Subj: Ashley FamiliesI have been focusing research for the past few months on the Ashley families who were in Abbeville and nearby Anderson County, SC and hoping to find my Reuben Ashley's parents there. I keep going back to the Abbeville and Anderson County, SC Ashleys mostly because of the 1880 census in Heard County, GA where my gg grandfather Reuben Ashley says that his father was born in Maryland and his mother born in SC, with him and most of his siblings (if not all of them) born in SC. (He was born in 1817 with his last born (at least known so far) sibling possibly born in GA ca 1836, although that is questionable, and she may have also been born in SC. In any case, with the naming patterns and the places of reported birth, and the known documented history of the Abbeville County, SC (and Anderson County, SC) Ashley families that went from Maryland to SC ca 1803), this seems a logical place to focus further research. I noted on your great web page (fantastic job!!) that you were interested in the Abbeville County, SC Ashley families also, and wanted to let you know that I have some books on both Abbeville and Anderson counties in SC, and happy to look any names that you are looking for, just let me know. There were a number of Perrin and Criswell/Creswell families in Abbeville area, per the book "Abstracts of Old Ninety-Six and Abbeville District Wills and Bonds", by Pauline Young. I have that book and the 1850 and 1860 census books for Abbeville, SC; also have the book "Pendleton District and Anderson County, SC Wills, Estates and Legal Records" by V. Alexander; and several others. I made a cursory check in those books however, and did not find any Samuel Ashleys in there. The CD "South Carolina Records and Reference" notes a Samuel Ashley in Barnwell County, SC in 1810 but nothing further on that CD and don't know where he went after that. I was looking through the Decendency Narrative of Isaac Ashley (about 20 pages) that Nicole Pinson mailed to me about two years ago, and have wondered if her Ashleys who went to Alabama (Cherokee, Etowah and Marshall Counties in AL) might have been kin to yours or mine. She shows a William Riley Ashley in her family tree who was much younger than your William R. Ashley...but again, the name is interesting. Her William Riley Ashley was born Dec 14, 1862 in Cherokee County, AL and married Martha Jane Pruitt. It appears that her Ashleys moved from Abbeville County, SC to Cherokee County, AL in about 1845, with other family members following them to AL (from SC) about 1858. Another reason I am focusing research on the Abbeville County, SC Ashley families is because I learned a few months ago that I had another Ashley family line from the Abbeville and Anderson County, SC Ashleys in my allied Gay and Skinner families, who settled in Cleburne County, AL and Carroll County, Georgia area, and I have been trying to figure out if my gg grandfather Reuben Ashley was connected/related to these Ashleys, since they lived in the same areas. I also have the CD "Abstract of Georgia Wills" by Jeanette Austin, which covers about 40 counties in Georgia between late 1790's to 1870's, so if you need any look ups on that one, let me know. I think I have posted all of the Ashley Wills on that one, but can look up other names if you would like any looked up. About the Dunlaps in my Ashley lines (Reuben Ashley married Minerva Amanda Dunlap), this is another mystery, as I have not been able to determine who her parents were either, or any of her siblings! I don't know where in SC that she came from, and only have one possible clue, and that is that she and Reuben Ashley were living near a Dunlap family in the 1850 census in Heard County, GA. I have researched these Dunlaps fairly thoroughly and have located at least six researchers and descendents of this Dunlap family, and Minerva Dunlap Ashley does not show up in any records whatsoever as being a part of their family. These Dunlaps came from Lancaster County, SC in the late 1830's and settled in Heard County, GA. Some of them went to Coosa County, Alabama by 1850. So I am not alot of help on the possible Dunlap connection. I see that there were several Dunlap families however in Greene County, AL in the census's as well as marriage records, and I have not researched those yet. Research is slow from Oregon, which is why I have to order everything from the LDS Family History centers on microfilm, or order books and CD's and these past few years, I have chosen the latter, due to my work schedule and family responsibilities for elderly parents, etc. Don't know if I told you that my father lived in Anniston, Alabama (he called it "Annie's Town" for a number of years when he was growing up, with the family moving between Cleburne County, AL and Calhoun County, AL. My father was born in Cleburne County, AL and his parents were born in Cleburne County, AL. Sallie (Sarah E.) Ashley was his grandmother, his father's mother, who married Jesse (Jefferson) Thomas Calhoun Teal. Jesse T.C. Teal was born in either Campbell County or Heard County, GA ca 1851, and Sarah E. (Sallie) Ashley was born in Heard County, GA in 1854, the daughter of Reuben Ashley and Minerva Dunlap. I have not found any connections yet to my Ashley family and the one in the posting that I sent yesterday about Jefferson Ashley who married Millie Highsmith and who lived in Calhoun County, AL. Last I heard from Joyce Harkins (descendant of Jefferson Ashley family) she did not know who Jefferson Ashley's parents or siblings were either, or where in SC that they came from. Have not heard from her in over six months and don't know if she has found her connection yet. I keep thinking that somehow these Alabama Ashleys must have been related to each other, and hope to find out how, and in doing so, hope to find my Ashley connection too!