The Ancestors of My Grandchildren

     Robert was from Wales or England.² He married Mary at Springfield, Massachusetts,³ (marr. contract on 7 Aug 1641 in Springfield). ^45,3,1 He died on 29 Nov 1682 in West Springfield, Massachusetts.^6,1

Other information:

     He took the oath of fidelity on 23 Mar 1655/56 in Springfield.⁷
     The Widow Horton was in Oct 1640 involved in the sale of her husband's gun to Indians. She claimed however, that she had merely loaned it to him. In June 1655 Robert Ashley and his wife were issued an order of restraint, prohibiting them from selling liquor to the Indians without a license.⁸
     
On 21 Dec 1643 Thomas Merrick sues Robert Ashley for keeping a pig, which Thomas says is his. The jury finds in favor of the defendant. Later the case goes into review. Goody Stebbing gives testimony. Thomas seems to have been a rather difficult person, he is mentioned frequently both as plaintiff and as defendant⁹ On 23 Jan 1651 Robert was granted 1 1/2 acres of land, on the condition that he keep an ordinary or inn. Apparently this did not include a license to sell wine or liquor, as seen by the restraining order. He resigns his position in late 1660.¹⁰
     
He frequently served as a juror. In 1646 and 1650 he was chosen as overseer of fences, and in 1651 as a surveyor of highways. Starting in 1653 he also was a selectman for several years. He and two others refused to serve in 1655, and they were fined 20s each.⁷
     
He also appeared quite often in the court records. In 1640 he apparently had sold his canoe against town orders, and he is ordered to get it back. In 1641 he sues John Woodcock for failing to deliver a gun Robert had paid for. In 1659 he sued Richard Fellows for taking his sword, but he dropped the complaint. In 1663 he and others sue some people for violating town orders¹¹ On 30 May 1649 Robert Ashley and a number of others (among them William Warriner and Thomas Merrick) were charged with leaving their oxen without a keeper, in violation of a town ordinance. They were all fined 5s per team. Thomas Merrick had a team of 4 oxes, Robert Ashley and William Warriner shared a team with others. As the oxen also destroyed some of Henry Burt's (Abigail Burt's father), estimated to be 12 bushels worth of damage, each team was ordered to pay Henry one and a half bushel of wheat.¹²
     
Katherine Hunter, servant of Robert Ashley, was sent to the House of Corrections for leaving her master's service. She had been struck by her master's wife once, a while ago, but that was not sufficient reason to run away. Her father, to whom she had run, was fined 30 shillings, but that sentence was revoked.¹³

On 2 Feb 1668/69 Thomas Dewey, Robert Ashley, James Warriner, William Warriner, Thomas Noble, David Ashley and Jonathan Ashley was among the signers from Springfield of a petition protesting the imposition by England of customs on goods imported into or exported from Massachusetts Colony.^14,15
Thomas Merrick, John Stebbins, William Warriner, Robert Ashley and Rowland Stebbins were among 29 men taking the oath of fidelity in Springfield on 6 Feb 1648.¹⁶
Robert Ashley made a will on 9 Oct 1679. It was probated on 27 Mar 1683. As he had not appointed an executor, the court appointed his wife Mary and his son Joseph Ashley. The inventory was worth £492 2s 9p.