October 23, 2008 - Stephen Peal and Ashley Connection

I've started to go through my notes to find the reference to Linsey Rosco - I haven't found it yet but I did come across something and wasn't sure that I ever mentioned it to you before. When I was researching Stephen Peal and his family -- I came across a bio reference that he and his brother came to MO - after the Civil War - I then used the search on ancestry and came up with a couple of family trees: For the most part, the trees had the same info: Stephen Peal's Father was Stanley and his Mother was Annis Gurganus they had: Eli, Charlotte (Charity), Stephen, Hymon, Celia, Jane, Stanley, Chrissy Stephen was born 1840 in Martin Co., NC - he died in Scott County MO in 1896 but is buried in NC in the family cemetery. Stephen's brother Stanley returned to NC. HOWEVER, in most trees there is a reference to another child a "William Ashley" or "BILLY" born in 1850 and died in 1892. Knowing that Jane Withrow married her sister's husband - do you think she could have married a "cousin".... Also, I came across an OBIT for Franklin Withrow - he was a cousin to Jane Peal.

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There is always a possibility to a connection between the Peals & Ashleys in North Carolina. If Stephen Peal's family didn't arrive into Scott County, Missouri until after the civil war then it might be a distant connection. James Ashley and William Ashley who I believe were brothers purchased land along Mayfield Creek in McCracken/Ballard Counties in the 1820's. James, his wife and children eventually left the area. By the time the Peals entered the area, William Ashley was dead and most of his children were grown, some were even grandparents by the 1860's.
I do not think William Ashley's children probably grew up knowing their relatives from North Carolina. Travel was not easy back then but you never know how much letter writing took place. Since the identity of William Ashley's first wife is unknown...she could always have had a Peal connection.

I think that Rebecca Peal did marry a cousin. Her first husband Joseph Brown was a nephew of Ezekiel Ashley. Ezekiel was born in 1835 to William Ashley and his second wife Ann Billington. That would make Ezekiel & Mary Ashley half siblings. I believe that Joseph Brown's mother is a sister of Ezekiel & Mary. If we assume that Joseph Brown might have been a few years older than Rebecca and that his mother had to be older than 15 when she had him...Joseph Brown's mother was probably born in the 1820's, also a product of William Ashley's first marriage.
Also since Frederick Mayberry owned 160 acres of land along Mayfield Creek in McCracken/Ballard Counties I believe that he might have been had a neighboring farm to the Ashley family which would put Frederick's son and William's daughter in close proximity to meet and marry. I wouldn't be surprised if Mary Ashley and her small daughters lived with the Mayberry family during her marriage to Frederick's son. Also that would explain why she left them with their grandparents when she remarried.

I do not know what became of Mary Ashley's first husband. I assume he died young...sometime circa 1844-1845 probably near the age of 25-30. Although he could have taken off, I will assume he just died. Looking at the 1830 census and 1840 census, I have concluded that there were at least 3 sons and 4 daughters that were born to Frederick & Elizabeth Mayberry between 1815-1835. There were probably more children born that might not have survived to adulthood. The 1850 census has many children living with them. 1 Child with the last name Smith, 4 children with the last name Allen and 2 children with the last name Mayberry. Given the ages of Frederick & Elizabeth...I truly think these are all grandchildren. The Smith and Allen children being children of Frederick's daughters.

Catherine Clingman Mayberry was living with her parents in 1850. Her two sons Frederick age 12 and George age 4 were living with them as well. I believe her husband George Mayberry was also deceased by this time.

Also in Ballard Co., KY, there was a boy named James Mayberry age 6 living with Wiley Sams who was a widower with 7 children ranging in age of 4 to 24 years old. He is the only Mayberry child. I do not know where he fits. I do not think he is the son of George and Catherine Mayberry. Also Mary Ashley had a son named James with Frederick Withrow in 1847. I do not think she would have two different sons born 3-4 years apart and name them both James. So I have to wonder if there is a 4th son of Frederick & Elizabeth that had a child named James. Also there might be a connection to Wiley Sams. He could have had a daughter that married a unknown Mayberry or given his age, he could be a brother of Elizabeth Mayberry making him a great uncle to James Mayberry.

I will have to look into the Sams family to see if there is any chance that Elizabeth was a Sams. With all these grandchildren passed around, I get the impression that Frederick & Elizabeth Mayberry probably outlived most of their children. Given how rural and scarcely populated the area was and also lack of education and health probably shortened many of their life spans. Also I wonder if Frederick's sons and sons in-law held risky occupations like mining or working on the Mississippi river. Any big floods in the area during the 1840's could have been devastating to the economy and well being of Ballard County and the surrounding area.

I will have to look into natural disasters of the area in that time frame. Since the 1840's seems to be a decade that so many people connected to the Mayberrys vanish or died...I suspect famine or a disaster might be a result.

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You totally amaze me. I would never be able to collect all this info and be able to relate it to someone else. Do you think the email addresses are still current for the individuals that were in the queries that I sent -- perhaps they may have some knowledge of a Mayberry.

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Many months ago I did find the Ashley inquiries and sent an email to Barb who was connected to James Ashley's family. I never got a response from her. It wouldn't hurt to send another email.

Great Flood of 1844

Considered at the time to be "one of the most memorable floors ever known upon the Mississippi by civilized man. There was immense injury sustained by the settlements, towns and plantations both in the upper valleys and in the delta. The whole population living in the lowlands throughout the region like others living in the lower Mississippi River Valley, fled to the hills; vast numbers of stock of every kind were destroyed, and immense damage done to farms and settlements. Many suffering families were taken to their graves by either drowning or by the resulting famine. Such was the condition of the inhabitants of the arable (crop-growing) bottoms of the Mississippi from the mouth of the Ohio 700 miles up to Galena, up the Missouri for 800 miles, up the Illinois for 300 miles and up the Wabash for 400 miles." - Concordia Sentinel
Ballard County, Kentucky would have been right in the middle of this. The confluence of the Ohio & Mississippi Rivers meet there. Cairo, Illinois which boarders Ballard County is considered the line for the Upper & Lower Mississippi River. I believe this flood could have had a devastating effect on the Mayberry family in 1844 and the years to follow.