Permelia Christian Ashby Hall - Changes - 52 Ancestors #46

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is Changes: Highlight an ancestor that went through many changes or that you had to change your research strategies to find.

Pamela (Christian) (Ashby) Hall is an ancestor who went through many changes AND I have to change my research strategies to find more information about her.

I have written about this third great-grandmother previously. I first mentioned her in my Surname Saturday ~ Ashby post, then shared the U.S. Census records I found her in at Kentucky ~ Looking for a Crack in the Brick Wall.

I find her listed as Pamela, Permelia and even Amelia in various records. She was born about 1802 or 1803 in Kentucky. I have not confirmed her parents in primary sources, though there are online trees that name parents for her. I need to change my research strategies to find out more about her parents and siblings, by exploring different kinds of records, probably probate records or land records, as well as exploring her "FAN Club," a research strategy that involves researching her friends, associates, and neighbors. There appear to be a lot of Christians in Hopkins County, Kentucky, which would be a place to start. (There is also a Christian County, Kentucky. Could she be related to the man for whom this county is named?)

I also need to learn more about history and geography of western Kentucky.  Here is a map (courtesy of Wikipedia) with the counties I need to learn more about in color.

Kentucky Counties, color added by me.

Stephen Ashby (d. 1829) - 52 Ancestors #26

For this week's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks writing challenge from blogger Amy Crow Johnson of No Story Too Small, the theme is Halfway: This week marks the halfway point in the year — and the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge! What ancestor do you have that you feel like you’ve only researched halfway?

First of all, I am pleased with myself that I've kept up with this 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge. I am on track to writing as many posts in 2015 as I did in 2012, my most prolific year.

This week, I am sharing what little I know about a third great-grandfather, Stephen Ashby. Most of what I know about him is from The Ashby Book, Vol. 1: Descendants of Captain Thomas Ashby of Virginia (1976), compiled by Lee Fleming Reese, which is digitized and available at FamilySearch.org's Family History Books, a wonderful resource! However, this is a secondary source, so I feel that I've only researched this family halfway because I should really explore the primary source material.

Stephen Ashby was born in about 1805 (or possibly earlier) to Daniel Ashby and Mary Polly Benson. (See Surname Saturday: Ashby for more about my Ashby line.)

Kentucky ~ Looking for a Crack in the Brick Wall

As I noted in my recent Surname Saturday post about the Ashby line, I didn't know much about my third great-grandparents, Stephen Ashby (about 1805 - May 1829) and Pamela (Permelia) Christian (dates unknown) until I found The Ashby Book, Vol. 1: Descendants of Captain Thomas Ashby of Virginia by Lee Fleming Reese, published in 1976.

As I noted, this book shares transcriptions of several court records from the 1830's which list the children of Stephen Ashby, Jr. and his widow, Pamelia Ashby: Malinda Ashby, Benjamin C. Ashby, Napoleon B. Ashby, and Daniel M. Ashby. These four children were born in the 1820's (between the marriage of Stephen and Pamelia in 1820 and his death in May 1829).

In one court record there is reference that "his widow Pamelia has intermarried with James Hall."

With this information, I explored census records on Ancestry.com to see what else I could find out about my third great-grandmother, Pamela / Pamelia / Permelia, and her family.

In 1830, there is an Amelia Ashby with children of approximately the correct age, as well as four slaves (as indicated in one of the court records) living in Hopkins County, Kentucky. This might be the widow Permelia Ashby, but I can't be sure. There is a James Hall in Barren County, Kentucky in 1830, with a household of one adult male the right age for James (40-50), five other whites (his children?) between ages 5-20, and seven slaves.

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In 1840, I found Jas. Hall in Barren County, Kentucky.

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Ashby and Hall Half Brothers

I have been researching my Ashby line (see Surname Saturday ~ Ashby) and I found a few Find A Grave memorials for some of my Kentucky ancestors.

The biggest find was at small Hall-Harlow Cemetery in Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky: a memorial for Benjamin C. Ashby (1822-1848), my 3rd great-uncle.

Imagine my surprise when my photo request was almost immediately fulfilled...

Photo courtesy of Martha and Daine Harrison; used with their permission.
Thank you to Find A Grave volunteer Laura J. Stewart for setting up the memorials
and obtaining the permission to share this photograph on my blog.

and there was another name on Benjamin Ashby's stone. Gilbert C. Hall (1835-1850) was a half-brother to Benjamin. Their mother was Permelia (Christian) (Ashby) Hall, my third great-grandmother.

Left side:

Benjamin C.
Son of Stephen &
Pemelia Ashby
Born
Oct. 12, 1822
Died
Nov. 8, 1848

Right side:

Gilbert C.
Son of
James &
Pemelia Hall
Born
March 3, 1835
Died
August 15, 1850