WILLIAM ASHERST
THE STORY AS I KNOW IT
William Asherst was born in 1762 in Halifax County, Virginia. He also used the names Asher and Ashurst. There has been quite a lot written about him. A short bio appears in the Caldwell County Kentucky Yearbook published by the Princeton Art guild 1987. Another biography is entitled William Asher, born 1762, Halifax County, VA by Kitty Gessner and Gregory Watson. It was found at the Caldwell County, KY library. There were Ashers in central Virginia in the 1700s, but no clear connection has been made to this William.
It had been believed possible that his parents were William Asher and Anna Bartlett. However, there is a lot of evidence that their son William was a different person. This family Asher/Bartlett were in central Virginia and not in the same area as our William Asherst.
William Asherst"s family moved to Augusta County, Virginia while he was still young. That county is in the western Virginia mountains lying just west of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
William served as a private in the Virginia State Militia
while living in Augusta County. He fought in the Battle of
Guilford Courthouse, NC in 1781. Most of the information
about William came from his Revolutionary War pension application,
which he applied for on Aug. 20, 1832.
William Asher married Mary McChesney on September 15, 1782, Bond was given on Sept 4, 1782. This was reported in the Staunton Spectator of Dec.18 1866 listing marriages by the Rev. John Brown, pastor at New Providence, Rockbridge County VA noted in the Chronicle of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia 1745-1800 by Lyman Chalkley, Vol. II.
The New Providence Church was accepted as a house of worship by the court of Augusta in 1748. It moved to the valley of Hays Creek, about a mile into Rockbridge County. John Brown became pastor of New Providence and Timber Ridge churches in 1753 where he continued for 45 years.
The known children of William
and Mary were:
1. Daughter born 1783
2. Daughter born 1786
3. Samuel M. Asher born March 2, 1788 wed Precious
Morse
4. Lois Asher born
1792 wed Zebulon Blackburn
5. William R Asher born August 1, 1793 in SC.
Wed Ester Love
6. Nancy Asher born 1796 wed Edward Moore
7. John Asher born 1799, he must have died before
1810.
8. Jane Asher born 1800 wed 1st George
Wales, 2nd Harrison Blackburn
9. Walter W. Asher born May 27, 1801 wed Lydia
Blackburn
10. Singleton Asher born 1803 wed Jane
Davidson
The young family was in Surry County NC in the mid 1780s.
they are listed in the NC
Census, 1784-87:
1 White male 21-60 (William)
1 White male under 21 or over 60 (Unknown)
2 White females ( Mary
and oldest daughter, name unknown)
William was an active member of the community. On Feb.
11, 1788 he was a witness to a deed between Mark & Elizbeth Phillips
and John Harvey Jr.
He signed his name with an "X". Page 30 Surrey Ct. NC Deed
Books D,E, & F 1779-1797. William Asherst posted
security for a will which was paid back to him re the Fall
Court records, 1788. page 149, Surrey Coutny NC Court Minutes Vol I
& II 1768 - 1789 by Mrs. W. O. Alisher.
William and Mary
plus
2 sons under 10 ( Samuel
and William) (John
may have died very young or not been born when
counted)
1 daughter over 10 ( Daughter #1 or 2)The eldest may be
married by 1800
3 daughters under 10 (Lois,
Nancy, & Jane)
We have a note from the Rockbrige County, VA Deed Book D Page 401 that William Asherst and Polly, his wife sold 100 acres to Joseph Patterson for $1. The property was on the waters of Walkins Creek, "being the plantation of Walter McChesney desist joining". Not sure what this means. Mary’s father, Walter is dead and her brother is living in Pendleton South Carolina. We assume that this Polly is Mary McChesney and not William’s 2nd wife.
In 1810, the family is in Caldwell County, Kentucky.
Descendants continue there today. The 1810 Census
lists:
William and Mary,
plus:
1 male 16-26 (Samuel)
1 male 10-16 (William)
2 males under 10 (Walter
and Singleton)
2 females 16-26 (daughter #2 and Lois)
1 female 10-16 (Nancy)
1 female under 10 (Jane)
We have a copy of a document by William W. Blackburn, written April 17, 1900 in Princeton Kentucky. He writes about his family. He states that the Asher family moved to Hopkins County Kentucky when his mother, Lois, was five years old. "He lived there a few years and moved to this then Livingston County and located on Donaldson Creek near where Farmersville is located." Apparently, the family moved to Hopkins county when Lois over 8 years old as they were on the SC census in 1800.
The Donaldson Baptist church was organized in 1823. William Asher donated 5 acres of land on which the church was built and continues today.
Mary McChesney Asher died in 1814. She was buried in the McChesney Cemetery, now called Morse Cemetery.
In 1819 William Asherst married Mary McAnally Ladd in Caldwell County. In April of 1825 a long court case began regarding the disposition of 3 slaves. The original complaint came from Mary McAnally’s daughter. By September, Mary appeared before the court on her daughter’s side and filed for divorce. Apparently William counter sued, and , in 1829, he was granted a divorce for abandonment. This could be an interesting story with lots of court records recording the events along the way. It is too complicated for this brief bio.
On November 29, 1831, William married a third time to Polly (Mary) Nash, a widow. They were married in Smithland KY, Livingston County. They continued living in Caldwell County until his death on Feb 16, 1851. He was 89 years old. His tombstone is in the Morse Cemetery, Caldwell county KY where his first wife was buried. It reads
William Asherst
Virginia
Pvt. Continental Line
Revolutionary War
1762
1851
On November 14, 2015, The Col. Stephen Trigg
Chapter of the Sons of the America Revolution held a
Patriot Grave Marking Service in honor of William
Asherst in the Morse Cemetery.
Polly died in 1863 at age 76.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
If you know the answer please CONTACT US
1. Who were his parents?
2. Who were the oldest daughters and what became of them?
3. Did son John die young?
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Doc; gbash020.html
Date created: 7/13/2011
Date edited 12/1/2013
Date edited 11/27/2015
Date edited 7/23/2016