Ashford History in Oregon

The paternal Grandfather of the Ashfords in Oregon is William Ashford. This is the name he used in all the Federal Census since he first appeared in them in the 1800 census living in Oregon. His death certificate states that he was born in Kentucky on December 21, 1851, and he died on October 1, 1925, in Washington. The death certificate also states that his father was William and his mother’s maiden name was Butsher (Butcher), both born in Kentucky.

Rodney’s Father, a grandson of William, Delbert Ashford, told him William’s real name was Haemer. One of Rod’s cousins said his name was Seth.

According to the book ‘A Man Is A Man, A Hooker Family Saga‘ by Marguariete Overholser, an abandoned Indian girl was found at Ash Hollow, a watering hole on the Oregon Trail. Ash Hollow State Historical Park is located near present-day Lewellen, Nebraska. Permenus and Charlotte Hooker were part of the wagon train on the way to Oregon in 1848 when she was found. They ‘adopted’ her and took her to Oregon where she grew up. They named her Sarah Catherine Hooker.

In the spring of 2015, Rod Ashford, and two other cousins who are direct descendants of Sarah Catherine Hooker had our DNA analyzed by Ancestry.com. We were all shocked by the results. There was absolutely zero percent Native American DNA in any of the samples. In 2016, another first cousin had their DNA checked and it had no American Indian DNA.

AncestryDNA compares DNA samples with all the DNA samples they have collected, links matching samples together, and then sends the owners informing them of the match. A 3rd cousin was the first to receive notification that they were linked to Alice Lockridge, a descendant of Albinus Hooker. Albinus is a sibling of Permenus Hooker. Since that time, I have been linked to Alice and to several other of Permenus’ siblings.

What does all this mean? If Sarah Catherine Hooker was a Native American, then all of those tested should not have any Hooker DNA. In other words, because we have Hooker DNA, Permenus must be the father of Sarah Catherine Hooker.
It should be noted that nowhere can this incident be found elsewhere in writing in trail diaries, etc.; only in the book written by Marguerite Overholser.

For more information click on this link: Sarah Catherine Hooker Lineage

Sarah married Thomas Jefferson Sullivan and one of their daughters was Amanda Jane Sullivan.

William ‘Haemer’ Ashford married Amanda Jane (Jenny) Sullivan, the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Sullivan and Sarah Catherine Hooker.
William and Amanda Jane Ashford had ten children:

  • Maude L. who married George Darby
  • Elmer Lorenzo who married Annie Lucinda Robertson
  • William Melvin who never married
  • George Butcher who married Nora Jarvis
  • Sarah Elizabeth who married Frank Brewer
  • Ruby Alice who married Seth Albert Leaming
  • Wallace who married Jennie (Jackie) Hango
  • Velma Blanche who married Roscoe E Mayfield
  • Arron Dean who married Louise Faye Kitten
  • Arlo Francis who married Helen Irene West

Roma Gay Leaming Judge, granddaughter of our William Ashford says that when she attended the Ashford/Hooker reunions held at Pedee, Oregon she was told that when our William, whose real name turns out to be Haemer, deserted the Northern Army and went to Oregon he changed his name. (Rod believed he also changed his birthdate.) Roma Judge was the person who did most of the early genealogy research on the Ashford family.

In the collections of pictures, I received from the family of Herman Ashford, a grandson of William ‘Haemer’ Ashford, there was a picture of an unidentified young person taken at a portrait studio in Circleville, Ohio. Does this mean that at some point and time, some Ashfords lived in Ohio?

Another fact came to the surface while Rod was doing genealogy research. He found a birth registration for William Melvin Ashford, George Butcher’s older brother, listing his parents as William Hama and Jenny Ashford.

Some of my cousins remember hearing about George Butcher writing to relatives back East. As far as He knew none of these letters exist today.

A Story about Daniel Jarvis

Daniel Jarvis is Nora Elizabeth Jarvis’ Father. Daniel Jarvis was a cook on the Union and Pacific RR in Nebraska when he met Effie McCannon. After they married, he continued to work on RR. After being away for some length of time he took the train back to Nebraska and walked into the house where his wife lived. Because he had not had a bath or shaved, she tossed him out. He went to town, took a bath, got a shave and a haircut, and returned. She let him stay.