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The Ashford-Butcher line has been a problem for me. But here is what I have put together.

All I knew to start was that my mother’s maiden name was Ashford and her Fathers death certificate said his Mother’s maiden name was Butcher and he used Butcher as a middle name for one of his sons.

Years ago after I was married and had started raising a family I took my son and we got on the bus and went to my home town to visit relatives.

Staying one night at my Grandmother Ashford’s she decided I was old enough to tell a family secret. so here is the story she told me as best I can remember.

It seems when Grandfather was a very young man he lived on a farm in Kentucky and the farmer on the next farm was moving north to Ohio and needed a driver for a wagon load of stuff so Grandfather took the job and stayed there working for him. When the civil war started he joined with the northern army and later got to thinking his brothers would have joined the southern army and he might be shooting one of his own brothers so he deserted and came west.

He married Amanda Sullivan in Oregon and they settled down to raise a family and farm. A few years later he got religious and decided that he had to turn himself in for deserting so he went to an army base in Oregon to tell them the story and the officer in charge told him it had been so many years ago so just go home and raise his family which he did.

When I got interested in doing family history my grandmother had already passed away so no asking more questions. But a cousin told me that in years past some cousin from back east had corresponded with his Mother, Maude Darby and they were supposed to be cousins. Later I contacted George Butcher Ashford my mothers brother and he said that to the best of his knowledge his fathers name had been Hammer before he deserted and changed it to William.

Then a few more years went by and a lady from Ohio contacted me about the Ashford name and she said that her Aunt or great aunt had years ago corresponded with a cousin in Oregon named Maude Darby and so she came to visit and her grandfather had been Hazen Ashford a brother to a Hammer Ashford, their Mother had been Mariah Butcher and she married an Ashford. So I think this all adds up to the line that I am following on the Ashford - Butcher families.

This is why I have this line in my records.

Written by Roma Judge.