^as he says> .it; first began thru my writing to R. Eugene, which revived his
Interest In the subject of the Ashley family history. About that time,
Randall appeared on the scene and R. Eugene (Innocently) hired him to visit
the surrounding towns and search the records for him . . .
There will not be any opposition between us, because my only interest ts to
see an accurate and reliable history of everything that can be found In the
records prepared and published. If other parties should be willing to take the
great trouble and the heavy expense of publishing upon themselves, then I shall
not object at all. But I am anxious that whatever Is prepared for posterity's
information shall be reliable - not mere guesswork or conjecture. The principal
objection to hired searchers Is that they cannot always be depended upon as
fBllabte. They are naturally anxious to make a good show so that their employers
^lii think they are getting full value for their money. . The result Is that
soUietlmes they may be tempted to invent a few ancestors when they can't find
what they Want In the records*
. . . While the Investigation is being pushed from the New Bedford end, I am
letttng that end of the business rest, because as you say. It does not pay to
have more. than one party asking questions and writing letters. The work has
been handicapped already by the work of Francis B. Trowbridge who got up the
history of the Rober Ashley family, and by the search which Burton J. Ashley
Is making for the descendants of the Rochester, Hess. Ash leys who went to
Vermont before the Revolution.- It Is diffucit to carry on such work at long
range and therefore I think It best to await developments from New Bedford. • .
... I think you will agree with me that It would not be well to trouble the
Ashleys with two sets of inquiries and that there should not be a duplication of
the labor and time and expense of getting the material together. I also received
letters from other Ashleys not very far from your locality which showed pretty
clearly that Randal i^s Inquiries. were not very welcome to them. ... I would
like to have your Judgment about It. You are on the ground where you can tell
better than I can.
if you have never been to Washington, I think you would enjoy a visit to the
national capItol and I should be glad to have you come and see us. •
Yours Very truly yours,
Fred ^ W. Ashley
This ends the eeriee of lettere. Whether there were more that haoe been loet
or not^ we don't knew. Frederick Wf Vieited R. Eugene on at least one
ooooBion on August 18^ 19S6.
(Continued on page 78)
- 76 -
CLIFFORD WARREN ASHLEY^
(Ablel Davls^, Silas Pickens^, Noah*» Noeh^
Wllllm^. Joseph!)
Furnished by: Dorie Lemg (U?) and
Louisa P. Tctrmer (HZ5)
Visitors to the Whaling Museum at New Bedford
can see the New Bedford of yesterday forever
fixed in paint on canvas. In the exhlbiMon
of some 70 olt paintings by Clifford Warren
Ashley. To make the show possible Elton
W. Hall, associate curator of collections,
traced Ashley paintings from an extant card
file kept by the artist, a Job halfway
between that of a genealogist and a
detective.
And who was Clifford W. Ashley? Born In
New Bedford Dec. 18, 1881, the son of
Ablel Davis and Caroline (Morse) Ashley,
he lived for many years In the old
Ashley homestead on 8th Street at
William, which was razed In 1942. H entered
New Bedford High School with the class of 1900, attended there three years,
and went to Boston to study at the Eric Pape Art School. Later he studied
under George Noyes and Howard Pyle, attending Mr. Pyle's school at Wilmington,
Dei. He remained for years a member of the Howard Payte art colony at
Wilmington, spending his winters there and his summers In New Bedford.
Brought up a lover of the sea. In a family which Included whaling captain
uncles, Mr. Ashley In 1904 made a six-month whaling voyage on the bark Sunbeam.
This experience gave him background material and technical knowledge which was
reflected In many of his paintings and In "The Yankee Whaler", this book first
published In 1926 and reissued In 1938, and which Is ranked as a standard
authoritative work on whaling. It combines two chapters on the Sunbeam voyage,
cofflporhensive discussions of whaling methods and gear of whaleboats. Informa-
tion about whales, the story of life aboard a whaleboat, and 375 illustrations
by the artist. >..••.
Equally authoritative, readable, and richly illustrated with line drawings.
Is the massive "Book of Knots" published In 1944, which took II years to com-
plete, it was the fruit of a lifetime hobby of studying and devising knots,
marine and otherwise. His "Whaleships of New Bedford" published in 1929 Is
a book of Ashley drawings with an introduction by the late President Roosevelt.
As a young man Mr. Ashley was an Illustrator for principal magazines of the
day - Century, McClure's, Success, Delineator, and others, and also Illustrated
a number of books by other writers. He spent a month aboard Nantucket Shoals
lightship In 1914 to study by painting, action of the waves and skies at sea.
He designed a recruiting poster for World War t.
(Sext page)
CLIFFORD WARREN ASHLEY (Cont'd)
During his residence In Wilmington, Mr. Ashley executed many commissions for
prominent persons. Including members of the DuPont family. These Included
paintings of the Delaware region, mural decorations and historical paintings*
Some of his picutres are owned by the Wilmington Society of Fine Arts.
A painting by Mr. Ashley **New Bedford Wharves" completed In 1938 was reproduced
on the Standard-Times calendar of that year.
A lover of antique furniture, Mr. Ashley collected and Imported quantities of
antique mahogany In Jamaica, some of which he retained for his own home.
After his death his collection of nearly 1000 antique mahogeny pieces, person-
ally collected among the plantations and home of the old English Colonies
consisting of more than 200 chairs, 50 high post beds with carved headboards
and posts, dining tables of all sizes, banquet table with claw feet, sideboards,
cellarettes, bookcases, desks, etc. were sold at public auction.
On March 66, 1932 he married at Bethesda, Md. Mrs. Sarah Rodman (Scudder) Clark
of New Bedford ancestry, and who had been a summer visitor at Nonqultt for
several seasons. After his death she married Stepehn C. L. Delano of Smith
Neck Road, South Dartmouth.
Clifford had three daughters - Phebe Warren who married Alain J. B. Chardon,
Jane kodman and Pauline who married Jim T. Reld of Kansas City.
Clifford died September 18, 1947 at "Driftway" his home on Drift Road, Westport
Point. He had been III since he was stricken with a shock tvo years previously.
As stated In your President's message on page 69, a book of some 100 pages
Is available from the Whallnp Museum, New Bedford, Mass. for $6.00. It contains
an excellent biography and a considerable number pf' his drawings, some In color
Order direct from the Museum.
The end
EXTRACTS FROM FREDERICK W. ASHLEY'S LETTERS (Continued from page 76)
Re: Sherman Ashley of Freetown (called illegitimate by Frederick W.) We know
he had 11 children, only 6 of whom reached adulthood. Four married and
presumeably had children. Does anyone know the truth about Sherman?
Can anyone furnish more information about "Brother'* C. J. Randall?
Concerning others mentioned:
Burton J. Ashley of Chicago, died Dec. 4, 1921
Frederick W. Ashley of Washington, D.C. born 1862, died . (after 1936)
R. Eugene Ashley, died Jan. 6, 1941 -?>— —
Noah W. Ashley, <lled March 16, 1914
The End
- 78 -
LOOKING FOR ANSWERS
WANTED - Parents of JABGZ ASHLEY b 20 Sept.
1779 (perhaps In New York) m. Phebe Norton
b. March 2, 1784. Childeen: Isaac b 2 Dec
1603; MMly b 12 Dec 1805; 'Rebecca b 9 Sept
m Sllkworth; Marenda b 9 Dec 1609 m Ketcham;
Jacob b 4 Jan 1812 m Ketcham; Jabez b 30 Jan
1814 m Ketcham; Jonathan N b 8 Apr 1816 m
KetchaiT; Lewis Clark b 24 Sept 1816 m
Cynthia Holmes; Milllacent b 22 Nov 1821 m
Macomber; Sarah Emallna b 26 Sept 1824 m
Burdick. Mra. W. C. Spomta^ FO Bcxe SZl^
Ark. 72766 (HlO)
******
WANTED -Any Information at alt on ROBERT CHESTER ASHLEY
believed born In the I750*s, found In many southern
states. Mtb. Auctcay A. Zaviok, lOlSl Miller Ave.,
Cupertino, Calif 95014 (iH9?)
WANTED - Maiden name of Martha
who married first settler HENRY TUCKER
(1619-1694). They settled in Dartmouth In 1669 after persecution as Quakers.
May have come from Marshfleld, Ouxbury or Plymouth with the Howland family.
AND Does anyone have any data on THURSTON families in early New England?
AND Does anyone have data on FRANCISCO, TUTLE, NOE or BOGAROUS families
In New York, New Jersey or Pennsylvania?
Mre. Barry L. Thurston, Box SI? Rt, I, Half Moon Bay, Cat. 94019 ($126)
WANTED - Information about JOHN ASHLEY who married Mary Hudson at Trinity
Church in Newport, R.l. on 13 November 1757. It seems that after the British
broke up the fishing fleets about 1780, there was a great emigration from
Rhode Island to Claverack, New York, and these people a year later founded
the town of HUDS(»J across the river from Catsklll. My gr-gr-grandfather John
established a bakery in Catskill about 1788. Stili searching for the proven
progenitors of my JOHN ASHLEY. Mr. Mtawin F. Aahlay, 26 Rune Stone Road,
South larmouth, Maea. 02664 (Ul)
*********
QUERIES (Continued)
9 Your editor has received numerous Inquiries about various ASHLEYS who at one
time lived In Kentucky. There seems to be a dearth of Information from
Kentucky. Can anyone tie-In the following ASHLEYS. If so please write your
editor^ Mrs. W. C. Spousta.
ZACHARIAH ASHLEY b In Kentucky 28 July 1848. After devastation during the
CIvli War he removed to Missouri^ near Montrose. He m Sarah Cox and they
had three children: Mary, Sarah Alice and Orvy.
RACHEL J. ASHLEY b • 1830 In K^tucky. Married at age 13 In 1843 to
NowelU 8nd this family appears on the 1850 Census of Paris, Lamar Co., Texas
showing three children, one of which was Joe Ashley Noweil b 6 April 1847.
GiLBY K. ASHLEY b 1836 in Kentucky, d between 1868-1874 at Grayson Co., Texas.
Son of URIAH ASHLEY (1817-1882) one of 23 children by two wives. Fmlly
listed In 1850 Census of Pulaski Co., Ky., and In I860 Census of Casey Co.,
Ky« Uriah's father could have been Charles or John.
JORDAN ASHLEY (1761-1837) m Sarah Sanders (I769-«I850). Children were
George Sanders (1791-1868); John (1793-1857) Susana (1795-1864) Thomas (1797-1844)
Elizabeth (1799 - ) . JOHN ASHLEY (wife Mary) shows In his will on file
Anson (k)., N.C. 1759 the following children: John; Francis; Jurden (Jordan);
William; Mary Ann Franks; Elinor Sutton; Rose Touchstone; Sarah Ashley. This
JURDEN ASHLEY, son of John and Mary, had sons Robert and John who applied for
Rev. Wflir Pehsons. Oescendnts of Jordan and Sarah (Sanders) Ashley settled
in Mississippi.
JOHN ASHLEY b 6 1825 at Grayson Co., Ky, m. Nancy Newton b • 1825. John was In
Co* I, 3rd Ky. Regiment during Civil War. Had at feast one dau. Jennie Linn
b • 1856 tn Grayson Co., Ky. who m. James Knox Hockenberry* Who were John^s
parents?
WILLIAM HENRY ASHLEY b 5 Aug 1838, d 30 Oct 1890 at Wilmington, Del. m.
Theresa J. Lynch b 16 March 1844, had at least one son Charles H. Ashley
b 9 Jan 1865 at Wilmington, Del. m. Margaret Gertrude Leathem. Who were the
parents of WILLIAM HENRY ASHLEY?
WILLIAM ASHLEY b • 1826 in Kentucky, raslded In I860 at Paris, Linn Co.,
Kans., m. Deborah (McGren?). Father said to be PETER AHSLEY who died
in Benton Co., Mo. William had son Peter Morgan Ashley b 14 March 1853 at
Bates Co., Mo. died 15 Oct, 1915 at Waltervllle, Lane Co., Oregaon.
JAMES PEYTON ASHLEY b 30 Mar 1825, Carlisle, Nicholas Co., Ky d 21 April 1904
m. Rebecca Kincart. Possibly son of Sgt. MaJ. John Ashley of N. Carolina b.
about 1755.
FRANK ASHLEY b in Knott Co., Ky., m Lucy Taufbee (b NX.) had one son b in
Knott C!o, Ky. Freeland Ashley who m Sally Kelly. Who were the progenitors of
Frank Ashley.
- 80 -
SAMUEL PERRY ASHLEY^
AND
DR.. JAMES ASHLEY^
(Perclval^, Abraham^, Joseph')
Pumiehed by: Jamee R. Aehley (B226)
(The following eketohes were dated March 1892 and were
oent to James Ashley by hie eieter some 3C years ago
The initials C. F. M. appear on tJie sheets.)
-James Ashley- who Came to Boston from England between 1639 and 1650 and after-
wards removed to Freetown, Bristol County, Mass., which became the seat of
numerous descendants many of whom the War Records of Massachusetts show served
their country In the Revolutionary War. (Editor ^s note -^ This statement is
hearsay only and there is no proof)
The first of the family concerning whom deflnate Information had been obtained
Is the great grandfather PERCIVAL ASHLEY, who was a lieutenant In Colonel
Hathaway*s Regiment In the Revolutionary War. He married first Anna Bishop
on 27 August 1761 at Freetown, Mass. Perclval Ashley of Freetown, Mass.,
whose name Is among a list of Revolutionary officers of the Mass. Mllltia In
the 14th Co. Captain Joseph Norton of the 2n Bristol Co., Regiment.,
Col. John Hathaways commissioned Aug. 10, 1779.
Perclval also appears with ranks of Lieutenant on muster and pay roll of
Captain Joseph Nortons Co., Col. John Hathaways Regiment for service at Rhode
Island - enlisted Aug. 7, 1781, marched under order of Council July 23, 1781.
Percfval Ashley had several sons, some of whose names ware BIshcp Jr., Jethro,
Perclval, Simeon and Jaraes. One son, Simeon became a Colonel of Militia and
sheriff of Bristol Co.
Another son, James born In Freetown February 3, 1777 dleoat Caroline, N.Y, on
Dec. 9, 1870. He married Betsey Rounsvell who was born at Freetown 1784 and
died Dec. 3, 1856. She was the daughter of Levi Rounsvell, a captain In the
Revolutionary War.
*James was a physician, studied medicine In New York City and at home In Mass*
Dr. Samuel Perry was his preceptor and his eldest child, a son, was named
In his honor, namely Samuel Perry Ashley, who we shall cover In later paragraphs.
Dr. James came to Caroline on a tour of Inspection and trial early In the year
1814, and having decided to locate here, his family followed the same summer.
His wife Betsey was a sister to the Rounsvell brothers who emigrated from the
same place in Mass. to Caroline, and whose settlement here anti-dates the
erection of the present town. John Rousvllle, a cousin of the others, but
who spelled his name with a vl I le Instedd of vel I was the forerunner of the
stock in this section. He came in 1800 when the town at Tobeytown and which
may have been a "still" before as well authenticated tradition says the
*See page 87
- 81 -
Rounsvells some time before had a dtstlllery on that spot. Th^y lived there
a few years then for a time on the corner where A. T. Lott now lives (Merrlcks
Place) but In time bought a little farm of the Freemans, built and moved on
It and this was their old home around which the family gre* up to men and
women. This place has been variously owned and called the Thorn, Speed,
Eldrldge and Bolce (tenant) fann.
Dr. James Ashley was an ardent ant I -si every man. He practiced medicine con«
tinuousiy for more than 50 years. He moved to Ithaca, resided In Ithaca and
practiced medicine there two years (1838-39) but returned to (Proline again
and resided with his sons Samuel and William till his death In the early
seventies at the great age of 93. His wife died several years before. Both
are burled at Speedsvllle. He had four sons: Samuel Perry, William P.,
James Jr4 and Harrison.
Samuel Perry Ashley^, In his younger days taught school, worked out on a farm,
and began trade In a small way at Speedsvllle carrying on business for many
years and also carried on a wagon, blacksmith and cabinet shop as adjuncts.
Many of the old buildings standing around Speedsvllle were built by him.
One by one the old men whose lives have nearly spanned the present century,
are passing to Join the great silent majority. The venerable Samuel P. Ashley
a former resident of Caroline, died at Curtis Frontier County, Nebraska In his
ninety-second year. More than three-quarters of a centruy of this extra-
ordinary longevity were passed In (Proline where he was well known for genera-
tions.
Mr Samuel P. Ashley was for more than fifty years a local lawyer. Among his
compeers In the law and against whom he frequently pitted In the trial of
causes were, Mllo Goodrich, Robert H. S. Hyde, George D. Beers, George- 6.
Freer, Stephen B. Cushing, Samuel Love, all of whom he outlived one or two
decades .
To the very few who still survive of the old-line-whlgs, Mr. Ashley will be re-
membered as one of their number and a supporter of Henry Clay and Whig princi-
ples as enunciated by that great statesman. Later he Joined the Republican
party and remained one of Its active members and firm adherents. He had voted
at every presidential election from 1828 to 1896 - all but last In Caroline.
As a citizen and good neighbor, he will long be remembered by his friends and
neighbors living among the Caroline and Berkshire Hills, where he lived so long.
In 1892, when past 85 but still quite a middle aged man In appearance, he went
to Nebraska to reside with members of his family. He made the Journey of
some 1,800 miles alone, and made the trip as expeditiously and safe as a
younger, experienced tourist would have done.
C.F.N.
Mr. Ashley says that he taught school one summer In Venice, Cayuga Coui*ty, N.Y.
when he was nineteen years old. That becoming homesick while there, he started
after school one Friday afternoon and walked the entire distance home - atout
35 miles. His cousin Gilbert Smith worked on a farm there and that w«s the
up-start of his going there. He also taught school one term In the Blair
district near Sp©odsvllle. Ausin Blair, Michigan's War-Governor, was then
a small boy and one of his scholars. He also touglvt one term In the B'rearly
Will district In Caroline.
C.F.N.
March, 1892
- 82 •
OLD PARISH CEMETERY (Continued)
Then came Rev. Issac Briggs during whose term the second church was
built on North Avenue, on the site where the third or present struc-
ture stands.
When the second meeting house was built In 1791, some members of
the parish wanted It to be on a lot near Stillwater Furnace at Black
Brook on the Marlon Neck Road. Timber was actually drawn there for
the purpose bu others, not pleased with this arrangement, quietly
carried the timber down to the present church lot.
On May. 6, 1973 a group of members of Ashleys of America gathered at
this cemetery to clear brush, reset gravestones and probe for missing
stones. We found no new data but did discover many f leldstone markers
at the southern end of the cemetery which were probably of the earliest
burials. They could be some of the early Ashleys.
At any rate we are Indebted to Dot Lang (#7) for preserving the records
of this cemetery made by one Thatcher many years ago.
THATCHER RECORDS: (Bracketed Information are corrections from
vital records of Rochester)
BENNETT - Ebenezer Livy, d June 30, 1806 - 70th year
John, d Jan. 24, 1816 - 76th year
Kezia (mother of Cccpt. John of the Cavalry) widow of
John d May 7, 1819 - 76th year
Mary, dau. John and KezIa, d. Sept. 17, 1780 - In 6th year
Godfrey Robinson, son John Jr. & Catee Caloe) d June (Jan) 4,
1799-2 yr, 2 mo, 24 da
Joseph, son Joseph & Patience, d June 13, 1832 - ae 14 years
(Aleo here but not in Thatcher liet which indicates liet made
prior to 1856)
Joseph^ d 1856
Patience (Nye) d 1857
BRIGGS - Deacon Elijah, d Oct. 14, 1808 - 83rd year
Ruth, consort of Dea. Elijah, d May 27, 1807 - 73 ur, 10 mo.,
2 da.
BURT - Silence, w, Capt. Joseph d Feb. 2, 1818 - 86 yrs.
CAMP - Hannah, dau.- John & Hannah, d July 28, 1780 - 4 yrs, 5 mo.,
28 da.
CLARK - Capt. Wlllard, d Sept. 19, 1819 - 88th yr
Jane, w of Wlllard, d Aug. 2, 1809 - 75 yrs
Eunice, dau. of Wlllard (and Jane) d 17th 1778 - 19 yrs
( Cont I nued next page )
- 83 -
OLD PARISH CEMETERY (Continued)
COOMBS - Caleb, d April 4« 1813 - ae 61
HATHAWAY - Mi 1 1 lam, son of Samuel & Margrett, d Nov. 8, 1775, 2 yrs f mo II da
Phebe, dau. Silas and Mary, d June 25, 1789 - 21 yrs
Freeman, d July 19, 1839 - 50 yrs 6 mos
LEWIS - Ebenezer, d May 18th, 1758 - 58th yr
Polly, dau. Ebenezer & Luzanah, d June 18, 1793 - 14th yr
LUTHER - Daniel, b In Salem 1803, d Sept. 14, 1829 - age 26 yrs
NYE - John, d April 25, 1809 - 71 yrs (Lt. In Rev. War)
Charles D., son Richard & Content d June 4, 1832 - 3 yr 2 mo II da
PI6SLY - Abigail, w of John, d Mar. 2, 1777 - 24th yr
with 3 children buried by her side
SNOW (SHAW) • Samuel (rest of stone missing)
Hannah, w of Samuel d Nov 14, 1795 - 41st yr
SWIFT - Thomas d Dec. 24, 1770 - 70th yr (?9th yr)
WEST • ItoVe Thomas, d July 14, 1790 - 82n yr & 42nd of his ministry
Drusilla, w of Rev. West d May 14, 1763 - S6th yr
Lucy, dau Thomas & Deborah, d Dec. 22, 1791 - 23rd yr
(Deo. 2)
Abner, s of Thomas & Deborah, burled In same grave.
(Also from Rocheater Reearda^ bu. in Bannand Cem. Mattapaisett)
PHoilla^ w Rev. ThanoBj former w Benjanin Hcmnond
Oot. 28, 1779 ^ ae 70 yra
WHITE - Samuel, d Oct. 14, 1762 - 60th yr
Elizabeth, wid d Jan 26, 1776 - 60th yr (Tkie is Blinci>eth
Ashley, the dau. of the first Abrdhm)
WING - Deborah, w Daniel Esq. (tkzoid Jr. - dau Thomas Vest Jr.)
d Dec. 30, 1789 Tn her 25th yr.
- 84 -
\.
00 K\^^^
^s
tttt^
s
of
TO
bM
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO - - - -
ABBY JANE AMSDEN (#75) who observed her 93rd birthday
on June 1. She was born In Berkley, Mass. In 1880, the
daughter of Jasen Cummings and his 3rd wife Eudora (Hood)
Ludlow. Jasons mother was Thankful Ashley of the 4th
generation from Joseph. (See note bottom of page)
WE WISH A SPEEDY RECX)VERY TO
Dot AehUy Lang (#7) who underwent
emergency surgery on June II th.
We dont want you to miss the reunion!
Nm Bedford^ Maes. May 27^ 1973
The program "The House We Live In"
highlighted the 50th anniversary
cetebratlon of the school that
honors the late Charles S. Ashley,
New Bo<iford*s mayor for 32 years,
and tnat bears his name.
Toledo^ Ohio (UPI) May 12^ 1973
Rep. Thomas L. Ashley, D-Ohlo, said
he was "going to be treated like
other citizens who made a mistake"
as he began serving a 3-'day Jail
sentence after being found guilty of
intoxication and resisting arrest.
Ashley, 50, has served In Congress
for 19 years.
July isoue of YANKEE Magazine pg 93
You wilt find BRAD SWAN smiling at
you with a very timely article on
the coming 200th Anniversary of our
country. Be wre to read it.
We Just received word that among
the many congratulatory messages re-
ceived by Abby Amsen on her 93rd
birthday was one from President and
Mrs. Richard H. Ntxon.
HAPPY DAYS AHEAD to Jten 0. Daoie (U)
who retired on May 18th after .nerving
many years as a Professor of Science.
The Traneeript - May IS, 1973
Groundbreaking ceremonies for the
new Drury Senior High School took place
on May 4th. The architect for the
school Is WARREN H. ASHLEY (#183).
WEDDING BELLS will ring on August 25th
for Linda Louise Ashley, daughter of
Theodore and Pauline Ashley (#6), and
David Joseph Cass of Falrhaven, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Cass of Westborough,
Mass. Miss Ashley Is a student In the
college of nursing at Southeastern Mass.
University, Dartmouth, and Mr. Cass Is
a graduate of Wentworth Institute and
the University of Missouri.
HOLIDAY IN HAWAII for Merwin and Berntce
Ashley (#21) in July. They wilt visit
their younger son In Los Angeles enroute.
ilfortft Adams Transcribe - May 1973
Alison Kemper, dau. of Mr. & Mrs. Robert
Kemper, grandaughter of Mrs. Herbert
White (#69) named National Merit Scholar-
ship finalist. Graduate of St. Margaret's
School for Girls, Waterbury, Ct. where
she combined her Junior & senior years,
she is now a freshman at Yale University.
MORE ABOUT ASHLEYS OF TODAY
NEW ARRIVAL • Bethany Jean was born
Benjamin and Helen (Gurney) Thomas (18) June 25, 1973, at the Plttsfleld, Mass.
celebrated their 35th Wedding Annlver- Medical Center, The proud parents are
sary on June 25th Christopher and Meianle J. (Thomas)
O'Neill, and grandparents are Benjamin
and Helen (Gurney) Tbomais (#8).
NEW GRATE WILL FIRE COOK'S IMAGINATION was the headline in a recent issue
of the Courant, Hartford, Conn. Quote: "A new fireplace grate recently
designed by a Clinton man gets you out of the lonely kitchen and Into the
living room - or wherever your fireplace is - with your guests, watching dinner
roast before the fire.
The Radiant Grill was designed by EMIL DAHLQUIST (#244)for fireplace cooking.
His wife Alethea (Lee) said 'We have always been partial to the taste of meat
roased by a wood fire . • 'When their old andirons were bent the Dahlqulsts
bought a flat, cast Iron grate, and Emit started fooling around with the small
discount store grate and came up with a final design featuring two hooks under
the grate on which a steak placed between a wire grill can be broiled, a .
rotlsserie equipped with a spit on which meat can be roasted In front o4 the .
Radian Grate and even to being electrically operated to turn the spit slowly.
For fireplace owners fearful of grease In their flues, Mr. Dahlqulst Is reassur*
ing. *'Any smoke given off by the meat passes under the grate and through the
wood, so any grease smoke Is consumed In the burning logs on the grate before
it gets to the flue. The cool air traveling toward the fire also keeps the
area directly In front of the fireptaae cool.
Besides cooking, the Radiant Grate can be used for heating purposes too, they
say, because again, while cold air travels toward the fire, heat radiates out
from It. It is possible to keep an eight-room house warm In winter merely
by starting a fire In the Radiant Grate.
The Dahlqulsts now have the Radiant Grate manufactured for sale (the company
officially beginning on Lee's birthday, November 16, 1971), with patent
pending.
Designing the oven for use with the grate, Emil "stuck to the classic colonial
design". The oven, made of tin Is also placed In front of the fire, and the
heat is radiated toward It..
This article was accompanted with several excellent photographs.
Today's Ashley descendants are equally as talented as those of olden days.
You will find Ashleys In every walk of life - artists, engineers, teachers,
scientists, etc.
- 86 •
13
a
CORRECTION
C3
HANNAH ASHLEY^,
ID Perclval^, Abraham^, Jos .CD
□ CD
WE STRETCHED OUR NECK
WAY OUT
Refer to Vol. Ill, No. 3
April 1973 Bulletin
Page 56 - quote
^Varmah Ashl^ dob bom 18 Hoanh 1768^ daughtw of ?^roival
aand Anna (Bishop) Ashley. On 8 Psb. 1781 shs mootrisd Eliiah
Farksr in ths Old Churoh nsar Mason's CormsT by Rsti. Abnsr
Lmais. Banndh disd in 1857 and Elijah died before 1878.
Both are buried at Vhite Cemetery^ Keens Road, Roohester,
Mass. There is no marker. To this union were bom 18
cMldren^'.
Helen Thomas (#8) brings the facts Into a far better perspec-
tive with the following comments:
\. Poetic license allowable to a certain degreoi but how
much? The Hannah (Ashley) Parker supposedly referred to
died 21 Spetember 1857, as a widow, at the age of 94 yrs.
(See p. 125 "Mtddleboro Deaths*" by Dea. Wood - 1947)
Are we to believe that such a heavy snow fell In East Freetown on September 21
that her body was not found until the following spring? The entire tale Is
rather tall and probably best we accept it for fictional content but not as
fact.
2. The Old Church near Hason*s Corner was not erected until 1832 (see page 76
of July 1972 bulletin). Elder Abner Lewis' Meeting House was not In this
location. Though located In East Freetown, It was In the vicinity of the
New Bedford line. In the County Road area.
3. Elijah Parker died sometime between 1830 and 1840. (See Census records for
Freetown). Had he lived until 1873, as stated above, he would have been
112 years of age at death.
4. The White Cemetery Is located on Keene Road, East Freetown and not In
Rochester. Family records tell us that both Hannah and Elijah are buried
here, with "stones from the wall" as markers. A deed dated Jan. 9, I8i0
(Book 20, pages 533-4 copied records at the Fall River Registrar of Deeds)
from Joseph White of New Bedford to James White of Freetown, affirms that
Eltsha Parker (father of Elijah) is also buried here, giving approximate
location of graves I te.
«
LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK - Flft/-FIrst Session (1828) Chap. 63
An Act for the Relief of James Ashley -* Passed March II, 1628
The People of the State of New York, represented In Senate and Assembly, do
enact as follows: The Medical Society of the county of Tompkins, shall be and
they are hereby authorised to examine Doctor James Ashley, of Caroline, In said
county, and to license him to practice physic and surgery. If they find him
duly qualified, without requiring further proof of his having pursued the
studies and fulfilled the terms prescribed for medical students, by the revised
statutes of this state. (Pertains to Or. James Ashley, page 81)
- 87 -
[XXXXXXXXIX3
3
1
CORRECTIONS AND
ADDITIONS
CD
ID
Editor* 6 Note: Correotione and additiona ape tite
crux to an aoourate faotual kiotovy of the
Aehley family, PLSASS dont heeitate to
XXIXXXXXXX3 send in any information that differs fron
that publiehed in our Quarterly bulletine.
The New England Historical & Genealogical Register Vol. CXXVI, Oct. 1972, p. 278
ASHLEY CORRECTION: In the memoir of R. Eugene Ashley (The Register, 95-243)
PercivaP Ashley (Abraham^, Joseph') of Freetown, Mass., Is said to have been
born in 1762, to have died In 1826, and to have married Charity Sherman. In
truth he was born 1739/40, died 13 Jan. 1722 In his 82nd year (Vital Records
of Rooheater, Mase. 2:339). He married In Rochester 7 or 27 Aug. 1761, Anna
Bishop, who died there 13 April 1788 tn her 43rd year (Ibid.), it was their
son John, died 2 April 1816, aged 51 yrs. (g.s.) who married (.int. in
Rooheeter 23 Aug. 1782) Charity, daughter of John and Ruth (Allen) Sherman
(Ibid, p. 18) and had John Sherman Ashley born 3 May 1790, died 7 Feb. 1826.
ASHLEY BULLETIN Vol. 1 1 1 , No. I - October 1972, pg. 19
(iorrect error I n age of the late Mrs. Warren C. Gurney to read 82, not 72.
ASHLEY BULLETIN Vol. 1 1 1 , No. 3 - April 1973, pg. 66
Additional degrees should be listed for Benjamin D. Thomas (08), namely.
Two degrees from Boston University
A third degree from Harvard University
ADO LINEAGES AS FOLLOHtS ;
#209
#263
MRS. GRACE EDITH (ASHLEY)
MISULIS (7)
690 Hudson Ave.
Albany, N.Y. 12203
CRAIG STANLEY ASHLEY (12)
Box 106, Babson College
Wellesley, Mass. 02157
Jerman Ashley (6) Jerman (5) Aiden (4)
Noah (3) Jethro (2) Joseph (I)
Donald Stewart Jr (II) Donald S. Sr. (10)
Frank Grant (9) John Qulncy (8) Jamos (7)
Roger (6) Joseph (5) Jamos (4) Joseph (3)
David (2) Robert (I)
CHANGE IN ADDRESS ;
#20 MISS MARGUERITE ASHLEY, 1811 Warwick Ave., Jamestown Apt. S-5
Warwick, R.I. 02889
#47 MRS. ERWIN R. JENSEN, 6650 Jensen Road, Castro Valley, Ca. 94546
#197 MRS. AUDREY A. ZAVICK, 10151 Mllier Ave., Cupertino, Ca. 95014
NEW MEMBER
#265 GEORGE R. ASHLEY (7)
4380 LaSalle St.
New Orleans, La. 70115
Edward Everett Ashley (6) James Jr. (5) James (4)
Percival (3) Abraham (2) Joseph (I)
- 88 -
Orgenlied Aug. 2S, 1970 -ASHLEY FWllY ASSOC I AT lOM - Inoorporatwl June 8, 1973
197'! OFFICERS
President — •----• Robert E. Ashley
1st Vice President - - • - - Jphn S, Ashley
2nd Vice President - - • - Pgul C. Leonard
3rd Vice President - - - • Bradford F. Swan
Secretary ------ Amantha Ashley Akin
Treasurer --------- Nancy Ashley
Executive Committee - - Doris Ashley Lang
Kenneth Valentino Ashley
VIrglnFa Ashley Goff
Publishing Editor - Esther Ashley Spousta
Mi3fnbershlp Chairman . - - • - Marie A. Davis
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
BE IT KNOWN THAT WHEREAS, Robert E. Ashley does hereby declare with the
Intention of forming a corporation to be known as
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA, INCORPORATED
under the provisions of General Laws, Chapter 180, that he has complied
with the provisions of the Statutes of the Comrnonwea I th In such Ccse made
and provided, as appears from the Articles of Organization of said corpor-
ation, duly approved by the State Secretary and recorded In this office:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOHN F. X. DAVOREN, Secretary of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that said Ash leys of America, Incorpor-
ated Is legally organized and established as, and Is hereby made an exist-
ing corporation as of June 8, 1973 with the powers, rights and privileges,
and subject to the limitations, duties and restrictions, which by law ap-
pertain thereto,
WITNESS my official signature hereunto subscribed and the Great Seal
of the-Commonwea I th of Massachusetts hereunto affixed, this ninth day of
August In the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred seventy-three.
Archie D.
Deputy Secretary
John F. X. Daooren
Secretary of the Commonwealth
NOW IS THE. TIME
TO PAY your 1974 dues. Make check payable to "ASHLEYS OF
AMERICA, INCORPORATED" in the amount of $5.00 and mall to:
Miss Nancy Ashley, Treasurer
165 Elm Street
South Dartmouth, Mass. 02748
ASKLEYS OF AMERICA
INCORPORATED
October 1973
Fron th0
Bditon
D0sk
Thr«e successful years of
publication has brought us
considerably closer to our
goal of putting the ASHLEY
family in print.
There Is much more to be
cone and 0aah of you can
help.
Me still need historical
and vital facts on many
of the Ashley clan.
EVERYONE - please - sub-
mit to your editor any
family data you find - -
be It from "grandma's
tales*', old letters and
papers. County Histories,
newspaper c I i pp I ngs , etc .
Material you wish return-
ed should be so marked and
copies will be made and
originals returned to you.
KEEP SEARCHING! ! !
Eethar Aahl^y SpouBta,
Editor
TO Box 321
Rog»re» Ark. 727S6
Vol. IV No. I
Cover
Back
11
13
IS
17
19
20
21
22
CONTENTS
1974 OFFICERS
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
4th ANNUAL REUNION - In BHef
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
COVER STORY
BIOGRAPHY - Barnabas Ashley^
RED-SEA BALSAM BOTTLE - A. D. Ashley
BIOGRAPHY - Janes Nonroe Ashlay
VITAL STATISTICS - Kentucky
BIOGRAPHY - Jabez Ashl€;y^
VITAL STATISTICS - Hiscellaneous
EDITORIAL - American Revolution
B1 -Centennial
CURRENT NEWS
I4EMBERSHIP REPORT
NEW MQiBERS
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
News Bulletin published Quarterly - January, April, Jaly and Cetobtr
Free subscription with each $5.00 membership
Extra copies may be obtained by mailing $2.00 each to the Editor
M!)M SUMMARY OF
\ FOURTH ANNUAL REUNION
August 25, 1973 Warnsutta Club
Now Bedford, M^ss.
Registration end Social period before meeting very successful under the guidance
of John and Buzzy Ashley and their heip'-^rs.
Meeting called to order at 10:30 AM by Robert E. Ashley, president, who pre-
sented two short anecdctal biographies of Ash leys. The story about BAR^l^SAS
ASHLEY Is Included on page 5 . Copies of the sketch on the Lineage of Lord
Ashley, The Ear! of Shsftesbury (Anthony Ashley-Cooper) are still available
by writing to our president.
The program as printed on pages 70 & 71, July 1973 Bulletin was adopted as
the order of the day. Progress reports by various conwntttees and officers
were given showing that we are a growing organization now Incorporated under
the laws of the State of Massachusetts (See eover back)
REVISIONS IN BY-LAWS (as proposed In the April 1973 Bulletin, page 46)
APPROVED: (I) Addition of Life Memberships at $100.00
(3) Name of Publications Committee changed to Executive Committee
(4) Discontinue furnishing free aid to non-members
TABLED: (2) Increase in dues
(5) Reprinting Trowbridge^s Robert Ashley Genealogy
DEFEATED: (6 & 7) Inclusion of Prayer
ELECTION OF OFFICERS New officers were elected as appear on the cover back
and sa!d officers will comprise the "Executive Board"
Miss Anne Borden Harding, Associate Editor of the New England Historic
Genealogical Register presented a fascinating talk on the migrations to and
from New England by our early ancestors. The question and answer period
proved of great Interest to all attending.
Dr. Jorden Flore, head of Department of History, State College at Bridgewater,
held his audience spellbound with the tale of "Lizzie Borden's mystery murder**,
Thts talk was taped and copies are available at cost from our president.
After the formal program, members attending gathered In groups and "Ashley
talk" carried on till late that night.
Amantha Ashley Akin, Secretary
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA, I NCX3RP0RATE0
2.
October 1973
FROI\ YOUR PRESIDElIT
If the comments, both spoken and written, can be
taken as a guage (and I believe they can) then our
Fourth Reunion on August 25, 1973 was easily the most
successful ever. - - "Never enjoyed a dtry eo ntUnh" -
"Donderful program" - "Keep up thia format" -
"everything Juet great" - eta. etc.
It appears we have hit upon the right formula
and should continue It.
A great deal of credit for the smooth operation
goes to Nancy Ashley, our treasurer, who saw to the .
arrangements for the. Club, the superb meals, and such.
John and Buzzy Ashley and their greeters made everyone
feel at home, and a special thanks to our two great
speakers, MISS ANNE BORDEN HARDING, and DR. JORDAN FIORE. Miss Harding heid
the audience "In the palm of her hand" and the question period following
lasted and lasted. Informal discussion groups ran right into the evening.
Or* Flore's talk on "Lizzie Borden" was a hit as always. Even Dr. Flore came
away with new Informattoh about Lizzie. We all look forward to his forthcoming
book and of course, the movie.
Perhaps It should be noted that both speakers declined any remuneration.
Inquiries were made about additional reading and Miss Borden suggested
Val Greenwood's new book "fhe Reoearaher'a Guide to Amerioan Genealogy" just
published by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland.
Or. Flore suggested wryly - waiting for his new book" - but in the meantime
read Edward D. Radln's book, "Lizzie Borden^ the Untold Story" published In
hard cover by Simon i Shuster, and later in paperback by Dell.
Speaking of publishing, we may have a pleasant surprise soon with regard
to Trowbridge's "Ashley Genealogy t Deaaendanta of Robert Aehley of Springfield"
<I896). Commercial distributors have shown an unexpected Interest.
Meanwhile, the work goes on with the descendants of Joseph Ashley of
Rochester, Mass. with the various branches being written by Dot Lang,
Gerald Ashley Cooper, Esther Ashley Spousta, and myself.
My thanks goes also to all who have written In with corrections and
additions to the preliminary index (and there are a lot of them) especially
when the reference authority Is included. This is important, but send them
to me whether you know the source or not. 1 can probably check the origin.
Keep hunting - '*The world is waiting for the "ASHLEl GENEALOGIES"
Robert E, Aahley #2
October 1973
cxiixiiii:]
:: c:
'J COVER STORY CI
ciixiiiix:
OLD PARISH CHURCH
SHEFF I ELD , MASSACHUSETTS
Taken from: Eouo0$ of Gcd in Berkekira County by
Charlsa 7. Morey
The history of frontier New England Is capsullzed In Sheffield's Congregational
church. It appears, without doing a lot of research, that Old Parish Church
represents the first established parish In Berkshire County. At the time when
the town was Incorporated In 1733, the General Court of Massachusetts gave the
Inhabitants three years In which to build "a suitable Meeting House for the
publick worship of God, and to procure and settle a learned and orthodox
minister, of good conversation, and make provision for his comfortable and
honorable support."
But, five months before this typical theocratic edict was Issued, the citizens
of Sheffield had already made up their minds to build a meeting house. The re>
suit was a 35 by 45 foot frame, by 1735 adequate to protect the faithful from
the direct Impact of the weather. This building was succeeded by the main
part of the present church - bu 1 1 1 In 1 760
In the period 1819-1820 the meeting
house shown at the right, was moved to
its present location, and by popular
demand, was augmented wlfh an addition
toward the road, strong enough to sup-
port the steeple and bel i that every-
body wanted. The resulting facade is
an architectural gem whose closet Old
World relative would be the work of
such English architects as Christopher
Wren and James Gibbs, a century earlier.
The notion of adding a fancy tower to
a plain meeting house was pretty com-
mon in New England during the earlier
years of the 19th Century. How high
it became was frequently a matter of
plain economics. There is a baste
similarity in the design of these
towers all over New England. You
begin with a square box perched on
the roof. If you have money enough, you put a clock In It, with faces left,
right and center. The next stage Is the belfry, which can be square with
arches cut out of it or, as In Old Parish Church, an octagon described by
eight slender columns. Then if you* re still feeling ambitious, and If you
have the money, you add one or two more stages, ending up with some kind of
spire or finiale In some cases, appearance would have been better served
had the builders stopped when they completed the clock stage. Old Parish
Church, happily, is not one of these. Whoever designed this church managed
to achieve that admirable balance of candor and delicacy which is typical
of New England churches- at their best.
(Continued on page 10)
(HdPabhChunKimfrtmairM^hrJkarlB€ilJ
4.
October 1973
A YANKEE CHARACTER
BARNABAS ASHLEY^ (Joseph Jr. - Joseph)
1753-1833 Rochester, Mass.
cixiiiix;
CD c;
CD BIOGRAPHY C;
c: c;
cxiiiiix;
From: Paper prepared and presented at 4th Reunion
by Robert E. Aehley #i
One of the most interesting tasks of genealogy is the
gathering of many facts about one person and then putting
them together to form a biographical sketch about an
Ashley who lived long ago.
It has been said that one of the most interesting times to have lived was to
grow up in the Colonial period, be a young man In the Revolution and then live
on for many years in the young Republic. Such a man was BARNABAS ASHLEY. He
Is also a desirable subject for biography because of the many times he appears
in the records. Only those who were in endless scrapes make good reading or
researching. The quiet law-abiding citizens passed nearly unknown.
There was only one Barnabas, that is only one has ever been proven to exist,
but like the disciple for whom he was named, he led quite a life, and came
to a very strange end.
Barnabas was a third generation Ashley, the son of Joseph Jr. and Elizabeth
(Swift) Ashley, and was born in 1753 at his father's farm which was on North
Avenue, Rochester, Mass., opposite the Ashley Cemetery. We dont know the
exact location of the house but the farm must have been a big one occupying
125 acres and extending north to Little Quittacas Pond. That the family was
prosperous seems certain for at the time of Joseph Jr.'s death, the inventory
of his estate came to well over 1500 pounds, a considerable amount for those
days. The Inventory which runs to four pages shows many animals, a good deal
of persona! property, mortgages on the lands of several neighbors and a sur-
prising number of books at a time when books were scarce.
Barnabas was the eldest surviving son. There had been an earlier son named
Lott but he had died at the age of 7 months. There were two sisters, Phebe
who married Edward Hackett, and Thankful who married Daniel Collins. The
remaining merober of the family was Joseph 3)"d who was the youngest. He was
a soldier in the Revolution and died at the age of 19, apparently while home
on furlough
We wondered how Barnabas and Lott came by their names until we heard that a
comrix>n way of naming children In those days was to have th3 head of the house
open the family Bible at random and closing his eyes, bring his finger down
on the page. Perhaps Barnabas was lucky at that - it could have bean worse.
Of his childhood we know little for fact but can guess that It must have been
very pleasant If we read "The Deserted Farm" the poem by Jane White Rounsevflle.
This referred to his Uncle Abrahaii's farm around In back of the Ashley Cemetery.
October 1973
5.
A little farther to the southwest was his Uncle William's lands, while Just
east of Barnabas* liomo was the farm of his Uncle Thomas. All of these families
had numerous children, so If we add all these to the cousins on his mother's
side, the Swifts, there must have been far more cousins than non-cousins. No
wonder the area is still called Ashley Heights.
This picturesque land Is called a knob and kettle terrain. The iittle hills
and hollows were formed thousands of years ago when the melting glacier of the
last ice age stopped It's retreat briefly and formed a recessional moraine.
Huge icebergs broke from the edge of the dying glacier and crashed to the earth*
When they melted, the peculiar surface of land was left. The Indians favored
the iahd around the lakes and Indian artifacts are turned up in great numbers.
but while the Ashleys and their neighbors were prosperous, happy and with no
apparent religious differences (they were all of the Third Parish of the ^k>rth
Rochester Church, which the first and second generations had established) In
the matter of political beliefs. It must have been another matter. Some, like
Abraham Jr. were staunch Loyalists (later called Tories) and supported the King.
Abraham Jr. was given a commission as a Second Lieutenant, and many other of
the leading men of Rochester held such commissions. When news of the Boston
Tea Party reached Freetown, a meeting was called and it was voted to severely
condemn the parties responsible. Soon, however, the opposite sehtiment began
to prevail and eventually Abraham Jr. was "sentenced" not to go off his farm.
He did, however, and one dark night he was seen passing the house of Mrs. White
who took down her husband's loaded gun and fired It at Abraham. She missed
but frightened him Into staying home thereafter.
Barnabas, like the others of the younger men, favored the Patriot or Whig party,
while the older men remained Tories. Nearly all of the young Ashleys served In
the Revolution, and at least four (Perclval, Micah, James and Abraham) of
Quanipaug, were minute men and answered the alarm of April 19, 1775.
Barnabas married in 1777 his cousin Rebecca Ashley, daughter of Abrham Jr.
There were no children. Barnabas was an Ensign and then a Lieutenant, served
At Bennington, but resigned to come home to settle his father's estate on
March 24, 1778.
Let's take another look at those revolutionary days - - - In the late I700's,
abundant bog iron ore was discovered In the bottoms of the great ponds, that in
Assawampsett being by far the best. As much as 500 tons a year was taken from
this one pond at the height of the industry. Most of It was taken from the bed
of the lakes with tongs, such are used for oysters, lifted into boats and
carried ashore. It was hard and dangerous work but for many years a man could
easily get two tons a day, which hauled to the nearby furnaces made for good pay
From Great Qulttacas Pond Black Brook led up to the furnace of Abner Wood and
Son on the Marion Road at a place called "Stillwater". This should not be con-
fused with another Stillwater Furnace In East Freetown. The traffic up Black
Brook was so great that at some time a canal was dug to eliminate the curves In
the winding brook, a canal which is still there. In Gene R. Ashley's papers is
the account book of Abner Wood and Son showing extensive payments for ore and
also for charcoal. Barnabas and the other Ashleys were surely In on this
bonanza. Eventually the bog Jron-gavo out end It became more profitable to
Import ore from New Jersey.
(Continued onpg. 8)
6.
October 1973
>RED-SEA BALSAM
This bottle (actual size) with the words
**A. D. Ashley's Red«Sea Balsam, New Bedford,
Mass.** (nolded In the glass, holds about 1*3/4
ounces. Perhaps there were other larger sizes
but when we consider the contents. It may be
that this was all that was safe to put up at
one time - what atomic scientists call "a
oritioal maea". It Is also obvious why such
thick glass was used.
No proof that this Is the formula, but refer
to ASHLEY COMPOUND below found by Nancy Ashley
#94 among papers of Arthur Stone Ashley whose
father was brother to A. 0. Ashley. Using old
fashioned 200 proof or ethyl alcohol which was
4/5* s of the total mass, we estimate that a
tablespoon of Red^Sea Balsam was equal In
strength to one martini.
It would appear that our ancestors who took
this before retiring, went to bed a little
'^smashed'* on good old Red*Sea Balsam. Of
course the ev 1 1 taste made i t 'Vned I c I ne"
according to the Puritan ethic.
In fairness to A. D. Ashley, we should hasten
to point out that all patent medicines at the
turn of the century were essentially alcohol.
Lydia Pinkham*s being a prime example, con-
sisted of \e% alcohol, 1/2 of \% Vegetable
extract^' and the balance being water.
At that time there were open quarrels between
rival schools of regular medicine and the
nostrum makers were quick to take advantage.
One manufacturer claimed he really was a
doctor - "In some states**. Most of all we
like the honest druggist who put a sign over ^^
his patent medicine department that said, ^
"We sell all kinds of patent medicines but do
not recommend any".
This bottle has become a collector's item,
and fortunately never has one been found com-
plete with contents.
ASHLEY COMPOUNO;
Alcohol
on of Tar
Origanum
Hemlock
Cedar
I Gal.
Peppermint
.2% oz.
10 oz.
Capsicum (7)
.5 oz«
. 1 oz.
Spirit Turptlne
t oz.
.4 oz.
Gum Camphor
1 oz.
.2 oz.
Sulph Ether
i oz.
.2 oz.
Ch 1 of orm
4 oz.
October 1973
7.
A YANKEE CHARACTER - BARNABAS ASHLEY (Continued from pg 6)
Returning to the tangled affairs of Barnabas and his family we find that his
father, Joseph Jr. died before March 2, 1779 for on that date Ebenezer Keen
of Dartmouth Is appointed guardian of Joseph 3rd "a minor above the age of
14, son of the late Joseph Ashley". Note that now the second Joseph Is no
longer called Jr. In less than two years Joseph 3rd Is dead.
Now there Is only Barnabas, eldest son and administer, his mother Elizabeth
who Is entitled to 1/3 of the estate, but who refers to herself as "so far
advanced In years and Infirm of body" (this at age 54) agrees to a division
as do the sisters Phebe Hackett and Thankful Collins. Phebe and her husband
Edward Hackett sign away all rights In return for a horse, a feather bed and
several other household goods, while Thankful and husband Daniel Collins give
up all rights for 45 pounds. The Collinses soon removed to Industry, Maine.
This leaves Barnabas owning all the rest of his father's estate and money.
He Is soon, however. In "great disputes" with Benjamin Heath and his wife
Deborah over bound^riesi There IS also trouble with sister Phebe over a bed
and some other articles which Barnabas demands returned.
His wife Rebecca dies on March 16, 1824, and with his mother apparently also
dead, Barnabas is alone. His sister Thankful has moved to Maine, and Phebe
Is estranged. He Is, however, now termed "gentleman" which In those days
meant that he did not have to work.
And now to those strange closing years. Two years later, the Selectmen of
Rochester receive a complaint signed by nine of his neighbors that
"Barnabas Ashley — does by excessive drinking spend and waste his pro-
perty thereby disturbing the neighborhood and the peace and good order of
society In general . . v and .- . r therefore pray . .• . some suitable person
•' .- .• be appointed guardian . • . to the said Barnabas Ashley". The
Selectmen apparently see the need for this for they turn to the Court of
Plymouth and a guardian, one Philip Crandon, Is appointed in spite of
Barnabas* objections.
Barnabas is now legally declared to be a "spendthrift" and five pages of
accounts by various guardians seem to confirm it. The prices are even more
Interesting. I.e. I gal gin - 40« and 1/2 gal. brandy - 88* and I Qt. rum
for 25* are but a few Items and the list goes on and on.
In 1828 a new guardian, Jesse Martin, takes over and the spending increases
In amount and scope. A bunch of cigars for IOC and an ounce of opium and
six pipes for 56*. Myself and wife attendance on him 22 days while confined
by a burn at $11.00. A silk handkerchief (probably for the burn) $I.(X).
Bills for liquor are now literally by the barrel.
And then - "Cooking and carrying his food, washing and mending his clothes,
shaving and taking care of him for 6 months 6 $3.50 a week - total $275".
*^ving his goods to Capt. WInslow's" - "Myself, horse and wagon to carry him
4 miles" - 'Taking him to Sniptult" - "Going to Snlptult for him".
In 1831 - "attending court at Plymouth on trial of the Bacon action, 3 days
Including expenses - $4.84" Ohatever this trial was, Barnabas had to pay
Bacon's executor $24.73.
(Concluded on pg |0)
8. October 1973
C3
JAMES MONROE ASHLEY CD
CXXXXDiIXJ
BI03RAPHY L
CXX3CXXXXX:
Supplement to previous write-up
Vol, III, No. 2 - January 1973, pg. 37
Furnished by: James Manfield Ashley %2S3
In your Ed I tor *s attempt to verify the middle name of James Monroe Ashley
(1822- ) the follwing Information was received. While only a check of
the birth records of Pittsburg, Pa. can be used as proof - this early history
Is most interesting.
His grandson (James Mansfield Ashley III #253) writes that not only do we have
two middle names attributed to this man, but a third ''Mitchell** can be added.
The son of James Monroe was called "Jr/* and he gave his name as James Mitchel
QUOTE: "I am inclined to think that grandfather's father^ named him James
MONROE. His birth occurred during the second term of President Monroe, and
it was fairly common practice to adopt the President's name, particularly in
the time historians refer to as - the era of good (political) feelings.
During his early years, grandfather would have had no objection to the name
"Monroe" despite his reservations about his father, who seems to have been
a bit on the peculiar side. He, John Clinton Ashley, gathered on a hillside
all his congregation, dressed In white robes by telling them that the end
of the world was at hand.
Grandfather ran away from home at an early age. He worked his way as a shoe
shine boy down the Mississippi on a river boat and called on Andrew Jackson
at the Hermitage In 1837. Jackson treated the boy with great courtesy and
since Jackson's Democratic Party might be considered the spiritual heir of
the Jefferson-Madison-Wonroe Democratic-Republican Party, grandfather would
not have felt any political animosity toward the name "Monroe".
However, that trip down the river to New Orleans caused grandfather to detest
slavery. When he returned to Portsmouth, he became an active force in the
underground railroad. After sundown each night, he would go down to the banks
of the Ohio and when a certain combination of lights appeared on the Kentucky
side, he would row across the river and return with runaway blacks. He con-
tinued this activity until the friendly local sheriff told him that Federal
officers were going to arrest him for violation of the Fugitive Slave Act.
He fled north to Toledo, where he again became active In the underground
railroad, transporting runaways across the lake (Erie) to Canada and freedom.
He was one of the founders of the Republican Party and was elected to (k)ngress
from Ohio's ninth district from 1858 to 1868. While In (k^ngress he authored
the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (Ant i -si a very) aqd was defeated In
1868 campaigning for the 15th Amendment (negro right to vote). After that
defeat. Grant appointed him (Sovernor of the Territory of Montana which, as
chairman of the Congressional Committee on Territories, he had named.
In the I880's, grandfather mortgaged his home for $5,000, and using that
October 1973
9.
modest sum, plus money he raised from starry-eyed investors in New York, he
built the Ann Arbor Railroad which short*circuits Chicago as a route to the
Northwest by linking up with the Pere Marquette by car-ferry across Lake
Michigan* (This was his son Jcmea Jr. 'a idea, and it still operates that way)
Grandfather lost control of the railroad in the panic of 1 893.
None of the above explains where the ^'Mansf ield'* comes from« It Is my
hunch that this ninth district of Ohio, which grandfather represented In
Congress may have. In his time. Included a small city of Mansfield. If
so, I can imagine that grandfather campaigning there, may have said, *Vhy my
middle none ie MANSFIELD''. Thereafter he would have been stuck with the
story. (Probably completely apocryphal). All I know for sure. Is that my
father had no doubt that "MANSFIELD** was grandfather's middle name, however
he came by It."
(End of Quote)
It Is interesting to note that Thomas Ludlow Ashley, great-grandson of
James Monroe Ashley, is now serving his tenth consecutive term as Congress-
man (0) from Ohio's ninth district.
COVER STORY - Continued from page 4
It was close to the turn of the 19th Century before there was any artificial I
heat provided In New England houses of worship (apart from soapstone foot-
warmers), even In civilized towns, like Boston. And, In a God-centered
culture hereabouts, men, women, children and horses could expect four or
five hours out of every Sunday dedicating themselves to a very fundamentalist
Sabbath. That any of us Yankees survived from those early days is witness
to faith, independence, orneriness and, when the occasion reasonably demanded,
a goodly portion of "rhumb" a commodity wholly accepted In the raising of
community buildings, and other sociable occasions.
Our particular Interest In the Old Parish Church stems from the fact that
Col , John Ashley was one of Its active early members.
THE END
A YANKEE CHARACTER - BARNABAS ASHLEY (Continued from pg 8)
In 1832 - "Going after hat and Jacket which he had exchanged" apparently for
a drink.
In 1833 - "Nursing, watching and finding watchers during his last sickness,
2 years and 4 days - $366.79" He died at Jesse Martin's on May 8, 1833
at the age of 80.
AND FINALLY - "Funeral chargos^ Including cap and robe - $2,50".
(THE END)
10.
October 1973
EARLY ASHLEYS IN
KENTUCKY
IXIIXIXXII3
3 CD
11 VITAL STATISTICS CD
D CD
CXIXIXXXXXXD
Pumiehed by: Glerma Ashley Budson UlSZ
In response to your editor's plea for Information on the
Ash I ays of Ki^ntucky, Glenna Ashley Hudson Is sharing the
following vital records collected by her when doing research
in Kentucky. These records are a valuable addition to our
file.
GRANTORS INDEX - Court House, Pulaski Co., Kentucky
Book 3
Pg 346
Book 4
Pg 22.
Book 5
Pg 145
Book 6
Pg 61
Book 12
F^ 505
Book 12
pg 616
Book 13
Pg. 227
Book 13
Pq 498
Book 14
Pg 14
Book 15
Pg 341
Book 15
Pg 441
July 23, 1818, JOHN ASHLEY a nd Molly, his wife, of Pulaski Co.
$100 to V. David Richardson, 4-1/4 a. on Pitman Creek
Jan. I, 1819, JOHN ASHL EY and Molly, his wife, of Pulaski Co. to
George Mease of PulasklTb., $826, land on Pitman Creek containing
96 a.
Nov. 15, 1822, JOHN ASHLEY and Polly, his wife, of Pulaski Co.
to James Linn of Pulaski Co., $500, 70 a. on Pitman Creek
Oct. 8, 1825, JOHN ASHLEY of Co. of Warren and State of Tenn. to
James Lynn of Pulaski Co. $500 land on Pitman Creek
John G. Lair, security on 2 notes of Wkn. Oenham $18^90 due Mar. I,
$19.42 due Dec. 25, 1846, mortgage: I wagon, 4 pr. gearings, 2
horse beasts, I sorrel horse with but I eye, I chestnut sorrel I
mare, I gray mare. Signed Aug. 27, 1845 by mark ( ) CHARLES C .
ASHLEY
Feb. 12, 1846, JOHN ASHLEY and Elizabeth, his wife, of Pulaski Co.,
Ky., of the one part and Instant Lay of Casey County, Ky., of the
second part — sold land to Instant Lay
July 15, 1847, JO HN AS HLEY and Elizabeth, his wife, of Pulaski
Co. to Instant Lay $75 land on Fishing Creek.
Nov. 9, 1848, THOMAS ASHLEY and Elizabeth, his wife, to Richard
Woosley $150 land on Fishing Creek
November 28, 1849, LINDSF.Y ASHLEY and Ann, his wife, of Pulaski
Co. to Elthu Debord $212 land on Fishing Creek
Slave agreement between V>m> W. ASHLEY and V*n. F. Richardson
July 25, 1853, JOHN ASHLEY , of Pulaski Co, to V*n. W, ASHLEY of
Pulaski Co. $100, 50 a. of land In which John and
Wm. W. Ashley have Joint claim and will be entered to upon death
of Susan Richardson, widow of Chas* Richardson, deceased, land on
pitman Creek,
October 1973
\\.
GRArnORS tNCD( (Cont«d)
t
Book 16 Sept. 23, 1853, LIND SEY A, ASHL EY and Annie, his wife, of Pulaski
Pg 8 Co. to Henry 6. Ware of Casey Co. $200 land on PItrnan Creek
Book 16 Jonklns VIckery as security for purchase money of 2 yoke oxen
Pg 13 purchased from George Gregg by C. C. ASHLEY , Nov. 30, 1853
Book 16 Oct. term, 1854, Polly Keeney, dau. of Catharine Keenoy, to serve
Pg 596 and obey until 18 years old. W. W. ASHLEY to provide medical
attention, clothing, wholesome dlcrt and lodging. Polly ta learn
to spin, knit, etc. Polly was 9 years old In 1854
Book 16 John E. Copen security for $20.91 mortgage to Copen 2 yoke of oxen
Pg 596 and wagon by C. C. ASHLEY.
Book 17 Sept. 17, 1855, deed between Bourne G. Richardson and WM. W. ASHLEY
Pg. 59 of Pulaski Co. by John Crawford, Commissioner, division of lands
of Charles Richardson, deceased, among his heirs
Book 17 Sept. 17, 1855, deed between W. ASHLEY and V*n, F. Richardson, first
Pg 61 part, and Bourne Richardson, second part, division of lands of
Charles Richardson (Heirs not shown)
Book 18 Mortgage between JOHN 0. ASHLEY, first part, and C. C. Carter,
Pg 43 second part, note dated Har. 24, 1858, mortgaged lot where he
(John 0. Ashley) Is now living - No. 5 In town of Mount Gllead
in Pulaski Co.
Book 18 For the conslderatlbn of the amount adjudged to him by Pulaski Circuit
Pg 299 Court In his suit against us $31.66 being paid, further consideration
of horse and bridle valued $165, we have sold and conveyed to Robt.
Graves all our right title and interest, our undivided 1/4 part of
Interest to the following slaves belonging to estate of Moses Keeney,
deceased, the father of MARGARET ASHLEY (viz) Eliza and her 4 children
Lucy, George, John and Bob. Jan. 14, 1859. Signed by mark by
MARGARET AHSLEY_
Book 18 Sept. 15, 1851, URIAH ASHLEY and DIannah, his wife, to V*n. More
Pg 190 $150 land on RocTdTcR" Creek
Book 18 UBIAH ASHLEY and DIannah, his wife, to John Wesley #20, land on
Pg 232 Rocklick Creek, dated Sept. 30, 1851
Book 20 Commissioner's Deed, dated Mar. 29, 1865, deed between URIAH ASHLEY
Pg 535 ROBERT ASHLEY , MONT GOMERY ASHLEY , C. P. Miller and Emily, his wife,
late EMJLY 'AgHLEY, Wm. A. Adams and Eliza, his wife, late EUZA A
ASHLEY, k*n 8. Wilson and Mary, his wife, late MARY ASHLEY , Obed J.
BolTnger and Manerva, his wife, late Maner va Ashjey^f ADEN J. ASHLEY
SARAH ASHLEY , THOMAS ASHLEY and JOHM AS HEBY, ' the last two being
Infant heirs, by Eben Milton, CommTssloher of Pulaski Circuit Court
of the first part and Monroe Surber of the second part - Judgement
rendered in suit of JOHN 0. ASHLEY , administer of JOHN ASHLEY
deceased Plaintiff, against parties of first part, in which It was
claims against the estate. Land to be taken from the East side of
tract of land In Pulaski County.
12,
October 1973
CXXXXXII]
13 C
'] BIOGRAPHY C
JABEZASHLEY5 G C
. \ 2 I C3CXXXXXX
(Jabez^, Noah-^, Jethro^, Joseph')
From: Portrait ccnd Biographical Album of Barry and
Eaton Counties J Michigan - Pubtiehed before 1902
Furnished by: Gerald Ashley Cooper #29
J ABEZ' ASHLEY; one of the early settlers of Windsor Township, Is well
known throughout Eaton County and has been Identified with her progress
since 1853. He had come to the State In the previous year but spent a few
months In Jackson County before becoming the purchaser of land where he now
lives. He was born In Rensselaer County, New York, January 30, 1814, being
a son of Jabez and Phebe (Norton) Ashley.
His father was born September 20, I779%nd his mother March 2, 1784, and
both were of English descent. Gr^andfather Ashley, whose given name was Noah,
crossed the Atlantic from the mother country prior to the Revolution (this
statement has been disproved} and settled In Columbia County, New York. He
married Rebecca Finch and reared a large family.
The household band of which our subject is the sixth member also includes
Isaac, born December 3, 1803, died In New York December 31, 1841; Millie,
born December 12, 1805, died March 19, 1828; Rebecca, born September 9, 1807,
died March 10, 1845; Marinda, born December 9, 1809, died October 22, 1836;
Jacob N., born January 4, 1812, died December 31, 1841; Jonathan N., born
April 8, 1816, died In 1861; Lewis C, born September 24, 1818 and now
living In Detroit; Millie A. born November 22, 1821, and now the wife of
Moses Macomber of Battle Creek; Phebe E., born September 26, 1824, died
May 29, 1848. The father of this large family was a Whig In early life and
afterward a Republican. He died In October, 1866. Mrs. Ashley was reared
In the Quaker faith but In mature years united with the Methodist Episcopal
Church, In the belief of which she passed away March 19, 1828.
The district schools afforded our subject opportunity to gain some in-
sight Into books, but his chief knowledge was secured by experience. His
only reader when attending school was a New Testament, and his arithmetic
was that compiled by Dabol I - a name dear to the hearts of the old scholars -
which he studied only so far as compound fractions. He was fourteen years
old when his mother was called hence and the following year he was apprenticed
to a blacksmith. He served three years with Ira Abbot, whose good wife
treated htm as well as one of her own children, and made him In very truth
a member of the household.
Mr. Ashley took up a man's work with a good trade at his command and
stood by the forge until after his removal to this State, when he bought
land and turned his attention to farming. He bought eighty acres whereon
he still lives, by degrees made It attractive to the eye as well as remuner*
atlve, and now has a valuable piece of property. When he came hither much
of the territory was uncultivated and uncleared, and DImondale contained but
one house. He brought with htm to his forest home a true-hearted and
October 1973
* 1777 on somo records
13
efficient vlfe, who bravely and cheerfully shared his tolls and hardships until
fortune smiled upon them and comforts surrounded them. Her maiden name was
Lavlnia L. Partridge and she was born In Rensselaer County, N.Y., February 22,
1821, and became a bride on her seventeenth birthday. (Sh§ died in 1910 and
is buried at Dimandale Cemetery)
The record of the family of Mr. and Mrs. Ashley Is as follows: Elizabeth
born March 30, 1839 and died February 19, I85U She was burned to death while
her parents were at prayer meeting; Maria J. born November 20, 1840, died
October 20, 1872; Polly E. born November 10, 1842, died February 6, 1843; Isaac
N« born November 4, 1843 now married to Sarah Hull and living In Lansing; Daniel
P. born September 17, 1845, living In Lansing and the husband of Jessie Wright;
Ml 1 1 lam M. born October 2, 1847, who married Jessie Graham and Is farming In
Windsor Township; Margaret A. wife of Dr. Tyler Hull of Olmondale, born August 19,
1849; John A., born November I, 1851 died May 24, 1861; Asa I. bom January 20,
1854, died March 29, 1861; Clara born April 15, 1856, died September 30, 1855;
Alice L. born December 31, 1857, wife of Elbert Bates of Eaton County; Emma F.
now the wife of Arthur Wigent of Jackson, born April II, 1863.
While he still lived In New York Mr. Ashley helped In the organization of
the Free Soil party having been a Whig In his political faith, and after he
became a citizen of Michigan he assisted in forming the Republican party of
Eaton County.
He has been Justice of the Peace and Highway Commissioner and has been
active in all laudable enterprises, moral, educational and benevolent. He
has ever shown himself a friend of the schools and his example adds weight to
his words In behalf of morality. A stanch Republican, he upholds his party
by his ballot and by his voice whenever policy Is the topic of conversation.
He and his wife are held In excellent repute and many friends rejoice In their
prosperity.
(End of write-up)
ADDITIOSAL KXTSS:
Harinda (Marena)^ (JabeM^, Woah^^ JeHhro^^ Joeeph^) m. ffillicn Ketohcm.
Buried at CodkAhovough Cemetery^ Pittetcwn^ H.I.
Phebe Sorton (1784^1828) wife of Jdbez Ashley^ was deeaended from
Jonathan Norton (1768^1840) and Millioent Crandall
Caleb Sorton (1788'- ) and Abigail Hoag
Rowland Norton (1702'^ ) and lydia Fowler
Noah Ashl^ ^ (1747^1814) married Rebeooa REYNOLDS rather than FINCH as etated
dbooe. Ref. John Reynolds Gene, pg 64 §189
American Gene. Index, pg ll9
Boeton Traneaript: 6126 S^ 7
CORRECTION ! Above corrects statement on pg 79, July 1973 Bulletin wherein
It was stated that Jabez Jr. m. a Ketcham.
14.
October 1973
CIJEIIJDCXXIX]
CD
FOOD FOR THOUGHT n vim statistics
CD
CD
CD
Suggested by: HeUn Gumey Thomaa #8 CXIIXXDCXIXXD
For a decade and more, many have been researching the ASHLEY lines and yet
today the puzzle remains unsolved -* where did Joseph of Rochester and
Robert of Springfield come from? Do the Virginia and Carolina Ashleys tie
in with the New England branches?
It would seem that if each reader would collect all the miscellaneous data
they have, which doesn^t seem to tie into a specific proven line, the pieces
of our puzzle might begin to fall into place.
As Mrs. Zavtck #197 found in her early search in North CarolJna, we should not
overlook the variations in spelling - ASH • ASHLY - ASHBY - ASKER and even
ACKLEY should not be passed by* We know that our "early scholars" often
spe 1 1 ed words by sound •
SEND IN all miscellaneous data to your Editor, being sure to give source of
data. As collected and organized, it will appear in the bulletin from time
to time* Won^t you do your part? Start digging In those records you have
laid aside. Helen Tho^nas #8 is starting our collection with the following:
"American Co l onist s in Engli sh R ecords" - Sherwood Pub. 1932 & 1969
pages 101, 102
June 18, 1604: ASHBY, John, apprenticed to John Stocks, seven years.
(Made free of the company 7 July 1613; takes
apprentice Robert Hind, 28 Feb. 1615. Query,
married 29 Jan. 1614, SIscellay Sivler at
St. Vedast, London. Note In Quarterage Book,
1628/40 : Virginia)
1606: ASTLEY, Thomas, apprenticed to Robert Thomas, 7 years (Made free of
the Co. 1613; pays quarterage, 1614-1617; takes
apprentice Thomas ASHBY, or ASHLY, 1616; and
George Kemis, 1617. Notes In Quarterage Book,
1617/27: "gone to Virginia"; "In Virginia")
CENSUS RECORDS - 1790 - SOUTH CAROLINA (complete listing)
In Charleston: Jdhn Ash - St. Bartholomew Parish
Thomas Ashby - St. Thomas Parish
John Ashby - St. Thomas Parish
in Beaufort: Richard Ash; Lodowick Ashley; William Ashley; Jean Ashly
In Ownden: Robert Ash - York Co.; Joseph Ashly - Fairfield Co.
96 District: Thomas Ashberry - Edgefield Co.
Charles Ashley - Edgefield Co.
Wi 1 1 lam Asher - Pendleton Co.
John Ashley * Laurens Co.
In Orangeburgh: John Ashley, Sr. (South Part)
Nathaniel Ashley (South Part)
Robert Ashley (South Part)
William Ashley (South Part)
October 1973
15.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT (Continued)
MARRTAGES - Frank Mn County, Tenn. - 1838 to 1875
(FvantUhtd by Bomid Jtan (Dixon) StoiiUy §2il0)
JOURDAN ASHLEY to lophia Bradford
DANIEL ASHLEY to Polly Suthard
EUNICE ASHLEY to Young A. Ivey
EL I AS ASHLEY to Rebecca M. Bradford
ELENOR ASHLEY to Edmond Johnson
ELIZABETH ASHLEY to Silas Donaldson
MICHAEL ASHLEY to Luolnda Winkler
NANCY ASHLEY to John Davis
LUCINDA A. ASHLEY to Henderson Dotson
HALISSA ASHLEY to James Steel
JAMES M. ASHLEY to Luclnda Steel
MALINOA ASHLEY to Carl Miller
ELIZA J. ASHLEY to W 1 1 1 i am Robert Davis
EDWARD ASHLEY to Mary A. Wi 1 1 iams
CENSUS RECORDS of Franklin Co«, Tennessee
July 23* 1841
April 29, 1844
Sept. 27, 1846
April 7, 1848
Sept. 6, 1849
Jan. 9, 1850
Dec. 8, 1852
Oct. 7,
Nov. 2,
Aug. I,
1872
1874
1842
1830
•Ma
ASHLEY Males
Females
1850
ASHLEY, James
Phoebe
age
PRINCE
ASHLEY
ASBLEI
Valiy
Ellas
Elizabeth
Presh I a
Willis
Nancy
M I chae I
Wilson
Ttlday
James
Soph i a
Jackson
Margaret
Reallyit?) male
Relda (?) fem.
one
two
one
two
one
two
one
one
74
63
44
34
20
20
18
18
17
15
8
30
30
10
8
5
3
male age 50 to 60
males age 10 to 15
male age 5 to 10
males age to 5
female age 30 to 40
females age 10 to 15
female age 5 to iO
female age to 5
born N.C,
NX.
N.C«
It
If
It
ft
ft
ft
ft
fi
Tenn.
fi
11
II
If
II
Wife of Willis
(N.C. listed qb birthploM
for all is in error)
(Probably Jamaa Jr. eon
of dhooB JcBms)
CHATHAM OOURIERi . Chatham 4 Comer, N.Y. - Wednesday, Mar. 10, 1869
Page 4, 1st column - Legal Advertisements
Court of Sessions of Columbia Co. - order given on the 15th day of Feb. 1869
named ABRAM ASHLEY JR., Arnold R. (K) White, Geo. J. Snyder as Incorporators
Elector of the territory so described wish to incorporate at MTIItary Hall
\Ahrch 18, 1869. Pols were open from 10 am to 4 pm.
16.
October 1973
XXXXIIIl
AMERICAN REVOLUTION B I CENT INN I AL
1776
1976
[] EDITORIAL
[XXXXXX]
C3
1
This Is the Era of the United States of America Blcenten-n
nial - an historic mllepost to be shared by every proud
citizen of this our land. But, being proud and excited
Is not enough, for those who love our Country are
challenged to pause for reflection, for renewed purpose,
for reded I cat I on to the Imperishable Ideals of the
American Revolution. Above all It Is time to gratefully
acknowledge the foresight of those Founding Fathers who
prior to 1776 had a dream - a vision - and whose trust In God and faith In man-
kind has realized fullflllment of these United States of Amenoa.
Each citizen should. In addition to reaffirming the funadmental principles of
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness stated In the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, focus on a new dimension of historical understanding of the American
Revolutionary War period; and the factors leading to It. What are YOU doing?
BRADFORD SWAN #4 had an article In the July "Yankee" Magazine In which he sug-
gests : "There was one aspect of the Centennial celebrations which Is worth
repeating. In fact, one can almost say that It meets a vital need. I refer
to the publication of town histories which was such a prominent part of the
Centennial celebration. In many cases those still are, almost a hundred years
later, the best available histories of their communities. Yet, although they
serve for the period up to IG76, ... no history covering the last hundred
years is available. Surely we cannot expect the great number of our citizens
whose forebears have arrived In this country during the (kast century to feel
any Interest In, or affection for, a history with which they have no real
relationship. And yet. It seems to me that the great task lying before us In
this country Is to accomplish an amalgamation of all the peoples who have come
here, whether they arrived on the Mayflower or on a charter flight from Puerto
Rico.
So, I would like to see what might be called Vol. II of these town histories
published, and the earlier histories reprinted, because they have almost all
become hard-to-f Ind, rather expensive books. I would also like to see a
history of all the New England states written and published as a cooperative
effort of the region Such state programs as Vermont's Oral Hiatory
should be adopted throughout the area .... Important public buildings
as the Colony House In Newport, etc. . . . should be restored to their past
glory and used for some public purposes less demeaning than as district
courthouses .... Citizens and Inhabitants of the United States of America
• . . must be made to feel a part of this nation's continuing history."
End of Quote
THE LIBERTY BELL - that much revered symbol of America's Independence, probably
cracked because It was fadty from the start. That Is the verdict of a promi-
nent metallurgist, according to an article In the June 1973 issue of American
Heritage. The bell cracked the first time it was rung, shortly after It
October 1973
17,
^tie? thL r«+^rn ?l'r" ! ^^^^^ ^""^ ^'^"^^^ ""^^ I ndepondonco Hall) In 1752.
SI^il^I!! K !!*?'*? '^^^^^' •" •-^"''°"* "^f^^ dismayed Ph 1 1 ade I p*»Tws. had
!?«SS ihl?^ ^ ^? '°2' ^oundryn:en, John Pass and John Stow. whoWTcareful
toadd their names below the original, and portentous. Inscription around tS bell's
crown •
ESTHER ASHLEY SPQ USTA #tO, Honorary State Regent, Arkansas Society, Daughters
Of the American Revo l^iir Ion, assisted In the Society's selection of Arkanr-as
Post as the site for a Blcentlrmlal project, Tne Society will underwrite the^
placing of a commemorative exhibit - a stodkadB'-tyve building of rough hown,
lumber - at the approximate site of the Revolutionary War battle In April 1783.
This was one of the two Revolutionary War battles occuring west of the Mississippi
River. A force of over a hundred Englishmen and CMckasawg, led by Jamas Ck)lbert
crossed the Mississippi and attacked Arkansas Post. The Invaders seized the
village, but were beaten off when they tried to storm the fort. When the
Spanish and Quapaws counterattacked, the English withdrew down the Arkansas
River. The National Park Service will do the planning and construction of
the exhibit,
the National Society OAR Is refurnishing the Governor's Council Chamber and the
Assembly Committee Room on the 2nd floor of the restoration of Independence
Hall, Philadelphia at a cost of some $181,995.
WHAT CAN YOU DO? Encourage organizations of which you are a member, participate
with your local Chamber of Commerce, your State Bicentennial Committees, and/or
work as an individual to emphaeize our Country's 200th birthday. Suggestions:
I. Devise projects and events to focus attention to historic places
2e Secure and display reprints of historical maps
3. Arrange rotating exhlbl'ts in libraries, schools, banks, and
public buildings. Including American art, music, education etc.
4. Revive songs and dances of the Colonial and Revolutionary War
period. Stimulate concerts of early American music.
5. Promote and urge marking of historic routes.
6. Clean up and refurbish historic cemeteries • chart abandoned
and negl^ected cemeteries.
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA PROJECT ;
Why don't we research all our progenitors who served their country during the
Revolution? Some served as minute-men - some were at Fort TIconderoga *-
some gave material aid - etc.
Our project will be to collect every bit of information on Ashley patriots
of the Revolution and after correlation we shall publish their histories
In the bulletin during the next two years.
Write your editor sending any Information you have (If you want material returned
please so state ^* She will make copies of mater iai loaned). Copies of
military service, family stories, excerprts from local histories — Any and
all information you can find. State source, page nos. etc.
Send to: Mrs. Esther Ashley Spousta
PO Box 321, Rogers, Ark. 72756
18.
October 1973
CURRENT NEWS
Linda Louise Ashley, daughter of Mr & Mrs
Theodore C. Ashley (#6) East Freetown, Mass.
became the bride of David J. Cass of
Falrtiaven on August 25, 1973 at the Congrega-
tional Christian Church. Mr. Cass is son of
Mr apd Mrs Joseph E. Cass of Westboro.
Linda Is a graduate of Apponequet Regional High School and Is attending the
College of Nursing at Southeastern Mass. University. The bridegroom Is a
graduate of Wentv/orth Institute and the University of Missouri with a B.S.
degree In civil engineering. He Is a retired captain In the Army Corps of
Engineers and Is affiliated with Brant Haworth Associates of Lakevllle. The
couple will reside in Falrhaven.
The residents of Old Chatham, Columbia County, New York were shocked and
saddened by the sudden and unexpected deaths of M. Irene Ashley on August 9,
1973 and her brother Eugene W. Ashley on September 2, 1973. M. Irene died
suddenly while vacationing In the "Heart of the West" at ST. Johns Hospital,
Jackson, Wyoming. Eugene died unexpectedly shortly thereafter at Columbia
Memorial Hospital, Hudson, New York. Their many friends and loving sister,
Grace E. (Ashley) Missulls iS209) wi I.I miss them.
Our sympathy Is extended to our president, Robert E. Ashley (#1) who recently
lost his sister, Mabel (Ashley) Edson, widow of the late Leon D. Edson
(Edson Gen. #515-130) on July II, 1973 in Brockton, after a short Illness, and
Just one day before her 83rd birthday. In addition to Rober, she leaves
two sisters, Ruth and Ethel of Brockton, one niece, Mrs. Kenneth Fugere (if36)
of Barr'ngton, R. I., two sons, MInot Ashley Edson and Bruce Dexter Edson of
West Brldgowater, six grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Plans are being made to re-enact the capture of Fort Ticonderoga by Ethan
Allen and his legendary Green Mountain Boys, using descendants of the
renowned band. The even will be staged on 10 May 1975, the 200th anniversary
of the siege, at the historic restoration of the fort, located at the
southern end of Lake Champlain.
A wide ranging search has been Instituted to locate descendants. A list of
"With Ethan Allen at Ticonderoga" cofr-pited by the late Robert 0. Bascom
after many years of research. Is tho basis for the effort. Persons descended
from those who took part In the expedition and individuals who can substan-
tiate descent from any other Revolutionary members of Ethan's band, are
Invited to contact Mrs. Jane M. Lape, Curator of Fort Ticonderoga, Box 390,
Ticonderoga, N.Y, 12683,
All you descended from Thomas Ashley take note! !!!!!!!
ff.ff. Hzetomo Genealcgioal Regielvr
July 137 S
October 1973
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE REPORT
The alms of the Membership Committee are to invite interested persons
to become members of ASHLEYS OF AMERICA, INCORPORATED and to encouragemembers
in the same locality to form chapters in such areas.
This report Is based on data for the period of April 1972 to August 25,
1973* During this period 38 new memberships were received and accounted for
the amount of $190.00 In dues. The expense entailed to our organization for
the above period amounted to $57.00 which was used for stamps.
We have CHAPTER NO. I already organized in the Berkshire County, Hudson,
New York area. As already reported, the first meeting was held at the home
of Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Nero 1213, Hudson, N.Y. and the second meeting at the
home of Mr. and Mrs. Donald F. Kern 148, of Ghent, N.Y. The October meeting
will be at the home of Mr. and Mrs. K. 0. Davis #5 of Wll liamstown, Mass.
We are hoping to establish other chapters where there are groups of
interested members. There are many members who live too far away to attend
our annual meetings. The Chapter affords a chance for these people to meet
with other members of Ashleys of America In their home area. I am always
glad to help with the initial work needed to get a chapter started.
We are still hoping to reach the goal of 50 new members a year. It
would be a great help to the committee If all members would send the names
of people interested In their Ashley lineage. The more members • - the
more accuracy In our research.
Our thanks to Esther Ashley Spousta for the mimeographed forms we send
to prospective members. And, Thanks to Virginia Ashley Goff for her consis-
tent help In furnishing Ashley names that she discovers on her travels.
Many thanks also to all the others who have sent names to me - without them
we could not continue to seek new members.
HAPPY MEMBERSHIP TO ALL!
MarU Antanini Davis (Hrs. K.O.) §S
Membership Chairman
[IXXIXIXTTII3
G CHANGE IN ADDRESS G
c: []
CXXXXXXXXXXX3
#170 Mrs. Freela Dee Webster - 342 North Nth St., Decatur, Ind. 46733
#245 Mrs. E. McKlnoon White 204 Pond View Drive, Springfield, Mass 01108
20.
October 1973
NEW MEMBERS
1266
1267
1268
1269
#270
#271
#272
#273
#274
#275
#276
#277
HR & MRS CURTIS CARL ASHLEY
2224 Clements Dr.
Colonial Acres
Durham, N.C. 27704
MRS MARION BOYNTON BATES (10)
1105 N. Msdison
Lexington, Nebr. 68850
MRS. ZELMA B. CLARK *
176 Rockland St.
S. Dartmouth, Mass. 02748
MR & MRS ASHLEY CLARK
60 Mosher St.
S. Dartmouth, Mass. 02748
MR & MRS ANDRE' R. ASHLEY
I687A 32nd St.
Allentown, Pa. 18103
MR & MRS FRANK GORDON ASHLEY OO)
233 Wildmere Rd.
Rochesfer, N.Y. 14617
MR & MRS LEVAN ALBERT ASHLEY ( I )
County Rd. 37, No« 4324
Livonia, New York 14487
MR EMERALD 0. MINER
2315 Belair Dr.
Bowie, Md. 20715
MRS GRACE ASHLEY CHAOWICK (7)
38 Parker Road
Osterv i 1 1 e , Mass . 02655
MR & MRS LYNDON B. HAYNES
Fort Clark Springs
Brackettvil le, Texas 78832
MRS BEUUH ASHLEY DEUEL (10)
PC Box 64
Honeoye, N.Y. 14471
Harlen ( ) Alexander ( ) Froeland ( )
Frank of Knott Co. Ky. m. Lucy Tauibee
of N.C.
Almeda Rebecca Cooney (JCoim?) Boynton (9)
Evaline Ashley (8) Daniel (7) Daniel (6)
Oliver (5) David (4) David (3) David (2)
Robert (I)
Robert l4arion ( ) Robert Rueh ( )
Edward Smth (in Clarka, S.D, 1888) m.
Marian W. Laval I *e
Mark Wilbur (9) Francis Alonzo (8)
Noah (7) Noah (6) William (5) Aaron (4)
Samuel (3) David (2) Robert (i)
Morey Beach (9) Albert (8) William (7)
Noah (6) William (5) Aaron (4)
Samuel (3) David (2) Robert (1)
From Andres b. 1803 In Kentucky
Edward Warren Ashley (6) Edward R. (5)
Williams (4) Wit dans (3) Abraham (2)
Joseph ( I )
Mark Wilbur Ashley (9) Francis Alonzo (8)
Noah (7) Noah (6) William (5) Aaron (4)
Samuel (3) David (2) Robert (I)
MR & MRS GEORGE WILBUR ROBERTSON (10)
5 Northup Ave. Ruth Abigail (Ashley) Robertson (9)
Wolcott, N.Y. 14590 Francis Alonzo Ashley (8) t4oah (7)
Noah (6) William (5) Aaron (4)
Samuel (3) David (2) Robert (I)
ADO LINEAGE AS FOLLOWS:
#254 MR & MRS EDWAR L ASHLEY (7)
Main St.
Cotuit, Mass. 02635
Edward Warren (6) Edwar R. (5)
Williams (4) Williams (3)
Abrsham (2) Joseph (I)
October 1973
21.
WHO'S WHAT TO WHOM???
Furnished by: Esther Ashley Spousta #10
Few discussions generate so much confusion as those dealing with family
relationships. To help clear the air, here Is a chart showing how you are
related to males on the paternal side of your family tree* You can complete
the picture by substituting femdie equivalents of the terms used here.
Only blood relationships are shown: for relatives by marriage, tack
'Mn-law" on the end 4
People on any horizontal line of the chart are approximately the same
age unless previous members of the family had children unusually late or
early.
Great-great
Grandfather
Second
Cous I n
First Cous I
once removed
.o<i-
GrandnepheW
ePj
.0^
s>^
Great
Granduncle
Great
Grandfather
Grandfather •s
First Cousin
'P}
Father's.
First Cousin - - -
- Granduncle — - - Grandfather
<P^
Uncle Father
.0^
First Cousin
Brother
<p^
Nephew - - - (Is first cousin to your) - - Son
(Is a second cousin to your) - - - - Grandson
22.
October 1973
A$BlS)f-$
Vol. IV, No. 2
QUARTERLY NEWS BULLETIN
.ianuary 1974
Old Utchmt - lonaOmK Atnltn hoim (17W
Ummrfimldg MoMtaefmutta
ASHLEY FAMILY ASSOCIATION
Oi-ganl»<l Auguit 29. 1970 Incorporatad Jurw 8, 1973
1971 OFFICERS
Presldant -- — ----. Robert E. Ashl«y
Itt Vice Preslttont - - - John S. Ashley
2nd Vice President - - -r - - - Paul C. Leonard
3rd Vice President ------ -Bradford F. Swan
Secretary Anantha Ashley Akin
Treasurer — - — Nancy Ashley
Executive Ccnmlttee - Itorls Ashley Lang
Kenneth Valentine Ashley
Virginia Ashley Goff
Publishing Editor - * - - Esther Ashley Spousta
Membership Chairman ------ Harle A. Davis
flHAL NOTICE
1974 DUES - Due and Payabia NOW !
Hcinbers whose duas are not racalved
by March 1 , 1974 «n I be dropped
from the mat I Ing I tst.
Make'checks In the amount of $5.00
Payable to; ASHLEYS OF AMERICA, Trees
Mall to: Miss Nancy Ashley, Trees.
Ashleys of Amerlce
165 Elm Street
South Dartmouth, Mass. 02748
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
INCORPORATED
^m
From the
Editor's
desk —
To those who
have forwarded data on
Ash leys during the Revo-*
lutlonary period •-
THANK YOU.
To those who have not
please do so.
We want our BlCenten*
nial Issue to be a
big and informative
one. We have a good
start.
Those having access to
libraries «* check town
and county histories.
Send In all bits and
pieces about those
ASHLEYS that helped
to make our country
free. Note on all
material the source.
Send to:
Esther A. Spousta
Editor
PO Box 321
Rogers, Ark. 72756
27
January 1974
Vol. IV No« 2
CONTENTS
24 CORRECTIONS AND ADDENDA
25 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
26 CEMETERY RECORDS - Crapo-White-Ashley Cem.
East FraetoMn* Mass.
EApLY WILL - Noah Ashley^ (Jethro-Joseph)
Alden Ashlay *
Alden Ashley ^
29 VITAL STATISTICS - Kentucky Marriage Bonds
1790, 1800, 1830 Ky. Census
31 OLD ASHLEY TRAIL - Rochester to Poultney, Vt
32 CORRECTION - Partridge
33 BIBLE RECORD - George Washington Ashley^
(William - Thomas - Joseph)
35 PROBATE RECORD - Thomas Ashley^ - Joseph
37 LADY (ASHLEY) MOUNTBATTEN
38 ENERGY CRISIS
39 COVER STORY
40 QUERIES
41 OBITUARY
Albert Whi. Ashley^ - Tatar -
Abram • Wl 1 1 lam - Joseph
43 PERSONAL NEWS
44. NEW MEMBERS
44. CHAPTER NEWS
Neifs Bulletin published Quarterly - January, April, July, October
free subscription with each $5.00 membership
CORRECTIONS AND ADDENDA
I - I ■ ■ . ■ ■■ ft ' t
Oatoh^r 1978 BulletiriM POffB 7
Starfes that the Red-Sea Balsam bottle pictured Is "actual size". Th-ls Is
Incorrect* Largest bottle located Is 4-1/4 Inches high so Illustration Is
about twice actual size. We don*t want to confuse the collectors.
April 1972 BulletiriM paa^ 51 f
More Information In Mark Twain's book "Roughing It". Check ''Nevada Miners
bid on the Sanitcay Flour SaoV\ Also, "The little city of Austin In the
Reese River country".
y 1972 Bulletin^ vaaB 29 . '
Information given by Captain Wing to Mrs. Clara Wing Guild of Medford, Mass.
statest "Struck Island at 1:30 A.M." • '
"at 6 A.M. William B. Carroll of New Bedford went thru the surf to
a sandbar"
"By the hetp of this line all 32 men reached safety"
"reached Tin I an 45 days later"
"fiepresentatlve of the Spanish Gout on that Island would not believe
their story 'but forced them to leave"
Also see National Geographic, June 1938 - "Crusoes of Canton Island"
'^ " " " May 1946 - "American Pathfinders in the Pacific"
Jan. .1955 - "Air Age Brings Life to Canton Island"
It fi If It
Cfotober 1971 Bulletin^ page 4 October 1972 Bulletin^ pages S and 7
Juhi 1972 Bulletin^ vage 73 July 1973 Bulletin^ page 72
Judy Gurney (#1.20) of the Rochester Historical Society has notified us that
the Selectmen of Rochester, Mass., after nearly two years of deliberation,
have voted to "accept" "OLD PARISH" and "ASHLEY" cemeteries, among others In
Rochester. This presumably puts^ our two oldest resting places of the Ash leys
under perpetual town care. .
April 1972 Bulletin^ poaee SS^ 66
Ftobert E* Ashley (#1) has done some research on the location of "Nine Partners"
New York, where Jethro Ashley^ removed. Spaf ford's New York Gazetteer says,
"Nine Partners, Great, was a large tract of land granted to 9 proprietors or
partners, fr^xn which circumstance tt was cailed the Great Nine Partners, and
was before the late subdivisions of towns, comprised within the towns of
Amen I a, Clinton, Stanford and Washington. It extended from the Hudson to
the west line of Connecticut. Nine Partners, Little, was a smaller grant,
now In Northeast and Milan, and these names are still considerable In use",
in Dooumenta Relating to the History of Nm^) lork^ Vol. 6^ pg 163 we find
Rip Van Dam was one of the 9 partners of N.P. Great In Dutchess County. His
great granddaughter Mary Thong m. Robert Livingston, 3rd proprietor of the
Manor of Livingston. This same volume mentions that Massachusetts men,
especially from Sheffield, made claims to part of the Manor but were driven
out.
January 1974
FROM YOUR
PRESIDENT
(Robert Z. A»hUy)
W« ware happy to find articles by our members appearing In national pub-
- I.lcatlons during the past few months. The November Issue of "Yankee** features
on page 40, '^oa to Hap a ^Vwn That's Not Ther^" by Judy Gurney and others of
the Rochester, Mass. Historical Society. The 1704 map Illustrating the story
shows Rochester Just before Joseph Ashley arrived there and places the home
of Benjamin Bung that he sold to Joseph on March 14, 1709/10. Large 16" x 19"
copies of this map are available from the Rochester Historical Society for
$3.00 plus postage and will prove of great Interest to students of the early
Ash leys and related families. Other maps are planned, one for each 50 years
to show the growth of the town. Map f4 for 1854 Is also now available at $3.
In the September "Genealogical Helper" we find an article on page 320
by Elizabeth Gtasky of Geneva, Ohio, encouraging more reunions. She mentions
that we should establish worthwhile projects for our young people and says In
part; "Vtorkshops, research trips to libraries, oematery copying projects,
trips to courthouses and state archives, family reunions, family newsletters
and magazines, restorations of old homes, the building of family parks, family
•chola^ship funds, the printing of family histories, old picture collections,
or family pageants and plays". We quite agree.
And right now Is not too soon to begin making plans for our next reunion!
We hope to have again, the very agreeable Wamsutta Club In New Bedford on
August 24, 1974. This Is the most convenient location for the largest number
of members and will save the most gas If we have rationing by then.
Speaking of the last reunion, we have not mentioned that Mr. and Mrs.
Clarence Garner came all the way from Hanford, California and Mr. and Mrs.
George Shoemaker came from Independence, Missouri. They were both awarded
"Ashley scrimshaw ptns" for coming so far. Mr. and Mrs. Warren Ashley of
West Hartford flew In to the New Bedford airport In their own plane.
' We want to mention two other faithful regular attendees who were nurses
In World War One. They are Mrs. Amelia (Pslmer) Ashley of South Dortnouth
and Mrs. Ruth (Staples) White of Will lairsTOMn, Mass.
We are especially pleased with the succ3ss of our local chapters. If you
have two or more Ashleys In your locellty why not form one.
The growth of Our picutre collection continues. This Is one of the most
popular features of our August meetings. If you have something to share, we
can copy It and return the originals to you. Thus you can share It with every
' without ever parting with It.
Looking forward to August - - let us know what you would like.
January 1974
091
:xxiiiiixxxj
gCEMETERYtl THE CRAPO CEMETERY
'J RiEiCORD O-
13 • -^ Q • Aiao qal t«d - THE CWSPO - WHITE - ASHLEY Cenptery
oaciiiiiixxj
■4.- Located: On a small wooded knolt about i/8th mile
off the road at the southeast comer of Bullock Road
and Quant pau9 Road In EAST FREETOWN , MASS.
^BRAHAM^ ASHLEY* rviUiaif^/iTat^ft^) id Dec « 20,. 1821 in his' 82nd year
. . It. In Rovolufton
HANNAH^ (Crapo) ASHLEY ^ (Ccmaidtr^/ John^, PbUt Qrapoh 2nd wife of Abrahm
; d Dec. 4, 1843 in her 8(Sth year
:, Nbte: On, the other side of Abraham are fougb fleldstone markers
that probably Indicate the grave of PHEBE (Tabor) ASHLEY
1st wife of Abrabame Family records say she was born
. July 7, 1748 and died 1781 .
JAHES^ ASHLEY {Abrdhoffi^ HlUmK Jo$0phh<i Nov* 17, 1839 In 45th year .
^4ARY (Howard) ASHLEY, wife of James Ashley de Ap;rii 13, 1869 age
. ^ 67 yr, JJ moe 22 da*
WILLIAM^ ASHLEY lam of Abrahm^ and Ptmbayd hug. II, 1856, 82 yrs;
Note: He m Nancy Anderson, wfent jo Galway, N.«Y, where his nine
children were burled* He returned to Freetown and d. there.
: Nancy d in Gaiwav June 28.^ 1869.
THOI^S^ ASHLEY lAbrOumfi^ Willicm^s Joa^hh Family repords say he and ist
. . wife ,buried here <- no marked stones.
Note: He m. Rest Hasklns who was his mother*s niece. .
He m. 2nd Mrs. Polly (Harris) Simmons.
Rest was dau. of Anthony and Rest (Crapo) Hasklns.. .
Thomas was a private In War of 1812
Fern My records made sqne thirty odd years ago reveal more Ashley stones than
listed above j^ either removed or more 4lkety still burled there. (R. B. Ashley
atataa tkia ia inwror as thaaa buriala are to be aeen and read in the nearby
PIBB. ISLAND CE^fiSTERX in Horth Dartmouth^ Maea. Perhape moved there) Viz.
OiARLES P.5 ASHLEY Wmea^^ Abrahonfi^ WiUicnS^ Joseph^)
d. Nov. 20, 1906 at 82 yr» 1 mo. 25 da.
BETSEY (Russell) ASHLEY, (t^fe of Charlee PJ)
d. Sept. 26, 1858, age 31
MIRANDA B. (Phillips) ASHLEY, (wife of Charlee PJ)
d. June. 21, 1887, age 49
(XARLES ASHLEY d. Sept.. 19, 1858, 12 weeks old (age ehoutd be 2 weeka)
. \ ' R. Eugene Asthley*s notes add referring to Charles P. * *'Llyed In a
fine house on west side of Bullock Road, north of Quanopoag Corner
on part of the old Abraham Ashley farm. Place burned to the ground
after he died.'* Cellar hole and foundation still there In 1973
(Other related family graves In this cemetery appear on page 40)
C26]
January, 1974
CXIXXXjlXXXXXXJ
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT NEARLY WILL CI
NOAH ASHLEY3 (Jethro2, Joseph") CXXXXXXXXXXXXI
of the Town of Chatham fn the
County of Colwmblai deceased
Vol. /7j p« 304 in Office of Surrogate of Columbia Co. Budson, N.I. 12S34
Ftamished by: Gerald Ashley Cooper HB
In the Name of God Amen* I, Noah Ashley of Chatham In the County of Colum-
bia and State of New York^ being weak In body but of sound mind and memory
(blessed be almighty God for the same) considering my near approach to death,
do make, ordain and publish, this my last Will and Testament^ In the form
following; Viz, In the first place I will and direct that my lawful I debts
and funeral charges be faithfully and speedily paid and discharged. I further
give and bequeath unto my beloved wife Rebecca the full use and enjoyment of
one room of my House to be determined by her choice; also one good cow, one *
third part of all my Household furniture, and the full use of profits of one-
third part of all my Estate real and personal, to remain at her use during her
widowhood, and, then when she shall cease to be my widow, to be an equally
divided among all my children, daughters as well as sons* !
Further I give and bequeath to each my Daughters, to wit: to Albany Oliver,
PatienceFlnch, Rebecca Welden and Ells.abeth Ashley one hundred and eighty-
seven dollars and fifty cents to be paid to each of them out of the two-thirds
of my estate.
Further I give and bequeath to each of my Sons, to wit: to Nicholas Ashley,
Jabez Ashley, A I den Ashley, Noah Ashley Junior, Abraham Ashley and Joseph
Ashley an equal share of the remainder of the two-thirds of my property, after
my daughters shares are taken out, but be It understood; and it Is my express
Will and direction, that the following ones of my children stand now Indebted
to my Estate in the following sums, which including interest has been paid them
out of my Estate; viz:
Nicholas Ashley - one hundred and eighty-six dollars and nine cents
Stephen Ashley - one hundred and tt>trty-nln dollars and sixty-seven cents
James Ashley - ninety-nine dollars and ninety-two cents
Jabez Ashley - two hundred and eighty dollars and thirty-three cents
Alden Ashley - three hundred and twenty-four dollars and fifty-one cents
Abraham Ashley - one hundred and eighteen dollars and four cents
which sums together with lawful I Interest thereon, till the division aforesaid
are to be considered as parts of my Property and with Interest thereon from
this date, are to be considered and all counted toward their shares respective-
ly of the said two-thirds of my Property.
Further, the Town lot which I own In the Village of Waterford, and which Is
now in possession of my son Noah Ashley Junior Is to be signed to him by Title,
from my Executors and Is to be reckoned and valued at one hundred and fifty
dollars under Its present circumstances and to be accounted to him at that sum
with lawful I Interest from this Estate and further and lastly, I do hereby
constitute and appoint William E. Oliver and Titus Reynolds Executors of this
my last Will and Testament and do hereby revoke and disown all other and fonner
(oantinuBd next page)
January 1974
C27]
wills by me made* IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF accord I ng to the true Intent and meaning
hereof and of all Its parts, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this fourth
day of June In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirteen.
Signed, sealed and acknowledged In the presence of the undersigned Witnesses:
Paul Roberts
Darius Finch Noah Ashley
Morris Finch
«
From tfm Surrogate of Saratoga Co., ^^ ^^^
WILL OF ALDEN ASHLEY^ late of the Town of Waterford
' Dated 7/24/1806 Proved & recorded 9/15/1806
To my friend, Seth Baker of Village of Waterford, Town of Half Moon,
County of Saratoga: $225.00
To my beloved brother, Noah Ashley, all the remainder of my estate.
Executors: John Stevens and Seth Baker, both of Waterford
Witnesses: Amos Ketchem, Joseph Haswell, John Hazard
COMMEffTS :
From the Inventory of real and personal property of Aiden Ashley mention Is
made of a Lot In Waterford - $100
In the above will of Noah Ashley (1747-1815) of Chatham, Columbia Co., N.Y.
he states **Further, the Town lot which I own In the village of Waterford,
and which Is now In possession of my son, Noah Ashley Jr. - - - "
It would appear that this Is the same Lot In village of Waterford, which proves
that A I den of Waterford who died In 1806 Is the brother of Noah who died In
1815.
From Book L^l, p 760 - Cotmbia County , fl.l. VilU
ALDEN ASHLEY .^ of Town of Chatham Age 69 on Jan. 14, 1853
^" Died In Chatham - Will proved Nov. 26, 1856
Alden would be the son of Noah Ashley^ as mentioned In above will
Heirs in order named:
Wife - Runney (Ruamah) Ashley
Sons - Lewis; Germond; Alden; Nelson; Horatio
Daughters - Albania Roberts; Betsey Mosher; Amy Hepon (Hasson);
Nancy Marlah WIckham; Pauline Jane Fredenburgh
Grandson: Smith Reynolds
Executors: My sons Germond, Nelson and Horatio
Witnesses: Levi Pitts and John Oliver, both of Chatham
C283
January 1974
MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT
We started the now section "Food for Thought" In our
October 1973 bulletin. Your editor requests that
each of you send in any miscellaneous items which
seem unrelated to our family - - and perhaps that
will be the missing link for someone else.
CXXIIXXXXIXXIXXD
C3 CD
Z2 KENTUCKY MARRIAGE BONOS C
C3 Pulaski County C
CD 1804 - 1863 G
CXXXXXXXX3CXXXXX
Pumiehed by: Mra. Glerma AoKUiy BudBon 0163
POLLY ASHLEY to
John Ingram
RACHEL ASHLEY to
Alexander Evans
DANIEL ASHLEY to
Phebe Hal I
URIAS (?) ASHLEY to
Patsey Nov 1 1
SALLY ASHLEY to
LInsay Abrel I
JOHN C. ASHLEY to
Moarning Dye
CHARLES C. ASHLEY to
Frances B. Richardson
URIAH ASHLEY to
Dianna Newel I
LINSEY ASHLEY to
Anna Aker
ELIZABETH ASHLEY to
Wl lllam A. Adams
ANDREW E. ASHLEY to
Alvlra Hendricks
NANCY JANE ASHLEY to
Joel H. HInes
JOHN ASHLEY to
Luclnda T. Walden
January 1974
September 27, 1806
July 28, 1804
May 21, 1818
Consent of John Ashley^
Kinship not stated
Witnessed by Charles Ashley
January 22, 1820
Consent of father, John
Ashley of Adair Co. and
bride's mother Patsy Mease
July 3, 1824
August 3, 1830
Consent of Mathew and Sa 1 1 y
Reynolds for "my daughter
Moarning Dye to marry"
May 20, 1831
February 3, 1836
Consent of father, John
Ashley. Surety made oath
the bride of age
January 18, 1842
Consent of father, Johannes
Aker, Witnessed by William
and John Aker
October 13, 1846
Consent of father, John
Ashley. Witnessed by
John 0. and Sally M. Ashley
March 16, 1846
February 3, 1851
September 27, 1853
(Continued next page)
Surety :
John Ashley
John Ashley
William Hall
James Earl
Charles A. Ashley
Uriah Ashley
Charles Ashley and
Charles Richardson
Aden Jones
William Aker
John 0. Ashley
Thomas Hendricks
Ca 1 1 oway Ash I ey
John D. Buster
[29]
PULASKI CO., KT,. MARRIAGES (Cont'd)
WILLIAM W. ASHLEY to
Margaret Keeny
THOMAS ASHLEY to
Elizabeth Vaught
MARY ANN ASHLEY to
Willtam J. Vanhook
April 30, 1853
Consent of mother
Catherine Keeney
July I6| 1859
Mn. F. Richardson
February 26, 1863
Groom 23 yrs. old, born
Pulaski Co., Ky. son of
Larra? and Mary Ann Vanhook
Bride 20 yrs old, b. Pulaski Co.
dau. of Thomas and Elizabeth Ashley
Christopher Vaught
Thomas Baugh
CXXX3CX3CX3C3CX]
C3 D
12 KENTUCKY CENSUS [
cxDoaanxxxxx
1800 CENSUS
Joel Ashley
John AShley
Roland Ashley
Wll Ham Ashley, Jr.
William Ashley, Sr.
James Ashley
John Ashley
1830 CENSUS
Thomas Ashley
Thomas Ashley
John L. Ashley
Jos I ah Ashley
Joseph Ashley
John Ashley
Joslah Ashley
Mn. Ausley
Ruthy Ashley
Jane As ley
Robert Ashley
Willis Ashely
Uriah Ashley
Andrew Ashley
Thos. Ashley
Hannah Ashley
William Ashley
Benjamin J* Ashley
James Ashley
James P. Ashley
Charles Ashley
Ben. C. Ashley
Benjamin Ashley
Edith Ashley
John Ashley
Edward Ashley
H. P. Ashley
Joel Ashly
1303
!790 CENSUS - Tax List Date 7-23-1789
Joel Ashley
Woodford County
Clark County
Henderson County
ft
If
ft
Mason County
Mercer County
A 1 1 en County
Al ien County
It
II
Barren County
Caldwell County
Casey County
Clark County
F lemming County
If
11
Harrison County
Henderson County
Hardin County
Lincoln County
II
II
Livingston County
Logan County
II
II
Madison County
McCracken County
Nicholas County
Pulaski County
S^lby County
« If
ft
ff
Todd County
Union Counxy
Vvoodford County
Fayette County
January 1974
I
THE OLD ASHLEY TRAIL
By: Robert E. Ashley (IH)
A popular summer pastime oip Bob and Lib Ashley (#1) Is the
retracing of the routes once followed by our ancestors. We
highly recommend a trip to EAST POULTNEY, VERMONT.
The path of the seven Ashley brothers of Poultney, Vermont,
from Rochester, Mass seemed to offer great possibilities.
Thomas' and Isaac^ went to Canaan, Conn, first and then on to
Vermont. ^A of A Bulletin Vol. 3, #2, pg 29). In his book
"The Great Trail of New England", Harral Ayers shows a map of
1642 with the Indian trail from Plymouth to Providence - from
there to Hartford, "|"o Canaan, following very nearly the present
U.S. route No. 44.
Ayers continues, "following the arrival of those colonists an embassy of Indian
Lords f r jm that Connecticut country that was soon to be settled as Windsor,
Hartrord and Wethersf leld, visited Boston and offered the hospitality of their
,)i3ople, and lands, and furs • • • If the English would come and settle • • •
The Connecticut tribes were menanced by the warlike Pequots. The basts of the
Indian mission may have been that, with the English among them they could enjoy
peace and security." All this before 1640. By the time Thomas Ashley removed
from Rochester to Canaan the Indian trail had been In use by the white man for
over 125 years.
Perhaps they thought Canaan was getting "too crowded", so the Aliens and the
Ash leys moved on to the wilderness that became Poultney, Vermont.
Their route north was first through Ashley Falls, then probably on up the pre-
sent U.S. 7 to Bennington. Note: When In Bennington, be sure to visit the
museum as well as the battle monument.
From here on we can be sure of the path as It Is detailed In the "History of
Poultney" as the settlers escape route during the Revolution.
Moving North along the valley with the Green Mountains on either side looking
down on us as they did on Thomas, we come to the famous resort town of
Manehester. Then on to beautiful little Dorset, on to Pawlet, Wells and past
Lake ST. Catherine to Poultney, where Thomas Ashley and Ebenezer Allen made
the first settlement on April 15, 1771, on the Poultney River.
Poultney Is a pretty little town of 3000 with a wide main street beginning at
the corner of Beaman Street where stands the house said to have been built
by Thomas Ashley for his daughter Prlectlla who married *Rufus Partrldgo. An
old map In the N.E.H.6.S. shows the Beaman Hotel across the streer and rne
house occupied by a Or. Wm. McLeod. (Cover of Bulletin July 1973) At the west
end of Main Street and snug up against the New York State line is the campus of
Green Mountain College, established In 1834 as the Ripley Female College.
*See correction next page.
January 1974
C3G
Moving east on Main Street and parallel to the Poultney River, we come to
East Poultney. Now If Poultney Is a pretty town, East Poultney Is a perfect
gem. Reminiscent of colonial days Is this little hamlet with it*s village
green, the high columned Eagle Tavern, which dates from 1785 (whose pillars
are said to be masts from British ships). The old meeting house In the
Christopher Wren style of architecture. Here both Horace Greeley and George
Jones, founders of the New York Tribune and Times, received their training.
The old me tod I an factory houses the museum of the Poultney Historical Society*
and next door Is the school house where Greeley gave his first political speech.
Opposite the church Is the main building of the society where a fine new
auditorium was dedicated last summer to the citizens who fled after the
Hubbardton Battle (Pg. 32 July 73 Bulletin). Walter Johnson, host of the
Eagle Tavern, has an 1825 deed for that Inn signed before Ellsha Ashley, J.P.
Close by Is the old cemetery and opposite that a marker where the first church
stood. We found no Ashley stones, but It seems the most likely place for
the Ash leys. Of the other three cemeteries In town - one Is Episcopal, one
Hebrew and one Catholic.
Just south of the center of town the Poultney River has a series of falls
through a narrow rock gorge, a perfect place for the early mills, all of which
were lost In the great freshet of 181 i. But that's another story for another
time.
At nearby Castleton Is Remington's Tavern where the Green Mountain Boys planned
the attack on Fort TIconderoga, and at East Hubbardton Is the Hubbardton battle
ground and museum. Another dozen miles or so will take you to Larrabee's Point
and the ferry across Lake Champ lain at the very spot where Thomas^ and the
Green Mountain Boys corssed to take TIconderoga. But, that too Is another
story for another time.
^Buildings of the Historical Society are only open Sunday afternoons.
CORRECTION (pg. 68 July 1973 Bulletin)
George Partridge did not arrived In this country at Plymouth, Mass. on the
Ship "Ann" In 1623. It was Stephen and Triphosa Tracy, parents of Sarah
Gciorge's wife, that were married In Leyden Holland and sailed on the CAnnD.
Proni 'PartvidGe Genealoou bu Georffe Eenru Pccptridae (1916)
RUFUS PARTRIDGE^ (James^, George^, John^, George') was b In Canaan, Ct on
Feb. 17, 1777 and d Magnolia, Wis. on Apr. 29, 1850. He m Feb. 19 1798
>riscilla Ashley who was b. June 19, 1777 and d July II, 1836.
Children: Eliza b Oct. 22, 1800
Sarah b July 9, 1806 d Jan. 2, 1845 m Franklin Kendall
John Staley b June 28 1817 In Watson, N.Y. d July 3, 1892 In
Whitewater, Wis., m In Covington, N.Y. Apr. 18, 1848 to
Henrietta Maria, dau of Uriah & Ann Johnson. She was b
March 29, 1823, d at Whitewater Dec. 13, 1890. They
had one child John Ashley b Sept. 28, 1849, m.
Nov. 7, 1872 to Ella Branch and resided In St. Louis In 1909.
C32D January 1974
BIBLE RECORD
POLLY (ASHLEY) BRONSON^ * (George Washington,
wn i ! am - Thcnas - Joseph)
(6ib!e in- possession of gran^^daughter,
Mrs. GftDrge Robertson, now (idceasod,
in \Wj)
BIRTHS .
George Washington Ashley^ Rutland Co., Vt.
**Sally Page, Broom Co., N.Y,
*Polly Dickenson INo pl^aae listed)
Eliza Ashley, Brooni Co., N.Y. )
Harry Ashley, Broom Co., N.Y. ) by 1st wife
Perry Ashley^ Broom Co., N. Y. ).
Polly Ashley, Broom Co., N.Y*; )
Rodney Ashley, Broom Co., N.Y. *)
John Hector Ashley, Broom Co., N.Y.) by 2nd wife
Sally AlBhley, Broom Co., N.Y. )
Avoltne Ashley, Broom Co., N.Y. )
*Flrst wife of Geo. M. Ashley
• **Second wife " " " "
David Bronson, Broom Co., N.Y.
Rhoda Page, Broom Co., N.Y. (1st wife)
Polly Ashley, Broom Co., N.Y. (2nd wife)
Children by let wife:
James Bronson, Broom (}o., N.Y. '
David Arlow ) . r^ w y
Electa Arllne ) ^'"^^ ^'^^ ^-^ ^•^•
Rachel Armlnda Qronson, DuPage Co., III.
Marlntha Janetto Bronson, DuPage Co., III.
Marl He Elfzsbcth Bronson, DuPage (3o., III.
CMld bf^ 2nd I'Kp^:
Almeda Florerte Bronson, OuPage Co., III.
dune 27, 1781
December 22, 1799
January 27, 1780
July 24, 1307
February 5, 1 8' 2
Noveiflber 2A, !8i3
March 27, 1620
December 26, 1821
^prli B, 1824
April 15, 1826
October 18, 1829
karoh 3, 1809
October 19, 1812
March 27, 1820
August ,23, 1836
October 3, 1837
July r7, 1841 ■
August I, 1844
March 10, 1846
October II, 1851
November 27, 1 784
Stephen Bronson, father of David Bronson was born
at Broom Co., N.Y.
Rhoda (Page) Bronson was sister of Sally Page above, thus she was
Polly (Ashley) Bronson*s aunt
MARRjAGES
(ieo.oo W. Ashley m (I) Pol ly Olckerson on November I6,.IC06
Geoi-^e W. Ashley m (2) Sally Page at Broom Co., N.Y. en May 9,
1819
(oontinued on next page)
January 1974
C33D
MARRIAGES {from Tolly (AtMsy) 9ronBon*9 BibU)
David Bronson m« (1) Rhoda ^a at Broomjp Co., N.Y. on October 20, 1835
David Bronson m (2) Polly Ashley at Brooma Co., N.Y. on May 23, 1849
Amos Churchi 1 1 m. Marl I la Bronson at puPage Co. , III. on Novambar 26, 1^866
Abnar R. Mack m. Marintha Bronson at DuPage Co., III. on January I, 1869
fl
ft
ft
ft
CkCldrmt of Amoe and Hatilla (Bronscn) ChsuTcMll
Jassia Marllla, DuPaga Co., III.
Jannia Elizabeth w tt tt
Jos I a Marintha
Julia Almeda
Adeline Barker
Fannie Bel I
Rhoda Virginia
Amos Churchill
0iiUbpWi of Almmr R. and HarinHia (Bpan^an) Maak
David Edward Butler Co., Iowa
Fred A. " "
Cora " "
George " "
Almeda Florette *" **
Maria •• ••
A. Robert •• ••
N
tf
ft
ft
ft
tf
ft
N
ft
ft
June 19, 1868
September 14, 1870
Movamber 29, 1872
May 21, 1875
Decamber 19, 1878
Decamber 9, 1880
October 2, 1885
December 25, 1895 (7)
March 28, 1870
July 23, 1871
June 10, 1873
June 24, 1875
Septamber 8, 1877
March 29, 1879
February 28, 1887
DEATHS:
James Bronson
David Arlow Bronson
Electa Arllne Bronson
Rachel Armlnda Bronson
Rhoda Bronson'
David Edward Mack
George W» Ashley
Polly Dickenson Ashley
Harvy Ashley
Eliza Ashley Young
John Hector Ashley
Sally Ashley Hatch
Julia Almeda Churchill
Sally Page Ashley
Almeda F. Bronson
David Bronson
Polly Ashley Bronson
Abner R. Mack
Fannie Bel le Matson
Cora Mack
George Mack
A» Robert Mack
Broome Co., N«Y,.
November 21, 1836
DuPage Co., 1 II.
August 22, 1844
ft It
September 29, 1844
ft tf
October 20, 1843
tf ft
October 7, 1848
Butler Co., Iowa
March 26, 1870
OuPage Co. ,111.
March 7, 1853
Broome Co., N.Y.
February 6, 1819
N ft
March 23, |8II
ft ft
December 22, 1848
Iroquois Co., III..
November 3, 1853
Kankakee, III.
December 13, 1854
Lombard, III,
August 23, 1875
Mheaton, III.
April 29, 1874
ft ft
July 23, 1876
ft ft
June 21, 1890
It ft
November 9, 1898
DuPage Co., III.
December 13, 1907
ft ft
October 18, 1908
Butler Co., Iowa
October 25, 1879
ft ft
September 29, 1879
H n
February 28, 1887
C34D
January 1974
THOMAS ASHLEY^ ESTATE
4:iixxixx3cix;
c: PROBATE C
Q RECORDS G
Plymouth County Probate, #544, Book 16, p332 LJ L.
CXXXIXXXXXX]
by: Robert E. Aahley #2
(Bundreds of recovda like this new on microfilm at Plymouth^
Taunton and New Bedford. Who will help extract Aehley data?)
THOMAS ASHLEY ESTATE Rochester, Mass.
INVENTORY - May 24, 1762
This Inventory taken by us the subscribers of all the estate, real and person-
al that THOMAS ASHLEY late of Rochester In the County of Plymouth, Yeoman died
seised of and set forth to us by the widdow, there being no administrator
appointed.
1 s d
To his books 6
" " wearing apparel 46 yards & 1/3 of new cloth
" Pewter
"Tin ware
" Earthenware
" Hoi low Iron ware
" Indoor Iron Ware
* Wooden Hollow household ware
"Carpenters tools
" Outdoor too I s and tack 1 1 ng
Armour two Gun - ■* ye
3 beds and furniture
" Chest with drawers I rable 4 small chests
2 Spinning wheels Reeler
Warming pan and box Iron
Seven chairs
Loom and tackling 3 stays & Harnesses
knives, forks, glasses, tea cups
Quick stock viz: a mare yoak of oxen, two 3 yr.
old stears I yr old heifer, I cow, II sheep
7 lambs, 2 swine
Hose tackling and an hand trunk
Real estate _
179
If
ff
If
fff
It
II
II
II
II
If
II
II
•I
II
II
fi
II
II
If
If
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
If
8
1
6
3
4
3
6
1
5
4
1
9
4
2
8
5
3
5
4
1
16
13
6
2
1
7
16
4
14
8
18
8
1
18
8
5
8
\ 26
2
1
14
8
J[Q4
Rochester 24' 1762
Signed by Noah Sprague,
Mark Haskal I
Thomas Swift
May 24, 1762: At Rochester,
Oath by Mark Haskal i and Thoma$ Swift
before Noah Sprague
(continued on next page)
January 1974
[353
June 1762: Oath by Noah Sprague before Nathaniel Ruggles:
•
I would inform the Honorable Judge that My Husband In his life time promised
My Daughter Elisabeth the cow mentioned In the Inventory though she had not
received her at his death it being In Hen of a small piece of meadow of mine
Intended for her.
And also, JOHN ASHLEY second con to the deceased let his Father have money
for which his Father promised him 10 lambs above two years ago.
And also ELKANAH ASHLEY third son to the deceased had his. Father's promise
to give him I sheep and lamb Just before his death.
Signed by: Mary Ashley
Plymouth County Probate Records #532
Eunice, Enoch, Ellsha, William, Isaac ASHLEY Rochester
' October 1 5 , ' 1 762 " "l -! BONDS OF GUARD I AN
~ -J
Four Bonds: To John Gushing, Judge of Probate
By Mary Ashley, widow, . ^. ^ « u x
Roger Bra ley, yeoman " ^^^^ ^^ Rochester
100 pounds. Re Enoch, Ellsha, & William
200 pounds. Re Eunice
Condition: Mary Ashley to be Guardian of Eunfce, Enoch, Ellsha, WllHam
minors, children of Thomas Ashley
Signed by mark (Mary Ashley
Witnesses: Edward Wins low & James Haward
November 12, 1762
One Bond: By THOMAS ASHLEY of Canon (?)ln the County of Lelchfleld,
Colony of Conetlcut, husbandman
THOMAS SWIFT of Rochester . • . yeoman
200 pounds
Condition: THOMAS ASHLEY • • • to be Guardian of Isaac Ashley a minor son
of THOMAS ASHLEY late of Rochester, deceased
Witnesses: Lemuel Hasklns and Samuel Swift
C56D
January 1974
LADY (ASHLEY) MOUNTBATTEN
AODENOA: To Lineage of Lord Ashley, the Earl
of Shaftesbury showing relationship
tq the Duke of Edinburg
(July 1972 Bulletin, pg 85)
Fumiehed by: Robert S. Ashley §1
Prince Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburg and husband of Queen
Elizabeth II, is the nephejpr of Lieutenant Lord Louis Mountbatten, Ck>unt of
Bunna, who married EDMINA CYNTHIA ANNETTE ASHLEY, daughter of Wilfred Willi
Ashley, the Baron Mount Temple.
She was the great-granddaughter of the seventh Eari of Shaftesbury (q.v.)
and was born In London on November 28, 1901. King Edward VII was her god-
father. When she was less than twenty, her mother's father. Sir Ernest
Cassel died and left between her and her younger sister, the income of an
immense fortune. In 1922 she married Lt. Lord Louis Mountbatten, younger
son of Admiral of the Fleet, the Marquess of Mi I ford-Haven, formerly Prince *
Louis of Battenberg and his wife Victoria, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
Active in world-wide charitable functions, the outbreak of the war in
1939 provided a real outlet for her activities and a distinguished career
with the Order of St. John. When her husband was made supreme allied
commander of South East Asia, she was able to make great contributions to the
al lied cause.
In 1947 her husband was made the last vice-roy of India and the first
governor-general of that newly independent country.
After the war, the Countess continued her exhausting missions and
severely taxed her strength. She died in her sleep In North Borneo on the
night of February 20, I960. Her body was flown back to England and buried
at sea off Portsmouth with full naval honors.
The Mountbattens had two daughters, Patricia, born 1924 who married the
seventh Baron Brabourne In 1946; and Pamela, born in 1929 who married
David Hicks in I960.
Lady (Ashley) Mountbatten was not content to rest on her great inheri-
tance of beauty, wealth and privilege, but made her mark as a tough and re-
lentless fighter against poverty and suffering. India's prime minister
Nehru said, "She had the healer's touch**.
References: The Dicticfutry of National Biography and
Enayolopedia Brtttanioa
January 1974
C37D
ASHLEYS
SOLVE
ENER6Y CRISIS
Infotmatien rtoHvd feemt
Knmsth 0» Jka>i» §6
Eliadb^th GtaaMy HO
Allihta A, DahUtuUt §244
iy, mm ^@o mm
mmam
This ad appeared In the
October Issue of Farm Journal Just a few years ago« The ad further stated that
one filling lasts 12 to 1.8 hours - set It and. forget lt« Safe and dependable.
Circulates heat up to 6 rooms. Combustion so complete little or no ashes to
empty « Invention of patented ASHLEY doWndraft system made It a 1 1 possible.
Backed by over 100 years of heater manufacturing. Order from ASHLEY AUTOMATIC
HEATER CO., Dept. 01, Box 730 Sheffield, Ala. 35660«
On November 27, 1973 the Transcript carried a full page story about the person
^ho was trying to locate an Ajshley Wood Burning Stove. The obstacles incurred
vvere most amusing. But - these fantastic stoves are still ava liable! And if
/our fuel supply Is limited you might want to follow up on this.
^ESTION - Mho was the ASHLEY that obtained this patent? 7 7 7 7
-i-f*-
MARCUS ASHLEY of Keene Road, East Freetown, Mass. was pictured In the December 27,
1973 Issue of the Villager along with his homemade wood boiler which works auto-
matically with his present hpt water baseboard heating system. Another Ingenious
\shley solved his energy crisis.
Jsing scrap parts from Junk yards, Marcus constructed a hot water boiler at the
rear of his home. A supply and return pipe feeds Into the home's original
toiler's circulator^ It only requires once a day feeding of several four-foot
logs, and when the thermostat calls for heat, hot water from his wood burning
toiler circulates through the conventional heating system. Ashley said he
JIdnt want to go backwards with smokey stoves In the house, thus he put his new
!>oi (er In the back yard. With the twelve cord of wood on hand, he hopes to stay
'*warm** for the duration.
EMIL DAHLQUIST*s Invention of the slanted fireplace grate (written up In our
July 1973 bulletin) has solved their energy crisis. The design of the grate
radiates a tremendous amount of heat into the room, thus cutting down o1her fuel
requirements. "Everyone talks about hot air", he expat Ins, "But what we are work-
ing with are rays. Rays will travel In a straight line until they strike an
object. When we use the grate, rays radiate Into the room - not up the chimney,
it cooks food as well as heatlrg. If you want to koep warm this winter and have
a fireplace - ccntect Em! I F. Dahlqufst, 31 Morgan Park, Clinton, Ct. 05413.
C383
January 1974
\
ct:i3gcxxxxx3lxxxj;
RESTORED KITCHEN O COVER STORY c;
... ^ , GaaacxDcxxxxxxDac:
JONATHAN ASHLEY* (Jonathm^s OccHd^M RdberlP}
Our cover shows the old kitchen In the restored house of Rev. Jonathan Ashley^
(I7i2-!7e0) C'Odrfleld, Mass. The lot on the West side of Main St. known as
Lot No. 2 In the early records of the town, was purchased by Ashley on June 28»
1733 for 250 lbs. and he erected a house thereon that some year. The kitchen
In the early days was the answer to today's enargy crisis * not only did It
serve as a cooking stove, /but also to heat the room.
Jonathan, graduated from.YaJe University In 1730, m. Dorothy Ml 11 lams, dau.
of Rev. Ml I Mam Williams of Hatfield In 1736, who was second cousin to Rev.
Jonathan Edwards. The two ministers had many theological battles, Ashley being
more liberal. He was a *'Tory** sympathizer and on the occasion of the ''Boston
Tea Party" sent a I lb. keg of tea to Parson Rogdr Newton of Qreenfletd.
Preaching against those Americans who fell at Lexington, he said, "They would
meet with a fearful doom In the next world'^
Historian Sheldon write, "Unfortunately Mr. Ashley's character was not a love-
able one". It was not until years after his death that the village did make
restitution to his widow for all unpaid accounts long due htm.
Albeit -* he worked diligently for the establishment of the now famous Williams
College working with money from Col. Ephralm Williams estate and with Israel
Williams of Hatfield* He Induced the Governor to sign a charter. Harvard
overseers were more than displeased. He also Journeyed to Norwalk to talk with
General Geoffrey Amherst. After his death a 1793 charter established Williams
College to the west of the Mohawk Trail. In a couple of decades Amherst was
established east of Deerfleld - so Jonathan Ashley's efforts were not In vain.
The house Is a plank house and has been removed to a new site In restoration.
It includes a study, central hall, north parlor with two magnificent shell
cupboards, bedrooms, leanto, and an attic with musket silts. It was built
"bullet proof" and was stockaded during the French and Indian Wars. The
plaster Is made of oyster shells, hair and sawdust.'
In restoration It has been beautifully furnished In proper period • Queen Anne
highboys mix attractively with Brewster chair (from I600's) a Windsor stool,
Chippendale side chatrsi etc. A Chippendale block front secretary beautifully
carved by Benjamin Frothlngham, circa 1775, was originally made for John Marsh,
pastor of Church of Wethersf leld, Ct, a graduate of Harvard In 1761, Brigade
Chaplain In Washington's Army. Marsh married Ann Grant of the Ulysses S.
Grant family. This particular piece with Its colorful history also later be-
longed to Richard Henry Dana (author of two years before the Mast" and topthe
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow family In their Brattle St., Cambridge home. The
original deed to Rev. Johnathan Ashley Is In his desk. The china Is from
Or. Thomas Wllllafn$ whose daughter (a niece of Co\ Ephralm Williams) married
Jonathan's son Ellhu Ashley*
Furnish^ by^ Sancy (lacnard) Tkureton §126
January 1974
C39D
SEEKING YOUR HELPI
Con you identify or shed any light on any of
the fol lowing Ashleys. If you have any In-
formation at all, please forward to your
editor.
Esther Ashley Spousta (flO)
ABRAM ASHLEY BAKER (1^49-1929) burled at Mt. Pleasani
Qemetery, Rock I and , Mass. Father was Marcus Baker
(1612-1883), 9r-father Samuel Baker (1780-I85k Believe
one of these Bakers married an ASHLEY girt.
ADDISON STERNE ASHLEY - m Marietta Fletcher and known to have had at least
one chltd« Elbert Fletcher Ashley - No dates or location known.
BERNARD ASHLEY - m Mary Daniels and had at least one child viz. Francis (Frank)
Remington, born Dec. I, 1854 In Conpectlcut.
CHAUNCEY ASHLEY - m Sarah Louisa Von yo.lkenberg. Believed to have lived In N.Y.
and perhaps burled. at Maiden Bridge Cemetery. I have a Chauncey b
May 14, 1884 that lived around Pamelia and Red Creek, N.Y. but have no
marriage listed. He was descended from Caslmir Buckltn Ashley (6)
Chauncy Coomodore (5) Noah (4) John (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (I).
EDWARD ASHLEY - m Oelphlne Lucia _. and had at least one child EDWARD Jr
who m Alma Smith dau. of Hersche! F, Smith, grenddaughter of Thos. Smith,
gr-granddaughter of Daniel Smith Jr.
EDWARD SMITH ASHLEY - b 8 1650, perhaps Virginia, m. Marian W. Lavalle (7).
Settled In Clarke, S. Dak. In 1682. Had at least 4 children, tt)e
4th chl Id being Robert Rush Ashley who m. Anna Meyers.
EUGENE LIONEL ASHLEY - m Elisabeth Hitchcock, d « (916/17. Was lawyer and
businessman In Warren County, New York In and around Glens Fallsi
FRANK ASHLEY -bin Knott Co., Ky (7) and m Lucy Taulbee b. In N.C. Had at
least one child Freeland Ashley b In Ky. who m Sally Kelly
.HENRY ASHLEY - m Annie PIttsley (PIggsley). probably late 1800's. Had at
least one child Harry. Francis Ashley who m Grace Edna Reynolds.
JOHN ASHLEY - b. 1769 In S.C. m. Sarah b. 1795 His brother
WILLIAM ASHLEY - b. 1803, m. Elizabeth b. 1805
John's son, John Coleman b. 1822 at S.C. married his Ist cousin,
Elizabeth June Ashley, dau. of William.
Can we Identify the father of John and William Ashley of S.C?
C403. January 1974
CXX3LX3CXXX3CXD
ALBERT WILLIAM ASHLEY^ ROBITUARYH
(Taber*, Abram^, Wllllam2, Joseph') CXXXXXXXXXXD
Frort Neu/ Bedford Standcopd - September 2^ 1913
WAS OLD VETERAN - The late ALBERT W. ASHLEY served through whole of war,
ALBERT W. ASHLEY who recently died In Mattapolsett, was a veteran of the late
Ctvll War, having enlisted In the 23rd Massachusetts regiment, Co* "D". He
served during the entire war and was honrably discharged at lt*s close. He
took part In many battles and was wounded but once,
Mr. Ashley was born In Dartmouth, and resided there about 40 years when he
moved to Mattapolsett where he conducted a farm until his death. He was the
son of Taber and Elizabeth (Wordell) Ashley. Taber was the father of 21
children by two wives, Albert being the 19th child. Mr. Ashley was 80 years
of age and leaves a widow and one daughter. (Wife of Albert was Mary E.
Phillipe - dccu. was Alice W. b. 1866 m. Arthur W. Ashley)
Note: Bob Aehley writes that in the Spring of 1972 when the work party
of the Crapo^White-Ashley Cemetery visited the old Tabor Ashley
home and the private cemetery in the rear, located on High Bill
Roads ^« Dartmouth^ the children of the present owner showed them
aroimd and told them of the family goke — that when the old
house creaks in the nighty they say it is Deacon Tabor Ashley
looking after his 21 Children.
QUERIES (Continued)
OBIDAH ASHLEY - ? ? ? Had at least one child Thomas Jefferson Ashley
who m Martha 6oss. Descendants live In Ohio
RICHARD ASHLEY - b m Elizabeth Had at least one child
WI 1 1 lam who m Sarah Broomhel I .
THOMAS ASHLEY of Conway, Mass. Int. to marry recorded as 5 May 1833 to
Lucrez!3 "^hayer In Conwey vital records. Moved to New Bedford
shortly after marriage* "Memorial of the Thayer Name from the
Massachusetts Colony of Weymouth and Bralntree" by Bezallel Thayer
1874 (p44, 55, 57) states there were at least two chlldredn from
this marriage, viz. Sarah Price b 3 Feb. 1834 and Franklin M.
b. 6 Nov. 1835. Where does this THOMAS fit In.
WILLIAM HENRY ASHLEY - b 5 Aug. 1838, d 30 Oct. 1890 at Wilmington, Del.
m. Theresa J. Lynch on II Nov. 1863. Had Charles Henry b.
9 Jan. 1868 at Wilmington, and perhaps Arthur Edward (?)
Who are the progenitors of William Henry?
January 1974
C4G
CfMrO-MHITE
EBENEZER FRANKLIN ANDREWS d. August 10; 1841 j yr 16 mp. 15 da
RACHEL ANDRES wife of Ebenezer, d. December 26, 1840 tn 23rd yr.
PETER CRAP03 (called Peter Crapo 2n<i)Uohn^, P^ter^)
d. March 3, 1822 - 79 yrs.
He and his brother Consider and Abraham Ashley owned the sawmill
at Quanipaug that was "partly in Freetown and partly In Dartmouth"
^tdow Hathaway also at one time a part owner.
SARAH (West) CRAP, 1st wife of Peter, d. May 16, 1789, 42 yrs.
*C0NTENT (Peckham) (Hathaway) CRAPO, wife of later Peter, d. Oct. 27, 1856
68th yr.
(Above tJtp«e etonee restored and fenced in probably by Eeney
Houland Crapo, about 1912. See "Certain Comeoverere" by
B. H. Crapo)
The following all on one granite obelisk:
CAPT. PHILIP CRAPO, b. Oct. 12, 1797 d. Aug. 10, 1848
HANNAH (Crapo) CRAPO, his wife, dau. Richard and Elizabeth (Crossman) Crapo.
b. May 12, 1806 d. Dec. 30 1885
(Their dau, Banndh B. m. Villicna Allen Aahley^» Copt.
Villiom^, Villime^, Abrahem^, Joeeph^)
(Banndh (Crapo) Crape, wife of Capt, Philip m. ind
Booth)
Children of Capt. Philip i Bannah:
FRED A. CRAPO
ELIZA A. CRAPO
BENJAMIN F. CRAPO
On book of obelisk:
BENJAMIN CRAPO
HANNAH H. CRAPO
ELCANAH CRAPO
CAPT. GE0R6E H. CRAPO son of Philip & Hannah, May 8, 1825 Feb. 27, 1887
WILLIAM CUMMIN6S (s of Phillip & Keturah (Booth) Curamlngs) d. Apr. 17, 1859
66 yrs. (He m. Mrs. Mary (Booth) Pierce bef. 1813)
LEWIS GIFFORO d. Dec. I4> 1843 86 yrs
SUSANNA GIFFORD d. Oct. 5, 1833 66 yrs (Lewis Gifford m. Susannah Alien
wid. Sept. 26, 1799 - Dart. Recs.)
CATHERINE HOWARD d. Mar. 3, 1843 in 66th yr. (Mother of Mary S. Howard
who m. James Ashley
' HORACE S. PHILLIPS d. Jan. 17, 1864 51 yrs
CHARLES H. PHILLIPS s. of Horace and Elizabeth, d. June 24, 1865, I y. 8 d.
ELIAS REYNOLDS d. Dec. 8, 1887 69 yrs
MR. NATHAN WEST d. Oct. 31, 1838 85 yrs. 5 mos.
MRS. MERCY WEST wife of Nathan, d. Apr. 3, 1839 83 yrs. il.<)as..
NOAH WEST d. July 30, 1856 79 yrs. 5 mos. (He m. Hannah Cr'bsynan of
Tiverton, Int. Mar. 31, 1808) ,
MALACHI H. WHITE 1816-1898
HANNAH T. WHITE 1 8 16- 1 90 1 ^"-arge granite stone tipped Over and due to
its size, the only one we were unable to reset)
EXPERIENCE C. (White) wife of William H. Hunter, d. Dec. 9, 1651 24 y 6 m 14 d
the end
^ r42T January 1974
b. June 16, 1828 d May 22,
b. Aug. 18, 1841 d Aug. 6,
b. June 7, 1833 d Oct. 9,
1849
1850
1653
b. 1763 d. 1838
b. 1764 d. 1837
their son 1801, 1838
OBITUARIES
HENRY SIMEON ASHLEY (#178) b Feb. 27,
1879, son of Narren King and
Henrietta (Dewey) Ashley, died Nov.
23, 1973 at the age of 94. He was
the 3rd generation of Ash leys to
live on and operate the Ashley farm
at 22 Porter Rd, East Longmeadow.
As the town's oldest citizen he
had held the symbolic gold-headed
cane since 1971.
An active leader of the First Con-
gregational Church, an honorary
deacon since 1964 - active leader
In Hampden Co. Improvement League,
sponsor of youth development In
agriculture - 50 year member of
the Masonic Lodge.
Married to the late Jennie (Coomes)
Ashley he leaves two sons, Warren
H. (#183) and Henry C (1177), a
brother WI I Imore Ashley, 3 grand-
children and 2 gr-grandchlldren.
ZELMA B. (ASHLEY) CLARK (#268) age
85, wife of the late Walter M. Clark,
died Dec. 21, 1973. Born In New
Bedford, she lived the past 10 years
in S. Dartmouth. Member of the
Pilgrim United Church of Christ, the
Alcott Club, the Saturday Club and
Ashleys of America. Survivors are
two sons, Ashley Clark (1269) and
Walter M. Jr. and two grandchildren.
IDA M. (SNELL) ASHLEY^ widow of
Allen C. Ashley, b In Fall River,
died Oct. 17, 1973 In New Bedford,
age 75* Survived by two sons,
Allen C» Jr. of Falrhaven; former
Acushnet Selectman Elton A« Ashley;
two dau. MrSb Priscllla A. Lafferty
of New Bedford; Mrs. June L. West-
gate of Marlon; a brother Earl C.
Sne 1 1 of Rochester; a s I star Mrs .
Gladys E. Branch! nl of Westport;
1 3 grandch 1 1 dre«« and severe I great .
grandchJ Idren.
CDCXIIXIOCXIXXIIXIID
U PERSONAL NEWS U
MARY E. (GREGORY) ASHLEY widow of Ira
Ashley, died Oct. 2, 1973 at New Bedford,
age 95. Born In England, but had lived
In this area nearly 90 years. Survived
by her dau. Mrs. Lillian Sch lander of
New Bedford and one granddaughter.
B IRTHS
IT'S A BOY - Johann Ludwig Harrer, born
7 Dec. 1973 at North Adams, Mass. Proud
parents are Holger and Eiolse (Davis)
Harrer (144), grandparents are Kenneth
and Marie Davis (15).
IT'S A GIRL - Krlsten Adlna McKle, born
26 Dec. 1973, first child of Thomas and
Darlene (Bogardus) McKle of Sllngerlands,
N.Y., gr-grandaughter of Grace E. (Ashley)
MIsulls (1209.
CURRENT NEWS
DIANNE (ASHLEY) PER-LEE (1223) and her
father ROBERT P. ASHLEY (1230) have Just
published a high school text called,
UndBSPetariding Thm Saoel^ DIanne, a 1964
graduate of RIpon ODilege, spent 2 years
as a Peace Corps volunteer In Ethlpla.
Received her Master's degree In folklore
at Untv. of Pe., and Is now teaching In
en experimental H.S, In Arlington, Va«
Her father, ROBERT PAUL ASHLEY, the
author of many articles and several books,
is listed in Who's Who of America, Out*
standing Educators of ''72, Director of
American Scholars, and more. Is current-
ly Dean of the College of RIpon, RIpon,
Wisconsin.
JOHN ASHLEY, Freetown fireman, assisted
In the rescue of 4 persons from a Cessna
amphibian that crash-landed on Long Ppnd,
Dec. 22, 1973. All passengers and the
two firemen were ducked In Icey cold
waters whon rescue boat capsized, but
a 1 1 reached safety .
January 1974
C433
CIIIXXXXIXXIXI3
a NEM NEHBERSg
CXXXXXXXXXXXXX3
GSOHTB in MEUBSRSBIP Is the key to our contin-
ued success. Send names of prospective members
to our Membership Chairman* vtai
Mrs. K. 0. OaviSy Green Rfver Rd.
WltltomstOim* Mass. 01267
1278 MRS. MAURINE ASHLEY PIERCE
PO Box 673
Morrllton. Ark. 72110
1279 MRS. HARRISON LINCOLN ASHLEY
(Constance Paradise Reed)
159 Pleasant St.
North Adams » Mass* 01247
#280 MR. ALLEN W. ASHLEY (7)
489 Covewood Blvd.
. Webster, N.Y. 14581
#281 MR & MRS A. ALLEN ASHLEY
10408 Bright Angel Circle
Sun City, Ariz. 85351
#282 MR. ARTHUR R. ASHLEY
1979 Tanglewood Or. N.E.
St. Petersburgh, Fla. 33702
#283 MR. THEARON B. KILBURN
3107 Charles Ave.
Trenton, Mich. 48183
#284 MR. AUBREY C. ASHLEY
11239 - 81 Street '
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
#285 MR & MRS HIRAM MANNING
2046 N.W. 19th Lane
Gainesville, Fla. 32601
Lee Roy Ashley ( ) Thomas James Nelson ( )
George Sanders Jr. ( ) George Sanders ( )
Jordan Ashley who m. Sarah Sanders
Charles Ashley- who m. Annie Mashburn
Andrew Wtnfred Ashley (6) Andrew White (5)
William Washington (4) Edward (3)
Joseph (2) William of N.C. (7)
Stepson of James R. Ashley #226
Alfred Kllburn < ) William Marcel lus
Ashley ( ) Jeremiah ( ) John who m.
William John Ashley ( > William ( )
Will lam who m. Miss Grono
T5B 2R3
John Ashley Manning < ) Virginia Ashley ( )
Nathaniel () William ( ) Nathaniel ( )
William ( ) John of Aoson Co., N.C.
CIXX±XXXXXXXXXIX3
b CHAPTER NEWS b
CXXXXXXXXXIXXXXI3
CHAPTER Ito. I - NEW YORK STATE AREA
«
' October 14, 1973
Chapter No* i. Ash leys of America, held Its third meeting on October 14, 1973
at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth 0* Davis, Wf lllamstown. Mass, with nine
members present.
A very educational session was held covering discussion of migration maps
and Certificate Research,, led by Elolse (Davis) Harrer (#44). Mrs. Harrer
has spent considerable time In the Salt Lake City area and has done a
great deal of genealogical research.
Plans were discussed for Ihe June 1974 meeting which will be held In the
home of Mr. and Mrs. John 6.. Ashley (#208) at BInghamton, New York.
Marlon Kern, Secretary
C44:
t . • •
January 1974
<s^
M'^RARY
AUG 7 1974
Vol. IV No. 3
QUARTERLY BULLETIN
April 1974
ASHLEY FAMILY ASSOCIATION
Organized August 29, 1970 Incorporated June 8, 1973
1971 OFFICERS
President — -•!.--•• Robert E. Ashley
68 Spring HIM Ave., Bridgewater, M^ss. 02324
1st Vice President --•••-•••-- — •- John S. Ashley
50t County St., New Bedford, Mass. 02741
2nd Vice President — - — --.--•-•- Paul C. Leonard
Halcyon Farm, Howland Rd., Lakevtile, Mass. 02346
3rd Vice President •-,- Bradford F. Swan
15 Arnold St., Providence, R. 1. 02906
Secretary — -- — - — --••••-- Amantha Ashley Akin
103 Chancery St., New Bedford, Mass. 02740
Treasurer -------••--••------ Nancy Ashley
165 Elm St., South Dartmouth, Mass. 02748
Executive Committee:
Doris Ashley Lang - Washburn Rd., East Freetown, Mass. 02717
Kenneth Valentine Ashley * Mendel I Rd., Rochester, Mass. 02770
Virginia Ashley Goff - 56 Kelley Blvd., N. Attleboro, Mass. 02760
Publishing Editor - — .-•-•-•--. €sther Ashley Spousta
P.O. Box 321, Rogers, Ark. 72756
Membership Chairman •-- Maple A. Davis
Green River Rd., Wllllamstown, Mass. 01267
L.J
CXXX:DCXXXIDCXX3C3CIDDaC3CXXXXX:
FIFTH ANNUAL REUNION
AUGUST 24, 19 74
WAMSUTTA CLUB
New Bedford « Massachusetts
PLAN TO ATTEND
CXXXXXXXIXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX3
n- '\
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
INCORPORATED
April 1974
"*** ^
Vol. IV No. 3
46
47
CONTENTS
ft
EXECUTIVE BOARD REPORT
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Your editor Is always glad
to receive corrections as
well as new material.
48
49
COVER STORY
A BOY IN OLD OHIO - George Ashley^
One of the purposes of our
Quarterly Bulletin Is to
obtain accurate Information.
Do not hesitate at any time
to question data*
51
53
55
CORRECTION - 24" Boards
AN ASHLEY INVENTOR - Camb J. Ashley
•
BICENTENNIAL FOCUS - Ash leys on Bunker
Hill
The printed material herein
is collected from many
sources and your editor
has neither time nor the
facilities available to
verify It.
57
59
61
MOTHER OF ERIE COUNTY, OHIO -
Polly Curtis P
VITAL STATISTICS - Virginia
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A correction means that our
readers are "Interested
workers" and not Just
pleasure readers.
63
IN MEMORY - Merwin F. Ashley (121)
Holger J. Harrer (144)
Ida Golden (Ashley) Kllburn
Bether Aakley Spousta,
Editor
PO Box 321, Rogers,
Arkansas 72756
64
66
66
TODAYS ASHLEYS
NEW MEMBERS
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS
News Bulletin published Quarterly «- January, April, July, October
Free copy with each membership
Extra copies available by sending $2.00/each to the Editor
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETS
Your Executive Board met in New Bedford on March 3, I97.4» for the purpose of
transacting the Corporation's business. This meeting will eliminate the need
for an extensive business meeting at the August Reunion and allow the maximum
of time to be devoted to lectures, reports on research progress^ and Just plain
convorsatlon.
3US!NESS IN BRIEF:
August 24th Is the date set for the Fifth Annual Reunion. Place will be again
at the Wamsutta Club, New Beford, Mass. Details In July Bulletin
Agreed that the proposed reprinting of **Ashley Genealogy • Descendants of
Robert Ashley of Springfield** by Trowbridge (1896) will be undertaken on the
basis of "pre-print I ng" sale of copies sufficient to cover cost. This would
be an exact reprint of the book, as updating at this time would be too costly,
it has been indicated by the trustees of the John Ashley House of Ashley Falls
that they could be interested In 200 to 300 copies, and it has not been
ascertained as yet what the Deerf leld Historical Society would want.
Contact has been made with Lord Anthony Ashley-Cooper the Tenth, the present
Earl of Shaftesbury, Dorset, England. Details of this contact to be correlated
by our president, Robert E. Ashley, and presented at our Fteunlon. Lord Ashley
has been invited to become an Honorary Member of Ash leys of America.
The response to the preliminary Index of Ashley descendants of Abraham - Joseph
lines has been excellent, and a revised index should be ready for distribution
at the Reunion In August.
An English genealogist has been engaged on a "trial basis" to research early
Ashley emigrants to America. A report will be forthcoming.
Back issues of our Quarterly Bulletin are In process of being Indexed.
A start at computerizing the "Ashley^s" Is under way.
cixDacDcxxxDDcxixxxxDCDaixiaixxxxxiDciiDnacixj
a
A BIG THANK YOU to our Executive Board. □
□
Your editor takes the liberty of speaking for all members to
express appreciation to our Executive Board.
No organization operates successfully without good leaders and
the accomplishments of Ash leys of America can be attributed to
the work being done by those you elected to guide our Society.
They are working ail through the year, planning for our Reunion,
cataloging dat^, and helping in research on the ASHLEY family.
46.
April 1974
FROH YOUR PRESIDENT
Robert E. Ashley II
Genealogy and history can not be separated^ It Is
impossible to know our ancestors unless we study the
history of the times In which they lived* Geography
too plays a part» for a close study of where they
lived often reveals the clue as to why they moved» or
did not move*
But regardless of what we flnd^ our first respon*
slbiiity Is to the truth. A true report^ regardless
of the nature of the facts. Is the obligation of anyone
who calls himself a genealogist. Those niho would try to alter or color the
fruth to fit their own preconceived ideas are a liability to the science.
I l(now that I have **turned off** some correspondents by giving them facts
that they did not want to hear, and still others by proving their dearly held
notions to be wrong. But to paraphrase Harry Truman, **lf you can*t stand
family sl<eletons then stay out of family closets**.
More often, however, there Is no siceleton but simply the fact that a
supposed connection or relationship does not exist.
For example -* I get numerous letters from people claiming to be descended
from Lord Anthony Ashley-Cooper **who settled on the Ashley River In South
Carolina**. This preposterous statement Is easily demolished by showing that
neither the above Individual (who was later made the first Earl of Shaftes«
bury) nor his only surviving son, the second Earl, nor his son the third
Earl or the third Earl's brother Maurice who disposed of the property, ever
even visited America much less **settllng** or producing so many **descendants** •
All of this can easily be found In the many histories of South Carolina, (fl)
If that Is not enough, I have before me a letter dated February 25, 1974
from the present, tenth Earl of Shaftesbruy who tells ma, 'Vlwre is no
0vidmte0 at all that any mmbar of my family ^r thair dM^mdantB vieit^d th^
Unitad StatoB befora 1800 or tht^Mtbouta. Tha barony you mmtticn n$ar
CharlMton^ South Carolina^ waB achinietared by thm /tost EaiA '# Btmaard^
but nai'^ier He nor kU eon Cthe 2nd Earl3 or the third Barl^ or kis bro^uBT
Maurioo Ashley uho diepoead of the propert y ^ mmr viHtod South Carolina. I
9uggo9t that you find out the origins of ti^ Ashlsya %iho oms to Atei England
in ths time of Sir PardMumdo Gorges^ ii^ was a fnsnd of a trustss of ths
first Sari, bsfors proossding v^i-tit your rsssareh^.
So there It Is, twice over, and will that end it? In the words of Eliza
Ooolittle, * »4y Fair Lady - **not bloody likely**. The fable has appeared In
print too often*
/
April 1974
47.
On the other hand, there was a village called Dorchester on the Ashley River
opposite the Ashley Barony which was so named because settled by people from.
Dorchester, Mass* (f2) Our New England Ashleys could have been arrfong them*
•' « » » . ' • '
Also from Maine's "Book of Eastern Claims" we find a "Jhomaa- AehUy nam of
loi*th CaeeoliMx . * . (md Bi»t0ra) . . • cMldtm of ThomoB AeKUy^ Son of
ThomoB AMhlsy Mom-ttum Flcavtw onyo Ba§t Sid§ of KmmBhock, at a plaao oalUd
Ha HntvamHng ..." (fl) C^erhaps as early as 1625. Certainly Jong
before 16943 (fi) This may be the origin, or one of the origins, of the
Carolina .Ash leys. « ■'
ga:i3p
c sc
TC
V
I
I— ^
r
□
C3
□
a
c:
G
€ R
LoM Ashley also writes, '*D4y3 f ami Ly us^d the siqi) of a clnque-
fol^t as late as the' 1630* s; and Indeed there Is a document dated
1647 bearing SIniAnthony Ashley-<kx)perU arms as a ctnque-foll
quartered with the Cooper lions rampant* The same man, who became
the first Earl of Shaftesbury, presumably changed ^is crest to be
a Bull upon reoefving a peerage. There Is also an Instance of the
Warpy being used prior to the 16th century^.
t.
This pretty well destroys our *^cl aims*' to the Bull as. it was not
used at al I untl I long after our ancestors came to America, Tn the
early 1600* Se Sir Anthony Ashley-Cooper adopted it. when he became
aSaron in 1661. (fS^)
• ^
R Y
' It Is not lively that the Sheriff of Nottingham will come after
you If you keep It on the wall, but we would be'ln violation of the rules of
heraldry to use it pub lie ly* We should stay with the sign of the cinque- foil and
and study the •oohnectlorts between Sir Anthony Ashley, Sir Humphrey Gilbert,
Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Perdinando Gorges #
\ have accumulated so much data on the .subject that I think It only right to
>ut it all together In a mimeographed booklet to distribute at the August *
)eet(ng
f k »
I •
See you> then.
1 1
Bab AaKUy
» •
(fl) The South Carolina HistoHcaL' and Genealogical Magazine -
- Vol. XI #2 April I9W
(fS) IbLd i . .
(fS) . The Maine Recorder, Vol. VI 1 1 page 200
r/i;. Anne Borden Harding, N.E.H.G;R. 119/15 •
(fS) Mrs. Hilda M* Stowell, Archivist ta the Earl of Shaftesbury,
. , March 1974 ■ .
48.
April 1974
A BOY IN OLD OHIO
GEORGE ASHLEY^ (Warden^, James^)
Written by Fredrick Will tern Ashley^, his eon
May 28, 1924
Published In ^'Early Firelands Families**
Compiled by Marjorle Loomis Cherry (127)
Let us leave "the Innumerable throng" of our remote
ancestors to the kindly oblivion Into which they have
long since faded, while we try to rescue from oblivion a few of the scenes
and incidents surrounding the boyhood of my father, "Grandpa Ashley" as you
knew him,
A fetherless boy before his tenth day of life. • . Father's school days
were spent In log school houses. Of course there were no stoves. Big fire*-
places did what they could to warm the winter morning air, and oiled paper
in the windows served instead of glass. A punishment much In favor with the
teachers was to split a stick for part of its leitgth and fasten it on the nose
of the small offenders. The bigger boys got something more severe. One of
father's teachers was a one-legged man who went about on two crutches. Some
of the boys thought It would be easy to "lick" this cripple, but when one of
them came at him In school, a crutch came suddenly against the side of the
young warrior's head and there was peace In the school house ail the rest of
the term.
The trip home from school In the winter twilight had thrills of Its own.
School kept late In those times for It wasn't eaey to raise the money to pay
even the scanty wages of the teacher, so they made the school day about as
long as the daylight laste<f.
But In 1830 It was probably dark on many a winter evening before the children
finished the two mile trip home from school, through the woods. And many a
time they heard the wolves Ion "aow*-oo*oo*ooo" and drew closer together and
ran along the snowy path In the winter twilight.
There was one low-down neighbor who thought It great sport to hide In the
thickets and imitate a wolf's howl until he was caught in the act and persuad-
ed by angry fathers to seek some other form of diversion than scaring little
Chi Idren.
Amusements were not varied, but no doubt the pioneers old and young, got a
good deal of fun out If life. Father used to tell of sliding down hill In
winter, using his coon-skin cap for a sled. And about the country dances
where (In the absence of even a violin) the music was furnished by a noted
loud voiced singer who reeled off a Jingle of meaningless syiables to which
the young folks danced. This Jingle always ended with "ling aling, ling
allng, ling aling lang".
April 1974
49.
Hunting and fishing mu$t have furnished Daddy many a day of Joy In his boyhood.
There was a famous Pigeon Roost In Huron County, still famed in story and men«-
t toned In the books, where thousands of these wild birds came at nloht to roost.
Father used to tell about trips to the Pigeon Roost. Nutting must have been
wonderfully good« When I was 18 years old i gathered nine bushels of hickory
nuts one fai I
One October when daddy was 13 or 14 (about 1835) the attractions of the forest
must have been Irreslstabte, for the school teacher passing Grandmother Ash ley *s
one evening stopped to ask why George hadn't been to school for the last two
weeks. This was news to Grandmother who had started George off each morning
with. a good lunch In his basket. George graduated from school right then.
He was forthwith apprenticed, indentured, '*Bound Out** they called It, to a
carpenter and builder.
That was the common practice In those days. The master agreed In writing to
teach the boy his trade, to feed, clothe and house him until he was 21 years
old and then to furnish him with a new suit of clothes and a small sum of
money (say $5.00). The parent or guardian contracted to surrender hfs natural
rights to the boy's time and labor. The boy had nothing to say In the matter.
■
Whatever else Is to be said for the system. It produced In many cases a much
higher grade of workmanship than Is commonly found today. The hours of servlxre
were long - It was before the ten hour laws were passed; but food was abundant-
for all classes of society In those times. There were few rich and few poor.
Every one dressed plainly In the Ohio of the 30's and 40's.
The master had a large Interest In transforming his apprentice Into first class
skilled workmen. That Is what happened In father's case. He learned the busi-
ness thoroughly. It was before the days of machinery - there were no steam
driven planes and wood working machines. Everything had to be made by hand, all
mouldings, all the parts of doors, windows, sash, blinds, ail the mortices dug
out with chisels. Nails were hand made. Even the wire staples that hold blind
slats to the rod by which all the stats are made to turn at once.
But he did not become a master of his trade without having his troubles. He did
not finish his term with his. f Irst'boss. They were at work at Huron, on Lake
Erie, when George disappeared. I never heard Just what his grievances were, but
home-sickness no doubt was a big factor. Without any "good*-byes'* he set out on
foot for his sister Betsy's, then^Mrs. James Gamble, living In Waihondlng In
CSoshocton County - about 120 miles southeast of Huron. Early In the Journey
he lost his pocketbook and had less than a dollar In change to provision the
trip, so that his diet was limited to crackers for most of the way, and there
were few crackers on the last day.
Coming Into Mansfield, the county seat of Richland Co., after dark, he foiind an
empty stage coach standing In front of a tavern In the Public Square, in this
he found his bed for the night and left at daybreak before the horses were
hitched up for another stage. He arrived at Aunt Betsy's one evening about
sunset, almost **all«-In". I think he was about 15 years old.
(Continued on page 60)
50.
April 1974
V
%
roGcxxxxxiixn"
"TWENTY-FOUR IliCH ncoRRECTioNQ
BOARDS" cnitxxixini:
m
■ • • ♦ ' I V
4 ^
i *
VOL. IV» No. 2 - January 1974 - ^age ^2, lines 4 and 5
Correction by Robert E. Ashley II
/ • .
I have been called to account for a statement In the January 1974 bulla-*
tin^ i«e. (whose pillars are said to be masts fronn British ships) referring
to the Eagle Tavern In East Poultney* One member wrote » '*Bob Ashley, you
of all people ought to Know better. Masts hauied more than one hundred
miles over two mountain ranges when plenty of materiel was growing right
on the spot7'' \
First, let me hasten tp sey that I did not make the statement e It was '
an editorial insertion and what our editor probably meant was to express the
often made statement that "they are reputed to be f rdjn trees that were
*meant* to be masts for British ships'^.
Anyone traveling and visiting the old houses In New England Is aware that
attention Is always called to the ''twenty-four Inch boards'', timbers and ^
planks, and In this case pillars, that strangely aboiind here. Tj|ey were,
of course, open insults and defiance to the King In ColonTal times.
As we know, the King claimed .ownership of all mast pines over twenty <»f our
inches In diameter,* a feat from the ground,, and th^jse were supposed to be
cut only for his use; Sp^lat* ships were designed and built* for their
transportation to England, and great. care was taken' la their felling to
prevent their being broken or warped. \A.';great swath was swamped through *
the forest in the planned llne^of fall /and 6 soft bed of branches, saplings
and snow was constructed to cushloN the faU. !Oi)ce down and limbed they
were dragged to the nearest waterway by as majny as forty oken and floated .
to the sea. They were worth about $500, even In the money' of those days.
Now our ancestors dldn*t relish having their .best tlfner approprated this
way, so they found ways to circumvent it. The King's surveyors marked the
trees with the "King's Broad Arrow" thus -
The colonics felt very strongly on this
point If thfe tree was in the way of their
planting or^ If they wanted the lumber
themselves^ So If they dar^d, they simply
cut It anyway. If this seemed too risky,^. they built brush
* fires to riiln it for masts pdrpos^s, or c;l eared away all
other growth ^nd. pi owed up the soil around the base. Now
It was a 'push-over' In the first strong Wind, lacking the
. protection of the forest and the strengtbvOf the soil.
Crashing downi they were no good jfdr maste, ^having suffer-
ed weakening strains. Quickly sawed -into boards (dr
'pilia^s) they were trimmed to less than the 'damning' ^
twenty-four Inch width, and so we see them as ' ^JntandQd
to be masts for British sMps^.
April »974
91.
«litfU
April 1974
AN ASHLEY INVENTOR
CAM8 J. ASHLEY
Fumiahed by: The lata Menain F. Aahley $21
In response to our question In the lost
- bulletin, "Which Ashley patented the
Invention of down-draft wood burning stove"
Merwin F. Ashley sent us the following Information J.ust two weeks before his
untimely death.
CAHB J. ASHLEY ofGoodloes, Virginia obtained Patent No. 1,786,931 on December
30, 1930. He later obtained another patent No. 2,013,638 on Sept. 3, I93S,
for a brooder attachment to his stove. Both patents were first assigned to
the Autcfliatlc Draft and Stove Co. of Guinea, Va., and later assigned by that
company to the King Stove and Range Co. of Sheffield, Alabama, who still
market the Ashley stoves under that name.
In Camb J. Ashley's application for the patent covering an Automatic Draft'
Regulator, he stated:
My Invention relates to improvements in automatic draft regulators. The
' object of my invention Is to provide a draft regulator as a separate ele-
ment, so constructed that it can be readily attached to the ordinary air-
tight stove using a down draft, so that the draft of the stove Is automatic-
ally regulated so that a stove can be kept at any predetermined even temper-
ature. Ano+her object of my Invention Is to provide a draft regulator of
this character having adjustable means whereby the same can be set so that
the damper will be opened or closed by the heat from the stove at different
degrees of temperature.
A further object of my invention is to provide a damper- . . . having means
for preventing the heat radiating from the stove, from coming In direct
contact with the wafer controlling the damper ... to control the amount
of heat radiated from the stove coming Into direct contact with the wafer.
A still further object of my invention Is to provide a simple cheap and
effective draft regulator having certain details of structure and combina-
tion of parts, hereinafter more fully set forth. . . .
On the opposite page Is one of several drawings that accompanied his applica-
tion for this patent. -
Now that we have the Inventor's name, our next question is ■ "Where does
Camb J. Ashley fft on the family tree? This Is a challenge for those of
you who live in the southeast and have access to records in that area.
Anyone finding more data on Camb J. Ashley, please forward to your editor.
April 1974 '53.
^^•'sm-ps^3iss-<!^^M^Ti:msm.ssmm^:ms
April. H74 ..
BI-CENTENNIAL FOCUS
ASHLEYS AT BUNKER HILL
Fwmiehed by: Bobert B. Aehtey §1
(TkU ie th^ firet of many arHolss w% -plan to
publish about our Revolubicnavy AnaaatoTB aa
ow^ part in oormamoroHng the 200th oelebration
) of *5i« birth of ovr aountry)
We are all familiar by now with the seven Ashley brothers of Pouitney, Vt.,
In the taking of Fort TIconderoga and the battle of Bennington^ but what about
the Massachusetts Ash leys?
The eighteen volumes of '^Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors In the Revolution**
give no less than 64 Ash leys from Massachusetts in the war, and six of them
from the Old Colony who "answered the alarm of April (9, 1775^* (Minute Men).
They were Abraham, Jephthah, Mlcah, Noah and Percival of Freetown, and James
of MIddleboro, ail third generation Ashleys. None could have taken part In
the battles of Lexington and Concord, for the news did not reach Rochester
unti I the 20th and then - Ht was eoaraely to bm believed. Abrcffian Hotmee^
then 22 years of age^ was sent to learn -tiie truth of the nenor. On reaahing
Middleboro, he met a messenger who oonfirmed the report^ and Mr. Holmes
reoords that he returned to Rochester 'as gay as a lark' at the joyful news
that the struggle for Independsnoe was realT^ begun''. CMattapoisett and Old
Rochester, (.eonardj
The service of Abraham, James and Percival was for only three days at this
time Indicating that they perhaps went home for awhile, then returned to the
war after a year or so* Barnabas, Joseph 3rd, John, Simeon and William also
had later enlistments.
Jephthah, Micah and Noah, however, enlisted now for three months and were
probably at the siege of Boston when General Gage and some 5,000 British
troops were bottled up in the town by the Colonials who numbered some 8000
to 10,000 men. Gagehad little respect for his Ill-trained opponents, but
still he knew his situation was dangerous. Two glacial drumlins of high
ground - Dorchester Heights to the South and the Charlestown peninsular to
the North * dominated the town, and were as yet unoccupied by either side.
Gage knew that If the Americans ever grew strong enough to take and hold
them, his position would be untenable. Thus he decided in June to seize both
points.
By a fortunate accident, American intelligence learned of Gage's plans and on
the night of June 16, about 1000 men led by Prescott of Massachusetts and
Putnam of Connecticut occupied the Charlestown heights and began to dig In.
Though they had been ordered to fortify Bunker Hill, a 110 foot high knoll
well out of range of the British land batteries on Copp's Hill In Boston,
Prescott and Putnam chose instead to station their men on the lower and more
exposed Breed's HI II. (See map on opposite page) By dawn on the 17th when
H. M. S. Lively discovered their presence and began to shell them, the
Provincials had built a redoubt six feet high.
April 1974
55.
Gage, still smarting from the rough treatment his troops had received In the
retreat froTi Lexington and Concord, pyerruled the advice of his generals
Howe, Clinton and Burgoyne, and foolishly decided on a frontal assault.
Now, where were Jephthah, Mich and Noah Ashley 7
We know they were In Col. David Brewer's regiment. We further know that.
Col. Brewer's regiment had taken a position on the northeast side of the hill
between the breastworks and the rail fence. It was here that Cot. Brewer and
Col. John Nixon were injured In the fighting. It Is reasonable to suppose
they (the Ashleys) were with their regiment. Some of the fiercest fighting
took place here.
The rest is history. Of how the British made three assaults on the hill with
2300 men nearly half of which were casualties when the Americans held their
fire ••until you see the whites of their eyes*'. How the British had to try
three times before they finally won the hill with no more than 450 Americans
hit. How the colonials final lyhad to give up when their powder gave out.
How they escaped across Charlestown Neck and fortified Winter Hill on the
mainland, convincing the British they had better not try to follow up their
pyrric victory.
Noone wrote a better epitaph of the battle than British General Clinton when
he said, "A dear bought victory, another such would have ruined us".
What became of Jephthah, MIcah and Itoah?
«
On November 8, 1775 Jephthah receives an order for a bounty coat or it's
equivalent In money at Roxbury. The same for MIcah and Noah. Since they
each served three months and four days It would appear that their enlistment
was up and they went home. Jephthah now disappears from all records and we
assume that he, like Col. Brewer, died perhaps of his wounds. MIcah and Noah
settled Fn Freetown and Lakeville and raised large fami les from whom many
of our present fnembers descend.
References:
"The Battle for Bunker Hill" by Richard M. Ketcham
■
"American History" by Itoscoe Lewis Ashley
"Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors In the Revolution"
Prepared by: Secretary of the Conmonwealth
Published byj Wright 4 Potter Printing Co., Boslwj <»896)
56.
April 1974
,.: >; v»>.
^.^'
MOTHER OF ERIE COUNTY
'^ "// ^^1?/^ ^ POLLY CURTIS PIERCE
^ll^iLtSii^/ Wife of Alexander PlerceS (Lucy Ashley*,
James^, Thomas^, Joseph*)
From: ''Mothers of Erie County" by
Marjorie Loomie Cherry (§27)
The first woman In Erie County (Ohio) to take an Interest In Politics was
Polly Curtis, b. I April 1798, d. 26 September 1865, daughter of Ebenezer
Curtis of Leverett, Mass. She married Alexander Pierce 14 Nov. 1815 at
Leverett, and came to Ohio when quite young. Shen she had been here a short
time she went one day to visit her mother-in-law. This good lady gave Polly
a large pl^ce of pork to take home with her.
At that time In Erie County was a very unhealthy place for both men and
anlmaTs. 11^ was almost Impossible to raise cattle, hogs or sheep. Even
horses could, not survive the strange maladies that attacked them. A great
deal of the time the early settlers had only wild game for meat, so that
pork :was considered a great treat.
Polly was very happy over this present. She took It under her arm, and
calling her little dog, started through the woods on her way home. When
about a mile from her cabin, a bear appeared on the path In front of her.
Polly stopped dead still. She was too far from her mother-in-law's to run
back there, and the bear was between her and the shelter of her own house.
The little dog cowered shivering and whimpering at her feet.
"Oh Mr. Bear," cried Polly, "You want to eat Polly, the pork or the pup"
And with that she picked up the little dog and ran out from the path In a
circle, tearing through the briars and stumbling over roots and vines.
Just as she expected, the bear came lumbering after her. Seeing him away
from the path, Polly got back on tt, and how she did run for her own house.
All that long mile Polly ran and hung onto the pork with one arm and the dog
with the other.
In spite of his clumsiness, the bear made good time and began to gain on her.
As Polly would look back and see him coming nearer and nearer she would think
she must drop either the pork or the dog. She Just couldn't give up that
precious piece of pork, and neither could she bear to think of sacrificing
her little dog to that hungry bear, so she hung onto both and kept running.
She reached the door with the bear close at her heels. She burst Into the
cabin, flinging the pork and the dog across the room and slammed the door,
swinging the heavy wooden bar across It Just as the bear crashed against
the heavy panels.
Polly had quite a mind of her own. One day she attended a political meeting.
She was the only woman there, for In that day women didn't go to such places.
The men were quite scandalized to see her there. One of them said.
April 1974
57.
J
"I will put Aunt Polly Pierce In her place**. So he began to question her,
thinking to show her how little she knew. To his surprise she answered with
much Intelligence, and then told him some things about the issues of the day
that he had never thought of. Afterward he said It was too bad Aunt Polly was
not a man and couldn^t vote.
Little did he or Aunto Polly dream that the day would come when ail the women
in Erie County would not only be allowed to attend political meetings, but
could vote and hold office as well.
The mother of our political women - POLLY CURTIS PIERCE.
WILL OF POLLY CURTIS PIERCE (Probated 5 December 1865
Alfred Brightman and John E. LaBarre, Administrators
She directs that she be buried near Lemon Cole in the Bronson Cemetery, and
that they do not go to the extra expense of buying her a coffin. (There Is
no stone for her in this cemetery)
To son Alden Pierce * the family Bible with the family records In It and
one blanket
To son Ebenezer Curtis Pierce * her pocket Bible and one blanket, a feather
bed and pillows, and seven years after her death he is to be paid $50.
To son Martin Pierce - all Interest in her land and all personal property
Two sets of silver teaspoons to be purchased from the estate for $6.00 per
set, and her name engraved on each spoon, one set to be given to each of
her granddaughters, Belinda Pierce and Ciarlnda Pierce, daughters of Alden
Pierce, when they shall come of age.
PREFACE TO "MOTMERS OF ERIE COUNTY"
I am the memory of Erie County. Before the beginning of years, I moved
through the dark, thick forest. The great trees shut out the* sun. Creeping
vines and briars grew thickly between. Only a few trails made by the deer
and bear were open to travel. Rattlesnakes glided In the tail grass and
coiled in the nettles. Overhead the panthers clung to the boughs and sent
their wterd screams through the silence. At night the wolves howled. The
Indians called this the land of the Erie - Erie being their word for Panther
IDOLA - The first mother in this dangerous land was the Indian woman. With
her two hands, she built her home, and with her own two hands she found
food for her children. Here she kept them safe from the dangers that beset
them. The spirit of woman triumphant, Idola.
58.
April 1974
VIRGINIA
Froim Villian J Mcaey ColUga Quartefly
BiBtcrio MagcaiM, Villicmburgt Va»
X1300LJOLTIJXTT1
:3 VITAL C
STATISTICS C
CXXX3CXXXIXXXIX'
pg.
pg.
100
pg.
lot
pg.
102
pg.
103
pg.
104
pg.
105-7
P9*
loa
Vol 8 - 2nd Series - MARRIAGE BONDS OF NORFORK CO., VA.
JAMES ASHLEY and Eliza Langiey (widow) I Nov. 1752
Mathlas Christian & LYDIA ASHLEY, 12 June 1754
George Webb and FRANCES ASHLEY, 18 October 1759
JAMES ASHLEY and Mary Calvert, 29 July 1762
JOHN ASHLEY & Margaret Williamson, 28 April 1763
Joseph Langiey & ELIZABETH ASHLEY, 3 October 1765
John Boyne I MOLL IE ASHLEY, 31 January 1769
Wit I Ian Cormtck & MARY ASHLEY, 16 January 1773
Willis Bramble & MARY ASHLEY, 17 March 1753
Vol 16 - 1st Series - MARRIAGE BONDS OF AMELIA COUNTY, VA .
pg. 277 Jonathan Polndexter & MARY ASHLEY* 27 April 1780
Vol I - 1st Series - ABSTRACTS OF MARRIAGE LICENSE BONDS
York Co., Va from 1772-1792
pg. 55 Anthony Peters X his mark, to Ann Carter, spinster,
10 June 1786: Security JAMES ASHLEY, X his mark
Vol 4 - 1st Series - From records of THRUSTON FAMILY OF VIRGINIA
P9. 118 ^4y daughter Elizabeth being marryed to HR* JOHN ASHLEY vicar
of Wtlicott y iOth of September 1701* She was delivered of
a daughter April I ye 30th 1703 as above my sister Godmother
and named Jane
Vol 21 - 1st Series - RECORDS OF HANOVER QO., VIRGINIA
pg* 160 ••The Larger Book** a deed book from 1780-1790
April 4, 1791 - James Davenport Jr & Dicey his wife to
WILLIAM ASHLEY of Spotsylvania 150 acres; beginning where said
James Davenport Jr.*s branch enters the Pamunkey adjoining
Kannadays and John Sea*s
Vol 23 • 1st Series - Mr. Robert Jones of Fleet's Boy, NORTHUMBERLAND CO., VA
(By Mrs. 0. A. Keoch, Wichita, Kansas)
pg 199 April 7, 1677 will of Thomas Hughes proved by THOMAS ASHLEY
and George Pickering .
Vol 13 - 1st Series - JOURNAL OF CUTHBERT POWELL
pg* 56 (Monday) say Tuesday 27th Dec. 1796. Merchants and others
with whome I made acquantance In Norfork
CAPT. WARREN ASHLEY
April 1974
59.
A BOY IN OLD OHIO (Continued from page 50)
*
t don't know hem long Dad(ty*s ^irst visit In Walhonding lasted. He had another
boss of his own selection afterwards, and finished learning his trade, i saw
a large house In Walhonding, or near It, for which father made by hand all the
blind staples. He was engaged on churches, on the ornamental work of ships'
cabins. In tfme he came to own a factory of his own In Milan, In which
machinery did the work of many men. During my childhood and In ait the remaind*
er of his active life, he had charge of men In the two principal '^sash and blind"
factories of Fremont.
In 1835 there had come to Walhonding from Guernsey Co., Ohio, John Adams and his
family: Margaret Donley, his wife, their son William and three daughters - »
Elizabeth, Rebecca and Rachel. Elizabeth was Just as old as Daddy (a few months
older) and Rachel was 5 years younger. Walhonding, a little village at the
Junction of the Walhonding and the Kokosing Rivers (better known in those days
as the White Woman River and Owl Creek) was not so large a place that one couldn't
get acquainted with the entire population In the course of time. The Adams girls
were handsome as well as good, and It came to pass that on May 5, 1844, George
Ashley and Elizabeth Adams were married. They went to live In Milan In Erie Co.
Here his first five children were born: Julia E. (1849-1893), Anna F. (1850-1915)
Velma C (1852-1924), and Jay (1855-1906). Their mother, Elizabeth Adams Ashley
died at Milan, Ohio March 8, 1859.
Her death was a heavy loss. Father seemed to have felt that he could not stay
in the scene where he had lived with her. He sold his factory and his home and
took his family to Missouri where his brother lev! Ashley was living. Elizabeth's
sister, Rachel Adams (my mother) who had come from her father's home In Coshocton
Co. to care for her sister's motherless children, went to Missouri with them.
She and father were married In Missouri In April 1861.
•
The Missouri episode in our family history was not fortunate^ The country was In
suspense on account of the slavery question; business was dull and building at a
standstill. As the war clouds darkened father realized that a border state like
M4'8souri was no place for a Northern man with a family of young children to pro-
vide for. He had been a Mfe-long Democrat, but he had no sympathy with the
position that party was taking In I860. So father decided to get back to Ohio.
The family passed through St. Louis on their homeward Journey on the day of the
St. Louis riots, occasioned by the capture of Camp Jackson and its rebel forces,
on the edge of the city. History says what happened on May 10, 1861.
The Missouri adventure, with its two years of very small Income, and Its heavy
travelling and moving expenses from Ohio and back again, had consumed ail the
proceeds of the sale of the Milan property. The first stop was Mansfield, and
later the family settled In Freemont. I was born in Mansfield, and my one brother
and three sisters were born In Fremont, Ohio.
(At the end of Frederick' e notes ^ he eaye) Here ends my brief sketch of the
Ash leys. I have stopped short of the present generation, who can tell their
story better than I .... I have not included here by any means all that my
notebooks hold regarding the descendants of James Ashley's children . • • •
Should I ever come to the point of printing the story, \ shell include them all.
But that Is a costly venture and few are Interested enough to ask the question,
"Who are my ancestors?"
THE END
^- . April 1974
CIDCIXIIIXXXIXD
C3
FOX FOR THOUGHT □
ASHLEYS IN ENGLAND O^^^^^^^^^^^^
CXIXIIXIXXXXX3
Fumiahed by: L» R. S, AehUy (If 292)
As author of critical biographies of Col ley Ctbber (17th and 18th century
dramatist and theatre manager at Drury Lane) and of George Peeie (t6th century
dramatist, contemporary of Shakespeare) I may be able to give you some Infor-
mation on Ashleys In England at those times. For Instance • - -
JOHN ASHLEY (17347-1805) member of The Royal Society of Musicians (1765)
Assistant conductor at the Ccmmemorat I on for Handel (1784)
Presenter of oratorio concerts at Covent Garden (1795)
JOHN JAMES ASHLEY (1772-1815) son of the above, member of The Royal Society
of Musicians (1792)
CHARLES JANE ASHLEY ( I7737-I827), elder brother of John James above, member
of The Royal Society of Musicians (1811)
GENERAL CHARLES ASHLEY (17707-1818), elder brother of John James and Charles
Jane, like them a string player (pupil of Gtrdlnl and Barthele-
mon - his brother John James studied with Schroeter), took part
In Handel Cksmmemoratlon (1784) with his father John, member of
The Royal Society of Musicians (1791)
Clearly one ought to check this musical Ashley tine In the documents of The
Royal Society of Musicians* Another brother was RICHARD ASHLEY (1775-1836)
member of that Society (1796). There were probably others before and after
John Ashley and his sons.
AND we find Jacob, Baron Astley (1579-1652) a major-general In the Civil War
on the Royalist side? ? 7 Lady Ashley^s husband John (d. 1595), keeper of the
Jewels to the Princiss Elizabeth and later Queen Elizabeth, member of pari la*
ment (for Maidstone In Kent, J586 and 1589), author of THE ART OF RIDING (1584)
often spelled his name "Astley". Other Astleys Include the portrait painter
John Astley (17307-1787) who accompanied Sir Joshua Reynolds to Rome, was a
friend of Horace Wa I pole (Earl of Orford) made several very rich and Important
marriages, and the sporting baronet Sir John Dugdale Astley (1828-1894) MP,
FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE (1894), and the circus performer and operator of
Astley *s Ampltheatre, Philip Astley (1742-1814) who died In Paris after a
famous career In London.
JETHRO ASHLEY^ ( son of Joseph' )
In the early research of Burton J Ashley he stated that Jethro m Elizabeth
Holmes, lived for a time on a part of her father's farm In Rochester, then
at length removed to the "Nine Partners" to the State of New York, where the
family embraced the Moravian system of religion, and all save the youngest
daughter Elizabeth removed to Bethlehm In Pennsylvania, a place wholly in-
habited by Moravians. We believe the basis for this theory of Burton J.
April 1974
61.
was taken from the book *'HOLMES FAMILY OF MARSHFIELD'* pa^e 201 (Giles
Memorial}. At a later dite Merwln F. Ashley checked this theory and found
that the Moravian Mission at Nine Partners (Bethel) started In 1740 and
Closed about 1746. Very good records survive at Bethlehem^ Pa.^ but he
found no mention whatever of anyone named Ashley.
Grace E. MIsulls (#209) has located the following data taken from **Records of
Pennsylvania Marriages prior to 1810, Vol* 2:
pg 107 - Moravian Church, Bethlehem;
1767 Dec. 16 * ASHLEY, Patience and Adam Van Erd
pg 129 - Moravian Church, Nazareth
1782 Nov« 5, ASHLEY, Johanna Elizabeth and Agarlus Smith
pg 133 - Moravian Church, Nazarath
1787 July 29, Leventng, Joseph and Johanna Elizabeth (ASHLEY) Smith
However, curr'ent research has proven that the family of JETHRO did not all move
to Pennsylvania. Noah Ashley^ continued to live In New York as did his descen«-
dants. Othneil Ashley^ was a Rev. Soldier from New York and was killed at
the disastrous retreat from New York city In 1776.
OHIO ASHLEYS
Our records show that many of the New England Ash leys moved westward and helped
to settle Ohio In the early days. We are no finding that Ash leys from the South
also migrated to Ohio - - -
Thearon B. Kilburn (#287) has sent documents (Vital Records) showing that
JOHN ASHLEY (1795-1862) was born In Virginia lived In Vernon Township, Scioto
County, Ohio. Vernon Township is east of Wheelersburg, Ohio. The Intersec-
tion of Ohio #140 and CJounty Road 5 (Turkey Foot Road) is known as Ashley
Comers. It is believed that this area was the site of John's farm. Near
there Is Township Fioad 360 and called Ashley Road.
We find the fol lowing Ashleys with Revolutionary Service from the South. Ck^uld
one of these be the progenitor of John who moved to Ohio?
JOHN ASHLEY b t 1753 d 9 1810, m (?) Sgt. MaJ. from N.C.
ROBERT ASHLEY b 1762, d 9-27-1829, m Sarah Rue - Pvt. from N.C.
THOMAS ASHLEY b 1752 d 1826, m Mary Hart - Pvt. from Va.
The similarity of given names of the New England branch and the Southern
branch probes us to do further research to find a connection In these
families. Let^s keep working on this and keep sending any data you find.
62.
April 1974
Gcixxxixtxxn
For muh thom^ thsre'e a Tosebud^ CD L
for Mdh tiailight - a dam CD IN MEMORY CI
. /or iaph tHdt-' the etrenght to ooany on CD CI
For each etoxmlimd - a ralriKW CXDDaCIDCXDCDDCXI
for Back Bhadcw • the mm
for oaoh parting • aiMut mrnnoriee tsUfon sorrow is dona.
MEOCN P. ASHTiBI in\)
We were saddened to learn of Merwin's death on 16 March 1974, age 74. He has
been for years one of our most ardent researchers on the Ashley family. Prior
to his retirement In 1968 when he moved to South Yarmouth^ he served for 27
years as General Patent Attorney for the United Shoe Machine Corp. He wns a
member of the Boston Bar Association, the American Bar Association and was
past president of the Boston and American Patent Law Associations. Mr. Ashley
was a member of the U.S. Patent Office Advisory Commission, the Association for
the Protection of International Properties, and he served as Chairman of the
Patent Commission of the National Association of Manufacturers.
A verteran of World War I, he graduated from Lawrence University and the
Brooklyn Law School. He Is survived by his wife Bernice, two sons Charles C.
of Warwick, N.Y. and Bennett C. of Los Angeles, and a sister Mrs. Robert
Scherman of Sautertles, N.Y.
BOLGBR J. BARRER (#44)
Tragedy struck during an Ice storm February II, 1974 near Lanesboro, Mass.
when Holger J. Harrer was killed Instantly as his car skidded across the hlway
He was a native of Mannheim, Germany and became a U.S. citizen In 1963, was an
electronic techftlclan with the General Electric Co. In PIttsf leld. The son of
Ludwig and LIna (Delnioger) Harrer, he served In the U.S. Army Signal Corps as
a radio operator from 1959*61, attended Brihham Young University In Utah and
graduated with honors from the Utah Technical, Col lege. He held a degree of .
Associate of Applied Science In Electronic Technology. He served two years on
a teaching fellowship at the Great Lakes Mission of the Mormon Church In Fort
Wayne, Ind. He Is survived by his wife Elolse, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
K. 0. Oavis (our membership chairman), two children Margret Marie 2, and
Johann Ludwtg, nine weeks, his mother, a brother and sister.
IDA GOLDEB (ASBLBl) KILBURB
Mre.Kilburn, mother of Thearon B. Kilburn (#287), died 2 February 1974 at
RIvervlew, Michigan. Ida, age 87, was born 20 September 1886 In Oecatuer
Township, Ohio, the daughter of William M. and Sablna (Smith) Ashley. The
Ashley family moved to the Kauawha Valley east of Charleston, W. Va. In 1894.
On 29 Sept. 1907 she m. Alfred Kilburn (1884*1959) and in 1942 they moved to
Wyandotte, Mich. She was a life long member of the Baptist faith. Surviving
are two sons, William C and Thearon B, ten grandchildren and 19 great grand-
children.
April 1974
63.
A
AT TODAY^S ASHLEYS
JAMES p. AbHLfcY t#by) of Sioux Palls,
S« Dak, was honored for his contribu-
tion to South Dakota athletics with a
special award at the S.D. State Basket*
ball tournament. Just previously he
was recognized for •^47 years of super-
ior Jounaltstic work on the Sioux Falls
Argus-Leader" by the S.D* Press Associ-
ation and SDSU Journalism department*
After 20 years as sports editor, he
served as city editor and then managing
editor of the Staters leading newspaper*
NELSON E. ASHLEY of Air New England
nominated for outstanding service award.
While on ANE Flight #627 a passengers
wallet slipped out of his pocket and
it was not noticed until after passenger
boarded his connecting flight*
Mr. Ashley had the plane searched at
Hyannis, had the wallet sent to New
York where he In turn mailed It to
the passenger at Richmond by insured
mall.
ELIZA JANE ASHLEY arrived March 19,
1974 at ST. Luke's Hospital, New Bedford
She is the 2nd child and first daughter
of Mr* & Mrs Stephen E* Ashley of
Washburn Rd., E. Freetown, Mass*
Paternal grandparents are Mr & Mrs
Theodore Ashley (#6) and great grand-
mother Is Mrs. Karl J. Ashley (#18).
PAUL LEONARD (#3) Is recuperating at
home after his recent operation - his
ninth, he says.
HAROLD ASHLEY , who for many years has
boen selectman of Berkley, Kass, es
veil as serving as police chief, has
decided not to run again.
JOHN LEONARD, son of Paul and Winona,
has also decided not to run again
for that office althoug he won a land-
slide victory 3 years ago*
BRAD SWAN (#4) writes that he has been
deathly III with some disease the
doctors have not yet diagnosed* We
wish him a speedy recovery.
ELIZABETH GLASKY :|40) writes that
business Is booming In her area due
to gas shortage - a local factory
makes parts for small cars*
PROFESSOR LEONARD ASHLEY of Brooklyn
College tn New York City, made print
in the National Inquirer* He states
that the American language Is being
wrecked by politicians, advertising
men and educators. The advertising
writlers are taking logic out, the
educators are maltreating it» and the
politicians are adding to the confu-
sion* TheyVe bringing our language
to the point of collapse with their
gobbiedegook. Jargon and empty phrases.
He foresees a time when people will
have to carry objects to show Instead
of talking, because words are becoming
meaningless, e.g* "regular size" -
what is "regular"* We dont talk about
hard times, depression or bust - now
It's deflation, retrenchment or down-
ward readjustment* He reconvnends
using only the simplest, shortest words.
64*
April 1974
FiRE REPORTED
— — ^— — ^MW— ^i— I ■ ■ II I III ■
Ash leys who attended the first re-
union of the family association
on August 29, 1970, will be sadden-
ed to learn that the Scotland
Congregational Church In Bridge-
water, Mass. suffered the loss by
fire of its meeting room and
kitchen on the night of Jan. 14,
1974. We held our first organi-
zational meeting here.
Fortunately the ancient church, one
of the oldest In the area, was
saved Just as the flames were
breaking through the walls and the
old auditorium suffered only smoke
damage. Firemen from Bridgewater,
East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater
and Raynham were able to stop the
fire by the early discovery of a
neighbor, otherwise It would pro-
bably have been a total loss.
PETER ASHLEY , son of Mr and Mrs
Dbnald Ashley, Windsor Locks, has
enlisted In the U.S. Alrforce.
Peter, a recent graduate of
Windsor Locks High School, select-
ed a position In the electronics
career field.
OSCAR ASHLEY of New Carlisle pre-
serves the magic of "Old Hollywood"
with a series of scrap books started
when he was a boy* They contain
the histories of many of Hollywood's
brightest stars. Among his proud-
est possessions Is a 1966 newspaper
clipping that details Mr. Ashley's
capture of an escaping thief at
Dayton's Union Terminal Railway
Station. It vxplalns that Ashley
chased and tackled the fleeing
bandit and held him until the
authorities arrived. "The Duke"
himself couldn't have done it
any better.
WENDY ASHLEY of Brunswick, a longtime
lecturer on astrology, looked Into Nixon's
horoscope and came up with some less than
rosy predictions. Since last August, she
says, "Mars has been In Nixon's eighth
house", and this has put "a lot of ten-
sions on his secrets". April 22 or 26
will bring "absolutely the decision of
his lifetime. It may mean his retirement
or possibly war", she says.' With April's
full moon, there Is a chance that the
President will have health problems and
be hospitalized. • • . She ended her
lecture In Portland, Maine, stating that
looking even further Into the future, the
astrologer became alarmed and said she
would write to the President to warn him
of what she called "death aspects" In
October, 1975. Who Is WENDY ? ? ?
« ««# « # K # #
WARREN H. ASHLEY . (#183) Registered
Architect in New York, Connecticut,
Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey,
Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont
has recently put out a very fine brochure
covering the Tlconderoga Elementary and
Middle School, at Tlconderoga, New York*
It Is an "open-end" design concept for
open-end education, which will provide an
environment In which children will learn
how to learn; where a continuous opening
of balanced opportunity will occur as the
child develops and matures*
CLIFFORD W. ASHLEY 'S museum collection
of works has grown to major proportions
through the generosity of Mrs. Stephen
C. L. Delano. With her gift, Ashley's
distinction as the last of a line of
artists intimately acquainted with the
whale fishery of New Bedford is assured
proper recognition and a permanent home.
As author, artist, and authority on
knots, Ashley's achievements have long
been recognized, and now another talent
of unexpected proficiency, photography,
will henceforth provide an unsurpassed
documentary of the whale fishery as he
knew It.
April 1974
65.
^NEN NEHBERS □
a
TTTT1
Can anyone help oomplate -Hm lineages below?
1284 MRS BXMRO BORDEN ASHLEY ( )
211 S. Gilbert Ave.
La6range« III. 60523
1289 MR & MRS WALTER A DAVIS Jr
Apt. 10, 2706 Williamsburg Ct.
Colunbus, Ind. 47201
#286 MRS CHARLES KAUFMAN (8)
Dorothy Ashley Brennan
19313 Snowden Ave.
Detroit, Mich 48235
1288 MR & MRS ARTHUR GEORGE LEONARD Jr(8)
168 Kings Road
Paiffl Beach, Fla 33480
#289 MRS HAROtO F. LITTUJOHN (7)
Mary Gertrude Ashley
6140 Colgate Ave.
Los Angeles, Cal. 90036
1291 MRS J. W. BARR (Edna S.)
Rt 2, Box 574
Helens, Ore. 97051
1292 LEONARD RAYMOND N. ASHLEY ( )
1901 Avenue H
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11230
LINEAGE
Noble Wilfred Ashley « Grace Standlsh
Borden (Can anyone help here?)
Annie (Crenshaw) Davis ( ) Dan Crenshaw ( )
Mary (Ashley) Crenshaw b t 1850
(Mary lived In Grant Co., Ark.)
Susie M. (Ashley) Brennan (7) Willlm
Lewis Ashley (6) Baxter(5) Warden (4)
James (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
Mary Josephine (Ashley) Leonard (7)
Edward Everett (6) Or. Jamas (5)
Dr. James (4) Pbrclval (3) Abraham (2)
Joseph (I)
Wki. Lewis Ashley (6) Baxter (5) Warden (4)
James (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
Roseanna Levesque (Ashley) mother ( )
James Peyton Ashley m. Rebecca KIncart
John Ashley (?)
^Leonard Seville Ashley m Anne C. Nelllgan
John Ashley m Mary ^___^__
• »b East RIndge, N.H. 1899
O ADDITIONS & CORRECTIONS
lJ
C3
□
a
ADD LINEAGES ;
~I204 53^. OONN L. ASHLEY (9)
27 Halawa Or.
Honolulu, Hawaii 96818
#273 EMERALD 0. MINER
Jesse Evelyn Weir
2315 BelaIr Dr.
Bowie, Md. 20715
CHANGE MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS:
Robert Paul (8) James LaomI (7) William
Martin (6) Joel LaomI (5) Elisha (4)
William (3) Thomas (2) Joseph (I)
Rose Etta Medearls) Weir ( ) Martha
Jane (Ashley) Medearls ( )
Andrew Ashley of Ky. m Elvira Hendricks
#282 MR. AUBREY C. ASHLEY (Changed from #284)
#283 MR. ARTHUR R. ASHLEY (Changed from #282)
#287 MR. THEARON B. KILBURN (Changed from #283)
#290 MR & MRS HIRAM MANNING (Changed from #285)
66.
April 1974
Vol. IV No. 4
QUARTERLY BUULETIN
July 1974
osMi^^^^ffii ;
THE LONGFELLCM HOUSE
ASHLEY FAMILY ASSOCIATION
Organtzed August 29, 1970 Incorporated Juna 8, 1973
^ \
197^ OFFICERS
President •--•-•--- Robert E. Ashtey
1st Vice President ------ John S. Ashley
2nd Vice President ^ - - • • Paul C. Leonard
3rd Vice President ----- Bradford F, Swan
Secretary -- — ••-- Amantha Ashley Akin
Treasurer ----- — - - - - Nancy Ashley
Executive Coiwnlttee ----- Doris Ashley Lang
Kenneth Va I ent I ne As h I ey
Virginia Ashley Goff
Publishing Editor * r * - Esther Ashley Spousta
Membership Chairman - • -: -Marie A. Davis
5C
C3
C3
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE RULING ON CONTRieUTIONS
lca»
Hay 30, 1974 - Donors may daduct contributions to Ashieys of
incorporated as provided In section 170 of the Code. Beq'tjests*
legacies, devises* transfers, or gifts to Ashieys of America or for
Its use are deductible for Federal estate and gift tax purposes under
sections 2059, 2106, and 2522 of the Code.
:3
13
13
13
:3
:3
13
C3
ci3a:3acxxxixi3a:ii3ci3cxii3Dci3C3DC3a:i3C3a:xixii3
AND COnE TO
OUR
FIFTH
REUNION
MAMSUTTA CLUB, New Bedford, Mass.
Ma Ice Luncheon Reservations NOV!
Send Reservations together with
$4»50/each to:
Miss Nancy Ashley, Treas.
Athieys of America, Inc.
165 Elm Street
South Oarhnouth, Mass. 02748
ASHLEYS OF AMERICA
INCORPORATED j„,y ,974
Vol. IV No. 4
C0NTEMtS
68 PROGRAM *- Fifth Annual Reunion, Ntw Bedford, Mom.
69 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
71 MHAT TO DO AND SEE IN NEW BEDFORD, MASS.
73 BIOGRAPHY - Fredrick Will lam Ashley^ (George^, Warden^,
James^, Thomas^, Joseph')
»
75 VITAL STATISTICS - 1800 - 1810 - 1820 Census, New York
77 WILL - John Ashley of Tennessee
78 WILL - Nathaniel Ashley of South Carolina
79 TRAGIC PLUM PUOOIN' CRUISE by Capt. Wallace S. Ashley^
(Simeon^, Abraham^, Perctval^, Abraham^,
Joseph')
82 COVER STORY
83 OBITUARY • Elder LoamI Ashley^ (William^, Thomas^, Joseph')
84 OBITUARY - Pallas Neal Ashley (1864-1962)
85 ANCESTOR TABLE - Mrs. Grace Edith (Ashley) MIsuils
86 CURRENT NEWS
88 NEW MEMBERS
Neurs Bulletin published Quarterly - January^ April, July, October
Free copy with each $5 #00 Membership
Extra copies available by sending $2e00/each to the Editor
Mrs. W. C. Spousta, PO Box 321, Rogers, Ark. 72756
FIFTH ANNUAL REUNION
AUGUST 24. 1974
WAMSUTTA CLUB, New Bedford, Hess, (Corner of County & Union Streets)
PROGRAM
9:30 - 10:30 A.M. Registration and coffee hour. (No fee)
Our ever growing collection of photographs, maps,
papers, etc. on display, and time to meet and
talk with your cousins
10:30 - 11:30 A.M. Morning Session - A new slide talk by your president.
Bob Ashley, "ASHLEYS In the Revolution, where they
lived and where they served". The coming bicentennial
has sparked great Interest In our Revolutionary
Ancestors, and there were a lot of them - on both sides
11:30 • 12:30 A.M. Cocktails and more visiting
12:30-2:00 P.M. ^Luncheon (Reservations necessary) $4.50
Chilled Cape Cod Cranberry Juice
Chicken Salad Platter with Asparugus Spears
Sliced Tomatoes and Hard Cooked Egg Wedges
Chocolate ice Cream Roll with Fudge Sauce
Rolls and Butter * Beverage
2:00 - 3:00 P.M. DR. JAMES DEETZ, Professor of anthropology at Brown
Un I vers I ty and ass i stent d I rector of P 1 1 mouth
Plantation, will be the featured speaker of the day.
A lively and Interesting lecturer, his unique approach
to classifying and dating of gravestones wilt give you
a new Insight to your cemetery research. Add his
knowledge of our pilgrim ancestors and you will see
why you can't afford to miss this.
3:00 P.M. Business Session
There Is no formal evening program, however members are Invited to have their
evening meal at the club and remain for conversation. Order from the menu.
*lf you prefer to picnic, tables are available In lovely
Buttonwood Park, one mite due West on Union Street.
68
July 1974
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
f
Betin or SkUm r X hopti to m« ycu
all at oio* M/i^ Jlwmion on Urn
94th of MtfpMt*
Bob AthUy
* •
With our fifth reunion Just around the corner^ It It
perhaps a good tima to answer a question of ^en asked and
perhaps on the minds of many who have not asked «
**Nhen will we publish our AsK^iey Genealogy?**
To answer thut we* must go back to our^flrst meeting on August .^299n 1970 In
Bridgewater when I asked what kind of a book was wanted. Pointing out that we
oould, on the one hand, begin at once, publication of the work of R* Eugene
Ashley (which Included the work of Burton 4* Ashley of Chicago, Frederick N.
Ashley of Washington, D.C., Noah W. Ashley 6f Taunton and a number of others)^
or we could wait and add the births, marriages and deaths since 1941, as well
as the other new data uncovered since then. The latter course was selectwl^
1941 saw not only 6ene*s untimely death, but also the outbreak of World War II
and a nearly complete cessation of genealogical research. After the war,
there was a gradual revival of Interest and the success of our 1970 meeting
Indicated that It was again time to proceed. ''Interest runs In 30 year cycies"i
according to W. M. Whltehllt.
What I did not then appreciate was the number of Ashley births, merrl.ages, eto.
that had taken place In the last third of a century. Neither did I realize how
much more of the old data would now be available through such modem techniques
as microfilm, as well as the many new publications and sources resulting from
scholarly research Into "deep** history.
In addition, we are now bound by stricter rules In our work. Every name and
every date must now be checked back to lt*s original source, and much that a
few years ago was readily accepted. Is now questioned and often rejected. In
short, **6enealogy Is now a science**.
To rush into print now In a half scientific and half old style fashion would
hardly seem right. It could severely damage our credibility.
Eaumpl0B:
\
(I) In the handsome three volume **Representatlve Men and Old Families of
Southeastern Massachusetts** published In 1912 by J. H. Beers and Co.
Vol. I, page 150 • gives Joseph and Elizabeth (Perclvai) Ashley of
Rochester, Mass., and all of their chfldren listed correctly, and easily
verified by tha Vital Records. It also gives Joseph's second wife as
Mary (Hail) Whltrldga, correctly, but erroneous iy makes her the mother of
the sons Abraham Jr. and Joseph Jr. Simple arlthinetic can demolish this.
July 1974
69
Abraham Jr« would hav« married at tha aga of 7 and begun raising hit
large family the next year. Furthermore, he would have married his
own half sister. The Beers recor^ on. Joseph Jr. Is very nearly Just
as Impossible.
2%e Truth • Plymouth apd Bristol, deeds show that these two ^ons were
born at least 4 to 9 years before the death of Elizabeth (P^V;cfval) .
Ashley. (6ene*s Reoords). There were no children of the seobnd marriage
. but accepting the Beers statement would have changed greatly the
ancestry of a great many present day Ash leys.
■
(2) There has been far too little examination of the descendants 'of the
daughters In the early generations. Elizabeth, daughter of Jos^h,
married Abtel Sprague, and making some obvious corrections In ^fhe,
Delano and Sprague genealogies. It Is easy to make her the
^rs. Elizabeth Sprague who married Dr. Jonathan Delano, thus opening
a whole new line. (Mil have more' on thU In our new revised Index)
(3) Mary, another daughter of Joseph, who nB^^w meri^led, died Insane, yet
Plymouth' Court Records show that she bore at least one child who
appears to have been brought up with the name Ashley. Our Victorian
ancestors hid all tht^ N a dark ciMet, yet If the record Is to be
accurate we must examine all the Information. (More for the new Index)
(4> In th. thli^ g9h.ratlon» som. of th. chlidrm atfrlbut.d to ThoRMs, son
of Jos.ph» (Buli Vol. I« pg 40) could not possibly hav. bMn his
' (Bui. Vol », 4 pg 35-6), according to Piymouth Probat..
I could go on and one, but what started out to b. a sfmpl. mplandtlon of th.
bddk d.lay has becom. a rath.r long on., and If you aro still rMdlng this - •*
my apologlM.
A nM r.vl'sM lnd<»x Is sonrathlrtg i' hoip^ to hav. rMdy soon - th. first on.
was a -smashing success In correcting' and updating - and this will b.
available to all members on request.
Meanwhile, keep sending me your data as you want It to appear.
looking fonninf to meeting you all on the 24th of August,
« •
Bdb AMht^y §t
• . '
10
July 1974
WHAT TO 00 AND SEE IN
NEW BEDFORD
We are delighted that so many members have attended our Reunions from far
away places^ and offer the following to make your visit more interesting In
New Bedford and vicinity - "that hot-bed of Ash leys".
A few steps from the Wamsutta Club are the Grinneli, Rodman, Rotch and other
mansions built In the golden age of whaling. Some are now various church
headquarters and are open to visitors. Walk south on County Street to where
"All these brave houses and flowery gardens came from the Atlantic, Pacific
and Indian Oceans. One and all, they were harpooned and dragged up hither
from the bottom of the sea". (MOBI DICK * Herman Melville)
East of the club on Spring Street Is the 1821 Friends Meetlang House.
Elizabeth (Perclval) Ashley, remold grandmother to us ail, came from a Cape Cod
Quaker famlTy and some of our cousins are active Quakers to this day.
North on County Street, with only the Masonic Temple In between. Is the
Bristol County Superior Court, the ancient building where oar cousin Lizzie
Borden was acquitted In what will probably always rank as the world's most
famous murder trial. If court Is not In session, you can visit the court room
where the genial court clerk says everthlng is exactly as It was In Lizzie's
time except the chairs whJch had to be replaced because of age.
Slightly more distant, but still within 9 quarter of a mile, are the Library
and the City Hall. In the latter you can visit the Mayor's Room where the
portrait of Hon. Charles S. Ashley hangs, and where he spent 32 years as mayor
a record never equalled anywhere. As "New Bedford's greatest citizen" he Is
generally credited with being "the builder of a greater New Bedford".
• •
Next door Is the handsome New Bedford Free Public Library with the Whaleman's
statue In front. "A Dead Whale or a Stove Boat" Is the gift of another cousin,
Hon. William Wallace Crapo.
Caution! To all avid genealogists! The genealogical room and the Herman
Melville room, contain such a wealth of materials that you could spend the
summer and only scratch the surface. Always listed among the country's best
genealogical sources, this library even gives courses In genealogy. If you
go In and never come out again - - - we'll understand.
Don't miss the paintings by Clifford Warren Ashley In the Herman Melville Room«
Outside again, notice the street corner curbs and the unusual catch*basin
drains called "Sand-catcher Charlies" an affectionate ntck-name given to the
mayor who. In the nineties, fought to get them Installed and gave the city one
of the earliest and best of street drainage systems, among other things.
July 1974
71
Continue east (downhill) on William Street to the Johnny Cake Hill area (about
1/4 mile) to the Whaling Museum, the Seamen's Bethel » Mariner's Home, Custom
House and Old W^arf area. Only the Museum, with the new Ashley gallery of
paintings, charges admission. Everything else Is. free, but numerous Jam-
packed antique shops In the area (all with a nautical flavor) will be happy
to take your money*
So much In walking distance. Retrieve your car and dross over to Falrhaven
where you will find a popular restaurant at the east end of the bridge,
"The Skipper'* and around Falrhaven a dozen more historic sites. C^sult your
Moby Dick Trail Map. Probably the most important Falrhaven historical place
Is Fort Phoenix, where the first naval battle of the Revolution took place.
There were Ashleys here In the War of 1812 as well.
Quoting again from Moby Dick - 'fBut Sma B^dfotd b^ata all VaUr Street and
Vamihg. In theee laet-^nentioned haunts you eee only eailorei but in New
Bedford aotual oannibale etand ehatting at etreet oomeres eavages outright;
many of i^hom yet oarry on their bonee unholy fleeh. It msAee a etranger atare^^
Do descendants of these cannibals still stand chatting on street corners?
Perhaps a few, buf New Bedford Is said to be composed. of four ethnic groups:
The Old English; The Portuguese; The French; and the New English. The Old
English are the descendants of the Colonial Yankee stock. Need we say more?
The next major group were the Portuguese who returned on the whale ships to
settle In the south end of New Bedford. The first port of call for the Whalers
was often the Isle of Brava In the Oipe Verdes off the coast of Portugal. At
this point many a Yankee lad, seeing the beautiful green hills, decided he had
had enough of whaling and deserted to settle down there. Now the captain,
needing to fill out his missing crewmen, enlisted the Portuguese boys, who
when they arrived In New Bedford with the profits of the voyage In their pockets,
decided to relMln and become citizens.
The third group were the French-Canadians, enticed by the mill owners to come
down from Montreal and Quebec In the hey-day of the cotton mills. Since the
mills were mostly In the north end, that Is the placo where French Is often
heard spoken today. It Is said that fhey have retained their heritage and
Identity more than any of the other groups.
Finally came the New English, mostly from the Lancashire district of England
when the mills were reaching to Europe f6r skilled textile operatives. North
Falrhaven attracted most of these recent former British subjects and until
recently It was not uncommon to hear the distinct •'Mid-lands" English accent.
There then appeared Charles Sumner Ashley, a man to cut across party lines end
weld all of these diverse groups Into a single "Ashley Party". Some modem
students of political science bellve It was he who set the pattern for his
young friend Franklin Delano Roosevelt to follow a third of a century later.
Bobert S. Aehley §1
72
July 1974
FREDRICK W. ASHLEY RETIRES
Copied from D. C. LibrarisB Bulletin^ July 19$e
Fwmished by: MardoHe (Bremum) D^Cann §186
Mp» AshUy^s retirement from the service of the Library of Congress, having
taken place three months ago. Is no longer news; allusion to It In this, the
first number of D. C. Libraries to be Issued since It occurred Is not only to
record the fact In this register of events of Interest to members of DX.L.A.
but also to give expression to that which again Is not news, the fact that nis
friends In the Association - and this means the entire membership of the As-
sociation - are finding it as difficult to adjust themselves to his absence
from the active library scene as are his friends In the library of Congress
Itself - and this means the entire staff of the Library •
Mr* Ashley wae entitled to retire three years ago« Upon the earnest represent
tat Ions of Or* Putman, a Presidential Order was then Issued authorizing his
continuance without definite term. During the past winter, however, he sig-
nified his desire of being relieved as soon as possible because of his III
health and personal affairs, but consented to stay on through March, and made
April I the date of his actual retirement.
Western Reserve, Yale and Itervard gave him his academic training. He was In-
structor In Latin In St. Charles College, St. Charles, Mo. in 1886-7, and in
Western Reserve Academy, Hudson, Ohio from 1887 to 1891, and principal of the
latter Institution from 1892 to 1897. Following, after filling the post for
a year as the librarian of the Morley Memorial Library In Painesvlile, Ohio,
he spent two yeers, 1898-9 In the New York State Library School; the next year
he began his work In Washington, with the Library of Congress.
Kle Is a Fellow of the American Library Institute and of the American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science, a member of the American Library Assoc,
and the Bibliographical Society of America, the Wlegendruck Geseilschaft and
the District of Columbia Library Assoc, of which he was our president from
I 927-9 « in 1935, Western Reserve University, his Alma Mater, conferred upon
him the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters.
Mr« Ashley was the author of the ''Catalogue of the John Boyd Thacher Collection
of Incunabula'', which was published in 1915 by the Library of Congress; the
'K^atalogue of Miscellaneous Books In the Thacher Collection" (1931); "The
Voilbehr Incunabula and the Book of Books" (1932).
In his characteristic and inimitable style, the Librarian of Congress issued
a memorandum to the staff of the Library upon Mr* Ashley's retirement, from
which we take the liberty of quoting here.
"You are aware of the length, and the character, of his service; as an
assistant and, later. Chief Clerk of the Copyright Office (May 9, 1900 to
October 31, 1909); as Chief of the Order (Accessions) Division (Mov. I, 1909
to Sept. 15, 1915); as Superintendent of the Reading Rooms (Sept. 16, 1915
to March 31, 1927); and as Chief Assistant Librarian from April I, 1927 to
date."
July 1974
73
in thdse successive responsibilities he has represented to us a complete
loyalty to the task» to his ootleagues^ to those whose work he directed,
and to the Library as an Institution; an efficiency. Inspired by Intel 1 1-
gence^ and perfected by steadfast industry and conscientious devotion; a
spirit of cooperation that required no urging; a poise that avoided Im*
patience In any administrative decision; a sense of Justice, that made htm
a reliance In all service relations; and, tempering all, a gift of humor
which, though outwardly guarded. Is fully operative within. A scrupulous
scholarship also, obscured by modesty, but always responsive to the exigency.
You will share my chagrin that we are to lose the companionship of abilities
so Important and qualities so sustaining.**
Siitor^a Bote: So many of our members have asked "Who was Frederick W. Ashley?"
that we are Including a short biographical sketch.
FREDERICK WILLIAM ASHLEY^ (George^ - Warden^ - James^ - Thomas^ - Joseph')
b. 12 January 1662 at Mansfield, Ohio d. 12 June 1942, age 79
m. Mary MattTda Cole on 29 June 1893. She was b 15 June 1870 at
Palnesvllle, 0., dau. of Hezeklah and Matilda Cole
ChCZdt0it:
Ruth Maverette b 6 Oct. 1894 m Philip Cyrus Gunlon
Hary Rachel b 14 Feb. 1906 m Irving Sametz
At the time of his death, Frederick W. was actively working on a history of
the Ashley family. We have published exerpts of his research In previous
bulletins. (Jan. 71 p 26 - July 73 p 73; April 74 p 49). From his pen came
colorful, but factual, writings of the early Ashleys. From time to tfme we
hope to use more of his material.
From his sketch called ^If you*re off for Old Ohio In the morning** he wrote:
• . I must tell you of my earliest recollection. One spring night
my father took me downtown and carried me In his arms through a scene
of wild. Joyous excitement. The windows of shops, offices, houses,
were lit by thousands of short candles In rows on little temporary
shelves, the primitive but effective means of Illumination of those
dayse Everyone was cheering, all differences forgotten In the
universal Joy.
Next morning all was gloom and sorrow. Grown people were sobbing. A
great man somewhere, far away, had died. It was Abraham Lincoln.**
tf
74
July 1974
NEW YORK CENSUS
PuntUhad by Mm. Grace A. Uieulia U209
CIXIXDtXnCXjCXDC]
□ C3
CD VITAL STATISTICS □
CXIIXXIXXIXX3
We wish to express our deep appreciation to Mrs« MIsulis for her diligent
effort In copying all of the New York Census records pertaining to Ash leys.
It would Indeed help our members living In locations where this Information
is not available If others would send in copies of Census Records in other
states •
4
1790 CENSUS - (See Vol. I No. I - October 1970, pg M)
1800 CENSUS
• NEW YORK
«
ASHLEY;
.
Thomas
Up to 10
-
2
males.
4 females
10 to 16
-
2
maleSt
4 females
16 -to 26
-
1
male.
1 female
Oliver
Up to 10
-
3
males.
i female
26. to 45
-
1 female
45 & up
-
1
male
Stephen
Up to 10
-
i
male.
1 female
16 to 26
-
1
male.
1 female
William
Up to 10
-
1 female
16 to 26
-
1
male
1 female
26 to 45
-
1
male
45 & Up
-
1
male
•
Stephen
Up to to
-
2 females
10 to 16
-
I
male
16 to 26
-
2
males,
2 females
26 to 45
-
2
male$.
1 female
45 & up
-
2
males.
1 female
1810 CENSUS -
NEW YORK
ASHLEY:
•
William
Up to 10
-
i female
16 to 20
-
3
males.
1 female
20 to 45
-
male
45 & up
-
male
James
Up to 10
-
male.
3 females
20 to 45
-
male.
1 female
Noah
16 to 20
-
1 female
20 to 45
-
male
45 & up
-
male.
1 female
Alden
Up to 10
16 to 20
•■
male.
1 female
1 female
20 to 40
-
mate
:
Stephen
Up to to
-
2
males.
3 females
10 to 16
-
male
1
20 to 45
-
male.
1 female
Abraham
16 to 20
-
male.
1 female
6a I away, Saratoga Co*
Greenfield, Saratoga Co
Pittstown, Rensselaer Co.
Troy, Rensselaer Co*
Troy, Rensselaer Co.
Hudson, Columbia Co.
Chatham, Colufobla Co.
Chatham, Columbia Co.
Chatham, Columbia Co.
Chatham, Columbia Co.
Chatham, Columbia Co.
(continued next page)
July 1974
75
I8J0 crNsus - untf york (Co.it »d)
ASHLSY;
•
«
Wilttam
Up to 10 -
1 mala« 1
1 female
•
16 to 20 -
1 mala .
20 to 45 -
3 malas
Peter
16 to 20 -
1
i female
•
20 to 45 -
3 mates
*
1820 CENSUS - NEW YORK
»
ASHLEY:
Henry
Up to 10 -
2 malest
1 female
10 to 16 -
1 male.
1 female
16 to 26 *
i maie.
1 female
26 to 45 -
1 maie, 1
1 female
45 & up •
1 male
WtlLlMi
Up to 10 -
*
4
I females
to to 16 -
1 male
•
16 to 26 -
1 female
26 to 45 -
•
1 female
45 & up -
1 male
£• Pomsroy
Up to 10 -
1 female
10 -to 16 -
1 male
16 to 26 -
\ female
26 to 45 -
1 mate, 2
I females
Mtron (t)
Up to 10 -
1 male
10 to 16 -
1 male
16 to 26 -
1 female
26 to 45 -
1 male
William P.
Up to 10 -
1 male, 1
\ female
26 to 45 -
t male, 1
1 female
SteplMn
Up to 10 -
2 males.
2 females
10 to 16 -
2 females
16 to 18 -
2 males
45 & up -
1 male, 1
1 female
Nicholas
Up to 10 -
t male
45 & up —
t male, 1
1 female
Abraham.
Up to 10 -
5 males.
1 female
26 to 45 -
1 mate, 1
1 female
Al<ton
Up to 10 -
2 males.
3 ferfiales
10 to 15 -
1 male, 1
1 female
26 to 44 -
i mate, 1
1 fe*»afe
Staphan
Up to 10 -
2 males.
3 f'^nales
10 to 15 -
1 male, 2
I females
16 to 18 -
1 male, 1
! female
18 to 25 -
1 male, 1
1 female
45 & up -
1 male
Mr. OMvw
Up to 10 -
2 males.
1 female
•
10 to 15 -
1 male, 1
1 female
26 to 44 -
1 male, 1
female
Christina
10 1o 16 -
1 male
26 to 45 -
1 ma!e, i
1 female
45 & up -
1 male, 2
I females
Chatham, Colimibta Co.
• »
Clermont, Columbia Co«
Germantown, Columbia Co.
Hudson, Columbia Co*
Hudson, Columbia Co.
Hudson, Columbia Co.
KInderhook, Columbia Co*
Chatham, Columbia Coe
Chatham, Columbia Coe
Chatham, Columbia Co.
Chatham, Columbia Coe
Chatham, Columbia Coe
Chatham, Columbia Co*
Clermont, Columbia Co*
76
July 1974
X
/
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
JOHN ASHLEY
Copied from the Oldsat Deed Book of
Vaxren County, Termeeeee
By: OVUe Jcmee Lytm i2$$
\p John Ashley of the County of Warren and State of Tennessee being of perfect
RiiPd fnd memory but Calling to mind the mortality of man and knonrlng that It
Is appointed for all men once to die do make and ordain this my last Will and
Testament. First of all I recommend my Soul to the hands of the Almighty Ge(l
who give ft my Body t recommend to the earth to be Buried In a decent manner
at the discretion of my Executors all my Just debts to be paid out of the
money arising out of the Sale of my property here after mentioned first of
all I give to my beloved Wife Polly Ashley the following property to wit:
one cow and calf two Becde and furniture one flax and one Cotten Wheel two
head of sheep one Sow and Seven piggs also one years old Barrow one kettle
one small pot and Skillet and her Saddle one Smothing Iron one Chest (P-27>
four peuteir plates and four delph plates one set of Tee Cups and Saucers one
Water pale piggen and milk Churn and Tin Bucket also 2 Chlars three knives
and three Crocks one Coffee pot one Soop Spoon three Tin cups one peuter dish
and one delph dish also one square table and one pot Trammel and Washing tub
2 Tumblers and mugs two.
I give unto my son Francis Ashley one Broun mere Saddle and Bridle also one
Cow and Calf and one sow one Barrow also Ewe and Lamb and one plough and axe
and hoe and Rifle Gun.
I give unto my daughter Sallv Abrel I fifteen dollars Worth of my property the
rest of my Children having received their poportlonable part my Land and all
the balance of my property to be sold at twelve months credit and the money
arising from the Sale after paying my debts to be divided betwen my Wife
PoUyt siy daughter Peg^y Colvlllej my daughter Rachel Evans ^ my daughter
Ingram, my son Charl eayAshley^ and my son John Ash ley j my \iauohter Sally
Abrel I, my son U^lirA filTle^ ^ my Son Ureah Ashley and my son Andrew Ashley #
my daughter Wani^y^ A h J son and my daughter Marlah Lynn and my son Francis
Ashley at I toThear and Sheare alike - ratifying and confirming this my
last Will and Testament making Void all former Will. Leaving my beloved wife
Poily and William Lynn mf Sole Executors In Witness Whereof I heve here unto
Set my hand and fixed my Seal this llth April 1828 in presence of us "
(Seal) JOHN ASHLEY
Witnessed) Benjamin Woaten
William Woaten
(Mote • Spelling ie oapied from original doaunent)
July 1974
77
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
NATHAMIEL ASHLEY
Beoo9d$d in Will Bock "A", pe^9 247 - IHh day of Mc^ 1816
4
FuntUhod by: Birm HoamUng §290
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLtHA )
) ' •
BARNWELL DISTRICT ) . .
} .....
In the Name of God Amen » i Nathantej Ashley of the District and* State aforesaid
being ve|7 sick and weak In body but of perfect mind and memory thanks be given
unto 6od# calling unto mind the mortal I tty of my body and knowing that It Is
appointed for all men once to die, do make and ordain this My Last Wtll and
Testament/ and as touching such worldly Estate wherewith It has pleased God to
bless, me In this life .1 ^Ive demise and dispose of the same In the following
manner' and form • - -
First I lend to my Dearly beloved wife Elizabeth Ashley all my lands and
tenements With all my hosehoVd furniture and personal estate dureing her
natural life or widowhood and after heir decease or widowhood my desire Is for
the whole both real and personal Estate to be equal ly^ divided amongst my
children to wit:
• .*
« • < .
Wilson, Joshua t William Pol ley^ Ann, John,' Charles, James and Sal ley and any
of the Elder Legatees that have received any part of legacy my desire Is that
it may be added In their shares. ' -
«
Secondly I do constitute make and ordain my wffe Elizabeth Ashley my Executrix
with my $on Wilson Ashley Executor and when my sen Joshua Ashley sherl I come to
the age of twentyone years I request that he may Join as Executor with the others.
Thirdly and If my wife should or does marry ^aln to another man I desire that
my Executors Wilson and Joshua shall take the estate both real and personal out
of her possess I on, and take care of the same for the benefit of the heirs, and I
do hereby utterly disallow revoke and disannul all and every other former
testaments wills legacies bequeaths and executors by me In any wise before named
willed and bequeathed ratifying and confirming this and noother to be my last
will and testament
In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this Eleventh day of
October In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirteen and In
the th I rty seventh year of the American Independence. Signed sealed published
and pronounced and declared by the said Nathaniel Ashley as his last Will and
Testament In the presents of us who in his presence and In the presence of each .
other have hereto subscribed our names.
^t^THANlEL ASHLEY
Witnessed by L^is Weathersbe, Peter Cooper
Henry Strlngfellow, Elijah Treadaway
78
July 1974
w-u
/
TRAGIC PLUM PUDDiN^ CRUISE
By: Capt. Wallace Sumner Ashleyfi (Simeon^ ^ Abrahan^s
Per&Lval^s Abrahem^^ Joseph^)
Pumiahsd by: Mildred Ashley Karl §10?
The following article written by Capt. Wallace S. Ashley
appeared In the New Bedford Newspaper on November 8^ 1931
with a half page sketch of Whalers at sea by F. L. King.
CAPT. ASHI.EY, WORKING FOR MASTER**S PAPERS ABOARD WHALER
"ADMIRAL BLAKE", SPINS A STIRRING YARN OF ADVENTURE OfF
CAROLINAS.
It was along the middle of September, 1879, that we put
out of New Bedford In the schooner "Admiral Blake", bound
for a *plum puddin* cruise off the Carolines In quest of
whale.
Short easy runs like that we called "plum puddln*" cruises in those days, for
the crew was sure of good rations, out and In. As it happened In this parttc-*
ular cruise wasn^t destined to be an easy one, in fact, there was tragedy
ahead of us and for me, the first experience of seeing a man killed before my
eyes«
Cap*n Pearson was master of the ship, as i remember, and I was first mate*
Then there was Jimmy Alcorn of Philadelphia, a fine upstandln* seaman who was
making his last whaling trip before he went into the merchant marine; a
Portuguese cook named Joe, a slim youngster we called "Smitty", and a half
dozen others in the crew«
Cap*n Pearson was a hard-bitten, down East Yankee, noted for his sailing abil-
ity and his record of never coming in from a cruise without a paying cargo of
sperm oIL Sperm oil and whalebone - the latter was worth nearly as much as
the oil In those days - was Cap*n Pearson's gospel of contentment and his
reason for existence, and If he had to come back without 'em he'd consider
himself in everlasting disgrace. Of course, I wanted to make good with this
Cap'n, because I was working for my master's papers and a word of favor from .
Cap'n Pearson would go a long way to getting 'em.
NOT A WHALE IN SIGHT - We had been out several days, tacking back and forth
about 100 miles off Charleston, S.C., without even sighting a whale. Off the
Carol inas was usually the best latitude for whaling; I suppose there's more
squid around those waters and whales feed almost exclusively on squid -
otherwise known as octopus. I've seen some ferocious battles between whales
and squid, but the squid usually didn't stand much chance with a sperm whale,
with his big Jaws and rows of sharp teeth - the only kind of whale that has
teeth, by the way.
But as I said, we'd been cruising around for near onto a week without sight
of a whale, and Cap'n Pearson was getting cantankerous. The crew had put
lines over and caught a couple of black fish, but not enough to amount to much.
July 1974
79
Jeweler^s oil oomes from black fish. ItU the finest oil In the world and Is
drawn out of what we call the **melon** on the head of the fish. You have to
get a lot of fish, though, to make much oil. It was beginning tb look as
though this would be the trip that Cap*n Pearson put back to port' without his
cargo.
THAR SHE BLOWS - Then, on a Sunday morning, Smitty, who was up. In the crowds
nest, called "Whale!*' and two points off starboard and about a mile away we
saw what looked like a number of good sized whales, playing around on top of
the water « evidently a school of cows and bulls. When cow or bull whales
travel alone they generally keep steady on their course, swimming subiMrged
for an hour, or an hour and a half , and then cruising on the surface for
fifteen or twenty minutes to take air and blow. When cows and bulls are to-
O^ther, however, they do a lot of fooling and showing off * the ladles pickin*
t-heir mates, I suppose.
«
We hove to and put out a couple of whaleboats, with the harpoon guns and hand
lances, and pulled off In the direction of the whales. I took charge of the
first boat and I had with me Jimmy Alcorn, Joe, the Cook; Smitty, who was an
Inexperienced hand, and two able seamen. The water was a bit rough, and every
time we dipped into the trough of the sea we^d lose sight momentarily of our
quarry, but soon 'we had pulled up handy to *em.
They proved to be smaller than we had thought - about "twenty-barrel** whales, I
Judged, which means they were high on to fifty feet long and - bone and carcass <
weighing close to sixty tons. The biggest whale I ever caught was around 15
barrels - about ninety-five feet In length and around 100 tons« So you can
see, while these were young *uns, they were fair sized, at that*
LET FLYI - We had sneaked up on the nearest fellow,. and presently I saw him
shake hTs back and 1 knew he had heard us. I gave the word, and the man with
the bomb lance let fly. The lance struck the whale - 1 remember that much -
when suddenly, right on the starboard side of our whaleboat a big, gray body
broke out of the water and pitched us over till I thought we were goners. He
swirled by us, his tail under water - thanks be - otherwise we might have got a
sideswipe that would have crushed our boat like and eggshell, and the whaleboat
righted Itself.
In the excitement, we had temporarl ly forgotten the whale with the harpoon In
her, but the rope was running taut and the bomb gun was pulHng back through the
water toward the boat. IMI have to explain the bomb lance, so you can under-
stand what happened.
The bomb lance, or harpoon Is a sort of telescope-shaped gun to wh}6h a*sharp
lance Is attached. A whaler throws throws a gun with a lance on It and the
Impact of the gun striking the whale causes the gun to explode firing a round
of shot that kills the whale. The gun itself is fixed with Iron loops to the
rope that remains In the hands of the whaler and slides back through the
water to the boat.
A SHARP EXPLOSION - It happened that the lance In this Instance had not struck
the whale deep enough, or forcibly enough to cause the gun to explode, but
nobody apparently had noticed this. When the man In the bow hauled the gun
80'
July 1974
aboard. It was handed back and Smltiy took It, and looked to me to know what
to do with It, "Stow It under the thwarts", I told hlm« Alcorn was leaning
over^ picking up a hand lance, as Smitty took the guh and started to place It
under the center thwart.
There was a sharp explosion and I saw Smitty drop the gun with a cry of pain
and fall back on the bottom of the dory. I turned to Alcorn. He lay sprawled
over the seat his body twitching In agony and a dark hole in his back, soaking
red with blood. One of the seamen In the stern was holding his teg and rock-
ing dumbly back and forth.
For a second all I could do was stare In amazement - then I realized what had
happened. The gun had gone off, making a clean hole through Smitty's left
hand, had killed Alcorn outright, dug an ugly flesh wound In the seaman's leg
and gone out the side of the boat about a half foot above the water line.
Cap'n. Pearson, In the second dory, which was following close behind us,
heard the report and saw by our actions, I suppose, that something was amiss.
And while we paid out line on the harpoon that was still In our single whale,
the Cap'n came alongside and, after considerable trouble, took off Alcorn and
the two Injured men and put back for the schooner.
I was left with Joe, the cook, and the one seaman forward with the lance line.
Our whale was beginning to act up by now. I reckon the lance was In his hide
Just far enough to be uncomfortable and he began weaving around, yanking us
through the water with little spurts of speed and then leaving us becalmed
again. Pretty soon we pulled up on him near enough to give. me a chance with
a hand lance - and I let him have It. I figured we*d get one whale at any
rate, for all our trouble, and by his thrashing and churning I knew I had
made a hit.
And then a strange thing happened - a thing that used to give me nightmares
for many a month afterward. I had figured, when we first sighted the herd
that there were five or six whales altogether. Usually you could pick two
out of such a herd before the rest were "gall led" off. I was standing In
the bow, holding the line and waiting for my capture to quiet down, when on
both sides of the boat - big sleek, gray and black bodies began to heave all
Into view, like the bottom of the ocean was rising up In humps all around us.
There must have been twelve or fifteen whales gamboling through the water
every which way. They rolled and turned belly up, and whacked their great
tails and blew streams of water high In the air, while we hung on for dear
life to the gunwales and wondered what moment we would be swamped, or have one
of the critters charge down on us.
I was scared good and plenty. Pursuing a running herd of whales was one thing,
but finding yourself right In the middle of f Iteen of 'eifn - thrashing their
tons of blubber like minnows splashing In a pool - was another thing entirely.
^k)w and then one of the huge beasts would sweep across the bow of our cockel-
shell of the boat, his big Jaws opening and closing - they must have measured
twenty feet from ear to snout - and we'd get a wave of water over the bow that
near drowned us. It locked like they were grinning to themselves and toying
with us like a cat with a mouse - before they pounced in revenge for the kill-
ing of their mate.
July 1974
81
Finally, one of *6m swam up astern •* straight for us. I grabbed the extra
bomb lance and hurled It Into him. What with the report and everything^
Hades broke loose right then and there! The water was a boiling cauldron.
The man In the bow let fly a hand lance and caught one of the critters and
I lanced another harpoon at a "forty*barreP* bugger that came plunging along-
side^ hPstIng the boat half out of the water.
PERILOUS MOMENT * After a few pert lous moments things calmed down and we took
stock of ourselves. The boat was half full of water, which we proceeded to
1>atl, but four fine whales were floating dead on the surface of the sea.
We tied *em together, put a waif flag In one of *em and pulled back for the
schooner. Cap'n Pearson greeted us with a glum face. I never sow a man so
down in the mouth. They had patched up the wounded men and laid out poor
Alcorn for sea burial.
**Well, Mr. Ashley,** said the Cap^n, *M reckon this has been a unfortunate
voyage, take It all In all - one man killed, two out of comlsslon and one
whale for all our pains." I wondered how much he was thinking about the dead
and wounded and how much more he was worried about his catch.
'*^k>t one whale, Cap*n** I answered, **we got four of *6ml" **FourI** he exclaims,
and his face brightens like sunshine after a shower. "Four of *em7"
I pointed off starboard where the waif flag was bobbing In the sea and some
half hour later we had all four In tow. They averaged 20 barrels apiece,
which was 80 barrels of sperm oil, figured at the market price of $45 a barrel
making $3600, - not counting the whale bone. Hof bad business for a "Plum
Puddin* cruise" and a good deal for a mate and one dory. I gues the Cap'n
thought so - at any rate for the next cruise I went out as master of the
vesse I .
THE END
:3 COVER STORY CD THE LONGFELLOW HOUSE
fTTTTTTTTl 105 Brattle St. Cambridge, Massachusetts
This house was headquarters for General Washington 1775 <- 1776
Home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow from 1837 to 1882
The house was built by Major John Vassal I in 1759. Major Vassal I is
a near relative through Judith Vassal!, grandmother of Susanna White
who married Abraham Ashley, brother of Joseph.
82
July 1974
ELDER LOAni ASHLEY* H *'™^ H
(Wlhtam^ Thomas^* Joset>h')
Copy fern Btvatd of Goepel IdbeHy, Daytott, Chto *• 1866
ANOTHER MINISTER FALLEN
Elder LoamY Ashley has gone to rest. After a short Illness of four days he
closed his career on earth at his residence In Montgomery County, Ohio.
Elder Ashley was born In the State of Vermont, August 9, 1784 and departed this
life September 25, 1859, aged 71 years, one month and 16 days. He emigrated to
Ohio in the year 1817 and two years afterwards he became a happy convert to the
Christian religion, and united with the Christian Church at Liberty, Hontomery
Co., Ohio under the care of Elder N. Morley and remained a worthy and respect-
able member of that body until his death. Being personally acquainted with him
for many years I can say that he possessed a character of uprightness, honesty,
truthfulness and peace. He was perservering and faithful in the cause of
Christ and firm In his belief in the gospel. He served the church In the office
of Deacon, « . • • For the last twelve years of his life he was a worthy,
respected and beloved minister of the gospel of Christ. He was a member of
the Tippecanoe Christian Conference In the State of Indiana when hts voice was
heard In declaring the truths of Gods word, giving saint and sinner, their
portion In due season. During Elder Ashley^s sickness he enjoyed his right
mind, spoke of death with calmness, without any dread or fear. He gave orders
how he wished his earthly things disposed of and then gave directions how he
wished his funeral conducted.
•
Loaml In early life served an apprenticeship as a Brick Mason and for several
years followed that business as a contractor and builder. Four of hts sons
served apprenticeships under him and ail became excellent brick layers. At
one time he went into the merchantlle business at Twinsborough, Ohio, but tn
that he made a failure and went back to his trade again.
About 1841/2 he moved to Howard Co., Indiana, In a new part of the country, they
called the Indian reservor. There he settled on a claim of eighty acres, and
afterward came Into possession of It. It was near the present city of Kokomo.
He was a man who believed In doing with all his might, what his hande found to
do, and when In later life he entered the ministry, his labors were character-
ized the same as in secular pursuits;
Loaml married Rachel Baker on 31 Aug. 1806 who was born 30 Jan 1788 In Penn.
daughter of Johathan Baker. To this union were born 3 girls and 9 boys.
July 1974
83
CIXXXXXXJ
[1 OeiTUARY
d PALLAS NEAL ASHLEY
CXXXIXIX3 (1864-1962)
Copied from: Dally DmnoiXPat, Woodland^ Cat. Deo. 8^ 1962
Pwntiahed by: Mre. Anna C. Gamer §3$
Pallas Neai Ashley, 98 years old and a Pioneer Developer of Yolo County, Cal.
died at his home In Woodland of a stroke on the 2nd of Decefnber 1962. His
burial will be In the family plot In Woodland.
Mr. Ashley was born on his father's farm near Nashville, Tenn 2 September 1864,
He was the son of N. J, and Prudence P. Ashley, the latter died In Wood land on
13 April 1925 where she was living with her son.
Mr. Ashley attended New MIddleton Institute In Tennessee and graduated
the Gordonvllle Academy In I884« He was principal of a school In Galena, Mo.
(Co. seat of Stone Ck>.) when he was only 19 years old« One year later, on the
advice of a physician, he came to California. Here he worked as a farm laborer
and sold real estate until he regained his health. He then taught school for
four years In Capay Valley, CaK In 1890 he took a position In the engineering
department of the Southern Pacific railroad, and later worked for the California
Oregon railroad.
In 1891 he received one of the first licenses issued by the State Boieird of
Examining Surveyors and was appointed deputy surveyor for Yolo County. He
also served as city engineer of Woodland where he prepared plans and supervised
the construction of the city sewer system. At that time It was considered the
most advanced system In the state.
In 1910 he received an appointment as Yolo Ck>unty Surveyor, a position he hejd
for 24 years, serving under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
Upon retirement he devoted his full time to farming In Yolo and Butte Counties
and to subdividing land. He developed the ASHLEY variety of the English
walnut. He was an expert on flood control and irrigation and developed a
I and- I eve ling device that was the forerunner of the MARVIN LANDPLANE of
Wood I and •
On the 21st of January, 1894, Mr. Ashley married Miss Mary (k>rnelfa Chapman,
daughter of George Chapman, who had extensive sheep and cattle Interests In
the county.
He was survived by his wife, a daughter Mrs. Wendell Payne of Woodland,
grandsons Ashley and Wendell Payne both of Woodland and 3 great grandchildren*
K)TB: DtFta OQltaeted by Barbara (Emdoroon) Dttp ZdMo^ndanet of
Alien and Secpdh (Ashtejf) Sharp} and eent to
Hra» Anna C, Gamer who ie Wflopkinff on the fmlty htetoxyt
Doee PALLAS BSAL A3BLBI fit into your foully ? ? ? ? ?
84
Ally 1974
m^. GRACE EDITH (ASHLEY) MISULIS 1^09
690 Hudson Ave.» Albany, N.Y. 12203
TXXXIXIXXXJ
J LI
n ANCnSTOR TABLE D
jCXXXXXXXXXD
I / i. Grace Edith Ashley (#209) 1900- Rock Ctty, N.Y. GJen Falls, N.Y.
II / 2. Jerman Ashley 1854-1933 Rayvtile, Old Chatham, Columbia Co., N.Y.
3. Mary Frances (kx>per, 1865-1947 Nassau,. Renss. Co. Chatham, N.Y.
«
111 4. Jerman Ashley, 1818-1865, Ashley Hill, Rayville, Col. Co., N.Y.
5. Sarah' A. Shufelt, 1823-^1892, Chatham, Rayvllhe, Columbia Co., N.Y.
6. Henry B. C^per, 1838- England, Nassau, Chatham, N.Y. Cedar Falls, la.
7. Mary Brinkworth Pitts, 1846-1871, Oxenton, England; Nassau, Chatham, NY
8
IV 8. Aldon Ashley, 1783-1856, Rayville, Ashley Hill Col. Co., N.Y.
9. Ruamah Greeni 1789-1868, Cattaraugus Co., Rayville,Oot. Co4, N.Y.
10. William Shufeit, 1791-1872, Columbia Co., N.Y.
11. Chrystlna 1792-1850, Columbia Co., N.Y.
12. '
13.
14. «riM1am Pitts 1825-1857, Nlbley, England, Chatham, Col. Co., N.Y.
15. Mary Brlnkvuorth, 1825-1859, Nlbley, England, Chatham^ Col. Co.^ N.Y.
V. 16. Noah Ashley, 1747-1815, Mass., Dutchess Co., Rayville, Col. Co., N.Y.
17. ^Rebecca Reynolds, 1754-1822, Ft tkintoifirn, Dutchess Co., Rayville, N.Y.
18-27
28. John Pitts 1799- , Nlbley, England; Chatham, Col . Co.; N.Y.
29. Charlotte 1802- Nlbley, England; Chatham, Col. Co., N.Y.
^■^q
VI. 32 e **J6thro Ashley, 1706/7 - Rochester, Mass* Nine Partners, N.Y,
33. ^^Eilzabeth Holmes, ? Rochester, Mass. Nine Partners, N.Y.
34. ***Nehemlah Reynolds, 170^-11759, Greenwich, Ct*, Nine Partner*, N.Y.
35. ***Mary Palmer ? Nine Partners, N.Y.
« •
VI t 64.' Joseph Ashley, settled In Rochester, Mass. $ 1700
65. Elizabeth Perclval, b 10 Sept 1675, Sandwich, Mass., Rochester, Mass.
m
Reference:
* American Genealogical index. Vol. 5, p. 119,
ASHL£Y, Rebecca (Reynolds)
«^ 'Giles Memorial, p. 201, HOLMES FAMILY of Marshfleld, Mass
*«» JOHN REYNOLDS (I630-?) Watertown, Mass., Greenwich, Ct.
by Marion H. Reynolds, 1924
July 1974
85
a CD
a CURRENT NEWS □
D □
tte extend our eimpathy to tfm fomiliee
of thoee uho have departed.
yiLU^ E> WAtKER. husband of Margaret
L. CiMiming Walker 1169, passed away In
San Diego, CaL March 28, 1974. He
was brought back East and Is burled
at North Purchase Cemetery, Attleboro,
Mass. He Is survived by his wlfe^
and four children: William B., Nell 6.,
Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson and Hrs^Constance
Oedekoven
BETTY-JO (OCXJM) ASHLEY > 47, wife of
Robert E. Ashley of Waterbiiry, QU
died on April 23, 1974. Born May I,
1926 at Winder, 6a. She was employed
at the Sewing Notions DIv. of Scovlll
Mfg. Co. for 19 years and a member of
the Watertwon United Methodist Church «
Besides her husband she leaves a dau-
ghter Mrs. James Dean of Orlando, Fla.
a sister, a granddaughter and several
nieces and nephews. After services at
Barnes Memorial Chapel at Bristol
burial was at West Cemetery, Bristol*
e « e « « e «
HELENMAY E. ASHLEY of Cheshire, Ct.
died Feb. 6, 1974 at Cheshire Conva-
lescent hospital. Born in Bridgeport,
dau of the late Enoch and Nellie
(Monahan) Ash ley » she lived In Water-
bury several years before moving to
Cheshire 19 years ago. She was an
auditor at the Colonial Bank and Trust
Co* retiring 7 years ago. Burled at
Calvary Cemetery, Waterbury, Ct* She
Is survived by one brother, Harold*
RT. REV* STEPHEN P. BAYNE, JR. ends a
long and distinguished careor as a ser-
vant of the Church. Born May 21, 1908
son of Stephen and Edna (Ashley) Bayne,
CEdward E* Ashley - Or* James - Or* James
Pare I va I - Abraham - JosephJ was ordain-
ed to the Priesthood by the Rt. Rev. Mn.
T* Manning, Bishop of New York and I 0th
Rector of Trinity* In 1947 he was con-
secrated Bishop of Olympla In Western
Washington and served there until I960,
when he became the first Anglican Execu^
ttve officer with headquarters In London.
He filled that post until 1964 when he
became Director of the Overseas Dept. &
Vice President of the Executive Council
of the Episcopal Church. He was called
to England by the Arch-Btshop of Canter*
berry to head the entire Episcopal
Missions In the World and he lived In
Lambeth Palace during that period* In
1970 he Joined the faculty of General
Theological Seminary and became dean
until 1973 when he retired*
His death occurred January 18, 1974
while vacationing In St. Maartens,
Puerto Rico. Bishop Bayne graduated
from Amherst College In 1929 and from
the General Seminary In 1933* He served
as Rector of Trinity Church, St* Louis,
St* John's, Northampton, Mass, and as
Chaplain at Columbia University before
becoming Bishop of Olympla. He Is
survived by his wife, the former Lucie
Culver Gould, whom he married June 19,
1934, and five children
ANNA B* (ASHLEY) SHERMAN. 79, wife of Carlton B* Sherman of E* Freetown, Mase*
passed away Sunday, AprI I 21, 1974 at St* Luke^s Hospital, New Bedford, Mass*
Bom at E. Freetown was daughter of James 61 f ford and Freda 'Barbara (Wolf >
Ashley. She married ist Marcus Harold Ashley, and after his death In 1947
she married Mr* ShAraien* She Is survived by her husband and three sons,
Marcus H. of E. Freetown, FredeHck W. of Torrance, Calif., Franit H. of
E. Freetown^ a dau. Mrs* Ve4ma A. Dunham of E. Freetown, 2 brothers Jethro 9*
of Acushnet, James G* of E. Freetown, a sister Asenath A. MoCall of North
Scltuate, R*l*, 12 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren*
July 1974
ASHLESS ON THE 60
GEORGE W. ASHLEY, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Frank H. Ashley of E. Freetown, has
been promoted to sergeant In the U.S.
Air Force. Sgt. Ashley, an adminis-
trative specialist at the North Truro
Air Force Station Is assigned to a
unit of the Aerospace Defenee Command.
ANNA C. GARNER 136 on a recent return
to the midwest for a school reunion
and visit with her brother In Eureka
Springs, Ark., spent one afternoon
with your Editor, discussing genealogy.
SUZANNE KEMPER, of Wllllamstown appeared recently In a Berkshire Pro Mustca
production "An Evening of Lyric Theater". Ms. Kemper had the supporting role
In Glan Carlo Menottl's "The Medium". Suzanne Is familiar to many as the
head of acquisition and reference at Free! Library, North Mrtms State College.
She Is a musician and concert singer. A music graduate of Carnegie Mellon
University, she studied voice In Pittsburgh, New York and at Bennington College.
She has appeared as a soloist with the Pittsburgh and Wheeling Symphony Orches-
tras, the Wheeling Opera and Downtown Chorale of Pittsburgh. She Is the
daughter of Ruth Evelyn (Staples) White #69.
THOMAS L. ASHLEY (D-Ohlo) was recently quoted In the March 18, 1974 Business
Week magazine as saying "The position of the President has obviously changed".
Mr. Ashley Is a member of the housing subcofirilttee who has been working on a
compromise with the Housing & Urban Development Dept. Among hundreds of
provisions in the Senate bill, the main features of the legislation would:
Continue housing subsidy programs, most of which have been frozen since Jan.
1973 and Institute block grants totaling $2.S billion for urban renewal and
similar local projects, and create myriad new programs such as saf^ standards
for mobile homes, direct loans to the elderly for housing, and a $150 million
authorization for housing rehabilitation.
MRS. GIOVANNA ASHLEY of Sacramento, Calif, tried giving away her dog Lucky,
the 5-year old German sh^herd-col Me mix was given to a friend 30 miles north
of her home. Three days later he was back. Then she tried giving him to her
stepdaughter 60 miles away in Yuba City. But Lucky returned once again with
sore feet and a Charley horse. Lucky won and he will stay with the Ashleys.
«««tt««««i
« « N • «
MRS. CHRISTINE ASHLEY, a divorcee is living at Extended Family No. 3 with
her three children. She edits the church newspaper for the Unitarian
Universalist congregation In Westport, Conn. She Is an artists' agent
by profession.
87
July 1974
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR JUNE GRADUATES:
Jane Ashley Sokot, graduate of Kendall College^ Evanstoh, III.
Susan Ashley, graduate of Apponeguet Regional High School, Lakeville, Mass.
Will tarn C. Ashley, graduate of Apponeguet Regional H.S., Lakevllie, Mass.
Dawn Ashley, graduated with honors from Dlghton-Rohoboth Regional High
School at Berkley, Masb.
Valerie J« Ashley, graduated from Dlghton-Rohoboth Reg. High School at Berkely
lJ
1CX3CXIXIIXXXDCIX3
NEW MEMBERS g
C3CXXXX3CXXXXXXX3
NEEDED
*iineages for following members
fr .'-
1294
1295
1296
#297
#298
#299
;:«300
CHARLES A. GREENE
37 Wright St.
Keene, N.H. 03431
STATE HISTORICAL SOC. OF W ISC.
816 State St.
Madison, Wise. 53706
MRS. JESSE L. ESKEN
212 W. Sixth St.
OtI City, Pa. 16301
OLLIE JAMES LYNN
140 N. Central Ave.
Centervllle, Tenn. 07033
MR & MRS MAURICE M. MOXLEY
448 Plttsdowne Rd.
Columbia, S.C. 29210
MRS. CAROL ANN BEAVER
7467 Bagdad St.
San Diego, Ca 921 1 1
SGT. GEOnSE J. ASHLEY
Ashley Ave.
E. Freetown, Mass. 02717
PUBLIC LIBRARY OF
FORT WAYNE AND ALLEN CO.
Fort Wayne, Ind. 46802
Isaac Thos. Lynn ( ) John Newton Lynn ( )
William Lynn and A sh I ey < )
John Ashley of Warren Co. Tenn. (d 1840)
PLEASE - Keep sending names of prospective members to
our membership chairman
Mrs. Kenneth 0. Davis, Green River Rd.,
Wllliamstown, Mass. 01267
88
July 1974
NOV 1 5 mJI
9aU l<m
(©®^B^€3aig
BROWNELL, ASHLEY & CO,
lis. 24 to 38 Fort Sml lEW BEgFlRB, MUSI
U tkt, h*aU oi thd. Old* ColoiUj
^.
Published 9oua. Oime^ a ^eo^ Sp^^ng.^ 6umme^, 9oJJL (md. U/tnte^
6y f^^hJLeAj^ of ftmeAAjcxi^ 9ncx>^o^jated, in the. Hecutt o{ the.
Otd Cotomf, lihe^A ftmeAAXui iSetfon.
X
4 - 5ec/teta^ '4. Afe/oo-t^ oj the 9i4th Rnnuai Aeettnf - ftuj^u^ 1974
6 - 9nte^tim 9-teadu^te>t '4. Kepo^
7- iSlcentesvuja/i 9dea^ f^totK " Jankee!' S^txuL S^cm
8^ [cutlif fl^hietf CmAjjAjonJU. to f^meAAxux - Dhe SiMHcaue ^^chiue
14'^ Sttange^hdcumeKt -
IS-^n fl^hJUif Oo4Aj t»ho wa^ a hinute hem -* SeJth UeAAoitie^
l64ii^6Ajo^4X^hinute4^ - K*[^ ft^hJUif
l9'^^6hleLf^ in the Nea^
20^^hleii ^ccu>unt6. at PijeAJze & Du^ee'4. ^eneMuL Sto^te- 1829
2S '^eneaJLoijAxijaJL Humo^
26'^'Jiietf^ on the ^ene^tcuL KnoK D^joaJL - R.l. fi^hieAj
JO-On the CooeA. - SAjoumeJU^ ft^M^ & CO0, 9ine Comam^ /^(Mujfactute/td.
" 31- New hembe4^.
II
II
II
II
II
II
It
II
It
II
II
II
fl^hJLeij^ o{ ^me^Axui, PncjO^o^ated i^ a non-^p^ofiZ co^o^tatlon unde^ the
Im^ of the Cotmomoeatth of ha^^^xxchu^ett^ and hai. been dete/tmined to be a
twO-eKeMpt p^AjjoXje foundatA^on bij the Oi^ZeAnjot fievenue SeAJtjixue. . Se/fue/U^ . . .
o^ qA^tA. . « • oAje deductable fo^ 9ede4aZ. estate and qA^t ta>C puApo^ie^. • •
Vhe Offixie^^ and [Kecutiue Soa^ ate oa. 9olJio0^ - KobeAZ Cm ^^^hiecf, P^^e^m , '^
^hnS. fi^hleAj, I^U.P., PaulC. Xeona^, 2nd, U.P., S^adfo^ 9. Saan, 3^. U.P.,
fimantha ft. ft/Un^ Sec^^ Nanctf ft^hteif, ITteod^^ bo4i^. ft. Xanq., [Kea. Comti^ member,
Kenneth U. ft^hteif^ 6cec. Coma, membe^y UiAjfAjiia ft. ^o{f^ 6cee» Com^ membeu
MEET YOUR
ISDITCISI
Q
NdrtCL/ 4/1/e^y (no iiuiddJLe ncu:ie) dau^hto^. of CdfOCMi <>£oiie rl^hte^ and
^i/ste^AXL (paL:ieA.) h^JvLeLf^ 006. bo^n inl^ea dedfo^ /odd^^ onhoAcJi S, 1929, the
ifounqje^ oj thkJBA cIxiLAAMn. i< e^ b^cjothe^ ftAXhat Mom fi^JU^j, and aIaXj^/l t»AA^
JhcriG^ X. CoaZi^ oaa both nieinbe^iA ojf ou^ ft^hU^ 'jG^.iLj fiAAOCjicJbion a^ Ia he4.
Hiothe^^ hntetla. hancLf aZZeyuLed /Veur oedfo^ and ha/ttmouth 1 'ubtlc ^chooiA. and
qAndujoZexL {^to^hean ^^cadetnif and )a^ LoULeqA in j^ankLin, iso^a^, in 1946.
9n the poAt^ Nanctf ha^ been acZioe in both Oomn and iiepubiiaan politico
hauin^ been e/,^ected to ^j&jeMJL te/un^ on both the uepubiican Jown Coi:aMXtee and od
a Ooton fleeting. /,ei:ibe^ i>he aJUo ^ewed on the battaiouth JeACjentenoAAJ Coauaittee.
Nancuj ii^ oua. computer expe/tt. ^*ftet having been 0ith haJtijonaJi Laah i^egi^ZeA.
CoKipanij fo^ ten ijeoA^^ ^he i6. noio hoJba p^oce^^tg On^tAncJjo^ at the ^^ti^toif
Pii/tHouth tsfifAjonaJL JechnlcjaJL odwoi in Oaunton, I odd^ i^'ot onhj id^ ^he teaching.,
4/ie i6. aUo attending. Jit xihbuAjg otate Cottege to obtain /tet deg^^ee in JocxUionat
education.
Jhe fiA^ iiieeting at the Scotland Lhutch in liAidgje^atet n^od Nanaf^
introduction geneatogcf and the foj.iiLj but ^ince then d/te A^id been one o{ oua.
tivo^ actwe and ualuabie mentbe^^ ^6£4ifing oa. J^^eauiAjet ^ince 1972.
9t i^ d/ie a/to, atong with 'John and l^ujj:^, ha^ been Aje^on^ibie fo^ the
g/oeat ^juuccj^a^ of oua ta^t t/vtee i,i££ting^ in Neu> Jedfo^uL.
\^Je weLcoiae he^ and knouf tjou^ wiLL enjjouj ^jeading thUy het fit6t jua^tetti/,
t}iat Lfou oAje noa hoi^jing. Piea^e addte6^ ati cohittnication^ to hanc^/ fi^hJietj,
I6S [li:i 6tAjeet, SovJJx ha/ub:icuth, f.a^^. 02748
fiJUi^
'' .»
'I
Sec^^etcutif ' ^ Kepo^ o{ the 9ifth ^rtsiucui A/cetut^ - fiuqjuAt 1974
Ke/jAj^tAotAjon and a ^etconie cup of coffee opened the f^th ^£wtion of the
^^hietj^^ of nmeAAjca^ OncjOApoAxxZed on ftuquAt 24^ 1974 at the vioiMJuXZa Lluh in New
Sedfo^, /^/odd^ ^hn and Sujjif RJ^JLeif^ oA^AAtjed bvf offijcje^j^ of the ^ocletUf,
'wetcoined memb^A^ and f^A^end^ oa. theif a^Aemb^Led in the ChoAJt iioom^
fit 10:30 y iSob ^-i^hteif, p^jeAiAent^ qjojje an info^MotiAJC and fa^cAJtating. talk^
"^^kieif^ in the KevotutAcn, u)hete theif tiued and tohetje theif ^e^ved" iZluAttated
uUth manij ^lAjdeA. Othet LoAqA picXAAAj^A of p^omAjtent ptace^ haif04. ChoAJLeA b.
n^hieif and otheAA, mounted on caAjdboaAxL K^ote dUptoifed and had tduch to offeA in
connectijon ufith ft^hteij (vUto^.
ft map ^ho0ed loiXh btue dotA wheAe ^i^Mjeij^ lijued before the Kevotutijon; loiZh
A£d dotA uheAA thete woa actijon in which ft^htet/^ paAtixUpated and qAMMX dotA to
point out lifheAe ft^hteif^ who weAe Oo^te^ weAe tocated. Ohe ft^hteif J^atL, tAxioin^
a Aaute foJUawed bif <u)me of oua A^JiatiueA gaing. to UeAmont^ woa moAkexL
Ohe CotoneJi n^hteif hou^e in ft^hleif 9ati6y ^Ate of eaAJLj ftm^AAjcan Keuotution
events woa Juown. Bob gave a fine de^CA^ption of the buAJjUnq.^ aAxJvitectuAjoJL
detaAJU.^ fuAniJiingA and hiA okaaX. in that oAea. 9t woa noted that the Sheffield
becloAxitton woa ^^Ajgned thete befo^te the hecZoAXition of %ulcpendence wa^ ^Ajgned
in Philadelphia^
9n peaking, of the [o^teAn t'OA^uxchu/^ett^ aAea^ Sob ^aid that H^hJLeij^ wete
mo^ p^tobabtif not at XeKtngton and Conco^ becojuu^e it wa^ too foA awaif foA them, to
Aepo^ foA. immedijate dutij.
ft^hieif hi6to^ and that of oua. countAuf '^ development weA^ inteAwouen bif Sob
loho oIao ^oke of actioitLj at 9oaZ DicondeAjoga^ 9oaZ phoenvC (hoAboA. defence of
thi^ oAjea wheAA the fiA^ naoal battle of the Keuolution wa^ fought hoif 14^ l77S),
Sunken hill and othet placje^.
Sob ^^ talk with hU. wottdeAful backgAOund knowledge and foA Jteachinq. ^je^eoAch
loa^ filled with a pAA^jed amount of info^jnation about oua ance<ito4^ - making u^
pAoad of OUA f^^Mjeuf heAitajg^e. Ohe delightful houA concluded with cjcea uiew^ ^^Ach
OA. the ftJ^Leij CeMetetif^ fi^hleoj hornet and othet local, ^ite^.
1.
. 1 ■
^ cocktcuit houut uhith time fo^ in/fo^mal uia^LUng^ preceded ^Mucheon jo^ chout
^^^k ^Jviaif ^S^tUn Of Ohio aa^ jo^ted^ntec^ an ^JvLaf tie cJUp {o^ haoinq. come
the fcutthe^t to attend the ^ueuMX>n.
Since it 1006. impo^Mbte fo^ the a/^tewoon ^cakeA. to attend, an info^mat,
impromptu p^tog^am developed into a ^wtp44j64.n(fJbj inte^teMAjnq, aftetnoon^ Sob, ^J4)hn
^^hieif, Paut Xeonxhtd and otheA^ <ywe bit^ of famnJ^f hUto^ and anecdotes (Hope
Sob KTOd abte to tape ^^eco^ them aJLU) (iJlJe ^houtd have mo^te of thi^ f^tom ouut
oLdet membeM.^)
htane htApvU^. and Konatd Situta of the Xakevitte htiAto^tiaai Sooietj qave a
^hoAX. hi^to^ of Xakevilie u>ith empha^i^ on the 9ndian inhabttant^ of the a^ea^
hixme told of iiiam^^utta (Kin^ PhiUp) amd ^leKondet (hetacom) and the Kinq. Philip '^
(ikut in I67S0 9t toad, ^epo^ted that Pndiand. had liued on Settif '4* /VecA in Xakeville
untLi 1930. Ohe cjueatAx>n of f-l^hletj^ moA/ufinf^ Ondlan^ p^mld^^ to be an inteAeAtinq.
topic fo^ ^tudif^ fildo noted woa. the fact that "i^ankee" i^ the Ondian^ mlAp^nustclation
of "[nglUh\
^t the bu6^ine6^ ^e^^dlon, Elton Staple^., choAAMan of the nominating. commiXtee
A^o^tted that, all offleeA^ had done theiA. u)0^ ^o loell in the pa^t Lfeat that the
entlAe ^late wa6. ^^vbrnitted fo^ AjeelexiXAJon. 9t 1006. mooed and 'Seconded that the
^^cAetaAL/ oa^t one oote fo^ the reelection of the present officet^
Kenneth ^^hleif moued to ^.eopen the dlMuu^^^n of an incAjeoAe in due^ 9t <pad
voted (27 foA. and I lopo^^ed) to have a ^in^JLe membeA^hip co^ $S and a couple 4.
meitJbeAAhip $10^ '!^lf^ menJ^eA/Jiip remains at $100.
hl6cu6^uon concetnin^ the publUtinf. of the KobeAt ri^hleLf QeneaJboqif brought
out the fact that po^^^ujble co^^t^ from the OroabrAJfe book ($I62S for. 300 copies
lohich loould ^^eil for. $IS to $20 each) reprAJtted btf Outtle ^ and a quote btj Saif
State Sudlnei^ Products (300 copies in paperback, $930, to ^^eLL for. about $10).
Ohe iZ^m 00^ tabled a<i la^t ijea/c for. more information^ Helen Vhoma^ ^ufjge^ted that
a committee be appointed to inueititjote the pubUJiing. and <iAe iva^ appointed to
head that commiZteeo
('Meeting. adjx>uAned at 3 9 SO PJ'u fimantha fl^htetj fimold fikin, Secretati/.
• •
h»
•.,.• . t
■ • • . *
-"..I-
t •
X-^yj •
■ i
:•'
• r
!■»
' ' ./:
i (\
\ «•
Septetube/t 22, 1973 to $eptmbe>t 28, 1974
Caah
on
kand
Saving 8<mk (9nc., -utteted^ to 6/1/74)
CheclUng, accouttt
Ootai cjodx on hand
$ l,69S,B4
139.92
$ 1,839,76
fioed. - 1974
Sue* - I97S
PinA. -
honaJUjorui.
Sauinq^ inXeAAAt to 6/24/74
Oncome.
StJuLtetin
OccjOAAjonaJL Pap ma- €■ NotixijeA
Po'dAjQ/jA
Oetephane,
ftppJuuAjoi, - K, [ujij.en& ^l-nhLei/
RejuviAjon - t^peMiAA (l)
Xunch ''LejCjeApt^
San k Se^tvice ChcwufA
r'i'iic,, - StatejHenti,
StencAjiA &
Sookkeepinf jo^un^.
$218,41
198.00
I6,9S
IM
Net income.
CaJx on Hand
CaJi on Hand
[xp
ena^A
Sept, 22, 1973
Sept, 28, 1974
(l ) Reunion e^^ertded, do. not include. (fAjtta,,
teAAM, ^tate, ment -UAuexi jo/c Sept 22, 1973 thtu
9incuL 4tateiHent wiUL be. oa. ol !)«/« ?/ loia.
961,00
40,00
15,00
12.00
S3,24
261,12
ISI,3S
149, 3S
30,66
3S,00
IS,00
20,41
,3S
2S.96
$ 1,081,24
$ 391,41
l,444,3S
l,83S,76
. V
Sept 28, 1974
Ae ;4t>i^/ /97J -cd^iuie o^ ^* .xutkee!* coMJieji cut qaXaxJLa 'V-i^-tee^i 9dec^ ^o-t a
One. Of tJ^e^A idjSJOA^ 4j^ 6y ova. otort o^uu/ (bi'Xirt^ Voi i).P. . . o/ m«
''i7;t 't/i^ r/tUi' o^tc^ o^ oiytix the e^&tde^ Oj' ^W^ a p^og^M*:'. a^ co^JUaj qa if'*^
v)Oi'Jji be^ it ^^ei,:^ cUi:-o^ ^^idicujioit^ to coi'uujdeA. an '' e^o^AJjion!' ttfpe of celeb^aZion
oj' the rj^joe^i^teAMjoU^ ^tcfu 04* took pZace in t^fuU/ideZphia in 1876 and on a ^/JoJileA.
^caZe in ^oa^ os^ Hie fiea [si^Zand- States. '^vZ tly2Aje 006. one a^ect oj' tl^e
CentennixuL celebycotHjon vjhLcli i^ oo^JJi ^tepeaJting^ • 9 A^je/L to t^^e pi'hiioatAJon o{
toioii UXaXjo^iajq^ v)l\4jdi\ 0OA. ^'xJri a p^::Unent pa/ct 0% tJ\e Cente^jTiai oeieb^jaZijon. 9n
uiantj cj0iAJ2A tl'o^^je tue ^XaJU^ oL^o^ a luiuad/oedL ijecut^ iaie<t^ tlie be^Z avcuLLabia
iUAto^Ajea, of t/iei/c coi.:*:j.'JtoLie6^ « •
. m 9 vjol'juL H!t.e to ^^eje pubi^Ahed loiiat nii^ht be caJuied iJoii.u:ie 99 of tJiMA town
IxiAZo^cieA.^ cutd tlie ea/dJie^ !ii^6Xo/U,e^ /cep^Ajited^ beccuM^ theij liaoe aii:io^ cuii
becoi:>e hxuut^to^'^ind, ^otlze/t. eXpen64Aje book^
9 0O(,UxL cuUo like to ^.ee a IhU^^uf o{ cXL tiie Hes} [n^/xxnd 6tate^ mAXten and
pitblUied 06. a coope^oZiue ef'^o^Jt o<^ the ^tej^n. 9 (oa^ bo^cn in f^ieuf Ijed^o^d^
('a6ACJclMiAeZt^ de^cjended {^joc. peopie viho had aluHH/6. iijjed in piinrjoiith and iS^i^^^toi.
CoiinAxe^. iSrX 9 kneiff oi^tai^f notlvin^ ahovX the ea^tLi lU^to^ of 'hode 96JxMd,
vjiiixJi ioij onLf 3S ciie^ to tlie i»eAt^ and it wo^k t lyMJL 9 fiad cof/e to p^ooidence
to tijje tJiat 9 ojcjovAAjed Oiv^i knou^ledg^, of '\hode 96Jjuul 6. fascinating hl^Zo^i.
9 tiiink it i^ 6ja/^e to ^oij that the ^tje^ident^ of anij one NeiO [ngZarui 6taJte kno0
ue/uj little about ^the lioAto/uj of tiie otheA. five 6txite6» in tlie ^je^Ajon^ even how
t/ie!.j cjai:ie into e^A^tjencje and. ujivj. . «
. m . Of coiMxie 6i'xd\ ^tjote p^co^/ucaiud. a^ 'Je^Mnt ^ ^^o^joL liisto^i'* pAoiject
^horJid- be adopted tliAOLjQ/iout the a/fjea. hit the New [n^Zand ^tate6. ^outd have
' a pAVCjA/u:.^ and keep it on a cointituUnq. basAj^ . «
^^Avdfo^d ^m i>wajn
Jizeate/c/ a^Jt^ Idito^c of tl-i
r/iouidence 'JocJaicJU
- 7 -
» m
■^i
v- .•
:\
■ «
Page 1 of 6
E '1 I ?. R A M T REPORT
:l
ASHLEY
(FRO-1 The Surnane /Archive, 108 Sea Lane Ferrinn, Sussex, Ennland)
(1!^: The figures in brackets before each nroup of entries refer to
the accession numbers in the list of eniqrant sources appended
to this report.)
(4B)
(37)
(39)
(65)
(49)
(41)
(no)
Sir AnthoniG Ashley, Kt. and Caot. John Ashley, Charter -lenbers
of the Virninii Conpany, 23 "lay 1609 (p. 29 and 31).
<* '-r. Pshley is niven as the master of the 'Pide-Cowe* which
sailed for "'ew England fron London durinn July 1635 (p. 106,110)
Robert Ashly, headright of Capt. Georoe Read, Lancaster Co., Va.
1651.
David Ashley, headrioht of "Ir. David Fox, Lancaster Co., Va.
1552.
Early inninrants to Maryland appearing Land Patents at the Kail
of Records, Annapolis, as follows:-
"lane
Liber
Folio
Method
Year
Remarks
Dennis '
Ishley
7
427
TransDortation
1564
Servant
f
ii
10
593
1)
1667
Hanriah
i:
e
483
II
1665
Fron Va.
C?.cob
fi
]2
333
If
1663
Janes
i:
''•C2
89
II
1676
Servant
Richard
(1
12
405
II
1569
Thomas
»i
8
259
It
1665
1'
ir
17
548
Service
1673
Of Talbot Co.
"illiam
II
WC2
415
Transported
1666-80
Servant
11
ri
15
362
ii
1676
Israeli
Ashly
15
322
■1
1674
Hi man
li
15
417
"Prior
to 1677
^nn /^shley, aged 25, dauahter of Pichard /^shlie, resident in
Ansterdan, qranted Licence to Pass Deyond Seas to Ansterdan,
23 'lay 1532. (^lenealo^ist, :!e'/ Series » Vol.23, p. 119)
Andrew Ashley, son of Ashby (sic), D.D. (?Deceased) , aned 24.
of Staffori. bound at Middlesex Guildhall by 'Mlliam
Haveland^ merchant, of London, to Barbados for 4 years as a
tailor. To sail on the*"illian and 'Robert' (Cant, '^iles 3ond),
21 Jan 1583 (sinns by nark) (Mo. B. 485, p. 31)
Servants bound at the London Guildhall as follows:
Elizabeth, dauqhter of ^Jchard Ashley of Mhitelyon Street in
St. Riles in the Fields ,Middx. ^ deceased. Bound to John
Pelly for four years in Barbados, 4 Anril 1685 (Fo. 14/211)
ASHLEY - The Surname flrt:nive pa^e 2 of 6
Rebecka, daunhter of Jerenlah Ashley, late of Benfleet, Essex,
bound to Thonas Blake for 4 years in Barbados. Age 20.
Unmarried. 25 ^larch 1685. (Fo. 14/195)
(44) Servants bounds in the Port of Liverpool includinq
Ann Ashley of Boaden (3ov/den) in Cheshire, aqed 20, to serve
5 years in Virninia. Intho 'inizcibcth' of Liverpool, with 11
Biibert Leivsay (p. 26)
(61) Phineas Ashley amonn those in !?arwick Tribe, Bermuda, who took
the Association Oath, 1596 (p. 56).
(112) John Ashley Esquire appears as subscriber to Mayo's rnap of
Barbados, 1720, with an estate on the island. Ordered two
copies.
(45) 'lary Asley of London, bound by John Blackwood of London, chapman,
at the London Guildhall, for 3 years in Antioua. Aged 18,
signed bond, 29 Oct 1756 (Fo.24)
(46) Convicts to the Plantations via the Port of London as follows:
Mary Ashby otherwise Ashley from fjewaate Gaol to Virginia on
the 'Dorsetshire' (Mm. Loney, master), 26 Jan 1735 (Ref. PRO
T-53/38, p. 256)
«
Daniel Ashley from Newgate to Viroinia or "iaryland on the
•Smith' (Georne Buckeridqe, master) 3 Feb 1732 (PRO T-53 /37
p. 10)
James Ashley from Essex to 'laryland on the 'Vernon' (Henry Lee,
master), 19 Dec 1740 (PRO T-53/40 p. 291)
(84) Daniel Ashley of ^lanchester, Enqland, via Dublin to Mew York, on
the 'Ontario', arriving 19 Jan 1816 (Code Mo. 22)
(87) Arrivals in U. S. Ports during Quarters Ending as Follows:
Ebenezer Ashley, 44, cabinet-naker, with wife Catharine, 50,
and 5 children from England on the ship '^Mlliam' V^r. f'loyes,
master) 31 Dec 1822 (p. 167)
(108) Sarah Ashley settled in Columbia Co., i!ew York, c.1775. iiarried
Daniel ^Mlkinson, had son Daniel (American Ancestry, Vol. 2, p. 48)
(64) See separate photocooy of entries annotated with cross-reference
to our own sources.
'*.?HLEY
The Surnf^ne Archive
oaqo 3 of 6
LIST OF F/1IG?A:!T SOURCES COMSULTED
(•!ote: Sources are referred to In reports by their accession '^jnbers.
I.e., the order In which they have been acquired by the Surnane Archive
no;?ever, entires in reports are niven in rounh chrcnolonical order,
fron the 17th to the 19th century. The list below also includes the
'Lancour ?!unber" 'vhere appropriate: this is the serial number of the
source as '^ivon in 'A 3iblio'^raphy of ^hip Passenoor Lists 1533-1825
corpiled by Harold Lancour and published by tho le** York Public
Library in 1963. The note "(Index)" an^inst an entry indicates that
the names fron this source aro included in the Surnano /^rchivo's
Eninrant Index - or * - usually because the orininal has not been
indexed elsowhcrc.
r II
\CC
io. Briof Title
Editor
or Source
Edit-
ion
Period Lancour
Covered
37 Orininal Lists of Persons t:nTTE:i,J.C. 1952 1600-1700
of Ouality, Eni^jrantSj
etc.
0.
1
39 Early Virninia Imniarants GREER, f;.':^.
1960
lf23-lP56 2]5
41 ^one Early Eni 'grants
to Anerica
raCMOLSO'], 1965 1682-15PA 12
CO, P.
A4 Eniorants to '\!nGrica
fron L'pool
FRE:!CH,E.
19P2 1697-1707
11-
A5 r»Tiinrants fron Ennland
to America
KA'iriKO'i,
.T » '1
1956 1718-1759
46 Eniorants in Bondaoe
from London
KA'UMKO'I
J ?j '1
1967 1719-17^>/:
48 Virginia CoJ^oany Charter LEESOfl.F. 1957 1606-1621
'ienbers (Index)
-*
49 Licences to Pass Beyond FOTSER(=.ILL, 1910 1624-1638
Seas 5. (Index)
_*
51 Association Cath Polls nA^:DY, '!.
of the British Plantations
1922
1596
64 Inniqrants to Anerica VIRKUS, F.A. 1965 1600-1750
Before 1750 (A to Battles
only)
65 Early Settlers of
•Maryland
SKOROAS, S. 1968 1633-1680
- I'j -
A?^PLEY - ThG Surname 'vrchlve
LIST OF EmRA?JT SOURCES COMSULTED (Continued)
nane ^: of 6
:!o. Brief Title
Editor
or Source
Edit
ion
Period Lancour
Covered Vo.
80 Eni^rants fror Ennland ^HIRELLI, 1968 16C2-1692
ichael
• 1
8/! Passonnors from Ireland HACKETT ?i 1929 1811-1816 27/8
EAI^.LY
87 Passers. v;ho arrivad in KVUiIKOm,
U.S.A. J. & '-^
108 Dictionary of Scottish
Erniorants
'IMVTP
Donald
112 Subscribers to 'layo's "lap TUTT, G
of Darbados, 1722
1969 1021-1823
1972 Un to 1855
197C 1722
- *
r^^UQRA^lTS in AMERICA BEFORE 1750, F. A. VIRKUS
ASMLFY, Ann (b. 1605), livinn at Jamos City, Va., census of Feb. IS,
1623- naid servant of Capt. Ralph Hamor. 162^ (!n2/:9).
ASHLEY, :avid» brouoht to Va., 15^2, by *ir. David Fox, Lancaster co.
(V251).
ASHLEY, Ednund, settled at Boston, 1670. had lived at Ipswich C^IS^).
ASHLEY, Edv/ard, orob. came from Bristol, Enn.-, settled in He., 1630
(G15/J).
ASHLEY, Edward, settled at 3oston, Hass.; freeman, 1577; n. f'ary
issue l-"illiam (b. June 2^:, 167/*) • 2-"iar-.« (H. '\pr. 28,
3-Dorothy (3. July 11. 15R7)- (Cil54).
6),
ASMLEY, Ezekiel ("ill dated June 28, 17^5) , settled at Hartford, Conn;
his v.rill offered by h'idow, /"uq. 17''''5, namino childrod all
under aoe; n. Hannah - issue: 1-Ezeliol (d.l761), m.
Elizabeth , and had issue; 2-Hannah; 3-dau. "Hrissill"
(-,riswold)"rTcll26a)
ASHLEY, froorne, capt. (Ennlish); bouoht two olanatations at Gravesend,
L.I., from John "'orrill, Oct. 30, 1651 ("1203).
- // -
ASHLEY • The Surname Archive pane 5 of 5
r-i:.?TQ^./^/ITS TO A'^ERICA BEFORE 1750, F> ^. VIRKUS (Continued)
ASMLEY, Gilbert, oranted 1 precinct lot in Colleton co., S.C, Oct. 6,
ie85 (S1173a).
ASHLEY^ JosGoh, r.. Elizabeth ; issue: l-Thomas (b.^^ochester, ftass,
Feb. 21, 170V05); (CTT25?).
ASHLEY, Lcnuel (b. abt. 17^;l-'i- Barnard, Vt,, Har. 11, 1799; came fron
Shrewsbury, -lass*, to Barnard ••n'th children ab^j:-. 1734, where
he bounht land: r". Olive (b. abt. W'lS-d. Barnard, y* * - i^
Dec. 22, 1799); Issue: 1-Lucinda, n. :iahum '^hippie; 2-Clive,
n. r . Slancharf*- 3-3Gtsey (b. 17C8), n. Barnard, fiov. 2^, 1790,
Silas Shattuck of Kartland, Vt. (Silas in town records but
Ephrian in fanily recoris); 4-Lemuel, lived at Hartland, later
renoved to Barnardi ni. "^arv "illiamson; 2 children b. Hartland,
8 b: Barnard: 5-Jonathan (b. abt. 1771-d. Barnard Oct. ^, 1339,
dea. 3arnard Christian Churchy n. S^rah Osbornr 10 children
b. Darnard- 6-Soohia (b. 1777); 7-Josoph; 8-Benjamin (b.l785)
(^n95h).
ASHLEY, -"AllRICE, bro. of the Earl of Shaftesbury; one of the Proprie-
taries of Carolina, 1708; Ashley barony or St. Hiles (the old
Kussoe Indian settlement) of 12,000 acres "on the south side
of the head of Ashley river" and which v/as granted '^ar. 18,
157C/75 to Lord Shaftesbury, v/as by his q.son Lord Ashley,
convoyed Julv 20, 1698, to his bro. Hon. "Maurice, and by hin
'un. 7, 1717, to Samuel ^fraon, Esq. (S1167a-Sl 168a) .
ASHLEY, Hoahj came from Eng., 1688; ni. and had issue; at leasts
Stephen of Chathan, ri.Y., issue (A317).
ASI'L^Y (ASHLY), Robert (b. Enq.-d. 'lest Sprinnfield, 'lass., Hov. 2/J,
" ' or 29, 1S32): settle:! at Sprinc'field, :'ass., 1633-39; received
allotment of land for a sinnle nan; farner- taxed on 51 acres
16'^7; licensed to keen an ordinary, 16^6 and 1651-52, which he
gave up, 1660, held various offices; selectman, 1553-59, 60,
v^2, 55, 57; took oath of fidelity ^ar. 23, 1655/55; constable
1559: excused fron military training, 'lar. 30, 1669; took oath
of alleniance, Dec. 31, 1673; m. prob. Sprinnfield, 15/11,
tary (prob. the "widow") »'orton (d. »'est Sprinnfield, Sept. 19,
1683), wilow of Thomas Horton; issue b. Sprinnfield: 1-David,
(b. June3, lfi/:2-d. 'festfield. Ore. 8, 1718), lived at Sorim-
field; prob. renoved to Westfield, 1667; selectman 1675, 77,
79-85, 9/*, 99: town treasurer, 169/^; n. Mew Haven, Conn.,
^5ov.?\ ir,:^i, Hannah (b. 'iew Haven, ;!ay 7, IS'^-d. Westfield,
June 7«'17^2;, dau. of Henry and Helena Glover of »Iew Haven;
5 sons, 5 daus; 2-1ary (b. f^^r. 5, l?/'/!), m. Octo 18, 1664,
John ?.oot of Farninriton and "estfieldt 3'Jonathan (b. Fob. 25,
16A5//!.5.cI. Hartford, Conn., 170/'-05), lived at fpringfield;
- /2 -
• •'
ASHLEY - Tho Surnanc Archive p^oe G of 6
I''1K-'^vA;!TS Tf> A'lERICA ?EFORE 1750, F. A. VIRKUS (Continued)
'»S[-!LEY, (^SMLY), Pobcrt (continued)
. ronovad to Hartford, Conn., and nado freeman, 'tay 3, 168^^!
stllloifned land In Sprlnoflcld, 1698: n. Sprlnofleld, f!ov. 10,
1669, ?arah (ban. Hartford, lar. 17, 1650). dau. of '/Hilar
an'' Elizabeth (Stone) Madsworth of i^artford; 3 sons, 2 daus.;
4-Sarah (b. Aug. 23, 16''-3-Drob. d.y.): 5-JosGoh b. July 6,
1652-d. ''est SnrlnnflGld, 'l?.y 18, 169??), lived at ''est
Snrlnnflcld • laroe land-owner; took oath of allenlance to .
Colony, .Tan .1 1678/79: n. Sprlnrflcld, Oct. 16, 1685, lary
(b. riorthamnton, '^ass., June 27, 1651-d. Sprlnnfleld, ,'^ug. 23,
1711), dau. of Joseph Parsons of "lorthampton, '^ass; 3 sons,
2 -'cus.: Mary, n. 2d, Sprlncfleld, 'iar. 2, 1698/99, Joseph
'•'iniston, of Sprlnfiflelc!, I'.obcirt '"^shlcy nay have had other
nay
JOa) .
Children. (/"317-;.546-C310-C112Sb-G154-f!l/!
ASHLEY, San (b.l615), snbarked, London, Jan. 2, 1634, In the "Bona-
venturc", to sail for ^'a.; lary "shlay aqod 24 yrs. was a
pj\ssenner on the sane vessel (H1249).
ASHLEY, Thonas, settled In rialne, 1654; nay have rcnoved to Boston,
27, 1661)-, m. 2d. Jan. 1662.
1658: n. Joanna (d. Dec.
'•'Idow Hannah Rroono ('5164).
ASHLEY, Thomas, vias at Boston, ''ass., 1681; m. 'lary i Issue l-''ary
(b. Sept. 1, 1681: 2-Thonas (b. Dec. 3, 1632); 3-Ann (b.
Sent. 168A)- (G154).
ASHLEY, 'inilan, settled at '^ells, '^e.; apptd. constable July ^.
1659 (r.l84).
ASHLEY, 'Ulllan (d. Nov. 24, 1694), settled at Providence, R.I..
Inventory of his estate presented by Sarah Ashley, Jan 15,
1695, anounted to k 12, 4s., 3d.; n. Sarah , aftor 1695.
ASHLY, Robert brought to Va., 1651 by Capt. Geo. Road, Lancaster co.
(V251).
- 13 '
//
f • - .
Know aii nten bvf ^^j2/sjci p^uiAjcjntc^ thjcut 9 f'^gAxidiA. /^. i^fiite. of 9^t(2jctotjn in i/ie
Couuf^, of iS^u^^toyi crtd ^^jxte of J'ia^^/Uijc^^iu^jsZt^ atuL Cha/cLcA. P. fUh^jei\^ 9^oank H^ ^^
oLL of ^jcUxL 9^cejeAjOfon^ eXc^ept ^iaA ^'C/ujZ^ 0^ ^^U^, i»t%o 4A. of ba/ybnout/i In ^6/xld
Countif have, axyoejzji to ^^jubrUt t/za d emon j (i ^tatef^ient whe/ceof i^ hsAxiXo cuit e^xiexL ,
to tJue. djet/i^pUAj^aZlon o<^ ^qjoaxjj^^ ;>. * idd-de^l, of deia^ /?e^^^— — and ^bZJicU. I^\ Oia^
of -^/ue/s^JovDn^ att in 4£tid Countii^ tli^ awa^ of ^luoni^ beinq. tttacle. and A^o^cteJ.^ to t/ie
poAtie^ ^hcuti be finals
Said ^hlt^ oLoijiu^ dciiiiaae. to ao/ctjaln wood <xind & /ujiiJi^^ tlie. Land being. mcA. hl^
daeJLilm^ bou4^ tlie. ^aid pa^iZieA. to t/ii^ omcA/L^ ag/tcje. tJuctt tlieif ate. & theiA. hciA^.
atkUnb^t/uxtjo/o^ & o^aj^i^ ^lati be. bound in tlie. penxiL 4ita of tivo hundred doVuoi^o^
to tlue. t/cxjie. & fcit/ufiM. pe/cfo^^mancje. of tJui^ agAe/2y.tcnt^
\Jo tJte. puie. Cr ^ct4JJviVut pe/c/ro/^numae oi at^ lohich^ ae fwve. heAejunto 4<2^ oiM.
!Tjaivi6.^ tihid. ^Aeventeent/z dcuj of Octobc/c, eigJitcen fiiuuUcd & ^.euentif ^ix^
JiXnej^A. fiatachi /v^ ^liite.
Qi^lbeAt tl Collins
9^umk A-» ^Jileij
^cufie4. % ^Jilejtj
Xeonatd /4 (iLl^ejgibte.}
Cdtvin S^ Cottle.
Oct 16, 1876 (/co^tg^ 0^ i</xA46^L & /^bi^hai. 1^ Chace haoe p^ti^ded tlie. daacu^e.
btf fi^te. on Zand of lialachi /V ^^lilte. heAjein named and fined the. dajntcuae. to be. $20^00
ftbijJuU. ;v' Chace.
bij ^biAhai // Chace.
October 2U 1876
RfiCeioed tJie. aboue. Ajeaa/td hatachl A/ i^hite
- 14 -
fin fi^hieLf Oo^ loho u>a^ a f-iisiute t'ian-
South bcM/i^ie/xL, ti(i6^ - /'^to^eddo^ fi^K. K'iqjf^ of hc^iJLt Unive^Mitif in
f'ionttecui^ Canada, and fimeJLia 9. IHUUieA. of hee^i^eZd autho^M^ and hiAto^AXUt^ have.
'teceitt^ uncjoue^jsd a ^ta/tXJUjnq. fact about one of bee/tfieZd^^ texiding. 'Vo^''
fai9uiLie^^
^}onathan fl^hte^ J^^ (1739^1787) <u)n and dame^Mke of bee^fletd'^ ^XeAjn
mlniAZeA., the Kev. ^}onathan ftJ^JLeif, and nephew of 9^6>uieJL i^ittiam^ of Hatfield
one of the ^C'ca^LLed "Kiue^ ^odJ* of the ConnectUudt Uatteif, (va^ huh^^eZf a
p^u>minent laaije^ and fo^une^ member of the Qene^taJL Coutt of (^ia^A^^acha^ett6.p
fltthou/ijh umiXaJL now con6/ide>ted a f<Am XoifatLdt, a^ o^ete the othot^ of the fanuitif,
/^^^^ and OiiUiet have evidencje tv ^how that ^J4>natfian ft^Jiteij, ^ moAched f^om
he£/c.fietd in the 4xznk^ of the. fuinute l^ien at the JlexJinqton aJijVM om flp^tit 20, 177^0
ficco^ding. to Qev^jij^ Shetdon, 19th centutLf hiAto^ian of hee/tjfZeZd, lUat
hepattKient ^eAvioe ^tecjO^/U. do not incJiujde the name of 'Jonathan fi^JvLeif, ^.
Ki/y^ and t'lA.^ (^tiJUie/t have found a bee^i^etd town committee Ajspo^t JU^tijng. tho^A
who ^eAved 1 775'-79# ^^hleif '^ name appea^^ fiA/xt on the lAAt of heeA^i^eid men
who mojoched tv J^eXin/fton^
Kij^^ and I'i^ hiJite^ made theiA. ^toAtJiinq. di^coueAi/ at the Pocumtuck
UaJULeij hemo^uxuL fi^^odatijon J^iJb^tatif in heetfietd white doistg. ^ted^oWi fo^ a
foAth comAjng. edition of a pefuvnxiL dAjOAjj of [tihu ^^hteif, a vfounjgeA b^otheA of
^nathano ^ phif^ictan, [tihu wa^ p^acti^oing. at iUoAthlnqton in fip^oit 1 775^ and
Ajecv^djed ^ecU^le accounts of tuinute den companies moAching. f^om SeAkJiiAA
town^
^^9^ <^ ^^ f^iiJiteA. AepoAt that theij hope that thi^ ^evetation wiJUL pAvmpt
a Aer^eXxmlnatijon of the teAm^ "iJl/hig/* and ''9o^'' in fetation to the
KevolutAjonoAAj ^tAvjgjgJie^
Conttihuted bif I'tJtA. Seth OeAAOAJULe^ # \2i^ l/MJJAxxm^uAg.^
/^/ad4^ (Seth 44. a Cettified QeneaiogA^t^ and wAvte the two exLltion^ of the
hathawoif ^eneatogif.)
See pa/ge^ 99^ 100^ and 101 in the. AdtLeLf ^eneaJLogii bif
9^0 O^owb^ixlge fo4. moAje on ^nathan ^
See oIm) pajge^ 3S and 36 in Ohe Keue^tend ^Jonathan ^diteif
hou^^e bij (imjeiixi 9. (*>ilteA..
- IS -
ti»: ••
...fv '■-•'''
\ ■•• »
V%J
/ .id^-^s^ />6^^'y£ed- --•••• '^OAne/teA bj tiob ^^^hte^j
jfie (2yul} cot/AtdJ'iip of i^eacott .SoaZo^^ a conte*:^04jcutif and ^eilow^toan^iMn
o{ ^jc^^k aaid fib/tjahcj:i -i^hJie^ hi OJU. \oche^^Jte/L in the. ea/oLj .700^
Oijd. heacoft :^aAJiov9^ oyie of ilie fVt^ p^top^ieto^^^ to hiuj out Icund^ aa^ jcu:tou4.
in hU. cUuj CU6. de/sjco/t^ pillar of tfte cI^maxJi^ ancl taadeA. in ^ociet^^ jt i^ ^^oAjdi
that 0hen tAe wife of i^eacon ^a^Uouf died, he t^u^ned fo^o lieA. with due p^p^ijet^
fo^ a ifeoA. and a dxit./. Jken iiCiAjntinq. hi^ ho^cAe., he ^ode fo^i to t/ie hou^/e o^ a
K'joiden ladj, and having, knocked mXk hi^ cxme vhZIuxaZ diAi.x>unting., he g/cee^ted ket
ufith '^jood rjoAni^, U ai.i in ptt^Miiit of a uMufe: if ifoa umJjL fuzue k^ 9 v»iJLL cotue in,
if not, 9 ^mZJL qo %cAthje^.^' "jh^j beacon,^' wa^ tJie ^^ij, ^'ho0 ofou a^toniJi i,je!
Jhjonk jOit, tfout had better cjonie in. '' >i {etnf da^j^ iaZe/L t}ieAje 00^ a wedding., and
the beacon took hi^ new wife ha.e on a piUion behind /i^;>«
*J^fU}ux. ''( attapoij6£tt and Oid sOcA.ed4:e^'^ 6y Jteona/ud et aJi^
• > I
idioe^Z fitiz ^^jent tlie Hid^iAx^ Se/tvicje Co. of Okiahonxi thi^ ieZte^ aMAMAejd
-to / -^ ?\jd^i. <Se^tLf . ;
'Deo^ //4^ hekx). : hid ^oti know tfiat t/i^e 6eAV. : fajntiLj m&;:e wa^ ^uecx>/ud/ejd with
a coaZ of a/^xi^ in the fiMxUdic. a/uihiue6. — and white the^je a/oe 60 i/yittion !wu6ehoid^
itx tl^e i nited *^>tate^ fojwet tha^t 212 of t/iei.i- a/oe ^MO.: ftoiu^^ehoid^i"
^Jhe ie.tte/t went on and affected to ^.end / A., i'ubi. <^e^w. : of JuJUa a cjoat of
GAi?^ and. tfie ^'entiA^e ^epo^ on the i>e^aJ. : fanJJUi dooM^ented and pAinJbed on
paAcIi:::^nt papeA. ^titabie fo^. fjtdiA^.
L
^J/aOi.:. Jhe \eade/c '4. hige^t iiOAcJi 1 974
Ohe 9i/t^ CongAjegaXAJOnai Ckn/txilu, at ''-?/ie 'jAjejon^^ in i iiddJiebo^to , not foA f^joa
tliA fi/tAt I'jOCie^ of ^Jc4>eph and i-ib^ixn'i >^^hLe'.j, onc& liad a oe/cij ab^^^nt tiMaded CAjnJu^Ze/L
w!^o woiutd annoLince amf notijcje handed to iuim, without. fi/cAt ^tjeaxUng. ooe/u. One doif
Aorie boij6. coytZ/dued to Cuiue Iiaji:. tfii^:
'^ bidte^ i o^,^^je deAi/cje6. p^uOtjeAA^ fo^ faJiiing, down the Oeacon^ ^toAAA^
ohe b/cjoke ao bone^, but b^jtMj^ed h^e/t. f::,eat, v^xich wad. not fit fo^c dog^ to eat^ ''
- 16 -
\J.-
ijot lAJJjje. faatuat info^i^ation {'4oa hMti. lie ^deeicrecf to have, taken a ^OKiei')hat
hm:u}Aou^ ottltuxfje. toiiHSAxi t/ie ^cu/Jjjj and it ^ bacJi/^Ajound, - once. tcui^vUt^^ teUUuuf.
n'je. thxiZ ''tlic te^6^ 9 iea/aiejcL of ttie nJiZe^j '4. the. better off 9 toocUd 6e" 0^ ao^uU to
t^iat effect. ;ve once, ^^teptled to i^^ c^ue/Mjon of lu>0 th^e. ti^JvLe^,/^ get to the United
dtate^. bo{ te^Ltinq. r^ tliat duie. to ce/cta4jn. acttoti^ in CngZand^ tficif v/e^tz given "f^tee
t^an^o^ttcution to ! ^u^^X/uiLia!' bij tfie C^oum^ but thxit -t/iet/ '^fi.it;:ped ^^hJLp*' token it ii^ade
on inteAAXi ^Xx>p in f^ew ^x>Ak.
^^9 oL^Jo 4^:ies:tbe/E. (lie. add^j a ycer;>a^ of lii^ that one. fi^hte^ aa^ oMe^^ted and
confined ot!t6^ide. J!o:^n fo^ tJ^e. ^i^pie. acZ of cjoA^imj. a ien^tk of ^tope ooe/c /vU.
JwcUdeA:.. Of cotvtd^ /le added, the/te. Izappe^ted to be a fine ifot/ng. ho^t^A aZ the end
of the ^opey u)hlch did not belong, to hJju. '' .
''<So r/j,tc}i fo^ ;;:^ gAxmdfathet 4. fwj:u>^c. '^
(i/Miat ki/jiio/c? • <See iter/. 46 in [Jhe 9i:u?JjgAjanZ Kepo^ f^joa the SuAnanie
Ohe ri^Jjeij^ ^.eetrs to be ^teiiuhtkablif f^jee of ^XAjanqA fiA^ nar.ie^ ^isch od u^ete
often a^ed in Coioniat ti.ie^, Ohe. iS^teio^iZe^ 4cn6., '^^te^tZing., Oi'td Xooe, ^fvLch. lue^te ^ho^Jt
fo^ iHAeAttinq. loitJ^ fhe T^euti, and Xoue of jodL. One. i\odie^^te/c qiAJi v)a^ named
pJteAe/coed, v)!iajcIu laod. not ^x) bad unttt ^le uJOAAAjed a man vJix)^.e ia^t nai:ie. 00^ 9iah.
j>jOi\. a book ''CuAAjo<^Ajtie^ of ihi/oLtan NoKiencJxUjLiAjeJ* 0e find tl-te, fotloioing.:
Qod^ ^ewa^d Si/M/ct, Stand^ya6XM)n'^'>!ijgJx ^t/cing^/t, ba^etif'^on4iirJx Snot, '^tghb-
ther{;ood.''9tght'-of "900(^1 liJlvite, i .ucJz^^eACif Oufe/c, ^ea^i-^th^c^ipti/jte^ f^oA^eton,
kater^oit l^att, Kttb^in i^icipte, Sniattn'^ol e *^tgjg^ etc., etc,
Biit }iot9 about t'ze poo^ num ^fiO^^e CktiAtcan. narje wa^ ''9f^hti6t'4 ad^^ot^ied'^
9o4.'*0hee.^0!'jOu^MoLUd6Mie'^a*::ned^ Oo t^ke it woA^6.e hiA. tjadX. na'ie. cfod. ^^^OA^boneA^' .
He loent bij the noyjue of '^arsned iSat^ot^eJ^m
Dhe/te i^ oJUjo ^^Qenaine tngZi^h J^eed'', "A(M^4- Sfr^eZiif", and %anUxi i^Oij^^
6ut tJie favo^iJ:e. td. ^^hoKia^ Jodd Oeedle Oabb" f^jOfn ^odd^u/uf^
f
- 17 -
. »-
ao
Some timje agjo 9 u>a^ totd that the hou6^ on the cc^meA. of f^iain and Seaman
SVoeeX^ in Pou/J>i^,Ue^tmont, and novo occupied a^ a pa/cAonagje fo^ the Koman Cathotic
ChiMch, had been bu/Ut bif kon^ Ohoman ft^hJieif , foA. hi/i daughter P^cAxiAJita who
moAAAjed KufiM^ PoAtAAxlg^. ft pijcXjuAje of it appea/t^ on the cooe/c of the ^^Suttetin"
fo^ %Ujj 1973. 9 have been loaned a number of photogAoph^. btf ^<up/i ft^JiLetj Stolen
of Ohio, and among, them i^ one tsJt^n JbefoAA ' 19^2 bij the Late Kobe/tt P. ft^hLec/
of Sanda>Ajd\ ^dxomjvf. an oUjoq^etheA dtff extent hou/ie but toith the notat^ion 'Wou<ve
buZLt boj OhomjaA. foA. hi^ dam. P^A/Utta, PoLuLtneif, Ut. " Selng. somewhat famAJLlat
with Pouttneif, 9 ^ecjognij^e thid a^ the next, hou^^ no^Xh on Seaman StA/eet., a
4X)mewhaZ loAjgeA. and mo^je eLaboAxiJje hou^e on a ^JUjght. aaaa of tand jjuu^ beifond a
^^mait b^cok.
hoed anujone have an onmeA fo^ thid?
KobeAt [. ft^hleif # /
^VheAje can 9 obtain copied of the tatgA deXxUJLed map^ ^hown at the A^eunion^?
ftndweA: - Ohe/de oAe mo^XZif (/•<S« QeologAjcaJL SuAveij fiJap^, and maif be obtained
^ UJaJiington hiAtAJubutijon Section
U.S. QeotogixuU. SiMvecf
1200 S. [add St
ft^JLington, Ua 22202
IJIMUte fiA/it foA. the f^ee indeK m>ap of hodd., lK*9., & Conn, fi^ aJido foA. the
oAxLeA biank and map ^mbot ^dheet. Ohen ^deJiejct the qiuajdAxingJie/d thaZ Lfou want to
OAxlet (^ onLf 7S<!^ each) I ft q/jxidAxinifLe incJiude^ about 6 K 8 mited and id uetcf
detailed ^dhowlng^ ait geoiogicat featuted, eveAif houde o>t buitding.y Acadd etc.^
AAjght down to foot pathd thtu the woodd. UuaxJUangZe^ oaa nxmejd bif the mo^
important featu^be of the -dcotto^, i.e. "^^ddowomp^dett Pof^'J" "/^^ddoneZ" - New
Sejd/foJtd No/Uh" eJbc.
'^u maif alio want copied of the 1704 o>t I8S4 map^ of Old KochedteA^ availabte
f^tom the Koche^dtet Hi/Uo^ticai SocietUf & $3 each.
Ohe dueXjaiLed map^ of SoutheAn [ngZastd oAje f^tom Ohe ^m^AAXuxn hap Co.
1926 S^cadwaif, New fO^k, /V. ^. 10023. ^^ fo^ the Satthoiomew haJif inch 4^/tced
# 4 "bo^t^det" *S ''New 9o^usAJt!' #7 'Wo>tt/i Som^eAA^'' and #8 "SaUdbuAii PloAn!'
@ $2.2S each phjud postage. Dheuj atdo have a f^tee catatog,.
fi.C. ft^xhle^ # /
- 18 -
ASHLi£Y ^ll\!^S
Ccu^ 9^teeZoivn j. t'i(i6^^ Oen ^ted^aUrut^. and gue^^^ escaped ivithout ^jeAAJovu^
AjnpAAAj tvhen the home, of [.meA/ion /i^ihteif on h^^ S^taJLeAj Koad b/u>ke into ftame^ on
the. mo^uvinjg. of f^uuguAt I at abovit 2:4S '^.A. /^/>t. ftJ^JLeif ^tejceAjjed e^Cten^Ajoe.
btMn^ to a ^houlde/t and a po^XAjon of hi^ back. hamaqje. u)a^ lifted at $25^000 ptuA.
ccnAjentA.. 3iAA Chief fiacuombeA. ^joaA the cojuu^e iA. unknou>n. fippoAjoZuA. f^ont
RpcheAteA and XakeuiJULe oAAiAted.
CoaZ !?>teeto((;»tj. Aa<i4^ 9^UAnk and Nancuf ^^JvLeif of ft^diJieuf fluenuue^ \f)eAje
hono^ted at the [a^t 9^teetoiOn ^^tang^ HaJU. foA. theut 2Sth ivedding. onniueAMitif om
Sundaif fiuxpAAt II. ChUJ^en 9Axink ^., ^eo^^, henniA. and i/JoLfne ptanned the a/ffoAA.
ioith qjue^tA. f^om distant points oa toeti o^ mamf iocuit f^A^enJA and A^etatAjjen.
dheif wete ma/tAAjed ftiujAJAt 1 3, 19^9 at the Sufedi^h CongAefjotionaL ChuAch in EaaX.
/Vcu> Sedfo/uL» ^hn and Suj.j4j ^M^ of iJUeitpo/ct (vitL leave on ^)xiniUJiA^ 6
on a caaaaa^ that ivitl take thetia ft^joiAMud Ohe UJo-tld. Oheij toilt be gx)ne thtee
months and wiJUL A^etuAjn in ihaA flpAAJL. Son UoLfog^J
Nem Sedfo^ leland h. /^^JuLecf, 30, of 1044 PhUJUp^ Koad, New Sedfo^, died
ScptembeA 3^ at home uneXpecZedJUf. ^'e u>a6. the husband of ^)>anijc£. ^. (UkUte) ^^Jvteif.
So^n in New iSexlfo/txL he JUved heAje ^ujncje 1970, and wa^ a membeA of fiLLejn ^
Neck 9AAjend^ heetin/j. of haAtmouth. he waa. foAJMAJUf empioLfed buf S^AAtoZ [tect>tx)nlc^
9na. , of New Sedfo^ a^ an eJiec^Ajonlc^ ervgAjn^jeu A/e o^i^^ ^^.ewed in the U^S. NojUij.
He i^ ^^uAvived buj hi6. mothet, ho^i^ fi. (Se/it) fi^d^Leuf, IvU. father Kenneth U.
^^^Jiletf of KochedZeA; two b^tothe^ ^)onathan 0^ fiJ^JLeuf, and PeZeA S. ftJ^Leii both
o<f haAtmouZh, and one ^AAteA., f1i^^4. KoAen fi^Mjetj, of haAXmouth^
S^AAtfjewateA [iton f. Staples ho/^ loaned u^ a ueAif loAg^. choAt ^hoiving.
de/^cjent of ^^cme line^ of the ftdiLeuj^, l/JadibtMn6., Picken^^e^ and Staple^ aUL the
ivcuf f'^m RiichaAd de CloAe, SuAetif fo^ the fta^na CaAta, and al^o f^om 9eAjdinand 3^
of Spain, AAght douon to the twentieth eentuAij^ U/e plan to b^Anq. vfou much of
thi^ in fo^tthcjominf. publications, but if Lfou cant t^ait, [Iton ^^xuf^ he can fuAnUi
Coptics at about $10 each, (Utite dtAect to him,
- 19 -
• <
« •
.4*
t 4
Account Sook
h)aned bif
^CKStati Sto^te
yJtlcUaj Sept tStk I82<f
Noah ^Jutetf ^ % I (f^alt d jom 40
f'^ondoLf Sept 21^ 1829
OweAdjoui Sept 22nd 1829
Noah ^M^ % C^bii9 feet P Pi^ ^^^^ j^qq
■^-^ to I lb peattxiJi /^
" " 2 paVt Sutt6. 9. 2S
" " 2 doj 4^en^ (?) 16
" caJi 2j
Dhui^datf^ ^ept 24 1829
^bjuxham ^^hleij 2nd Oo t qol hi 'jtim peA. b^totlie^ ^
Sept 22 1829
Noah^JiUij^^ % IS 4Jb 10 p naJiU© 9 1.35
Oho^ fi^JiAjQij % I che^ Jiock 20
% I doj. buttons /7
% 9 doj. do. S
Do 3 <yj<t t/vtead 9
D/vM4dcuf Sept 24 1829
Oho^ ^.^hteif % I Svu^ Con 84
X ^^hieif Ha^kin^ Oo ^ bu^ con x/2
9^Udaii Sept 25 1829
fhAom. ^^^hteif^ 4 . Oo 74 oj. tobacco 6
JlutheA. ^Uh^jeij /^t--- ?
Oo t0^ijd6.Caiulc2t? ©2/6 4.17
Oo 6 tfdd. ^ 9lannel © 36 2#/6
% 2/4 ifd6. ^cJbUnet ® ^/ 1.50
Oo I doj^ 4ilk S-^^too 25
Oo I doj^ a do 5
SatiuuUuf Sept 26^ 1829
/^b^tOifL ^JiZeif 4 Oo 2 (yU /Y i\fm 22
Oo 14 fioiut 54
Oo I tohip /7
%ndaif Sept 28 tk 1829
Noah ^JiLeif ^ut peA^6cn .
Oo I oat N Jtunt lid
if 92
* .
Oo 10 U 10 p nalU
90
9
% 6 U> (?) do© II
66
Ohoaa^ Adhietf
Oo k s
17
•
Vo 1 afUp
30
Xeonoutd fkhteij 3d
m
Oo 3 tftU 4attinett
2.63
% 2 qt^N AaM
20
m
% k oj tobacco
6
^^am ^^hteif 4th
Oo 2 — Jiot
2S
«
Oo 1 qtl^ Aim
10
'JJejdneidoj Sept 70. I82<i
1
•
OhoHioA. fUhtetf
Oo paid fo^ ca^din^
2.11
OhuAAdcuj Oct 1 1829
Xeoneutd f^JvUif W
m
Oo 2 (ftA> N Aim
2S
^homa^ ^^hteif
Oo 14 Jth flouJt
S8
w
Oo paiA fho4> Cladt
86
^amea. ^^hleif
Po 1 qJUi moiaA6£^
34
Oo 1 " N JUM
.44
Oo 1 pA tea 4hoe4,
1.00
Oo 1 axck 7 1 d§7/6
2.7S
«
0o2 do Helves? C 2/1 S ijda, Ad flannet
2.40
94lclaif r0et2 .
m
m
/^^ea» fUhJietf 4th
Svf 6 2/4 jo^ wood c 34c
3.12
Oo 2 qt^ ti Jam
20
Oo 1 pcuut JioeA c 7/6
1.29
«
Oo 1 do ^^tccklnq^ c 2/
SO
/'jondoif Oct S
.
OabM. ^JiLeif
PoaA btf Salbon ^ood
S8
fib^tanu ^Jileii Uth
•
w
Oo 1 3/8 ijdd, Sjtod, Cloth C 27/
6.19
Oo 3 JcleM,SUk& 0»l6t
18
Oo 2 buttons.
S
m
Oo 3/4 tfda, ^hLUin^
6
•^homaa. ^ahtetf p&t 4on
Oo k /Jb tea
36
- 21 -
I1>JIUM fkhleii 4
'JedneAdcuf Oct. 7 ,
^htut^dcuf Oct 8 ,
^cutiutdeuf Oct 10
Oo I 3/8 ij<U S^od Clotfi c 181
1 ^tick t$Mt
I ^ SuttOit^
2 do<£n i^m — *>
/ piece 4>attiKett
/ 4tiak tmj^
2 ijd^ hioifsic 9hxnMJi of
I lb S teA
Sij 7 ft wood @ 2.41
Oo 2 ^kcAji^ thtexuL
I poiA. 4U6pejndeA^
Oo S klh ZcuL
I ue^t Pattern
I i i^d^ ^JvUtin^
3/8 t{d^ ^jilUJUl^ I?)
7 i/ed^ btAtton^
l&ona/ui fi^hJLej^ Oo 2 qt^ N. ^um
I Uq. ?
^t/ 3 i jtP.P. (JUood ©16
" 3 1/8 ft \lhod © 24
Oo I qJjt N *\UiH^
I -• ' povodeA.
/ latheA. b^u^
Stj S ^5 it 000(1 © 221
Oo 2 ^t^ olneqa^
4 ijd^ (fuatltif ?
2 (ftc ti iZm
1 hcutA. Comb
m
thrtdcuf Oct 12
2eona/cd /T4hUtf 3^ Oo ^ "po»d&t
Oo coAh
2 <f)U N /W
1J3
06
OS
.2S
2. JO
/.OO
06
67
.66
3. SO
6
.2S
»26
.12
• 12
7
6
.20
9
UI7
US6
•2fi
.13
2.S2
. 8
•20
.38
J3
•SO
•20
' 22 '
% %
jotted* fiM^
Noah ^Jileif ^
Ohoma^ fUhioj
fhJuJvoa fkhUij 4
Ofm/bAdaif Oct IS 1829
Noah fkhteij ^wt
DIvMAdcuj Oct 22 1229
Xeortcutd n^hleii
Noah fkhUii <^Jt
fhjuun ^4hietf 4th
9
SatuAcjdcuf Oct 24
^4e^ fUhleif
2 h do4£n buttons
f^H? ^ jt P^\ aood
% I ^wt hat
I gaJL N. ^iM
I gat molod^de^
26 Ib^ cod ^iJi
4 dom no 1 1 pM ?
^ tb tea
Oo AMU
t bed cho^d
Oo I lb powder
Oo 2 ijoJU N i<im
Sif 4 ^ ft (»ood
Oo kUb ta^—?
kUb tea
6 7f Ub » wheat
Do Ajjm
^ Jih powder.
1 tb ^hot
2 qti. /V Aim
Svj B h i^ P u>ood
Oo I qaJL ti AiM
5 lb ^jjqoA
2S Ib^ cod ft6h
i lb tobacco
Oo I buAhelt coAn
iSif 137 Zb4. beei^
Oo I pait ijla^&^eA
i^tj S k it utood .
Oo 7 pecki, tu/uiip-A-
fZoiut
J8
•S6
2, SO
3.38
.40
.33
IJ9t
1. 10
.33
.09
.S8
.2S
.06
.80
2.12
,06
.17
.23
,06
.13
.12
.20
S.I9
.40
.SO
.88
.10
.7S
6.8S
.7S
4,12
.7S
.SO
- 23 '
SaituJuinif Oct 24, 1^29
«
XutheA ^hhleif
Sif 1 co^ P Pine wood
■
Do 1 gall molaMe^
IS Ihd^ macketet
28 Ib^ codfUi
, u, ?
Is Ih tea
•
k ^ at^plx:^
w
^ Ub 4siu^i
Ohoma^ fUhleif
Oo 12 Ib^ che^Q^c^
2 Ih^ butter
1 qt N 44M
2 tmbtoA^.
IS ^ Ub^ po^
1 b^OOlH^
*
2 doj. eq^
• • m
3 tea ^oona.
ffbJtahcuH, ^4hleij 4th % 1 q<it A9» Aim
XeonoAd /iihtetf 3
Oo 2 qt^ N JtMu
•
7 ^eqoftA^
^Xccddatf Oct 27
m
NoahfUhJUii ^
!^H ^ ^ {^ '''• ^'^^'^ ^^^
Oo 1 bAoom.
w
ccjdh
fhAa» fkhleij 4th
Oo / bottle..bleachiriq^
''J-eoMA /khUtf
Oo 2 <ft^ rif^i^ qJiji
1 pt bAxutdif
•
1 dof bldcit
Ngah fiJvieij y^
Oo 1 p^ mltting. plrt^
OfuMAdoj Oct 29
m
Noah fiJileij ^4,
S(j 9 ft /.Pine, aood
«
Oo ca^k
^XeoncLtd ^Mjeif I
4t Oo Pd ^^o^<2ph Clcutk
{pjtAjdaif Oct 30
*
thak ^JJitcLf ^
^V S 3/4 ft P rlne. woi
3*00
• 34
.S3
.98
.20
.34
.10
.13
I.OB
.36
.25
.18
I.SS
.17
.24
.08
1.00
.20
3.10
.16
I.SO
.20
.21
.19
.13
.03
3.37
1.68
2.12
codA
/ 9o 6e contirtued)
3.28
1.64
" 24 '
'Oh, lei 'em stay for a white. What possible harm can Ihey do?"
ti^lltlf^
"Not to put too fine a point on it, Mr. De Vere
Hardesty — our researches indicate that you're just
Oue^ Oct. 6, )$39 .
/Jb^am ^^hteif [4^ Do
I J/S if(U S^od CUth c 181
I ^tick t$Mt
1 ^ Sutton^
2 cloven i^« — •»
/ pZece ^>cuttiKett
3/4 L/d CoddAi^ie^te
2 ijd^ koiH^c 9hxnMJi cif
I lb S teA
fl>4aam fUhJUii 4
Sif 7 ^t wood © 2.41
Do 2 Jteln^ tktecxjd
w
1 paiA. ^u^ende^^^
yJejdneadoif Oct. 7 ,
Ohonuu. ^khleif
Do S klh ZcuL
I oe^ Pattern
m
1 ^ if<U '&hiAtijiq>
3/8 ifclA (jWJJUing, (?)
7 oei&t button,^
•
1 Jcein4Uk
Xeoncutd ^^fiieif
Oo 2 (fti, N, 4UM.
w
1 l&f. — ?
^htModatf Oct 8
•
^4aH'^4hteii 4
&ii3 h ^tPJ>.iihod ©16
" 3 1/8 ft i/Jood © 24
Oo 1 glnN^^
1 "* poad&t
V
1 iathe/c b^udh
m
«>atu>tdeuf Oct 10
•
^Jta» ^4hleif 4
iS*i S ^ ft »oo.d © 221
•
Oo 2 otA, ffineofut
fiortdatf Oct 12
Xeoncutd ^iihUtf 3^ Oo
Oo
4 ifdi, ^uaiitij ?
2 qtn, /V i%4t*
1 HcuLt Comb
^ ^'poad&t
ca^h
2 qtA, f^ /W
4J3
06
OS
25
2.30
1.00
06
67
.66
3. SO
6
.2S
,26
•84
.12
.12
7
6
.20
9
/./7
US6
»m
.24
.13
2.S2
.13
• 8
.20
.38
.13
.SO
»20
- 22 -
" V
^)anieAfiMMj
Noah ^Jileif ^
fib^tahoit fkhUij 4
Ohi/udaii Oct IS 1829
OlvModcuj Oct 22 1829
Xeortcutd n^hleii
Noah fkhlen ^a.
fh^um. ^4hletf 4th
SatiMUuf Oct 24
% 3 Jteln^ 4dJik & t»l6t
2 k do4£n buttons
iSii 7 at P^. wood
% I ^wt hat
I gat N. ^oM
I gat motdd^de^
26 Ib^ cod ^tJi
4 dom no 1 1 f/M ?
^ lb tea.
Oo AMU
t bed cho^d
Do I lb pomde/c
Oo 2 gaJU N ' W
l^tf 4 jf ft 0ood
Oo klb ta^—?
kib tea
6 7f tb » 0heat
Oo Ajum
^ lb powder.
1 tb Jtot
2 qti. /V Aim
Sij 8 h i^ P v>ood
Oo I got ti ^oM
5 lb ^jjgoA
2S Ib^ cod ft6h
^ lb tobacco
Oo I buAheti coAn
m
iSif 137 Ib^ beef
Oo I pOiA. gl/l^/U24^
i^if 8 k it wood .
Oo 7 pechi, tui/crtip4>
fZoiut
J8
.S6
»34
2, SO
3.38
.40
•33
tjfl
IJO
• ??
.09
.2S
^06
,80
2./2
,06
.17
.23
.06
.13
.12
.20
S.I9
.40
.SO
.88
.10
.7S
6.8S
.7S
4,12
.7S
.SO
' 23 -
N. I
fkhteij
)atu^tdcuf Oct 24, 1^29
Jlu^the/t. ^khieif Sii I coAd ? Pine wood
Do I gxitt moloMje^
IS ^thd^ macke^tet
28 Ib^ codfUi
/ ^ ?
If lb tea
Do 12 Ib^ ch^eAe.
2 ih^ butter
I (ft N A4M
2 tumbtoAA.
IS ^ Jb^ pO'ik
1 b^ooH
2 doj> eq^
3 tea ^oona.
fhJtaha^ ftJiJiexj Uth Do I qct ^.9. 44M
XeonoAd lUtleif 3 Do 2 qt^ N jum
7 ^eqaftA
Ouej^djojm Ott 27
Noah ft^hUif ^
Noah fUiletj ^JJt
yhLUt^doj Oct 29
Nock ^Uhleif ^-t
htJudc^ ^ct 30
^^ 8 h ^t p. Pine, aood
Do I b^om
CCjJl
Do I bottle, bleaching.
Do 2 <ft^ rif:*^ qjiji
I pt bAxutdif
I dof bi^cit
Do I p^ miZtiJu^ pZsi^
m
Sij 9 jt /.Pttie aood
Do COAh
it Do Pd ^jo^eph Cixi/Jt
Sif 8 3/^ ft p rine. vtood
Do codA
/ 9o 6e contirtued)
J.OO
*34
*S3
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.18
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.17
.34
.08
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.20
.25
3.10
.16
I.SO
.20
.21
.19
.13
.03
3.37
1.68
2J2
3.28
1.64
^ 24 -
'-•^ 111.
• 6t:«<£/ito*/*"'^-f ,
put too fine a point on it, Mr. De Vere
wdesty — our researches indicate that you're just
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- 26 -
# •
fiJiieij^ on the ^ene/iaJi KnoK O^tcuiL • iJUintM. of 1 77S - 76
l^<JUact f^m the pape^t bu ^^obeU [. RJvieii
at the 9ifth ftnnuat /Vcetuif .
^^henevet ufe take 04A4Ju>^^ to Sunken Hilly theif eKp^te^^ ^MAp^tiAje that the
monumerU:, and the battle, a^te, and u^ete not, on Sunken Hitt at att but on nea^Lf
S^jeed <! kill., [oen mo^ve OAje then ^^^Ij^^^^^^^ l^ fi^ i^ ^o^ e^teetexL to comm^emo^tjaZe
a battle that 0e lo^. Dhe onAi/oet, of cot^tde,. i^ that foA. the jonhee^ it u>a^ a
qAjeat mo^ujJi uijcto^. 9oA. the S^lttJi, the uictoAij tva^ co^tUf fat beijond it ^ u>o^tth^
Nea/tljj one half of Howe <i rfien u^ete ca^ualtie^, and Clinton hinu^eljf ^^xiid '' /^ dexuL
boufht uicto^, another '(luch would have ruined uJ^.
Ohe next month, ^^juLf 1 77S, IJlkuihington took com/Hond of the ftme^Ajcan ^^mf at
Camb^td^. 9t wa^ cleoA. that the RmeAAJCxmA. haxL leoAnexL the 9ndian methods of
fighting, and would be a fo^tae to be ^teckoned with. Qene^tal Qag^e, the S^tttUh Comnumdet
^temenibeted the nuiuilng he had ^tecjeiued at i^unke^ HiJJi a^ welt o^ eoAl^le^ at Xexlnqton
and Conco^, and wad. ^teadif to •dettde down in So^^ton, holding onlif Cha^tle^town
Heights outude of the Shawmut ^Penin/utla/ .
Washington ^ Z^amij, which inxJjuded ^.ephthah, hicah and Noah fl^hteij, and
p^tobablif othe/o^ of the familif, wete encamped at the "neck" and easiZtf
p^teuented am/ pe^^son^ oa. ^jutpplije^ f^om ^tjeaching the S^iti^Ji in Boston^
On the otheA. hand, the S^itidh could not be starved out a^ Ijong a^ theot
naoLf could come and go at will.
fft thi^ point theAje appeoAed HenAAj KnoK, a man that l/JaJiington Paving
descAtbed a^ " one of tho^^A p^uidential chatacteA^ which ^^tng up in emergencies.^
a^ If theif wete formed bvf and fo^ the occaaton. " KnoK (fo^ whom 9o4t KnoK i^.
named) was. a Sostom. book^^etteA. who had made a hobbtf of studifing bookd. on OAtiXleAAj.
f\ hujge man, his. great frame supported his. 2S0 pounds. stftAkinjgLuf. Ohis., together
with the eoALf punning on his^ name (9 never saw a KnoK anif big^ger, etc. ) was.
enough to make him an outstanding figure. (/Jashington knew that the horchester
Heights., southwest of the town, was. the ke^f to breaking the stalemate and driving
the English out of Boston. KnoK suggested that the cannon captured the preoious.
/^toif at VixiondeAjoga btf [than fiULen s. ^reen f*'iountarn SoifS (including the seven
/Jshleif brothers.) could be sledded and floated the 300 mites, to l^oston during the
winter and could be ^texuLf to usje ajgarnst the Sritish in the Spring.
(JJashisigton was. impress^ with the big man s. optimism, and sent him off in late
Nooemher with ordje/cs. to bring back the big guns, of Viconderoga and that "No trouble
- 27 -
o^ eKpeiMe 6e ^poAed to obtcuut theai^"
KnoK and hii. b^tothet lUitLiam, mailed to New ^^k and then up the Hudson to . ^
fHhanij^ ertjgxig^jnq. the ^>e/ujicjeA^ of eve/uf man, hoA/^e and oK that fie ccuZd on the u)ajL[.
9juom the uppet hu<Uon he c/tc^^^ed the ten miJie^ 04. ^o to the foot of Xake ^ec^jfe
and cjontAjnujed on up the take to ahete it jjoajm. Xake Champtain at 904t - OtccndeU)q>a^
kete he ^.eiecZed the be^ 78 bt^ qwui a^ weJUL oa. ton^ of ammunition and ^uppZie^^
Ohete id. no tiAt of ivho the men u>eAe in thi^ eKpfi^dition but it would ^^eem
that a chance to fi^ht the S^tttUh and to make a p^tofit at the ^ame time mudt
have at^Axxcted the fi^JiJLetf6. of Pouttnetf and othet ptace^ oLong. the waij.
JbomeAAjiq. the fund, down the waUL^ theAj weAje cjo/tAjeid to the ^ho^je and ftx)ated
down Xake ^eo^tg^ in thoeje la/oge boat^. /^ftcA. man^f difficu^Ltie^ including, ice
forming, out f'^m the ^hoA£^ in the inc/uejOAAjng, cotdj theij fina^LLf ^.eached the foot
of the takep He^te KnoK had 42 heautf ^^ted^ cjon^ttucted and gjathe/ued mantf oKen
^^eadif fo/t the hig puJLL to ^tbanif oet 4X)on a6. enough ^now had faULen.
KnoK kept a AjotheA. eMjotic dia/uj and w^tote f^equentLf to l^aJiington of hi^
p^og/[£A^, but t'le be^t account i^ bt/ a twetue ifea/t otd boLf, ^Aut P^ Seeker of
Sa/uxtoga^ O'liA. wa^ fi^t pubtiJied in the ftthamf QajjeZte in >t^e 1830^ Neat
the mout^% of t e f-iohawk Kioet thevj Vtied to cajo^^ to the we^ bank of the HuxUon^
OhU. t^ ua/tix)u/Mf Aefe^tted to od. Xaming.'^ 9e4Axf, Uande^heifden'^ 9eM^ o^
fl^hiejLf ^ 9eA^, - now, ^^^^y ^« /• Since Steven ft^hJieij ^ Oave/cn wa^ built bvf
Uan det l^etfden in 1 7S2, we might ^Avppo^^e that it waa. at a ^befeJiment 4top he^e
that Captain Steven R^dvlejuf of l^edZfield and Sheffield, decided that he would
^teXjuen a^te^ the wa<t to ^tun the^ZaveAn and feAA^. He had been in Col. havid
S^jeaet ^ ^.egijment at Sunket Hilt along, with ^^hthah, hicah and Noah f^jom
O^jeeXjown.
KnoK w^jote (ih^hington f^jom fithanij on ^)anuaAjii S ^'Ohe want of ^now detained u^
foA. 4ome daif^, and now a c^ueZ. thaw hinder, f^om oto^dd^n^ the HuxUcn fiiueu "
Sut the f^jeeje came and theif proceeded ^^uth to Claoetack Xandinjg. (now Hud^n,
N.^) the ^ame pLacje whe/ue Col. ^hn ^^hbeif of ftJiJUeLj 9aJUL a, had met and moAAAjed
Hannah HockaJboom. 9t wa^ thi^ A/>td. ^^hleif who ^tAuck the ^laue giAl^ hombeXte,
and ^toAZed the affoLt that ^jeAvJited in the fift^X. ^JLave being, f^jeed btf law in
^metica. fill thi^ a cjentuA4j befoA^ the Civil UJaA^
- 28 -
So {cut the. tftoA^t ha^ been nea/JUf ^^ttaijjht ^outh. hete it tmMA. duue exx^t^ tktu
Q^^eaZ SoAAAjoqXjon^ (^tot^ittfeif and Oti^ to Sp^ung^field^
Coming, home f^om ^^htei/ 9aJLJU. in 1973 i»e u6^ thU. p^ted^nt ^oute 23, thtu
"^^teeswoodJ' , a deniA eue^jg^teen {o^te^t, (oinding. ooe^ hitU. and p^tejcUpitou^ g^uided.
ivhe^te KnoK had uf^iXten 200 tjeoA^ eoAJile^ '^U/e /ceachejd # / {jvej^eMJing to /^/onteA^)
o^teA. having climbed mountains f^tom luhich we might aJLmo: ^ have 4^een aJUi the Kingdoms
of the [a^th. "
fit Siandfo4:jd the^^ i»ad. mo^je ttoubte od KnoK had to oAjguje {o^ thtee houA^ to
ad4u^te the team^ite/t^ that the ^teep de^^c^ent f^cm Qta^qcw /^lountain (noiv Ufe^ie/xl)
could be ^afeJUf made with d^tag chains and check ^u>pe6. ancho^ted to one tAjee a^te/t
another. Coming down that gAxuLe btj cat, we knew fuaX what theif meant^ fit an inn
he. waa. ^AJUtAounded bif tooat ui^ito^^ who aJUi cJiainied to be miJLitia officeA4^ and he
w^vote "liJhat a pit^j thet oiM. ^ohLieM. wete not od. numeAou^ a^ oua. officjeA/6.".
fi^AAjuing at fi^Jileijuilte on the eo/^ bank of the Co^tnecticut RioeA. oppo^iZe
Sp^tingfietd, he ma^ abte to cao^^ ^^ofeLf on the ijcje. Sat now New tngJLand ^ uduat
QanujatLf thaw 4^ in and aJLt weAA bogged down in the mud. He paid off the weoAAj
Hudson RiveA. team^teAA. and hi^oed Sp^ingfietd m^Jt and dtaft animals in p^tepatatijon
foA. the ^^maindet of the ttip. Ohe manij da^^jcendanX^ of KobeAt fl^hLeif living in thi^
oAjeja muAt aJUo have ^^jed the chance fo^ ^ome p^ot^itabi^ patAix>tUm.
Soon the gAound >te/>to je and moA^ 6now feiJi^ KnoK pu^Jied on oueA the mo^^
g^entUi /toULing hUJU. of middJLe (^lOAAOjchuAett^ Svj the tutie he Ajeached 9^tamingham
he, knew that time wad, running out. PaAking ^ome of the heavieA pieces, he made the
finat da^h to So^iton white theA^ wa^ ^^titi ^^now on the gAound, and on f'iaAch 2
began a bombatdment of So^ton f^tom Camb^tidge, to maJc, the ^6ound^ of hi^ JuexxJL
objective, planting the big guM, on ho^tche^teA Height^
Wien ^eneAjoL Howe, who had ^tephicjed ^a/g^, ^^xm what the foKif Uhdhington had
aacomplidhed, he knew that the game wa^ up, fo^ (iJaJiington could now ^Ank the fleet
almost at leiAuAe. 9n ^jetjuen fo/t Howe U, p^tomi^e not to damaqje the town, kowe wa^
allowed to 4>aH awaif with aXL the &o^Xjon OoAA^e^ to Nooa Scotia. OhU, ended the
actAjon in the [o^teAn Ao^^^ocAude&td aAea fo^ aJUL of the. ^temaining battles of the
woA took ptace elAemhefoe. haAch 17 Id. todaif a legal holidaif in Suffolk
Countif and bif chastce fall^ on the ^dome date od. St^ PatAAjck^^ daif. Ohe p^tedomijoantJUi
9A4Ah population of South So^dton oAound bo^chedtet Heights have neveA failed to
CjeJLebAxxte the double holixUuf "with gAeat uigo^J'.
- 29 -
OM THE C^CIVEII
9ine CoAAAja^ (^aiVJu^actuA£A^
Oku. odvMtiAemejit appeoAjed on the paf£^ 0/ the Nea SedjoAxL CZtif hAA£cZo4Aje^
f^tiL 1879 tkui 1873 Ohe paA/j^t£AA» we/te ^« fJugmiAtjuu^ S^oiMelt loko tujed at 181
t'liAjiLe StAjtet, and ^4hua Si^hop /?<i/i^ who tiued at 219 PutAcha^^ StA£jet.
9t i^ ^OAji that the cjOAAAXUfeA^ that thetf built terete 0/ a ueAif hijgh quoLitij
and cjompa^ed javo^jabhj toith the famous StudebakeA. c4iAA4Jig£^ and ioajgx>n^ OhtAje
weAJt at IajoaZ two othe^ ^^hieif^ deatinf. in cxxAAAjoqe^ before the tuAn of the
centuAif. ft. h. R^^hJien odoeAZiAed In 1894, and O^^^acX. ft^hietf in 1898.
^^hua SiAhop ft^hleif (^hn SheMon, - ^)ohn, * PetCAvat, - ftb^joham, - ^Jo^^h)
woA the thud child of ^hn SheAman, ft^Jvlecf and Ao^ ^ouch(lSAown) ft^hleif, ^he being,
the daufhtet of ^^Aoh and PhiLejta (RpunAejiUie) S'town, of 9Aeetown. ^Jo^ihua had
two oldeA b^jotheAA^ ^hn Shetman ^a. , and RpdolphuA, and a ^i^teA Catoline S^joion
ufho loaA youngeA.
RocheAteA ZoAJLpitaJi Keco^jdA ^^ojuj b^AjeflLf^" R^hJUf, /<iee ft^Jileif) , ^hn Sherman,
^'killed bij a (^Jheel of a l^ofcn ^junning. ouet hun," 9eb. 7, 1826, a. 3S if. 9 11^0 4 d.^
^ene ^ ^ecc^uLd. gAjue 1 3 page^ of the probate ajsjccaA^ of the odmAjniAtAoXAJOn of the
estate. Ohi^ will appeoA in fuJLi in the upcoming, ft^hieif QeneaJLogif, ho^eue^ theAe
i^ ome item that i6. uH>^th mentioning nouf. Page 2 of the inuentoAif glueA.
'' one ueneeAed ^^caaXjojuj^^ SIS.OO ! Ohi^. hcuuUome tambouA deJt, ^xmA to have
been made btf ^hn SheAman ft^hJU^j, aa. noi» in the po^^eedijon of the p^je^^nt ^hn
Shetman fl^hte^j. Ohe estate of the fiA^ ^hn SheAman fiJvLeif tc^od ^cld in 1827.
^a^huia Si^hop ft^hlejj moAAAed Su^an SandcA^n, daughtee of iJIUlliam S. and
tZuith (/^llen) SandeAAon on OctobeA 23, 1842 in Neu> Sedfo^ Oheif had nine childten
ail boAn in New Sedfo^td. Ohe seventh chiid 00^ ChoAle^ Sumnet ^^Jviecf, who wa^
to become famous od. the "perennial" moifOA of New Sedfo^ fathee of l<U Cugene
who compiled the ^^hleif ^eco^d^, and gAondfatheA of ouA l^xt U.P..
^ leoAt one ^^Jileif coAAiage ^utviue^, (a heoAAe) and man be ^^een in the
honxUd ^. O^uuf^eA hviA.eum on Cape Cod.
- 30 -
I f
V •
\^
ASHIEYS OP A1.TSRICA ~ l^i HETIBBRS
300 IIERI3 WEIDEK ASHLEY
3101 Loy Street
Hiuitsville, Alabama 35^01
301-PU3IIC LIBRARY OP PORT WAYKE
AID ALLEM COWTY, IKDIAM
Port Wayne, Indiana ^C02
302-riR. & I IRS. PRAilX A. LESTER
IOC 36 ?TS 12th Place
Bellevue, Washington 9^00^
303-MR. & MRS. 1. L. SIDPRID
1011 E* Chestnut Ave.
Orange, California 92667
304-JOSEPH ASHLEY
1516 Briggs Chaney Road
Silver Springs, Md. 2090^
305-MR. & MRS. CARL THOMAS ASHLEY, III
591 Cricklewood Drive
Lexington, Ky. 4050 5
306-MR. & MRS. ROBERT C. ASHLEY
12200 Westviev; Drive
Upper Marlhoro, lid. 20870
307-nR. & KRS. ASHLEY S. CAJIPBEIl
I ineage
16 Spencer Street
Crono, Maine 04473
30c -DOROTHY HADDER
25 rachols Rd.
Oxford, Connecticut 064C3
309-MRS. RUTH E. BURO
P. 0. Box 7
Bodega, Ca. 94922
310-MRS. EEMUND R. PLWIKETT(9)
149 Elderwood Ave.
Pelham, new York IO8O3
Helen Emily Ashley Gardner ( 6 ) ,
Robert Williams (7) • Robert
Vi^illiams(6} ,Elihu(5} , Rev* Jonathan
(4) ,Jonathan(3) ,David(2) ,
Robert (1).
I •
CoftUng. Soon — -
/? lUaJUt Ohtu kiAtoAAj — a OouA. of OZd Pou/ytnej^, the to0n founded bif 0homa6.
^^hieij and [.beneje/c fWLen.
heed^, lUiiU. and P^u>bate Keco^d^ of /?4/i/et/<t of the Otd Cotomf,
Afo^te on the Ohoma^ /idhLeif Silhouette - — hoiv it (va6. lo^ in the Pcuixzifia Kix>t^
In I8S6.
9(uiAAJMXe of the petiXijon to ^.eXZLe a m^A^ioi^e in Pouitnetj.
hoAe on Kep^te/^entatijje ^<me6. f'U ^^^hiecf of Ohio. Hi^ inept comment on the
death of RbAjaham Xincjotn.
Mu> 006. %ytxiham ^^JvLeif 2nd? Ohe man loho fi^t^Z u/^ed the ^dhLeif 9taf., and who
4,^ent a fleet of ivhatinq. ^Jvlp^ out of New l^edfo^ in the 1800^^
f^n outogAjophio m^^ite4^. Ohoma^. ^^hieLf ? in ^oua^no^ (Jllinthtop ^ pape^^?
ftnd tot^ moA£.^ if ifou ^^nd it in.
ftdd^eAA. aJLL co4Aedpondence to the edAXo^
t'liA^ Nancuj ^^hieLf
1 6S [tm St^teeZ
South ha^ttmouth^ f'ia6^ 02748
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