William Ashton (1837-1909) 52 Ancestors #1

I recently heard about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge from Amy Johnson Crow, and decided to take the challenge. I'm starting late, so I have a bit of catching up to do.

For my first ancestor, I've chosen to write about William Ashton, my 3rd great grandfather.

William Ashton (1837-1909)

I've previously written about William Ashton on my wiki, so I won't repeat everything here, but I'll touch on some of the main points of his life.

As far as I've been able to determine, William was born in February 9, 1837 in Marion, Perry County, Alabama. I'm not even sure who his parents are (possibly Robert Ashton and Meriah Carslile?) - more research is needed. William's headstone lists his birth date as 1836, but his death certificate lists his birth date as February 9, 1837. It appears that his son, William Stanley Ashton ("WS Ashton") was the informant on the death certificate and didn't know the names or birthplaces of William's parents.

William Ashton's Utah Death Certificate

I know very little about William's youth, but he was apparently well educated. Although he was born in Alabama, he ended up coming west in the early 1860s. He operated a ferry boat on the Green River for a while and was also a contractor for the Pony Express between Salt Lake City and Wyoming. While riding for the Pony Express, he nearly froze to death one time in a blizzard. He lost some fingers and his side was badly frozen.

William built the historic Ashton-Driggs home in 1865 in Pleasant Grove, Utah and he married Ellen (Nellie) Elizabeth Croxford a year later. This home is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Six children were born to William and Nellie in this home (Kate Maria, Leslie, William Stanley, Lynne, Reece Llewellyn, and Grace Ellen) before the home was sold in 1880 to Olivia Pratt Driggs, the eldest daughter of mormon apostle Parley P. Pratt.

Ashton-Driggs home in May, 2012. Built by William Ashton in 1865.

It's interesting to note that I worked in Pleasant Grove for about two years in the late 1990's and I had no idea that William Ashton had built this historic house just a couple blocks away from where I was working.

William and his family moved to Ashley Valley, Utah (now Vernal, Utah) in 1880, where he and his family became prominent settlers. William served as postmaster, schoolteacher, the first assessor and collector for Uintah County, and acting superintendent of schools in Uintah County. William, Nellie, and his sons, Leslie and Lynne were among the original owners of the Ashley Co-operative Mercantile Institution.

Central School, the first brick building in Uintah County, was built on part of William Ashton's farm that he deeded to the school. Eight grades were taught in two rooms initially, before a third room was added in 1893.

Central School, built on property donated by William Ashton

William and Nellie had three more children in Vernal: Ethelyn, Clarence, and Winnie Hazel.

After a brief illness with pneumonia, William passed away at his home in Vernal, Utah at the age of 72 on October 15, 1909. He is buried in the Maeser Fairview Cemetery in Vernal beside his two children, Clarence and Reese, who died in infancy. William's wife Nellie lived in Vernal for a few more years, then moved to Los Angeles, California to live with her daughters.

William Ashton's headstone