Ashby Family Bio - Tracing Our Roots
James Dudley Ashby and Mary Virginia Bell began their lives together in Portland, ME on May 26, 1886. Mr. Ashby came from Barbados. There is much speculation how he ended up in the United States. One story, as told to one of his eldest children, was that he joined the British Royal Navy as a sailor by telling them that he was older than he actually was. After much time in service, he decided to take an indefinite leave of absence (AWOL, it is otherwise called) and make a new life for himself in America. Equal is the amount of speculation regarding the heritage of Mary Virginia Bell. One of her eldest children, Alice Maud, tells the story in this manner: “My father came ashore from a whaling ship in Portland. He went further inland to Indian Island, Maine, which was where he met my mother. She was part Penobscot Indian and black and was from Indian Island.” Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, located near Old Town, Maine, is known colloquially in Maine as Indian Island. It is located north of Bangor, Maine.
Shortly after their marriage in 1886, the Ashby’s moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they had their first child, Clifford, in September 1886. He did not survive, and shortly, thereafter, they moved to Piedmont Avenue in in Boston’s hotel district. In that neighborhood were born their next four children: Alexandrine Beatrice (1888), Alice Maud (1890), Wallace Bruce (1892), and Madeline Ruth (1894). At that time, Mr. Ashby worked as a waiter at the Piedmont Hotel. He worked hard and gained the respect and admiration of his peers and those whom he met. In 1890, Mr. Ashby relinquished his British Nationality and became a naturalized United States Citizen by taking a formal oath of allegiance at the United States District Courthouse in Boston, MA. After the birth of their daughter, Madeline Ruth, Mr. & Mrs. Ashby and their children returned to Cambridge, MA, where their family began to grow all the more. Six more children were born into the Ashby fold: Alberta L. (1897), Edward B. (1899), Charles (1901), Leona Adela (1906), and Milton (1909). Edward and Charles did not survive. Tragedy struck the Ashby family with the passing of Mary Virginia Ashby in 1911 from a home fire. It fell to the older siblings to help Mr. Ashby raise the smaller children. In 1939, Mr. Ashby died at the good, old, ripe age of 84.
Over time, the Ashby siblings moved to different parts of the country and started their own families. Today, there are over 150 descendants in the James & Mary Ashby family tree….and the tree continues to grow exponentially every year.
Shortly after their marriage in 1886, the Ashby’s moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where they had their first child, Clifford, in September 1886. He did not survive, and shortly, thereafter, they moved to Piedmont Avenue in in Boston’s hotel district. In that neighborhood were born their next four children: Alexandrine Beatrice (1888), Alice Maud (1890), Wallace Bruce (1892), and Madeline Ruth (1894). At that time, Mr. Ashby worked as a waiter at the Piedmont Hotel. He worked hard and gained the respect and admiration of his peers and those whom he met. In 1890, Mr. Ashby relinquished his British Nationality and became a naturalized United States Citizen by taking a formal oath of allegiance at the United States District Courthouse in Boston, MA. After the birth of their daughter, Madeline Ruth, Mr. & Mrs. Ashby and their children returned to Cambridge, MA, where their family began to grow all the more. Six more children were born into the Ashby fold: Alberta L. (1897), Edward B. (1899), Charles (1901), Leona Adela (1906), and Milton (1909). Edward and Charles did not survive. Tragedy struck the Ashby family with the passing of Mary Virginia Ashby in 1911 from a home fire. It fell to the older siblings to help Mr. Ashby raise the smaller children. In 1939, Mr. Ashby died at the good, old, ripe age of 84.
Over time, the Ashby siblings moved to different parts of the country and started their own families. Today, there are over 150 descendants in the James & Mary Ashby family tree….and the tree continues to grow exponentially every year.
Flags of Heritage
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UNITED KINGDOM  |
Formal Name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Local Name: United Kingdom Local Formal Name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
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ENGLAND
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BARBADOS
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NATIVE AMERICAN -
PENOBSCOT INDIAN  |
Formal Name: Penobscot (Eastern Abnaki, Penawahpskewi, Penobscott)
Local Name: Penobscot Local Formal Name: Penobscot Indian Nation of Maine and the Maritimes, exclusively in the European boundaries of Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia |
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AMERICA - UNITED STATES
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Formal Name: United States of America
Local Name: United States Local Formal Name: United States of America |
