Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 1)

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Our Frontier

1800-1860

and the birth of

Our town of

Ashley 1849

William Sharp

Our frontiersman

[image of Sharp]

OHIO AMERICAN REVOLUTION BICENTENNIAL 1776-1976

William Sharp

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Book

English

Still Image
Text

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 2)

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[signed by the author]

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 3)

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This story is written in loving memory of my grand-

parents. Alfred Randolph Livingston and Cynthia

Elizabeth Gavitt Livingston. They were born and

grew to maturity in the Ashley vicinity.

Genevieve Cole

1976

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 4)

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This is the story of our frontier.

This frontier was the wilderness extending north from the set-

tlement at Delaware, Ohio.

The time referred to here includes the years from 1800 to 1860.

Our frontier is roughly bounded on the west by the Olentangy

and Whetstone rivers. The Greenville Treaty Line is the north boun-

dary, which includes parts of what are now Marion and Morrow

counties. The east boundary of our frontier is the east branch of

Alum Creek.

The picture on the cover is our "frontiersman" William Sharp.

William Sharp's story is quoted in part from the Delaware County

1880 History.

The topography presentation is a very excellent, well researched

article by Stanley Baker. This article is separately available in its' en-

tirety.

Also included are notes taken by Genevieve Cole from a seminar

at Defiance College in 1975.

The story includes many word-of-mouth stories that have never

been written.

An effort has been made to include the names of the first settlers.

Finally, it is explained how the town of Ashley was born at the

end of the first fifty years. The principal cause was the new railroad.

Ashley as a town was the new and exciting focal point of the surroun-

ding area. This community contributed to most of the population and

business of the new town in a radius of at least ten miles.

We wish to state the following, although it is out of context in

time. It has never been recorded elsewhere.

Arlington Cline was an enthusiastic historian of the Ashley com-

munity. George Watson was Alum Creek's replica of Henry Thoreau.

Two others should be mentioned: George Thurston and Eddie

Weiser.

These men have written, or preserved our local history. They

deserve honorable mention, although they lived since the Civil War,

and therefore are not included in the Story.

The Quaker community has been ably recorded elsewhere by

Mordecai Benedict and Lawrence Westbrook.

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Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 5)

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[map of Ashley/Delaware County]

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THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE

ASHLEY, OHIO AREA AND ITS

IMPACT ON EARLY SETTLEMENT

The development of the Ashley, Ohio area can best be un-

derstood by the study of the topography and its interrelated en-

vironment. Physical benefits and physical limitations can be seen

which directly affect the way human populations have settled the

area. The topography has affected the historical human population as

well as the prehistoric population.

The glacier receded or melted northward at an even rate

depositing the rock called till. The till was evenly deposited in a level

surface called a ground morraine.

The till, being very porous, filled with water after the recession

of the glacier. The filling continued until a continuous subsurface

watertable developed. Since the character of the ground morraine is

slightly rolling, natural lakes and marshes formed in the low areas.

The nature of the till and drainage system has established a

pattern in the Ashley, Ohio area. The majority of the area was poorly

drained with a shallow watertable. Marshy areas were interceded with

occasional rises.

The drainage pattern since the initial formation changed little

until the 1840's. Before this time the settlement pattern was dictated

by this topography.

The settlement of the first whites from 1800 to 1840 resembles

the pattern of the Indians before them. The Whites used the rivers

and the adjacent trails for transportation that had been used by the

Indian for centuries. The well drained bluff areas were the first lands

sold and cabin sites were superimposed on Indian sites. Whites and

Indians alike drank from the same springs. Another important reason

for settlement near the streams was the use of the flowing water as a

source of power.

Soon the land along the rivers was sold, and the poorly drained

interior was sold, clearing began and cabins were built on the highest

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available spot on each parcel of land. Around 1840 the forests were

largely beginning to be cleared and the land began to receive direct

radiation from the sun which caused increased evaporation. The

watertable began to decline from this, and as a result of increased

run-off, pumpage of wells, drainage of tiles and open ditches.

The physical conditions of the topography, its drainage and the

forest tended to slow the development of the area away from the

major streams. There was a need for this land, however, and it was

soon converted into useful and productive land. The railroad, which

was planned and built about 1850, found the topography generally

free from obstacles except for an occasional marshy area. The

railroad crossed a frontier road that ran between Norton, Ohio and

Mount Vernon, Ohio. Ashley was soon established as a local com-

mercial center.

Stanley Baker

Graduate student of O.S.U.

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1800

One of the first settlers in the area was William Sharp, who is

pictured on the front cover.

William Sharp was born in Virginia. He came with his father to

Marietta, Ohio in the very early part of 1800.

When William was twenty-one his father bought him a large

number of medical books (which were then considered authoritative)

hoping his son would be a doctor. William instead chose the woods.

Shouldering his rifle he headed for Indian country.

In the course of the next several months he lived on the game he

shot. In 1809 he found himself near Norton. He remained there for

three or four years, and then joined the army and headed north to

Sandusky.

In 1814, after the war, he married Sarah Boyd, the adopted

daughter of John Duncan. He built a cabin for his wife, and though

attached to her, he could not resist the temptation of going into the

woods on a hunt,-- and often would be gone for weeks.

He was a good provider, and had the reputation of being the

greatest "bee-hunter" in the vicinity. He also knew the Indian

languages well.

He finally settled down and bought sixy acres from Joseph Cole.

Some of his relatives visited him from Marietta, and brought his

medical books. He now read them and started a practice for which he

refused pay.

(He died in 1861 and is buried in Marlboro Cemetery. He left

numerous descendants in Ashley and the surrounding vicinity.)

At about the same time as Sharp arrived in Norton, Henry Foust

arrived and married May Olds. Her father, Confort, was probably the

first settler in the area being near Windsors Corners.

Others gradually began to move in; there were still many Indians

to be found in our frontier territory.

(These notes from the seminar at Defiance College in 1975 give

us some perspective on the very early times.)

There was a Jesuit mission at Auglaize as early as 1639. The

Jesuits were in contact with roving bands of Indians and important

tribes.

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In support of this, silver crosses have been found buried in Ohio,

apparently given to the Indians by Jesuit priests. (This information

was contributed by Prof. R. Baby.)

Silver crosses have also been found on a hill just south of Nor-

ton, less than a hundred years ago. (This information was contributed

by Mrs. Buck.)

By the late 1600's the Indians in what is now Ohio had been

greatly decimated by tribal warfare.

In the early 1700's Shawnees, Delawares, Miamis and Wyandotts

were here in Ohio in great numbers. They were here as hunters and

trappers, and also participating in violent warfare - especially in the

Revolution, and to some extent as late as the War of 1812.

The northern border of Delaware County was originally the

Greenville Treaty Line. This treaty was signed in the summer of 1795

and carried a little more respect than most of the previous Indian

treaties.

In early 1800, the revolution was concluded (or so they thought).

The white settlers were coming! The government encouraged it.

Some settlers came as missionaries to save the Savage Souls, but

more white people were just land hungry. They justified themselves

(if they thought of it) that the Indians were letting the land go to

waste. There were some rich land speculators, but very many people

were poor and hungry. Some young couples were braving the wilder-

ness to rear their young families in a "new world of freedom."

Howes' History of Ohio says that "the trees in this country were

often a hundred and fifty feet tall. Sixty feet to the first limb." (That

seems impossible!)

At this time few knew what a tornado was! The storms seldom

penetrated the thick and heavy trees.

These enormous trees has huge root systems and with the deep

bed of humus that covered the forest floor, the water was held like a

great sponge, and only drained off gradually. There were very few

floods.

In the years preceding the white people the Indians hadn't made

much headway getting the trees whittled off for their corn patches.

(Although they did have some large corn patches in what is now the

City of Delaware.)

Then the ambitious white men tackled the job - you can see for

yourself what they have accomplished.

The first cabins were on Indian trails close to rivers and streams.

Many were small trails.

A large trail of importance was one that followed the east bank

of the Olentangy north of Delaware and "forded" the Whetstone just

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north of the forks of the Olentangy and Whetstone rivers. From there

the trail went to Clariden, a big Indian camp. (This information was

contributed by B. Wallace.)

A Foust family were Squatters for a time in the forks of the

rivers. A Worline family had a cabin south of the forks on the east

bank. (This information was contributed by the Foust family.)

A very important Wyandott trail came to Marietta through

Peru township (now Morrow County) to Upper Sandusky. (This in-

formation was contributed by L. Westbrook.)

There were bear, deer, wildcats, wolves, foxes, muskrat, weasel,

milk, beaver, skunks, squirrels, and raccoons. The last two destroyed

much precious food for early settlers.

Roving Indians often helped themselves to food at cabins. (An

Indian notion that food was for the hungry.) They were quite often

drunk on white man's whiskey, after trading with white men. Some

Indians were very friendly and often visitors at cabins. The children

frequently played together although some women seemed hysterically

afraid of them.

One white boy was visiting a camp on what was later the Upper

Panhandle road.

He had a great time, and stayed for supper. He thought the meal

was delicious, and wanted more. Then he looked in the kettle where

[image of powder horn]

Powder horn now owned by

descendant James Roush and handed

down in the McClish family.

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the hollow eye sockets of a coon appeared to be looking up at him.

That was too much! Later, with maturity, he realized that food is

food, whether it be brains or hind legs. The wilderness had a certain

toughening effect.

Then there was the time the runner came through warning the

people, and telling of the uproar at Fort Morrow. A Dix woman jum-

ped on a mule and raced to where the men were clearing trees,

screaming, "I can hear the Indians murdering over in Kingston right

now!" With that she just threw away the tin coffee pot that she had

been carrying! (This story was told by Joe G. Main.)

The Cole woman up the river from Dixs reacted to the news by

throwing all the valuables (iron kettle, silver and such) in the swamp.

These things were never recovered and are in the bottom of what is

now called Cap Cole Bay.

She then threw the young ones in the covered wagon and "lit

out" for Franklinton. (Fortunately it was just a scare.)

A woman was working with a wooden bucket of lye water in the

doorway of a cabin. (This cabin was on the west bank of Sharp's Run

or Indian Run.) She was startled by the sudden appearance of an In-

dian. She simply threw the lye water in his face. (This story was told

by the woman's great-granddaughter Minnie G.)

Then there was William Drake and his wife and family. (A small

book could be written about them.)

When Drake and one son "Riar" arrived at Norton (which at that

time consisted of one cabin and one man named Reed), it finally

"soaked through" to Drake that this was what the land agent

Kilbourne had described as "A veritable Heaven on Earth!" He did

some fine cussing! Drake then said if Norton was Kilbourne's idea of

Heaven, he'd hate to know what his idea of Hell would be!

(Drake had been written about in Delaware, Marion and Morrow

County Histories. His tombstone is still standing today in a small

cemetery. The south fence of the cemetery is on the old Greenville

Treaty Line.)

In the Stanton Town cemetery is a tombstone in memory of Mary

Eaton Thatcher. When Mary was eight years old she was captured by

Indians. She lived with them four years and was released.

Two boys in their early teens were coming on foot over an Indian

trail, headed west. It turned cold suddenly, with a blizzard. They had

about given up and were expecting to freeze to death! Some Indians

caught up with them just in time, showing them how to make a snow

house. The house had a breathing hole and with their backs together,

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the boys gradually got warm. When the blizzard was over and the

wind died down, they were as good as ever. These boys' last name was

Wheeler. (This story was told by a descendant in South Woodbury.)

A house just east of South Woodbury is said to have been built

by one of Cornwallis' officers after the Revolution.

South of the Sherwood road is a very thick woods, with a wet

spot in the center between two high spots. It was once called the Jim-

mie Martin woods. Quincy Main tells the story passed down in the

family that this woods had been one of the last Indian camps.

When the Indians knew that they had to leave, they told their

white neighbors, "The white men will never have our beautiful

spring!" There has been no spring since, just a very wet spot in the

ground.

For many years there was a most peculiar tree west of the Olen-

tangy. Its trunk, roots, and limbs had large wart-like growths. It was

said that an Indian warrior caught his sweetheart with a white man.

He killed them both and buried them at the roots of this tree. (This

story was in a school history supplement fifty years ago.) (This story

was told by Warren and Leonard.)

In Andrew Jackson's time (1829-1837) Congress suddenly em-

powered the State Militia to round up all Indians, put them on flat

boats on the Ohio river, and head them for reservations in Oklahoma.

The Indians were crushed! (There weren't too many left in this

vicinity.)

One Indian at the camp north of Delaware said he would not go!

He hid on what was later called the Broom Corn Farm.

In the evening, as the sun was setting, he came out of hiding to

get a drink of water. The place was where stepping stones crossed the

Olentangy. A white man and his son were watching. They shot and

killed the Indian, and buried him.

More than a hundred years later a descendant of the white man

confessed to a stranger that the murder had haunted the family all

through the years. Now he had to tell someone. He, himself, was the

last of the family and now an old man. (This story was told to an

OWU professor.)

An Indian squaw brought the Weiser family a beautiful covered

basket. The squaw explained it was to thank them for being so good

and kind to her people. This was at the time the Indians were forced

to leave. (about 1832.)

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[photo of basket]

Historical Indian basket given to the Weiser Family.

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(Eddie Weiser gave the basket to the Ohio State Historical

Society. At present it is on display as a loan to the Johnson House at

Piqua.)

There were other stories of how the Indians liked to come back

to Sharp's Run or Indian Run to boil down the maple sugar water in

the spring.

Sharp's Run or Indian Run originates on the southwest part of

the land that is now Ashley. It emptied into the Olentangy at the foot

of the hill at the Old Marlboro Cemetery. This stream was once fed

by many springs. At one swampy place you could see the "fox fire"

when conditions were just right and your eyesight was good.

There was also the story of a Wyandott Chief Scionto that often

came back to the Marlboro vicinity as late as 1820. He was very

friendly with the white people.

In the middle of the 1830's the Indians were all gone from

Delaware County - only once in a while did a stray one appear.

Harrison's Trail (war road of 1812) was west of the Olentangy,

but east of what is now Route 23.

On the east side of the river the Mansfield-Delaware road was

surveyed in 1814. It was a toll road. (Many roads and Indian trails

overlapped.) This road came from Mansfield, through Westfield,

Windsors Corners, Marlboro to Delaware.

To the east running north and south was the first road built by

the state in 1822. It was very important, as it was the principle means

of moving grain and livestock to eastern markets by way of Lake Erie.

It was also called the Worthington-New Haven road.

There was an early road from Mt. Vernon through South Wood-

bury, Westfield to Norton. Norton was laid out as a town two years

before Delaware. At first it seemed to have fine prospects. It was

close to Fort Morrow. This vicinity had considerable excitement at

the beginning of the War of 1812.

Captain Drake was in charge of a group of men that had gathered

north of Waldo to ward off the possible approach of Indians from the

north, in the beginning of the War of 1812.

While Drake was absent, the men went to sleep around the camp-

fire without posting a guard.

When he came back and saw the lack of discipline, he yelled "In-

dians." The men, having had no previous military experience,

panicked. The panic spread to most of the surrounding communities.

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Captain Drake played this joke, evidently to test his men. It had

some bad repercussions. This is stated in various details in the 1880

Histories.

[image of Drake: "The Late Judge W. S. Drake."]

William S. Drake -

Fort Morrow fame.

[image of Drake's tombstone]

Cemetery on the Greenville

Treaty Line - Marion Co.

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[image of table]

Table which has three rope legs and one plain, and is

finished with ox blood stain. It was owned by the William

S. Drake family near Fort Morrow, and was inherited by

Eva Richardson Schaaf.

Preceding this, Col. Baldin and Col. Bixbee with money and

foresight moved into the once big Indian village site, at what is now

Delaware.

Bixbee had charisma, and business ability. He was very suc-

cessful for twenty years. In this time, he befuddled a lot of people in-

cluding Indians. In the end he wound up befuddled himself. (This in-

formation was gained from the Troy Township trustees book and

Delaware County 1880 History.)

The town of Kilbourne did well on the state road. It had been

named Eden at first and settled first by Presbyterians. In the old

cemetery on the banks of Alum Creek are many Jones and their

relatives. Their ancestor Rev. Jones, a friend of George Washington,

had given his church as a hospital during the terrible winter at Valley

Forge. His descendants were given a land grant. (Some of these

descendants include McCurdys, Livingstons, Richards, Thurstons,

Porters, Hersherys and others. There were also Leonards, one branch

of which were direct descendants of the Washington family.)

Going north on Alum Creek were Longwells, Scotts, Potter,

Riley, Whipple, Fleming, Randolphs, and Thrall.

Further north on the state road was the large Quaker settlement

from Peru, New York. There were nineteen families, headed by the

Benedicts.

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North of that was South Woodbury, mainly Methodist. (This

town was later very important in the Underground railroad.)

West of Woodbury was Westfield, a typical frontier town, also

crossed by the Mansfield-Delaware Road. Westfield was wild and

wooley! Saloons, stage coaches and maybe horse thieves! It was said

there was a hanging tree just south of town.

About this time the Methodists moved in above a saloon, and

calmed the whole town down! From there on it was respectable!

Fort Morrow, Norton and Marlboro were Primitive Baptists

(Hard-Shelled) from Virginia. These included the Mains, Dixs, Coles,

Wyatts, Coldrens, Brundiges, Martins, Bishops, Currans, Drakes,

Kings, Reeds, Worlines, Duncans, Olds, Winsors, and Fousts. These

people represent the very early years. There were many additional

comings and goings.

Many died on the trail. The first buried at Marlboro was a little

girl. Her family had stopped in a wagon at the big spring and asked

for help. (This story was told by H. Main.)

The second burial was a woman that had died west of there. She

was buried in a hollowed-out log. The folks scarcely "had a breather"

before something else happened.

(The following is part of an article that was printed in the

Columbus Dispatch Sunday Magazine.)

"January and February of 1816 was warm and spring-like.

March was cold and stormy. Vegetation had gotten well along in

April when real winter set in. Sleet and snow fell seven days in

May. In June there was either frost or snow every night but three.

The snow was five inches deep in New York and ten inches

to three feet in Vermont and Maine. July was cold and frosty.

August was still worse, ice formed nearly an inch in thickness,

and killed all vegetation in the United States and Europe. In the

spring of 1817 - corn from 1815 sold for from five to ten dollars

a bushel."

This article explains the story told to us by Ralph (Irish) Thomas

of Ashley.

Irish said that his grandfather Joseph Cole, Jr. told him that his

father Joseph Cole, Sr. (from Virginia) had mortgaged his large farm

to "grub stake" the people that were coming through Marlboro in

covered wagons at this time.

The people were eating their precious seed corn! The children

were starving and sick! The people in wagon after wagon begging for

help! (He and his family had come in 1808 and he was one of the few

that knew where to find food to buy.)

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Joseph Cole, Sr. mortgaged his large farm and did not get the

mortgage paid off in his life time.

Joseph Cole, Jr. (the youngest son) had to pay it off - and

"griped" about it. But then he, himself, hadn't been hungry, as he was

born in 1817. This disagreeable situation he didn't mention in the

1880 History. Joseph, Jr. was, by that time, a wealthy man.

Many of the bad things were not put down in the histories -

terrible cold winters, hot dry summers (no crops), the panics or

epidemics, especially cholera. There were also money panics - there

was very little money. Everything was bartered or traded.

Many people that had been affluent were desperate and on the

townships for help. There were lots of ups and downs.

When these earliest families arrived they lived much like the

Indians. Some of the people were newly arrived from Europe and

towns in the East. Most of them knew very little or nothing about the

wilderness.

In the first days, there would be a makeshift cabin (or a lean-to)

with a mud and stick chimney. There were seldom windows at first.

The door was hides stretched across the opening. There were dirt

floors with branches to sleep on in a corner. They made slab tables

and benches as soon as they could as the men had to get out, and hunt

game nearly every day. The fireplace had a crane or hook to hang an

iron or copper kettle from.

They used animal hides in a number of ways (and of course hides

had to be worked on to be cured and pliable.)

Deer, bear and turkey meat was "jerked" and hung up to dry. Salt

was expensive and important to "cure" the meat. They also boiled

hominy (corn that had been soaked in lye water, that had been made

from wood ashes.) They also had corn meal mush, wild honey and as

soon as they could whittle out some wooden buckets, they had maple

syrup.

They had no way to can anything as we know it today. They

dried most everything or put it down in salt brine in wooden kegs or

stonejars from Pennsylvania. The first beds were rope or leather strips

to hold hides and later straw ticks, and feather ticks.

It was hard to protect domestic animals,-- sheep for wool were

important, and they raised flax for linen. "Linsey woolsey" was some

of the first cloth woven on hand made looms. It was warm, but "it-

chy". They used walnut and poke berries for color later, when "they

got fancy".

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[image of powder horn]

Powder horn now owned by

Catherine Potter Roush. Inscription:

Crown Point July 4, 1765. It was then

owned by ancestor Israel Potter. Her-

man Potter is also a descendant.

They made home made soap with fat and lye. Some had brought

along a plant called Bouncing Bet that they used to perfume the soap.

When it came to baths the few who took them were "scarce as hen

teeth!" Most folks smelled pretty "gamey", but people got used to it -

it only seemed natural.

They tried to build their cabins near a spring or creek, if not they

had to dig a well. They then had to pull the water up in a bucket till

someone made a windlass.

Of course, in time there was spinning and weaving and candle

making. Everything had to be done by hand.

First they raised flax, which had to be pounded with a flail.

Wheat was cut with a scythe and cradle. (The first years they had to

walk or ride a horse as far as Chillicothe or Zanesville for a sack of

wheat flour.) They started to build mills as soon as possible. Wheat

had to be thrashed by hand, too.

A knife was a necessity of life. Indians had flint blades.

Right with the knife was the tinder box, a tin box with tinder,

flint and steele. (There were no matches or paper to start a fire with

in those days.)

Just imagine the wolves on a cold winter night! The sound of

their howling getting closer and closer! No one, and we mean no one

would be foolish enough to let the fire in the fireplace go out. Still,

that very thing happened many times in this country in early days.

The folks just prayed the mud and stick chimneys wouldn't cave in a

heavy snow storm and put the fire out.

Many people knew little of the sounds of the woods. Some must

have been "scared out of their wits!"

For instance, the horrible sounds of an old woods owl could make

if you stumbled on one in the dark! You would be apt to think it was

the Devil himself!

People went to bed early and got up early (they went by sun-

time.)

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If you got up early - you just might hear the sound of little foxes.

An eerie sound that hung in the air like smoke. Fascinating! Un-

forgettable!

There were other things, like the dewy fragrance of a blackberry

thicket as the sun came up!

In the beautiful autumn the forest was composed of many groves

of hickory and walnut trees. The children had a great time racing the

squirrels in gathering the nuts.

In later, more affluent years, the young people skating on the

frozen river in the moonlight, with the hoar frost changing everything

to diamonds.

The people found the good things as well as the bad. They

seldom had time to feel sorry for themselves.

At first there were no doctors. People doctored themselves with

home remedies. Roots, herbs, barks and berries, skunk grease, goose

grease, sheep nanny pills - or just anything - depending on how

desperate they were.

They were afraid of the damp air of the swamp at night. They

considered flies and mosquitoes harmless - just a nuisance. They

hadn't the slightest idea of sanitation and contaminated water. There

was a high percent of deaths of women in childbirth, and also a very

high death rate of babies, especially those in their second summer.

Salt and a red hot poker cauterized wounds if you would face it.

Whiskey was used as a pain killer, and a remedy for practically

everything. If there was a mangled foot, it was either chop it off with

an ax or face gangrene. There was not much of survival either way.

The epidemics of cholera, small pox, diptheria, grey and bloody

flux, typhoid, and malaria fevers were prevalent. A great many died of

tuberculosis (consumption), pneumonia, quinsy, rabies, scrofula, and

ague. Few lived to a ripe old age.

[image of Fort Morrow]

Fort Morrow - 1812.

19

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 21)

[page 21]

[corresponds to page 20 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

[image of Miller]

Mary Allison Miller - three daughters Gavitt, Bell &

Clifton.

Neighbor women helped when a baby was born - and when they

died.

One or more older women "laid out the dead". There was no em-

balming or funeral directors. Someone "sat up" with the dead until

they were buried. This was a necessary protection from animals such

as rats, etc. When the women had made the "dead presentable"

(Which was no small job in many cases), neighbor men made the cof-

fin, usually of oak or pine. A horse and wagon was the hearse.

The family wore black, even if they had to borrow it. If they were

a family that quarreled a lot, they really "took on" at the funeral.

They would scream, faint, and sometimes attempt to throw themselves

in the grave. This was understood to prove to the neighbors that they

loved their kinfolk. This elicited remarks such as "They surely took

on a sight", or "a bawling cow soon forgets her calf."

There was another burying of a kind - epidemic. This included

cholera and small pox. If there had been no sign of life around a

20

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 22)

[page 22]

[corresponds to page 21 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

cabin, two responsible men would kick in the door. If still no sign of

life, they would burn the cabin. No one spoke of it, then or later.

Many children were buried along line fences or small family

plots. Many first cemeteries were Indian mounds. (Hundreds of In-

dians and whites were buried together unknowingly.)

Sometimes there would be a preacher, sometimes not. A neigh-

bor might have a Bible and could read. At least they did the best they

could.

Now things change at a terrific rate - not so in the old days.

The first churchces and schools began in someone's cabin home,

but not until there were sufficient people in a community.

At first the cabins were often miles apart.

If you knew how to read, write, and cipher you were a "right

smart feller."

The roads were mud or corduroy, the last consisting of logs laid

side by side.

Preachers often performed ceremonies long after the event. A

couple decided to get married! A person died! A preacher might

not get around for six months in the very early days. Life and death

couldn't be postponed! The folks just did the best they could.

[image of Cole House]

The Cole house that was in the reservoir area. Built around the time of

the War of 1812. The family made the bricks by hand. The frame part at the

rear is the toll house that stood on the Mansfield-Delaware toll road.

21

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 23)

[page 23]

[corresponds to page 22 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

Things progressed with time, and new neighbors. As soon as

there were any number, the people sang and danced and had a high

old time. Barn raisings, corn huskings, spelling, singing, and all sorts

of "bees" took place.

The preachers were busy - the Hard Shelled Baptists cried, the

Methodists shouted, the Quakers and Presbyterians were more

dignified.

The people really "turned on" for a wedding and a belling. The

same with a funeral - everyone went.

Skating parties, sled parties, taffy pulls, just anything for a good

time. The folks made the most of everything, emotional or material.

There were also terriffic knock down, drag out fights at election

time, or anywhere there was a gathering of men.

Wooden plows were used at first, and other wooden tools.

As time passed, the stagecoach and wagons brought in new things

from the east, and the pack peddler was a "welcome sight!",

especially to the women. They carried pins, needles, thread, thimbles,

combs, hooks and eyes, awls, razors, pen knives and pens, buttons,

steel rimmed glasses and button hooks for "store bought shoes." (If

you should be so lucky!) The peddler had wonderful things in that

black box he carried on his back.

They had started in with hand made benches. Some men got "real

handy" and made some nice furniture. There were also home made

shoes of hides.

[image of school house]

School House east of Norton.

22

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 24)

[page 24]

[corresponds to page 24 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

[image of school house]

School House east of Norton.

The swamp was settled last - first here and there on the high

ground, as it was so hard to drain.

Two schools in the swamp were named "Swamp Angel" and

"Mudtown". There was also the "Elm Valley" further south.

The swamp people didn't have large farms. The orginal owners

were often absentee owners. Many of the people must have been

squatters on the small tracts of land.

Some of the names were Smith, Gale, Starisbury, Legg, Calkins,

Glenn, Thomas, Thornman, Wells, Sherman, Brown, Wheeler,

Williams, Biggs, Cackler, Slawson, Whipple, McClish, and Kyrk.

The small farmers were usually poor, but they had good times.

They were the best fisherman, hunters, and trappers. Last, but not

least - they were the best fiddlers for the "hoe downs", but evidently

not affluent enough to be written up in the County Histories.

Preacher Gavitt (in the to be Ashley vicinity) was busy saving

souls, but the "pesky corn squeezers" (lots of folks had stills) often

put the "converts on the skids". Then they had to be saved all over

again at the next camp meeting.

Preacher Gavitt had his trials. One hot Sunday, during an exor-

tation, he reached in his back pocket beneath his long coat tails and

whipped out his bandana handkerchief. A deck of cards sailed out

over the congregation. Methodists of that time considered cards,

whiskey, and dancing to be the inventions of the Devil.

The Devil in this case was the preachers son Cobb.

23

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 25)

[page 25]

[corresponds to page 24 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

The first settlers had been nearly entirely young people, but as

time went on and especially in bad years there were some people that

had to be supported by the townships.

There was enough demand that the County Commissioners built

an infirmary in 1851. (This was to be the only hospital or social

agency in Delaware County for the next fifty years.)

These first fifty years there had been many changes - not swiftly,

but the frontier was nearly gone. News of the nation filtered in

gradually, by "stage" and "mail", and the people coming and going

brought news.

[image of tool]

Indian tool 5 1/2 inches wide 2 1/4 inches long

now owned by Thomas Cole. Found by his mother

in some of the last to be drained swamp land south

of Ashley.

[image of tool]

Indian tool 6 1/2 inches wide 3 inches long

now owned by Joseph Cole. Found by his father

when a small boy in the bottom of a spring very

close to where Indian Run once emptied into the

Olentangy.

24

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 26)

[page 26]

[corresponds to page 25 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

Now came the exciting news of a railroad to be put through

linking Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. Surveying and

bickering went on for some time. There were several suggested routes.

Then it was finally settled. (There are many discrepancies in

reports of these early days.) The town where the mud road went west

to Norton was to be called Oxford. Barton and Slack laid out lots

from their land. Speculators arrived and they also laid out lots. Then

they changed the name to Ashley (named for a popular surveyor).

Many came and departed in a short time!

[image of train]

First train to arrive in Ashley. (Courtesy of A. Cline)

25

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 27)

[page 27]

[corresponds to page 26 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

It was a difficult job to lay a railroad bed through the swamp.

The ties were cut right out of the woods. Cabins were built along the

right of way for the workers. The engines were wood burning and had

to stop frequently and take on wood and water. North of Ashley the

engines sank in the swamp five times. Finally they got on the road bed to

hold. It had delayed the "Great Day".

The Great Day finally arrived. The finished road from Cleveland

was all but joined to the finished road from Columbus and Cin-

cinnati. This joining was two miles south of Ashley on what was the

Barton or Shults farm.

Very important officials came from both directions. Two big

engines the folks hadn't seen before! Folks came out of the woods for

miles to "see the sight!"

The finish of the ceremony after a lot of fancy talking was the

beautiful gold spike driven in the all important last tie. (This gold

spike was discreetly removed before sundown and went back with the

important officials. Many eyes observed it!)

Life was never the same in this neck of the woods after that won-

derful day. Folks just told each other about it over and over again.

As previously stated lots had been laid out in the new town.

Houses and streets were going up fast. The sidewalks were plank. The

streets were mud or dust, depending on the weather.

Some of the first lots in Ashley were laid out in June 1849.

Lewis Purmont started the first store in 1850 on a Shoemaker

farm. In the same year Aloy Patee built the Ashley Hotel. He and

Milton Smith built the first saw mill on the railroad grounds in 1850.

McMaster, Riley and Potter erected a grain warehouse before

1853.

A petition to incorporate was signed by fifty residents and ap-

proved in June 1855.

James Culbertson was first mayor in August of 1855 when first

election was held. Ashley was well on its way to becoming an im-

portant, busy city.

Culture, too, was arriving fast with the first locomotives and the

telegraph. "Ashley was now in touch with the world!"

Ladies daintily walked the plank sidewalks, carefully holding

their swaying hoop skirts.

Gentlemen gallantly stepped off in the mud to let the ladies pass.

In doing so, they invariably tipped their plug hats. Now, knowing

exactly how to tip your hat was a work of art. First a gentleman put

his heels together and slowly bowed from the waist, holding his left

hand slightly behind him, and with his right hand, he then with a

graceful flourish removed his hat, letting it rest momentarily on his

26

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 28)

[page 28]

[corresponds to page 27 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

chest. He then stood erect, and placed his hat back on his head

slowly. A most engaging smile accompanied the performance. It was

irresistible! No woman could encounter this situation without

palpitations of the heart! (One old boy over in Kingston Township is

still adept at this elegant gesture, though he has remained free from

entanglements.)

The story of railroad was told to us by Dr. Dennis Welsh. For

other information on the railroad see the Delaware County 1880

History.

Well, Ashley was now established as an "up and coming" town,

no doubt of it! Some folks were already "putting on airs!"

The young people were happy with dances and parties and all the

new things!

But some of the older folks were horrified by the black cloud on

the horizon. It could only mean one thing - "War!" The Civil War

was approaching fast. The ones that were grieved the most were the

folks from Virginia. Most of the older ones never lived to see it

through. It broke their hearts. They simply died with the pain of it.

27

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 29)

[page 29]

[corresponds to page 28 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

VARIOUS STORIES

An older woman named Scott told this story a number of

years ago. She said her grandmother had been scalped by the Indians.

She survived, but had to wear a soft cloth cap tied under her chin the

rest of her life. She lived to a ripe old age and didn't suffer too much

discomfort, except when the weather changed. (Having been peeled

like that, so to speak, you might say it was no wonder.)

Over a long period of time, Adeline and her daughter

Charlotte, and Ann Amith lived in a very small house on the edge of

the swamp.

There once had been a family bible with all the family names in

it. There were two lusterware pitchers, one quite large, and the other

small, and a folding spoon-folk combination carried in the French

and Indian Wars by some of the men in the family long ago. They are

all lost now, except the little lusterware pitcher. The pitcher now

resides in the Delaware County Museum.

[image of pitcher]

Ann Smith's pitcher.

28

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 30)

[page 30]

[corresponds to page 29 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

This is a typical story of the early ones told when men got

together and tried to out do each other.

This story is of a man that had hunted all day for game. He had

shot at some from a distance, and missed.

It was nearly dark and he was just cleaning his muzzle-loader

with the ramrod. Suddenly, he saw a wild turkey on a limb protruding

straight out from a tree toward him. He pulled up his gun and shot,

forgetting the ramrod. He went over to pick up the turkey, and found

eleven turkeys strung on the ramrod, every last one of them shot

through the throat! (They had been sitting in a row on the limb.)

That's just a sample of what great hunters the old timers were (or

you might say something else.)

It was something to hear the stories told in the old country

stores. The Marion County 1885 History has some of the best.

The Morrow County 1880 History is also very good. A person

can nearly smell the jerked turkey and jerked venison along with the

wood smoke from the fireplaces.

The Delaware County 1880 History has some good stories about

your kin folks if they have been around here that long. (But we have

had a lot of good people coming in all through the years. "That's what

keeps a good backbone in the community!")

[image of quilt]

Polly C. from Virginia made quilts for her grand-daughters before the

Civil War as something to keep her busy, so she wouldn't worry so much.

29

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 31)

[page 31]

[corresponds to page 30 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

Most everyone believed in God. (Something that was better than

themselves.) It was something to "look up to."

The poorest people were proud, and grateful - they wouldn't ac-

cept something for nothing.

There were few men that didn't aim to keep their "word good."

That way you could look your neighbors in the eye.

The early settlers were exceptionally strong minded human

beings as a whole, or they wouldn't have had the intestinal fortitude

(guts, in other words) to have faced the wilderness.

But, they were human and as soon as they had time from their

work to speculate they immediately got into various illicit oc-

cupations. Also what one person did, or did not do, was greatly

enlarged upon by his neighbor's ingenious imaginations.

I'll offer this one undercover story as an illustration.

This very respectable man, having been duly married by preacher

Gavitt, became apparently obsessed by the Biblical story of Abraham.

He waited patiently - for awile, but his wife produced no son. "A

man had to have a son to carry on for the future!"

This man had an indomitable will, by his own admission. Result:

the hired girl had a son at the Infirmary, which was duly adopted by

he and his wife.

It has gone down in The Delaware County History's Archives:

"One son to hand the family name on to futurity."

(We saw him years ago.) A veritable patriarch, he had a long

snow-white beard, sitting in his phaeton with his horse plodding

straight ahead.

Today, one great-great-granddaughter has attained the highest

position in her profession. This was due, no doubt, to her inherited

"indomitable will."

Preacher Gavitt married and buried a lot of people. One

couple he married paid for the ceremony with a live goose.

This is about another couple he married. After the ceremony the

new husband stated that he had doubts if it was going to be worth

anything and that he wasn't going to pay until he found out.

The preacher received no pay.

The first ordinance passed by the new town of Ashley was

for the suppression of intemperance.

30

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 32)

[page 32]

[corresponds to page 31 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

The unknown soldiers buried in a row at Fort Morrow

were not unknown. It has been remembered down through the years

that they were advance scounts in the War of 1812. They had been

sent ahead of the men that had camped at Battle Run.

The unknown men had been captured by renegades. They had

been mutilated, their hands cut off, and turned out in the wilderness

to die. The ones that brought them to Fort Morrow knew who they

were. The men that buried them promised each other never to tell.

They kept that promise. (This story was told to me by J. Brundige.)

John Grady, father of (Mamie) Mary Grady (Hospital) as a

very old man, told how he remembered his father as one of the bosses

when the Railroad was being built.

He also said he had enjoyed "barn raisings". "This people had so

much fun." Everyone was happy. When the men stopped to rest, they

passed around the whiskey. Everyone drank, but no one was drunk,

possibly because everyone was working so hard. The women got the

meals.

Isaac Hickson was fifteen years old at the time of the Civil

War. He had just arrived from England. He remembered that he had

been hired to take a wagon load of flax from Westfield to Delaware.

He had to pass through Marlboro and had been surprised at the first

brick house (Coles) that he had seen in this part of the country. "It

wasn't a new house," he said. (It had been finished shortly after the

War of 1812.) Later Isaac married a Commer girl from the Ashley

vicinity.

Kenneth Lea tells us that his grandfather Tommie Lea had

lived just south of Ashley on the east side of the railroad track, and

remembered the building of the railroad.

He had the important job of cutting wood for the first wood-

burning engines. (He later served in the Civil War.)

Two Historical Facts no recorded

elsewhere

(Out of context. Inserted here, because there is no other record.)

When Horseshoe Road was paved with gravel several years after

the Civil War, the upper part came from at least ten large gravel

mounds; Jacoby, Stratton, Wallace, Cole and Mains. Three men told

me in their old age that as small boys that they were there.

"Lots and lots of bones and beautiful arrowheads." The boys

were Frank Stratton, Ben Wallace, and Jonas Main.

31

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 33)

[page 33]

[corresponds to page 33 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

AUTHOR'S COMMENT

When Ashley and Leonardsburg were born approximately

around 1850, the need was for expanding transportation.

Ashley, which was on the railroad, took the place of Westfield on

the stagecoach and wagon road, of the Mansfield-Delaware road.

Leonardsburg or Eden Station took the place of Kilbourne or

Old Eden on the stagecoach and wagon road - Worthington -

Newhaven.

This was a transition period desperately needed to get the farm

products to the markets.

There was little competition between the two railroad stations

(only four miles apart). Both Ashley and Leonardsburg were swam-

ped with business. On week days there was a constant stream of

livestock, poultry, wagons of grain, foodstuffs such as butter, eggs,

nuts, berries, fruit - both stations had all they could handle.

This continued to, and included the First World War around

1920, or approximately seventy years.

At this time there was another burst of expansion. The

automobile had arrived, and roads had improved beyond the wildest

dreams of any frontiersman.

At this time schools were consolidated, and education was no

doubt improved. The social life of the communities, though, was very

nearly destroyed, and has not been replaced.

Before this everyone in a community was acquainted with one

another. Most everyone was like a relative.

Now in spite of super communication, talking machines, radio,

television and millions of analytical books, we don't seem to know

anyone.

Look at the super educated lsot people trying to find themselves,

or a friend.

Looks like it's about time for another explosion, this time in

human understanding.

We hope so.

32

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 34)

[page 34]

[corresponds to page 33 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

[image of lanterns]

Tin lantern first owned by the McMaster family.

Tin lantern found on the Wallace farm, but probably first owned by a

Worline family.

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 35)

[page 35]

[corresponds to page 34 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

Now we will wind up this conglomeration with a poem by a

native from the heart of Ashley.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

When you had to arise on a cold morning

--build a fire and empty the ashes

When you had to draw water from the well--

with a rope and a pail

When you had to stop and put on the

side-curtains-- if it rained

When you had to sleep in an unheated

room-- even in zero weather

When, once in a while, you took a bath--

in the old galvanized tub

When you used to read the Sears

catalog-- in the outside privy

When, at milking time, the old cow got

her foot in the milk bucket

When, on wash day, you hung clothes

out to dry-- and had them freeze

The End.

34

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 36)

[page 36]

[corresponds to page 35 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

OLD TIMERS

Aldrich

Ashbrook

Bell

Brown

Bryant

Bartholmew

Blair

Barton

Benedict

Bartlett

Bishop

Brundige

Black

Bush

Boger

Baxter

Berry

Birch

Claypool

Cline

Cole

Coleman

Cackler

Coomer

Chadwick

Clark

Cook

Curran

Case

Cramer

Coonfare

Carter

Calkins

Conklin

Davis

Darst

Davidson

Dennis

Dart

Doty

Drake

Dildine

Durkee

Duncan

Eckels

Eavens

Earl

Elliot

Eaton

Foust

Fisk

Frost

Fleming

Feaster

Falkner

Finch

Gavitt

Glenn

Gale

Green

Gilett

Granger

Greenlee

Graham

Haverlo

Hide

Hinton

Harris

Hunt

Houseworth

Hare

Holt

Hite

Havens

Howald

Hall

Hopkins

Henry

Hoadly

Inskeep

Jenkins

Jones

Jordan

Keesey

Kilbourne

Kyrk

King

Kelley

Kohler

Knauber

Legg

Leonard

Longwell

Lewis

Levering

Lauther

Lynn

Livingston

Martin

Main

Mills

Miller

Morehouse

Moses

Mayfield

Monroe

Nelson

Norris

Olds

Oliver

Owens

Powers

Perry

Porter

Piper

Pettit

Pettibone

Peak

Porterfield

Pickett

Pool

Peters

Peasley

Pooler

Potter

Roosevelt

Roberts

Randolph

Roush

Raines

Reed

Riley

Reynolds

Smith

Shults

35

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 37)

[page 37]

[corresponds to page 36 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

Sheets

Shoemaker

Stratton

Strine

Scott

Slack

Stanton

Sherman

Sharp

Shaw

Stansberry

Spalding

Shaaf

Short

Stack

Sutton

Thomas

Thorman

Thrall

Trigg

Thurston

Trindle

Todd

Thatcher

Westbrook

Wallace

Warren

Winsor

Wheeler

Wells

Walters

Williams

Welsh

Ward

Weiser

Wornstaff

Whipple

Worline

Wood

Waugh

Wagner

White

Willey

Wolf

Wigton

Wilson

Wilcox

McWilliams

McClish

McCurdy

McClain

McMaster

McCreary

McGonigle

McClaid

[image of tar bucket]

Pennsylvania Tar Bucket that hung on the back of a Conestoga wagon.

Found in the old store at Leonardsburg. Most likely it was the property of

Abijah Leonard.

36

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 38)

[page 38]

[corresponds to page 37 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

ASHLEY BICENTENNIAL GROUP

A group of concerned citizens first met at the Wornstaff

Memorial Library in August, 1974. But, for lack of space, the next

three monthly meetings were held at the Wesleyan Methodist Church

and then moved to private homes of the members for a more informal

atmosphere. Such meetings will continue throughout the Bicentennial

Year of 1976. In November, 1974, the title "Ashley Bicentennial

Group" was adopted, its purpose being to locally and appropriately

observe our nation's Bicentennial, July 4, 1976.

Dick Newman, of the Legion, was elected Chairman and Mar-

jorie Lea, Progressive Mothers Club, elected Secretary-Treasurer.

"Festival U.S.A." Chairman became Carl McCurdy, Farm

Bureau, assisted by Dick Wilde, of the Legion.

"Heritage '76" Chairman fell to Louise Zeigler, Fidelis Mothers

Club, assisted by Juanita Newman, Ashley Book Club.

"Horizons '76" Chairman became Dean Eckler, Masons, assisted

by Bill Frey, of the Legion. At this time the undeclared motto of the

group became, "to judge the success of Ashley's Bicentennial, NOT

by the number of spectators, but rather by the number of par-

ticipants."

In February, 1975, the Group submitted to the American

Revolutionary Bicentennial Administration (A.R.B.A.) Washington,

D.C., an application for recognition as a "Bicentennial Community"

and was so appointed in March '75 and also incorporated as a Non-

Profit Organization by the Secretary of the State of Ohio the same

month.

Since it is not practical to give special accolade to the most

deserving members, a complete listing of volunteers follows:

Shirley Masters, Pat Coffee and Sherry Augspurger, Love & Care

Mothers Club; Pauline Gardner, Bloomin' Friends Garden Club;

Mrs. Chuck Wittback, Interested Person; Vivian Doup, I.P.; Paul

Smith, City Council; Renz Dart, Ashley Grange; Linda Baker, Ashley

Book Club; Kenneth Beckley, Wesleyan Church; Albert Goodman,

Masonic Lodge; Ed. Augspurger, Farm Bureau and Lions Club;

Eileen Temple, Baseball for Boys; Catherine Hickson, Legion

Auxiliary; Rev. George Lee, Methodist Church; Keith Daniels, Ad-

vent Christian Church; Mary Staley, Friends Church; Lois Dart, Ox-

ford Garden Club; Dave Areheart, 4H; Mrs. Carl Poston, I.P.;

Genevieve Cole, I.P.; Larry Coffee, Volunteer Fireman; Mike Welch,

Ohio Wesleyan University; Mrs. David Thurston, I.P.; Ken Morton,

American Legion; and Rev. Tom Brown, Methesco Seminary; Mrs.

Curtis Gale, I.P.; Mary Lust, I.P.; Velma Hough, I.P.; Mrs. Harold

Long, I.P.; Charlotte Pittman, I.P.

37

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 39)

[page 39]

[corresponds to page 38 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

Reproduction of an old picture of William Sharp found in the

side wall of the attic of the house his son Samuel built - by Ann Cole.

Article by Stanley Baker.

Article by Arlington Cline.

Article by Richard Newman.

Many photos by Hickson and Bender.

Layout by Robert Bender.

Typed and edited by Pam Taylor.

Written by Genevieve Cole at the request of Richard Newman,

chairman of the Ashley Bicentennial Group.

38

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 40)

[page 40]

[corresponds to page 39 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

[image of Leonard]

Aunt Nancy Leonard's picture. (The title aunt is honorary.) Her five

daughters lived in Ashley. She typified the late frontier woman at her best.

Aunt Nancy was loved and respected by all who knew her. (Frazier Bell is a

great-great-grandson.)

39

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 41)

[page 41]

[corresponds to page 40 of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

[photo of teacups]

Grandmother Mary Allison Miller had a party for her grand-daughter in

the Ashley community 125 years ago. She gave them cups and saucers.

Present day descendants include Merle Lea, Nancy Barber, and Jane

Powers.

[photo of boots]

Boys boots with red leather lining made before the Civil

War by a cobbler in the Ashley vicinity.

40

Our Frontier 1800-1860 and the Birth of Our Town of Ashley 1849 (p. 42)

[page 42]

[corresponds to back cover of Our Frontier 1800-1860]

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