Subj:  Ashley Families



I have been focusing research for the past few months on the Ashley
families who were in Abbeville and nearby Anderson County, SC  and
hoping to find my Reuben Ashley's parents there.  I keep going back to
the Abbeville and Anderson County, SC  Ashleys mostly because of the
1880 census in Heard County, GA where my gg grandfather Reuben Ashley
says that his father was born in Maryland and his mother born in SC,
with him and most of his siblings (if not all of them) born in SC. (He
was born in 1817  with his last born (at least known so far) sibling
possibly born in GA ca 1836, although that is questionable, and she may
have also been born in SC.

In any case, with the naming patterns and the places of reported birth,
and the known documented history of the Abbeville County, SC (and
Anderson County, SC)  Ashley families that went  from Maryland to SC ca
1803),  this seems a logical place to focus further research.

I  noted on your great web page (fantastic job!!) that you were
interested in the Abbeville County, SC  Ashley families also, and wanted
to let you know that I have some books on both Abbeville and Anderson
counties in SC, and happy to look any names that you are looking for,
just let me know.

There were a number of Perrin and Criswell/Creswell families in
Abbeville area, per the book  "Abstracts of Old Ninety-Six and Abbeville
District Wills and Bonds", by Pauline Young.  I have that book and the
1850 and 1860 census books for Abbeville, SC;  also have the book
"Pendleton District and Anderson County, SC
Wills, Estates and Legal Records"  by  V. Alexander;  and several
others.

I made a cursory check in those books however, and did not find any
Samuel Ashleys in there.  The CD  "South Carolina Records and Reference"
notes a Samuel Ashley in Barnwell County, SC in 1810 but nothing further
on that CD and don't know where he went after that.

I was looking through the Decendency Narrative of Isaac Ashley (about 20
pages)
that Nicole Pinson mailed to me about two years ago, and have wondered
if her Ashleys who went to Alabama (Cherokee, Etowah and Marshall
Counties in AL)
might have been kin to yours or mine.

She shows a William Riley Ashley in her family tree who was much younger
than your William R. Ashley...but again, the name is interesting.  Her
William Riley Ashley was born Dec 14, 1862 in Cherokee County, AL and
married Martha Jane Pruitt.  It appears that her Ashleys moved from
Abbeville County, SC  to Cherokee County, AL in about 1845, with other
family members following them to AL (from SC) about 1858.

Another reason I am focusing research on the Abbeville County, SC
Ashley families is because I learned a few months ago that I had another
Ashley family line  from  the Abbeville and Anderson County, SC
Ashleys  in my allied  Gay and Skinner families, who settled in Cleburne
County, AL and Carroll County, Georgia area, and I have been trying to
figure out if  my gg grandfather Reuben Ashley was connected/related to
these Ashleys, since they lived in the same areas.

I also have the CD  "Abstract of Georgia Wills" by Jeanette Austin,
which covers about 40 counties in Georgia between late 1790's to 1870's,
so if you need any look ups on that one, let me know.  I think I have
posted all of the Ashley Wills on that one, but can look up other names
if you would like any looked up.

About the Dunlaps in my Ashley lines  (Reuben Ashley married Minerva
Amanda Dunlap), this is another mystery, as I have not been able to
determine who her parents were either, or any of her siblings!   I don't
know where in SC that she came from, and only have one possible clue,
and that is that she and Reuben Ashley were living near a Dunlap family
in the 1850 census in Heard County, GA.  I have researched these Dunlaps
fairly thoroughly and have located  at least six researchers and
descendents of this Dunlap family, and Minerva Dunlap Ashley does not
show up in any records whatsoever as being a part of their family.
These Dunlaps came from Lancaster County, SC in the late 1830's and
settled in Heard County, GA.
Some of them went to Coosa County, Alabama by 1850.  So I am not alot of
help on the possible Dunlap connection.  I see that there were several
Dunlap families however in Greene County, AL in the census's as well as
marriage records, and I have not researched those yet.

Research is slow from Oregon, which is why I have to order everything
from the LDS Family History centers on microfilm, or order books and
CD's and these past
few years, I have chosen the latter, due to my work schedule and family
responsibilities for elderly parents, etc.

Don't know if I told you that my father lived in Anniston, Alabama (he
called it "Annie's Town" for a number of years when he was growing up,
with the family moving between Cleburne County, AL and Calhoun County,
AL.  My father was born in Cleburne County, AL and his parents were born
in Cleburne County, AL.
Sallie (Sarah E.) Ashley was his grandmother,  his father's mother, who
married Jesse (Jefferson)  Thomas Calhoun Teal.  Jesse T.C. Teal was
born in either Campbell County or Heard County, GA ca 1851, and Sarah E.
(Sallie) Ashley was born in Heard County, GA in 1854, the daughter of
Reuben Ashley and Minerva Dunlap.    I have not found any connections
yet to my Ashley family and the one in the posting that I sent yesterday
about Jefferson Ashley who married Millie Highsmith and who lived in
Calhoun County, AL.  Last I heard from Joyce Harkins (descendant of
Jefferson Ashley family)  she did not know who Jefferson Ashley's
parents or siblings were either, or where in SC that they came from.
Have not heard from her in over six months and don't know if she has
found her connection yet.   I keep thinking that somehow these Alabama
Ashleys must have been related to each other, and hope to find out how,
and in doing so, hope to find my Ashley connection too!