- IN MEMORY -


- JOHN L. ASHLEY -


Born November 5, 1862, in Ashe County, N.C., John L. Ashley was the son of Larkin Ashley and Sarah Osborne Ashley.

John L. Ashley was the third born of nine children born.

- Family 1880 Census, Mitchell Co., N.C.

1880 United States Federal Census
about Larkin Ashley
Name: Larkin Ashley
Home in 1880: Linville, Mitchell, North Carolina
Age: 48
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1832
Birthplace: North Carolina
Relation to Head of Household: Self (Head)
Spouse's Name: Sarah
Father's birthplace: North Carolina
Mother's birthplace: North Carolina
Occupation: Farmer
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
Household Members: Name Age
Larkin Ashley 48 *
Sarah Ashley 45 *
Elihu Ashley 17
John L. Ashley 15 *
Milton Ashley 6
Thomas L. Ashley 4
James Ashley 2

- Born and already moved out, before the above Census was another brother, David Ashley, b. about 1860; was later known as "Dave".

- Brother: William E. Ashley, b. about 1868

- Later born,

- Sister, Martha Alice Ashley Isaacs b. Dec. 14, 1881

- Sister, Sarah Ann "Dollie" Ashley Holtsclaw b. Febr. 12, 1888

- By the 1900 Census Linville, Mitchell County, N.C., John has moved out and his Father, a widower, was living alone with his remaining children still at home. John's Mother, Sarah, had died with breast cancer.

- Then in the 1910 Census, Linville, Mitchell Co., N.C., Larkin Ashley is living alone at the age of 72, as provided by the census.

* MARRIAGE

-John L. Ashley, married in Ashe Co., N.C., Jennie Johnson, also, born in Ashe County; they had five children.

Children were Elizabeth, Henry, Howard, Cora, and Raymond Ashley. Henry and Howard would later die at a fairly young age, but the other three would live on to perhaps raise families.

In the early 1900's, John L. Ashley and Jennie Johnson Ashley, along with thier children, moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. They settled in Washington State and continued to live in the area until thier deaths.

I believe that thier young son, Henry Ashley, did pass away in N.C., before they moved westward. He would have been about 12 years of age and most likely was buried there in the mountains of N.C., near the Blue Ridge, at the Ashley Cemetery where John's parents and other family members were buried.

John and Jennie Ashley erected, managed, and ran the "Ashley Hotel", known as a boarding house, in Easton, Washington. A photo is provided of the "Ashley Hotel" on this Memorial Page of John L. Ashley. The photo postcard was taken in the early 1920's and was sent to my Grandmother in a letter written by John and Jennie's daughter, Elizabeth (Lizzie). John and Jennie, also, ran a gas station there in Easton, Washington.

On August 5, 1952, Cle Elum, Kittitas Co., Wa., John L. Ashley, a widower, died at the age of 91.

John, was a brother to my Grandmother, that resided in N.C. I grew up nearby my Grandmother, so I can remember her often speaking of her brother, John, and his family, as she was very proud of them.

I now wonder if my Grandmother ever got to see the family again, after they moved westward. My feelings are, she probably did not.

* Daughter: Elizabeth "Lizzie" Ashley Pless
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